Mather Family Party

Tonight was the night of the annual Mather Family Christmas party. Since I work in the daytime anyway, this was perfect for me. 

Aside from a nuthouse at work (I'm used to the Christmas crowds but they never cease to amaze me; everybody wants everything all at once) and getting briefly lost on the way, not to mention narrowly avoiding a wreck because another car ran a red light, it was fairly smooth sailing. We had a great time seeing everybody, with plenty of hugs to go around, and the food was delicious.

Good news for Mom, too: she's making excellent progress on her diabetes, to the point where the doctors are going to try to ease her off insulin (she'll still need to take special medication and watch her blood sugar) and it's possible her diabetes could be reversed altogether. I'm well aware that reversed diabetes is not the same as cured diabetes, but knowing the doctors are happy with what they're seeing is very heartening indeed. Goes to show healthy habits do pay off.

Layton Park Lights

Had a fun little outing with family tonight. As the title denotes, we went to the Layton Park to see the official lighting ceremony, and there was a little concert while we were there. 

We met up with Christine and Joel and their kids, and we strolled around the park together. Josh got lost for a bit but luckily we found him safe and sound, and I kept a gentle grip on Spencer’s hand the whole time. I also held Lucas’s hand to keep him from wandering off. Those little tykes can be very fast and stealthy when they want to be. 

We stopped by Chick-fil-A on the way home, because it was getting late, Mom was tired, and groceries were a bit low. Besides, we love Chick-fil-A; it's delicious, not too expensive, and luckily for Mom, it's diabetic-friendly. The Spicy Chicken Deluxe is my personal favorite.

Happy Birthday, Mom

 Love and appreciate you so much!

President Oaks

 President Dallin H. Oaks

Farewell, President Nelson

An absolutely beautiful ceremony. The opening hymn was written by President Nelson himself and will be included in the upcoming hymn book. Special talks from one of his daughters, his only son, Sister Camille Johnson, President Holland and Eyring and Oaks. A special montage played over the closing hymn, “It is well with my soul.” I almost cried. 

First Temple Day

 Very nice, very warm and friendly environment. If only I could do this every day. 

Working in the Temple

This summer has been pretty dull for me. Aside from my mom's diabetic episode, my birthday, and the yearly trip to Snowbird, not much else has been going on lately.

Business at Kneaders is really bad (we tend to slow down in the summertime) and the cost of labor is high, or so I've heard, so everybody's hours have been dramatically cut. My last few paychecks have been puny, far below $50 when normally I earn $500 or so at a time. So I've had to borrow money from Mom and my siblings just to pay my insurance bills (too bad mandatory bills don't go away at times like these) and I must refrain from personal shopping. In a way, that's a blessing in disguise because I'm forced to be more frugal (though I never splurged like crazy) and I'm not tempted to buy junk food.

But I've struggled to figure out what to do with myself, how to make the most of all this free time. Sure, there's my art and writing, but I've also run into a bad creative slump. Even though it's been three years already, my confidence has taken a hard hit from that FanX flop and I wonder, as every aspiring artist does every now and again, whether I'm just wasting my time. 

I wish I had more friends my own age around here, a little more wherewithal to get out and about. 

So I talked to my bishop last week about the possibility of a calling. Bishop Matthews felt I might do better in the temple, so he put in a recommendation for me.

Today, it's been finalized: I'll be working in the laundry at the Layton Utah Temple every Friday from 1:00 to 5:15 PM. Since it's volunteer work, I won't be paid for this, but this'll give me something to do, a little more of a solid routine. Besides, they say the best way to help yourself is to help someone else, and what better place to serve than the Lord's House? I'm very fortunate there's a temple in my very own neighborhood. And the temple as a whole has been one of the few places I could go to really feel better when going through a rough patch. It sure helped after I lost Dad and my grandparents. In such a sacred place, death doesn't seem so permanent and my lost family members don't feel so far away; I can almost see them out of the corner of my eye. 

I'll admit, I was a little nervous going in today for that little interview, which I suppose is normal and it means I have the right attitude. But they were super-nice and made me feel right at home. All I really had to do was fill out a paper form and they had to take my picture and then I was set apart in a private room. That was it. Now I'm feeling rather excited and grateful for this opportunity. 

It also brings back memories of working in the Ogden Temple a few years ago, before I worked at WinCo Foods. Deseret Industries paid me to work in the cafeteria, and my experience there was quite pleasant for the most part. I liked the people enough to miss them when I left for good.

We'll see what happens with the laundry area in Layton. But I have great respect for janitorial work because somebody's got to keep the place (and the garments) nice and clean and fresh. 

President Russell M. Nelson has strongly encouraged us to go to the temple as often as possible. In my case, I'll get to go there on a weekly basis. Mom is very proud of me and I'm sure Dad is, too.

Well, here goes!