A Tender Mercy (Part 2)

I'm probably breaking some unspoken rule that only wives blog but I thought I'd give this blogging thing a try.

It's been about 2 months since leaving Rexburg and things are starting to look up. I still don't have a job and I'm still not sure I'll be accepted into UT grad school but I'm starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel.

The love handles that I'd been working on over the holidays have started to decipate thanks to 15 miles a week on the treadmill.

Gwen is starting to walk along the walls and other things she can lean on. Additionally, each day we take a stroll around our empty livingroom hand-in-hand. She's so cautious; I'm often tempted to compel her to take steps but I have to remind myself that, like other milestones, when she's ready she'll walk.

Not having a job has been a real blessing in many ways, one of which has been spending a lot more time with Catherine and Gwen. People have asked, "Are you killing each other yet?" I'm gonna say no. I've really enjoyed my time with these two girls. I recognize that this is an experience that I probably won't have again. Knowing that has made a world of difference in the way I approach my time with them. It will be great when I finally start school or a job but I will always look back at these months with fondness and gratitude.

This week we were invited by the Jones and Thompson families to dinner on Friday and Sunday, respectively. This was not only an answer to an unspoken prayer but in every sense a tender mercy. I don't think people understand what it was like for Catherine and I in Rexburg. It truly was heaven on earth. For the past 2 months I have been missing our friends and the homesicknesses was starting to get to me. When I thought I couldn't bear anymore the Jones and Thompsons invited us over for dinner and games. You can imagine that it wasn't the same; afterall, we've been through a lot with our Rexburg friends but it was as good as could be expected. They were warm and inviting, we had some laughs, we talked a lot, and overall I loved the experiences; like I said, it was a tender mercy. Since Friday night at the Jones I've felt that things will work out and, alas, I can make life outside Rexburg heaven on earth. -JP

"...Dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still... for His arm to be revealed." - Joseph Smith