Oquirrh (pronounced 'o-ker') Mountain Temple

At the beginning of July, as I was getting ready to attend the Jordan River Temple with my good friend Salina as she went through for the first time, I suddenly realized that it was time to get my temple recommend renewed! Good thing I checked! I was able to go that next week and meet with the Bishop and, while I was in the interview with him, I expressed an interest to him in working in the new Oquirrh Mountain Temple. I told him that I had really enjoyed volunteering for the Open House.

I have felt for years that it would be really enjoyable to be able to work in the Temple....any one of them....but have never felt that I was quite in a position to be able to do so. Now I work at home and my schedule is, for the most part, pretty flexible. I also still have no children to juggle, either, so that makes it easier as well. I figured that if I'm going to do it, this would be the prime time for me to do so. The Bishop said he would submit my name and then we'd see.............

Well, I got a call last week from someone at the Temple and an appointment was set up for last night to meet with President Layton, the Temple President. I met with him last night and have now been called to serve as an Ordinance Worker in the Oquirrh Mountain Temple on Fridays, from 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. I will have training from 12:00 noon - 2:00 p.m. this coming Sunday in the Oquirrh Temple, and then another training from 12:00 noon - 2:00 p.m. the next Sunday at the Jordan River Temple. I will begin my first shift on Friday, August 28, the week after the Dedication and the Temple is officially open!

President Layton told me that I will probably be at different stations throughout the Temple during my shifts. He asked me during our meeting if I spoke any other languages. I told him that I don't really, but that I did live in Germany for almost 7 years. He then asked me if I thought I would be able to help someone in German if they gave me a card with the words to say. I told him I thought I probably could, so he marked that on his paperwork. I think that would be so neat to learn in German!! I have regretted for years not learning German while I lived in the country........

Anyway, I'm SO EXCITED!! The Jordan River Temple has always had a special significance to Matt and I because of Matt's family....and we were married there. However, as I have served in various positions in the Open House for the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, I have gained a new feeling of significance for this Temple. I feel that this Temple is MY Temple. This is the Temple in which my children will most likely some day all be sealed to Matt and I for eternity. I feel that this is the Temple that Matt and I will grow with over the years as we watch our family grow and the world around us change. I have grown to love this Temple already. I have truly appreciated having the opportunity to watch as it was being built, to be able to participate in the Open House, to be able to actually be in the Temple to attend the Temple Dedication in a couple weeks, and now to work in the Temple every week.

I'm really looking forward to this opportunity to serve in the House of the Lord!!

New Glasses

I'm down to my last pair of contacts, which are pretty old and really starting to bother my eyes. I LOVE my contacts and I'm going to order some more. However, the glasses that I have are pretty outdated and I won't be seen in public with them. LOL I've been wanting a new pair of glasses for awhile........ones that I can just sometimes wear instead of my contacts if I feel like it. I'd like to have the option to wear either, depending on how tired I am that day or what my mood is. I had seen an add for America's Best where you can get 2 pairs of eyeglasses for $69.95, plus a free eye exam. That sounded like the best deal I'd see recently and I had gone to America's Best years before and really liked them. So Matt made me an appointment online on Friday night for Saturday morning. I was able to get 2 new pairs of glasses......much cuter than my current pair, LOL.........and they'll be ready for me to pick up in 7-10 days. I'm actually excited to get them. Is that weird? LOL

Darla's Haircut

Probably about every 6 months or so, I decide that I'm sick of my hair and I go and get it done. So it was that time again and I went last Saturday morning and got it done. I really like it!! I chopped it quite a bit shorter and highlighted it blond again for the summer. Here are some pictures of it.

A Little About Darla.............

I was born in Charleston, South Carolina and lived there for about the 1st 5 years of my life. My Dad joined the Army and my family moved around the world until I was 18. I have 2 beautiful younger sisters that I love very much! I'm so glad that Pauline has also moved to Salt Lake City now and that I get to spend more time with her and her sweet family. I wish that I could be closer to Tammy, too. She's doing the whole single thing right now and she's a lot like me! I wish that I could share some more of my own personal experiences and time with her. She currently lives with my parents in SC still. My parents are the greatest! My Dad has always (and still continues to) work so hard my whole life to provide for our family and allow my Mom to stay at home with us girls, which I appreciate now more than ever before in my life! They have both always been there for us and we still know that we can always count on them to be our biggest fans and support us in all that we do. I only wish that we could live closer! Some of my fondest memories are of the trips we used to take together as a family, and of my Mom always being there at home whenever I needed her. We used to come home from school, drop our bags, and go find Mom to tell her about our day before we did anything else!! Someday, I hope to be that kind of Mom................

I spent most of my life in Frankfurt, Germany.................a total of almost 7 years and LOVED it!! I did all of my high school over there and was part of the last graduating class of Frankfurt American High School in 1995. (And proud of it!!) In June of 1995, the military compound was all turned back over to the Germans and all of the military people had to move out of Frankfurt, either to other military bases overseas or back to the United States. At the time, I was greatly looking forward to college but went with my family back to Columbia, South Carolina for a few months to help them get re-established after my Dad retired from the military after years of service. I was only intending to stay in SC for a few months..............but fell in love with the State and the people so I ended up staying for 3 years!! At the beginning of 1998, I started to get the itch to make a change in my life and decided that I wanted to go on a mission for my church (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). I started praying about it, but ended up getting a very strong answer to move to Utah instead. I didn't understand why, but began making preparations and in May of 1998 I packed up my car and drove out to Salt Lake City, Utah! For the next couple of years, I worked my tail off to put myself through college as quickly as possible and graduated as a Medical Transciptionist after a LOT of hard work and dedication. In the middle of going to school full time, I also managed to work full time and have a very healthy, happy social life and fulfull many church callings (some larger than others). I met some really great people, made a lot of really great friends, and thoroughly enjoyed my single life for several years. In January of 2002 I started dating Matt and it was history after that!!

Currently, I still work full time in the medical field. I have been working for the past 5 1/2 years as an Account Manager for a company in Salt Lake City who does Anesthesia Billing. I have really enjoyed working for the company, which is the reason I've been there so long. A little over a year ago, in January of 2007, the opportunity to get back into doing Medical Transcription quite literally fell into my lap and I couldn't pass up the opportunity! So I am also working at home for about 2 or 3 hours at night and for a few hours on Saturday doing medical transcription as well. My ultimate goal is to quit working outside the home when Matt and I finally either get pregnant or are able to adopt a baby. In the meantime, the extra money is wonderful to have! I'm also serving as the 2nd Counselor in the Relief Society Presidency in my Ward as well.................which also keeps me pretty busy..............but I LOVE serving the women in the Ward. This isn't the first time I've served in this calling, and it's still my favorite calling I've ever had because it truly allows me a chance to really get to know the women in the Ward on a much more personal level.

On a more personal note.................I LOVE to travel and I'm so glad that I married someone who also shares that same love with me!! I hope to see as much of the world as possible during my lifetime! I love to read whenever I have a chance which, as you can imagine, is pretty limited these days. I have to savor whatever time I do find. :) I enjoy spending time with our friends and family, and I'm so grateful for everything that I have in my life!

I'm enjoying creating this blog spot about Matt and I, and I hope that it will help us to be able to stay closer and more up-to-date with our friends and family. I also hope that it will help us in our adoption process as well. I would love to be a Mom someday...................and truly hope that I can be a good one! In the meantime, I love the time that I have to spend with Matt right now and truly get to know him well before that time comes. Matt is truly my best friend, and I love him more than words can describe. We have so much fun together and we make a really great team! I hope that in the near future some beautiful woman who is looking to give her baby a better home than she might be able to provide right now will find Matt and I and feel that we are the right people to raise her child in a very loving, kind family. We will certainly do our best to love that child with all of our hearts and provide a good home life for him/her.