The Month of May

This month has been pretty eventful. I've been so distracted I haven't even blogged...so here I am playing catch up. I'll start with my crazy / scary end of April.

About the last weekend in April I found myself passed out on the bathroom floor. I can't remember how it happened but it was very scary. I suffer from migraines but this was a new thing. So I got a doctor's appointment to see if I was okay. I have the best doctor ever. She is pretty awesome. She ran some blood tests on me and checked for diabetes. And even had me get an MRI. Luckily I work for a Radiology company and it was fun to finally see the patient's side of it. Since they knew I worked up in accounting, I got the royal treatment and was in and out in less than an hour. I hate MRI's. I'm a tiny bit claustrophobic...but the tech was super nice and let me listen to Alternative rock the whole time. And I kept my eyes shut and my mind focused on the music. But after all the tests and MRI I'm ecstatic to report: I AM FINE! All my tests came back normal. It was just a weird fluke....and I hope it never happens again.

The month of May is a busy birthday month in my family. Both my sister-in-laws, my brother and two of nephews all have birthdays. So I was busy getting cards and trying to remember to wish everyone a happy birthday. Here are some photos of my brother's birthday:

Facetiming with the little ones.

It was a small party, he had class that evening so we just got pizza and a cheese cake. Then the next Saturday we went and saw Avengers.

My poor parents haven't had a good few months without car troubles. So my dad finally called in quits for the big goldie and went and traded it in for a nice plum colored Lexus:

He calls it his retirement car. But I noticed how similar it was to my little Toyota Corrolla. Who knew Lexus was made by Toyota....crazy. It is still a lot fancier than my car though.

At work we hired a new accountant so to make room for her and not have her sharing the same desk as me. I finally got my own cubicle. It was pretty exciting. I did have to spend one Friday without a desk while they installed it but it is nice to finally have my own private space at work.

Mother's Day was just another nice quiet Sunday. Mom was actually home this year so that was fun. Later that night I had a clumsy moment. I tripped on my heals and fell onto the floor. I was carrying a glass bowl that hit the floor first and shattered. My knee landed in the shards. At first it didn't seem too bad until I looked at it a few days later and saw the huge scab....fun times...I need to stop falling.

 

Just this last week we actually had an earthquake in Vegas. It happened during work so everyone got really nervous. It shook my building and caused some slight damage to the freeway downtown. But considering all the earthquakes happening in the rest of the world. I think we were very fortunate. This showed up on facebook a little while later:

The weather is getting hotter, and before it got too uncomfortable, mom and dad did some landscaping. They're trying to break up the rocks....we have a lot of rocks.

It think it looks a lot better. Dad also invested in heat screens for their window to cut down on their AC bills. Ahhhh...summer time in Vegas here we come....ready or not.

Reconnecting with Long Lost Relatives

This last weekend we were thrilled to see so many of my Epperson relatives. My cousin Jordan decided to come to Vegas to get married. We actually got to see him and his family for the first time in many many years. My dad took everyone out to see the Hoover Dam on Friday, I had to work. But that night my Uncle took us all out to the MGM casino buffet as a pre-wedding dinner. Best food I've eaten in awhile. When Jordan saw me for the first time he gave me a huge hug. I think its been about 15 years since we last saw each other. Here are some pictures of dinner:

Emily and Jordan

Jordan, Ethan and Doug

Ben and his little one

Me showing my Aunt Jenny some paintings

The best part of visiting with them was I was finally able to get to know my Aunt Jenny. We are so much alike its scary. Definitely kindred spirits. We chatted and talked about everything from art to movie to books to swords. It was awesome.

After dinner we took a walk down the Strip to see the Bellagio fountains and gardens.

 

 

 

Then on Saturday we the big day. They got married in a nice little chapel north of the strip. Here are some group shots before and after the ceremony.

 

My cousin Brian flew in late Friday evening to surprise everyone

The Brothers: Ethan, Ben, Brian and Jordan

Uncle Randy and Aunt Jenny

And the Happy Couple:

The Whole Gang

It  was a nice short ceremony and on Sunday my parents put on a potluck for anyone wanting to come out. I spent most of Sunday hanging out with Aunt Jenny. It was fun and then they we gone. I hope they come visit again some day.

Easter Sunday and April General Conference

You know, I really enjoy when our General Conference for the church falls on Easter. It helps me focus more on the reason we have Easter every year. Its because of the sacrifice of our brother, Jesus Christ and the undeniable fact that he rose from the grave that Easter morning. Makes me happy.

But this year we didn't just watched conference, we did also enjoyed some of the more fun worldly traditions that are associated with Easter. Eating loads of chocolate and decorating Easter Eggs. My mom found a cool easy way to color eggs. You get a small closable container and put in rice and a couple of drops of food coloring. Shake it up so all the rice is colored then add an egg and shake, shake, shake!

 

The eggs turned out awesome! So bright and colorful. And the ones that didn't get shook up very much were nice and spotted:

 

The rice on the other hand...wasn't so pretty...especially after it was cooked:

Yummy!

Grandma made yummy deviled eggs out of them and we ate them with a nice ham dinner.

The "Easter Bunny" also paid us a visit dropping off some goodies and hiding the eggs.

Some people get new Easter outfits...not in our family we get books. A tradition I do enjoy.

As for General Conference here is a summary of some of the things I learned this time:

*Saturday Morning Session: We need to focus on giving more fast offerings, there are a lot of people out there in need of basic necessities like food and clothing. We need to keep the law of Chastity. Men are awesome and need the support of women, just as much as we need them (Complete don't compete). We need to be rooted in good soil to feed our faith. "The root of all evil isn't money but the LOVE of money." We need to look for the light in the distance and push through the trials that surround us. We need only have the desire to believe and open our hearts. Our church is different because we believe in the teaching that families are ETERNAL! They have always been and will always be together.

*Saturday Afternoon Session: When the sustaining of the prophet and the twelve apostles were done, five people stood up in objection....it was very sad to hear...Pres. Uchtdorf took it in stride and noted the objections and advised them to speak with their Stake Presidents. I've never seen that happen but times are getting harder. Elder Bednar spoke next and spoke about Faith. "Faith dispels fear, even in our crazy world." Then Elder Christofferson spoke on the importance of marriage and the plan of happiness. "Many things are good, but few things are essential!" Marriage is one of those essential things. Next talk was about listening: "I can teach you to dance but it is up to you to hear the music!" The music is the joy of the gospel. The spirit will not abide with pride. "A saint is a sinner that keeps on trying, never giving up." Repent and be converted, turn from wickedness, the atonement can heal. And remember to judge not, we are all trying. "Great men and women are those that are more willing to serve than to dominate." Then Elder Cook closed by speaking of Easter. The savior redeemed all those that repent. We need to remember Christ always. The family and church organization are both important. We must be united in the gospel of Jesus Christ. "We are stronger than we have ever been before."

*Sunday Morning Session: President Monson started the session. He seemed to be unwell so he just gave a short talk about temples (there are 144 currently operating) and he announced three new ones in Haiti, Thailand and the Ivory Coast. "In the temple we can find rest and comfort from the world." Then the general Primary President Sister Wixom spoke: "Focus on what you know!" Start with the basics: prayer, scripture study. Most important, love and support those that have doubts. "A deeper understanding of our Savior will help us find hope." Be careful of the amount of time spent online. "Sometimes we look but don't see, we hear but don't really listen" We are witnessing the marvelous works and wonders foretold in the scriptures but are we not seeing them..."have our spiritual sensors stopped working?" We must love and seek out those that have lost their way. Sometimes all you can do is love them, watch them and wait for them to find their way. We are ALL on the same path back home.

Then we heard from Elder Holland, he always makes me cry, so powerful: He told a story about two brothers rock climbing. They got to a point where it was impossible to go around. The younger brother was pushed up by his brother but that left the older with no way up but to jump. He told his younger brother to go find a branch to lower down, but he was really just trying to spare his younger brother from watching him fall. The older brother waited and them jumped for the ledge...when his fingers began to slip off the rock ledge he knew he would fall. But then his younger brother reached out and grabbed him. He hadn't gone away, he knew what his brother was going to do and waited so he could help him.....The Savior is there to save us from falling, our brother is there to grab us. He then explained the importance of knowing about Adam and Eve. That they did fall, requiring the need for the savior. "No! We are not meant to keep falling." Through Christ all may live. Then Pres. Uchtdorf spoke about grace. "God loves us!" The path our Heavenly Father wants for us leads upwards. We obey the commandments out of LOVE for God.

*Sunday Afternoon Session: Elder Hales started it and spoke about agency. To keep commandments we need to know the doctrine of the gospel. Those baptized are blessed with the gift of the Holy Ghost to help guide us. He listed the four Religious Liberties: 1-Freedom to believe, 2-Freedom to share those beliefs, 3-Freedom to form a church to worship with, and 4-Freedom to live our faith. We are invited to share our beliefs and to defend them. Then a former Tacoma, WA mission president spoke about how Enduring to the end is constantly committing to the gospel. Don't forget to pray. Come and be perfected in Christ. Press forward with Faith. The Book of Mormon is key to understanding gospel. Don't get distracted. Stay by the "Tree" and STAY AWAKE. Heavenly Father's goal is for all of us to find joy. We must have the perspective of eternity...to see the bigger picture. God knows what the plan for us is.

Then Elder Anderson spoke about Christ: His cause is the greatest cause in all the world. Last days are here, we must pray for courage to stay strong. We all need to try and do our own part. We see God's miracles in the world around us and in our own lives. Doubt not, Fear not. We have two responsibilities: Seek salvation for ourselves and that of others. Let everyone learn and do their duty. We need to repent, forgive others and be patient and then accept God's will for us. Then Elder Nelson concluded the conference and he spoke about keeping the sabbath day holy. We need to find joy in the Sabbath...its a gift to us to rest from the world one day a week. It's ment to be a day of cheerfulness, a day of quality family time. He told us to be the examples of the believers.

It was a great conference. I think I learned more this time than any other time before. I can't wait for next October conference. It was a great Easter weekend.

March so far....oh and St Patrick's Day

I thought I'd give a little summary of the last few weeks. Its been a nice relaxing start of spring. Not much has happened.

I finished another painting. This one was of the Narrows at Zion's National Park. I loved the colors of the rock walls so I had to try my hand at painting it. Here is the results:

I've started a couple more paintings that should keep me busy for awhile...here's a preview of them:

 

I'm starting to get a nice stock pile of art and have been thinking of trying to sell some. But I'm not sure anyone would be interested in buying them and I'm having trouble putting a price on them. So we shall see.

About two weeks ago I came home from work to find my brother's car taking up my whole driveway...I let him park in my driveway to get his car off the street but this was a bit of a surprise. Turned out that one of his break-pads had fallen off while he was driving. So for our Monday night Family Home Evening we put new break-pads on his car in my garage.

 

It was fun, we had my older brother on Facetime for moral support. He is the mechanic in the family. But we managed to get it done and my brother was able to use his car again. Later that week I took my car in for its annual smog test and registration. Also my parents big car's electrical went out and was in the shop for a good week. Its now back and running fine. They gave my dad such a nice loner car he really didn't want his car back.

Then along came St. Patrick's Day. It was kind of low key this year...me and grandma didn't do anything. I did make my Irish Apple Cake that I made last year, just to do something. I think it turned out better than the last one.

So here's to the beginning of Spring....the flowers are starting to bloom and the weather is getting warmer. These are the best months to live in Vegas.

PS If anyone is interested in buying my art, please let me know. :)