HOUSTON, WE ARE HERE TO STAY!!!

Gavin got the job at the IP Firm he has been interning at! We are so excited to stay in Texas and that he got such a great job where he really enjoys the work. Honestly, I was getting to the point that I wasn't as worried if he got the job, I just wanted to know either way so he could come home or Emery and I could go to Texas. I actually got so anxious and sick of waiting that Emery and I flew down to Texas on Monday...it was just getting super hard to be apart. It was a last minute decision but I can't even tell you how glad I am we did it. Even if he wouldn't have gotten the job it was still worth it to be together as a family again.

Thanks everyone for your prayers and support this past 8 weeks. It was hard and stressful, but I have felt so much peace in my heart and knew that Heavenly Father was watching out over our family.

Congrats to Gavin! He is so amazing and has worked hard for this. Way to go Gavin!

One week down!

Well Gavin has one week under his belt at the Texas firm. He is loving the work and they are keeping him very busy with projects. As hard as it is having him far away, I love to hear how excited he is when we skype at night.

Speaking of skype...I don't know what I would do without it! It is so much better to be able to see Gavin, even if it is just on a computer screen. Emery loves it too. She kicks her legs and talks and chatters. It's so cute. She is getting big so I'm glad Gavin has a chance to see her every day as well.

I bought a plane ticket to see Gavin so Emery and I are flying down the first weekend in March. I can't wait! Until then we'll just keep on keepin' on, taking it one day at a time and enjoying what we do have.

The Latest

Some wonderful things have happened in the Giraud household lately and I figured it was time for an update! Gavin interviewed with an IP (Intellectual Property) firm down in Houston at the beginning of January. He really liked the firm and the attorneys he met and we were hoping and praying he would get the job. About 2 weeks ago we finally heard back. They offered Gavin a 6-8 week internship to begin with, then if he does a good job and if they feel like he's a good fit they will hire him on full-time. Gavin was really excited to get started so when they asked him when he could start he replied, "How about February 6th?" That gave us a week and a half to prepare, and what a crazy week and a half it has been! We took a whirlwind trip to Utah to see as much of Gavin's extended family as we could, had a great time, then came home and started packing and packing and packing. We decided it would be best if Emery and I just stayed here in Idaho until Gavin gets hired on full-time. That way we didn't have to find a place for all 3 of us to stay and now Gavin can focus 100% on learning the job, working long hours, and not worry about us. It's going to be a very hard 8 weeks for me, but I am so grateful for this opportunity that Gavin has to be doing something he is interested in and excited about. He's going to be amazing and I am really happy for him. Gavin is a great worker and he will pick it up quickly.

In other exciting news, Matt, my oldest brother, got married on Thursday February 2nd. Kim is an amazing and beautiful woman and I am FOREVER grateful that she is now a part of our family for eternity. They got married in the Twin Falls temple and it was so lovely. Kim was radiant and I haven't seen Matthew that happy in ages. Maybe ever. It was beautiful.

After the wedding dinner Gavin left for Houston. It was so hard to say goodbye. Kind of a strange scene: everyone at the wedding dinner, happy and laughing, then there's my family in the corner, crying as Gavin leaves. It was definitely bittersweet. But we are all so happy for him.

That's the latest!

Remembrance

Elder Jeffrey Holland, an apostle for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, is one of my heroes. His knowledge, faith, testimony and boldness have been a huge inspiration to me, especially when I was a missionary. I remember reading a talk where he said he still thinks about his mission every single day. He has a few more years on me, but so far this has been true for me as well.

For the past few weeks, maybe even a few months, I've been struggling with memories of my mission. I keep remembering all the mistakes I made, all the things I should have done differently, or how little I understood of how to handle situations. Thoughts that began with the phrase, "Why didn't I just..." or "Why didn't I know to..." or "Didn't I realize that..." have seemed to haunt me. I was kept awake many nights just thinking of ways I could/should have done things differently, berating my 21 year old self over and over again. I knew that I worked hard and had incredible, life-changing experiences and happy and funny stories...why then were all my thoughts and feelings so negative and self-defeating? My frustration just grew the more I thought about it so I did my best to just shove it out of my mind and not think about my mission. Then about a week ago we had some new friends over for dinner. We had a blast talking and laughing and getting to know them. For some reason, every single conversation topic sparked a mission story. Everything we talked about made me think about "this one time on my mission." I never wanted to be someone who started every story like that, but I had to restrain myself from telling mission story after mission story. I told maybe one mission story that night, but had at least 6 pop into my head. The next day as I was dragging Gavin around shopping the same thing happened. Funny little mission stories that made me laugh kept popping up and Gavin got an earful. Sunday morning as I was getting ready for church another happy story came to mind. I finally noticed how often this had been occurring over the last few days and wondered what had triggered this happy deluge of mission memories. As I thought about it the scripture popped into my mind, "...the Holy Ghost...will bring all things to your remembrance." (John 14:26) I was filled with love from God and for God as I realized that the Spirit had been bringing to my mind all these happy and joyful memories, to remind me that I had served faithfully and been very blessed for it. Only Heavenly Father knew my personal struggles, and He had heard and answered the unspoken prayer of my heart. He knows that I wasn't a perfect missionary, that I had so much to learn and made lots of mistakes, but He loves me anyway and reminded me of those happy memories.

President Henry Eyring, another apostle, said this:

"The Holy Ghost brings back memories of what God has taught us. And one of the ways God teaches us is with his blessings; and so, if we choose to exercise faith, the Holy Ghost will bring God’s kindnesses to our remembrance."

This is what I experienced, and I am very grateful for Heavenly Father's kindnesses. He knows each of us personally and will bless us as we exercise faith in Him.

Click here to read the rest of Henry Eyring's words.

Here's some happy memories:

Emery's First Christmas

I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures from Christmas! We had a wonderful time with Gavin's family in Pocatello this year. Lots of good food and the company was even better! Christmas Eve we had a little "talent show" which was fun. The Girauds are quite a talented group: harmonica, violin, sign language, guitar, and some good story telling. I love Christmas time not only to celebrate Jesus Christ's birth and His life, but for the wonderful family traditions and fun times shared.

Here's some pictures of the festivities.

This post is a little late. Overdue since my last post, and the included picture is probably older than it should be for a baby that changes everyday. But, I still wanted to talk about a fond memory of a story that was told about me when I was young.

When I was three or four we had bunk beds and I slept on top. Some nights I would not go to sleep unless my dad was standing next to the bed and let me put my hand on top of his head. Even after I was asleep, when he tried to move I would wake up and force him to come back over. I was reminded of this story lately because my daughter has similar behavior. As you can see in this reenactment:

I sometimes have to keep my hand on her all night or she will not sleep at all. (the lighting was better during the day, that's why Emery is not asleep in the picture)

Some might call this arrangement "kharma" or "sweet, sweet justice." Maybe my dad would call it "serves you right." But is there actually an attentive being that consciously endeavors to balance the scales of sleep?

When I was in Japan I heard about the "800 ten thousand gods" of everything. From what I could gather, Shintoism teaches that there is a god in all things: rocks, trees, rivers. Perhaps there is a god of sleeping, and he believes in justice. When I was little I was not faithful to my father's sleep and now I have to pay the price by giving up comfortable sleep now that I am a father. Perhaps there really are gods of other things as well. I once read a letter from a pro basketball player that said he had worshiped the god of basketball by practicing for many years and had been rewarded with good play and wins by his team.

But wait! Before anyone starts going around praising and honoring the god of sleep for his just behavior among the children of men, I want to share my testimony as echoed in 1 Corinthians 8:5-6

"5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)

6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him."

The world contains many principles for success and many distractions, each one more seductive than the next. I am convinced that the best way, however, to ensure that we are happy with our families for eternity is to worship Jesus Christ and live His teachings.