A couple weeks ago, I started feeling a void. I was feeling spiritually lonely. I knew that I needed to change some of my habits, so that I could draw closer to my Heavenly Father. In addition to making goals for scripture study, prayer and other things, I immediately started searching online for LDS books that would help me rekindle the spiritual fire that I have felt previously in my life.
Every summer, my mom’s family gathers up Payson Canyon. Some of my favorite childhood memories were created at that camp ground. Playing “court” on a fallen tree, eating pizza that my grandma and grandpa brought up every year, reuniting and catching up with all of my incredible cousins. We would sit around the camp fire for hours and play “guess the movie or song” and listen to my mom tell hilarious and mostly inappropriate stories. As the years have passed, the number of us that make it to the campout have dwindled, but it’s still one of my favorite summer events.
It’s just amazing to see the legacy that my grandparents created.
Sadly, I only got out my camera on Saturday morning at the campout, so for the most part, these are just the early risers. :]
At the end of May, my sister invited Clint & I to tag along to a renaissance fair up in northern Utah. At first, neither of us were sold, but it was something to do & somewhere to go. They told some awesome stories from past years & that’s all it took.
The morning of the fair, we went over to my sister’s house, got out their bucket full of awesome costumes from past halloweens & we put together some amazing barbarian outfits.
There was some prime people watching, delicious, freshly made root beer, and handmade armor and weapons. Also, there were mermaids, which I didn’t take pictures of because they were all…too revealing & it was not pleasant.
Without further ado, behold my adorable niece and fun little snippets from the day.
“Beautiful Things Await You” originated from a fortune that I, Macquel, received in a fortune cookie in 2009. I have kept this fortune taped to the envelope that holds my patriarchal blessing since 2009.
In the LDS faith, a patriarchal blessing is inspired, personal counsel from the Lord. I received my blessing during my high school years from a patriarch in my stake. A patriarch is called by the stake president, who is called by the general authorities of the church. To hear or read an amazing talk by Boyd K. Packer, click this link.
On lds.org, it states that “Every worthy, baptized member is entitled to and should receive a patriarchal blessing, which provides inspired direction from the Lord. Patriarchal blessings include a declaration of a person’s lineage in the house of Israel and contain personal counsel from the Lord. As a person studies his or her patriarchal blessing and follows the counsel it contains, it will provide guidance, comfort, and protection.”
“Your patriarchal blessing will see you through the darkest night. It will guide you through life’s dangers.”
—Thomas S. Monson
The comfort of my blessing and this simple fortune got me through some of my most difficult trials. It reminded me that the world is much bigger than that moment I was experiencing. That there are so many beautiful moments ahead. I couldn’t even count those moments if I had a thousand fingers. Though they may be accompanied with life’s dangers, trials and loss, the promises in our patriarchal blessings remind us of all the blessings we will receive if we stay on the path to righteousness and keep our heads held high.
Beautiful things await us. The birth of our children, their first steps, first words, personal milestones, promotions at work, callings at church, family vacations, reconnecting with past friends, the list is endless.
I hope that this blog will remind us that even in moments of loss and trial, we can look back and see the beautiful things that bless our lives every day.
That’s a thing, right?
I figure this is our first post, so it’s only fitting to do a little overview from where it all began. I know that Clint’s perspective of our dating/friendship story is a bit different from mine, but I’m going to make it as general as possible, and spare you the itty bitty details.
The two of us met through mutual friends in the fall of 2010. During of the summer of 2010, I started attending an LDS single adult ward with some of my friends that had come home from school for the summer. I absolutely loved the ward and quickly made friends with a group of guys who lived in what they called “The Flat”. I would go over to The Flat to watch extended versions of Lord of the Rings, Band of Brothers & How I Met Your Mother. Little did I know that one of those guys would end up being my husband.
Some of our favorite memories from our courtship were going to A LOT of ReAL Salt Lake games, double dates with our awesome friends, our trip to Missouri to visit his family, summer nights where we would lay on the tramp in my parents backyard, watching fireworks from rooftops, and eating a ridiculous amount of s’mores.
We hung out every single day up until the day we were married. I fell in love pretty quickly, it took him a couple months, but in the end, it all worked out in our favor. We got engaged in June of 2011 and were married on September 7, 2011.
Our wedding day. September 7, 2011.
The token Horn thug photo.
Clint’s band played the music during the reception, which was one of my favorite parts.
After almost a year and a half of patiently waiting, we were sealed for eternity in the Draper Utah Temple on February 2, 2013. That was one of the most remarkable, comforting experiences of my life. Clint & I will be side by side for eternity with our children and families. The wonderful Tabulous Photography was there to capture that day for us.
Thank you for coming and getting know us a little more. I assure you that this won’t be the last post with a million photographs :]
beautifulthingsawaityou.com 