A Picture a Day

I just had this fun idea to take a picture every day of mine and Brenden's first year of marriage.  I've been wanting to do this picture a day project for quite awhile now and even started in 2009 but then failed.  Maybe I'll have enough motivation this time because it will actually be more meaningful than just snapping random pictures to document my year.  It will be our first year together!
 
Our wedding day is less than two months away!  This also means this fall semester is quickly coming to a close.  There is so much to do!

This was taken at a session of October General Conference.  This boy is so cute.

 

Hello Friends

Well here's the news!

We took engagement pictures yesterday and it was fun Fun FUN!

Actually it was great. We took some casual-ish pictures in Springfieldvilleland and then went to the hilly forests for a more formal shooting. And then we threw on our amazing sweaters FTW. My sweater bore two rampant moose upon a field of green and Natalie had some lovely snowflakes.

After the photoshoot we were insanely thirsty so we made a stop at Sonic. It was the best Sonic experience ever.

Then we went to a concert in SLC - the Yellowjackets @ the Sheraton. We sat in the front by the speakers and I temporarily lost a little hearing in my right ear. But it was totally worth it. These guys were all monsters. I highly recommend this concert series.

Also Natalie purchased her wedding dress last weekend. We can't post any pictures of that here though, because I'm not supposed to see her in her wedding dress until the day before the wedding when we take pictures. If you'd like to see the dress, email Natalie.

~Brenden

My ring!

Here's a picture of my ring!  I realize the picture is kind of awkward.  But there it is!

Seattle

It's at times like right now when I'm incredibly stressed out about school and work and wedding planning (but mostly school and work) that I miss times like this:

Golden Gardens Park in Seattle, Washington

I snapped this photo at one of our bonfire nights.  I don't know who the people are in this photo but they were great silhouettes!  Even though the sand was grainy and colored my feet gray and the water was too cold for me to do anything but wade, Golden Gardens will always be one of my favorite places in Seattle.

Temple

Just a quick post before I go to bed because I cannot contain my excitement and joy about the newly announced Urdaneta Philippines Temple! 

Urdaneta is the closest large city to Villasis, my mother's hometown.  I remember going to the grocery store in Urdaneta when my family last visited the Philippines!  (I liked going to the grocery store while we stayed in Villasis because it was one of my only opportunities for air conditioning as well as flushing toilets.) 

I am so grateful for the faithfulness of the church members there.  They are such beautiful and humble people and they need the blessings of a temple just as much as anyone.  I think of the proximity of the Provo Temple and the Houston Temple (when I'm at home) and wonder just why I was so blessed to live where I have lived and always have a temple nearby and transportation to make the travel easy.  Even though Manila (where the nearest temple is currently located) is only a little over 110 miles from Urdaneta, I'm sure many of the Saints in the Pangasinan province (where Urdaneta and Villasis are located) do not have the means to travel to Manila.  The blessings of a temple in Urdaneta will be innumerable.

These are images of the two temples already in operation- Manila and Cebu City (which was just dedicated this year!)  The Manila Temple District actually includes many stakes and districts in the Philippines as well as Guam and Micronesia.  These are beautiful edifices. 

Manila Philippines Temple 

Cebu City Philippines Temple

I vaguely remember my first trip to the Philippines (being scared of a boat in Baguio and getting a yarn marionette) but what I experienced from my last trip instilled in me an intense love of that country and the people.  The deep emotional ties I have to that country cannot be explained (I don't even understand them.)  When I learned of the announcement of the Urdaneta Temple, tears of gratitude and joy came to my eyes almost immediately.  (Note:  I have a tendency to cry about happy things including but not limited to: sweet elderly couples, small children and babies, and a lot of stories in General Conference talks.)  I can't explain my joy and excitement about this announcement.        

We still have family in Villasis whom I hope to visit again someday.  I want to take Brenden to the Philippines to see the beauty of that land and experience the generosity of those people.  I love the Philippines so much.  Brenden and I will go there someday.  We will visit the Urdaneta Temple and take part in the blessings that so many Filipinos will soon have access to.

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To learn more about Latter-Day Saint Temple worship and why temple building means so much to me, watch this short video and check out this website.