Give Thanks

For my Amberly 

For Jonathan David and all that he is

For motherhood

For my mom and dad, and the difference they make each day of my life

For each of my family members and in-laws

For temples

For friends

For the comfort of the Holy Ghost

For good health and a warm home

For my eye sight, my hearing, my sense of touch, taste, and smell

For Living

For the atonement and resurrection of my Savior, Jesus Christ

For Seth -

 and the blessing he has been in my life and in the lives of so many.

We ache and cry and laugh and hurt and live and miss you terribly.

And in honor of you, I will stop to give thanks this Thursday.

I love you, Brother. It won't be the same without you.

Seth Iral

You always had such awesome hair and the best big teddy bear hugs. I adore you brother.

I feel a hole in my heart.

A piece of me, my family, and my entire childhood now gone.

I can distract myself from the pain by keeping busy during the day

But alone with my thoughts, I must deal with this grief.

It consumes

It is weighted

And it threatens to break

It is so strange having him gone.
He was always the latest to arrive, but he always came.
And he brightened everyone's mood with his wit and his presence, what I miss most of all. 

But the faith in my soul is stronger than despair,

And I know that he is in good hands - with family that long awaited to receive him -
and in an even better place.

I knew this when my shattered mother took my hands in hers and choked out the words that he had passed. I knew this when I was called upon to do one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in my life: inform each of my siblings of his death. I knew this when heartbroken and seeing him in the casket, I reached out to touch him and felt only a cold lifeless shell. His vivacity for life, his spirit was too strong to simply be erased. My brother lives on, and I continue to pray for him to find himself in the arms of his Savior and embrace the everlasting gospel.


21  Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. 

23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.

John 11:21-23

I will see him again. Until that time, our perspectives have been deepened on what matters most as we dwell in these 'tabernacles of clay'. I don't know how long it will take to heal, but I know how to breathe and how to remind those I love to do the same. We will go through the motions until they feel natural again. We will remember the memories and his cleverness and his good heart. Together, we will make it through this part of our journey, and look forward to a glorious reunion.

He's an Attorney!

It was a rough road, no point in denying it. I don't want to be dramatic and tell embellished stories of how they were the worst three years of our lives, because we were certainly happy and we made it work. Jon prioritized having dinner with his wife every evening, even through those rocky weeks of finals. And there were sleepless nights on mostly his part, for sure, but he trucked through the arduous road and made it to the end. I think my husband might have finally reached a point when he can stop having nightmares about grades, and that is an accomplishment in and of itself!

But he did it, and I just have to say that we are basking in the light at the end of that long tunnel.

On October 16th, Jonathan David Ditto was sworn in as a licensed attorney for the state of Utah. It was a joyous day!

Abravenal Hall

And just to celebrate even more, his sister Mary Anna Ditto was sworn in as an attorney as well! 

The brand new attorneys make it official simultaneously. Look out world!

This is Spencer, one of Jon's closest law school buddies. I'm so glad we got a picture with him! He's one of our favorite people. Brilliant and hilarious with his dry sense of humor. He might have kept Jon sane by bringing NBA Jam to class a time or two, and yes, they would secretly play it in the back row with their other buddy Daniel Scow. There is a kid in every lawyer.

A few more Dittos

Daddy Ditto took us to The Garden afterwards for lunch. 

The servers were so excited for Jon and Mary, they opened up the roof to the restaurant and let them make a wish before letting a balloon fly into the sky. It was pretty cool!

And so, it's officially official. Jon can do really hard things.

And he's a licensed attorney for the state of Utah! 

I left the ceremony that day hoping I had done enough to support my husband through those law school years. It was a time of growth for both of us, for sure. I balanced keeping my husband mentally/emotionally stable and well-fed (well at least I made him dinner), working full-time, and battling infertility for the majority of it. I hope I was enough for Jonathan during those roller coaster law school years in Provo. Nonetheless, he did it. We did it! And while I often wondered if it would all be worth it, I can say now that it was all worth it in the end.

Jon will continue his clerkship for the Second District Court of Utah for a minimum of one year, a maximum of two. It's great exposure to various areas of law and it's a really great fit for our little family for the time being. This clerkship places him in a good position for his next exciting job! Oh the places Jon will go and the people he'll help as a lawyer, we shall see!