The Road to Eternity

Today was a day full of emotion.

- - - -But it was a wonderful day to say the least!

To start off: one of my bestest best friends got married this morning! So, my friend McKenzi and I got up early and headed up to the beautiful Salt Lake Temple to greet the newlyweds (Steve and Kath) as they came out.  They are so happy, which makes me happy :)  When I first saw Kath and how beautiful she looked, and the glow she had about her--the waterworks show decided to go off; yes, I'm a baby.  It was a fun afternoon though.  Cynthia (Katherine's mom) asked Kenz and I to stay with the bride and groom as they got the rest of their pictures and make sure they made it to their luncheon okay. So we spent a good hour+ helping out with the bouquet, veil, dress, picture positioning, lighting-control, etc.  Man, it was suuuper hot outside but well worth it. Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Fortney! (whoa, weird.)  Here are some pictures from their Big Day:

After she became Mrs. Fortney :)

Katherine and her gorgeous little sisters

It was such a beautiful day! 

After arriving back to my humble abode after the wedding, I got ready and headed over to pick up my paycheck (Yay for Pay Day Friday!!!) and then took a 35 minute drive to visit my friend Rachel, who I mentioned in my post before this one (titled "No Regrets").  It was so good to see her.  Can I just tell you: she is one strong and brave chicka. You wouldn't even know anything was up (other than the fact she seems exhausted, poor thing) because she remains so positive and faithful.  She really does amaze me, though. She's a fighter! She told me she was telling her doctor that she IS going to be running track in the spring, even if she walks the 400m. What a trouper ;)

It was a pretty neat experience for me all around to be able to go and spend some time with her.  When I first got there, her parents were actually outside visiting with a couple people, but I was immediately greeted with warm hugs and welcoming.  I have never met Rachel's mother, but she is a gem :) When she saw me walking up the the house, she gave me the biggest hug and thanked me for coming and for my blog post I wrote about Rachel the other night. (I think Rachel showed her, so that's how she recognized me.) She said she and Rachel read my post and just cried together, saying it was so sweet and thoughtful. I am grateful that something so small on my part could mean so much to someone else.  It's the little things that count!

Rachel and I talked for a good, long while. One of the things I asked her was what she was most afraid of. She said just not knowing what is going to happen, or if she'd survive long enough to complete things she wants to accomplish in her life. (If she doesn't survive through this treatment, the doctors give her a year or so :( ) She leave this upcoming Sunday to go out to Tennessee where she has chemo and radiation treatment at St. Judes.  Her situation is different than most; for the type of cancer she has, 75% of the patients who have it are little boys. Well, she's a 17-year old girl, AND a twin.  Primary Children's told her they currently have 3 patients that have survived what she has....so it's pretty nerve-wracking. Like I mentioned before: keep Rach and her family in your prayers. I know it means so much!

Here is a picture of us right before I left:

Isn't she soooo beautiful?! :) 

I'm glad I got to see ya today, Rach! Good luck with the treatment and keep that positive attitude! I'll be looking forward to watching you during track season.  Again, if you'd like to follow Rachel and her progress, check out her blog at:  http://rachelstratton.blogspot.com/ 

One last thing that I was thinking today after attending my friend's wedding; families are FOREVER. Steven and Katherine just made an eternal covenant today in the temple. They have each other (and their future kids) forever! In my mind, it's a comfort to have this knowledge of eternal families. Even though Rachel is going through this hard trial, she will have her family forever just like they will have her forever. There's a quote that is hanging up on the wall of my kitchen that I love: "We may not have it all together, but together we have it all."  Just something to think about.

So tonight was Katherine and Steven's reception at the Springville Museum of Art. It was just splendid :)  Aaaaand, I caught the bouquet.  (Not that that means anything, haha).

Surprisingly, it was a lot harder to "give her up" than I thought.  Things are going to be so different now, but I know it's for the better, and that her life she is starting with Steven is the beginning of something beautiful. Her life is just moving forward, and that is okay! My time will come.....but until then, I will just enjoy being me and doing the things I want! :P

Well, it's been a long day and I have to be up at 5:00 AM for work tomorrow morning, so I best be peacing out! Toodles!