THE PERFECT WEEKEND!!!



i just had a fantastic weekend, and i wanted to share it with y'all. thanks for indulging!


FRIDAY- i didn't have to be to work until 2:30 pm and so i slept in and then went to lunch with mary and our new friend colleen. lots of girl talk and yummy food. good times.

then after work i rushed through the city and across the river to go on a date. we went to the planetarium and watched a show on the stars as a very monotone australian man showed us constellations and planets set to very cheesy smooth jazz. what a trip. afterwards our group went to dinner and then back to their apartment for a bit of goofing off. i didn't get home until 2 am!

great people... lots of laughs... good memories!

SATURDAY- slept in a little (meaning 7:30... that's the best i can do) then mary and i hopped over to our church so we could help in the "spring clean our church building" project. it was so much more fun than it sounded and it felt good to start off our day like that.

after getting all sweaty and working hard, we decided a little BURGER KING was in order... the #4, no tomato with the biggest diet coke you can find... please! as we were munching on our lunch we watched the documentary NEW YORK DOLL (side note: if you haven't seen this movie... you have to... i can't get enough of it. it was compelling and powerful and shows us how much our Father in Heaven really does love us and wants to gives us that which will bring us happiness).

at this point we would typically adjourn to our separate rooms and take a nap, but conversation led us to jumping in the car with swimsuits on to go for a swim at WALDEN POND. the day was overcast and screamed of rain at any second... but that didn't stop us. on any other summer day the pond is filled with people (i know, i know... mr. thoreau would turn over in his grave if he knew that his peaceful hide-away has turned into a huge tourist attraction... complete with a gift shop) but today it was virtually empty... and the water was incredible! it was a good hour-long swim and totally justified the 800,000 calorie lunch i just had! and can i just say that there is nothing better in this world than to be all alone in the middle of a lake, surrounded by trees and fish looking up into the sky and feeling peace... complete and unadulterated peace. i so needed that!

because walden pond is a 5 minute drive from downtown CONCORD, we decided that we couldn't resist. a quaint walk around town, a quick stop in THE CHEESE SHOP so mary could buy a ymmuy block of very fancy cheese and then, of course, ice cream from GIFFORD's.

then it was off to our bishop's house. mary and i were asked to sing at the fireside on sunday and this BEAUTIFUL song, STILL, was written by his wife and we needed to go over it. so after about 30 minutes of watching each of the 4 children take their turn playing the piano or violin (even the 3 year old plays!!!) we got to hear this incredible piece that sister haight had composed. she actually writes music to scriptural passages. there's no way my words will do it justice. then we spent our remaining time dancing in the kitchen with everyone. what a beautiful home... what a beautiful, loving family.

after a quick jaunt to the grocery store and $50.00 later, we headed home to make pizza and watch yet another incredible, yet simple film called, CHILDREN OF HEAVEN. it's a touching iranian film about a brother who loses his sister's shoes and because of their poverty and the fear of saying anything to their parents, they share his pair of shoes. the filmmaking isn't anything to ooohhh and ahhhh over, but it's intent and value shine through and these beautiful children do a fantastic job of portraying the love they share.

at this point it's 11:30 and i am way over due for my bedtime. nite-nite!

SUNDAY- always a good day- church is always good. we have an incredible ward and so many people that i love and adore. after church my friend michael grabbed me, mary and a few of his roomies and we watched a few old church movies in the preisthood room. then we sat around and talked and laughed for about an hour... those are the moments you wish you could box up and take with you when life stinks.

then it was off to get dinner ready because we were having our good friend DICKSON and his girlfriend over for dinner. dickson is a special part of our lives. he took the discussions with the missionaries, in our home and so we had the most amazing opportunity to watch his testimony of the gospel and the Book of Mormon grow and eventually lead to baptism (in AUG it will have been a year!!!). he is moving to utah very soon and so we wanted to walk down memory lane with him one last time.

then on to the fireside. our bishop and his wife were asked to speak at this fireside and can anyone guess what topic might be the center of this fireside??? anyone? oh... how did you guess... it's not like we don't ever talk about marriage and/or relationships... so we needed a good reminder! actually, i am making light of a very powerful fireside. yes, the topic was relationships but they went deeper than... "date more... stop hanging out and for heaven's sakes... GET MARRIED ALREADY!" they shared very personal stories about learning to love one another and the reality of after the wedding. they talked about love and what pure love looks like.

then they humbly shared a very personal and powerful story about one of the biggest struggles in their lives. about the loss of both baby twins at birth and how it molded and shaped their love and dependence on the Lord. it was because this very tragic event that sister haight began writing songs with scripture. little did we know that this already beautiful piece of music had even more beautiful depth and powerful meaning behind it. we were asked to sing sister haight's healing. i immediately felt inadequate and blessed all at the same time.

as we sang the words "Be still and know that I am God, let your hearts be comforted," a feeling of peace and power came over me and i knew that it was no longer me singing. what a most incredible experience to have. i feel so blessed.

at home, mary and i capped it all off with cheese and crackers and then straight into bed, where i don't even remember turning out the light... head hits pillow... sleepy for me.

okay so if you have made it to this point, congratulations. thanks for taking the time to go with me on the adventures of my weekend. i really feel so complete after a great weekend like that. i feel like being julie andrews in the sound of music and finding a grass covered hill and singing out at the top of my lungs. but maybe i will save that for another weekend!