Moving Day

Today Jim and I wasted our precious day off moving. Well actually I worked a little before I started moving my things to my lovely aunt and uncle's home in Bothell. They have graciously took me in and I think it will be a good thing for sure as they are some of my favorite people in this world, not to mention I will be closer to Jim, Jobs, future mother-in-law whom I adore, and school. So ultimately it is a good thing.

I just think I get overwhelmed with moving and boy do I have a lot of books. Books everywhere. Which equals heavy stuff and many boxes. My dear friend Diana helped me out with a ton of boxes which I promptly filled with books and now need some more. The good thing is I have about a week to do it the bad news is I have to make another trip to Selah to storage to store all my stuff!

Jim helped me with all the big things with the services of my mother's big red van, aka Fire Engine. It got that name, not because it was red and big but because my sister in the seventh grade was mortified to be seen in it and one day when she was dropped off at school the van had been pulling a garden hose behind it dragging it the entire 5 miles to school.

Anyway, so I'm moving! Bitter and Sweet at the same time. I will miss my Aunt I live with now tremendously. Her cooking, her funny stories, and her all around funness. She will be missed but won't be too far away!

Just some lyrics I like!

Happy Holidays everyone! This is my favorite Christmas Hymn

Historical Note: This hymn was writ­ten dur­ing the Amer­i­can civil war, as re­flect­ed by the sense of des­pair in the next to last stan­za. Stan­zas 4-5 speak of the bat­tle, and are usual­ly omit­ted from hymn­als: The poetry of this renowned carol was crafted by the great American literary figure, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), in the midst of the American Civil War. On Christmas Day in 1863, Longfellow wrote the familiar lines in response to the horror of the bloody fratricidal conflict in general and to the personal tragedy of his son, Lieutenant Charles Appleton Longfellow, who was severely wounded in November 1862.

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound the carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn, the households born
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Witty vs. Funny

There are certain people in my life that bring out the funny in me. I don't know why but somehow around these people I am witty when usually people and myself included would not describe me as witty. However, these certain people also find me hilarious which is kind of funny to me because I'm not. I'm mostly surrounded by funny people which is the way it has always been. But when I get around Enrique (you know who you are), Jim my fiancee, Kyle F., Sara & Brady M., Karine W., or Chelsey S., we have a grand ole time laughing it up! Not to be confused with the word "fun." I am certainly fun! But Funny goes to my friends and relatives: Carren, Laura, Leah S., Mary, Kyle S., Graham, Kacey, Damon, Carly or Uncle Nate, just to name a few. And there are other people in which I am exactly the opposite, unfunny, as can be. Namely, when I am around my brother, sister-in-law, Uncle Nate, Dad, Tayler, Whitney. Oh wow, they are all family members! Perhaps, because they are all so witty and I just clam up and can't even crack a joke let alone tell one correctly. And then there is Jim. Jim always gets this surprised look on his face when I actually come up with something witty. Now I know people have different definitions of funny and I've been throwing "witty" out there too. I know I can be funny (mostly it is made up of people laughing at me and I'm okay with that) and it is very rare when I'm witty except when I am around those mentioned above. So to all the funny people out there I applaud your efforts. Keep making me laugh. I need it!

Miracle or Hard Work?

There is a cool story behind this bloom of an orchid. Four years ago my aunt went to Hawaii and smuggled this orchid plant back on the plane somehow. Each year she was telling it to bloom and each year it would refuse. Also with each passing year she was getting more annoyed and threatening to throw it out. But she didn't and now in the fourth and almost final year it has miraculously bloomed. That has got to be some faith or love to the plant who taunted her for four years. I for one would have kicked it to the curb long ago but no, my aunt, kept on believing that it would bloom. And bloom it has!

From my Dad!

Hayley, maybe you could forward this to those involved on my behalf.
____________________________________________________________

To my true friends,

This email is a hard line to draw. saying thank you is easy, admitting I need this kind of attention is not.

I have a bad habit of not sharing my faults, not even with myself. Although I know they show to everyone else.

In recent months, the realization that I could no longer continue my life by myself became real.

It was like a nagging pain that became noticeably worse every day. actually, every hour of every day.

Maybe everyone reaches this infamous place in their life. however, for me, it was unfamiliar territory.

In physics, nothing can stop the law of gravity.

As Emmylou so eloquently sang, "you keep on falling because their is no bottom". I was so there.

A place where every aspect of life was in a freefall. It is a terrifying place to find yourself. Still is.

That's when Hayley called suggesting a fast. Bless her heart. I didn't even tell her what was going on in my life.

So I thank her, and each of you for your thoughtful act on my behalf.

I love you all. I may be out of site and mind, but i think of you all more than you can imagine.

Right now I am truly grateful for your love and faith. Words cannot describe.

What a great gospel plan we have been given here on Earth.

Again, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Love,


Mathew

Seahawks Game

A few weeks ago Karen and Jim took Tayler and I to our first Seahawks game. Jim and Karen have 4 season tickets and so it was great fun to see all the regulars at the games. However, I was in so much shoulder pain and on so much drugs that still didn't even touch the pain that I tried to enjoy myself as best I could but seriously have never been in that much pain before...well in a long time anyway.

So we were playing Arizona and we just got creamed! So much so, that Karen and Jim both suggested we leave at the start of the 3rd quarter. Now, Karen and Jim are very much like me in that we don't leave early from games EVER, we stay and support out team. But we had been playing horribly and they were just sick to their stomachs about how terribly we were doing and I think they knew how much pain I was in by the evidence of tears on my face. So we said the next score by AZ and we are out and 5 seconds later that happened!

We still had lots of fun pregame! So here are some pics of that!

Tay Tay grows up

Here are some pictures of Tayler moving into her dorms at University of Washington! I felt special that I got to be the actual one moving her in. They put a "dork" flag on our car and everything, kind of like the dork dot you get when you go into the MTC. So after we moved her in to the tiniest dorm I ever saw and met Kim her cool roomate, we left and went to the LDS institute building and got her in a ward and everything! So as Tayler goes out into the world her two sisters will be right here in Seattle with her! Hurray!

A Fast for my Dad

Sunday I am asking for your strength and prayers for my dad. He lives alone and is going through some things right now and is desperately trying to get back on track. I've talked with him and offered that I post this on my blog so that we could hold a fast for him. He wasn't sure about the idea but I said the more the merrier and he agreed.

For some reason, next to prayer, fasting has always been my go to thing. For one, it gives us something to fast for on fast Sunday and two it just seems to have this power connected to it and I always feel the spirit stronger on those days. The fast will be held this Sunday, December 6th.

Please pray for him that he can have enough strength to get through this trying time and bounce forward from it. My dad has a lot of strength but it is always nice to have an extra push when you are starting something that seems very intimidating, especially with Satan lurking about.

I love you Dad!

Seattle Half Marathon Finisher!

So Sunday I walked a half marathon. I really don't know what I was thinking. I had trained for three months off and on, nothing spectacular. It was haunting me for months and I just dreaded it. But I had three goals, well two really. The first was to just finish it and trust me I really didn't think I would be able to. The second was to not get last or not be the last walker. Third, I actually did have a goal to walk twenty minute miles finishing with a four hour and twenty minute goal. Then I set another goal realistically giving me another hour! So to finish walking 13.1 miles in about five hours.

So here are some things I recall about the race (good and bad)

1. People were not cheering for me but rather the runners racing pass me and lapping me a second time. Obviously they are the hard core ones and I felt like an idiot a lot of the times just walking.

2. I distinctly remember on mile 5 thinking "why do people do these things?"

3. An old woman passing me on mile 10 with two canes! Yes that's right! Kind of funny now...or not.

4. Intense pain at mile 11 and seriously thought of quitting.

5. Jim coming to my rescue and walking the last half mile with me as I was limping in my right foot from mile 10 to mile 13. He knew I was about to lose it.

6. Jim knowing I could finish.

7. The cancer patients that we were raising funds for made me cry as they had their pictures posted along the route...or it could have been from pain.

8. The rush I got from people handing me water and gatorade and I would take it drink some squish the cup and throw it just like a true marathon expert.

9. The nice views of the men who would run past me with their shirts off (I'm being honest here)!

10. The adrenaline in the first 4 miles walking down fifth ave.

11. The sense of accomplishment I felt when crossing the finish line and getting my medal and beating my original goal time by ten minutes (four hours and ten minutes) despite not being able to walk today.

I now can answer my second observation question, "why do people do these things?" The feeling of doing it alone was great. Would I do it again? It was like that time I went to Punxatawney to see the Groundhog come out in Pennsylvania. Glad I did it, probably won't do it again for a long long time. But hey if you ask me to walk for a couple of hours with you I totally can! Six miles is cake now!

In all honesty, it was very hard to do all that mileage at once. I am glad I had Karen and Jim cheering me on, those two are hard core! My future Mother-in-Law ran it in two hours and forty-seven minutes. I won't give away her age but she is almost double my age. She's awesome! I was so glad Jim finished with me as I was limping and he just walked along knowing I could do it. My love for him quadrupled that day! At one point I called him up and said I am the last walker and then when he came and found me at the end he said there are tons of walkers behind you. BUt I was alone for the last 2 miles with no walkers in site...that is until Jim pointed them out behind me. Way behind me. I wasn't last! I finished it! And I finished it ten minutes under my ambitious goal! Though I am still dead two days later. :)

PS-the pics are scare of me because well I decided not to wear makeup! Sorry beware!