Tiffany's Journey

 

In January Eric and I started attending the missionary discussions with a girl that I had never met before, Tiffany Clark. The first time I met her was at the church after she had gotten off work at Wendy's, which is just up the street. It was a gray and drizzly evening, and Tiffany came rolling up to the door in her rollerblades, with a huge set of headphones on, and with a lot of spunk. I immediately thought to myself, "Well, this is going to be interesting!" Little did I know at that time what an amazing experience I was about to have with someone who appeared to be my total opposite.

 

Tiffany was looking for truth, and she was intrigued with the church. She had so many questions. I was immediately impressed with her voracious appetite for knowledge. She wanted to know everything, and with every answer we gave her, she would nod her head and say, "I like that. It makes sense."

 

Tiffany had come from a life of difficulty. She had been homeless as a teenager, pregnant, and abandoned by nearly everyone she knew. She went through so many trials at such a young age, and yet through it all developed an inner strength and resilience. I admired her right away for her drive to find truth and meaning, and her amazing sense of integrity to not involve herself in the garbage that surrounded her.

 

The longer we went with the discussions, the more Tiffany wanted to be baptized. I couldn't be more thrilled. The first step, however, was to marry the man that she was living with, and the father of her two youngest girls.

 

Tiffany and Kiel make a wonderful couple. In Kiel, Tiffany has found unconditional love, total commitment to their family, and a solid support for her. Although he has not shown interest in the church yet, he has been completely supportive of Tiffany as she was exploring her interest in the church and eventually wanted to become a member.

 

The thing that sticks in my mind the most that Tiffany said about Kiel is that he loves it when Tiffany and the girls go to church, because he can feel a difference in their home when they return. What a beautiful comment on what an impact the church can make in a family, even if it is a part-member family.

 

Tiffany and Kiel were married on June 21, 2014 in Brother and Sister Jensen's backyard. It was a gorgeous day, with a beautiful setting. What a special way to unite this family!

 

With the help of several ladies from the Ward, we put together a sweet little party. The decorations were simple. The bride was lovely. The food was delicious, and the spirit which was in that backyard was precious. Several of Tiffany and Kiel's family members and friends were able to attend the ceremony, along with a number of people from our Ward. It was wonderful to have so much support for this new family!

 



 

The elders were very excited for this wedding, since it meant that Tiffany could take the next step and be baptized!

 

 

Tiffany's second daughter Kaylee was baptized first, on June 15th, 2014. It was a really special day for her, and I was so proud of her for taking that first step to becoming a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

 



Then it was Tiffany's turn! Tiffany was baptized on July 6th, 2014. It truly was an amazing experience to witness her baptism. The Spirit bore testimony to me of how sacred this ordinance was, and how much it meant to Tiffany. As I stood on the side of the font, watching my dear friend be fully immersed in the water, just as Jesus Christ himself had done two millennia ago, my heart was brimming with pride and love. I knew that our Heavenly Father was so proud of her and the decision she made to be baptized. I knew that even though Tiffany had struggled through so much heartache in her young life, the Savior was watching over her and was with her for every step of her journey. He was preparing her and her heart for this special moment.

 



 

I was able to assist Tiffany as she stepped out of the font. Although she was dripping wet we embraced in a hug and I couldn't help but exclaim in excited whispers, "You did it! You did it!" Later on I discovered that our gleeful exclamations had echoed around the font and that everyone who had attended the baptism were witness to our joyful moment. I heard from many people on how sweet the Spirit was which was present in the room, and that our greeting was an incredibly touching moment. It was a moment that I will never forget.

 

 

Tiffany had started the missionary discussions with two sister missionaries, Sister Adams and Sister Garn. Both were able to attend the baptism, which was incredibly special. Sister Garn, who flew up for the event from her home in Utah, gave a beautiful talk on baptism. I was privileged to give the talk on the Holy Ghost.

 

  

The elders who completed Tiffany's discussions were Elder Paul and Elder Galante. They did such a wonderful job bringing the Spirit into all the discussions with both Tiffany and Kaylee. I was constantly impressed with their zealous dedication, their hard work, and the absolute love which they were able to share with us.

 

I feel a special connection with each of these missionaries who played such an important role in Tiffany's journey. They were all in our home so much, they almost feel like a permanent fixture there. What a wonderful blessing it has been to have them in our home.

 

I will forever be grateful for the opportunity which I have had to be a small part of Tiffany's journey to baptism. No one could have possibly guessed that two people who are so different, with such different backgrounds and different personalities could become such wonderful friends. Tiffany is not only my friend, though, she is my sister.

 

We are sisters of the heart and sisters in the gospel, linked forever through love and sacrifice, healing and hope, renewal and rebirth.

 

My sister, my friend.

 



Six Chicks Retreat

 Last weekend my writing group had a mini retreat. We met up at a local hotel, ate tons of food, and laughed A LOT. Funny thing was, that we actually got a lot accomplished! We passed a new series of stories around, getting them ready to be posted on our website in the near future. Watch out! Some of these stories have some zany twists and turns, while others are sweet and will bring a tear to your eye. I am so lucky to get to rub shoulders with these amazing ladies! I have learned so much from our writing group, seen improvement in my writing style, and made some bonds with these women that will never be broken. I am so blessed.

 

 The tee shirts that I designed for our writing group came in and I LOVE THEM!! I was so excited when my package came in the mail with these fun shirts in them! I ended up getting both a tee shirt and a hoody sweatshirt. Of course, I also ordered a custom case for my iPhone with the design printed on it as well. My family thinks I'm crazy. What can I say? When I get into something...I GET INTO SOMETHING!

 

Eastmont's Got Talent!

For the last half-year, I have been working with three ladies singing doo-wop style music. We call ourselves The Serenades. Our goal is to have enough songs accumulated to put on a thirty-minute show for nursing homes around the area, or for anyone else who wants to listen! We have been meeting every week, putting many hours of hard work into our music. It has been such a treat to work with these ladies!

On Friday night our newly dubbed "Eastmont Ward" held a talent show. The Serenades wanted to make their first grand performance, of course. Unfortunately, one of our members was not going to be able to be there due to a scheduling conflict with her brother's wedding. We decided last minute to persevere, and threw together two songs which we could sing as a trio rather than a quartet.

Here is our big moment:

The Serenades!

Suzanne Vance: Soprano

Heather White: Second Soprano

Audrey Sisco: Alto

(not pictured: Anne Bodily: Second Alto)

We've got a long way to go still, but boy are we having fun!!!

Time Out for Women

In April, twelve friends made the trek to Spokane to attend Deseret Book's Time Out for Women. My good friend Audrey and I organized the group of women for our now annual "Time Out." We had so much fun! We loaded up in three vehicles, drove the five hours, and roomed together in three adjacent hotel rooms. Talk about a major slumber party!

ALMOST all the girls....unfortunately two of our party left before we were able to take a group shot!

The speakers and performers were all amazing! We all left feeling inspired and rejuvinated, ready to conquer the world through our many roles as women.

With my Aunt Andi Stevens. So fun to run into her at the conference!

I had a pleasant surprise while there running into my Aunt Andi and five of my cousins, who came to the conference from Richland. It was so great to see all of them again!!! It made me wish I had my sisters and my mom there to share it with as well!

Time Out for Women is an event I look forward to every year, and I expect to continue the tradition of making it a Girls' Weekend as long as possible!!!

Murder Among the Mateys!

On Friday night we went to a Murder Mystery dinner put on by our friends the Howells. It was based in a pirate port, and the mix of people associated there. Each of us were assigned a specific character to play, along with information that only we knew and instructions on what we need to tell people. Through the course of the evening, we had to figure out who the murderer was! It was so fun!!!
Eric was Governor Napier. This is an unusual site for him to be seen covorting with a pirate!!

Our esteemed Commodore Clearing, played by John Thompson, with another misdemeanor of fraternizing with the enemy!

On the right, our lovely hostess, Mad Rose, the Tavern Wench.

Our host, and unfortunate murder victim, First Mate Morgan.

Captain Redbeard and One-Eyed Wanda.

Our esteemed Governor in full apparel!! Eric took the prize for the best costume!!
I thought he could pass as a pretty good George Washington too, ha ha!!

Governor Napier and his lovely wife Juliana. Just like a time warp, isn't it?!

Thanks to Lincoln and Carrie for such a fun evening!!!

Welcome to the Wild Wild West!

This weekend we went to a Western-themed party with a bunch of friends.
Better watch out! Sheriff's got his eye on y'all!

That couple's as pretty as a wagon!!

Two country bumpkins!

It's a shoot-out!

We are a very serious bunch....

Okay, maybe not so serious.....

A Perfect Night

We have some really great friends that we like to hang out with every chance we get. Last weekend we attended a temple session together then went out to eat afterwards, in celebration of Audrey's birthday. The Bodilys and the Schilatys were with us as well (just not pictured).
Audrey and Jason Sisco
Audrey is wearing the apron I made for her birthday present (in case you were wondering, tee hee!)



Last night I wanted to take Eric to a fun Indian restaurant -- the Clay Pit-- that my boss took us to, because Eric loves Indian food. I decided it would be fun to drag the Siscos along with us. They were a little unsure about trying out Indian food, but they were good sports!



We ended up having a fantastic time, of course! The food was out of this world good! Eric and I both decided it was the best Indian food that we've tried. I highly recommend the place.



After dinner we wandered around outside the restaurant to a few of the neighboring shops. We poked around a bit in Pier One, knocking over a huge metal spoon in the process (we're talking at least three feet long!), sending a clattering all over the store that brought the clerks running. We tried our best to not touch anything after that.



We also wandered into University Books. There was a display with some humorous gag-gift books that we had a good laugh over. I would try to explain what was in the books that made us laugh until we were seriously crying, but it would lose all its ridiculous humor. I'll just say that I was laughing so hard I was wanting to find a bathroom after that....



Along our meanderings we "happened" to find ourselves at Cold Stone Creamery, where we shared some outrageously overpriced and yet impossible to resist ice creams.


Overall, it was a perfect night!!!

'Twas the night before Christmas.....

'Twas the night before Christmas, and all is quiet at the White house.

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Quiet for now, that is.....

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The kids have just gone down for bed, and although visions of sugar-plumbs are not yet dancing in their heads, they are at least starting on the journey down the road to dreamland. Now as I enjoy the peace for a few moments, I have been reflecting on this evening, and what a great night it was.

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We were lucky enough to enjoy dinner tonight with our friends the Sisco family. I had originally not taken her up on the invite to dine with them, since I was planning a nice turkey dinner for us at home. However, I have been a little neglectful this past week and did not get my turkey out of the freezer to defrost soon enough. It should be ready for a Christmas feast tomorrow, but as for today, we were turkey-less.

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So we enjoyed ham and potatoes au gratin, with rolls and salads, and plenty of desserts to round out our bellies even more. After stuffing ourselves past capacity, we played games together and then sang some Christmas songs around the piano before heading home.

Here is our homage to good old St. Nick, in the hopes that he will not forget the White house this evening!!

Right before bed, the kids opened the traditional gift of new jammies. We then gathered together in a circle for family prayer and thanked our Father in Heaven for this wonderful season to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and to be grateful for His life of service and love, but especially for the sacrifice He made for each of us. As the kids went to bed I quietly played some of the Christmas hymns on the piano. "Silent Night" was the last one I played. I wanted the feeling from that song to be the last thing dancing around in their heads before they drifted off to sleep. With all the bustle and excitement of what tomorrow morning will bring, I want them to always remember the true meaning of this holiday.

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Silent night! Holy night!

All is calm, all is bright

Round yon virgin, mother and Child.

Holy Infant, so tender and mild,

Sleep in heavenly peace;

Sleep in heavenly peace.

Paddle Down to Portland

This weekend we took the kids and headed down to Portland to stay with our friends the Barners. While we were there we also got to attend a fantastic performance put on by my aunt and uncle's Stake, a production of "A Christmas Carol." On Sunday night my aunt Tina hosted an impromptu Thanksgiving dinner to celebrate all the family that was there over the weekend. We had such a great time! It was a wonderful visit.

This is Erica on the way down. She kept fussing, being tired of her car seat, so Heidi plugged her into her Ipod. It worked like a miracle. What can I say, I have techie kids....

While we were in town we visited the Portland Temple and got some great pictures of the kids.
This one cracks me up, it is so typical Erica!!



I foresee a budding romance....

The Barner Family

Paul and Michele', with Gabrielle, Olivia and Jack

Our crazy crew!

The kids are in front of the reflecting pond. It is such a beautiful temple!

Erica got a foot and her pant leg wet, of course.

Welcome to the 21st Century!

It's official....the White family has now entered the 21st century!!!

A few weeks ago we got a webcam. It's a nifty little camera that sits on top of our computer. We can use it to take pictures and videos of ourselves, which I have had some fun playing with.

But the really exciting thing is that we can talk to other people who are hooked up with a webcam, face-to-face. We do it through the free network/program Skype.

Last night I talked to my little sister, Diana, via the computer. I got to see her cute little apartment in Provo, Utah, along with some mosaic projects she and Jordan are working on. She also showed me the free chairs she got on Craigslist and recovered herself. It was like I was there in the room with her.....This thing is AWESOME!

Our first "phone call" was to my parents in Boise, Idaho. We spent nearly the whole call just staring at each other on screen, it was such a strange thing to do at first! The kids didn't know how to act, so they just acted goofy, you know...the old stand-by.

Next we talked to Eric's Aunt Patty, also in Boise. We caught up on a lot of stuff and had a good heart-to-heart. There's something different about talking to someone face-to-face. It's a lot different than talking on the phone.

So now I would like to ask if any of the rest of you out there have a webcam so we can "Skype" together? So far we only have those three "phone numbers," and we would love to add more!!

Hope to be talking to you soon!!