Feels Like Home To Me!

We had another winter storm come through yesterday, but this one was a little more then the last. Daniel's school was canceled, which I was very happy about. There had been mention of freezing rain and snow. It wasn't the snow that scared me, but all that freezing rain. The temperatures had dropped really fast, and I knew the roads would be bad. And with the way people drive in Memphis, I was glad he didn't have to go out in it. They also canceled church for tomorrow, so it looks like we don't have to go anywhere in this weather. I don't know if Memphis knows how to clear a layer of ice off the roads. And with the temperatures in the 20's, I don't think it is going to melt any time soon.

Well, this morning I woke up, and looked out the window to see what had happened over night. I got so excited to see all the snow and ice on the ground. It felt like home again. Like we were back in Rexburg. I made Daniel come outside with me, and we took some great pictures of all the ice. It's really pretty to look at, but I'm glad we don't have to drive in it.

This just shows how thick the ice was on the road. CRAZY!!

The railing leading to the parking lot from our apartment. I just can't get over the ice!!

The trees behind our apartment looked so pretty. The ice is so clear, and it makes the tree look like it is sparkling.

Farewell Poppy

Monday morning I woke up, and as usuall, went to check on our pet rat, Poppy. He was getting really old, and we've noticed how he hasn't been moving around very easily. He used to be very energetic, and the moment he heard anyone walk into the room he would run out his cage and look to see what was going on. He mostly was hoping for a treat. When we let him out, he would just run and hop around all excited. Lately though, you would have to make a lot of noise by his cage to get him to poke his head out. He wasn't able to climb the stairs to his food, so we had to bring it down to him. So for the fast few weeks we have been thinking he probably wouldn't be around much longer. and Monday morning when I went to check on him, he didn't come out his home, and we knew he was gone.

He was a really good rat, and a fantastic first pet for us. We are going to miss him. Farewell Poppy!!

Why am I awake at 3am??

Last night i was awoken by a sharp jab in the back, followed by a flash of light. Then I heard a desperate voice telling me to get out of bed. I crawled out of bed still half asleep, then slumped myself on the ground against the wall. It took a few seconds before I understood what was happening.
Daniel had felt something crawl across his chest, and quickly moved to turn on his light, jabbing me in the back in the process. As he turned on his light, he realized it was a huge spider and ended up knocking his light over and smashing the bulb. That's when he called out for me to get out of bed. I turned on my light, and helped him look for the spider. He went and got the flashlight so he could look in all the good hiding places around our bed. There was no spider in sight, so I asked if he might have just dreamed it. Then he became a little unsure of himself. I told him that there was no way I was going to get back into bed, unless he finds that spider. After another 20 minutes, we were both so exhausted that we just climbed back into bed and fell asleep, dreaming about spiders.

Naartjies

Growing up, I always looked forward to the winter seasons. That is when my favorite fruit came out. Oranges. My mother would by oranges by the bulk, and they would never go bad, because I loved oranges. I love the sweetness mixed with a little tart, the delicious smell it lets out when you break the skin, and the refreshing taste it leaves in your mouth when you are done. When I moved to the states, nothing changed. As soon as they were out in the store, I was there filling my shopping cart.

About a month ago, I was in Missouri with my mother-in-law, and she bought a box of clementines. In South Africa, we call them Naartjies. I can't even remember the last time I had one of those. Anyway, I am sad to say that I have now switched over. Out with the old, and in with the new. How can anyone resist a juicy, sweet clementine. They are a million times easier to peel, and are the perfect snack. Since I first tried them a month ago, we have bought 3 boxes. I just ate the last one, so I don't know what Daniel will say when he gets home. Oops! So if you haven't had one yet this year, get out and bye some.

Actions of Love

Every second Wednesday of the month, Daniel doesn't have classes. He planned on using those days to work as many hours as possible. Today however, he decided to stay home with me. I was so excited to be able to spend the day with my husband in the middle of the week. We slept in, went and watch Avatar in 3-D, went out to Baskin Robins, then rented Star Trek and cuddled on the couch. It was a great day.

I know my husband loves me, and would do just about anything for me. The reason why I know that, is the little actions of love that he shows me every day. When he dances with me in the kitchen, gives me a back rub, runs me a bubble bath, sends me an email to tell me about his day or sending me a text just to say hi. It would be hard for me to know how he feels, if he never ever showed it to me. I am so blessed to be married to someone who shows me everyday how much he loves me, by the little things he does.

Back to Basics

This past Sunday, we started our lessons from the new Gospel Principles manual. The week before, it was introduced to us, and I have been so excited about learning from the new manual.

The teacher started teaching, and we had a little discussion going. Then quoting from Genesis 1: 26-27, she read He made man in His own image to be a ruler over His other creations. At that point, a non member (who has been coming to church for the past 3 weeks) rose her hand and asked what it meant when it said that we were made in His image. Noticing that the teacher was caught off guard and a little speechless, the Relief Society President went on to explain, how we believe that God has a body of flesh and bone, His body has been perfected just like ours one day will, and that He is real enough for us to hug Him.
The look on the investigators face was priceless. She had never before thought that God had a body, and that He was a person. She had always thought of Him as some void out there. The Spirit in that room was so powerful as many other sisters started sharing their testimonies of God and Christ.

As I walked out of the room at the end of church, I thought about the investigators question a lot. Growing up in the church, I take for granted the simple things I know. Knowing that there are people out there who really don't know even the basics, makes me realize how much I take my testimony for granted. I know more then I thought I knew. I truly do feel blessed to have the knowledge I have from being raised in the gospel. I am now even more excited for next weeks lesson. I really like that we are going back to basics.

Winter Storm

For the past few days, the weather has been awful. The temperature has been in the teens, so it has been bitterly cold. There have been signs posted around our apartment to allow our faucets to drip during the night, and all over the news there has been talk of a terrible winter storm coming. The county has tried very hard to make sure that we are all prepared for the winter storm.

Well, today it hit. An inch of snow on the ground. All the schools were closed, and Daniel's school was delayed 2 hours. The snow ploughs were out early this morning ploughing away at the inch of snow.
I could not believe it. After living in Rexburg for 4 years, I know what a real snow fall is, and here they are canceling school over an inch. It just blows my mind, but I guess that's Memphis for you.

Oh! Laundry

The last day of the year, we decided to spend it doing laundry. We had built up quit a bit these past few weeks while enjoying the holidays, and decided it was about time for clean clothes (Not that we were wearing dirty ones). Daniel goes back to school next Monday, and I wanted to make sure all his favorite shirts were clean.

It's a good thing we were planning on staying up past midnight to ring in the New Year, because we needed it. I ended up doing 8 loads of laundry, which also included all our sets of bedding and towels. We spent the day watching movies, while Daniel folded and I ironed as each load came out the dryer.

24 shirts, 3 pairs of pants and 3 skirts later, I was done. This may sound weird, but it was actually fun. It was nice that Daniel and I did it together, and it felt like such an accomplishment to have it all done at one time (Usually I just do small loads now and then).

And there's nothing quite like crawling in between clean sheets and blankets after a long day!