Engagement Photos...

Graham and I kissed a lot yesterday...but we're not to blame. Our photographer told us to. :)

We were originally scheduled to have engagement photos taken by Tara Butler of Tara B Photography today (Saturday), but the weather forecast of thunderstorms and rain for the next five days straight, beginning this morning, led to rescheduling a last minute shoot for last night. Graham and I both rushed home from work, changed clothes and booked it down to Alpine where Tara and her wonderful assistant (her husband) spent an hour getting some fun shots of us in the fall leaves. She just posted a sneak peak on her blog for any who are interested in looking, and I'll get all the pictures back in a week or two so we can choose one for our announcement.

Graham kept saying he'd never had so many pictures taken of him in his LIFE, and I kept laughing at his funny faces and comments (as is evident in the pictures on Tara's blog).

What a fun experience!

It's a Love Story

Many people have asked to hear the story of the proposal...so, here it is in detail. For those of you who want the short version, ask Graham. I don't do short, as you already know if you know me well enough to be checking my blog in the first place. :)

Graham and I met last September, and we have been dating exclusively since December. Finally, in the last couple of weeks, we both began to feel that the time was right to move forward in our relationship. We had joked (sort of) about the idea of getting married for awhile, but we began talking in earnest and decided that we were ready to seriously consider whether this wonderful relationship is the one we wanted to choose for eternity.

Needless to say, the next Sunday, I handed him a note that said, "Here are a couple phone numbers that you may find convenient..." followed by my home phone number and my dad's cell number. After that, I didn't really know what to do. The ball was in his court. Sometimes I would begin to ask questions about what he was planning, but he asked me to be patient. I'm not very good at that, but I tried really hard to refrain from asking questions when he hinted about potential plans.

The next Sunday, Graham asked if I was busy Tuesday, and if not, would I like to go on a date with him. Of course I said yes, but I was a bit perplexed...were we going ring shopping, was he going to propose without a ring, had he already bought a ring (I really didn't think he would choose one without me)? I just didn't know. Monday, he told me we would be going out to dinner and to dress nice but also to bring clothes for hiking afterward. Well, that's a proposal date, if I've ever heard one! I thought. But how will he pull off the ring? I wondered.

Tuesday, I got all dolled up and Graham picked me up...looking dashing, of course. We drove downtown, and he took me to dinner at The Roof restaurant where a single red rose waited for me on the table. The food was divine, and our table had an amazing view of the Salt Lake Temple, which is gorgeous at night (and always)!

After dinner, we changed into jeans and hiked Ensign Peak (a short, 20 minute hike that overlooks the Salt Lake Valley). We stood at the top for a while, and I waited, wondering when he was going to propose, knowing that it was coming. Finally, he said, "Do you want to know why I love Ensign Peak?" The speech begins, I thought excitedly. He then unfolded a beautiful metaphor about how the pioneers came to the valley when it was barren and probably didn't look like much of a place to build a thriving community, but they relied on the promise of the prophet that the land would prosper if hey built under the colors of the ensign. He continued, explaining how our lives are like that as well. We, as a couple, know very little about what the future holds for us, but we also have the promise that if we build our relationship under the protection of the covenants that we make with the Lord, we will be amazed at what we are able to build in the end.

Following his speech, he got down on a knee, pulled out a ring, and proposed! I said yes, hugged him, and we both took a deep breath, realizing the significance of the agreement we had just made. I was nervous during all of the above, but I knew what I wanted and I have no doubt that life with Graham is a good decision. He will be a wonderful husband, friend, and father. I am excited to see what we build together!

We finished off the night by going home, calling my parents, and heading off to bed much too late but realizing that the events of the evening were well worth the lost sleep!

P.S. - This is a picture of the PHENOMENAL arrangement of flowers I found upon entering my bedroom after Graham left. What a finale!
P.P.S. - To hear Graham's version, which includes me getting hit by an owl on the way down from the mountain, read his blog post.

I SAID YES!

This is the official BLOG announcement that in two and a half months, I will officially be Mrs. Graham Harr.

WAHOO!

Do I look a bit giddy in the picture? Can you tell how tired Graham was? (he'd had a busy week planning the proposal.)

Stay tuned...I'll write the whole story soon!

Five years ago, while studying abroad in London, I came across this painting at the Tate Britain museum, and I fell in love:

Its title is simply, "Hope." It was painted by George Frederic Watts in 1897. It might not look like much to you, but allow me to explain why it has since become my favorite painting.

The image depicts a ragged young woman sitting on top of a dreary world playing a harp. Her clothes are tattered, her eyes are bandaged (suggesting that she is blind), and only one string remains intact on her instrument. She tenderly plucks it, head bent close, as if she can hardly hear anymore either. It is unclear what struggle this woman has faced that has brought her so low, but I am continually touched by her will to hold on to whatever beauty is left in her life, even if it is only a simple note from a harp.

I aspire to be like this woman--to remember to hold on when all else around me might seem dark. It is not a false dream of a better life; it is the anchor of a sure knowledge that there is beauty in all of life's experiences and that the Lord loves each of us. May I trust Him as much as he has trusted me. No matter what my future may bring, I will always cling to HOPE.

Choices

The other day, I was walking across my apartment complex, and I passed a group of young girls (probably ages 6-9) standing around by the playground. As I walked by, I caught a snippet of their conversation. It went something like this:

Girl #1: "Should we play on the swings first or go to the big hill?" (By the way, there are no big hills in my complex. I'm not sure what they were talking about).

Girl #2: "Maybe we should swing first, because we'll want to spend more time at the big hill."

Girl #3: "But that's boring!"

The debate was still going strong when I passed out of earshot. I had to smile as I thought of the dilemma of these young girls, and laughed to myself, thinking, "Oh, the decisions of a seven-year-old. They have no idea. If only life were still that simple."

Then I realized something: we often think of our current situation as being SO difficult, when in reality life has a tendency to continue offering more complex problems to solve as time goes on. Once we've gone through something, it's tempting to look back on others and over-simplify the difficulty of their decision.

But, here's the thing: our current situation IS difficult. It's only in hindsight, when we've mastered a particular skill set or solved a particular problem, that it seems "so simple." For those young girls, it was a big problem, and they are developing essential skills that they will build on for the rest of their lives. By the same token, each of us is faced with problems, decisions, and trials that equip us for the increasing complexity of life. So, here's to the small decisions that lead us to the big ones. May we embrace the learning process.

All the World's a Stage!

This week has been quite a whirlwind of theatrical enjoyment. I have seen 5 plays in 5 days! Whoa! That's a new record for me! I thought I'd share what I've seen and what I thought of each.

I started out the week by going down to the Cedar City Shakespeare Festival with my roommate, Emily. We saw three shows in two days: Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth, and Pride and Prejudice. I have wanted to go to the festival since I moved to Utah eight years ago, but this is the first opportunity that I've had. It was marvelous! One of the most fun parts for me was seeing the actors in multiple shows: Beatrice in Much Ado was also Lady Macbeth, and Macduff in Macbeth also played Mr. Darcy. There were tons of actors that crossed over between shows and it was a great reminder of how versatile actors have to be!

Much Ado About Nothing

Macbeth

Pride and Prejudice

Thursday, Graham asked me to accompany him to an Ernst and Young recruiting event, but when he came to pick me up, he said he needed to pick something up at his house and gave me an envelope with a "small gift" inside. As it turns out, it was a BIG gift: two tickets to see The Lion King which is on tour in SLC right now! I have wanted to see this show for years, but the tickets are always SO expensive and hard to get. So he whisked me off to a wonderful evening of fantastic costumes and music during which I think I wore out my smile! What a great surprise!

Friday, I came back to reality, but I still got to enjoy some good quality community theatre at Rogers Memorial Theater in Centerville. Some might think that a local production of The Music Man would be disappointing after such a stellar week, but I actually think that community theatre carries a lot of charm. It's not better OR worse than Broadway, it's just different. Actually, they did something really clever: at first, all the River City residents were dressed in black and white, but over the course of the play they added color to their costumes bit by bit. It was a really clever symbolic move.

All I can say is WAHOOO! What a week!

Why Punctuation Matters

School is just around the corner, and this will be the newest addition to my classroom decor.

A New Book to Love

Once and awhile, a book comes along that melts my heart and inspires my soul. The newest book on my heart-melting, soul-inspiring list is...Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Sommerset Sisters. It's a simple, YA read in the style of E.L. Konigsburg (of The Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler), and I loved it! A student of mine recommended it last year to me, and I finally got around to reading it this week. I am SO grateful for students with good taste in literature.

The story is about Cornelia Street Englehart, an eleven-year-old bookish girl living in New York City with her famous concert pianist mother. The novel follows the dual stories of Cornelia's life as well as the stories told to her by the eccentric lady who lives next door (with whom she forges an unlikely friendship). I would tell you more, but I hate it when people give too much information about a book. It's so much more fun to discover it yourself.

Instead, I'll just say this: it's a feast for the imagination that found me both laughing and crying by the end. In a word, it's simply CHARMING!

Bon Appetit!

Channeling My Grandmother's Talent

I had an adventure this week. I was a little nervous in the beginning, and somewhere in the middle I was wondering if everything was going to work out, but it did (as it always does) and I have have a new skill to show for my effort.

JAM!

My lovely sister Robyn has a HUGE apricot tree whose fruit has been calling to her for the past week. Since she's heading to Europe, she wanted to do something with the apricots (or at least some of them) before she left. Neither of us had ever made jam before, but we grew up enjoying the delectable sticky stuff my mother and grandmother made for us. So, we decided to try.

We spent the majority of the afternoon Wednesday buying supplies, picking fruit (hard work without a ladder), and making a complete mess of Robyn's kitchen.
Four hours, two tired girls, and three phone calls to Mom later (thanks for answering the phone repeatedly, Mom), we had sixteen successfully sealed jars of jam!
As we were stirring the sugary goo, trying to decide if it was at a "rolling boil" yet, we started talking about Grandma's blackberry jam that was always a special treat growing up. I like to think that Grandma was watching us in that moment, cheering us on as we stirred. We both took a moment to channel our inner Grandma Wright, and I guess it worked, because the jam turned out quite tasty!
P.S. - I got so excited about the jam that I made homemade wheat bread yesterday to go with it. Mmmm. Love fresh food. :)

Sunny California!

I'm back from California, and what a WONDERFUL trip it was. It was so good to relax for a few days and enjoy time with friends and family. Ann was a stellar hostess, and I even got to attend a yoga class she taught!

Here are some of the highlights:

*Watching the sea lions at Pier 39. There was one big bully who made the show quite entertaining.

*Trying to navigate the mirror maze at Pier 39. It's amazing how much you can think that a reflection of a person is the real deal. You can't tell the difference until you get really close. I'm pretty sure there is some profound gospel parallel in there somewhere, but I'll leave that for another time.

*Exploring the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Word of advice: wear short sleeves when going to the touch tanks if you don't want a wet sleeve all day. Oops. The bat rays feel cool though. :)
(This is a picture of a Sea Dragon. I know it looks like kelp, but it's an animal. I promise.)

* Going to the beach! Okay, so I never went to the sand, but Graham and I climbed around on the rocks at Lovers' Point Park, which was fun...and windy.

*Basking in the sun on Angel Island (the west coast's version of Ellis Island...I didn't even know it existed before now). It was a gorgeous day, and I was almost hot at some points. Brilliant!

There are more...like the pictures from going to see WICKED!!!! But I'll have to do a second installment after I get pictures from my friend Charron who came on the trip, too. Stay tuned...

A few more projects...

Here are some of my most recent creations:

A scripture case that fits everything I need!

And headbands galore!

I'm not sure what I'll make next, but I'm going to take a break for a few days because I'm heading to San Francisco tomorrow! Hooray for vacations!

Oh what do you do in the summertime?

Summer break is here, and I am finally getting the chance to work on some fun projects I've been wanting to do for awhile. I've lost count of how many times I've been to Michael's and JoAnn's in the last week, but I have some fun creations to show for the effort. I didn't really use patterns for once; I just experimented (which meant that it's a good thing my roommate owns a seam ripper). But, I'm happy with the results.

Here are some of my latest sewing projects!

Pillows for my bed. They make a great accent to the bold red (which you can't see).

An apron I made for my friend Katie who got married last weekend. I had a hard time parting with it though. Cute fabric that I found in the REMNANT bin! What a find!

A pin-cushion for my sewing. Little, but a fun use of scrap fabric.

Now I'm feeling so inspired. What else should I make?

Daddy's Girl

I am a self-proclaimed Daddy's girl.

As a child, I loved to watch out the front window, waiting for Dad to come home from work. I would meet him at the door, carry his briefcase to his room, and then insist on sitting on his lap after I finished my dinner while everyone talked about things that went way over my head. I didn't care; I was snuggling with my Daddy.

Still, every time I come home to visit, Dad has a huge hug waiting for me. There is safety and comfort in the embrace of a man who has sacrificed so much to make me happy. I can't hug him today, but, Dad, consider yourself hugged Annie-get-your-gun style hugged today!

On top of all the other talents I can attribute to my father, the best is that I give him credit (at least half credit) for creating the best family ever! We are a quirky hodgepodge of different personality types and interests, but it's clear to me that Heavenly Father knew what he was doing when he put us all together. One person's strengths compensates for another person's weakness, and everybody is successful because of the close ties we've created. I'm SOOO grateful for a family that can have so much fun and also support each other through the difficult times. It makes life a glorious, joyous experience.

I'm a Winner!

Important fact: I never win anything. I was always the kid in elementary school that went home with the consolation tootsie roll prize after rousing games of BINGO where other children got walkmen or free sodas or passes for free homework assignments.

This week, however, the fates turned in my favor. Here's how: I regularly read a blog called "Real Mom Kitchen" that is written by a woman who posts one new recipe each day. The cool thing about this blog is that her recipes are for food that people might actually want to eat and (better yet) for food you can find the ingredients for, rather than crazy gourmet stuff that most of us don't have the time to make, even if we could muster the inclination. Anyway, the blog is cool, so I read it. A few weeks ago, they had a giveaway for a "summer family fun pack". All you had to do to enter was comment on the post, so I did, not thinking anything of it, but figuring that I may as well try.

Lo and behold, the next week, I got an email from the blogger saying that I'd won! Wahoo! Here's what I got in the mail a week later:
Free movie passes and candy, Bees' baseball game tickets and t-shirts, Hogle Zoo tickets and stuffed elephants (so cute!), and a digital camera! Did I say WAHOO?!

I'm thoroughly enjoying my prizes and looking forward to having some free fun with friends this summer. In fact, I've already been enjoying the camera. Here are a few pictures I've taken of my summer adventures thus far (keep in mind, I've only had the camera for a week, so I don't have anything TOO exciting to document...yet).

Me at Red Butte Gardens enjoying a "small" rest.

View from Neff's canyon

View of Graham and me in Neff's canyon

A Daring Adventure

Helen Keller said, "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." Now, I don't think life is always supposed to be exhilarating and exciting; sometimes life is made up of simple, mundane days, but I think her point is that even the "regular" days come together to form the adventurous path that becomes a lifetime. Life is an adventure, and we need to treat it as such by looking for the lessons, the challenges, and pushing ourselves outside of our familiar world. Being adventurous and trying new things is part of the fun and is necessary to our growth.

This weekend, I definitely had an adventure! I went down to Arches National Park for a whirlwind tour of the red sandstone rock formations. I have lived in this state for almost 8 years now, and I had not yet been to ANY of the national parks. I thought it was long past time to remedy that.

We left Friday at 4:10 p.m. and got back at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday. In those 28 hours, we hiked more than we slept, and drove more than we hiked. While I would have liked more sleep, I was in awe at the beauty of the landscape and felt like a five-year-old on a jungle gym as I scrambled over the boulders and up the crevices of slot canyons. I think I am overall more of a fan of the green, tree-filled forests, but this red rock desert was beautiful and definitely worth the trip to see such a unique place.

Delicate Arch at 1 a.m.

The underside of the arch. I love the stars in the background and I love my sister's awesome camera for being able to capture this!

The "Fiery Furnace". In person, the rocks look brilliantly orange when the sun hits them.

Me climbing.

Yes, I did fit through that space. Crawling was my friend.

Really cool sandstone texture.

Don't you want to go have your own adventure now?

The Rising Generation

This week I was reminded of the power and strength of the rising generation. This topic has been rolling around in my head a lot lately, ever since April's General Conference, when I was struck by how much concern the leaders of the church showed for the youth. So many of the talks focused on how we can strengthen the youth of the church and prepare for the future.

The talks made me consider what I can do to contribute. I don't have my own kids (especially teenagers--yikes), but I do regularly see about 200 who come in and out of my classroom. Sometimes, as I stand in the hallway between class periods watching kids scream and run around, I worry about these kids. I know they face so many pressures, deal with so many problems, and are trying so hard to find their way through life. I wonder who they have to rely on, what belief systems they hold, and where they get the strength to make good decisions. As the school year winds down, I find myself reluctant to let them go. I imagine where they will be in ten years, and I hope they will be alright. I know most of them will turn out just fine, but I hope they don't suffer too much heartache along the way. Mostly, I try remember that each is a child of God who could use a little love. That's been my goal lately...to show a little more compassion and to nag a little bit less.

The second thing that has made me recently realize the strength of the rising generation is my association with a handful of teenage girls through a program called Generation S (the S stands for service). Several times a month, I go out with these girls to volunteer in the community. This week, we went to This is the Place State Park and laid stone walkways (really hard work, by the way). As I worked and talked with my cute girls, I was amazed by them. Sure they're hyper, loud, and sometimes quite silly. But they are also strong. They know who they are and have righteous desires. On the way home, they were talking about how they want to go on a humanitarian excursion for their senior trip. I was humbled that these girls would choose to spend their time and money helping others, rather than going on a cruise or somewhere else exotic. I had to admit, I hadn't thought of that at their age.

While I sometimes think I am the mentor, I am finding that I have much to learn from this rising generation.

Project French Bread

Each year that I've lived in my current ward, the Elder's quorum has put together a girls' appreciation night that has blown my socks off and made me feel so loved. This year's event took place on Saturday, and it definitely lived up to all previous years' efforts.

This year's feast was deemed "Project French Bread" and (contrary to what the name sounds like--they wanted to be misleading) was a Hawaiian Luau themed dinner complete with Kaleo's Coconut Tours, hula dancing, and a REAL roast pig. Yes, the boys spent all Friday night and Saturday slow roasting a whole pig at the house of one of the bishop's counselors. I'm not going to lie...seeing the pig was kind of gross, but it tasted good. (I was going to post a pig picture, but I just decided it's not very appealing. Just imagine.)


I'm so grateful to have men in my life that are willing to go to such lengths to make the women around them feel extra special for a day. I don't require grand overtures or fancy things, but it was nice to feel loved through their sacrifice for us. It's really the little things that make the difference for me, things like when a guy opens my door, offers his hand to step down off of a big rock when hiking, helps with the dishes after dinner, or simply asks how my day was and genuinely wants to know the answer. The small acts of service mean so much to me. So, cheers to all the blessed gentlemen that surround me. I appreciate you.

My Mother

I remember sitting at the sewing machine, set up on the card table in the family room, a few days before I left for college, trying to finish a quilt for my bed. My eyes were refusing to focus and I had a headache from all the hours I had spent working on it that day. I remember wondering how I would ever finish. As I gathered my courage and tried to convince myself to persevere, my mom came over and asked if I wanted some help sewing the rest of the squares together. It was such a relief in that moment. Could I have done it myself? Probably. But, that moment became a reminder to me that the Lord will send us help to finish whatever task is at hand when we feel like we've reached the end of our rope.

There are so many small moments like this that have stayed with me over the years. My mom always comes to my rescue when I need her most. She is amazing. She is one of the most capable people I have ever met. I'm not sure how she accomplishes everything that she does, but I am awed by her example. I am always proud to describe my mother when people ask about my family. I could fill hours talking about her community involvement, her intelligence, her amazing food, her creative writing style, her down-to-earth mentality, and so many other qualities. Beyond all of these visible talents, I am most grateful for those small moments when she has come to my aid or taught me by her Christlike example.

So, thank you for all the laughter, fun adventures, as well as the quiet moments that may not have seemed all that important at the time. They did matter. And even if it didn't seem like it, I was listening.

P.S. - I realize that this isn't a really "Mother's Day"-ish picture; it's more of an anniversary one, but this is one of my favorite pictures of my parents. They are so in love, even after almost 40 years. It's one of the great lessons I've learned from my mother over the years: it is possible to stay in love forever.

My sister, Ann, recently posted about a quilt that she made. It got me thinking about my own most recent project: a baby quilt that took approximately FOREVER to make, but was really fun. It was my first experiment with actually "quilting" rather than tying a quilt. This one went to my friend Katie for her little boy. It's an "I Spy" quilt inspired by my mother.

Like it? (Please say yes. If the answer is no, I don't want to hear it:).)



I love quilting. To me, it's magical to see seemingly meaningless bits of fabric come together to form a really cool, and useful, piece of art. As I sat staring at this quilt when I finished it, I couldn't help thinking that it's a lot like life: we go through seemingly trivial events of daily life, but somewhere along the line we begin to see how those pieces fit together and have turned into the masterpiece that is a human life. When I look back, I can see the the uneven stitches and imperfections of how my corners line up with each other. Sometimes, we even have to rip out seams all together and start over (not that I have EVER had to do that...ugh). But I can also see how the experiences of my life have come together to shape who I am today. So, even if my quilt is a little crooked, I'm grateful for the loving eyes that look past the minor imperfections to see the value of the whole product. And, I look forward to adding to my quilt. After a lot of work (and the help of the master creator) the masterpiece will be something pretty amazing to behold. In the meantime, it's still pretty nifty. :)

For the Love of the STAGE

A couple of weeks ago was my ward's talent show. Truthfully, I usually dread talent shows. I always feel like I should do something to be supportive, but I can never think of what to do, and it becomes stressful within the first few minutes of thinking about it, so I always just opt out...which is a bummer, really, because I actually LOVE to perform. I just don't always have tons of time to put into performing these days.

I'm the kind of person who needs a lot of support and encouragement in situations like this one. Thankfully, I have three ridiculous friends for roommates who fit the bill perfectly. We (much to my initial dismay) decided to do a lip sync/dance to "It's Raining Men" by The Weather Girls. We choreographed the whole thing in less than two hours on a random weeknight, and ran through it only a handful of times before performing, but I was so pleased with how it turned out! We had a ball coming up with the moves in our too-small living room, and we got a great reaction from the crowd as we hammed it up on stage. I LOVE the adrenaline of being in front of a crowd. All tiredness melts away with the applause and laughter of people you know and love cheering you on. Talk about roommate bonding!

Things I've Learned from My Big Sister

My sister, Ann, turned 37 last weekend. I was only seven years old when she moved out of the house, but as I've gotten older, we've become great friends. I don't even think about our age difference any more. She's been a great support to me over the years, as well as a great source of strength and knowledge. So, here's to Ann and all the things she's taught me:

*It is unacceptable to wear pink and red together, unless it's Valentine's Day. (Equally unacceptable are polka dots and stripes.)

*Alliteration can be used under any circumstances to liven up a dreary day. For example, Dancing in the Dining Room, Lounging in the Living Room, Cuddling in the Kitchen, etc.

*Cleaning corner by corner is the most efficient way to be sure your room is spic and span.

*Take time for yourself. Read, do yoga, or whatever makes your socks go up and down.

*You can drive for quite a while with fuel gauge on empty.

*Dancing is not just a hobby; it's a way of life.

*Follow your dreams, even if they lead through unknown paths.

...and the list goes on. Thanks, sis! I always know I can count on you for good advice and a listening ear.

March's Identity Crisis

Spring is finally here!...Or, is it? March is always a unique month in Utah. After a long, dreary winter for those of us Californians who can't stand the snow, the first hints at warmer weather appear. Finally, sunny days actually mean warmth (as opposed to January sun, which just means there are no clouds to insulate us, leading to deceptively COLD days).

Still, March is always indecisive. One day it might be warm (65 degrees is a heat wave here!), like last Friday, and the next day it could alternate between rain and snow for 12 hours straight (that was last Saturday). CRAZY.

They say that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, but in Utah, the lamb and the lion aren't doing a very good job at taking turns. Oh well. I'll rejoice in the sunny, warm days as they come, and remember on the cold days that their days are numbered.

The warmth is on it's way!