See Ya In 2

This be my cousin Jordan:

And he leaves this morning for his mission :)

He is twenty-two next month, I believe. He has had to overcome an accident that nearly killed him, but I admire for him still wanting to go out even though all of his friends and family have gone on their missions and returned already. Some guys wouldn't have still wanted to go out. His mission farewell was last month and we all went to his house afterward where he was bombarded by tonz - TONZ - of friends and family. His fam is super proud of him :)

This is the article written on his accident:

Student recovering from accident
Long board crash leaves lacrosse player
withseriousinjuries,lack of taste, andsmell

"Rightnow [lacrosse] is last on the list of things that matter. What matters is
Jordan is getting healthy. He probably shouldn't have survived, but he did. "
Jason Lamb
BYU lacrosse coach
By RYAN MERRIMAN
BYU lacrosse player Jordan McKensie doesn't remember much about what happened to him June 14, but it's a day he's likely never to forget.
Sometime after 10 p.m., the 20-year-old drove his car to the top of Seven Peaks Boulevard and set off down the hill on a friend's long board. After accelerating to an estimated speed of 35 mph, McKensie hit a patch of gravel, lost control and flew almost 20 feet from his board Jordan before skidding to a stop near Belmont Apartments.
BYU student Kristi Dow and her fiance, Blake Jackson, saw the crash on their way to a friend's house and called 911.
"We asked him his name and he couldn't tell us anything," Dow said. "He was bleeding out of his ears and nose and then he started throwing up. He finally told us his name was Jordan."
Emergency personnel rushed McKensie to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, where surgeons had to remove a large piece of McKensie's skull inorder to relieve pressure and remove blood clots that threatened the young man's life. Even with the procedure, physicians weren't optimistic about McKensie's chances, especially considering two teens died from similar injuries earlier this year.
Despite the grim prognosis, McKensie beat the odds and is now recuperating with his family in Sandy, but it'll take some time before he can pick up a lacrosse stick, hop on a long board or even taste an ice cream cone.
The accident left
McKensie with chronic migraines, no sense of taste or smell and no hearing in one ear.
"There's a chance it's permanent," McKensie said. "The doctors aren't sure yet, but it might be."
Now McKensie, a self-described fitness nut and thrill seeker, spends most of the day off his feet. Any contact could cause his brain to swell, snapping the nerves that regulate his breathing. McKensie said he's under strict orders to get plenty of sleep every night and to take at least one two-hournap each day. Doctors also told him a high-protein diet can help heal his damaged brain.
"I've always been pretty active," McKensie said. "I'm going nuts pretty much right now — I played mini-golf the other day and it wore me out till I wanted to just fall over."
Full recovery could take as long as two years, but the fact that McKensie is even alive puts him ahead of schedule.
With enough attention to detail and hard work, he could be back in the gym in as little as three months, one of his doc¬tors said. McKensie's work ethic and positive attitude may ul¬timately be as important to his recovery as medical expertise.
"He's hilarious, and he loves to have fun," BYU lacrosse coach Jason Lamb said. "He's one of the hardest workers in the weight room. He took the time a lot of players don't. There were definitely good things on the horizon for him."
And there still are great things on McKensie's horizon, Lamb said, though they may or may not be on a lacrosse field.
"Right now [lacrosse] is laston the list of things that matter. What matters is Jordan getting healthy," Lamb said. "He probably shouldn't have survived, but he did. I think his life was spared for some great things."
McKensie hopes to be well enough to send in mission papers by December and enroll in classes this fall, but doctors said there are no guarantees McKensie's brain will be ready for university curriculum by September.
"I'm supposed to start reading children's books to slowly get my brain back to where it was," McKensie said. "It's hard for me to comprehend college reading right now. If I can go back I might need tutors, but we'll have to see."
Utah Valley Regional Medical Center has treated four patients with serious long-boarding injuries this year compared to 15 in 2007. While long-boarding accidents appear to be down slightly compared to the first half of 2007, hospital officials said they still see far too many patients injured without helmets.
r_merriman@byu.net

A Sure Way To Brighten Your Day.

Today I attended the baptism of a 36 year old man and his two sons. The youngest (11) is in Paul's primary class and scout group. Since he is in primary, I attended the baptism since baptisms are somewhat my responsibility in my church calling. Before I got put in my position, I probably hadn't attended a baptism in seven or eight years and it's actually a very happy experience for me to see young children baptized every month. They are all special, but today was pretty awesome. So many people showed up to lend support to this family and the three getting baptized. Two sets of missionaries who had taught them were there. And I have to admit that I teared up as I saw this man go in the water and get baptized and have two of his sons follow him right after. They were all smiles and 'radiance'. Without being too mushy or anything, I feel so humbled to witness things like that and see this simple yet important ordinance take place in someone's life and feel their 'light' -you can't not be affected by it. My testimony stengthens every time.

Oquirrh Temple Open House

So I have some catching up to do. Again. I have become somewhat lazy.

The Saturday before Father's Day, Paul and I had tickets for the Oquirrh Temple Open House. We had originally planned to take his parents (who aren't members, or active members...one of the two) but something came up in their schedule and we were left with three extra tickets.

Well Amanda K and I were talking and since they planned on going soon, we just invited them along with us and merrily we went! Bronsynn, my niece, took up the third extra ticket. She really wanted to come along and see what a temple is like and I was glad to be able to go through with her.

So after Amanda's very cute baby shower at her sister's very cute house (and my very cute baby towel I made her...he he he), Paul and I picked up Bronsynn and then met Amanda and Spencer at Red Robin - which was a first for me and I have to say I liked it mucho. It was also down pouring buckets of rain the entire evening so we were drenched on our way in and out of the restaurant. Our shoes were filled with water. I am so happy I now keep an umbrella in my car at all times so that our clothes stayed somewhat dry!

At the temple, some of Spencer's family members met up with us and we all walked through together. I really thought it was beautiful...and small. I knew the rooms would be smaller in contrast to the bigger temples I am used to, but I still was surprised at just how small everything was. Small and pretty. I really enjoyed having Bronsynn with me because even though she has gone to church with my family since she was a baby, she is not a member of the church yet (her mom has yet to allow Bronsynn to make that choice). She is old enough to be able to do baptisms and I can't take her, which would be really nice, but at least she was able to see inside the temple. I especially enjoyed talking to her about the baptism font and the sealing rooms.

When we all met up in the 'Cookie Tent', we had a fun time chomping on some cookies and being goofy with the camera.

Paul and myself with my niece, Bronsynn:

Our Husbands being 100% retarded (although we wouldn't love 'em any other way):

Believe or not, they actually can be serious every now and then:

Amanda and I:

So HOT!!!!

And the parents-to-be:

As we headed to our cars, thankfully the rain had stopped and I was able to snap a picture of the Angel Moroni statue, post lightening strike (you can see how his arm and trumpet are black):

Safely Gathered In Rocks My Food Storage World!

Thanks to this blog:

We are on our way to becoming Safely Gathered In!

Paul and I have been buying bulk items at case-lot sales (thanks to Macy's gigantic case lot and food storage extravaganza's!) to add to our long-term food storage, but I have always felt overwhelmed at the thought of getting everything I needed, how I was going to make meals out of pantry-friendly only food and learning how to make bread out of your own wheat and all the good stuff. It was just too much to wrap my mind around at the time and when that happens, my mind shuts down and automatically files it to "Later." I kept putting it off and adding to my storage in cans for the time being. But then I happened upon these ladies awhile ago and I am hooked!! I love that they have made it so easy! It's like 'Food-Storage for Dummies!' and it's GREAT!! I have been so enthralled with all the information they give and the recipes they share and the way they let you follow along with gathering and rotating long-term storage items and emergency car kits.

I am working on getting my three-month supply together. I love the plan these girls came up with! I finally don't feel overwhelmed (well...as overwhelmed. I still have to think about where to stick all of this stuff)! I have my menu's all planned out and have figured out everything we would need to make all the meals on those menus and have even created me a little system (although I just discovered they have one as well) so I know what I have and what I still need. I have had so much fun getting it together and even found recipes of my own that will work. I am excited to test drive all the recipes I haven't used yet. Now I can add to my 3M Supply a little every time I get groceries and watch out for sales on the items we need. I have never been so excited about food-storage in all my adult/married/responsible life!! Over time, I plan to get myself a wheat grinder and become a Master Wheat Bread Magician and other equally cool (or dorky but still important) stuff!

I am so excited to make myself a cardboard oven and cook us up a meal or desert! Ooohhh cobbler would be delicious. I think I just might do that! Peach Cobbler.

I invite everyone to go over to this blog and read up on everything. I am sure that even those who are better prepared than most can still find some useful tips and information. They have wonderful 'How-To's' and give step by step instructions and pictures on everything. And March's Ensign has several articles on Self-Reliance if any one hasn't read it yet and would like to get themselves psyched about food-storage. I read those articles and found this blog at about the same time - it was like a heavenly thump on the head and an answer to my prayers!