One in Heart and in Name?

To our 2-year old nephew, PE and I are both the same person. He calls both of us by my name. Now my name may be easier for him to say, but he can actually say PE's name. The other day, he accidentally hit me with one of his toys and his grandparents told him to tell me sorry and give me a hug. He did say he was sorry and gave me a hug, but then he also said sorry to PE and gave him a hug. It was pretty funny.

While his mom and grandparents are trying to help him identify PE with the correct name, we actually find it flattering that our nephew considers us to be one person. Even at his young age, he knows that PE and I are a packaged deal. On the rare occasion when only one of us is there, our nephew will keep looking out the door or window waiting for the other to come in.

The bible teaches us that a husband and wife should cleave unto each other and become one flesh. We feel like we must be doing something right if even our nephew can't tell us apart. :)

Joy

I have been blessed with amazing friends in my life. Growing up, there were 4 girls who were (and still are) my core group of friends. We grew up together, experienced life together, and were always there for each other. We helped each other's testimonies grow as we experienced seminary and young women's together. Today, I was pondering how (come May), all 5 of us will have been married in the temple, sealed to a loving husband for time and all eternity. As I pondered this, a feeling of great joy flooded over me. While I have found joy in our friendships before, knowing that we will all have celestial marriages brought me indescribable joy. We will have all made the covenants needed to return to our Father in Heaven. And I know that we will continue to help each other live worthy of those covenants.

There is a quiet joy that comes from seeing friends and family in the temple.When my little sister went through the temple, it was wonderful to see my parents, grandparents, and cousins there. Just before she left on her mission, I went to the temple with her and my parents. While we were there, I saw and talked to one of my young women leaders and one of my orchestra teachers. I can't really explain it, but it felt so good to see them in the temple. It's a feeling I have only ever felt at the temple. There is joy in seeing others in the temple, knowing that you are each living temple worthy lives.

Last Wednesday, we dropped my little sister off at the MTC. She will be serving the people in the the Anchorage, Alaska mission. There were tears shed as my family dropped her off, knowing we won't see her again for 18 months. As I have been thinking about her in the MTC this week, I have been filled with joy. Joy in knowing my little sister is sacrificing 18 months of her life to serve the Lord. Joy in seeing what a wonderful example she is to my family.

I am grateful for my family and friends. I am especially grateful for the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, and that we have temples again upon the earth where we can be sealed to our loved ones forever.

Proactiv

Right now I am extremely annoyed at Proactiv. Now, it has been about 5 years since I have used their products. I stopped using them because they didn't work for me, and they were expensive. Honestly, I have found that washing my face with Dove unscented soap works so much better than any acne product. And it's a lot cheaper.

So why am I annoyed with them? Because for some reason my Proactiv account was reactivated after 5 years of inactivity. And they sent me products I didn't order, and of course charged me for them. And it was set up to keep sending me products every three months. Well, the credit card they charged it on is linked to an old checking account that I still have, but seldom use. A week ago, I was checking my bank accounts, and I felt prompted to check that old account (which I rarely check). I opened up the account summary and saw that I had been charged $50 by Proactiv that very day. It was still pending activity, so I quickly called Proactiv to try and fix it. But unfortunately, Proactiv had already shipped the products and could not refund my money until I returned their products. I asked why my account had been reactivated, and they had no idea. I asked them to close my account so that this would never happen again, which they agreed to do.

Well, I finally got my Proactiv in the mail today, so I took it back to the post office and had to pay $8 to ship it back to Proactiv. So it will probably be another couple weeks before I actually get refunded my $50, and I am also out $8 for returning a product I never ordered.

Proactiv wants your money, and they have set up a "convenient" automatic delivery system to make sure they can continue to take your money. I logged into my account before I called Proactiv, and I found that I could not stop the automatic delivery. The only way to get out of the system was to call customer service and close my account. And when I called to close my account, the lady asked me if I was interested in buying a new product. Why do you think I'm closing my account??? Seriously people.

And the other thing that really bugs me...how in the world did they get my current address??? The Proactiv was delivered to my apartment door. We have lived here for less than a year, and I have had no contact with Proactiv for 5 years...

So while I am frustrated with Proactiv, I am grateful for a Father in Heaven who is looking out for me and gave me a prompting to check my bank account that specific day.