Maui

Jeremiah and I were able to return to Maui for my grandma Honda's funeral. It was a beautiful service and ended up being a wonderful time to spend with relatives. Even though funerals are often difficult to attend I have always loved the fact that they bring family and friends together again. Of course there were moments of tears but most of the moments were filled with joy in remembering the sweet life of my grandmother. 

My Grandmother was many things but, most importantly, she was a disciple of Christ. She left behind a legacy of faith for her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. We all know of her testimony and are guided by the lessons she taught us while she was alive. 

I am so blessed to know that families can be together forever and that my grandmother is reunited with her sweet husband once again.

One of the best parts of being able to go back to Maui was being able to see my sweet mother. I love and miss her very much. She exemplifies the kind of person I want to be and strive to become.

Jeremiah's First time to the Beach!

I wanna be like you!

Jeremiah is at a stage right now where he wants to do everything like everyone else. His favorite person to mimic right now is his uncle Sam. Jeremiah makes sure that he always has his rugby ball for all of Sam's rugby games. He also screams loudly and tries to run on the field to play with all of the big boys.

Because Sam is so good at a wide variety of things, he has a huge opportunity to be an example to his peers. We are so proud of him for always living his standards and being a missionary in the way that he lives. Because of his example, one of Sam's friend's, Joon, is learning about the gospel. Joon is a wonderful guy who is full of faith and has many Christ-like attributes. We feel like Joon is part of our family and enjoy having him around so much. I have been blessed to witness Sam teaching his friend Joon and Joon learning gospel principles.

Both Sam and Joon have been Jeremiah's buddies. They are so sweet with him and even though they could just ignore him and do their own thing, they play with him and make him feel happy. No wonder Jeremiah wants to be like them.

(Sam's friends: Joon and Caitlyn)

  

There is Beauty All Around

 I don't have a lot of time to write but pictures are more fun anyway. Enjoy!

These are pictures taken from behind the house. Everything is in blossom and beautiful. We love going for walks on the trails outside and seeing all of the wonderful things Heavenly Father created for us. Jeremiah loves the wildlife around here. There are always bunnies, dear, giant squirrels or other critters around the house

 For Easter our wonderful Neighbors and ward friends threw a party. All of the little ones were able to play games and hunt for easter eggs. It was so cute to watch all of the babies and toddlers. They didn't quite get the whole easter egg thing but they loves running around and taking eggs out of and putting eggs in each others baskets. 

Jeremiah thought that the eggs were fun all by themselves. He thew them, rolled them and just laughed and laughed. But, once he found out there was candy inside of the eggs he was even more pleased!

We went to Belle Isle for spring break and had a fantastic time. Bell Isle was beautiful and relaxing. Most days were spent playing games in the sun room/dinning room and going canoeing. Jeremiah loved playing in the water but didn't like getting bumped around by the waves.

Chris and I went out canoeing at sunset and enjoyed the beautiful colors.

General Conference April 2012

Days Go By

Jeremiah has loved the wonderful weather. We spend most of our time outside now days. Today, Chris spent his time cutting down some of the large trees in his parents backyard. When Jeremiah saw his daddy in trees he immediately wanted to be in a tree as well. So, I stuck him in the smallest tree in the yard and he was as happy as a clam! 

Here's a picture of Jeremiah the Monkey!

I am the new Beehive advisor in the ward and have enjoyed spending time with the young women. Yesterday, we had our "New Beginnings" program to introduce the Young Women program to the upcoming new Beehives. It was a beautiful night centered around our theme: "Arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the Nations." - D&C 115:5

I was lucky enough to get assigned to decorations for the night. So, I made some posters and built a  6' tall night house that lit up brighter every time one of the girls finished talking about a value. Everything turned out really well and I was proud of myself for pulling it all together when I didn't think 

I could.

Here are the posters I made. If you would like the Large files to print just send me an email and I can get them to you. I printed them 24"x37" at Office Depot and they looked awesome! 

Happy Days

This past Thursday my husband surprised me with a cute little box and a note for my birthday. Excitedly I opened the box only to find a whole bunch of mud! YES! Just what I wanted :S Actually, it turns out that this was his way of telling me that I was going to run in The Dirty Dash (a 10k race in Midway Utah). I had been wanting to run the race and kept asking about it but it was too expensive to register so late in the game. So, it was a great surprise and a wonderful present!

Today we ran The Dirty Dash.  I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed getting so dirty. What a great memory.

And, to top the day off, I went to the General Relief Society Meeting. I enjoyed all of the talks but the one that really spoke to me was the talk given by Elder Uchtdorf. I adore him! Not only is he the most handsome apostle (in my opinion) but also extremely sweet and funny. I genuinely feel his love for me and for the members of the church. He hit on 5 points that stem from his thoughts on the Forget Me Not flower.

1. Forget Not to be Patient with Yourself

I think it's so important that we don't get down on ourselves for not being perfect. A problem that many of the women of the church have. Why is it that we believe we have to be the perfect mom, wife, cook, pianist, painter, etc? And, what is perfection? Is our vision of what perfection is warped?

2. Forget Not the Difference Between a Good Sacrifice and a Foolish Sacrifice.

Sometimes we focus too much on trying to go the extra mile but the sacrifice we make in order to do so might not be wise.

3. Forget Not to be Happy Now!

We should enjoy the blessings we currently have and life in happiness along our quest for perfection.

4. Forget Not the "Why" of the Gospel.

We often focus on the "What" (what do I have to do now?) and "How" (how the heck am I going to find time to do this?) but, as we remember the "Why" it makes the "What" and "How" so much easier to see and do.

5. Forget Not that the Lord Loves You

:) We are beloved daughters of our Heavenly Father and He LOVES us! We are loved by the most magnificent being in the entire universe.

Wow! It's so wonderful that we have modern day apostles and a prophet who leads our church and speaks on behalf of God. We can hear exactly what Heavenly Father wants us to know.

I am also posting a few pictures of Jeremiah because I know you all enjoy seeing pictures of him more than hearing about our lives. :) I took these over the past 2 days. 

Oh...to sleep like a baby! I swear Jeremiah can sleep  in ANY position.

We all have BYU jerseys so that we can sport them when we watch the games. The picture on the left is Jeremiah in football line position. We thought this was funny.

Thank You

This morning on my way home from driving Chris to his meeting I stopped to let a girl cross the street. The girl happily smiled, waved and mouthed a "thank you" as she crossed. I was so touched by this small gesture of appreciation. I didn't realize that a simple "thank you" could change or set the mood for the day.

In 2003 Elder Oaks gave a talk called "Give Thanks in All Things." In his talk Elder Oaks outlines some of the things that we should be grateful for and why it's important that we give thanks.
As I read this talk I realized that showing gratitude not only lifts the receiver but also blesses the life of the giver. When I give thanks to others and to God I am more positive and see potential/present problems in a brighter light. It's often hard to be grateful for our trials especially while we are in the middle of them. However, Elder Oaks assures us that we will be blessed as we search for things to be thankful for and show our gratitude for those things.

I challenge each of you today to thank at least 5 people ,including God, for something. As you make yourself more aware of the good that you are being blessed with it will become more easy for you to see them each day. You will find that there are so many things to be thankful for that you wont know how to give thanks for all of them. HOW GREAT IS THAT?!?

Some of the things I am grateful for today are: the nice weather, the food in my refrigerator, my husband, my baby boy, dish sponges, my ability to hear and see, work, and the internet.

This morning Jeremiah was crawling around with a flavored stick that he got from the doctor's office. I thought that this picture might make you smile and hopefully make you grateful for children, laughter, humor, smiles, wealth enough to have a device that has internet capabilities and your ability to see this picture that has traveled through space so that you can view it miles and miles away.   :)

I want to tell you all that I am so thankful for you and for all that you do. My life is beautiful because you are a part of it!!!

Elder Oaks "Give Thanks in All Things" 2003

Cougar Spirit

The weather has been quite beautiful here in Provo. I've been taking Jeremiah on walks around the newly re-landscaped outskirts of campus. It's been so pleasant to watch all the students start moving in and feeling the growing excitement as school is about to begin. I love being on campus when its busy and full of students. Although, BYU can be demanding it is a place where the spirit can be felt and where lessons both spiritual and temporal are learned.

A major hot/exciting conversation topic in our home is BYU football. This year is BYU's first year as an independent team. The BYU football program is unique in it's design. It is unlike any other program in the world and it always has been. Players abide by the honor code and work towards achieving the missions of BYU; they are clean, good, and upstanding young men. At BYU we will never have the issues that so many collegiate programs are being investigated for taking part in. Some question whether or not going independent was a good move for BYU but, I believe that the decision will bring BYU's unique program more publicity, creating a greater opportunity to share The Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Last night Chris, Jeremiah and I went to meet the team. The entire practice field was crowded with energized and enthralled fans. As we wondered around watching little kids get their pictures taken with the cheerleaders, the dads buying jerseys, and families waiting in long lines waiting to see their football heros we were overcome by excitement and anticipation for the upcoming season. While we were there we were able to see Jake Heaps, Ross Apo and Kyle Van Noy. They are great young men and I was so impressed with their congenial charm.

I asked a couple of my friends from the football team to tell me about what they love about BYU football. I will add my quotes from them as they send them to me.

"BYU Football....Its a way for us as players to play to our highest potential, and as we have success and are more exposed to the Nation because of that success, we can share the Gospel with others...I love BYU football because its taught me things like hard-work, dedication, commitment, setting priorities, and the list continues to grow..."
-Water Kahaiali'i #71

The Clarks will always bleed blue and most definitely be sporting our BYU blue attire. :) We can't wait for the upcoming season!!! GO COUGS!

3 Years

Chris and I just celebrated our 3 year anniversary this past Friday! What a sweet day it was.
Friday evening Chris and I drove to the Salt Lake Temple to do some family sealings. On our way we talked about our favorite memories from the time that we met up until now. I hadn't realized how much we've done together until we started our list. I am so grateful for these beautiful memories! I think it's important to regularly look back on the blessings and great times that we have in our lives. It makes us thankful and gives us a sense of happiness and fulfillment.
No one knows but, before we went to the temple on our wedding day we decided to go to Einstein's for a bagel. We had left Provo a lot earlier than we needed to (We were nervous that we would be late for our own wedding.) So, we had a whole bunch of extra time to kill. :) We only though it appropriate to return back to that same little Einstein's bagel shop up in the avenues. While we sat outside the shop and talked, Chris had his cousin Robert show up in a suit to surprise me with a large bouquet of beautiful flowers. I can always tell when Chris is going to do something "cute" because he always gets this quirky smile on his face moments before it happens. It really is quite adorable but... a dead giveaway!
The temple was magnificent as usual. I cried as we held hands and were able to "repeat" in a sense our marriage. There is no greater joy than knowing I will be able to be with my husband and little Jeremiah forever.
To seal up all of the goodness at the end of the day we went to The Roof. It truly was a magical time. I wish that for a while I could just freeze time at that moment and linger a little longer.

Being Married to Chris is such a joy. Each day is an adventure that I look forward to. I wake-up with a skip in my step and a smile on my face just because I know that I am his wife. He is such a hard worker and is always concerned for mine and Jeremiah's wellbeing. I love that he leaves me little notes every so often just to remind me that he loves me. He knows exactly what I need and what keeps me going. He is romantic. He is funny. He is smart. He is honest. He is good. He is strong. He is talented. He is everything I could ever want and more.
Chris and I have been quite blessed. But, marriage isn't always sunshine and roses. There are definitely some cloudy and rainy days. But, the rain isn't so bad when you walk through it together. Throughout the course of our marriage I have learned much of sacrifice, selflessness, love, devotion, forgiveness, and how to become more like the Savior. What a beautiful plan our Father in Heaven has created. I am so thankful for the joy that the gospel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints brings into my life.

Our Baby Jeremiah

Jeremiah Ero Kekoa Clark has been such a joy in our home! He's been a lot of work but so far it's all been worth it.

He weighed 7lbs 6oz at birth and has been steadily growing. Most babies drop in weight the first few weeks after birth but, Jeremiah just keeps getting bigger!  He will be 2 months old next week(time flies by so quickly) but already fits into most of his 3 month old clothes.

After coming home from the hospital we were to blessed to have Grandma Clark come stay with us. I don't know how I would have survived without her help. It was so nice to have her motherly expertise and help around the home.

This past weekend we were able to bless Jeremiah in church. Dad Clark flew into town for the special event and almost all of our family from the area was in our sacrament meeting. Jeremiah had over 20 men circled around him. It was truly a beautiful memory that I will treasure forever. I am so grateful for so my husband and the other worthy priesthood holders who were able to participate in this special moment in my life and the life of my baby boy.

Here are some recent pictures of Jeremiah!