10 dollas

I just got a call from Linda (front desk Linda), and she said that the money I turned in a few months ago, is now mine!! I'm picking it up when I come to the MTC as a mish, and I'll have to get a treat for all the general service lades.

Good Luck Jessica!

A week from Wednesday our lovely Jessica will come into the MTC as a missionary. We've had some good laughs through the years, and we look forward to all the stories you'll tell us when you get home.

We love you, Jess!

I love hospitals...

While I was home for Christmas, I had my gallbladder taken out.

Don't I look beautiful all prepped for surgery?!

This is a picture of my dad and I leaving the hospital after both getting our gallbladders out! What a great daddy/daughter date!

And here we are at home, showing off our battle wounds!

Well, apparently I couldn't stay away from the hospital for too long... Only two weeks after coming back to Utah and fours weeks after my gallbladder surgery I was back at a Hospital. This time it was the Provo Hospital and I started in the Emergency Room at 1:30am.

After throwing up a few times, getting lots of pain medicine through an IV, and getting a Cat Scan, it was determined that I had Appendicitis!! I couldn't believe it! I told them I had just had my gallbladder out, how could I have Appendix problems too?!! But by 6am I was being taken to the operating room.

Here is a picture of me after the surgery. I look so drugged!! Kimber and my sister Suzanne were with me through it all. They said after surgery I was really loopy.. I don't really remember much though.

Now I am recovering and praying that I don't have to visit any more hospitals anytime soon. I can't believe I had TWO surgeries and lost TWO internal organs in ONE month!

Not as far as Jerusalem...

...but you'll probably not see me for these next four months either. :) So here is this veteran GS girl's update!

Lily is almost 5 months old. She (sometimes) enjoys rice cereal and drinks water from a cup much like a little puppy. I love her!

Please note the attractive rice cereal coating my glasses. And the content, "Ha ha" look on the adorable baby.

Yes, I make her do chores. This is her idea of folding laundry. She's really very good at it!

I'm doing my student teaching right now and I'm loving it. My feet and throat really hurt after a long day of teaching, but I just have to get my "teaching legs," says my mentor teacher. The hubby is working hard with school and two jobs. If you ever see him on campus, give him a high-five or something. (And yes, it's SO weird to not go to campus anymore!!!!)

So, not as far away or as cool as Jess in Jerusalem, but there you have it! The end of the college tunnel is approaching.

Long way from Provo

Alright, alright Kari
I was hoping to update this blog soon, but life is crazy in Jeru. I know that all of you have been writing to me via facebook, but just so you know, I can't get on that here. So send your emails to my gmail instead :)
I know you guys will have lots of emails for me.
Man, I miss you guys! I miss familiarity a lot. And I've been pretty homesick and disoriented. But, things are improving. Rough week, but life is getting better.

My roommates are cuties, and I'm in JERUSALEM.
Isn't that crazy!? That life is here for the next 4 months. Some girl said 96 days left today. So far it has felt like much longer than a week..but at the same time, I'm still learning so much and getting used to everything.

Tonight we went to the Western Wall. Soooo cool. It was the Jews sabbath, and we watched them worship and joined in some dances. They are such devout worshipers, it's so interesting. The people here are just, so interesting! It's unlike anything I imagined. Loud and different languages being shouted, whole raw cows just hanging there, and cats everywhere!
There is so much to learn and so much homework, and, it's just crazy!

Miss y'all. And, the Dome of the Rock and Jerusalem are so pretty!!!

PS. I have a blog called, jessinjeru.blogspot.com

This Blog NEEDS to be Updated!!

Attention all past and present GS girls!!!! Please update this blog!!! NOW!!!! Thank you in advance for your corporation!

Ruthann's Pretend Birthday

On July 8th, Ruthann will turn 24 years old! Because she will not be at GS on her birthday (she will be a counselor at EFY for two weeks) we decided to celebrate a little early.

We invited Janae to join the party! She brought Richard with her (and her baby).

Ruthann "holding" the baby.

Gretchen tends to be the one who takes all the pictures and so we don't have a lot of her, so I made sure to get one.

Ruthann worked on nametags for EFY!

"I'll go get a Screwdriver"

Today at GS our hand-sanitizer ran out! I quickly called 22 on the radio to report the incident. Sure enough, Shirley sent one of her students to come and replace it for us. Well, bless his soul, Weston was not exactly sure how to open the dispenser. He fiddled with it for a while trying to open it and then he said he'd be right back because he needed a screwdriver. That sounded a little strange to me, but I do not know anything about the hand-sanitizer dispenser and so I just accepted it. But Gretchie knew better because she used to be a custodian! She mumbled under her breath that he just needed to press the button under the dispenser and it would open right up. Well, Caroline told her to do it and she did (This is why Gretchen got to graduate from custodian). Then we waited for his return. When he saw the dispenser open he said "You guys opened it! Now I'm embarrassed! I feel so stupid!" haha. It was really funny. We told Shirley the story and she thought it was hilarious.

Today as always, Gretchen was a little silly. She began the morning trying on my glasses. She thought she looked like a librarian. She also spent the whole day making cloth napkins that she will use for a dinner party she is having later this month.

Water fight at GS

Kari just spilled her water bottle all over the desk and her skirt. I was laughing so she threw water at me. I was still laughing so she threw a handful of soggy napkins at my face. My hair is all wet and it got all over my shirt. At least I don't look like I had an "accident".

Surprise!!!

Kari had no idea I was going to take a picture. Surprise!!!

Jess, this picture is for you. Kari said you love the carrots the most.

Kari always asks Caroline to make chicken, cheesy potatoes, and the cashew carrots, and of course the toll house cake.

And it's always as good as we remember it.

Look who showed up. Six months pregnant Janae. She joined us for free food and stayed to chat for a while. She did confirm that they are naming their baby girl Caroline-Gretchen-Jessica-Kari-Ruthann. Right, Janae?

The usual picture for old time sake.

A few days later, I was talking to Caroline and Kari and I noticed one of the trees in the atrium start to sway and then it just fell over. Kari jumped at the chance to go fix it.

After years of working in this office and answering the missionaries questions about it, Kari finally fulfilled a life long dream and went inside the atrium.