Proof that I have the best husband ever.

Thanks to everybody for a great birthday.  All the calls, emails, letters, packages, etc.  were awesome.  You guys are amazing.  

I was really happy all day yesterday.  Maybe it was the fact that I got to communicate with so many family members and old friends.

Last night rocked.  After work, Jeff and I went home, and to my surprise, the house what clean, the dishes were done, dinner was made, and there was a cake with twenty candles sitting on the stove.  I have an amazing and wonderful husband.  Jeff doesn't usually cook, but he made delicious fajitas.  Now that I know he has a hidden talent, we will be utilizing it more frequently.  :)

Funny that the best pictures here are the ones taken by Jeff, and not his photog major wife.  :)  My excuse is that the camera was running out of batteries.  

More pics from the story below

The wouldn't fit on the other one.

Walking on Air

This weekend has been one of the best up to date that I can remember.  

Friday night, I had the opportunity of filming the Homecoming Spectacular at BYU.  It is a concert featuring many of BYU's greatest choirs, dance groups, and bands.  The performance was marvelous, but afterwards, I got to do interviews with members of the audience as well as the performers.  The two most prominent people were LaVell Edwards (BYU's Star Football coach for 29 yrs) and, none other than Dallin H. Oaks, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. I can't tell you how bad I was shaking as I set up the camera for the shot, wanting to make sure everything was absolutely perfect.  He is so awesome - he even stayed a few moments after the interview and chatted with the reporter and I.  I was literally walking on air for a while afterwards.  

Saturday was REALLY busy for Jeff and I.  We started out the morning by going to the Provo temple.  It was great to be there again and get to feel the Spirit.  Afterwards, we went and visited my Grandma Wilkerson and played a few games of "Spite and Malice."  She is so fun to be with.  Grandma can really get an attitude when the cards are in front of her.  :)

After Grandma's we went to the BYU vs. New Mexico football game.  My cousin Susan had some tickets to the game that she couldn't use, so she gave them to us.  What's funny is that the week before, we were discussing how we would probably never go to a game unless someone gave us the tickets... now we had some and decided to go.  Becky (Jeff's sister) came with us.  This was our (mine and Becky's) first college football game.  It was an awesome time, and wasn't near as cold as everyone was saying it was supposed to be.  Jeff and I have decided that we actually kind of like football games now, so this may not be the last game we attend.  

After the game, (and lots of weaving through HEAVY traffic... sometimes it's best just to close your eyes when your husband is making illegal U-turns...) we came back to our apartment and watched a movie with some friends.   It was called Army of Shadows, if any of you want to check it out.   It's about the French resistance during WWII.  (Not recommended for little kids, and it's a pretty slow movie.  But, it's really good.)

Now, I have three large art projects and a Doctrine and Covenants test to finish.   

Isn't life grand?

Pet Sins

Everyone has their pet sins - those they would rather hold onto than give up for better things.  I was talking today to a girl I work with who has developed an addiction to coffee in the last couple years.  I commented to her that she should give it up, and she told me that there are some things in life that you want to get rid of or work on, but for her, this is not one of those things.  She said she likes it way too much to give it up.

For some reason, I didn't feel judgmental towards her; it simply made me think about the pet sins that I'm holding onto in my own life; things that I - in one sense - love more than God because I'm not willing to give them up for him.  The first thing that came to my mind is participation in the petty gossip and talking behind people's backs that sometimes happens around me (or that I instigate) and that I sometimes participate in.  I know God isn't pleased when I do this, yet I still continue to do it.  Sometimes it's fun to make fun of people - especially if they are different from you and you feel (hopefully in your subconscious) that you will make yourself seem better by doing it.  

I challenge everyone who is reading this to think of one aspect of their lives that they would like to improve upon, and then do it.  I'm going to strive to stop gossiping.  What are you going to give up in order to know Christ better?

First Charcoal Drawing

Not bad for a beginner, huh?  :)  No... I'm plugging along.  It is getting easier the more I do it though.  On this drawing, I was supposed to focus on line quality, and not do any shading.  

 Jeff and I are still doing well.  We are finishing up our first set of midterms this week.  So we will be glad to get that behind us.  

We had some friends over for the Sunday morning session of General Conference (wasn't it awesome?!), then had a yummy lunch of bbq'd chicken sandwiches afterwards.  (Crockpots are amazing.)  It's fun hanging out with old buddies again and making new acquaintances.  Sometimes I think we believe we're too old to do that, and that any friends we make will only be in our lives for a short time before they leave us just like everyone else.  I had that mindset for a long time.  I didn't feel like getting attached to new people I met because I didn't see any value in it.  They were like a fleeting thought to me.  Why get close to someone I'm never going to see again?  

I have since changed my views, however.  I decided that every person has infinite worth and is worth my time.  With this attitude, it makes it a lot easier to get close to people without the fear of loss.  They can impact who you are for good, and even if you never see them again in this life, I believe there will be a glorious reunion in the next. 

Star Players

Jeff and I have taken up tennis as our new form of recreation.  We've played the last two nights and are starting to get the hang of it.  Of course, we've mostly been giving each other lobs, but who cares?  You have to start somewhere right?  

Thank you Jerry and Shelley for the rackets and balls.  

The HBO series John Adams is a highly recommendable show.  Jeff and I rented it from Blockbuster.  All those political science junkies and those interested in the founding of our country should check it out.  I'm not sure if all the events are factual, but it gives a cool new perspective on the our country's history.  I don't know if I'd watch it with little kids though...

We're finally almost moved into our apartment.  We just need to find a place to put our clothes and we should be gold.  I can't wait to get into our permanent ward and get a calling.  Being a transient isn't really as fun as it sounds. :)

For all of you who think drawing is fun...

Can you tell i made him take this picture with me?

These beginning level Visual Arts classes seriously make me question why I was ever accepted into this program in the first place.  I can't tell you how frustrating it is to work very hard on a drawing, bring it to a teacher, and have them hem and haw for a few moments, fishing for something... ANYTHING good to say about it.  It doesn't help when you sit at a table with a bunch of illustration majors...

That has essentially been my life for the past two weeks.  Some people write papers, I draw.  I'm beginning to wonder if the former option is preferable.  Drawing has become to me a personal kind of hell.  Jeff and I learned yesterday in Doctrine and Covenants class that one type of hell is the hell that is for the telestial beings from the moment they die until they go to the telestial kingdom.  It is a place for learning - spirit prison - and it has an end.  So, drawing = hell.  Or at least hell in one sense of the word.  

But it's all good.  If I can get through this, I'll be able to finally start taking classes I like, such as those dealing with photography.  

On top of all this, I'm working 3 nights a week from 5-10pm and 2 hours on the other 2 days.  :) It's an interesting system, because I sit in a room in the Joseph F. Smith bldg. called "The Dungeon" and wait for a reporter to call schedule me to shoot something for them.  If no one calls, I can do homework.  And lately, (even though it's probably not kosher), Jeff has been coming and hanging out with me so it's not such a bore.  

Jeff is doing well.  He is getting some GEs out of the way and is trying to decide which career he wants to pursue.  He took a career placement test that is making him question whether or not engineering is the job for him, so we'll see.  He's thinking of throwing in the towel and becoming a professional chess player.

School is stressful and fun and uplifting all at the same time and it encompasses our entire lives.  

peace for now.