Carl shared this video with me tonight, and the only reaction I was able to give were tears from a soul that was touched by a very timely message of hope.
Many times, when it seems impossible to see beyond our seemingly hopeless circumstances, despair wins and we give up. However, as Elder Jeffrey Holland said,
"Don't you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead.
Some blessings come soon, some late, some don't come until heaven.
But for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come.
It will be alright in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come."
I can not find words to add on to how Elder Holland promises blessings to those who endure to the end and keep the faith. Surely, the Lord knows the desires of our hearts...and in his due time, we shall receive the choicest blessings he has in store for us.
Today was our niece's baby blessing. Her dad gave her a beautiful blessing and it was a very touching moment at sacrament meeting. The whole Milbury family (with the exception of one who lives out in California) attended our ward today. Mom Maren and Dad Gary Dixon, Paul and Ligaya Kuiken, the Catubays, and the Hamptons were also there to witness the joyous occasion.
Mommy Jasmine and Baby Keana
After church, we all had a little get together at the Milbury's - and Keana had a good time. Good food and good friends always make a happy occasion. Jasmine's mom-in-law Pat and Scott's sister Jill made spaghetti, home-made bread-sticks, tossed green salad, and pineapple punch. Carl and I prepared the Lumpia and Mini Hotdogs for hors'oeuvres.
The Catubays, the Hamptons, and the newly wed Kuiken couple celebrating with Baby Keana
Carl and I just had dinner at Cafe Zupas in Draper. They serve gourmet soups, salads, sandwiches and desserts. Carl and I like to eat, but we like doing so not because we're gluttons but because we just have a passion for food - Carl likes good food and I like to cook. So anyway, we did enjoy our lovely dinner at Zupas. Who wouldn't enjoy a dinner out without spending a dime?
Yes, we spent zero dollars at Zupas! Carl used his frequent buyer points card (he had two) in exchange for our meal. If you want to know how Carl earned his points, ask Carl :) We really enjoyed our food. Carl had Lobster Bisque and Boston Crab Melt Panini while I had Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo and Shanghai Chicken Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing. For dessert, we had Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries.
Boston Crab Melt
Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries
Anyway, we highly recommend Zupas. They only operate in Utah and they have seven locations in the state. They have really good soups and fresh greens for their salads! Eat healthy, Dine at Zupas!!!!
We were kind of slow with blogging this month, and we have really good reasons... which means, there's a lot to share on this post. The stories do pile up... so its time to dish them out.
Carl's been pretty serious studying for his his PMP certification.Its a credential offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI) to certified individuals in the project management field. Carl started working for the LDS Church as an IT Project Coordinator in March, and being a certified PMP will surely add to his working knowledge in the field. He spent a lot of hours studying, sometimes until he'd "hit the wall" - meaning he's had information overload and will soon crash down. It all paid off though because he passed the exam when he took it on the 21st. Carl is now a certified Project Management Professional... in fact, the first thing he did after passing the exam was order business cards with his name printed as Carl Lorenz M. Canlas, PMP.
Carl's STUDY WALL
On the other hand, I have been pre-occupied as well. Aside from studying for the TOEFL (which BYU is requiring me to take before they reconsider my application for graduate school...I took the test on the 22nd), I've been spending at least 25 hours each week at the LDS Employment Resource Services in Riverton as a Service Missionary. It is a wonderful opportunity to come to work everyday and be of help to our brothers and sisters in their efforts to become more self reliant. With my current "non-eligible to work" status due to the stipulations of my visa, I realized (with a lot of Carl's help) that if I can not work even when I would have been offered one, I will do my best to help others find something for themselves. So every week from Monday to Thursday, I go to the Riverton Office Building wearing my missionary badge and doing the Lord's work.
Yes, people stare when they see me having lunch with Carl.
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Leisure wise, Carl and I have been pretty absorbed into other stuff too!
We've become fans of Dancing with the Stars Season 10...and we both think Evan Lysacek is really good. Though we now know that he lost to Nicole Scherzinger, I still like him a lot!
Evan Lysacek and Anna Trebunskaya's Paso Doble is our ultimate favorite routine
Of course, its NBA Playoffs time! Carl and I are hard core Laker fans - because Carl thinks they are amazing, and I love Kobe Bryant. We were so ecstatic when they defeated Utah Jazz, and we didn't care if we now live in Jazz town. (Thanks to Louie Liad for hosting Game 4). We are now hoping they beat the crap out of Phoenix Suns.
Oh, and because Carl is now a certified PMP, he took me to Outback Stakehouse for dinner on the 22nd. We were so full - fuller than when we ate at Makinochaya in Honolulu or Hokkaido in Long Beach (and those two are buffets). Their Blooming Onion is way better than fries, and their signature steak melts in your mouth. The best thing about dining at Outback that night was we only paid half of our bill. Carl received a $25 Outback gift card from work... because he's been so good with his job!
Did I mention we can have a free Blooming Onion on our next visit?
A couple of other fun stuff, we enjoyed a couple of fun Mario Wii games with Micah and Shey when they invited us over for lunch last Saturday... and Micah taught me a really cool African board game similar to the Filipino Sungka. Also, Carl and I are TRYING to be SEMI-VEGETARIANS...that is, less meat diet. Speaking of "vegetarians," we've purchased our tickets for Twilight Saga: Eclipse which opens in theaters on June 30th... and like Carl promised, we'll be watching Eclipse - IMAX!
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We've been tremendously blessed by our Heavenly Father. We've literally seen the Lord's hands in our daily challenges. A couple of weeks ago, we went to the Jordan River Temple to feel closer to God's presence and offered Him our deepest love and appreciation for all that He has done for us. It also feels good to attend the temple with Carl because, even though I attend the Salt Lake City temple almost every Thursday by myself, spending a quiet moment together in the Celestial room is whole different spiritual experience.
The women in our lives - the beautiful, hard working, selfless, loving women in our lives - certainly deserve a day just for them. It feels really good for women to be appreciated, for all that they do and how they do them. Carl and I are certainly very grateful for the women in our live, most especially our mothers.
We both truly miss our moms, and God knows how much we'd love to be with them. We love them so much, and our heart is full of gratitude for all that they have done for us. They have taught us good things, and they will remain with us for good. We owe our mothers the eternal companion that we have found in each other... We love them with all our hearts!
I am indeed lucky to be the woman in Carl's life. With that as a premise, I'd really love to celebrate mother's day, everyday! For mother's day, my BIG BABY treated me with a surprise day spa at a cute little salon in Sandy. As I opened the car after church, a bouquet of beautiful red roses was waiting for me. Later that day, we watched Iron Man 2 at Jordan Commons. I really felt pampered on Mother's day.
I was also very touched by the mother's day greetings I received from our friends. Though I truly believe that we are all mothers in our own special ways, I still feel that having a child I can call my own will add meaning to the essence of motherhood that I have in my heart. God knows how much I love children, and nurturing and taking care of others... and having a child of my own flesh and blood takes that love to the next level. I know I will have my own someday, when the Lord decides it is time to bless me and Carl with a beautiful child. For now, I am content with the vicarious mothering opportunities the Lord has given me... besides, I have my BIG BABY to give hugs and kisses to every single day.
Some of you, our dear friends, know that my wife is awesome in the kitchen! If you've ever been to our apartment in TVA when we were still in BYU-Hawaii, you've probably tasted some of her delicious labor of love!
In line with sharing, JV has added a page in our blog where she weekly features what she's done special in the kitchen. By just clicking on each featured food's name, you will be directed to a site where she posts some of her recipes.
This week's featured recipe is her version of LUMPIANG SHANGHAI. Check it out!
By the way, each featured recipe is posted on our blog for a week, and then she replaces it with a different one the week after. So you probably should visit her food blog too!
Since we've moved to Utah, Carl and I haven't gotten the time to visit and hang-out with friends. We usually spend our weekends doing errands. The only times we had "friend-time" was when we slept over at Jared's (Carl's BYUH room mate) after the New Moon party back in March, and when we attended Music and the Spoken Word couple of weeks ago.
So, Carl and I had a really good time last Saturday when we got the chance to get together with friends and had a potluck at the Catubay's in Daybreak. It was just the perfect timing because friends from Hawaii are either visiting or moving here, just like us. Thanks to Shey's reminder that "we need to hang-out," Jenneth's potluck idea, and ate Lally's warm accommodations - last Saturday's get together was so much fun!
Everyone brought food, and at the end of the night, all the food was almost gone. I guess when someone announces its Videoke time, we all forget there's some more food left!
Thanks everyone for bringing good food and sharing good laughs! Hope we can do it again sometime :)
Carl has asked me several times in the past couple of months if I wanted to cut my hair already...and I always had two reasons why it wasn't time to cut it. First, a haircut is not my priority. Second, I need the length to cover my nape during the winter season so i didn't have to buy a scarf. And plus, I like my hair long. The third one wasn't a reason, its just me stating a fact.
But like anything in this world, there comes a point when its just too much - and yeah, I finally figured my hair got much longer than is convenient. So last Saturday, I bid goodbye to probably 8 inches of hair. The hairdresser actually asked me maybe 3 or 4 times if I was sure I wanted to cut that much... and I, without blinking, said YES, CHOP IT.
It was my freshman year in high school when I last allowed myself to grow my hair too long, and I remember having to braid it almost everyday just so it would look neat on my face. So when I started resorting to braiding my hair whenever I don't have enough time to fix it - that was it.
My last visit to the hair salon was on Thanksgiving 2008...and after 17 months, I guess it's about time.
And by the way, I kept the hair that she cut... maybe i'll try to beat my own record!
Carl and I have been married for 608 days now. Since the day we've been married, we've lived in 3 states, stayed in 4 houses, and bought a $2000 car. Its been a total adventure - we've had our ups and downs, but somehow through each other's strength and with the Lord's grace, we always pull through.
If I had to go through those 20 months by myself, I might have gone crazy every other 2 months. Haha!! Seriously, the not-so-good times were a lot better because I had Carl. Well, for Carl, he always tells me I'm patient and supportive and amazing... I don't feel like I measure up sometimes... but I do the best I can to be a better wife everyday.
As a gift to Carl, I baked and decorated a cake for him. I am very proud of this cake because it's the first time I am making its kind. I baked the cake and made the fondant last Tuesday. I stored them in the freezer, and worked on it yesterday. It took me maybe 4 hours to finish the whole thing, even though its pretty small. I stored it in the fridge after, even though I know I'm not supposed to - condensation inside the fridge is supposed to make the fondant wet, because I had to keep it from Carl. I intended for it to be a surprise, and Carl was not allowed to open the fridge.
Check out my kitchen to learn more about how I made my 1st fondant cake :)
So anyway, when it was time for Carl to see the cake, he almost didn't want to eat it...he said its too pretty! Well, that's Carl - he always makes me feel good about the things I make. We ate some anyway!!!
He bought me a little postcard of the Laie Hawaii Temple, our special temple. Hawaii is our special place - where it all began 4 years ago. Tomorrow, we'll attend the Oquirrh Mountain Temple in South Jordan to celebrate the spiritual essence of our marriage.
It has been an amazing 20 months - and I won't trade anything for the laughs and tears that had been. I love my husband, and I know he loves me - and that makes life great!
This year, we were invited by Mom and Dad Dixon to join their annual family camping trip to Moab. Carl and I were so excited because we've had the thought of going on a camping trip since last summer when we were still living in California.
So last Friday, Klisty and her sons picked us up and we all drove up to Moab.We had tons of fun!!! And that's because Carl and I did something we've never tried before. We enjoyed it a lot, and we were so glad that the weather was very cooperative.
When we hiked on Saturday, it was the perfect weather to be in the great outdoors. I was physically challenged on some spots during the hike - as I realized how my short legs can not quite reach when I try to pass through. We were so beat and tired, but we enjoyed the thrill and the view of Fiery Furnace at Arches National Park. It was stunningly beautiful out there!!!
Carl was thrilled to drive Brady's Jeep, though I freaked out when I thought Carl panicked. Carl also tried mountain biking with Dad Gary at Slick Rock.
We also watched as Jeeps and trucks fall in line at Potato Salad Hill and ascend one by one up the boulders.
On Easter morning, we watched the kids paint their eggs, and later on rolled them on the hill.
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