relearning home

what i feared would happen, happened: i came home from europe and gave up on blogging since my life was back to normal. i love my normal life, but honestly, it's just that=normal, and not worth blogging about. but i don't want to focus only on the extravagant that i forget the everyday.

coming back to america was an emotional thing for me. i had my hand over my heart when i landed on this sacred soil. we've been soaking up, or trying to, all that we love about home. 

since we've been back:

we pulled off, fantastically if i may say so, our best christmas surprise for our families. after getting delayed for two days because of a snowstorm in europe we made it back in time for christmas eve. both mothers were in tears. i've never missed my family, nor been so homesick, nor wished so badly to be back as i did while in belgium. christmas was at it's pinnacle this year.

we lived out of a suitcase for the first two weeks of being home because we couldn't leave family.

when we finally moved back home, we were certain our house was a mansion complete with carpet, closets, and a garage!

we went to the ballet.

we bought an $8 couch i'm attempting to reupholster.

we had the best donuts from here. trust me and just try the fritters.

we've driven to provo at least every week, usually more.

we have frequented redbox, wendy's, the mandarin, neighborhood walmart, cafe rio, guru's, and deseret book and took heart at all it's american glory:) yes, i'm proud.

we've been floored with the size of the mountains, the frequency of temples literally everywhere, and the joy we get from pronouncing produce.

we've seen friendly faces that truly make home, home.

we've finally, almost 18 months since moving in, unloaded every box in our townhome.

we've felt almost sick about the amount of stuff we have, but, admittedly we have taken a fancy for texting again, re-adored our sweet mac and lovable cars, gobbled up every appliance in my kitchen, and put to use my beloved nail polish and blow dryer.

we've had thumb wars frequently, rearranged our front living room, decided it's time for our bed to be refinished, spent lots of time with the youth in our ward, been in grateful awe that the sun comes out so often, and relish in the fact that everyone can understand us and we them.

here's to all the blessed, normal things about home.

recap with russo part 2

the lovely hotel we stayed in while at bruges. they had to extend their breakfast hours for us cause we slept in so late.

view from our window of the bed and breakfast.

frosted christmas wreaths for sale.

at the lovely christmas markets eating pasta.

beautiful brrrrrruges.

the reason why they call this place the venice of belgium.

russo's first belgian waffle.

we were the oldest people on the rink.

despite the looks of it, all our years of dancing paid off. we didn't fall once. devin on the other hand took a unashamedly graceful fall while trying to do a penche(ponche?) like michelle kwan.

grand place all festively decorated. it was freezing.

ice skating rink in the middle of the grand place. best thing we did.

russo is a kindred spirit to be sure. there is a special connection there that doesn't need describing, but i must say how grateful i am for her. her visit to the lovely belgie was timely and needed, she says for herself but i know it was more for me. thank heavens for angel friends.

recap with russo part 1

INTRO:

russo's first name is sarah, last is russo.  there were two sarah's at dance so we called her russo to differentiate. russo is three years my junior. we didn't go to high school together, but we may as well have been sisters. we spent more hours together than i did with my own brother. i was lucky enough to carpool with her my last year of dancing. it was awesome to play tour guide and show her around a country we came to adore. plus we had her there for the few days of holiday that we took while overseas, perfect. thank heavens for christmas break and sky miles. love you russo.

bruges belgium. heaven on earth. matching coats.

antwerp. kloosterstraat. cheesy picture in a million dollar store.

place de jeu du balle. 365 days outta the year flea market.

the king's palace. stunning russo.

brussel's best look-out point.

the one and only grand place. holiday styled. they even had a nativity.

 manniken piss. this was one of the few places russo was reccommended to go visit. he's the most famous statue in belgium and is about 18 inches tall, sort of a let down.

but we aren't kidding when we say the belgian waffles are to die for. no let downs there. don't worry we brought 30 home with us, they were gone in a few days.

russo spent the sabbath attending our perfect belgian ward. after church they put on a FEAST for noel-no casseroles or green jello there-just turkeys, soups, salads, homemade bread, and smorgasbord of desserts. best food we ate all week. after 12 hours at the church, we spent 2.5 hours getting home from church when it usually takes 30 minutes. despite that, the next day russo and i BRAVELY trekked the 2 hour drive to citadelle at dinant without devin. worth it? yes.

we also trekked up all those stairs in the background since the tram was closed. (nothing gets shoveled or snowplowed in belgium. they usually get a few inches, not two feet.) 

there were at least 1000 stairs. and at the top, there was just a metal guard rail.

but the view was irreplaceable.

gratefully we only had one fall. of course it came on the last five steps and included a face plant. we will never forget that experience.

... part two tomorrow.

i don't care too much for money, cause money can't buy you love

On this day, I need to say-

I believe that LOVE is at the center of our happiness. Nothing brings greater joy than loving others.

"A (person) filled with the love of God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race." -Joseph Smith

“Man’s greatest happiness comes from losing himself for the good of others.” -Harold B Lee.

I'm grateful for the happiness brought to all of us by love-the love we share and the love others have shown for us. Love is what makes the world go round.

roughing it on our last camping trip of 2010

we couldn't resist

there is no place like home. for the holidays.
so after almost six months overseas, we surprised our families with an early arrival back to the states on Christmas eve. i didn't have my camera but someone snapped this the second we saw our families. it is worth more to me than almost any earthly possession.

i love belgium. i love what we went through there. i love the people we met. but, it feels more than good to live again in the land of the free and the home of the brave. nothing beats america. and nothing beats family.

happy new year all.

light at the end of the tunnel

it is miraculous thing, God's timing. while things around us may be in upheaval, He visits us with little assurances, often perfectly timed, to make sure we know He is aware.

i have often been guilty of writing things off as coincidence. in fact, in one of the first conversations i  had with my mother-in-law when i was about 16, i specifically remember her telling me that the situation we were discussing(which happened to be about devin's mission) was not a coincidence. since then i am sadly still guilty of forgetting that timing is everything.

i needed a refresher recently on what the phrase tender mercy really meant. i tend to overuse the term and it turned it into something trite and meaningless. i was surprised to remember how often the timing the blessings are to help us recognize that they come from Him. let an apostle describe it for us:

"Often, the Lord’s timing of His tender mercies helps us to both discern and acknowledge them.

Faithfulness and obedience enable us to receive these important gifts and, frequently, the Lord’s timing helps us to recognize them.

We should not underestimate or overlook the power of the Lord’s tender mercies. The simpleness, the sweetness, and the constancy of the tender mercies of the Lord will do much to fortify and protect us in the troubled times in which we do now and will yet live. When words cannot provide the solace we need or express the joy we feel, when it is simply futile to attempt to explain that which is unexplainable, when logic and reason cannot yield adequate understanding about the injustices and inequities of life, when mortal experience and evaluation are insufficient to produce a desired outcome, and when it seems that perhaps we are so totally alone, truly we are blessed by the tender mercies of the Lord and made mighty even unto the power of deliverance."

essentially what i am trying to get at is that i've better recognized in the past few months, that "WHEN is just as important as HOW." source. 

last weekend i got some news that a dear friend is coming out to visit. in just one of those desperate moments, this was the light at the end of a tunnel for me, hope that i can make it through the christmas season overseas without my beloved family, joy from knowing God catered the timing of this gift to suit my current needs. 

the angel arrives today, and will leave just before the holidays. here is to a heavensent week with russo.

kloosterstraat, antwerp

the antique capital of belgium. thousands of gems all in one street.

this could be my favorite street in all of belgium.

stellar. cellar.

i've seen pictures of some pretty amazing cellars here in belgium. but it took actually standing in such an ancient thing for my whole soul to realize the grandeur of it.
this cellar in antwerp had a two story store overhead, and apartments on top of that. there is no telling how long ago the foundation was laid, and my mind can't comprehend how the weight has sturdily held for 500+  years. we were utterly facinated, and as usual, tried to figure out how we could replicate it, build it, or take it home with us.

being inspired is hard to beat.

"He never did any of those things that usually accompany greatness."

my grandmother raised her children to the Christmas singing king of their day: andy williams. of course, my mother then raised us on him as well. i have listened to his Christmas albums countless times, but one part of a live recording has stood my neck hairs on end without fail this year. he quotes a poem attributed to jim bishop called "one solitary man." i prefer andy's reading of it but couldn't find it on the internet, so here is the next best substitute, and the author of my grandpa's favorite carol, bing crosby. you're gonna love this:



if i had a mind of steel i would memorize this poem. i suppose there may still be time before the holidays. since we've only heard a fistful of holiday tunes played on the radio, seen a handful of lights on homes or trees, and have yet to sing a single Christmas carol in church and it is already the tenth of december!, i am grateful for people, how ever old, who took their time to share their love for Christ's story. i hope to better do the same.

finds on rue antoine dansaert, brussels

found a beautiful rue our last trip. amazing shopping. lovely apartments. great neighborhood.

get a load of this, if you can. i walked up to this window and said to devin, "if i had that gold skirt in the back i'd be in heaven." we stared at the window for a while when the epiphany came. "those are PAPER! the dresses and skirts are made out of PAPER!" they were gathered, pintucked, pleated, pressed, seamed, and hemmed all out of the stuff we write on everyday. all my patternmaking days resurfaced and i was left fantasizing. I DIED, then made devin take a picture.

if you can enlarge please do. you'll die too. 

nothing can top the above story. but someday i'd like to make a sofa thingy like this. i am in love with excess tufting.

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the inspiring end.