Thank You, UEA

I've had Monday and Tuesday off because of UEA, and it has been SO nice!! I have absolutely loved it. I have cleaned, organized, read, watched the neighbors' kids, gone to the temple, gone running, worked with Q* (the little boy with autism I do floortime with), talked to friends on the phone, and been visit taught. I love having all this time to do whatever I want! And it's nice to have energy throughout the day--usually by 3 or 4 I am just exhausted on a work day. Thank you, UEA, it's been a wonderful treat!

Best Bro

I love how Adam can make me laugh like this. He's pretty much the best brother in the whole world. I love you Adam!!

Best Weekend

Last weekend was so wonderful!!! And why? Because Mom and Dad came to visit! I have the best parents ever. They are so fun, kind, understanding, giving, and funny. Here are all the great things we did together:

Thursday night they arrived and we chatted and had a nice dinner at our house (which my mom cooked for us) and then played games and watched the Red Sox/Indians game.

Friday morning my mom gave me a haircut.

Friday night we hung out with the P* crew in Springville. It was so fun to be with them! They are just the funniest people and I love them so much! We had a delicious potluck dinner and my parents hired an amazing balloon-making/magician guy to come and entertain the kids for part of the night. I think I was just as entertained as the kids were! It was a really fun night.

After the P* get-together we (Mom, Dad, Adam, Jessie, Chad, and me) went to Adam's apartment and played Catch Phrase. So fun! That game is always a bunch of laughs.

Saturday morning my parents, Adam, Chad, and I went to the Provo temple together. It was a really special time because: a) the temple is just an amazing place, b) it was the temple my parents went to a lot in their first years of marriage, and c) it has been my temple for the last few years (I did baptisms for the dead there almost every week while at BYU) and I finally was able to do an endowment session in it! All those years of waiting to be endowed were definitely worth it.

After the temple we went to see the new BYU alumni building, ate at the BYU Creamery together, and then we went to the BYU football game!! It was so fun because we were all bundled up to stay warm, because it was really cold and rainy. And then in the fourth quarter it started SNOWING really a lot, and so we left a little early. They beat Eastern Washington 42-7. Go Cougs! It was my first BYU football game in three years, and it was definitely as fun as ever!

After the game we had a H* family get-together at Alan and Koleen's. We ate, talked, and watched football games on their really nice television. Alan and Koleen have such a nice home and it was so good to be together. I love my family so much!!! I cannot say enough good things about them.

I am so glad I was able to have such a wonderful weekend. I love my family and am so grateful for them! Thanks, Mom and Dad, for everything!!

P.S. Thanks, Chad, for dropping out of your tennis tournament so you could be there for all the family functions! And thanks, Jon, for filling in for Chad so he could join us!

This Month's Book Club Book is...

Book of a Thousand Days, by Shannon Hale. I really liked it! It's a fantasy book about a princess's maid. It's just delightful. At first I thought it was just a fun story, but as I got into it and after finishing it, I realized the story and characters have so many wonderful deeper meanings. I finished it two weeks ago, and I am still thinking about it! Shannon Hale also wrote The Goose Girl, which I think some of you may have heard of or read. One of my book club friends said the plot lines of those two books are very similar. But I would really recommend it, even if you have read The Goose Girl!

The Seasons of my Memories

People have asked me a few times if I've missed BYU since graduating. And to be completely honest, I haven't really thought about BYU much. But I can tell you two things I do miss and have thought about a lot: ballroom dancing and Romania. I miss these two things so much!

Recently, I have been thinking about Romania a lot! I'd say I think about Romania at least once a day. I think the reason I think about Romania and not BYU is because of what season it is. It's funny, because some time in August or September, I remember thinking, "I think about Romania a lot, but I only think about the first month or so of Romania, when it was hot. I have to remind myself that it was really cold for a lot of the time that I was there! I wonder why I'm forgetting how cold it was in Romania!" But in the last few weeks as it's cooled down a bit here in Utah, all the memories I think of from Romania are ones where it is cool or cold outside! I remember the leaves falling as we walked to the orphanage, layering up before going to bed so I wouldn't freeze in our unheated apartment, being at the hospital when it was dark outside because it got dark so early, running in the cold in the early morning before going to the orphanage...

I think of the kids I visited at this time of year--Vasile, Ramona, Octavian (the fat Octavian, after his mom visited him for a week or so--not the skinny Octavian we knew the first month of the semester). I think of being with the kids inside the orphanage or being with them for just a few minutes outside as they were totally bundled up in their coats and hats. Oh, how I ache to be able to see those kids again! Paula, Ana, Paul, Niculina, Adina... I pray that the Lord will keep them safe from harm, and help them to feel happiness in their hearts of gold.

And a couple weeks ago while we were on our National Parks trip, I kept thinking, "This trip is like Budapest! It's such a relief to be away from everything for a while! It's so rejuvenating." Oh how I loved Budapest! Every time it rains I think of Budapest, because it rained a lot while we were there. I want to go back to Budapest and Iasi so badly.

Our National Parks trip also made me think about London. All the driving we did reminded me of traveling around in our coaches around England. I love to travel!

So, I apologize for the ramblings, but the point of this post is to remark on how big of an impact the weather has on what I think about and what memories come to my mind. I bet by next spring I won't be thinking of Romania as much, but will think about BYU and how much I loved the campus and Y Mount and such.

Beat Voldemort!

I have to tell you something that I think is so funny. Like I mentioned in my last post, Chad and I read Harry Potter #6 during our roadtrip last week, and then Chad ran the St. George Marathon on Saturday. Well, Friday night I dreamt all night about needing to get to Voldemort and beat him and overcome him. And when Chad woke me up super early on Saturday morning to tell me good-bye before he went off to the marathon, I wanted to say something inspiring, and all I could think of to say was, "Chad, beat Voldemort." And then I went back to sleep. At the time I thought it was a very encouraging and inspiring thing to say, but after I woke up later that morning, I remembered what I had said and laughed at how ridiculous it must have sounded to Chad. And then this morning when Chad woke me up to say good-bye to me before going to work, he said, "Abbi, I'm leaving to go slay Voldemort." Haha. I thought that was so funny.

P.S. We bought the Seventh Harry Potter book and I can't wait to read it! I'll let you know when I finish it.

National Parks Trip

Chad and I just got back from our third honeymoon (first--Hawaii, second--Ruth Lake). We had such a good time! It was just the happiest trip. Over the last week we visited:

Dead Horse Point State Park
Canyonlands National Park (Island in the Sky and Needles sections)
Arches National Park
Comb Ridge
Natural Bridges National Monument
Hovenweep National Monument
Mesa Verde National Park
The North Rim of the Grand Canyon
and Zion National Park.

We saw the most beautiful things at all these places. We camped two nights, stayed in a motel three nights, and stayed at family's houses three nights. I read Harry Potter #6 while Chad drove (we finished it right before we got home!). We hit mile 111,111 on the Civic. We went on some really fun hikes, and I was able to improve my hiking and scrambling skills. I also had a chance to "exercise my fear of heights," as our guide for the Balcony House hike at Mesa Verde so rightly said. Everywhere we drove seemed to be so beautiful, either with brilliant yellow fall leaves, majestic rock formations, evergreen trees, red rock cliffs, etc. On Friday we went sight-seeing in St. George, and yesterday Chad ran the St. George Marathon. He ran it with Jon, Caytee, Carrie, and Carrie's brother-in-law Lance. They all did such a good job and I am so proud of all of them. And then last night and today we enjoyed with Chad's family in Parowan--watching great football games and wonderful General Conference.

Oh, it was just too good to be true, and I will treasure the memories from this trip for a long time. I don't have time to post pictures now, but I will later. I love to travel, and it was so great to travel to some pretty spectacular places so close to where we live. I am so grateful that I was able to experience this most heavenly time with my favorite person. Thanks Chad, for all the work you did in preparing for this trip!