I can hardly find the words to describe how happy I am that my dear-friend-soul-mate Brieanne AND her husband Eric got baptized last Sunday night. I've been putting off blogging about it because I know words can't possibly do justice to what I feel. Really!!
I met Brieanne last April at the South Pasadena farmers market because of a t-shirt! About 6 months prior to us meeting, I had learned about how much pesticide is used on cotton and had decided to strive to buy only organic or recycled clothing so I would not support the use of pesticide. (Unfortunately, there is not a lot of organic clothing for children out there!) So there I was at the farmers market and I recognized a particular organic t-shirt that Brieanne's 2 1/2 year old daughter Tristan was wearing! I literally thought to myself "I need to be friends with that little girl's mother!"
Brieanne wasn't actually around at the moment (she was shopping) so I started talking to Eric. He was super-friendly and we started talking about the different companies we shop from that carry organic clothing and fabric. Soon after, Brieanne came by and he introduced us. I knew instantly I had met a kindred spirit! We exchanged numbers and decided to talk and get together.
Because she looked like such a hippy-chick, I determined for our first phone conversation that I should tell her right away that I'm a conservative mormon and that I'm NOT a vegetarian. ( I was worried she wouldn't like these things, so I wanted to get it out right away!) :) Well, it turned out that SHE is a conservative Christian and that she had actually been studying with the mormon missionaries during the prior summer! ('07) Then it turned out she's absolutely not a vegetarian and that we both subscribe to the Nourishing Traditions way of eating. Nourishing Traditions is a pretty specific way of eating so this was really exciting to have so much in common!
After this, we started hanging out pretty regularly. Over the months, I have come to learn that Brieanne is truly one of the most amazing people I've ever met!! She has chickens for fresh eggs, has a big wonderful garden for fresh veggies and fruit, she sews and makes almost all her children's clothes and she cooks SUPER-DUPER healthily and is a fabulous cook! (She's what I aspire to be!) She's also totally nice, generous, down to earth, and funny.
I honestly never expected her to join the church as fast as she has. I always knew she would, but I just didn't think it would be this soon! But she already believed almost everything a mormon believes! It was only a matter of time. What's so beautiful and amazing is how Eric came to gain his testimony through many answered prayers. Heavenly Father is soooooooooo awesome!
I can't thank my Heavenly Father enough for allowing me to have Brieanne for a friend and to have been blessed to be a part of these wonderful events. It is such a wonderful feeling.
The baptism was absolutely beautiful. We opened with "Baptism" from the Children's songbook. I got to sing a song (Here, By The Water So Clear) and Craig got to give the talk on the Holy Ghost which he did wonderfully. There was a very big turnout and the Spirit was SUPER STRONG. My dad was there and so was my sister Yvonne and all her kids. I wish I would have taken more pictures!! It was Elder Talbert's (the one who baptized Brienanne) first baptism of his mission! We closed with "I know that my Redeemer lives." It was wonderful! Afterwards, we had a big dinner at our house.
I can't say enough how wonderful this experience was! I love you Brieanne!
Today we got a big wonderful surprise! My mom's sister (my tia) Lula, my uncle Larry and my cousin David paid us a visit. They all live in Layton, Utah but were here visiting my other cousin Lisa in Beaumont. I hadn't seen them for about two years so it was really nice to see them. We got to talk and catch up while my kids acted goofy for them. Every once in a while I got a little choked up because my tia Lula looks so much like my mom. She was even dressed so like my mom! (Oh, mom!)
Later, we went to El Mercado in East L.A. I can't believe I'd never been there before! It was a really neat cultural experience. It was seriously like shopping in Mexico with all the grains, chilies, spices, corn husks, meats, cheeses and moles. (Not the animal, but the sauce!) And don't forget the baked sweet breads and the pinatas--they had everything! We went upstairs where there is a restaurant where an excellent Mariachi band plays. We had a nice dinner and enjoyed the beautiful music. I LOVE Mariachi music! I love the way they harmonize when they sing. I love the combination of guitars, violins and horns. This group was very sharp. I wanted to request "Sabor a mi" or "El Marichi loco" but they require $10 a song! So we just enjoyed what they played.
Kristy and I sang in choir together along with Ruth (in a later picture.) Those were such good times! Kristy and I also worked together at "Falcon Cable" for a year or more after high school. I remember once going to the Renaissance fair together in 1987. Last semester, our girls were in a ballet class together!
I met Frank in our Freshman year health class. We were 14 year old babies! We sat in the back and would always talk music. Echo and the Bunnymen, Tears for Fears, U2, Ultravox. I had a little secret crush on him, but we were always just good friends. I was very happy to find that he recently married a gorgeous and sweet girl Tiffany (who I met last night but failed to take a picture of because we were talking so much!) They have a darling little boy and another little boy on the way! :) They are a beautiful family.
Today we met up with our really good friends, the Weeks. They were visiting LA from Logan, Utah. Jenny was my roommate while we were at BYU. She was and is super-fun and HILARIOUS!! Her and Jarrod have 3 little boys, very cute, and very active. We met up at the LA Temple and walked around and took pictures. Then, we went to the Farmers Market on Fairfax to get some lunch and some produce. Then, we drove up Laurel Canyon Blvd. to Mulholland Dr. and enjoyed the view of the city and the Hollywood sign. It was a perfect day to do it because it was an untypically clear day. The view was great! We ended up on Hollywood Blvd. where we checked out Grauman's Chinese Theater with all the hand and foot prints. Ceci liked putting her hands and feet in them! I just loved hanging out with Jenny. I love her so much! We were so glad they could visit us.
This was a fun and busy week. On Monday, on our morning walk we discovered some neighbors that are also home schooling! (also three girls! but older--6, 10 &14) They had been making mushroms out of some wood pieces they had bought so they gave us some to make one each. We glued them togehter and painted them. I thought they came out pretty cute.
