It's been a great 2 years!

As we prepare to leave the "promised land" and head out to the "mission field" (seriously, I've heard people say that!), I thought I'd share some things...

Things I'll miss about Provo:

• The mountains. Looking out my front window and seeing Mt. Timpanogos. Majestic. Beautiful. Watching the clouds roll in and hide the mountains. Seeing the "Y" every day.

• Elise's ballet teacher. Miss Amber at Ruby Shoes Studio. Elise has learned so much--and learned to love the beauty of dance from someone I trust to teach her. I'm pretty sure that dance will be a part of Elise's life for a long, long time, and I wish we could pack up Miss Amber and take her with us wherever we go. It's okay, though, because Amber's baby, Ruby, and my Lincoln are betrothed to each other. So we'll be in touch.

• Yield signs, not stop signs.
• U-turns
• Never worrying about taking my kids to on-campus events. I know the dancing, etc., will be modest and appropriate for them to see. 
• Our cul-de-sac. 5 duplexes of some of the best people around! A quiet, safe neighborhood full of great kids and parents. 
• Friends. Like Sarah, Marisa, Candace, Anna & Eirene. When I'm around them I am a better mom. I need friends like that! Winter, Pam, Stephanie, Nicole, Tepoe, Amanda, Kristen, Jamie, Tiffany, Lori...I guess I'm okay moving on because I know there are more amazing women out there for me to meet. 
• WINCO! One just opened up here a couple of weeks ago. And I'm leaving it AGAIN! I hope they expand to Minnesota!
• Kid to Kid. Gifts of the Heart Exchange. Free clothes. Service opportunities.

• MBA Spouses Association. It's like Relief Society on steroids. Amazing women making amazing things happen. 
• The hiking. We are moving to FLAT. 
• Being close enough to family that I can make the drive on my own in a couple of days. 15 hours vs. 29 hours. Ouch!
• Bella Natal and my midwife there.

Things I won't miss:

• Crazy Utah drivers. Red means STOP! Really! Tailing while texting. Going slow in the fast lane. Not watching out for pedestrians and bikers.
• Inversion. Can you say yuck?!
• The arid climate. We dry out here!

There are so many wonderful people and places in Utah. I am so glad we chose to come here for school. I am also looking forward to our next adventure!

My side project

My big project (aside from homeschooling - but really it fits in with what we are doing) is a children's clothing charity called the Gifts of the Heart Exchange. I organize donation pick ups from a local children's clothing resale store (Kid to Kid in Lehi) three times a week. The volunteers then sort all the clothing, and twice a semester we put it all out and invite people to come and take what they need. It is pretty darn cool, if I do say so myself.

We just held an exchange on the 5-7 of November. The actual exchange just takes place on Saturday morning, but we have volunteers on the Thursday night/Friday before to set out all the donations.

Here are a few of us - we had over 50 people volunteer!



We have two different sessions - one for MBA Spouse Association members and Law Partners (wives of Law students), and one for the general BYU public. Here's a before-anyone-was-in-the-room picture, and a 150-people-were-lined-up-outside-the-building-at-11am picture:

Gifts of the Heart Exchange

I am in charge of a children's clothing charity, and we are having our big exchange this Saturday. Hooray for having my garage back! Anyhow, here is a write up the BYU paper (the Daily Universe) did today. Note: I am NOT the MBASA club president. Oops.

Gifts of the heart clothing exchange swap will aid students and families

By Courtney Smith
- Wed, 09/09/2009 - 15:45

There are a lot of costs associated with being a student. There are also a lot of costs associated with having your own family. Try doing both at once.

This Saturday, BYU’s Master of Business Administration Spouse Association will put on its third Gifts of the Heart Exchange, which is a large swap meet. It is free to attend and all items are free. The swap meet will be held from 10 - 11:30 a.m. at a church building at 965 N. Locust Lane in Provo. Items will include mainly women and children’s clothing, as well as shoes, toys and other baby gear.

“The Gifts of the Heart Exchange is to help all the students who are trying to have families while going through school make it financially, to help bear each others’ burdens,” said Kendra Johnston, 26, committee member for the event.

Anyone is encouraged to donate items in good condition that they no longer need, but it is not required to attend the event. Participants can bring donations to the event or on Friday at the event location in the cultural hall between 6-8 p.m.

“We probably have over 10,000 items of clothing already,” said Claire Jones, 29, MBASA president.

Kid to Kid, a consignment store based in Utah, has donated much of the clothing for the swap meet. Kid to Kid buys gently used children’s clothing for their stores. Any clothing they cannot use or that they have a surplus of they donate to MBASA. MBASA picks up clothing from Kid to Kid locations three times a week in preparation for the event.

“We have such an abundance and we want to give them to people who need them,” Jones said.

BYU MBSA would like donors to sort and label clothes by sex and into the following sizes: 0-6 months, 6-12 months, 12-18 months, 2T, 3T, 4T, 5T, 6-7, 8-10, 12-14, men’s/womens S, M, L, XL, and place in bags.

Those who wish to donate a large item should bring a picture, description and their contact information, rather than bringing the item.

After Saturday, the next Gifts of the Heart Exchange will be Nov. 7.

For more information, contact Claire Jones at giftsothe@gmail.com.