Saturday, November 30, 2013
Monday, November 25, 2013
Las Vegas Temple Suicide
Scott Bybee was the young man who committed suicide. His father Jay Bybee is a federal judge. Apparently he was plagued by depression for years and decided that he wanted to die in the temple.
I don't know if you' remember, but as you enter the lobby to the right of the recommend desk there is an atrium/courtyard. A lot of times the youth will spend time in this beautiful place while they wait to go down to do baptisms. The young man (who was wearing a gray suit) entered the lobby and went to the desk, requesting a set of scriptures. He then went into the atrium and sat down. He took out a teddy bear and a glass figurine and set them beside himself.
The Peccole Ranch ward youth were there waiting to do baptisms. Most of them had gone down to the baptismal font, but three girls stayed behind as they finished braiding each other's hair. They were wary of the young man, sitting ten feet away from them. They said he kept looking over at them, then looking down at his lap. The girls were distracted when they heard the gunshot. None of them witnessed the shooting.
Thinking it was a tree breaking in the atrium, they looked up and then around. The young man had fallen backwards into the bushes behind him. Hearing the bang,an adult came into the atrium and looked at the young man. Initially he assumed Scott had some sort of attack and had bitten his tongue because there was so little blood (he put the gun in his mouth), but then he noticed the handgun beside him. The police were already at the temple because he had called his parents to let them know that he was at the temple and he was going to kill himself so they were at the body within one minute.
A few miracles I've observed:
1) Those present, including the police couldn't believe how clean the scene was. The blood was extraordinarily contained and none of the temple workers, nor the young women saw any of the gruesome aftermath
2) The young women who were ten feet away when it happened didn't witness the shooting, and have remained extremely calm. The cousin of my friend initially felt like she should have approached the young man but was constrained by the spirit, and the adults in her life explained that due to his state of mind it was better that she didn't approach him.
3) We are all given agency, and that night Scott Bybee made the choice to take his life, but Heavenly Father protected those who didn't make that choice, who were in the temple with him. All involved have reported to have felt peace in a tragic situation.
This has been an extremely difficult week to think about. The Las Vegas temple is my most beloved temple. I've served in it nearly every month for over seven years. It is where I have come to learn so much about my Savior and I've had countless spiritual experiences that I could never forget. After the shooting I spent the next day listening to my "I Feel My Savior's Love" playlist trying to feel peace amid confusion. I was especially touched by the song I Feel My Savior's Love, particularly this part
"I feel my Savior's love; Its gentleness enfolds me,
And when I kneel to pray, My heart is filled with peace."
Learning about the protection within the temple in the during and aftermath of the shooting, I feel like I am learning even more about the protection and peace of the temple. I am grateful for the miracles that happened that night, and I look forward to returning to the temple in a couple weeks with the Relief Society. I look even more forward to going to the Brigham city temple a week or so after that and being there with Megan as she receives her endowment. There is power in the temple. And that power is priesthood power, and the Love of our Heavenly Father and His Son.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
A Few Weeks in the life {11/4-11/24}
Apparently pregnancy plus travel does not equal great documentation. Again, I'll try to be better.
Here is a little overview via facebook status updates.
11/1
I tried to pull a Jimmy Kimmel on my kids and told them I are all their candy last night. They are too smart for that. They didn't even blink. Hannah explained the logistics, that there was no physical way we could have eaten all of the candy in one sitting. "You couldn't do that, Mom! You'd get a tummy ache and the baby wouldn't like it!"
11/11
Hannah: Mommy, let me tell you about my dream. It was HORRIBLE! It was Christmas and there were zombies and I screamed.
Adam: What did they look like?
Hannah: They looked like our faces and our bodies.
Me: The zombies were us?
Hannah: No, you weren't there. It was just me and my preschool friends and Mrs. Mindi Farrell and the zombies were picking us up.
Me: From school?
Hannah: No, they were getting us. And they were all boys and the zombies were naked.
Adam: How do you know they were boys?
Hannah: Because. Just because.
This is coming from a child that has never watched anything scarier than a Pixar film, but has the craziest imagination I know.
11/12
As if I couldn't love them any more, the young women in my ward are cleaning my house and reading to my children right now. I was given the instructions to relax. Feeling extremely loved and blessed.
11/13
So we are all sitting around the table making up lame knock knock jokes and I came up with one that cracked me up.
Knock knock
Who's there?
Doctor
Doctor Who
That's where it ends, and I start laughing. Seriously. I am such a big nerd. My whole family just stared at me while I laughed at myself. Hannah said, "I don't get it." Coincidentally, her father also doesn't "get" Doctor Who.
11/15
One of my favorite traditions on road trips is listening to Wait Wait Don't Tell Me.
11/17
We had a great (but quick!) weekend in California to celebrate the pending arrival of our new niece, Hanley. Always great to spend time with the fam!
11/18
Paige: I want to talk about fighting.
Me: Oh? What about it?
Paige: I mad at you. You be nicer to me.
Heaven forbid I spend 15 minutes unpacking rather than playing with her. Nevertheless, her plea mingled with adorableness earned her
a nice long cuddle.
11/18
Believing in the Savior's teachings about charity and putting it into practice can be a huge weakness of mine.
I keep reading these scriptures and I can almost TOUCH it but I'm not quite there. I admire those in my life who are beautiful examples of unconditional love and charity. And I'm grateful for the Atonement which allows us to grow and be forgiven our many weaknesses.
Matthew 5:38-39
38 ¶Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Matthew 5: 43-48
43 ¶Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
11/19
It's so cute when I'm talking to someone about motherhood and another person joins in the conversation and says, "I have this puppy..." Bless their hearts.
11/20
Paige is in this awesome phase where she will immediately admit to her mistakes and say, "I so so sorry. It my fault." I love it. I love it so much. I know it's unrealistic, but if she could continue this throughout her lifetime she'll have acquired a great asset. The ability to own responsibility. I love my girl.
11/20
My heart is broken today, after learning that a young man took his life inside the Las Vegas LDS temple. This building is my refuge. My peace. My comfort. My sanctuary. I have had many conversations with my Heavenly Father within these sacred walls. Today I pray for this young man and his grieving family, that they may find the peace and comfort someday. And I pray for the sweet temple workers and youth groups who allegedly witnessed this tragedy. The Atonement is infinite and wonderful. It has the power to heal.
11/21
Adam Turney and I just took the 5 Love Languages test and our results are nearly identical, with the exception of my primary love language being words of affirmation and his being physical touch (we were exactly opposite on those!) How interesting to see and learn more about yourself and your spouse!
11/21
Hannah: Paige, say, "Turkey Train!"
Paige: No.
Hannah: Please, I'll give you a dollar.
Paige: I no want a dollar.
Hannah: PLEASE! I'll give you a DOLLAR!
Paige: Okay. Turkey Train.
Me: Now what are you going to do Hannah? You don't have a dollar to give Paige.
Hannah: Can I have one?
Me: No.
Paige: (Angrily) Hannah. YOU NO HAVE A DOLLAR?!?!?!?!
11/22
I'm not very impressed with Apple right now. My iPod lasted less than a year. At their suggestion we did a factory reset and it seemed to fix the problem. Unfortunately about a month later it stopped working again and I took it into the Apple store. It was two weeks passed my one-year warranty and they would only replace it if I gave them $150 plus they would replace it with a refurbished model. Since I'm not going to pay half the price of the original product to get it replaced for a refurbished model I'm just out an iPod. They even checked to make sure it wasn't due to any water damage or anything like that, it was all internal so it was basically because it was faulty hardware. If I were dealing with Amazon right now they would've replaced it with a new model and probably given the Amazon credit. Boo, Apple.
11/24
I'm scrolling through facebook and suddenly an Elf on the Shelf pops up. Hannah was very upset and said, "Mom! We didn't get our Elf this year!" I explained that some elves come sooner and some elves come later. I told her ours came last year after Thanksgiving. She said, "Let's say a prayer that our Elf hurries up and gets here before Thanksgiving!!!!" Great.
Some Highlights included:
A trip to California for my new niece Hanley Elizabeth's baby shower (due 12/31).
Hannah and Paige being the cutest children ever on the face of the planet as always.
Throwing up less and less (It's been a week! Wait, no it hasn't...nevermind.
The Young Women coming over to clean our house!
Two book clubs!
Here is a little overview via facebook status updates.
11/1
I tried to pull a Jimmy Kimmel on my kids and told them I are all their candy last night. They are too smart for that. They didn't even blink. Hannah explained the logistics, that there was no physical way we could have eaten all of the candy in one sitting. "You couldn't do that, Mom! You'd get a tummy ache and the baby wouldn't like it!"
11/11
Hannah: Mommy, let me tell you about my dream. It was HORRIBLE! It was Christmas and there were zombies and I screamed.
Adam: What did they look like?
Hannah: They looked like our faces and our bodies.
Me: The zombies were us?
Hannah: No, you weren't there. It was just me and my preschool friends and Mrs. Mindi Farrell and the zombies were picking us up.
Me: From school?
Hannah: No, they were getting us. And they were all boys and the zombies were naked.
Adam: How do you know they were boys?
Hannah: Because. Just because.
This is coming from a child that has never watched anything scarier than a Pixar film, but has the craziest imagination I know.
11/12
As if I couldn't love them any more, the young women in my ward are cleaning my house and reading to my children right now. I was given the instructions to relax. Feeling extremely loved and blessed.
11/13
So we are all sitting around the table making up lame knock knock jokes and I came up with one that cracked me up.
Knock knock
Who's there?
Doctor
Doctor Who
That's where it ends, and I start laughing. Seriously. I am such a big nerd. My whole family just stared at me while I laughed at myself. Hannah said, "I don't get it." Coincidentally, her father also doesn't "get" Doctor Who.
11/15
One of my favorite traditions on road trips is listening to Wait Wait Don't Tell Me.
11/17
We had a great (but quick!) weekend in California to celebrate the pending arrival of our new niece, Hanley. Always great to spend time with the fam!
11/18
Paige: I want to talk about fighting.
Me: Oh? What about it?
Paige: I mad at you. You be nicer to me.
Heaven forbid I spend 15 minutes unpacking rather than playing with her. Nevertheless, her plea mingled with adorableness earned her
a nice long cuddle.
11/18
Believing in the Savior's teachings about charity and putting it into practice can be a huge weakness of mine.
I keep reading these scriptures and I can almost TOUCH it but I'm not quite there. I admire those in my life who are beautiful examples of unconditional love and charity. And I'm grateful for the Atonement which allows us to grow and be forgiven our many weaknesses.
Matthew 5:38-39
38 ¶Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Matthew 5: 43-48
43 ¶Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
11/19
It's so cute when I'm talking to someone about motherhood and another person joins in the conversation and says, "I have this puppy..." Bless their hearts.
11/20
Paige is in this awesome phase where she will immediately admit to her mistakes and say, "I so so sorry. It my fault." I love it. I love it so much. I know it's unrealistic, but if she could continue this throughout her lifetime she'll have acquired a great asset. The ability to own responsibility. I love my girl.
11/20
My heart is broken today, after learning that a young man took his life inside the Las Vegas LDS temple. This building is my refuge. My peace. My comfort. My sanctuary. I have had many conversations with my Heavenly Father within these sacred walls. Today I pray for this young man and his grieving family, that they may find the peace and comfort someday. And I pray for the sweet temple workers and youth groups who allegedly witnessed this tragedy. The Atonement is infinite and wonderful. It has the power to heal.
11/21
Adam Turney and I just took the 5 Love Languages test and our results are nearly identical, with the exception of my primary love language being words of affirmation and his being physical touch (we were exactly opposite on those!) How interesting to see and learn more about yourself and your spouse!
11/21
Hannah: Paige, say, "Turkey Train!"
Paige: No.
Hannah: Please, I'll give you a dollar.
Paige: I no want a dollar.
Hannah: PLEASE! I'll give you a DOLLAR!
Paige: Okay. Turkey Train.
Me: Now what are you going to do Hannah? You don't have a dollar to give Paige.
Hannah: Can I have one?
Me: No.
Paige: (Angrily) Hannah. YOU NO HAVE A DOLLAR?!?!?!?!
11/22
I'm not very impressed with Apple right now. My iPod lasted less than a year. At their suggestion we did a factory reset and it seemed to fix the problem. Unfortunately about a month later it stopped working again and I took it into the Apple store. It was two weeks passed my one-year warranty and they would only replace it if I gave them $150 plus they would replace it with a refurbished model. Since I'm not going to pay half the price of the original product to get it replaced for a refurbished model I'm just out an iPod. They even checked to make sure it wasn't due to any water damage or anything like that, it was all internal so it was basically because it was faulty hardware. If I were dealing with Amazon right now they would've replaced it with a new model and probably given the Amazon credit. Boo, Apple.
11/24
I'm scrolling through facebook and suddenly an Elf on the Shelf pops up. Hannah was very upset and said, "Mom! We didn't get our Elf this year!" I explained that some elves come sooner and some elves come later. I told her ours came last year after Thanksgiving. She said, "Let's say a prayer that our Elf hurries up and gets here before Thanksgiving!!!!" Great.
Some Highlights included:
A trip to California for my new niece Hanley Elizabeth's baby shower (due 12/31).
Hannah and Paige being the cutest children ever on the face of the planet as always.
Throwing up less and less (It's been a week! Wait, no it hasn't...nevermind.
The Young Women coming over to clean our house!
Two book clubs!
Monday, November 4, 2013
October Catch Up
Happy day! We are pregnant with our THIRD child. Adam announced it via Facebook while we were sitting at our first ultrasound and let the cat out of the bag, so there you have it. Turney number three is on the way, due June 2014.
Here is the adorable video of us telling our daughters that they would be big sisters. It was one of the best moments of my life! They are so excited to be big sisters. They predict we are having a brother (or a monster if you ask Paige).
The entire month of October for me was spent on the couch or vomiting in the bathroom. Fortunately I feel like the worst is over and my medication is helping me be a person and not a lump.
Poor Adam had a lame birthday because I've been so sick and exhausted, although we did manage to make him a special breakfast and take him Tropical Smoothie for lunch.
Speaking of Adam, he has been incredible. Not only has he continued to do a fabulous job at his full time job, he's also taken on all of my responsibilities, including all the housework, laundry, and feeding the family. I'm not really doing him justice, but seriously, he has been so amazing while I've been down, and I'm so grateful that our lives haven't fallen apart, just because I have.
The girls have been pretty understanding too.
My parents came for a quick visit. They watched Hannah's primary program practice. Her line was "I know Heavenly Father loves me because he gave me a dollhouse." She came up with it herself. During the practice she said she knew Heavenly Father loves her because he gave her a sister but changed it back for the actual program. Silly nut. It was so nice to have my parents in town. They were so helpful and supportive!
Halloween was a blast. We did both Trunk and Trick or Treating. I helped out in Hannah's class party and we read lots of fun and spooky books and watched lots of fun movies. The pictures will have to really fill in the rest of our month because I'm too tired/lazy to do it myself. :)
Here is the adorable video of us telling our daughters that they would be big sisters. It was one of the best moments of my life! They are so excited to be big sisters. They predict we are having a brother (or a monster if you ask Paige).
The entire month of October for me was spent on the couch or vomiting in the bathroom. Fortunately I feel like the worst is over and my medication is helping me be a person and not a lump.
Poor Adam had a lame birthday because I've been so sick and exhausted, although we did manage to make him a special breakfast and take him Tropical Smoothie for lunch.
Speaking of Adam, he has been incredible. Not only has he continued to do a fabulous job at his full time job, he's also taken on all of my responsibilities, including all the housework, laundry, and feeding the family. I'm not really doing him justice, but seriously, he has been so amazing while I've been down, and I'm so grateful that our lives haven't fallen apart, just because I have.
The girls have been pretty understanding too.
My parents came for a quick visit. They watched Hannah's primary program practice. Her line was "I know Heavenly Father loves me because he gave me a dollhouse." She came up with it herself. During the practice she said she knew Heavenly Father loves her because he gave her a sister but changed it back for the actual program. Silly nut. It was so nice to have my parents in town. They were so helpful and supportive!
Halloween was a blast. We did both Trunk and Trick or Treating. I helped out in Hannah's class party and we read lots of fun and spooky books and watched lots of fun movies. The pictures will have to really fill in the rest of our month because I'm too tired/lazy to do it myself. :)
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