Standstills of April

My nieces and nephews certainly do a little number on my heart. This little Eli, I wish I could keep him forever. But alas, to Alaska he must return with my brother and sister-in-law. I guess this void in my heart will remain until we have our own.

Overalls are a must. 

And by the way, taking little tikes bowling is about one of the cutest things in our universe. 

Sheesh this little beauty is growing!

I loved their baby-size shoes.

The great thing is, it only takes one pin to be knocked down and...complete joy. 

I am completely wrapped around Harvey's finger too. 

 Elias Dee. Such a wonder. 

Loved having time to spend with Anthony, Sarah, and their precious kids. This really was the first time Jon and my brother got to know each other!

And on a completely unrelated note, Jon has mastered what we now call the "Gourmet Grilled Cheese"

And it rocks.

Yep, eating a delicious sandwich counts as a Standstill Moment. Even that can qualify.

Oh Ohio.

Well Hello Friends.

The Ohio State University is where we are currently making plans to move to for the next four years. Considering I have never lived outside of Utah my entire life, minus those memorable Performing Arts Company tours back in the glory days, this should be quite an experience indeed. I have never been away from home for longer than a month or so. I am dad's little princess and a mama's girl, often running away to my home in South Jordan for sanctuary. Sounds like it's time for me to have an adventure such as this. Hopefully I can deal with the homesickness by immersing myself into a new life in Ohio.

Jon and I feel so at peace about this; and it is really neat to make life-altering decisions together now, rather than apart as we did for so many years. But we definitely feel guided by someone above, things are just falling into place and pointing us back east.

Meanwhile, my Mary Tschaggeny Angelos sends me weekly texts with the top reasons why the Dittos should move to Ohio. Here are just a few:

1) Rach, you will actually experience the four full seasons! (I think I will explain it in my own words: spring will decide to be spring instead of having an identity crisis, and fall in Columbus has a reputation of being breathtaking.)
2) We will see you much more often. (Mare's in-laws live in Columbus and they take that 6-hour drive from D.C. to Ohio multiple times a year.)
3) Columbus has an H&M for your shopping pleasure! (SMILEY)
4) Your workouts will be much more enjoyable. Because of the humidity, you'll sweat even more and therefore lose more weight! (However, I will never have straight hair again for the next four years.)
5) Reason #5: Ritas. By far the best frozen dessert place located east of the Mississippi River.
6) Reason #6: You and Jill (Gillespie) Mangum will have a lot of fun. I am super jealous. I would LOVE to raise my kids in Columbus! They have the cutest neighborhoods that I have ever seen there.

And finally, I saved Mare's best reason of all for last. You have to know Mary and how hilarious that girl is. But regardless, this makes anyone laugh.

7) D&C 38:32 Tell Jon he is breaking the commandments if he doesn't go there now.

Ha ha. Well Mare, here are a few more reasons we are moving to your in-laws choice of residency:

- If I find a full-time job by mid-September, Jonathan and I will have Ohio State residency, only having to pay in-state tuition rather than out-of-state tuition! Think of how much debt that full-time job will be saving us, regardless of the hourly pay.
- If I am fortunate enough to find that full-time job on campus, we'll have even more of a tuition cut. BLESSINGS!
- Columbus, Ohio seems to be in the heart of everything back east. Weekend road trips can take us to D.C., Nauvoo, Manhattan, Kirtland, Notre Dame, or Palmyra.
- Ohio State University takes good care of their students. There are awesome student discounts for broadway plays and other entertainment throughout the area.
- Buckeye sports. Yep, I said it. They may be a bit conceited (at least the hubby thinks so), but they are also very talented and I look forward to becoming a fan.
- Green. I love green scenery over brown.
- Living in the mission field.
- Immersing ourselves into a new culture.
- Becoming our own family unit. (It will hurt to say goodbye, but Jon and I will grow closer than ever before.)

And above all, because God is saying "Go." I guess that one is the trump card. Maybe Mary's reason was applicable afterall.
-

The Butterfly Circus

Dear Friends,

I assume you have noticed by now how technology can be a blessing and a curse. A blessing to keep in touch with friends and read each other's thoughts, but a curse when social networking hinders our opportunity for actual face to face interactions. A substantial amount of our rising generation struggles with eye contact and real life conversation because they only practice communicating through texting and other social media. I recently read an article about the way such an overload of media (many consumers experience around 12 hours each day!) changes the way our brains function. In a fast-food world where so many things happen at the click of a button, it is no wonder to me why ADD and ADHD is diagnosed in children more frequently than ever. I get to work with many of these children at my family center.

Social media is addictive, causing a similar process in your brain as what happens with other addictive substances/sources. I have felt the powerful addiction of this source many times; I often have to strive for balance, and just take a good old-fashioned "social media fast" every now and then. Trust me, it's a great thing for me. I feel so much more productive on those days. And life is rich when I share it with the people surrounding me in my circle of everyday life.

But my focus of today's post is not about the negativity of technology. Let us praise the fact that technology can be used for good. For truth. For peace. For building the kingdom of God on the earth during these latter days. Wow, what a powerful tool we have. Missionary work is done through inspiring members who blog about love, service, family, and pretty much anything pertaining to the 13th Article of Faith.

And so many people who are not LDS are inspired to go about doing good. They have the light of Christ in them, and they inspire me to be more than I am. Emily has been telling me for weeks to watch this short film, and like anyone with a schedule would, I kept putting it off. I am so glad I took a few minutes on Wednesday this week to watch it. It really touched me. I had no interruptions and watched it to the end, which I believe will give you the full experience.

Please watch this my friends. It is about 20 minutes but will be well worth your time. You might want to have some kleenex nearby.

"You do have the advantage. The greater the struggle, the more glorious the triumph."
                                              - The Butterfly Circus