Holy Rollers

Tithing settlement is finally over for 2008 which basically means I get my husband back. YEA! I still think it's funny that Travis is the Bishop, but the Lord has definitely qualified him for this calling. (Ps how old do I sound saying that?)

But seriously, look how cute he is when he's serving. The Young Women decided to heart attack his door and bring him some goodies. Absolutely the best part of his calling is the immense amount of treats we received this Christmas. Way to go Ludlow ward, keep up the good work.

Not to be outdone, we got a visit from the Stake Presidency a little while ago with a new calling for me. Apparently I wasn't working hard enough. I am now the new 2nd counselor in the Stake Young Women's Presidency. It's amazing that they still haven't caught on and continue to let me influence young minds.

I have been spending a ton of time online digging up all sorts of stuff that's young womeny. I am trying feverishly to memorize the new theme for 2009. Side note- it should not be this hard to memorize. If anyone has any great Young Women ideas for activities, tracking charts, youth conference, girls camp, dances, blah blah blah, please email me. The upside is I have been promised that the glory to work ratio is wonderful.

Reed Rendezvous

Ok just wanted to toot my own horn here for a second, I am the best wife in the world. Toot toot! Why? Because I got my husband the best Christmas gift in the world, a plane ticket home for a week! He was able to surprise his entire family by showing up unannounced at midnight.

Of course the kids all threw a dance party to celebrate his return.

House was a little crowded, 14 people. Drew ended up sleeping on the dining room floor which is awesome. Probably the best sleep he'll ever get.


Lindsay slipped into her party outfit to join in the festivities.
I don't know how she's still single.

Travis was able to be in present when his sister, Holly, and her family were sealed in the Sacramento Temple. It was a great trip overall and he was back in time to spend Christmas with me. Thanks Reed's for taking good care of him!

The Hills Are Alive

I was looking at our calendars and I noticed that Travis and I really weren't going to have a free weekend until about April so I decided to book us a weekend getaway. Thank you priceline.com Anywho since I got to pick where we were going I thought why not go some place that Travis would never take me on his own aka Stowe, Vermont.

Home of the Von Trapp Family!

We visited the Trapp Family Lodge which was beautiful in the snow, but unfortunately it was FREEZING

and we only made it a few minutes before we got back in the car.

So what else do you do when it's below zero? Visit an ice cream factory. It's science. Ben & Jerry's was close by so we took the tour and luckily they were handing out my favorite flavor as the free giveaway. I might have had more than one. Travis was shivering so bad in this picture, but he was really trying to be brave and smile. Thin blood- he wasn't ready for the snow.

On the way home we stopped at the birthplace of Joseph Smith. That has been on our list of things to do for so long that I was just happy to cross it off. We took this picture as quickly as we could because it was butt cold. My face was about to fall off.

It was a short trip, but one that was needed. It was nice to have a weekend where we didn't think about homework or callings. I've been given the ok to book a trip in the spring. Any east coast suggestions on where to go?

Back To School

Think Amy Winehouse, "Rehab."

Back to school writing assignment of one of my students.

They tried to make me go to 8th grade

And I said no, no, no.

They tried to hold me back from high school

But I'm a go, go, go.

This summer we had time

to get on our grind.

So now I'm goin on to 9th grade

that's fa sho, sho, sho.

I love my kids.

So here it is...

Dear Friends & Family,

So here it is... recent events have prompted me to write about something I never thought

I would share publicly, however I really feel prompted to put my feelings out there. My hope is that my experience will be of benefit for someone else.

My sweet husband and I have been trying diligently to start a family for quite some time. It has been fun, stressful, discouraging, and heart breaking. We have received conception advice from everyone but for whatever reason we have not been blessed with a family yet. This past June I decided it was that dreaded time of month where I would take a pregnancy test "just in case" and be bitterly disappointed. However, to our surprise it was positive! I didn't want to believe until we went to the Doctor's and they confirmed that we were finally going to be parents. I felt like it was an immediate blessing for Travis' sacrifice as Bishop.

This was the"happiest moment of our lives." We were going to wait and tell our families on Father's Day. We had an elaborate plan to tell each family and were jumping out of our skin trying to keep it a secret. I was almost nine weeks along and I was already planning a whole new life.

And then it happened. I began bleeding. And bleeding harder. And cramping. And all of a sudden nothing felt right. It was two days before Father's Day. I took a home pregnancy test: negative. I took another one: negative. I called the Doctor's hysterical and they made a rush appointment. I knew. They knew. I watched the ultrasound tech as she tried to judge my emotional status and whether she should confirm my nightmare or leave it to the Doctor. She left it to the Doctor. I fell apart on the table. Inconsolable seems like such a small word compared to that feeling. Irrational. Reckless. Hopeless. Angry.

I know I scared Travis and my family with my reaction. I felt like God was being intentionally cruel and I had never had that feeling or thought before. I felt like He didn't trust me. I had a complete absence of hope in my life.

It has taken months to scratch the surface of how this event has affected me. I have learned that for me, talking about it to some people is best. It acknowledges that it was real. Miscarriages feel so tricky because it is something you never really had, just the hope of something. It truly is the "sorrow that the eye can't see."

I feel like after I reached out, many people related that they too had suffered miscarriages or had difficulty getting pregnant. I guess I just wanted someone to tell me how to get through it, how to bear the unbearable. Two things. 1) I have a testimony that fasting and prayer can return hope to even the most hopeless. It may be a glimmer of hope, but it is something to cling to. 2) My sister-in-law Robin (thank you) emailed me an article the other day that really just made sense. It spoke to me. Whether it's true or not, I want to believe it.

http://segullah.org/cjane-speaks/the-hourglass-theory/

It's short and worth reading if you have a moment. I was hoping that the day I finally shared our miscarriage would also be the day I said we're pregnant with a healthy baby. Unfortunately that's not the case, but the reality is that day by day hope and peace creep steadily back into my life and that life continues on. It has been a process. A transition.

I'm not exactly sure why I am writing this post or why I am even able to, but I think this is cathartic. I just want to thank everyone that has prayed for us and kept us in your thoughts. We have truly been uplifted by your faith. It would have been impossible to pick myself up without you.

With much Love, Respect, & Friendship,

Kirstin

In West Philadelphia Born and Raised

So this summer Travis and I were like the baby borrowers except we borrowed our teenage nephew for a month. AJ was awesome and we're excited to have teenagers someday. He came out from California for a month and played with us. He's 15 and was gracious enough to go along and do all the historical sites we wanted to do. Thanks AJ.



Our first stop on the east coast tour was Philadelphia. I haven't been there as an adult so it was newly fascinating and singing the Fresh Prince theme song over and over again does not get old. While there we walked past this guy on the street and I kept thinking to myself, "I know that guy." I couldn't place him til I was half way down the block and and then I had to turn around and get a picture with him. Ok American Idol fans: who remembers the "Let my people go" guy? Yep. He was a tour guide. He seems kind of slow which I suppose is not a surprise after believing he can sing. Good times.



We were there on July 2nd and 3rd which was really fun because they it's Philly's holiday really. We stayed in Chinatown in this pretty iffy place (sorry Wendy) and saw a lot of police action. At midnight we got hungry and went out for some Chinese. We ended up watching one of their game shows in the restaurant and were the only people that spoke English. It was so fun though. You don't need to know Chinese to appreciate their game shows. It was an international bonding experience.

My Bestest Friend

I'm sorry I haven't updated my blog in forever, but I am going to try and make up for it now. My summer has been amazing so far! You cannot beat this teacher thing. I'm going to post my summer out of order, but I'll get to everything. First up: I was finally able to visit my BFF Brie in Oregon. I heart her! I hope everyone is lucky enough to have someone like Brie.

I miss you friend!