Salt Lake Oil Spill

I know we should be moving right now, but instead we had a different moving experience this morning. We had a first-hand experience with the Salt Lake oil spill that took place this morning. The Red Butte stream flows just behind our ward house (the Garden Park ward). As soon as we walked on the premise we smelled the toxic odor of oil. As we stood on the bridge above the stream we saw fish after fish jumping out of the water. Micah and I retrieved a net from home and got six fish from the stream to the pond, where the water was still clean (our bishop closed off the flow to keep the pond clean). Unfortunately, the last one, and biggest, that we pulled out had died too soon to save him.

I know the music may be a little sappy, but it really was a sobering experience. Seeing the way it affected that one little part of the water really put into perspective how it will affect the valley, not to mention the catastrophic effect of the Gulf spill.



We must be better stewards of His creation. It was Adam's first command to " dress and take care" of the Garden, and I think it resides as one of our most important duties.

Elder Maxwell put it best: “The instructions to Adam and Eve about the garden earth … have not been rescinded. They were, and we are, to dress it-not destroy it. They were to take good care of it instead of abusing it. Our increasing interdependence on this planet makes some forms of individual selfishness the equivalent of a runaway personal bulldozer."

Neal A. Maxwell, That Ye May Believe (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1992), 75.

“True disciples … would be consistent environmentalists – caring both about maintaining the spiritual health of a marriage and preserving a rain forest; caring about preserving the nutrient capacity of a family as well as providing a healthy supply of air and water…. Adam and Eve were to “dress the garden,” not exploit it. Like them, we are to keep the commandments, so that we can enjoy all the resources God has given us, resources described as “enough and to spare” (D&C 104:17), if we use and husband them wisely."

Neal A. Maxwell, A Wonderful Flood of Light (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1990), 103.

This must be for real!

DONE:
We've secured a moving truck
We have an apartment (pool, playground and all!)
We've planned out our route and have hotel reservations
We found out that pregnancy is NOT a pre-existing condition through our insurance (YES!)
Andrew starts work a week from Monday!

TO DO:
Load the moving truck
Drive for four days
Unload the moving truck
Find a midwife
Turn this baby around (He's up-side-up; can't say I blame him)
Go to IKEA

Moving!

Yesterday I received a great offer to the Partnership for Public Service in Washington, DC! We can't wait to move out there and settle into a new job and a new life! We will miss Utah and our dear family and friends, and hope you all come and visit!

Onward!

P.S. And I wanted to give a shout-out and thank you to McKenzie Lawyer Davies who played a critical role in getting me this job.