Crystal Snow

I love Jayson

2008-11-28T08:41:00.000-08:00

and Jayson loves me :) Jayson is my 3 year-old nephew that now lives only 45 minutes away from me in Springfield, Virginia. Since he and his family moved here 6 months ago, I've spent a lot of time at his house playing with him and his little brother, Aidan. Here are few fun pics of us hanging out at my work's party at the Marriott Ranch, Halloween, and Thanksgiving.

A Wild Trip to the Emergency Room!

2008-04-27T22:05:00.001-07:00

Sometime soon... after finals, I will get around to blogging about this.

Let's Go Fly a Kite!!

2008-04-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

March 29th marked the beginning of my favorite time of year in Washington D.C. which is, the "Cherry Blossom Festival." Downtown by all the historic sites, there are cherry blossom trees that were given as a gift from Japan to the US Government in the early 1900's. These trees produce the first tree blossoms of spring and are planted around the Potomac River Basin. The blossoms are pink & white and remind me of the song, "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree." To start off the festival, the city has a Kite Flying day where anyone can bring a kite down to the National Mall (the park area in the center of DC which is near the Capitol Building) and have a picnic and play. My roommate, Amanda, and I took the metro into the city and met up with ward members to enjoy the sight! The metro was so packed that it took 15 minutes for the train to unload- I've never seen it so packed! The weather was perfect for kite flying. After watching the kite festival, we walked around the basin and took in the World War II & Jefferson Memorials. At times like these, I feel so blessed to live in the DC area. Here are a few pics of the day.

Happy Easter!!

2008-04-07T09:40:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful relaxing Easter. Spring is here and the daffodils, tulips, and blossoms are canvassing the earth...and even better, the cold temperatures are being replaced with t-shirt weather. Our ward choir performed 6 songs for the Easter sacrament meeting program which turned out great. We have an awesome ward choir director. My roommates and I dyed eggs with Mike (a guy from our ward) in the afternoon and then we went to a potluck dinner at our neighbor, Kat Pence's place. Here are a few pics of the fun.

A visit from Verne

2008-03-04T08:55:00.000-08:00

Verne had business meetings in Harrisburg & Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the week of March 3-7. Because it is very close to DC (about a 2 hours drive), he flew into DC to enjoy 1 day of sightseeing before driving up to PA. His coworker Nadia was also here for the meetings, so I took both of them around to the various historical sites in the city, including Arlington Cemetery, the National Archives, Supreme Court, Capitol building, Lincoln Memorial, & the Smithsonian Air & Space museum (which Verne was very excited about).

A week later on Friday evening, I took the Chinatown bus up to Philadelphia and spent the night there so that Verne and Nadia could check out the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution was signed. On Saturday afternoon, Verne and I left Nadia and drove to New York City to stay a few days in our hotel in Times Square (yes, miraculously, I was able to get a discounted rate at the Marriott Marquis). On Sunday morning, we went to church in the building where the Manhattan Temple is located and then spent the day taking in the Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Opera House, Central Park (where we watched a skating competition on the park rink), 5th Avenue's elite shops (ie., Tiffany's), Rockefeller Center, St. Patricks Cathedral, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Wall Street, Trinity Church, the World Trade Center site, Chinatown, and Little Italy. On Monday morning before Verne flew to Utah (to spend a few days before returning to Italy), we went to the top of the Empire State Building to check out the view of the whole city. We lucked out with the weather. Though the wind was freezing cold, the skies were sunny and blue. Thanks Verne for coming out to visit. It was fun spending time with you.

Happy Valentines Day?! :)

2008-03-04T08:28:00.000-08:00

I admit that Valentines Day just isn't a big deal to me. Perhaps its because we didn't really celebrate this day growing up in New Zealand, or perhaps because it usually feels more like a Single Awareness Day (S.A.D. day), or perhaps, because it feels like yet another day to make people feel like they must spend money. I personally believe that any day can be a day to celebrate love. Valentine's day just feels so planned, so non- spontaneous. On the other hand, I guess it also gives us a reason to "plan" to show our love to others which I guess isn't a bad thing. Anyways, this year I went along with my roommates who were in the "loving" mood and helped them bake sugar cookies for our neighbors. Because we started the process so late in the evening, we got a little spastic the more sugar we consumed. Neither of us are dating anyone at the current time and we began to think of "one liners" from songs that we could write on the cookies. Given our "social situation", these are a few of the one-liners we came up with.

In addition, we made cookies for our single girl neighbors that said "I believe in miracles" and some for our guy neighbors that said "No woman, no cry!" (Luckily, they know us well and get our sarcastic humor!)

Thanksgiving at Plymouth Rock

2007-12-17T10:30:00.000-08:00

This year's Thanksgiving was rather original. I went to Massachussetts with my friend Marci and her husband, Carlos, (and his little brother, Sergio). Marci's family lives about 30 minutes south of Boston...and about 30 minutes west of Plymouth Rock. Plymouth Rock is where the first pilgrims, in their plight for religious freedom, stepped off the Mayflower and built their first settlement. After their first tough year, they gathered together at the end of their harvest season to give thanks to God and to the Indians who had helped them survive. Yes, Plymouth Rock was the place of America's First Thanksgiving.

On Thanksgiving Day, we drove out to Plymouth Rock, and saw the "Rock" which is much smaller than you would expect. We toured the Mayflower 2 (which is a replica of the original ship that the pilgrims used) and then visited Plymouth Plantation, a reconstructed pilgrim village where the volunteer docents act and speak as though they still live back in the 1700's. Since I love history and re-enactment stuff, I had a blast. Afterwards we drove over to Marci's brother's house which is located on Cape Cod and ate Thanksgiving dinner....turkey, stuffing, etc.

On Saturday, we drove up to Boston and spent the day walking around the city and enjoying the "Freedom Trail" free tour put on by the National Park Service. While it was a sunny day, the air was freezing cold. We stopped for a hot chocolate at Dunkin' Donuts (which by the way, happens to have a store on every other block in Massachussets!) I loved Boston...again, a place full of early American history. At the Old South Meeting House where the Boston Tea Party began, we tried on hats from the time period of the American Revolution. We visited the Massachussetts State house, the Boston Massacre site, the home of Paul Revere, and the Old North Church where Robert Newman signalled the approach of the British invasion by placing lanterns in the steeple windows. We shopped at Faneuil Hall, a marketplace since 1742, and strolled through the Italian section of town where as cold as we were, we stopped and ate gelato :)

As we left Massachussetts, I noted that the window's in the homes displayed a single candle light in each window, which I learned is the traditional Christmas decoration in these New England states. Besides the cold weather (and high taxes- so Marci tells me), I believe that I wouldn't mind living in Massachussetts.

Crystal Hard at Work?!

2007-12-16T18:47:00.000-08:00

Each year in October Marriott puts on a company picnic for headquarters employees at the Marriott Ranch in Hume, VA. It's a great family activity and it's the perfect time of year for a ranch party. The autumn leaves are changing and decorate the landscape with shades of green, yellow, orange and red. It's particularly enjoyable since the ranch is located close to the Shenandoah Valley and so after the picnic you can take a leisurely scenic drive through the area. This year I invited several friends (Amanda Greathouse, Mike Call, & Kat Pence) to join me as my "family members" for the day and we had a wonderful time.

The day's menu included St. Louis style ribs, BBQ chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, chili, hot apple cider, apple cobbler and pumpkin pie. Yee haw! The activities at the ranch include Radar Golf, a Moon Bounce, Hay Wagon Rides, Horseback Rides, a Petting Zoo, Horseshoes, Trackless Train Ride, Shuffleboard, Carnival Games, Live Music, a Rock Climbing Wall, Soccer, Volleyball, Caricature Artists, etc. And the best part is that everything is free!! We spent most of our time standing in line for the caricature artists and having our caricatures drawn. I asked my artist to draw me hard at work as a Paralegal at Marriott. Here is his depiction of me (... now, if I only really looked that official at work!).

Love at Home

2007-11-14T10:57:00.000-08:00

Love at Home

(Talk given by Crystal Snow on 9/16/07 in the WDC 2nd Ward)

There is beauty all around

When there’s love at home;

There is joy in ev’ry sound

When there’s love at home.

This past month I was blessed to return home to New Zealand for a couple weeks to attend my brother’s wedding and to celebrate my father’s 80th birthday. It was a rare occasion wherein my whole family- all 9 children, who are now spread out around the world, were once again together with my parents. We now range from ages 27 to 43 and five are now married with families of their own. I grew up on a 24-acre farm with a variety of animals and a huge 1-acre garden. Our farmhouse overlooks a bay of islands and just down the road is a beach where we would swim and play, and every so often, take the boat out for a spin. My Mum’s family immigrated to New Zealand from France and England in the early 1800’s and on our road lived many of my nana’s family- my great aunties and uncles and cousins. In many ways it was a storybook childhood. And yet, we had our problems too. We were far from perfect. We had our fair share of trials and we also did our share of arguing, fighting, and creating chaos for our parents. They were ever so patient with us as we complained about our never-ending responsibilities on the farm and in the garden. I could never understand why my friends thought it was the coolest thing to milk cows, feed pigs, or clean out the henhouse! I remember for a period of time absolutely hating my mother’s favorite hymn, which is “Love at Home,” as whenever things got really chaotic, she would have us sing it just before our nightly family prayer. Given the fact that no one was ever in the right mood and the words seemed incredibly unrealistic to our lives, I became really good at the art of “rolling my eyes.” My sister too would often change the words of the song in “I am a child of God” from “he has given me an earthly home, with parents kind and dear” to “he has given me an earthly home, with parents kind of weird!” In my mind, I thought my family was truly dysfunctional. I have since come to understand that every family is dysfunctional in some way or another.

However, during this past month’s trip, things were different. The evenings that we weren’t celebrating my brother’s wedding or my Dad’s birthday, were filled with meetings similar to Family Home Evenings where we played games, shared talents, and were taught again by my parents who took the opportunity to give us advice and to share their testimonies. It was a rare time where surprisingly, no one was fighting or arguing. In fact, the spirit abounded as we found ourselves sharing memories from years past and focusing on the many good times that we had experienced. Strangely, the difficulties, struggles, and trials of the past seemed to fade. Again, we sang together my mother’s favorite hymn…and this time there was no eye rolling!

In the cottage there is joy

When there’s love at home;

Hate and envy ne’er annoy

When there’s love at home.

I am so grateful for my parent’s efforts and sacrifices and for never giving up on us so that we could truly experience “Love at Home.” This past month’s experience has caused me to reflect on what I am doing now in my life to have “Love at Home.” It reminded me that being single and away from my family does not excuse me from working on having the Lord’s love in my home. In fact, this period in our lives is not a time to spend waiting, but a time to prepare and to cultivate habits that will make us strong and immovable in our testimonies when we do have families of our own.

In the evenings that we had with my parents over those weeks, my parents shared a lot of advice. In fact, my Dad gave so much advice that my brother suggested that he should write a book to contain it! But of course, there is already a book…or several books that contain it. They are the scriptures and the advice given comes from our Heavenly Father’s Plan for Happiness- a plan that my parents have tested and proven works. Today, I have chosen to share with you two pieces of advice that I have received from my parents which are the most meaningful to me.

Advice #1 is to “Put God First”

My parents made a decision before they were married that they would always put God first. They believe that this is what has carried them through their trials. The Lord, Jesus Christ, has promised blessings to those who put God first. He taught,

"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you."

How do we seek first the kingdom of God? The Joseph Smith translation of that verse provides us with further clarification-

“Seek not the things of this world but seek ye first to build up the kingdom of God, and to establish his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Therefore, seeking the kingdom of God requires us to have the right priorities in life. It not only includes reading our scriptures, praying regularly and attending church. It requires a total commitment to the Lord. Indeed, the first great commandment is to “love Him with all our heart, might, mind and strength.” Putting the Lord first includes obedience to the Lord’s commandments through paying an honest tithe, obeying the Word of Wisdom, and living the law of chastity. It includes fulfilling our church callings, supporting the bishop, and following the prophet.

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin stated that:

"When we love our Heavenly Father with all our heart, might, mind, and strength, we follow Him joyfully. When we love our Heavenly Father, we leave behind the begrudging “have to” attitude and embrace the enthusiastic “can’t wait to” attitude. In thanksgiving, we joyfully walk the path of the Lord—the path of discipleship—that leads to Him.

Why must we love the Lord? Because as we do so, we become refined, pure, and holy. When we love the Lord, the benefits of the Atonement can wash away our earthly stain. Though our sins be as scarlet, they can become white as snow (see Isaiah 1:18), and we can become new creatures, filled with new life, new thoughts, and a renewed desire to do good continually."

Seeking first the kingdom of God, includes my parent’s second piece of advice. Advice #2 is to serve others.

During His ministry on the earth, Jesus Christ spent His time serving and helping others. True disciples of Jesus Christ do likewise. The Savior said, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”(Matt 22:37) and "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:35).

When my parents first moved back to New Zealand, they walked up and down the road knocking on the doors of their neighbors. They introduced themselves and asked if there was anything that their neighbor needed. (I have yet to learn how to do this!) They invited each neighbor to attend a family history/games night to be held at their home on Thursday evenings. Anyone who wanted to work on their family histories could do so and anyone who just wanted to play board games could do that. People came and have continued to do so for a number of years now. It is amazing how many non-members want to do their family history! Numerous opportunities have arisen to serve these neighbors and those neighbors have also served my parents in return. Great friendships have formed. These evenings also gave my parents many opportunities to share the gospel. The greatest gift that we can give to our friends is the gospel of Jesus Christ! The Lord commanded us in Matthew 5:16 to:

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your father who is in heaven.”

In addition to doing missionary work, we can serve others by going to the temple and doing work for the dead. This past year I have had the opportunity to serve in the temple each Wednesday night and have gained a stronger testimony of temple work. It has not only been an amazing opportunity to serve others, but it has also reminded me of the great blessings of the Lord. All our work to have “Love at Home” is not in vain. I am so grateful for the temple that allows our families to be sealed together for time and all eternity. I know that the Lord knows and loves each of us and that this gospel is true. The covenants we make in the temple help us to put God first and to serve others. Obedience to His plan brings happiness in this life and in the life to come.

As my brother entered the sealing room of the Hamilton New Zealand temple with his soon-to-be wife, I watched as a content smile spread across my parent’s faces. They looked around the room at each of us, their 9 children, all worthy to be in the Lord’s holy house, and each, though not yet perfect, striving to keep their covenants. I now love my mother’s favorite hymn. It reminds me of our Heavenly Father’s deep love for each of us and how he desires to have each of us feel of His love again in His heavenly home.

“Oh, there’s One who smiles on high

When there’s love at home.”

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Kia Ora from New Zealand

2007-09-04T18:33:00.000-07:00

Here I am trying to figure out how to do a blog... Natalie is my instructor!

Find more about my hometown on this website: http://kerikeri.co.nz/index.cfm.