Monday, December 12, 2011

Things are wonderful!  In the past little while we did the following:
Went to Masada and the Dead Sea

We had the Jerusalem Center Christmas concert and it was the first choir that I had been involved in since high school.  Guess who showed up??  Samah and all of her girls and sister-in-law.  Love them!


We went to her house and taught her how to make chocolate chip cookies and she surprised us and taught us how to make makluba (it means upside-down) and she gave me incredible marriage and parenting advice.  Being in their home has been one of the most uplifting thing that I have done while here.  There is so much love, service, and patience in their home.  They are always laughing and joking with each other.  I love this family and am so happy that I was able to meet them and build a friendship.


With the beautiful girls!  I love them!  Also, check out Lindsay's blog for more about our time with them.


And we went to England and went on a Harry Potter Tour...jk...but we went to so many churches and beautiful sites today as we learned about the last week of Christ's life.  

Friday, December 9, 2011

I love

I love Jesse.
I love being at the Jerusalem Center.
I love studying about Jesus.
I love the Old City.
I love my friends in the Center.
I love my friends in the City.
I love my family.
I love Christmas time.
I love Christ.
I love my life.
In the Old City
Kaitlyn and I: love that girl
Jesse and I minutes before he proposed...guess which one of us knew what was up?
We found Jesus's face spray painted on the ceiling of a cave.  Only in Jerusalem....or maybe Provo.
Lauren and I wishing you all a very Merry Christmas all the way from Jerusalem!

Monday, December 5, 2011

Days are Numbered

Is it weird to anyone else that I am only in Jerusalem for 8 more days?

Is it weird that this beautify is less than a sabbath's day journey from where I sleep?

Or that I won't be surrounded by these gems everyday?  
I know I look huge in this picture, but I was wearing three sweatshirts, three pairs of paints, and three pairs of socks.  

Or that I will be married to this wonderful man in 24 days?


And something for us all to be excited over is that we all have 19 days left till Christmas!



Friday, December 2, 2011

giveaway

Hey ya'll!
My friend steph (high school friend and Jr. Miss friend) is doing a blog giveaway! click here to enter! :) 

Sunday, November 27, 2011

the big 2-0

 Age has been a strange concept to me ever since I skipped third grade.  I've always felt like I was Kennedy's age because we have always done the same things and been at the same stage in life, or at least in my mind.  After I was able to reason with my brain and tell myself that I am indeed not Kennedy's age, I lump myself with my class's age.  But alas, this is also incorrect, so then I have to just accept the fact that I am the age I am and it's no big deal.  Tomorrow is my 20th birthday and that's weird to me.  This past year has been the year that I have had the most changes in the way I see the world and how I view myself in it.  The biggest thing that I have learned in this past year is the battle between faith and fear.  They can not co-exist.  It's so easy for me to hide behind my fear; fear of failure, fear of the future, and fear of the world.  While shooting hoops today, it hit me that this fear that I have is choking my potential.  Kaitlyn gave me the best advice in regards to basket ball.  She said that I needed to do two things: pretend like no one is in my way and keep shooting after I get blocked once or twice.  That girl is the best.

 with Jess in Amman :)  Isn't he handsome?
Boy that is the best, Jesse.  Jesse has taught me so much about what it means to have faith.  Being away from him has been painful this semester.  Being in Jerusalem has been completely life changing.  I am the 1%.  I have no reason to not be happy, confidant, and successful.  I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have had to grow and learn how to overcome fear through faith.

On a side note, here is my birthday gift to you all...finally a few pictures from the trip thus far!
At the pools of bethesda with Allyson and Whitney
in turkey with elyse
Inside Hagia Sofia with my group
sack lunches....
In a water/hampsterwheel on a field trip
Under the center with none other than whitney
candid in turkey
enjoying my first of 2 magnum bars
at the Harem in Turkey

Monday, November 14, 2011

Galilee

I'm in Galilee for the next 10 days and thrilled to be here!  I will try and write a little bit about what I'm doing while we are here.  
Today, we went to nazareth and it was so beautiful!  St. Mary's and St. Joseph's was incredible!  It almost made me want to be catholic. ;)
We also went up to the cliffs by Galilee and it was beautiful.  Lizzy and I commented that it looked just like Pride and Prejudice.
Everything is very peaceful and totally beautiful.  I'm so grateful to learn here.  And by learn, I mean study the Bible like crazy!  I have a paper to write for tomorrow and a midterm tomorrow that I need to go and cram study for. :)

p.s. in case you were wondering, Jesse and I are getting married in exactly 46 days!  woot!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Basketball and Good Deeds

Who knew?  Who knew basketball is so fun?  The center has a no-boys basketball league and our team just finished our first game...and we won by one point.  Our team consists of Kaitlyn, Wendy, Whitney, Andi and me.  Obviously, a great combination.  Not going to lie, it was a freakin blast and I am seriously wanting to develop some skills.  Speaking of skills, apparently, home-girl Katie Cutler is really good at bocce ball and won $400 in a tournament.  I aspire to have skills like that. :)

More importantly, today we visited Yad Vashim, which is the Holocaust Memorial and Museum in Israel.  It was an extremely touching and humbling experience to learn about the horors that took place less than a hundred years ago.  As I went through, I just kept thinking about things that I know that are going on right now and wondering what am I going to do about it. 

I don't want to lecture any of you wonderful, fantastic readers, but what things are going on around you are you choosing to ignore?  Being engaged to the wonderful man Jesse Thomas has been life changing to me.  He has taught me so much about what is going on in the world, our country, and locally.  If anyone had a heart of gold, it's that guy.  Reason  number 808,298 why I fell in love with him was seeing him with the people he taught on his mission (luckily, he was called to Salt Lake City, which obviously is the best mission in the world).  He met and fell in love with so many different people from all walks of life.  Something that I didn't know was that Salt Lake City is a refugee city and is host to thousands of refugees that could use a little help.  Jess and I are hoping to be able and work with an organization next semester to help them get used to the city and make sure that they are safe.  If you too would like to get involved, or just learn a little bit more about the issue in Salt Lake, click here

Now, go do the right thing.

Monday, October 31, 2011

Olive trees and Eilot


The center is home to 60 olive trees!  These trees produce the olives, that make the oil, that feeds about 100 people 3 times a day, for an entire year!  That’s a lot of oil!  The trees are extremely beautiful and unique.  They are gnarled and dusty.  The leaves are a sage color on the side that faces the sun and more silvery on the underside.  Some people describe the leaves as sparkling when they move in the wind.  Harvesting them was extremely fun, but difficult too.  The tree that cute Lindsay and I were picking from is 1200 years old!  The olives on that tree were pretty small because they had just grafted “good fruit” branches and were trying to tap into it’s roots.
The group picked what felt like millions of olives, but I have no idea how many were actually harvested.  We placed them in a huge vat of water and let them soak for a couple of days.  Then we placed them in a stone container with a huge grindstone and started the crushing process.  After you mash them up they are a pretty sickly green-brown color, that is not appetizing at all.  Then you put the mush into baskets that have the shape of a chinese lantern.  Then, we moved the baskets and stacked about 5 of them on a pressing machine.  A substance then pours from the baskets and it looks really gross.  The substance then separates into oil and some mystery substances.  
I loved this experience!  It was one of the neatest things that I have participated in while being here.  Oil was the substance of life to the ancient world and it was a really romantic experience to take part in.
Just like everything else, there are some misconceptions about olives.  One thing that I had heard in like a million sunday school lessons is how olives turn a bright red right before they are crushed.  I watched thousands of olives be crushed and I didn’t see them turn red.  They turned a smooshed color, but I couldn’t say red.  (Don’t worry, the church is still true!)  Another thing about olives, olives are only edible if they have been pickled or pressed and refined into oil.  There is literally nothing more vile than a fresh, right off the branch olive.  I can’t even describe the bitterness of an unprocessed olive.  Also, there is no such thing as a black olive tree or a green olive tree.  A green olive is picked before the olive is ripe and then processed into a delectable food.  A black olive is picked after the olive turns ripe and then becomes a delicious food that you can stick on your fingertips.
One of my favorite places that I’ve been to while her is Eliot (E-lot).  It is a town located on the red sea and is where Israel, Egypt, Jordan meet.  You can also see Saudi Arabia in the distance.  Ya, really cool.  We went snorkeling there and it was so beautiful.  I had never experienced how peaceful snorkeling is.  It was amazing to see all of the fish and coral existing so peacefully in an area that is anything but that.  We then went to the boardwalk area and it was just charming.  I think I’m a sucker for charm.  I ate the best thing while there.  A crepe that has nutella smeared on it before it is done, and the heat caramelizes the chocolate.  Amazing. 
Something that I wasn’t expecting is how great middle eastern fashion is!  The women over hear always look incredible!  Most women wear a long trench coat for modesty, but they go to town with their scarves, shoes and bags.  I love how creative they are.  Every piece of their outfit is carefully selected and just looks so great!  Right next to the money changer, Aladdin’s, there is the best shop ever!  They always have 10 nis (new israeli shekel) tops that are adorable!  This is about $2.50.  Great thing to have found?  Yes.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Jordan!

I just got back from Jordan and had the time of my life!  Jordan is probably my favorite country that I have been to while studying in the Middle East for a couple of different reasons. (Some,  more biased than others)  Jordanians are so happy!  The first day we were there it was like we walked into a cheesy movie because all of the people litterally ran out of their homes to wave at us as we drove by.  People are so much happier there than they are in Jerusalem.
Petra?  Amazing. Literally, incredible.  The park looked just like southern Utah, minus the incredible treasury and monestary.  I'm thinking of writing a letter to Govenor Herbert and suggesting to commision an artist to do carve a treasury in the Narrows. 

I thought I'd save the best for last....Jesse was there.  And he was there with me.  It may or may not have been a highly emotional experience for the entire group.  He was at our hotel in Ammon waiting for me and I was on the second bus to get there.  All of my friends were just lined up waiting to see our reunion and brother huntsman was playing a lot of sappy love songs on the bus.  When I saw Jesse standing there, I started to cry and ran off the bus and we had the sweetest kiss I think we've ever had.  We were together walking, talking, and laughing all that evening in Ammon and the only way to describe the date was beautiful.  I haven't felt that happy and elated since the day we got engaged.  The evening was wonderful as well and I loved every moment being with him.  Everyone has asked if it was hard to say goodbye.  Ya, it was.  It was hard to walk away from the love of my life, knowing that it was just as hard for him to be separated.  But today I have felt peaceful, knowing that we love each other and are trying our hardest to be there for each other and become better people as we are away.  I love him so much and can hardly wait to be married to him for eternity!

I have 2 weeks in Jerusalem, and then 2 weeks in Galilee, and then 2 weeks back in Jerusalem, and then we are getting married in the next 2 weeks.  I couldn't be more blessed. :)

Monday, October 10, 2011

bah mitzvah, Zak, and I can't drink this :)

Lindsay, Loran and I went into the city today and went over to the wailing wall and saw a couple of bar mitzvahs taking place.  My grandma Gerber phrased it perfectly when she said that Jews know how to party!  
  

Everyone was so happy and it totally reminded me of my brother Owen, who is also 13.  I think Mormons should do something like this, because it would be another excuse to celebrate!
There are two rival olive wood stores:  Jimmy's and Omars.  They share a monopoly on Mormon tourists.  Personally, I think I like Jimmy's better (mostly because the subject of the carvings make me laugh a little bit, like the Adam and Eve statue...I don't think a typical Mormon would put that one on display).  Today, we chatted with an older gentleman named Zacharias or Zak and he was extremely talkative.  Fotunately, his english was flawless and he was very open minded, yet proud to be a palistinian.  He was the guide for the Glen Beck tour and thought that the mormons that were in the group were fantastic, delightful people, but it made him sad that they were being led astray.  I hope to run into him again.  I had mentioned in our conversation that my fiance was studying in Amman.  I also may or may not have bragged about him being on the Volleyball team... :)  Jimmy's nephew was working at the store and mentioned that he had recently graduated from the Jordan University in accounting and was trying to get a scholarship to a gradschool in America.  Please pray for all of the students in the middle east that they can find work and that their economies will improve.

My favorite part of the day was when we went and visited a woman named Samah (Sam), whom we had met last week.  She is great!  We sat and talked with her for a long time and she just told us story after story and made us feel right at home.  She poured us tea and it we didn't know exactly what to do, so we just held it for a while and then finally told her that we don't drink tea, because of our religion.  She thought it was weird that we couldn't explain our relgion to her because then there would be no way for us to bring people into our relgion.  We explained that was the reason we can't talk about it in Jerusalem.  She was cool about it, but she told us that she had a lot of mormon cousins in the states and that she thinks that our religons are basically the same.  I had the best time talking with her and am happy to be making friends over here.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

bada bing bada bedouin



Apparently, I’m a strugglin tuna with this blog.  I’ll try and do better. 
Have you ever thought about bedouins before?  They are the people portrayed in What a Girl Wants for like 2 minutes and also in the scriptures.  The bedouins live a nomadic lifestyle and it is the lifestyle that Abraham lived thousands of years ago.  Because the middle east has developed into defined countries, this has forced them to become less nomadic.  This week we had the honor of visiting both a recognized (Lakiya) and non-recognized village.  At the first village, we talked with the women at Lakiya Weaving, an organization focused on empowering women.  I loved this!  The little seamstress in me was stoked when they demonstrated their spinning and weaving techniques.  
The fireball of Lakiya and me
yarn yarn yarn

We visited the Israelite Temple!
On top of Erod
At the non-recognized bedouin village...good old huntsman told us that if a war were to break out in Jerusalem, we would have been right in the middle of it.


Sunday, September 25, 2011

the other blogs

Sometimes it is really helpful to have close friends with blogs because they also share an account of what is going on in your own life.  Once again, if you want to know what is going on in my life (only interesting and with pictures)  Whitney's blog is probably the most accurate. 
Professor Huntsman's blog is also a great resource. :)  If you want to know about the most wonderful person on earth check out Jesse's Posterous. 

Turkeyopolis

Last week we travelled all over Turkey and it was an amazing week! Turkey is sooooo different than anywhere I have ever been and I loved many things about it but was also very excited to come back to Jerusalem.

-Squatting Toilets: these were the biggest disappointment about Turkey. After we would be traveling on the bus for what would seem like forever, we would find a wc, pay our 1 TL and open the stall to find just a hole in the ground with no toilet paper. Seriously? I want to know the cost difference between that and an actual toilet. Also, does anyone know how you get into this business? It seems like a great idea. You buy a nasty building, most likely for pretty cheep, and then put some holes in the ground and charge people to use it.

-Olives for breakfast:  breakfast here was bread, hotdogs, cucumbers, and olives.  Needless to say, we ate a TON of bread.  I don't think I will have another piece for the rest my life.
-Grand Bazaar:  The largest Bazaar in the World!  Unfortunately, I unintentionally offended every shopkeeper I came into contact with there.  They apparently didn't like my bartering style. 


-Cartoon Hotel in Istanbul the first night and it was quite the hotel. (Yes, there were loony tunes and disney characters everywhere in the hotel) That night, we took a trip into the city and found the worlds best baklava according to our tour guide Fahti. 

-Topkapi Museum and it was so incredible! There is this really funny mix of Islamic and Rococo architecture and I really enjoyed seeing my favorite styles mixed. I don't know if they really go together, but that's ok.  The infamous Blue Mosque was also part of that day and it was breath taking.
-  I am aware that there was a bombing in Turkey while we were there, and we were completely safe. The Turkish people were very happy and much less conservative than they are here in Jerusalem.  It was very common to see non-tourist couples on dates and there was even a little PDA going around.  Somehow that made me feel like I was home in Provo.

-Assos: one of the most beautiul places I have ever been.

-Kusadasi:  we had a huge mormon dance party/bonfire on the beach.  There were a couple of local guys in their early 20's that joined the group and I'm pretty sure it was a strange experience for them.

-Perganon/seat of satan:  Our tour guides said that they had never seen it rain before in September there, but as we were exploring the Alter of Zeus it started pouring, and not for like a minute, but for a really really long time.  It was so cool and it made all the ruins of the temples like 10 times cooler because of all the thunder and lightning going on. 
Picture being on top of a huge mountain surounded by alters with the storm raging.  Way cool.

Apple Tea: Soooo good!  Everyone drinks tea like crazy around Turkey.  That and smoke their hasheesh.  But they served us the herbal Apple Tea and it reminded me of home.  Definitely packed some for the States. 

Cotton Castle:  Incredible hotsprings!  Our hotel had a huge spring right in the middle and we had a great mudbath! 

Ephesis: What the place!  It was really cool to see where Paul taught for 3 years.

Bursa:  so beautiful! 

CATS!!!!!!!!!!!:  There are thousands of cats here!  It became a game of who could find the most cats and get there picture.



 Overall, it was wonderful!  I hope to travel back there with Jess and take the time to thoroughly enjoy the beautiful cities. :)

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Drinking from a Fire hydrant

Hey Everyone!

Basically, we are soooo busy!  We have so much homework and then this huge desire to be out in the city so between the two, there isn't a lot of time for blogging.  But fortunately for all of you, homegirl Whitney is really good about blogging and we are usually together 90% of the time, so if you click
here you will probably get a pretty good idea of what I've been doing. 


Like every other BYU student I also like to claim being the "first" for something: the first food poisoned individual of our group!  It wasn't the most pleasant experience but it was over within 24 hours. 

The next day I went to Tel Aviv with a group and it was fantastic!  We swam and enjoyed the mediterranean, but noticed that the definition of swimsuit over here has a more open definition than in the states.  Some of us went over to Jaffa and that was super fun!  It is the oldest port in the world and extremely beautiful!

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Shalom

Apparently, we have a blast in Jerusalem.  Today I started a "football" game with a group of palestinian boys and it was so cool to see how easy it is to play with kids that don't speak your same language.  Granted, they thought we were really dumb that we didn't know the exact rules of their game, but I think we all had a great time! 
p.s These are not the boys we played with, but I thought it was an effective visual aid/

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Knowledge

This post is probably out of context with the rest of my blog but it is something that I have been thinking about a lot lately while studying here and being in the old city.

Today, we had a class that was on looking past the Islam stereotypes and being aware of peoples differences.  It was extremely interesting to see how confused the class was.  They were very confused as to the language to not be politically incorrect and how to be sensitive and aware of other people without offending them.  It occured to me sitting there that the reason this is so difficult is because most of our generation does not practice this in their everyday lives.  We spend endless hours in history class learning about the mistreatment of the black peole in the south.  This is not to say that those events were not horrible or irrelevant, but I am saying that they are wasted on our youth.  These kids may understand that those events were awful and that the abuse that they went through was wrong.  Yet, these same kids turn around and say things like "stupid asian" or ostricize the hispanic kids at their school and make crude jokes about them.  These same kids can't hear the other side of a political argument, saying that President Bush was an "idiot" or that all democrats are "retarded."  These kids say that religion is "controlling and for foolish blind, followers" or that those without it are going to burn in hell forever and ever.  These kids make fun of the gay kid at school because they believe it to be wrong or unnatural or creepy; they also yell at the people who are for traditional marriage; they push their lifestyle onto people that are uncomfortable by it.  What I'm saying is basically this:  our "culture" doesn't listen to other people.  I know that I have definately been ignorant in the past and still am.  I have said things or thought things that are not correct, and more importantly, not kind.  Throughout every class I have the following concept flowing through my mind:

27 ¶ But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.
30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.
31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

I am proud of my beliefs and believe them to be correct and my daily practices to be good.  But, I am learning everyday that they way other people think, worship, and live are also correct.  My goal in being over in the holy land is to seek the truth and good from these cultures and incorporate them into my own way of daily living.  I would encourage you all to do the same because we can find truth all around us.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Are you Miss Leslie or Miss Universe?

Greetings!  Things have been super busy here in Jerusalem.  Sorry to not have kept any of you updated, but I am great and very safe.  Honestly, the city is beautiful.  Don't get me wrong, it is so dirty (aparently there are NO garbage cans in the city, and you just make trash piles along the sides of the roads and then once the pile is the size of the house, men come take it away...very strange to me) and covered in grafitti and there are a lot of overwhelming human smells mingled with that of dead animals.  But it also has the most beautiful buildings, religions, shops, food, and especially people.  Everyone is LOVING us mormons!  We can't swing a dead cat without hitting someone that will call out to us "Mormons!  Come into my shop!  We love Mormons!"  But at the same time, Whitney and I had our first run in with pick-pockets, but we outsmarted them and we were totally fine.  I love it here. :)

Things that happened today:

-Accidentatly wondered into a jewish elementary school durring recess and got hit by a soccor ball.
-Read 40 pages of articles...have about another 80 to go.
-Ate falafel at a stand that advertised "very good falafel."
-May or may not have been ripped off in the purchase of a really cool Jerusalem tile.  10 shekles?
-Accidentaly mistook a Jew for a Muslim...whoops
-Went to dome of the rock...so beautiful!
-Sported a very adorable fanny pack.
-Went to the church of the Holy Seplechure.
-Went to the wailing wall, late walked on the wailing wall.
-Was asked "Are you Miss Leslie or Miss Universe?"
-Visited Mary's tomb.
-Passed by the Garden of Gethsemene.
-Biked 8 miles.
-Figured out how to make a phone call with a phone card. 
-Took 2 showers...I seem to sweat a lot more here. It seems that my shoulders even sweat here.
-Had a marvelous time!

Peace and blessings

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

10 Tantalizing Truths about my Travels Today


10 facts about Jerusalem thus far:
  1. The plane ride over was like watching a huge family reunion.  At least half of the jews headed to Tel Aviv were just up wondering the isles, chilling listening to their music, or praying.  Very unique 11 hour flight.
  2. The group is fantastic!  There are 30 of us that have reached the center thus far and everyone is sooo nice.  Granted, I think everyone is a little shell-shocked, jet-lagged, and wanting to have an amazing experience, but if they can still be super fun and nice with only 3 hours of sleep, I’m in for a treat.
  3. The flight attendant from JFK to Tel Aviv sounded EXACTLY like Michelle from Gilmore Girls.
  4. Unfortunately, 51 of the groups flights were cancelled in Pheonix so some will probably get here tomorrow, sunday, and then next week.  Catie LeGrow was serious when she said I would be lucky I wasn’t on her flight... :(  Please say a prayer so they can get here soon!
  5. The call to prayer was going on as we got to the center.  A very touching experience.
  6. I am still in complete shock as to the beauty of the center.  Get this, the dome of the rock is framed by a pomegranate tree and roses on my patio.  As I am typing away, there is a waterfall behind me that just echos across the limestone interiors. 
  7. Food at the center is soooo good!  When we arrived they had a beautiful array of snacks awaiting us.  (And for those curious, I did only eat one)  Dinner was also absolutely incredible!  Everything is very aromatic and tastes as good as it looks.  Tonight was a sweet chicken with green olives with rice, vegetables, salad, pita, and chocolate mousse. 
  8. Airplane food is in fact ridiculously bad.  I don’t know why they don’t just give you a carton of milk and a mini box of cereal but the pitta bread in a breadstick this morning is just not cutting it.
  9. I read the Genesis 1-20 yesterday and remembered that there are some crazy/semi disturbing bible stories.
  10. Tonight was the last night of Ramadan and our neighborhood sounded like they were having a wonderful time celebrating it.  
  11. I know I said 10, but my computer changes all the little ads and buttons into hebrew now, which is kind of impossible for me to figure out....
P.S.  I love you all and am having a marvelous time!  If you want/need to get a hold of me, it’s easiest of you email me @ lesliegerber0@gmail.com :)  Thanks!

Friday, August 26, 2011

Finding Joy

Sometimes, we waste time on blogs.
Sometimes, we find cute things that we LOVE on blogs.
Sometimes, we find helpful tips on blogs.
Sometimes, we find things that change our lives on blogs.



There is a girl, and I don't even know her name, that has changed my perspective of my life.  She keeps one of the best blogs around.  This blog is all about how she has chosen to develop her skills and talents while she and her husband are separated by war.  As Jesse and I have now been separated for a solid 4 days now, I'm hoping to become more like that cute girl.  Positive, happy, faithful, fun, talented, smart.  I am practically packed for Jerusalem and getting more and more excited.  This is going to be a wonderful time where I can really focus on becoming a better me.  A better student, friend, daughter, sister, and especially, a better fiance for Jess.  I'm so lucky to have found the wonderful guy he is and I'm even more lucky that he asked me to be his wife :)


Thursday, August 25, 2011

New Material

Want to spice up your blog reading material?  check out my cute friend Catherine's blog here :)

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Time Line

 A lot of people are asking the same questions, so I figured I could just let you all know now what the deal with my life is.

Last day of work: August 9th
Last day in Provo : August 11th
Drive to Chicago: August 12th
Fly back to Utah: August 22nd
Fly to Jerusalem Center: August 30th
Field Trip to Turkey: Sept 17th-25th
Field Trip to Jordan: Oct 24th -27th (yes, I will be able to be with Jesse while in Amman!  yay!)
Field Trip to Galilee: Nov 14th -24th
Turn 20:  End of Nov
Fly home to Utah:  Dec 16th
Jesse home to Chicago: Dec 23rd
Jesse and I reunited: Dec 26th
Go through the Temple: Dec 28th
Get Married in the Salt Lake Temple: December 30th!!!!!!!
Utah wedding reception: December 30th
Chicago Wedding reception/open house: sometime next spring :)

A pretty exciting next 4 months, wouldn't ya say? :)


Wednesday, July 13, 2011

wedding shoes


So I don't want this to become a "wedding blog" per se, but I do want to share some fun things that we are putting together.  

Friday, July 8, 2011

2 Things

1.  Jesse Foster Thomas and I are getting married December 30th.  (Change of plans, I know, but the temple was closed on January 13th.)  We are so stoked and having a lot of fun being engaged.  The plans are coming together and we a so excited about starting our new lives together.

2.  Jerusalem:  Wow! In less than two months, I will be seeing this day in and day out.  

I'm thrilled to be studying where Christ walked and learning so many new things and experiencing a different way of life.  And to answer many questions, yes, I am wishing that Jesse and I could do this together.  I'm not thrilled about being away from him for 4 months, but we should see each other twice while abroad.  He will be studying the amazing language that is Arabic in Jordan for four months.  I never guessed that Humdudalah would be such a large part of my life.  


Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Plans with the Jesse





We finally have a date!  January 13, 2011 in the Salt Lake City Temple.  We are really excited and can hardly wait!  We are starting to plan everything and it is going pretty good.  These are the colors that I am thinking
Some Red and Grey

A little Red and Green 
A little Vintage
A little Woodsy
A little Wintery
A little artsy fartsy
A whole lot of me and jesse
The most wonderful place on earth

I seriously can't wait for the big day!!!
Love you boy :)