Delicious Flowers

Our cute Mom Sabey sent these to us for Valentine's Day. Flowers never tasted so good! Thanks Mom!

Alabama, Kentucky, and Connecticut

We are happy to report that the interview at Oklahoma State went well. In fact they have already accepted Allen into the Marriage and Family Program. Congratulations to Allen! We know we are officially moving somewhere... but Allen still has 4 more interviews before we can make a final decision. All of your comments about Oklahoma were very helpful. We now need a few more...

First - Auburn Alabama. Auburn requested that Allen make video of himself for his interview which is nice on the finances since we don't have to pay for a plane ticket for Allen to fly out. Allen finished and submitted his video yesterday. What do you know about Alabama? My pros so far - #1 Only 5 hours from my sister in Nashville. THAT IS A REALLY BIG PLUS. #2 It is in the bible belt. My con - hurricanes

Next up - Allen flies out to Kentucky tomorrow and comes back Wednesday. Allen likes Kentucky because of the basketball team. I like it because it is only 3 hours from my sister in Nashville. THAT IS A REALLY BIG PLUS. Thank you to my friend Laura Krebs and her family for letting Allen stay at their house. What do you guys know about Kentucky?

And the last trip for this week is Connecticut. He flies out on Thursday and comes back late Friday night. Thank you to my friend Kaylene and her family for letting Allen stay at their house. What is good and bad about Connecticut? I like Connecticut because of the state song... the one that says all the states in alphabetical order. Connecticut is my favorite part of the song because you sing Connecticut and then there is a cute little piano solo afterwards (even if it is only 3 notes). I am a little worried about the temperatures though. But Allen just informed be that Connecticut is the safest place to avoid natural disaster... not bad!

Any suggestions on the following states would be great. I am really proud of Allen for all his hard work. He is going to be a great graduate student.

Pictures!

Temple Square with Mom Sabey

At the Nutcracker with Richard and Jackie... It was fabulous!

We finished the top of our Jean Quilt...

Allen missed work hours because he got so excited about sewing.

The Stockings I made. They turned out Okay.

At the UofA/BYU basketball game! Go BYU

Oklahoma!

Allen's first graduate school interview is tomorrow in Stillwater Oklahoma (This is why I am still up blogging instead of sleeping... my husband isn't here to remind me to go to bed.) I wanted to wish him luck in his interview... but also... if he is accepted, we need to know the pros and cons of Oklahoma. For instance... Pro - I could constantly sing "Oklahoma" or "Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day... I've got a beautiful feeling... Every things going my way" Con - It is in the middle of nowhere. (I've never been there so yes I am making a judgement without any real evidence... please tell me if I am wrong.) Please keep the list going.

Good luck Allen!

Update

More than likely, once I start writing this, I'll remember some interesting stuff, forget a lot of stuff, get tired because there is too much to write about and then stop. So, I'm going to write out a few bullet points of topics to include and if I don't finish writing about them, at least you can read about the bullet points and get a gist of our recent lives (if you rely on our blog to keep up with us).

Our last real update was the beginning of November. Here's what's happened since (the very brief pictureless version... we haven't been very good at taking pictures):

• Our Niece Haily was baptized therefore we had a Sabey reunion in Idaho
• Christmas break in Tucson - We had a great time with Mom Sabey, Nana and Papa, the Schafers, and the PK Burnetts. Then we spent New Years with the RJ Burnetts. Some highlights - Croquet on Christmas day, seeing friends and family, going to the gym with Mom and playing racquetball, going to the BYU basketball game with mom, playing games with the nieces and nephews, sleeping in, making homemade stockings, visiting our friends Candace and Evan in St John's Arizona... Oh Christmas Break how we miss you!
• Sister's Weekend... I hadn't seen my sister Julee since my wedding two and a half years ago. We found some cheap tickets and decided to have a rendezvous in Arizona at Laurel's place. Well others found out about the weekend and it turned into a "sister's day" and family weekend. It was fabulous! And I got to meet our nephew Isaac.
  
• Grad school applications are finished and we have been invited to interviews at four of the five schools and we ares till waiting to hear back from the last school.


• Allen has been working with a professor and a research team writing a paper about prejudices in Psychology against theism. He just presented the paper in Las Vegas. It was perfect timing because he had a Ultimate Frisbee tournament in Vegas the same weekend... too bad the tournament got cancelled due to rain.


• BYU basketball - We have become fans of BYU basketball. We were able to go to the game in Arizona where Fridette scored 49 points. Ever since then we have been enjoying our Cougars! Allen even stood in line for 3 hours for the UofU game. Oh how we are going to miss our BYU sporting events.

Well that is about it for now...

Dear Snow...

Dear Snow,
I would really appreciate it if you would go away. It is far too cold here in Utah. Today when I was going to Church I almost slipped and broke my leg. You don't want me to break my leg do you? Yes... I know... you are very pretty, but I think you are pretty when you first fall and you are all powder... not this slushy mess outside. I also find it very scary to drive to work when you are on the roads. Allen and I both get scared when I have to drive in you. Please don't make my husband worry. He has enough on his plate. He is applying for graduate schools and working and taking finals and playing Frisbee and helping me... he shouldn't have to worry when I go to and from work. If you really have to fall... why don't you just fall in the Mountains. I promise I will get all bundled up and go and play in you. I think I would like you a lot if you that were the case. Or if you could fall so much that Alpine School District would cancel the next 10 weeks of school until you melt, then I would be okay with you. But this isn't Oregon... they don't cancel school because of you and you don't just fall in the mountains so I can't plan a snow tubing day. So I would really appreciated it if you would melt and not come back. Is that too much to ask. It is nothing against you... well maybe it is.
Sincerely,
Cameo Sabey

FOOTBALL!

Rise and Shout the Cougars are out... We just wanted to say how much we enjoyed the BYU vs. Utah Football game on Saturday... even though there was a point in there that I actually felt really sick. It was right about the end of the fourth quarter and in over time that I felt that way. Allen and I felt that was a perfect end to our BYU football experiences. Our last home football game as students (well Allen is a student). We were so happy to be a cougars. I just wish the game didn't have to be so close... I know it is exciting, but I would have felt better if we could have just held on to the 20-6 lead. Oh well.

We also wanted to recommend the movie The Blind Side to everyone. One of the best movies we have seen in such a long time. It was truly wonderful It has football in it, but it wasn't all about football. It was about life, and family, and football. Please go see it. I know that I usually like to rent movies or go to the dollar, but this is one movie that is worth spending the money to go see now... really... go see it now!

Happy Birthday Mr. Sabey

Happy Birthday to Mr. Sabey! Today he is the BIG 25! Take a brief look at the last 25 years of his life!

This picture right above here is the first picture I ever saw of Allen and I knew I was going to like this guy! Yes... He looks a little silly, but that is my kind of guy. I am so glad he was born. I am so glad that he married me. I am a better person because of him. I love you!

Fall!

It has been a great fall so far. I enjoyed the warm weather... but now I guess it is officially Winter. I guess our first update should be on my dear sweet friend Katie. I had the opportunity to go spend a week with Katie at the beginning of October. It was an incredible experience. I am amazed by her faith and courage. She is going through what I would consider one of the world's hardest trials and she is showing me what it means to endure. Physically she is getting better each day. She had a surgery a couple of weeks ago which made it so she doesn't have to wear her neck brace anymore. She walks faster each day and gains a little more strength. Emotionally she is grieving in many ways. Tracy, Ryan's mom just spend a week with Kate and I think that was really good for both of them. They are the two women closest to Ryan and they need each other to heal. I love to hear Katie talk about Ryan. She loves him so much. I love to see her eyes light up when she talks about her sweet husband. She mourns the loss of her husband, but she is happy too. I learned we can be and need to be happy amidst hardship and trial. I also learned from Katie that everything happens for a reason. the lord has a plan and we not understand now, but we may see the purposes later. Katie continually talked about the choices her and Ryan made that are now impacting her now and she has the faith to know that this happened for a reason too. She is now looking into graduate programs and exploring different career options. I love her so much. She is my example. She is my best friend. She is my sister. I am so grateful I was able to spend that time with her and cute little Cora. We were able to laugh and share thoughts and stories and a tear or two. I do ask that if you read this... please continue to pray for her. She has such a long road ahead of her.

Besides a week in Oregon, we have had quite a few other activities going on. Allen started his senior year of his undergrad at BYU. He is currently applying for graduate schools. It is frightening. 3 years ago right before I met Allen I was so ready to leave BYU. But then I met Allen and learned I was going to be here for a few more years and I now love Utah and Provo more than ever. This is where we began our family. This has become home. I have even learned to tolerate cinder blocks. When Allen and I got married, he had 10 more years of school left. Once he graduates in April we will only have 7 more. It is a big milestone. The schools we are applying for are Virginia Tech, University of Kentucky, Oklahoma State, University of Connecticut, and Auburn University. All very far away. My vote: Kentucky or Auburn because they are bordering states to my sister Julee. Allen's vote: Virginia Tech and Oklahoma State because they have great Ultimate Teams. :)

This is me after some days of teaching. During the summer I forget how draining teaching really is. I am really looking forward to Christmas Break and Thanksgiving Break. My old roommate Kaylene came into town from Texas so we had a fabulous breakfast at Kneaders. On the left is my roommate Jen and the middle is Kaylene.

In October I ran my 5th marathon... It was the hardest and slowest marathon. I cramped up around mile 10 and it never went away. I wanted to give up.... but this guy... Allen... ran with me the last 5 miles. Oh he helped me keep going. At one point I wanted to give up and these people looked at me and said, "You can do it... You can keep going." I felt so grateful for people to encourage me to finish. Running a marathon is such a spiritual experience. In our life we have people who encourage us to keep going and it is possible to endure. I am grateful for my husband and my family and my friends who help me "finish."

After the race I told Allen I don't need to run a marathon again. About 24 hours later, I was ready to run again. I foresee another marathon or two or three in my future... but I will never run one during the school year. I trail really well during the summer, but once I start teaching, my training goes down hill. Here is my support during the race.

This is my friend and co worker Camille Kingman... The coolest choir teacher. She kicked some trash in the marathon. She has now achieved my goal of a negative split (which is running the second half of the marathon faster than the first half.)

Allen has had quite a few Ultimate tournaments this fall. He had one at USU where they won every game. Too bad the actual tournament was on Sunday so they didn't get to take the trophy home. He also had a tourney in Grand Junction. Those two tournaments were with his BYU club team. He has also been playing intramurals and he has been playing in an Orem City League. He even made it onto BYU TV. Go to this link to see the Ultimate Super Star:

http://universe.byu.edu/node/4313 Below are some action shots from his tournament in Logan.

Fall wouldn't be fall without a little BYU football. I don't know what we are going to do next year when we can't go to the BYU football games. Allen was pretty excited that ESPN college game day took place at BYU. If you looked closely, you could see Allen's hat.

We took our annual fall walk in the Provo Canyon. In the last couple of years, I have really fallen in love with Utah. I think when I was in college I either took it for granted or I was too busy at the library to think about how truly beautiful Utah is and how much it has to offer. I really am going to miss this place.

We had a fun Halloween. We carved our second pumpkin... this is Billy... Marty's Cousin. Click here to see Marty. Allen and Billy look remarkably alike.

I made my first batch of sugar cookies ever thanks to my amazing sister Laurel and her fabulous recipe. They turned out pretty cute I think. But they are a lot of work.

And these lovely ladies are how I survive my days teaching Junior High. From the Left... Mrs. Petersen, Miss Belnap, Mrs. Sabey, and Miss Kingman and yes we all look like students. I couldn't survive without friends at OJHS. I need these women and they are incredible educators.

Allen and I dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood and the Big bad Wolf. I thought our costumes were fabulous. We were going to dress up as Ryan and Sharpe Evans from High school Musical, but I think this was a little more creative and funny.

Allen's Frisbee team had a game on Halloween so they dressed up as super heroes.

Lastly... last night we went camping... in our living room. We made tin foil dinners and roasted marshmallows and watched "star trek" under the "stars. It was a fabulous evening.

Fall Colors!

We had an enjoyable time Sunday afternoon in Provo Canyon. The pictures basically speak for themselves.

Happy Birthday... Continue Praying

Today is my best friend's birthday. Kattie is turning 26 today. On Thursday her family was in a horrible accident. Please read the post below for details of her accident or go to thealders.org for continuous updates on her condition.

Katie is my dearest friend. 10 years ago today we sat next to each other in Algebra II in Mr. Hill's class. The one thing we learned in Mr. Hill's class... "It's not for you to question why... just invert and multiply." The first day of school was Katie's birthday. She had just moved to Oregon from Southern Cal. She as new to the school and didn't know anyone. My bother was about to go on a mission and I was about to be a lone child left at home. Her family welcomed me into their home. I became great friends with Katie's brother Jared and sister Becki, but I felt like Katie and I were like Diana Berry and Anne Shirley from Ann of Green Gables: WE were /are kindred spirits.

She has been an example and a light to me for the last 10 years. She is always so happy and so optimistic. She is so kind to everyone around her. She has the voice of an angel. She has so many amazing qualities.

We have been together to help each other though many experiences. We have had crushes and dated boys and then had our hearts broken. We grated from high school, got accepted to BYU on the same day, went to college and had many adventures together. I saw her prepare for a mission and serve in Korea. We graduated from college. She gave her support and consent as I got married. I watched as she met and dated Ryan and then her wedding day she was such a beautiful bride and her and Ryan were such a handsome couple. I saw her light get brighter through her pregnancy as her and Ryan were going to prepare to become parents. I still haven't met Cora, but after talking to her and her family, I know that Ryan and Katie are the perfect parents for that little girl.

Right now my heart is broken. I feel I have been with Katie through so many experiences, but I don't know how to be there for her now. I told Allen this weekend that I feel cut off being out here in Utah. I wish there was something I could do that would make everything better.

Sometimes in my weak moments, I feel like this is such an injustice. How could something like this happen to someone so wonderful? I find myself going in and out of reality. I find myself celebrating that BYU won or laughing about something and then all of a sudden I am brought back to what is going on with my friend and I think, "how can I celebrate when my best friend is lying in a hospital bed?" It doesn't seem fair that Allen has held me this weekend as I have cried and Katie is alone.

Allen keeps telling me that I can't compare, but experiences like these put life into perspective. How grateful I am for the little things. I have learned life is fragile and I want to be grateful for the small moments. I don't ever want to take my family or my friends for granted.
This weekend I was reading a talk by Elder Bateman that made me think of Katie. he told a story about a young girl form Korea that was in an accident that paralyzed her. After recovering she lived with her parents. She found herself wondering about the meaning of life. Shortly after, tow American woman missionaries came to her door. She listened, read the Book of Mormon, prayed and was baptized. Elder Bateman said that she was sharing her testimony in a stake conference and this is what she shared, "I know that Heavenly Father does not look on the outward appearance, but on the heart. I also know that the true miracle is the healing within, the change of heart, the loss of pride. Although my physical body may not be healed in mortality, my spirit has felt the healing power of the Holy Ghost. And in the Resurrection, a fully restored, perfect physical body will again house my spirit and I will receive a fullness of joy." He then said, "As I listened, the spiritbore witness of the great miracles of the Atonement and the Savior's power to mend broken hearts, to heal from within."

I thought about Katie because she served her mission in Korea. She was one of those missionaries that have changed so many lives because of her willingness to serve and share the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that she is going to make a full recovery physically, but she is going to have so many emotional wounds. But I know that she has received a witness of the great miracles of the Atonement and the Savior's power to mend broken hearts. I know that through the Atonement, she can be healed from within as we all can. I know that Jesus Christ lives! I know that he was resurrected. I know that Ryan and Katie were sealed in the temple and that they will be together again.

I just wanted to thank everyone for their support. I know that is because of your prayers that Katie's recovery has been so miraculous. I love Katie so much and his has been a hard weekend so I wanted to thank everyone who has said so many kind words to me and has shown that they cared. Thank you to the seventh graders that gave me a hug when I was crying in their class. Thank you to the visiting teacher that went beyond her calling. But mostly, I want to thank you for the kind words spoken to and about Ryan and Katie. And thank you for the prayers offered on their behalf. Katie has such a long road ahead of her. Please continue to pray for her and her family and for Ryan's Family.
Happy Birthday Katie... We love you.