The End of Life in Missouri

At Christmas, I made the decision to stay in Missouri a few more months. I was thinking about moving but based on the circumstances, I wanted some more time at home before leaving the nest. In February, I started working in the medical billing office I worked in last fall with my friend, Brittany. I started going to Singles Ward and made a lot of great friends. Then we moved to Holt. I know...where's that?? It's a small town north of Liberty and we absolutely LOVE it there. I quit my job the end of May so I could have more time with my family and work on my paintings. I started going to my new Single's Ward and had such a fantastic summer with them. Many more great friends.

I am so grateful I stayed in Missouri and I will cherish these 8 months forever. I learned a lot about myself, my family, and my desires. I miss my family with all my heart and I wish I could still be there. However, life called me here to Utah. I like to think of that time at home as a glimpse of heaven. Family. Laughter. Joy. Doing what we love while being together. Here are the photos from that fabulous time.

Wearing my heels

Flowers from Eddie...my first date since breaking up with Chris.

At work, I collected all the colored paper clips and used them instead of the boring, silver ones. It made my days a little more fun. I was so grateful for that job. It was a wonderful blessing and I enjoyed it there. It was an hour drive to and from Holt though and it was driving me nuts how much time it was taking from my life. So I quit 3 months before moving.

I met these ladies in the Platte City Single's Branch. They are twins named Erin and Sonja Litster. We came to find out that they are David Dahl's cousins...my dear friend from Alaska.

Our new house in Holt, Missouri. We moved here on February 6th. We absolutely love being in a small town and we love the country life. It's a blessing for my dad to live so close to work.

My cat discovered that the towel closet in the bathroom is a fabulous place to sleep. My mom isn't too fond of it.

EASTER

JEB AND BRITNEY'S VISIT

Teaghan and BriAnn became friends and it was fun to see the cousins together. It was fun having them visit for a little bit on their way to Florida. We haven't all been together since Jeb got home from his mission. They came on Mother's Day and it was simply heaven on earth that day.

Me and my precious baby, Cricket. Her and I were inseparable this year. She was always in the same room as me. Leaving her was painful. It hurts because she doesn't understand why I'm not there anymore and that just kills me. It's just a year and then I'll have her back...hopefully.

FROGS

We had guests every night this summer on our back windows...little frogs! They came at night when all the bugs were attracted to the light from our windows and ate them. We would have anywhere from 1-4 frogs at a time, big and small. It was so fun seeing them.

Kearney Single's Branch

I enjoyed the Platte City Single's Branch, but when I finally started going to the Kearney one after moving, I fell in love with it. I had so much fun going to this branch. I made so many great friends and had a blast at all the activities.

Game night at my house. Here's Benny, Lauren, Brian, Symber, Grant, Me, Alan, and Lora.

Omaha Temple Trip

FHE at a Royals vs. White Sox game. The Royals won 3-1. It was my first major league baseball game and I enjoyed it.

Flour paintball FHE. We put flour in nylon socks and whacked each other silly. It was so fun!

Afterward, some of the guys were determined to build a complete pyramid...this was our best. We tried for an hour and I wanted to be done. They made me be on it because everyone else refused.

My friend, Lauren and I went to the Art Museum downtown. I've been wanting to for a long time. I love these things outside of the museum.

4TH OF JULY

We went back to the town homes to celebrate the holiday with Aubre and Eran. The celebration is always so fun there. BriAnn was so brave and got right in there. She also burned my arm with a punk stick haha. Ethan wouldn't stop for 2 seconds to let me take a picture of him and Easton sat in complete awe of what was going on.

Emma did my make up :D. It took her a good 15 minutes and BriAnn kept saying, "You look funny, Aunt Rachael." I thought it was adorable.

Ok, this right here is the cutest little boy I have ever seen. I love his outfit!

Swimming at the Walker's house with the family

It was a little too small for me. I got stuck.

This summer was unbearable. I don't know how my dad worked outside every day. It says 100 but it felt like 115 with the humidity. Not even right.

YANKEES GAME

Ann, Calvin, my grandparents, Parker, Austin, and Austin's girlfriend came to visit and we went to a Royals vs. Yankees game which was really cool. Who doesn't want to go to a Yankees game sometime in life?? It was my mom's first major league game this time. You can't tell, but we were dying of heat. We were all sweating like pigs.

MINI TWISTER THAT BLEW THROUGH TOWN

We had a mini twister, or micro burst, blow down our street. It knocked down half the trees in our yard. It seriously looked like a ward zone. Limbs were EVERYWHERE. Three of the neighbor's trees fell across the street and we couldn't even get home. That's right, my mom and I were in town and missed it all. Then my poor father was in a tree cutting down the broken limbs when a limb fell on his head and split open his scalp. 10 stitches were needed.

LAST FAMILY GET TOGETHER

We got together for dinner a couple of days before I left and decided to celebrate my birthday since I'll be in Utah for it.

Leaving was really hard. I cried my whole last week, while I packed, and the whole night before we left. We stopped by my sister's to say goodbye and I couldn't even look at her. I have been preparing to move all year but it wasn't easy at all. I am so grateful for the time I was given at home. It was indescribable. My life is in Utah now. I need to be here and I'm excited to be here. It's time for me to fly!

Where's the boundry?

The other day as I was checking out at Target, a couple with a little girl, maybe 5 years old, were checking out in front of me. The girl grabbed a Ring Pop off the candy rack and turned to her mom. "Mommy, can we get this please?"

Without hesitation, she ripped it out of her hand and put it back exclaiming, "Get a job!"

The little girl turned to her dad and said, "Daddy please, can we get it? It's my favorite!!"

Her dad didn't say anything. The look on the girl's face just about killed me. She put her hands together and pleaded to her dad, "Please daddy, it's my favorite!! Can we get it? I'm talking to you!" She pleaded all the way out.

So where is the boundry here? All I wanted to do was buy that girl a Ring Pop. The look on her face broke my heart. Her pleadings for a simple $1 candy were so innocent and sincere. All she wanted was that small piece of candy. I understand if a family really can't afford to spare $1...we've been there. A loving and honest explanation would then be given to the child. But to completely ignor and disrespect the simple wish of a child exclaiming that she get a job (at 5 years old?) is unsettling. However, they are her parents and I couldn't impose on how they chose to discipline their daughter. But to me, where's the harm? Teach her that she can't always get her way with a more unrealistic request.

When I became an aunt and fell in love with these amazing little people that belong to my brother and sister, I learned that the smallest things can mean so much to a child. If waiting an extra minute to leave or spending an extra dollar would give a child what they want the most at that moment, then they deserve it.

I guess I will just need to remember that girl's face when my future children ask for something that wouldn't be that big of a deal to fulfill.

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

As I'm sure you can already tell, I enjoy really moving scenes in movies and T.V. One of the most powerful, witty, and enjoyable movies I've ever seen is...

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

Mr. Magorium is a 243-year-old man who owns a magical toy store. He fell in love with shoes in Tuscany and bought enough pairs to last his whole life. He is on his last pair of shoes and feels it is time for him to "depart". So he hires an accountant, whom he calls "Mutant", to see how much his store is worth. He wants to leave it to his faithful store manager, Mahoney, who is a piano genius struggling to finish her first masterpiece. There is a boy named Eric, who spends his time helping out in the store. He struggles making friends and has a hat collection. He wears a different hat every day.

The movie is filled with subtle humor, powerful lines and moving speeches. Here are a few of my favorite parts:

• The store begins sulking and turning black in a corner because it is unhappy that Magorium is leaving. He walks around the store one night and talks to it.

"I must say, I am very disappointed in you. I understand feeling sad, scared, or even suspicious but that is no reason to turn gray and start pouting. I would expect such behavior, perhaps, from a brand-new store, or even a store a few years old, but a store your age...sulking? It is simply atrocious. The immitigable truth is I'm leaving tomorrow, and Mahoney, bless her timid heart, will be given care of you. I'm sorry, my sweet, but it is a perfect fact and no amount of misbehavior will change it. She loves you, as do I. (He walks to the gray corner) We must face tomorrow and whatever it may hold with determination, joy, and bravery. (He touches the wall and it turns red again under his hand) So I suggest you stop this petulance. I expect you to pull yourself together, and put your best face on by the time of my departure."

• Mr. Magorium and Mahoney come back to the store at night and say goodbye before his departure. She is crying and this is the speech he gives to her.
  

"When King Lear dies in Act V, do you know what Shakespeare has written? He's written 'He dies.' That's all, nothing more. No fanfare, no metaphor, no brilliant final words. The culmination of the most influential work of dramatic literature is 'He dies.' It takes Shakespeare, a genius, to come up with 'He dies.' And yet every time I read those two words, I find myself overwhelmed with dysphoria. And I know it's only natural to be sad, but not because of the words 'He dies.' but because of the life we saw prior to the words. I've lived all five of my acts, Mahoney, and I am not asking you to be happy that I must go. I'm only asking that you turn the page, continue reading... and let the next story begin. And if anyone asks what became of me, you relate my life in all its wonder, and end it with a simple and modest 'He died.'"

• Mr. Magorium and Mahoney are in a clock store and set all the clocks to go off at noon.

Mahoney: "Thirty-seven seconds...now we wait."
Mr. Magorium: "No, we breathe, we pulse, we regenerate. our hearts beat, our minds create, our souls ingest. Thirty-seven seconds well used is a lifetime."

• Mr. Magorium gives Mahoney a block of wood and tells her it will help. She has no idea what to do with it.
  

"There are a million things one might do with a block of wood. But what do you think might happen if someone, just once, believed in it?"

It isn't until she is telling Mutant that she believes it is absolutely more than just a block of wood, that it does something. The store then comes alive because it now knows that she believes and that she can run the store.

• When the Mutant comes to the store for his accountant interview.
  

Magorium: "Name the Fibonacci series from its eleventh to its sixteenth."
Mutant: "Umm... 89, 144, 233, 377, 610?"
Magorium: "Perfect. Number four, do we really need it?"
Mutant: "If you like squares - you do."
Magorium: "Oh, I like squares. Good. Now, the hot dog, the hot dog/bun ratio, why for the love of mustard are there never enough buns?"
Mutant: "Extra hot dogs..."
Magorium: "Yes, but why?"
Mutant: "In case you drop a couple."
Magorium: "What kind of insufferable fool drops a hot dog?"
Mutant: "Anything can happen, sir."

Magorium: "Anything can happen. How absolutely true. You're exactly the mutant I'm looking for! You're hired"

There are a lot more scenes and lines I enjoyed but this should suffice. There is a cute scene between Mutant and Eric starting a friendship. Eric builds a statue of Abe Lincoln out of Lincoln logs and all the kids just stare. This kid gets ran over by a gigantic kickball and Magorium says "Isn't that amazing? Impossible to dogde!" Magorium has a pet zebra named Mortamer and tells it to get off the couch and stay out of the fridge. Eric puts stars up in Magorium's hospital room to make sure he has enough "space" to sleep in. The list goes on and on. The entire movie is filled with little tidbits of joy and I love it!