Another fun filled week

We are into April. On the radio the other day they were quoting “April showers bring May flowers.” They added that Mayflowers bring pilgrims! (Get it? Ha. Ha!)

A few highlights from this last week:
· Happy Birthday Patrea Heath and Becca Larson! Friday lunch to celebrate a friend’s birthday from the ward. I enjoy getting together with women from the ward whenever I can.
· Friday night I played a game of Settlers of Catan. I definitely enjoy that game, and happened to win!
· Heidi’s grandfather passed away. I took her to the airport Saturday morning, and she comes back this Friday. I am so sorry for her loss.
· Erin helped me update the Primary bulletin board at the church on Saturday. We took down the nativity pictures that have been there forever, and put up pictures of the current prophets from the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve. I was in nursery this Sunday again. I should really be more prepared with cute lesson ideas for that age, just in case!
· Saturday I attended an Open House on my block with a talking house. You tune to AM 1640, and it gives a description of the house. It only works for a short radius around the area, but it was pretty interesting. Ok, this was actually John's house that I toured. It was up for sale last fall as well. Since it wasn't selling they decided to take it off the market for a while, so they could it up again as a new listing. Last fall they were asking $450,000. Now it's listed at $390,000. I can’t decide if I hope it sells (so that it no longer belongs to him), or if having it unoccupied would be better help deplete his financial resources, and thus his opportunity for further harm to others.
· I saw a recipe for truffles this weekend that looked interesting and tried it out. I was pleasantly surprised at how many it makes. (Although, I must admit that they are quickly disappearing.)
· Happy Birthday Melissa Hill! We had a fun get together Saturday night with food and a movie. We watched Singles Ward 2. I had seen it before, but it was pretty funny!
· I spent some time this weekend reading a novel that my roommate Heidi has been working on. Sunday I finished the BYU romance. It was pretty good, and brought back memories of way back when – when it was actually common that people went out on dates.
· Sunday night I was getting a little lonely and stressed about the upcoming week, so my friends Seth and Marissa from the ward came over and we had ice cream and played a game. Marissa had mentioned the game Colosseum before, and it sounded interesting. It’s a board game where you put on shows. There is a building phase, an opportunity to gather players (resources) and trade. It was a lot of fun to learn, and (drum roll please….) I won!
· Early this week consisted of several conversations about John and Devin. I talked with John’s probation officer, detectives from Fairfax and Prince William County, Devin’s family, and heard some more about John through his brother Joe. What a week! Unfortunately it still looks like Devin's case will remain closed, and listed as a suicide.
· Wednesday night I attended the Homicide Survivor Support Group. I had heard through some people in the ward that I had made the news broadcast of the Candlelight vigil. Others in the support group saw me on TV, but no one had recorded the segment. So, if anyone has any ideas of how I could find or request the news segment, I would be curious. It was a candlelight vigil in honor of victim's of crime, held Sunday, April 13th at the Fairfax County Government Center. Gail Pennybacker from ABC local news moderated. Other participates included: Joe Samaha (father of one of the homicide victims from Virginia Tech), Larry Roberts (chief Counselor to Governor Kaine), and the Woodson High School Choir.
· Also at the meeting Wednesday evening I was able to ask more about Victim’s Impact Statements. I had been told previously that any comments to the judge in an impact statement needed to be specific to the loss of Todd in my life, and I should not mention Devin, or any other concerns I have about John, like his stalking or invasion of my privacy. I felt it unfair that John was also asking people for letters, and general comments could be made about good things he had done, yet I could not make comments about his being controlling, deceptive, manipulative, or any other bad behavior. At the meeting I was told that I could write whatever I wanted to the judge, and that there were no restrictions. It’s interesting how knowledgeable people give different advise about the same thing.
· I got enough feedback from friends that my bridesmaid dress for Leslie’s wedding fits ok as it is. I still need to get the dress hemmed, but I was worried that I might need to have even more alterations. So, I am glad that it fits at least decently well as is!
· Thursday night I went to a Washington Nationals Baseball game and met up with some other LDS singles. I hadn't been to the new stadium, and I must admit that it is cool to have the Washington monument in the background of your baseball game. The game itself was pretty good, and the Nationals won 10 to 5 against the Mets. There was even a Grand Slam to bring in 4 of the points in the 5th inning!
· I am looking forward to going to Missouri next week. I'll be on a work trip AND get to see some family!