Sariah Says

Monday, September 11, 2006

5 Years Ago

Like so many others, my thoughts are about 9/11 today. I don't really want to dwell on it too much but I don't ever want to forget either.

We will all remember just where we were and exactly what we were doing when we first heard there had been an attack on American soil. We were living on the East Coast. I was playing the piano. "Beloved" by Daid Lanz. I love that song. I was waiting for Ryan to get home from working the night shift and Acadia and I were going to go to play group. Then Ryan burst through the front door and said, "Turn on the news!" He wasn't exactly sure what was happening, just that something was going on at one of the WTC towers. We turned on the Today Show. Everyone was still very confused. No one was even thinking "terrorists" yet - everyone thought it was a freak accident. Then we watched live as the second plane hit. At that point it was clear, this was no accident. I remember sinking to sit down and I remember saying outloud, "We are under attack!" I knew that my/our world would never be the same.

We knelt down as a family and prayed. We felt so helpless, there was nothing else we could really do. Then we kept watching.

I remember the Today Show was talking to Jim (I can't spell his last name but they often call him "Mic"). He is often on their program. He was at the Pentagon and while he was talking there was a loud noise and he said that something had just happened there. For awhile no one knew for sure, but soon we learned that a plane had been flown into it as well. Maybe it was silly, but I started to think of that movie, Independance Day. I was scared that all the major cities were going to be targeted and that it would just never end. Soon after, the news was reporting how many planes were unaccounted for and we all learned about Flight 93.

I watched as the towers fell, horrified at the idea of all the police and firefighters who had been safe outside but ran in to help save others. I was shocked at the images of all the rubble and the thick dust everywhere. I was amazed at how far the damage reached - all the buildings in the area that were destroyed as well.

We watched, unable to not watch, all day. The reports of long lines of people donating blood... the reports of empty hospitals - so few survivors to benefit from their donations. The crowds of people searching the boards where names and pictures were posted of missing people. It was such a sad day, emotionally draining.

All airlines were grounded. Not a single airplane allowed to fly. I remember later that week, looking up in the sky to see an airplane shortly after that grounding was lifted. It was an odd feeling. For weeks (maybe months) later, whenever I saw a trail behind an airplane, my heart jumped a little. Then I would remind myself that white trails behind planes are normal.

9/11... It was a day that did change everything. I remember wondering how life could possibly return to normal. What would "normal" be after this? Yet, life has gone on. 5 years later: we've moved to the West Coast, Cadi has started school, we've had another child, we have traveled - out of the country even (if Canada counts as "out of the country", lol), we carry on with our day-to-day lives. We do often think of the events of that day and the days following and we've accepted it, and the changes that have occured because of it, as part of our world today. We no longer pretend that it couldn't happen to us. We are sad but we are hopeful too. There is still much joy in the world. Many good people and many good things.

It is important that we never forget. And it is important that while we remember, we also continue on living and finding joy in our lives and in the world around us.

What a blessing

Yesterday Ryan blessed Aurora at church. My family had come up to be here (most of them at least) and it's been a nice weekend. I'll post about the weekend later (I still haven't posted about Canada yet!) but I will post about the blessing now. :)

First, Ryan announced that her name would be Aurora Louise and then he blessed her to:

As she grows and becomes aware of the world around her, to have a desire to choose things that are good and will strengthen her. To be drawn to things that will bring her closer to Heavenly Father. To have great joy and to learn from the scriptures. That her understanding would be line upon line; precept upon precept. To be open with friends, family, and people that she is in contact with in sharing and showing her love for Heavenly Father. To feel the love of her family and be a strength to her family. To have a desire to go to the temple to partake of eternal blessings and be sealed to a companion.

Aurora was good and slept through the whole thing... as opposed to Cadi, who screamed all through hers. lol

Here are some pictures of her special day...

Rori sleeping

This is my uncle Mathew being a "baby hog", as he put it, lol.

The blanket Aurora is in was made by my dad. It is so beautiful! I took my wedding ring off and had Ryan hold onto it while we were at church because I was so worried about snagging the blanket and ruining it. But we made it through the day and everyone (including blanket and dress) are still in good condition. :)

Wednesday, September 6, 2006

Back from Sac

While I haven't gotten ALL of my pics on-line, I have finished getting all of my California pics up. And that means I can start posting about our trip. :)

As I mentioned before, Rori was great on the plane. Of course, Cadi was too. :) We had a totally fun trip, how could we not - we were with my family and they are loads of fun... see:

Gosh, I hope my sister doesn't get mad at me for posting that. I don't think she looks bad at all - but I think it's a funny picture. To make up for it, I'll post one of my favorites that she is in:

I predict that Rori's hair will be just like Ruth's. I think it will be gorgeous!

Here are some random pics from the time spent with my family...

Esther was cute. When she wore her "Sleeping Beauty" dress she would come up and tell me that there were two Aurora's now. A big Aurora and a small Aurora. lol

Uh-oh, Do you think she's getting the "bug"? ;)

Electrifying!

And now some pics from our visit with Ryan's folks:

Making cupcakes with Grandma... Mmmm!

There is a tradition with Ryan's mom that each grandchild has it's picture taken every month with the same teddy bear so we can see how fast they grow. We did it with Cadi and now we get to do it again with Rori. Here's her first pic. It's taken at 3 weeks and 3 days.

While we were in town, I got to meet up with some on-line friends that live nearby. It was a lot of fun! We went to dinner and then stayed to visit for awhile. They are just as fun and sweet in person as on-line. :)

Kris feeding Rori.

Stacey and her husband, Tyson.

Of course, the whole reason why we went down to Sac in the first place... To see the Sacramento Temple during it's Open House. Even though Heather ended up too sick to go, I had a great time going with the girls and with Heather's mom, Janet.

The nice man who offered to take our picture took it a little crooked, lol. Oh well, it's still a pretty nice picture.

We missed having Ryan with us but it was still a nice visit. And it was nice to introduce my family to Aurora, especially since I don't know if they will all make it up here for her blessing this weekend.

The flight home was delayed slightly but once again, Rori was great - slept the whole way. Poor Cadi had a hard time with the pressure in her ears as we descended though. :( Our good friends picked us up from the airport since Ryan was still at work. As soon as he got home, we loaded the car and headed out for our camping trip up north. More on that later!

Monday, September 4, 2006

Must be brief

Wow, It's been a full couple of weeks! And now I'm back home and have SO MUCH TO DO!!! So, this will be brief and I will try to catch up more later.

Sacramento was a nice visit. The temple was great and that was the whole purpose for going. The only down side was that my friend who was going to go with me became very ill and couldn't go. :(

The girls and I flew home and immediately started getting ready to leave for Canada. We all left the house around midnight and drove for 16 hours before finally arriving in beautiful Waterton. Rori was pretty good, I had to stop to feed her a few times but she and Acadia timed their stops to coordinate so I don't know that it took a whole lot of extra time. Poor Cadi was sick a few times and so while I fed Rori, Ryan tended Cadi. :S

The week in Waterton was great! The weather was good. Just one day of rain. Rori camped very well. The only night she had troubles was the coldest night there. She just slept with us that night. The other nights, she was perfect! We all had a blast and I took a gazillion pictures... okay, not a gazillion... but between Sac and Canada, I took about 600 pics. Will post some later... it will take me awhile though. :(

We drove through the night to come home and it was great! We made it home in less than 14 hours! Rori slept the first 9, I fed her and then she slept the rest of it too. Cadi slept the whole time, only needing one potty break (during Rori's feeding) and no getting sick this time! (Yay!!!) Now Ryan is napping and I'm stealing some time on here. I wanted to try to "catch up" on blogs and such but there is simply no way I'll be able to. :( We have a ton of stuff to do. Family coming later this week for Rori's blessing day on Sunday. :D

I promise, I will post more later. But for now, this will have to do.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Sac-O-Tomatoes

The girls and I had a pretty nice flight down to Sacramento Saturday night. Rori slept the entire time and after a day of her sleeping while I packed, I was sure she would be up all night. But she was wonderful and slept for 7 hours even after sleeping all day! :D

We had a nice visit with family on Sunday. And yesterday we went to visit Ryan's mom and step-dad. Cadi stayed the night with them after going to a ballgame. The home team won, Grandma and Grandpa bought her a hotdog that she didn't eat, and she got a RiverCat ball and bat to take home... Good times. :)

Today ended up being a lazy day. Cadi was still with her grandparents and I just hung out with my sisters. Tomorrow I'll get to hang out with one of my best friends. We're going to the Sacramento Temple Open House (the whole reason for this trip) and I can't wait! :D

I've been taking pictures and hopefully I'll get a chance to post some soon. We'll see... :) In the meantime, we're having a nice visit!

Saturday, August 19, 2006

"Youth"

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I love these pics... The first one is Ryan when he was two years old. The second is Ryan at twenty-eight years old. Proof that you're only as old as you feel.