Brazil!!

This was my second time on this workshop.

Though we visited the same places it felt different.

One of our first stops upon our arrival in Foz do Iguacu (that is after our much anticipated stop at our favorite Brazilian churrascaria restaurant) is Marco Das Tres Fronteiras, or landmark of the 3 Frontiers. This is the Triple Frontier where at the convergence of the rivers Iguazu and Panama you can see from standing on Brazil Argentina on the right and Paraguay on the left.

The next stop is a most spectacular sight! Iguazu Falls! This place is incredible! Iguazu is the largest waterfall system in the world stretching for 1.7 miles. It truly is an extraordinary sight to see!! I loved photographing the falls though I truly don’t know if any image can really do it justice. That doesn’t stop me from trying We viewed the falls from the walkway on land and then from the water level from a boat - SO much fun!! I was so excited to see the falls again. Both times were amazing. On our first trip we arrived after there had been a lot of rain. Because of this the falls had TONS of water. And was brown… this time though the water levels were significantly less the water color was a whole lot more photogenic (in my opinion )

Though the falls are an absolute must do when in Brazil, our draw to Brazil are the JAGUARS! Our journey to the Land of the Jaguars requires a long dusty drive that is an experience all on it’s own as we cross 123 bridges.

It is HOT and sunny in Jaguar Land. So don’t forget your hat! (I did Good thing I have the best husband in the world who loves me as proven by his offering to me of his favorite Nikon hat in the world) or sunscreen (I didn’t after the first ride… and paid the uncomfortable price after failing to apply it )

We have 2 daily safaris by boat. We arise early in the morning (4am) so we can be ready and fed as early as possible to go find the kitties. We leave at sunrise. Always beautiful sunrises on the Pantanal! There is a soft floral 🌸fragrance that floats through the air as we scoured the banks for jaguars. I noticed it my frist trip too.

While on the lookout for jaguars I practiced my “drive by shootings” 📷on birds, caimans, and whatever else. We saw LOTS of birds. I thought to myself that if I can practice getting well composed and good shots while we moving then that would just improve my success rate when we were stopped. Shooting from a boat takes skills!

We come back to the lodge to rest while the heat of the day is at it’s worst (so grateful for A/C!!) and to eat lunch. The lodge feeds us really well before, between, and after every outing. Every meal has rice and beans along with a fish, beef, and chicken entree and multiple sides of vegetables and pastas. And can’t forget dessert! Even breakfast always had a cake option. Who am I to say cake isn’t for breakfast?! (Pretty sure I gained 5-6 pounds on this trip Worth it )

Our second safari of the day goes out at 2:30 and we stay out until sunset. If the sunrises here are beautiful the sunsets are exquisite!! This could easily be my favorite part of the day - riding back to the lodge and watching as the sun lights up the clouds and sky in purples, blues, pinks, and orange hues.

We saw 17!! jaguars this trip.

In addition we also sighted Tapirs!! This is the third trip we have taken (between Christopher and I) and the first time we have seen these odd elusive mammals. They look like wild pigs with an ant eater snout or short elephant trunk. Surprisingly a quick google search taught us they are most closely related to rhinos and horses. Who’d have guessed?

Another favorite to visitors of the Pantanal are the Giant River Otters. They play, catch fish and ravenously eat their fish. I find them interesting… and disgusting As opposed to the super adorable I-might-want-to-cuddle-it otters that we see in Alaska, these otters look like huge weasels.

There are caiman hiding everywhere in the waters as well. The water here is very muddy. I am curious and a little terrified at what we would see if we could peer into the world under the surface.

After the jaguar my next favorite animal here to observe would be the capybara. They are the largest living rodent on earth growing to 4 feet in length and weighing up to 140 pounds . They are semi-aquatic and eat lots of grass. They wander the grounds of the lodge and we often see them cooling off in the water during our boat rides.

We had an excellent time and enjoyed all that we experience. And until next time Brazil - I will dream of whatever these are that I crave when I'm back home...

2 Years!

Happy 2 years to the man who makes my dreams come true, loves me through my quirks, and is incredibly in tune with my feelings (kind of annoying sometimes 😉) I'm still so happy we chose each other ❤️

Thank you Steven for the recent photo shoot!!!

The Gift in the Problem

I have been pondering the idea that "there is a gift in every problem".

A problem is often formed by our perspective. (Sometimes, problems are serious problems regardless of our perspective. I'm not tackling those in this post.) Many (perhaps even most) of our problems are have to do with other people, our relationship with those people or our belief in ourselves. 

Initially when offered the notion that there is a gift in every problem my mind immediately brought up images of things physical and/or measurable. A bonus or raise at work, a dish of cookies, my current number one biggest wish, etc.

As I've pondered this concept in more depth I have come concluded that the real gift in every problem is most likely going to be whatever it is that happens WITHIN us as opposed to what we receive on the outside. 

An example - I served with 14 companions (who we stay within sight & sound 24/7) during my 18-month mission. My sanity is happy to report that I won the companion jackpot! I can honestly say they were all amazing sisters and it was a privilege to be with each of them. I loved them all and never had any serious issues with any of them. One of the biggest issues I dealt with was a companion who was seemed to always run late. Every single day. That characteristic was the opposite of my own record of punctuality. I found myself becoming very irritated and allowed my mood to sour. 

One of these days as we were leaving our apartment 20 minutes late (yet again) I wanted to slam the door in frustration and let my companion see how miserable she was making me! Yet before I had the opportunity to do so a different thought passed through my head and I ended up following the direction of that thought instead. I simply and calmly closed the door behind us and we went out to our day. 

For me that moment was huge! I had just overcome a demon building up in girth and stature inside of me. It was mere moments away from getting released to attack my companion! But it didn't get out! I snuffed him out! So... where was the party? Where were the fireworks? The big brass band parade? The angels composing a hymn just for me? {Come to think of it, if any of those did happen I would probably be so ashamed and embarrassed by the spectacle because then every onlooker would know I had a weakness I needed to conquer. I know I lack in so many ways. I just like to keep them hidden from others.}

Nothing showed up. Not even a cup of ice cream (which would have been refreshing in that Georgia heat). Something better happened - I changed! My heart was different. I had bested a small part of the monster that had just about been set free moments earlier. When I realized what had just happened within, my emotions changed from irritated to peaceful and contented. That moment changed the course of that day. There isn't a gift much better than that.

To sum up - the gift we receive when we have found our solution to our problems may very well be that we are better for having the opportunity to overcome. Our gift is a little more of that monster inside is quieted and weakened. We have new good evidence for ourselves that we can do something different and get a better result. 

Though this is a simple example the principle is the same in life when we find ourselves being challenged. There are opportunities and gifts during, through and after the trial. Could it be that it is the priceless gift of being built into someone better than we were yesterday?

 

Throwing Away My List

In looking forward with anticipation for THE one in my life, I like many others, made a list of the qualities of the man for me. One part excitement, another part #goals, another part - don’t settle for anything less than what I want, right? 

Years and many boys passed, right on by without giving me a second glance I might add, let alone pausing for a moment to see how awesome I am. I was (am) a shy person scared silly with putting myself out there. I was a huge fan of the belief that “if a boy wants it, he knows how to get it... or at least pick up the phone and start the process”. 

Then! Boys starting paying attention to me! This was brand new! What do I do? I didn’t have enough time in my schedule to fit them all in! I know I know, even with my high opinion of myself (in my quiet moments of self talk empowerment moments) I never imagined this! 

But.. they didn’t match my list. They weren’t what I had written down. I remember reading my sister-in-law’s list and asking dubiously, “You wrote this BEFORE you met my brother? Because this is him to a ‘T’ ". She confirmed that she had - and when it fit she knew she had found her one. Validation. This is how it worked! 

So I kept plugging on through life with my list. I adjusted it often as I ‘matured’- took off some petty peeves there (but really, I DON’T like flip flops on men 🤪, but off it came), added some spiritual characteristics there. More time went by and I eventually rethought and revamped the list. I whittled it down to only 3 items. Ta-duh!! Someone HAD to meet that criteria, right? Right?! 

And they did! ... but then they didn’t like me back. Now I was being compared to their lists! And I wasn’t measuring up. 

What’s a girl to do? 

I went on a mission. I’d always thought of it but wanted to get married more. Welp! Marriage wasn’t happening and I was only getting older - so I went in - and gave it my all as best I could. It was LOVELY. Not having to worry about boys. They were all around me - too young and too off limits that it never concerned me. 

Those 18 months ended. And I was back in the game! And felt the lousiest at playing than I ever had. I didn't like this game. There were even a couple who were amazing in so many ways. But I didn't feel any 'spark' for them. 😔

Then I got a new job. I thought, "Wow, this boss of mine is so great! He’s seriously got the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met." That was that. We were both pretty much alone. At this stage in my life I only wasn’t just man-less, I was also mostly friendless.

Loneliness hurts. I remember a poem that I had read years ago entitled, "When God wants a Man". The main gist of the poem is that when God wants an amazing person he allows them to endure trials. I was comforted in that thought that God was in the process of molding a Katie to 'play the noblest part, [making her] lonely so that only God's high messages shall reach [her].'  

I was patient waiting for God's messages to reach me. As our friendship became one of the best things in my life - I began to have thoughts. Which I abruptly shoved away. Nope nope nope. Nope. I still dated whenever the opportunity came. Heck! I even became brave enough to initiate a couple of them myself. Then this WEIRD thing happened... I started comparing these boys to my boss. So. Weird. Ew! ... but... maybe? No. Not a chance. Am I sure? Possibly... 

Back and forth, back and forth. 

I went back to my list. It had always been trusty! Even if it hadn't been fruitful...

I measured him to my list, and for every way he didn’t match, there was a louder thought in my head... odd.  

• 5 years within my own - age up or down

Definitely not. Nope! Um, but what about age in the eternities? Does it really matter? I guess not.  

• Strong testimony of Christ

Perhaps I ought to have been a little more specific? He believes in God. Though doesn’t belong to my faith. BUT - he LOVES my faith, and is super supportive of it. 

• Can take me to the temple

Another definite no on this one. Then the thought, “So many are sealed to have those marriages sadly fall apart due to one denying their faith and leaving their covenants behind with their beliefs. There’s no guarantee.” Christopher is pretty committed to me. And people change. I worried so much about people looking at me and saying, “ *Gasp* But she served a mission! She should know better!” I did know better - and that’s precisely what gave me the faith to go forward with Christ. 

There were also other curveballs. He had been married before, had a kid, a background of addiction - so much life that I knew I could not relate to. I'd crushed many boys with these in their backgrounds. Granted - it was one or the other. Not ALL of them at once...  Once more that helpful, faithful voice was there, constantly guiding me. Teaching me “If these things are in his past and repented of, then God has forgotten it. Who am I to hold these things above our future potential when so much of us together “clicks” - the ONE element that has been missing in every other failed, though hoped for, relationship? 

Then - the final test - what will my mom think?!? 😵 I hadn’t told anybody - because this was -again- so weird to me. 

I timidly approached my mom about him - about us. I was pleasantly surprised at her delighted response. That was it. He checked out. He had the Mom Approval. Did I mention how surprised I was?? Because I was fully ready to ditch him and back out completely if she thought otherwise.

Doubts came again. "It’ll be hard!" they told me. Yet again, faithful thoughts once more over ruled. I knew it would be hard with ANY one. Two different people meshing lives together? Yeah. That’s gonna be tough. No matter what. Love and commitment. That’s what we can work with and increase. 

It’s now been just over a year. A few days ago Christopher and I had a good conversation on one of our ever - increasing drives up to West Yellowstone. I am so grateful for him and what he has done, who he has become and how we have grown together. He knows me better than anyone (which I sometimes love, and sometimes don't 😉 ) I was right - it has been tough, even super tough sometimes. Yet I am SO happy that he is the one I am sharing my home, life and heart with. I’m grateful for the life he had before I came along so he could learn all the things that make him such a wonderful husband to me now. I stand in awe at the things we have done and built together since we’ve become each other’s “One”. 

We are so different that there’s always something new we can fight about, erm, learn a new perspective on. 😉 We surprisingly balance out each other’s weaknesses with our strengths quite well. Truly a blessing indeed. We only get better together each day.

For all of you that your first list worked - I’m so happy for you. Seriously. I used to be jealous. I wouldn’t trade this learning process and experience for anything. I am grateful that my first list got me started and that in a round about way it put me on track to meet and marry Christopher. Even more so I am grateful for the guidance and influence of the Holy Ghost, giving me strength to forge my own path and toss the old list away in favor of something, someone, so wonderful for me beyond my imagination.