Saying Good-bye

When we first found out we had to leave this house, I was feeling a bit devastated. This place has been like a place of recovery, refuge, renewal. Leaving Texas, and all its disappointments and stresses - coming here and having opportunities and comforts and top it off with an easy visiting teaching route and a calling at church that I loved. I felt like my strength had been renewed.
This house... we will probably not live in a house this nice again anytime soon. Good-bye, stainless steel appliances, good-bye hard wood floors, good-bye shady backyard, good-bye flowerbeds...

Claire, outside with the faerie lilies

Well, here we go again. Another move, another place, another ward, new people...

We said good-bye to R. on Saturday. I'm going to miss that little guy.

To top it all off we are saying good-bye to a friend who helped us find this house.

Last year, when we had no idea where to start looking (in the fifth largest city in the U.S.) where to live, we looked at the church's website. We found a bishop's number and thought we'd give him a call to see if he knew of anyone who was trying to rent out a house in his ward area.

I called him, he answered. He was more than friendly, and wanted to know all about us and why we were up and moving to Phoenix. He worked in downtown Phoenix, and so he had lots of advice for Aaron as he would be traveling downtown for work and school as well. He drove around his ward boundary and took pictures of houses for rent in his neighborhood for us. He found a couple in his ward who were trying to rent out their home and got them in contact with us. He was more than helpful. Through one of the homes we called on, we met Annie, our awesome Realtor, who helped us find this house and the house we'll be moving into next week.

A few months after we moved here, at a packed Stake Conference, we sat in front of a nice looking young family, with three kids. I heard the father of the family speak some kind words
to his children, trying to keep them engaged and quiet at the same time. I recognized that voice. It was him, Bishop Menlove. After church, we introduced ourselves, and we all thought what a cool thing it was to be able to finally meet. We ended up moving just outside his ward boundary, but still would see him at Stake events.

Very suddenly, he past away yesterday morning. He had a seizure, out of the blue, and his heart stopped. His wife, pregnant, with their three young children, has become a young widow. It's been a solemn couple of days for Aaron and I.

We are praying for his wife and children, including their unborn child. I am so thankful for the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that families will be together again, after death. I know that my little family is sealed together forever. I know that God is real. That his Son, Jesus Christ, was resurrected, and that we all will be resurrected because of Him. That the comfort of the Holy Spirit is real.

My kids and I like Camp Lisa. It's an album of songs about summer and camp and fun. One of the last songs has been in my head all day yesterday and today, it says, "It's not good-bye, just so long, just for now... I'll be yours to the end.... Don't you cry, next July will come around, it's not good-bye... but I'll see you again..."