Angels Among Us

When I straighten my hair I often recall a special, touching moment from my Sophomore year of college. It was the end of a long day of studying for my nursing classes and working at the library. I showered and was preparing to straighten my hair when I became so overwhelmed with stress, anxiety, and exhaustion that I began to cry. At the time, I was waiting for a missionary serving in the SLC mission. That particular weekend was General Conference and there was a chance that I would see him. I wanted to see him so desperately and the weight of life's demands plus the emotions that came with the potential of seeing him was too much.

While crying in a heap in front of the mirror, my dear friend Ashley came over. She didn't ask what she should do. Instead, she picked up my straightener and silently began doing my hair for me. Slowly, I was able to calm down and feel of her peace and goodness.

The next day came and I didn't see my missionary. I was sad and that's all I focused on at the time. As I look back on the experience the sadness has faded and the sacred nature of Ashley's actions are what remains. She was my angel that day. An action as simple as straightening my hair was exactly what I needed in that moment of emotional chaos. She didn't hesitate or shrug off her thought to help me. She came and filled up my cup.  

To her it might seem like nothing, but to me it was everything. Never think your act of service is too small, too silly, or insignificant. As you act on promptings to help those in need you are making a greater impact than you realize.

 Read the rest of the talk here.

Heather got Baptized!!

I never served a mission for the LDS church. Five of Seven Griffioen kids served missions. You better believe I sighed a huge breath of relief when one of my sisters didn't serve a mission. I was nervous about feeling pressured into serving just because all of my siblings had vs. doing what God wanted me to do. As I was nearing 21 I prayed about it. I still remember going into the quiet guest room and kneeling at the bedside. I was dreading getting a "yes" but  I was prepared to serve a mission if that's what God wanted for me. As I prayed I distinctly felt that I was supposed to stay home and prepare to become and wife and mother. 18 months later I was married and had a baby.

Fast forward to December 2014. Paul was looking for jobs all over the country. We seriously considered a job in Ohio but in the end we didn't feel right about it. Then Paul applied for Plasan Carbon Composites. Once again, I found myself kneeling at the bedside. This time I felt different. When I received my confirmation about moving to West Michigan I knew that as we left Utah God expected us to do to missionary work.

This was daunting to me. Going to a place where I didn't know a soul, yet was expected to share my deepest beliefs. We accepted the job and made the move. We were greeted with acts of service so great I couldn't believe how blessed we were. It was a very difficult time for us but once we got settled it was clear to me that Heavenly Father was serious about our family getting involved in missionary work.

The reminder came when I was assigned with a talk about missionary work. As I studied and prepared for my talk I stumbled upon so many easy ways to make missionary work a habit. I also had personal revelation that inspired me made me anxious to share the beautiful message of the Gospel. Following my talk I stepped up my game a bit. We started feeding the missionaries more, I felt a greater sense of courage as I shared with people I met at the park, garage sales, the store, that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints. I felt a sense of progress just letting other Christians know that Mormons are Christians too!

The next reminder came as I was called to serve in the Young Women organization at my church. As I was given a blessing and set apart to teach, the Bishop gave me unique counsel and emphasis on missionary work-- during a blessing that has nothing to do with missionary work. I began looking at which YW were missing from church and I'm still interest in helping them find their way back to church, but something else happened in the meanwhile.

Paul came home from work, completely flabbergasted. His intern, Heather, gave him a list of questions and told him she had questions about Nephi.

Say What?!

Without being invited to, Heather started reading the Book of Mormon. Isn't that the coolest thing ever? I believe that there are a lot of people whose hearts are ready but they just need the exposure/opportunity to hear about the Gospel. Heather was most definitely spiritually prepared. The first time she came over she said, "If this is true, it will change everything." And boy, was she right! She began asking thought provoking questions. She was seeking and finding answers. The process of seeing her investigate the church has made a huge impact in my life. Her knowledge of the Bible was inspiring too. It renewed my love of the scriptures and I loved searching for answers with her.

I learned a lot throughout her conversion:

1. I don't have all of the answers-- and that's okay.

This taught me that in a discussion it's totally appropriate to say "I don't know, but I'll find out". Most of the "work" that went into helping Heather was searching for answers.

2. I wasn't me and Paul doing the converting-- it was God

I've never felt like such a tool (but in a good way of course). I felt prompted to share things that seemed irrelevant but then had a big impact on Heather. I had no idea what I was doing but I was there and God used me as He needed.

3. It doesn't take a long time to recognize Truth

I was surprised by how quickly Heather read the Book of Mormon, prayed, and knew that it was true. My personal conversion has been over a lifetime. Heather knew in a matter of weeks. I was hesitant because getting baptized is part of making sacred covenants. This shouldn't be taken lightly. But I could tell that Heather knew. Her faith was sure and she was ready much faster than I anticipated. But once you know, you know. And I think that's amazing.

4. Doing what's right is more important than making other people happy -- even your own family

I am a people pleaser so I understood Heather's dilemma when she was trying to decide to either make her family happy or do what she knew was correct. Her example of integrity and faith have been outstanding. If she can go against the grain and do what's right then I can be even better in my daily choices too.

5. You need to do your Home & Visiting Teaching... and just be friends with everyone at church, okay?

Just a week after we began working with Heather, she moved back to Indiana for college! I was extremely nervous about her support group there since we were over two hours away. It dawned on me that we never know where people are in life and we getting a call from God to visit them that not only are we answering God's call, but we're answering the prayers of that person's loved ones. I have been so appreciative of the people who stepped up and befriended Heather at church. They most certainly answered my prayers.

What the heck, this was supposed to be a short post and I'm not even done yet. Let's move on to Heather's baptism day so we can wrap this up.

Heather was baptized on October 24. From now on that will be a very special day. Afterward someone asked Heather if she felt different. She said, "Not really," but as the day continued it was obvious that she couldn't stop smiling. Heather was literally glowing. Over the last few months I have watched Heather become more confident and happy. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. I know that our Savior paid the price for our sins and that through His Grace we can be saved. I also know that because of Christ, death is not the end. We can be sealed with our families and live with them forever. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ and I am so thankful that Heather has these truths too. I am so proud of her and I'm grateful for all she has taught me during her journey to find the church.

All of us can share the Gospel. Please pray for opportunities to share your testimony. It will bless both you and those who get to hear your inspired words. Heavenly Father will help you know what to do. Just ask.

The Payson Temple

I know I'm not the only one who regrets not going to the Temple more when I lived in Utah. Now that we're in Michigan we plan to leave three hours before our session. Then there's the two hour session and the return trip... you get the idea. It's no where near as easy as our five minute drive to the Provo Temple!

Since we were back in the Land of Temples we made it a high priority to go (especially with Grandparents baby-sitting for free!). Although we could have stuck around in Provo, we made a trip of it and drove to the new Temple in Payson, UT.

It was gorgeous. Like, awe inspiring. The kind of beauty where you could sit there and take it in all day long. Quite fitting, right? Paul particularly enjoyed the marble floors and I loved all of the pretty windows.

After we picked our jaws up from the floor, we did indeed do some Temple work. It was a very satisfying trip because we were sealing all of the families we have been working on for the last two years. If that's not work, I don't know what is. It has been a labor of love making time to find the names, drive, go to the Temple, pump, drive back, repeat. But sitting there in the sealing room there was a special spirit. I could feel the love and gratitude of our ancestors.

Family History takes a lot of time and it's frustrating when you hit dead ends over and over again, but it is worth every second. Once you start it's sort of addicting. You can feel them encouraging you and it helps you press forward. I love connecting families and giving them the choice to be together forever.

Families Can Be Together Forever!

I believe that families can be together forever. Paul and I were married in the Salt Lake City Temple where we were sealed for eternity. No worrying about "until death do you part" because we get forever together. As a family, we've set a goal to attend the temple frequently to remember the promises we've made to our Father in Heaven and to give others the chance to make those covenants too. We were thrilled to have an opportunity to take our kids to see the newly constructed Temple in Indianapolis, IN. Most of all, I enjoyed being the celestial room together. I love my family and have been comforted in knowing we can always be together.

Learn more about Temples

Come Listen to a Prophet's Voice.

Prepare here.

Watch live here.

Read later here.

Portland, OR

 As previously mentioned, Paul and I decided to road trip up to Oregon.

Why?

This was our last chance to make it up there before his parents leave on their mission to Ukraine!

The drive went without a hitch.

We arrived safe & sound and spent the rest of the evening with family.

On Friday morning, we woke up early and went to the Portland Temple.

There were beautiful flowers EVERYWHERE. 

Who is this boy?

Following our Temple trip, we went to lunch at Chang's. It's a restaurant very similar to Blue Pacific Grill. You pick everything you want and then it gets grilled up in front of you.

Seeing as it was a buffet, I tried my best to refrain from over stuffing myself.

I wanted to save room for the family bbq we had in the backyard later that evening.

The weather, food and company were wonderful.

I wish we had taken more pictures, but we did get a few good shots of the little ones.

Darling Miss Macie

Miss Marion in Mr. Potato Head glasses

Eddie with the biggest smile in the world

Saturday morning was spent playing Taboo. 

(Bryce and Sierra smoked us all)

Then we piled into the car and drove to the middle of nowhere to eat at Helvatia's Tavern.

Paul has been talking about this place for a while, so I had high expectations.

I'm happy to report that my expectations were met! 

The Burgers were divine.

Following lunch, we drove to downtown Portland.

We went to Saturday Market-- where you can buy anything and everything useless.

(Except for their awesome soap. That stuff is not useless.)

Sierra & Bryce. Looking good, as usual.

Saturday night was spent shopping for black flats.

I destroyed my last pair and have been trying to find a replacement.

We searched and searched and searched . . . 

And I walked away with a pair of completely unnecessary, but oh-so-awesome, high heels.

You don't even know how much my husband loves me.

Later that evening we sorted through Paul's old stuff.

I always enjoy hearing those random, once forgotten stories.

We got a few zzzz's and then woke up early on Sunday so we could head home.

However, we weren't able to leave the house without partaking of the Brallier's generosity.

Paul's parents sent us home with delicious jam, a beautiful rug and other goodies.

Kathryn & Ron saying goodbye as we drove away.

The drive home felt longer than the drive to Portland.

Probably because you lose an hour when you travel East.

However, this trip had a few fun surprises.

I find joy in standing in new states and sticking my finger in bodies of water.

(Click here to see us touching the Mississippi River)

Now get this, when you drive on I-84 through Oregon, the state of Washington is staring you in the face across from the Columbia River.

I was itching inside to drive across a bridge, stand in Washington and stick my finger in the river.

Unfortunately, we got off to a late start on Sunday and I told Paul we didn't have time.

I promptly fell asleep and Paul's sneaky side devised a plan.

When he woke me up, I looked out a window to discover that we were driving across a bridge

 . . . to Washington!

Seriously people, you wouldn't believe how frequently Paul goes out of his way to make me happy.

Picking blackberries in Washington. (You can kinda see the tip of Mt. Hood behind the bushes)

We drove back to Oregon and found a good spot to touch the water.

Paul's turn!

Oh yeah, and then he picked me more wildflowers.

So, as you can see, we had a lovely trip.

Getting home and immediately packing for our Connecticut trip was a bit stressful. . . 

But I'm glad we made time to squeeze Portland into our Summer.

80 Hours in a Car

25 + 15 + 6 + 9 + 25 = 80 hours in a car

A 25 hour car drive straight through the night landed us in Perrysburg at 7 am.  It was a wonderfully easy trip, but way too long.  Libby’s hometown is a very nice place.  I liked it  there.  After a quick day and a half “rest”, including a wedding open house and a day trip to Cedar Point, we were in the car again on a 15 hour drive heading out to North Carolina.

Because it was my first time on the family vacation, Libby took me around to see some of the sites and shops at the Outer Banks.  One place we went was the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.  It is the biggest lighthouse in the US, standing about 200 ft high.  This is really amazing because, when you are at the top, you are the tallest thing around as far as the eye can see.  Maybe it was that feeling of being “out there” that made Ben (Libby’s brother) so scared of being on top. The gusts of wind probably added to his uneasiness way up there.  I really liked being able to see forever.

The sand at the Outer Banks isn’t limited to the shoreline.  There is a place called Kill Devil Hills.  These hills are just big huge sand dunes.  People like to fly kites there, but mostly there are a bunch of crazies running and jumping off the steepest side of the dunes they can find.

Sandal tan lines are a Hannibal specialty

Libby and I decided that we needed to do something nice, so we went to lunch at Sugar Creek.  We had a great time and had some good seafood.  The restaurant sits on the water and overlooks the sound.  The water is much calmer there...but we still saw a crab in the water.  Weird!

The view from Sugar Creek Restaurant.

We split our drive back to Ohio in half.  A quick 6 hour drive took us to Washington DC, where we had the opportunity to stop at the temple with Libby’s parents and Ben and Becca.  It’s always nice to be in the temple with family.  An uneventful 9 hours in what seems to be my new home (a car) brought us back to Perrysburg.  It should be noted that toll roads are so stupid.  I’m really happy that they don’t exist in the western US.

Libby and I got an early 3:30 am start on our way back to Utah.  We toyed with the idea of driving all day and all night, doing the trip in one day again, but ultimately decided that 2 drivers probably shouldn’t do something like that.  Some highlights of our 25 hour return trip included: some tool driving in Iowa, partaking of the goodness of the Mississippi River, a cute gaze-bo Libby spotted at one of our pit stops, sleeping, and the saddle seats at a McDonald’s somewhere in Wyoming.