Somber Moments...

So the past few days have definitely had some somber moments.

Some happy ones as well.

But, these somber moments help remind me of how precious this life is and how we can make our lives worthwhile every, single day.

First, Whitney Houston died on Saturday night.

Alex and I were at our Stake's Valentine's Dinner. Just as I walked in the door I got a text from my friend, Kate. It said: "Whitney Houston is dead. I hope you are coping."

Of course I stopped dead (no pun intended) in my tracks to process what I just read.

Wait, WHAT?!

I got the same gut wrenching feeling I got when Michael Jackson died.

Now a lot of you probably think I'm pathetic for being so attached to people like Whitney and MJ, but I don't care.

They are icons to me.

Did there personal lives suck? Well...yeah.

But when I look at them that's not what I see.

I see MJ's amazing moves and I hear Whitney's superstar voice.

I immediately youtubed Super Bowl 1991 to watch Whitney sing the national anthem.

Look it up. It will change you.

If you don't already love this great country...you will.

I started crying. Alex made fun. Then I quickly (perhaps scoldingly) reminded him that if Ben Folds died today he would probably cry.

He stopped making fun.

RIP, Whitney. Your talent will live on.

Second, the next day we get to church.

I'm sitting all settled in the pew and excited for the choir to sing because they sound REALLY good, even though there's only 6 of them.

Then our Stake President gets up and has the nerve to tell us our Bishop is getting released.

Again...what, WHAT?!

NOOOO!!!

Bishop Sonnenberg is literally the best Bishop I have EVER had!

He was one of the best things about moving to SLC.

He made me feel like I was his daughter.

He always cared, always listened, and he would even compliment me on my outfits. (Who does that? Oh yeah...my Bishop does.)

He remembered anything I would tell him.

He would have us over to his house for open houses, firesides, and dinners.

He and his wife are an amazing couple and examples.

He helped me feel at ease with being in SLC.

Once again...I started crying.

I've never cried over someone getting released.

Do I know calls (both callings and releasings) are from Heavenly Father?

Well yes...of course. But it was/is so hard.

Our new Bishop seems cool, but he definitely has some hard shoes to fill.

Bishop told me we could always show up on his doorstep.

I hope he knows we're going to take him up on that offer...

And lastly, my mother called me up this morning to tell me one of my childhood friends died last night from an asthma attack.

Sarah was one of those people who had a contagious personality.

She was always fun to be around and always thinking of something crazy to do.

Unfortunately, she was always stubborn and hard headed sometimes.

One of those being not listening to the doctors to get her asthma under control.

(Plus her smoking was not helping...)

I feel so much for her mother, Janice.

Sarah's dad died a few years back and then Janice battled cancer shortly after that.

Janice has just been through a lot.

I wish I could go give her a hug and tell her everything WILL be alright.

So for now I can pray for her and send positive vibes her way.

As with any sort of death of someone you know, you start to reflect back on good times you had with them.

My favorite memory with Sarah is when I was in 6th grade. We were both home schooled at that time and our moms had us together a lot for extra curricular activities.

We were together and decided to make some music videos.

First up...Spice Girls. We got allll decked out. (I was Baby Spice)

Then we did Backstreet Boys.

Sarah put make up on her chest and arm pits to make it look like she had hair.

When we were getting cleaned up she COULD NOT get the makeup out of her arm pits.

I had to SCRUB them so hard with face wash, but nothing was working.

Her arm pits had a shade of black for a few days.

It was awesome.

I wish I had that video with me so I could watch them.

Only thing I can do now is remember how this life is a gift.

I need to tell people how much I appreciate them.

I need to make each day as fulfilling as I can.

And I need to go to Bishop Sonnenberg's...I already miss him. :)

I LOVE Y'ALL!