10 Years Of Marriage: Thoughts on my Anniversary

Today Scott & I are celebrating our 10th Wedding Anniversary.

This is an amazing day.

I'm still not sure how so much time has passed so quickly.

Tonight Scott & I will be in the Idaho Falls Temple.

Dressed in white.

Again.

It is our favorite way to remember our special marriage covenants.

We even decided to write marriage vows for each other and 

I can't wait to read Scott mine.

Most of what I have to say about this wonderful day I will save and share with Scott.

Its mushy and lovey and private.

But I do want to share with you our two favorite talks on marriage.

Read these with your spouse.

Pray about them and ponder them over and over again.

Then put their teachings to work.

I promise you that they will touch your heart, strengthen your marriage 

help bring more fulfillment than you could ever imagine.

John & Mary, Beginning Life Together by Spencer W. Kimball

Of Souls, Symbols & Sacraments by Jeffery R. Holland

Please let me know how you like them and if you have any favorite talks of your own.

We would love to add them to our favorites list.

Squeaking by...and The Continuous Conversion by Brad Wilcox

Sunday morning I pulled out my beautiful violin. Every time I open my case I am brought back to Christmas Day. I had no idea what was in that big box, and when I opened it, I wept with joy. I have always dreamed of learning to play the violin. And Scott knew it.

My Violin has now been in my possession for almost 3 months.

I tightened my bow, applied fresh rosin to it, and put my chin rest on my violin. I stared down the fingerboard making sure that I was going to hit an open A and then I started down with my bow stroke. It rang out beautifully until I willfully placed my first finger down, shooting for a B and missing terribly.

SQUEAK!

I quickly corrected my finger placing searching for the correct intonation. On and on I repeated these steps, hitting the note in one instant and then missing the mark in the next.

I practiced Twinkle Twinkle, I Am Like A Star Shining Brightly, and London Bridges. I played for about 15 minutes until I felt that Scott, who was trying to sleep about 5 feet away from where I was practicing, would ultimately get frustrated with my efforts and tell me to be quiet.

"So babe, what did you think of that?", I asked sarcastically, partially expecting abuse and  annoyance for interrupting his precious sleep.

"Erin, I could listen to you play all day", he said in a beautiful, sincere and genuine response.

I've been thinking of this continually this week. How could Scott, a seasoned Master of the violin, appreciated my small offering of a few pure notes and a thousand missed ones?

In the book The Continuous Conversion by BradWilcox he says,

Am I willing to gradually be perfected, or am I impatiently just wanting to be instantly made perfect?
To instantly play perfectly?
To just pick up my violin and play like the Master?

In the book, Wilcox uses an analogy that I loved.

"Many people, as they feel themselves falling short of perfection, are tempted to quit trying. But are there only two options?"

He continues, "When a person is learning to play the piano, are the only two options performing at Carnegie Hall or quitting?

NO!" he writes, "Growth and Development take time. Learning takes practice. Discipleship is a journey, and true conversion is a CONTINUOUS PROCESS."

So why is it that Scott, who plays the violin Perfectly; the perfect tone, the perfect vibrato...could appreciate and enjoy my squeaks?

Could it possibly be because he has been there?
Could it be because through years and years of practicing he has already paid the price?

Don't you think that one who has paid the price and put in the effort could enjoy the missed notes of a novice more than someone who never played the violin could appreciate the squeaky notes of an imperfect player.

And doesn't the Savior, our Master, appreciate our true, most sincere efforts to continually practice for perfection?
To strive to "learn heaven" and not "earn it."

Perfection takes time. It takes a Continuous Conversion.

And guess what?

The savior appreciates our continued efforts because:
He has been there.
He has already paid the Price.

And just like Scott said that he could listen to me play the violin all day, the Savior invites us too to make our best offering.

And through the atonement of Jesus Christ our tune can be perfected, our efforts magnified and we may all hear those precious words, "Well done thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things , I will make thee ruler over many things, enter thou into the joy of the Lord." (Matt 25: 21)

This book was wonderful and I strongly recommend it.
To purchase go to Deseret Bookstore

Birthday Weekend Surprise Party

As if having my entire family surprise me on my porch for my birthday wasn't enough, 24 hrs later I came home to a house full of my neighbors and friends. 

SURPRISE! 

I walked into the house with my pants rolled up, my toenails still wet and no idea that my house was full of people. 

For the past month Scott had been conspiring with my friends Haley and Shawri to throw a party for me. The food was amazing, the turn-out was great and we had a blast. Thank you so much H & S for all the hard  work. And I look forward to embarrassing you for your own surprise parties. Payback is coming.

We played Minute 2 Win It and we had so much fun. The Boys were against the girls and this led to couples competing against each other. The girls dominated. No surprise there.

Here are my parents stacking dice. My mom won. What?

Shawri and Melanie getting a little close!

Matt and Matt...they won. This cracked me up.

Ashlee won both of her competitions helping the girls to victory.

Kate was so into it. She wanted to play every single game.

Haley trying to get an Oreo from her forehead to her mouth. She killed Tyler and I almost wet my pants I was laughing so hard.

Scott and his new 4-wheeler prize.

Grandparents and Grand babies. Nothing better.

My 2 younger brothers. Dustin & John.

Papa and Sawyer.

And if you made it this far, here is a little treat for you.

Scott and I playing the ping pong ball in tissue box game. Scott killed me and after looking at his

moves it is no surprise why.

Enjoy.

And Scott, this is your payback for hitting me two nights in a row with mind-blowing surprises.

Nice Buns.

xoxo

Older, Blessed and Speechless at 37

Friday night there was a knock on the door. It was 10:30 pm and Scott was grinning at me from ear to ear. As I made my way to the door, I looked back at Scott and thought to myself, "that man is adorable." Little did I know what miracle was waiting for me on the other side of the door. Opening the door I was met with 7 pairs of familiar eyes. 

It was my family! 

My parents, my Brothers, my nieces and my Sister-in-law Jenna. 

In order for you to understand the magnitude of this miraculous event, you should know that my brother John lives in Washington, D.C. and flew out here with his two daughters (we missed you Anne, thanks for letting them come!) my brother Dustin is in Residency right now working around the clock shifts, my sister-in-law Jenna is a Full-Time student at BYU and my parents are Busy, Busy people. So the fact that they were all standing on my porch at the same time was incredible. Tears filled my eyes as I looked from face to face. Even now, days later it seems somehow like a dream. Scott worked for two months to pull off this ultimate birthday surprise and I am still speechless. The unfolding of events all for little old me is so humbling. I feel so grateful to have a husband who knows the deepest wishes of my heart and helped my wishes come true. This gift was the purest and most rare kind. This gift was Eternal.

And having Happy Birthday sung to me by my family on my porch at 10:30 pm can never be topped. It was the ultimate!!!

I mean, look at these faces.

Scott, you are simply better than the best. You are Everything. 

I love you.

I love you.

I love you.

Times that by forever.

Only The Strong Survive

The past week has been a difficult one.
Like...really, really hard.

Shouldn't there be a rule that mom's and kids cannot be sick at the same time.

Me: Double Ear Infection, Double Ear-drum rupture, Pink Eye, Upper Respiratory/sinus infection, Cough.
Wyatt: Double Ear Infection, Pink Eye, Upper Respiratory/sinus infection, Cough.
Sawyer: Pink Eye, Upper Respiratory/sinus infection, Cough.
Dylan: Upper Respiratory/sinus infection, Cough.
Kate: Cough.

Scott: NOTHING. He is the Last Man Standing. (Lucky Husband with the Immune System of Steel)

Last week was suppose to be rocking.

Wyatt Turned 1.
Valentine's Day.
Dylan Turned 8.
Lance & Terry came to town.

I did my best, but I was SO miserable.

The babies and I are on Anti-biotics but we still feel terrible. The best I felt all week was after I took Mucinex-D last night. My friend Shawri talked me into it and it really did make me feel better. Not even drinking the bottle of NyQuil helped this girl. Bummer.

It is so hard trying to take care of a family when you are sick. BOOOO.  Not to mention I am pretty much deaf right now and can't hear a thing. Not the phone ring, not the baby cry, not the kids fighting. And I missed another week of Church which really stinks. I so needed it yesterday. Scott & Dylan were the only one's that made it.

The good new is that the world goes on and somehow we make it through and forget it all. And I'm thinking a little bit of Spring could do that for me right about now.

And...

I miss the gym. (Crazy)

My Definition of "True" Love

"True" Love...as in,

WOW, this isn't at all what I thought it would be.

It is HARD.

It can HURT.

And it takes A LOT of WORK.

I remember sitting down with my Bishop a week or two before our wedding date. Scott and I were young (well he was), and in love, and pretty clueless about what we were getting ourselves into. The Bishop told us that he and his wife had never {did I mention that he said NEVER} exchanged a cross word in their 30 years of marriage. I sat there with my hopeful head spinning, floating off to this place called {dream land} that my Bishop should have told me DIDN'T REALLY EXIST!!! I thought to myself,

"Oh, how romantic, and lovely. That is what our marriage is going to be. We can do it. We love each other SO much. I mean...it is TRUE LOVE after all!"

Well for those of you that are married...

it should come as  NO SURPRISE

that about 4 weeks into our marriage

I completely tossed my idea of what a PERFECT MARRIAGE should be.

Perfect just can't exist when there are TWO IMPERFECT people involved.

So for me "TRUE" love is about trying for more of this:

TRUST
COMMITMENT
HUMILITY
SELFLESSNESS
KINDNESS
HAPPINESS
LOYALTY
HUMOR
LOVE
SERVICE
INTIMACY

And less of this:

Selfishness
Greed
Insincerity
Darkness
Dishonesty
Heartache
Tears
Stubbornness
Pride
Complacency
Meanness

 And so you see,

Our Marriage isn't Perfect

But our LOVE STORY is.

We laugh.

We forgive.

We try.

We keep trying.

We kiss.

We give.

We serve.

We continue on.

Day after day after day.

Because the TRUTH about love is that the more you give, the more you get.

And the TRUTH is...
9 years ago, when I met Scott at church, and he introduced himself to me as 'Steve' because he was flirting, and I followed him out into the hall and gave him a little pinch on his bottom and a wink because I was flirting, our "TRUE LOVE" ignited. And that FLAME is still BURNING.

And here is a little note I wrote to Scott, a few years back.

Love Letters by Erin Peterson


I don't tell you often enough of the huge space you occupy in my heart.

I miss writing you love letters.
I think I shall start.

I love you.

It's a different kind of love.

It started as one big giant explosion...

and simmered to one, constant glowing flame.

It is steady, warm and pure.

Our flame is ours.
It works for us.

My love for you will  never dim.
It can't.

You ignite my heart.
You quicken my breath.
You heat my soul.
You're my perfect match.

And we will continue blazing through life together.

You and me...on fire.

~~~~~~

Happy Valentine's Day Scott.
The whole family is sick.
This day isn't going to be very romantic.
But when I asked you to please empty the dishwasher this morning because I couldn't bring myself to do it, and I came back into the room and you were scrubbing the sink with everything in it's place.
That was SEXY.

I love you STUPID. (Is this a harsh pet name because I kind of like it?) Even though you forgot your socks on our wedding day and had to wear black ones. (As the photo's above will illustrate.) And I'm so glad that you love me. (Even though I snored SO SO SO loud last night {his words} because I am super sick.)

I am loving the journey, and I'm loving you always,

Snoobs.

Death By Cupcakes...

When your new neighbor that likes to make cupcakes becomes your friend Becky that likes to make cupcakes...

You end up with TONS of cupcakes.

I couldn't believe my eyes when 

I received a delivery of 26 cupcakes.

26 people!

I immediately had to sample the three different flavors and then I had to call 911 for emergency transport of remaining cupcakes.

Lucky for me I have several neighbors that were more than willing to take them off my hands.

Spreading Joy through cupcakes is the best feeling in the world.

Coconut Kiss

Vanilla Cake

Coconut Cream Filling

Almond Coconut Butter-cream

Love Me Lemon

Lemon Cake

Lemon Curd Filling

Lemon Butter-cream

Razzmanian Devil

Devils Food Cake

Raspberry Reduction Filling

Raspberry Butter-cream

Love Me Lemon was my favorite-

Such Amazing Deliciousness

And then this nameless friend showed up on 
my doorstep a week later.

Mint

Ganache

Need I say more????

New York City Through My Lens

I haven't posted any pictures from my New York Trip for a while

so I thought I would share a little

GLIMPSE..

I didn't spend one second shopping, dining out, or seeing a Broadway show.
I wanted my first trip to New York to be full of sounds, smells, color & people.

I only had about 48 hours to take it all in.

It was Magical.

Sunday Thoughts: Sifting Souls

I rolled over in bed to make eye contact with Scott...

"Are you ready for this?", I said.

I had already pushed snooze every 5 five minutes for the last hour and a half. We were both clinging to the edges of our bed as Sawyer's head rested near Scott's chest and his feet were pushing on my thigh. I closed my eye's and reopened them to watch Scott rise. Somehow it always feels easier to get up when I am following behind Scott.

Thank the heaven's for Sunday Mornings.

~~~~

*Image found {Here}

My family gains so much from attending church on Sunday mornings. Some mornings run smoothly, and some are chaotic, but NEVER do I ever regret getting my family into that chapel. There is such a peace and comfort that I receive at church that fuels me for the coming week. Taking the sacrament and renewing my covenants each week helps to keep me focused on what really matters in life.

For the past few weeks I've been trying to prepare for next Sunday when Scott and I will be speaking to the Stake Single Adults at their monthly fireside.

I've decided to title my talk Sifting Souls. I was inspired by Kim over at Oh, Sweet Joy. Her post entitled Sift My Soul really moved me and got me thinking.

Who is Jesus Christ?

He is a Soul Sifter.

He reaches into us, moves around all that we are, and helps rid us of our impurities. It isn't always comfortable and sometimes we get jarred around quite a bit.

I've been thinking a lot about how he Sifts our Soul's. For me most recently it has been through injury, illness and infirmity. For some it is through loss. It can be through the Holy Ghost, the scriptures, a sermon at church, financial struggles, unemployment, or loneliness. The list can go on forever. The one thing that is certain is that we all need to be sifted. 


And I think that the Lord uses all of these opportunities to search our souls and to heal us.

On Christmas Eve, Ryan and Kelly Pack were traveling to their home in American Fork, UT, when a SUV crossed the median and hit their car head on. Their life was changed instantly. They sustained very critical injuries and on Christmas Day their sweet 18 month old son passed away.

I don't know this family, but I can grieve with them. I know that this will be a time of a great sifting in their lives. They will have to rely on their faith and on their Savior to survive.

I wanted to share with you a sweet video that was made of Colum's funeral. I warn you that it is very hard to watch and contains quite sensitive footage, but I assure you it is beautiful. I wonder if the Lord won't sift our souls as we watch it.


Colum Jacob Pack Funeral 6/29/2010 - 12/25/2011 from Kenny Bozich on Vimeo.

Please if you have any thoughts or feelings regarding this post will you please share them with me as I am preparing to speak on this subject next Sunday. I would really appreciate it.

And if you would like to donate to the Pack Family you can do so {HERE}.

New York City: Day {1}

Friday night I left my house in Blackfoot, Idaho at 7:00 PM. I drove as far as Malad, Idaho and pulled over to grab a Sub. Why I tried eating it while I was driving is beyond me. When I arrived at the Salt Lake City Airport I had and olive on my boob and a tomato in my lap. {Seriously I am an idiot}

I was really hoping that the flight wouldn't be full so that Wyatt could sleep in his car seat, but alas, it was not to be.

We boarded the plane late, took off at midnight and then the baby rocking, bouncing, cooing and praying began. Let's just say that it was a LONG flight. Wiggs was pretty good, but we don't call him Wiggles for nothin'. He lived up to his nickname and only sleep for a few minutes so we were pretty darn tired when we arrived at JFK.

The good news is that I was on a TOTAL high as soon as I got off the plane. My mom begged me to take a TAXI, but I am too stubborn to listen to my mom, and too cheap.

It was sort of an adventure figuring out where I was going, taking the Air Train, then getting on the J. Getting off at Penn Station, trying to find the Red Line, getting yelled at by someone who didn't have all his brains working properly {dear soul}, finally finding the Redline, taking the 3 to 110th, carrying my stroller up the stairs with my HUGE backpack on{I packed light} and my camera bag and my purse and my carseat and my baby ALL AT THE SAME TIME, and then arrive at 55W and 111th. It took me 2 hours to get from the airport to Johns Flat. 

Sometimes being cheap, and trying to still rebel against your mother backfires. {poop}

I made it though! Wahoo.

John met me outside and it was so good to see my baby brother. 

John gave me a CAMERA LESSON right when I got there. He helped introduce me to the features of my EARLY Christmas present. I haven't mentioned it yet, but Christmas came early for me this year. My Sister-in-Law {Anne Robert} is an amazing photographer and was in Mexico at a workshop and shooting a wedding in DC while I was in NY. Bummer I missed her.

John spent most of his time on the computer. We don't call him {Computer John} for nothin'.

I played with this cute little niece of mine and then caught a quick nap before we ventured out.

Here is a picture of John & Anne's apartment. I thought it was SO cute.

Here is my lovely mom and darling Eden crossing the street.

Our first stop was Penn Station at 34th again. I felt like a pro and totally navigated us around.

Everything looked so yummy.

I started the Day with a Bagel and it was delish. YUMMY.

We ended up getting rerouted on the Subway and it took us forever to get to the financial district and Ground Zero. I pretty much spent most my day on the Subway. Sad.

Occupy Wall Street idiots were everywhere. They were a bunch of stinky hippies. I know that sounds harsh, but it is true. I felt like I was at Woodstock.

The park was filthy and filled with tents and garbage. I took this picture two nights before they kicked them out. I feel that there are just other ways to make a point.

I felt bad for the officers. How boring.

Such more important things the city could be paying for than a bazillion officers keeping "the giant sleepover party" under control.

Here is a photo I took across the street from Ground Zero. These are some of the officers that lost their lives. It is still so touching to me.

I will NEVER forget.

There is just such a HUGE hole. These buildings took up so much room. It was hard to really get a perspective before actually being there.

One more shot of Occupy Wall Street.

Here is one last photo. This is the exact same picture. The dark one is the original. It looks like it is leaving to the Left a little. The right one I lifted the exposure and it looks like it is leaning to the Right. Weird.

We took the Subway again to Clinton Street and went to a little bakery for Dinner. It was Yum. John met us there for dinner.

It was a good day, but TOO much of it was underground.

Day Two MUCH BETTER. Coming soon.