My time in Iowa

This blog is for me. It is what became a part of me, forever.

I cannot begin to count the number of times I pause and think about the time that I spent in Iowa. Like 8-10 times a day, at least. I cannot think of a more remarkable place that exists in all of the world. The saints that live there are like no other I have ever known nor do I think I will find elsewhere in all the world over. There is a piece of my heart that was branded in Iowa. When sharing some of my sorrow with my mother about the choice to have moved back West she in her wisdom said, "Amber, don't be sad for having left, but be eternally grateful for the experiences that you had while you were there." Sometimes Mom's just get it. And so I share a smidgen of the miracles that exist in Iowa.

The Glow

On an evening not long before we moved we had several ward members come to help us work on the remodeling in our basement. It was Ruston and Curtis Ford and Keith and Malia Gray. Two of the most salt of the earth, hope my plot is next to theirs in heaven kind of families. As I walked outside that night I will never forget the color of the sky. It was so beautiful. The moon was visible but the earth just seemed to exude a warm glow that night. I shut off my flash and took some pictures hoping to catch wonder of that night.

Friends that made life Zion

Keith, Mr. Dremmel Ruston and Curtis Drywall team

Miss Malia, my visiting teacher, my companion in the cornfields. Who else would show up and wrap bottle after bottle of food storage with me. A saint in every sense of the word. I can't count the number of times she showed up just to help. It was remarkable.

Dr. Who & the Mietzner's - They watched ours, we watched theirs

Jonathan and I are the best babysitters ever. We were "babysitting" Cameron and DeEtte while their parents were out of town for a week. They were staying at our home but I dropped them off with my boys at the pool in town. After swimming Cameron had decided to walk home to his house really quickly before heading back to our place. While at home he managed to wreck his parent's truck. Oh what teenagers don't manage to get themselves into, in such a short amount of time. I'll never forget the tremor in his voice when I picked up the phone and I heard, "Is Brother Jenson there?" Cameron was terrified and knew the wrath of his parents was going to sting. Lucky for him he had a whole week at our house before his parents would return. They had a week to simmer down before they got their hands on him. We loved him at our place for the rest of the week. He spent a lot of pensive moments staring at the floor while staying at our place. Jonathan and I just laughed when we saw the damage because we knew all

too soon it will be our kids doing crazy teenager things.

Iowa Cubbies

Every summer,

tail gate,

brats,

the entire Ottumwa Ward,

humid as h***,

baseball.

To be continued.....