The Treasure, Cheers!

Back in May when I had the open house for Matt's 40th birthday, someone brought him some sparkling  cider (Jame's?). We put it in the back of the fridge for a couple of weeks because we had so many leftovers. Then at the beginning of June we got a second offer on the house. The first one had been in March (we countered, and never heard back). But this June offer was legit. It was made from the guy who would be taking over Matt's Heber position. Since our type of sale was new to the market our realtor told us it might be 30 days before things closed. We decided to hang on to that cider and toast when the house did close. Well, July came and went, August came and went, September, October, November came and went, and then came December. 

In the mean time, we had found a lot we liked in South Jordan and a house plan that would work for our family. The builder convinced us to go ahead and choose colors for the house. This involved several trips to South Jordan's design center last summer where details such as the color of grout was decided upon. This was not drudgery for me AT ALL. Designing a house from start to finish was fun.  Though stewing over details kept me up more than one night I'll admit. That was not a bad thing either, the occupations kept my mind off of my troubles that were the basis of wanting to move in the first place. I also continued to do what was in my power to smooth out the situation around me. Things were improving. Still though, smooth or not, we had our hearts set on moving. The kids were being fairly good sports about it but High School is not an easy age to move and so Katrina was our biggest concern. 

At one point in the spring we had even decided that staying in Heber is what would be best for the family as a whole. We fell in love with a new construction home that was once a model but had fallen into foreclosure and was DRASTICALLY reduced. The hang up was the small yard, but the extra's more than made up for it. Matt and I discover that the back sliding door lock was broken. This enabled us to go over there whenever we wanted, which was often I'll admit. We'd walk all around, open closets, and talk about possibilities. We usually had Graham and Callie with us so when we'd pull up, the'd say, "Yea, we're going to this house again!" So we put an offer in on this house in the spring but the bank was being a turtle at getting back to us. In the mean time we moved our hearts to the South Jordan lot. It was then that we knew for sure that Matt had gotten the job position he wanted in West Valley. My concern for the South Jordan lot was it's proximity to Bangerter Hwy. I'm not used to freeway sounds and didn't know if I would ever get used to it. But this lot was literally in the shadows of the temple. How could we not feel good about it? Besides Matt wouldn't have an hour commute each day to work. However, as the weeks turned to months and our home STILL had not closed, the builder said he could no longer hold our lot. We totally understood because both of us feel that if things are supposed to work out then they will, if they don't, then they weren't suppose to. I was surprised I was able to feel this way. Who am I to try and plan out my life when I can't see the big picture? In the mean time the people who wanted to buy our house were living with inlaws in Ogden and commuting to Heber each day for work and school (towards the end they were even living in a hotel). But alas, December came and with it the news that the bank had reject the sale for the third time and that was that. It was not going to happen.

That night Matt and I broke open the bottle of sparkling cider (heck, I even made some creme brule to go with it).  We toasted to our new home. The one we were sitting in.

There once was a man and his name was Isaac. He lived in such poverty that again and again he went to bed hungry. One night he had a dream. In his dream, a voice told him to go to the capital city and look for a treasure under the bridge by the Royal Palace. "It is only a dream," he thought when he woke up, and he paid no attention to it. The dream came back a second time, he said, "Maybe it's true," and so he set out on his journey. Now and then, someone gave him a ride, but most of the way he walked. He walked through forests. He crossed over mountains. Finally he reached the capital city. But when he came to the bridge by the Royal Palace, he found that it was guarded day and night. He did not dare to search for the treasure. Yet he returned  to the bridge every morning and wandered around it until dark. One day, the captain of the guards asked him, "Why are you here?"Isaac told him the dream. The captain laughed, "You poor fellow," he said, "what a pity you wore your shoes out for a dream! Listen, if I believed a dream I once had, I would go right now to the city you came from, and look for a treasure under the stove in the house of a fellow named Isaac." And he laughed again. Isaac bowed to the captain and started on his long way home. He crossed over mountains. At last, he reached his own town. When he got home, he dug under his stove, and there he found the treasure. In thanksgiving, he built a house of prayer, and in one of its corners he put an inscription: Sometimes one must travel far to discover what is near. Isaac sent the captain of the guards a priceless ruby. And for the rest of his days he in lived in contentment and never was poor again.

In addition to this, I have learned some valuable lessons:

• TIMING is important. 

• The Lord LOVES me enough to not give me everything I want.

•  The power of HOPE can not be underestimated.

• Another thing; even though Matt swears up and down that he does NOT mind the commute, the kids are still concerned for him. I was so touched at the girls response when I told them we would be staying in our house for now. They said with genuine worry and concern, "So Dad is just going to keep making that long drive?" Their concern was immediately on him instead of celebrating that they would be with their friends. I have so much to be GRATEFUL for.

Cheers.

Faith in the Wind (Fall 2011)

I was perched on the counter cleaning a light fixture in the kitchen this fall while the kids had PBS on. They were watching Cat in the Hat. He asked the kids, "Can you see the wind?" They answered, "No." He then asked, "Then how do you know it is there?" They thought before answering, "Because things move." Something whispered to me then, "Can you see Faith?" No. "Then how do you know it's there?" Because things move. People move. As I thought about it, I realized it is because of my faith in Jesus Christ that I move. It is the reason I read my scriptures when I might not feel like it, why I forgive when it's hard, why I serve when it's out of my comfort zone. I look around me at family, friends, ward members, and even strangers, and I see people MOVE. This is also an example to me of their faith in Jesus Christ.

"And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever." Moroni 10: 7

These Young Women are Excellent

I thought it was cute that the girls introduced each other at Young Women in Excellence (Nov 2011). I kept their papers and asked for a copy of the pictures of my girls. You may call me a proud mama. 

The theme for the night was "The Treasure within You."

"I would like to introduce the treasure Mallerie Bocanegra. Some of her favorite things are peanut butter bars and the scripture Mosiah 2:17 which reads "And behold, I tell you these things that you may learn wisdom; that you may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." Some of her interests are cooking and laughing. Mallerie wants to be a Beautician when she grows up.
For her project she is helping Savannah Gordon with her Aspergers syndrome. Some of the things she did with her are coloring, cleaning, taking walks, and talking with her. Her project is under the value Knowledge."

"I would like to introduce the treasure Katrina Bocanegra. Her favorite school subjects are English, Spanish, and Seminary. Her favorite holiday is Christmas time. Some of her interests are reading and writing. She was born in Orem and wants to be a psychologist when she grows up.
For her project Katrina taught adults who speak Spanish and French to speak English at the Alternative High School on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. She had conversations with them, read with them, reviewed flashcards and did other activities with them. She said that she had fun getting to know the students and helping them learn. Her project is under the value Individual Worth."

Now for some side notes from Mom: 
Mallerie had activities planned each time she went and worked with Savannah. For example, they made homemade applesauce for Johnny Appleseed day. There was another girl in her class that totally joined in on the project and showed up whenever Mallerie was there. She also counted this as her 10 hour project. To borrow a phrase from Matt, this girl was "gravy training on Mallerie's project." I shouldn't even be saying that when here it was a YW CHURCH project. So forget I even mentioned it. On the other hand, no never mind, I never mentioned it. PS: Grrrrrr.


Katrina was chuckling one evening when I picked her up after working with the ESL students. She reminded me of that part in Three Amigos where the bar tender tries to say, "Smile, smile" but instead it comes out as, "`e-smile, `e-smile." She said that  Smile was one of the words she was working with the students on that night. When she held up the flash card she said, "Smile." The guy repeated back, "`esmile." It made both of us `esmile.