Elder Glover

Jaren's younger brother Tyson, got his mission call last September. He will spend two years serving in the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo East mission. I can hardly believe he's old enough! He was only 13 years old (almost 14) when Jaren and I got married! I went down to Utah on the 9th and stayed until we dropped Tyson off at the MTC on the 14th. It was a busy visit. To all my friends in Utah, sorry that I didn't get to visit anyone other than the Glover's. Ty is a fun brother-in-law. While Jaren has been gone he has been great at making sure I'm not bored and that I have someone to hang out with when I'm visiting the Glover's. He even took me up to The Canyons in Park City to go skiing that Saturday before he left. This was only my third time skiing and I knew it would be tough for Tyson who is so good at snowboarding. He loves to pack every minute of the day with amazingly fun stuff to the point where he won't even stop for food. That wouldn't fly with me...I made him eat with me at lunch time. I told Tyson that the first run down had to be an EASY run so I could get a feel for the snow. He took me on a blue or "more difficult" run. Within the first 20 feet I knew I was in trouble. I scolded him saying I wanted an EASY run and this was not it. He assured me it was...called me a baby...and persuaded me to keep going down the mountain (he wasn't as mean as this sounds). He didn't see me after that until I face planted in a foot of powder with one ski off and buried in it. He had to help me get back up. I only fell a few times throughout the day. I was scared to death mostly. He did take me down the bunny hill a couple of times after that first run. He was, of course, tortured the whole time saying it was too slow. He took me down a few more blue runs where I would end up at the bottom well before him. He couldn't understand how I got down there so fast but thought I must be doing well if I was in one piece. He decided to go ahead of me and watch me come down about the 5th run. It had gotten more icy by this point. I started off as usual trying to turn back and forth until I got going too fast to dare turn my skis for fear of losing all control. Tyson figured out why I always got down to the bottom so fast. That was the scariest run of them all. I watched him giving me the slow down sign as I flew by him nearly crashing into a tree and taking out another skier (while I was praying the whole time). When he caught up with me at the bottom he had a very frightened look on his face as he said, "I'm NEVER taking you down this run again! And next time you go skiing, you are wearing a helmet!" :) What can I say, I'm a beginner. I did tell him at the start of the day that I wanted something easy. It's a good thing I stayed on the bunny hill after that, it was too icy. It was quite the day. With car troubles on the way there, nearly killing myself several times on the slopes, forcing Tyson to eat with me at the Lodge, and even worse car trouble on the way home, it was still a great day and I had a blast! Sunday Ty gave a great talk and it was nice visiting with all of the family and friends that came. I spent Monday and Tuesday taking care of some business for Jaren at Utah State, labelling Tyson's stuff, packing his bags (3 times), getting the last few things he needed, doing family stuff, etc. Tyson is a great guy and I'm so proud he's out serving the Lord.

Me and Ty at his farewell "family gathering".

Blake, Kali, and I went to the temple with Tyson and his two friends who are leaving or already left for their missions too. This is outside the Ogden temple the day before he went into the MTC. (Tyson, Curtis, Spencer)

Outside the MTC before going in. We love you Tyson!

What a handsome missionary! Good luck Tyson!

Looking back on 2008...

Jaren and I moved to Washington shortly before the new year. We were welcomed into the ward in which I spent my teen years. I was called to be in the Young Women program in March as the Camp Director and Personal Progress Specialist. Jaren and I had the great opportunity to go on a cruise to Mexico before he left. Jaren went off to pre-deployment training right after my birthday in May. I was able to visit him over the 4th of July where we had a great weekend in Branson, Missouri. He left for Iraq shortly after. I was able to visit family and friends during the summer. I didn't have to spend our 5 year anniversary alone...I went with Jaren's whole family to Idaho and had fun doing his absolute favorite summer activity...white water rafting! (Sorry you missed it honey!) I went to girl's camp in August and had more fun as a leader than I ever had as a young woman! In October I moved in with mom and dad to save on rent. I tried rock climbing and have started skiing lessons! Jaren was on a small base in Iraq (that we will leave unnamed) until just before Christmas when his unit moved to the Baghdad Airport which is a huge military base. He has been safe in both places. Iraq is pretty calm now and for that I am very grateful. Christmas apart was really hard for both of us. Jaren did receive several packages that he enjoyed! We have had great support from family and friends and also from the ward. People are always asking how both Jaren and I are doing. I know this deployment could be a lot worse. I feel for any couple that has, is, or will go through any kind of separation. It doesn't matter if it's a couple days or a whole year, I hate being apart from Jaren. With this deployment though we have had some learning and growing experiences that would not have come any other way. I'm grateful to have such great people around me. I couldn't imagine going through this without the gospel and the help of the Lord. I know the Lord has so much in store for us in the upcoming year and I can imagine like many other things that have come our way in life, it's either a surprise or not what we expect. The trick is to enjoy the ride. How blessed we are to be here on this earth and even more so to have the true gospel of Christ. Life gets going so fast that we don't notice when the year is gone. Take time to enjoy the finer things in life and enjoy every minute you have on this earth! Hope you all have a great new year!

Arctic Blast

Since Jaren and I lived in Logan, UT for three years (or three winters), a 5"-8" accumulation of snow over a two week period should not seem like such an amazing thing. However, here in the beautiful Northwest we are not used to getting snow. When we get snow, it's usually less than an inch and melted the same day by the rain that follows. When the snow stays, it creates a big mess. This is the first "white Christmas" I have seen in Washington since my family moved here in 1996. For nearly the last two weeks now we have been getting what the news has been calling an "arctic blast" (cold air coming down from Alaska). The rain that we usually get here during the winter time turned to snow all through the frigid past two weeks. To see snow stay on the ground, then more accumulate, then a 1/4" sheet of freezing rain, more snow, more snow again, etc. has been quite exciting. The funny thing is that it is such a HUGE deal here. The news has been reporting daily, all day long on the weather and snow conditions. Regular TV shows have been rescheduled for showings early in the morning (like 3:00am) because the news is taking it's place. It's quite funny that this has been nearly the only thing on TV. Church meetings were cancelled and our Stake Christmas program postponed for two weeks in a row now. Not to mention the Relief Society Christmas program I have been working on for months that will now take place the 8th of January. The Northwest doesn't really have snowplows so the roads stay a horrible mess. They do a bit of plowing on freeways but mostly require traction devices, snow tires, or studded tires when driving on all state highways and freeways. My mom and dad had to make a trip to the store to invest in a snow-shovel. My mom and I shoveled the front porch, back porch, driveway, and sidewalks for a good 2 hours and were very sore the next day. After being inside for three consecutive days, I finally got to the point where I shoveled a bunch of snow into the bed of my truck (to help with rear traction), strapped cables on the front tires and went to the store to get out. Ever since my scary accident involving a semi-truck in the snow I have been terrified to drive in/on snow, ice, slush, and even heavy rain. Even though I was driving a 4 wheel drive truck with cables going 25 mph, I was quite proud of myself at how much I started to venture out in the snow. It has been great. In the next couple of days it will warm up to rain and all of the snow will melt. I got a few pictures to show the beautiful snow here.

Mom and dad's house and front yard.

The sreet in front of mom and dad's house.

The freezing rain covered the trees in a 1/4 inch thick sheet of ice.

The freezing rain also put a 1/4 inch thick sheet of ice over my entire truck. Thank goodness the door wasn't frozen shut and I was still able to get inside. (Click on the picture to see the ice covering the truck)

Christmas music

As a tribute to my sweet husband who will not be able to spend Christmas with me or with any family and friends at all, I've decided to play some special Christmas music on my blog playlist during the final week before Christmas.

1. "Sending you a little Christmas" - I know this song has been on here since the 1st of the month but this song expresses my feelings of how I wish I could help Jaren have a nice Christmas even though he is so far away. If I could gift-wrap myself and send me to him, I would. Since that is not possible, I'm sending my love and prayers (and a small package) until he comes home.

2. "Soldier's Silent Night" - As I listen to the words of "Santa Claus" I get all choked up about the soldier. I hope Jaren isn't so alone on Christmas. At least he will be in a bed instead of on the floor. Other soldier's might not be so lucky.

3. "O Holy Night" - This is Jaren's favorite Christmas song. We have to listen to it several times throughout the Christmas season (both of us singing along) because he loves it so much. I had to put it on here for him.

I will try not to get all mushy but I absolutely must take this opportunity to tell Jaren and everyone reading this how proud I am of him. I was so blessed when Heavenly Father sent him into my life. He's such a great guy and I know he's in Iraq right now because he wants to help and serve his country. He also wants the experience so he can be a better Chaplain and relate with the soldiers he will serve one day. He's always so loving and patient with me. He's a better husband than I could have ever hoped for and I am so grateful for him. (I love you sweetie!)