Long Time No Hear

OK, OK I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to post again. Obviously you knew it was coming because of my last post (a few months ago), but still it's been too long. I will try to do better.

First, I love being married to the most amazing, incredible, beautiful, wonderful, cute, smart, spiritual, gorgeous, intelligent, hard working, and did I mention Gorgeous woman in the whole wide world!!!!! I wish I could spend every second of every day with her. It was wonderful starting the most amazing marriage in the world off with a very wonderful honeymoon in Hawaii. The first two of many pictures you will get from my blog are shown here below.

This is from Oahu, where we spent the first few days and visited the Polynesian Cultural Center. This photo does not do Hawaii complete justice, but you can tell, it was beautiful. Almost as beautiful as the woman I married!

Now, in this picture to the right you can see me with some of my new Polynesian friends! Notice the tattoo; I was living on the wild side as soon as I got married ;). That is until I got home and it washed right off and then I was back to the mild-mannered conservative guy I've always been!

Of course we went one place that means more than almost the rest of the trip. It wasn't the reason for the trip and we didn't get to go inside because of time constraints to catch our plane but this picture below shows the LDS Laie Hawaii Temple.

Now, before you think that I only am talking about the architecture or the beauty of the grounds let me explain. Part of the splendor and beauty of the honeymoon to celebrate and commence my marriage to the most amazing woman in the world is because it is a fun, vacation to get some alone time to get to know the other person and be together. A bigger part of the special aspect and crucial part of the wedding is shown in this picture. The wedding would just be until one or the other died if not for this building shown behind us and hundreds like it around the world. The temples are the house of the Lord; the only place on earth were specially called and ordained men can marry and/or seal a couple/family for time and all eternity. God did not intend that the true love and adoration that we should feel for our spouses stop at death. He ordained that as long as we live righteously and keep his commandments we can qualify for marriage and/or sealing in a temple and then, if we keep doing those things, we can stay married for all of eternity, not just until death do us part. That is why this picture means so much to me. It is the reason Christina and I are holding each other so tightly; because we know we can be an eternal family thanks to the plan the Lord has ordained for mankind. I love Christina with all my heart, and that is made stronger because of my love for heavenly Father and His love for us!

Busy, Busy, Busy (but no Beavers, sorry)

OK, so planning a wedding and reception and honeymoon keeps you a little occupied. I'm sorry I haven't been able to post in awhile but, as you can tell from the previous sentence (where the "you" was figurative for everyone and literal/specific for me) I have been anxiously engaged . . . in a good cause as well as a real engagement (bonus points if you can name the scripture I'm referencing).

I think Christina and I are getting everything to come together and able to do so at a lower cost than we thought possible. We've had a lot of help from friends and family and the Lord. It's amazing and wonderful to watch everything come together in ways that you would never have dreamed possible when the Lord wants you to get something done. I guess it's a real life story of the example of Nephi going to get the brass plates and telling his father "I will go and do the things the Lord has commanded; for I know the Lord giveth no commandment unto the children of men save He shall prepare a way for them to accomplish the thing He has commanded." When the Lord wants two righteous people to get married He prepares the way, especially when those people are getting married in the Temple. I have been blessed and humbled by this experience, even with how hectic it is. Another witness that the Lord watches over all His children in their daily lives and activities; truly He is omniscient and loving and kind.

So, I have explained what is going on in my life and why I haven't posted in awhile and now will post some pictures to keep ya'll entertained until my next post (which again, might be a little while seeing as I'm busy)

This was in Miami, not our engagement pictures. It was actually before we got engaged, but you can read more about the trip on Robbie's blog.

I just like this picture. She is so beautiful, too bad there is that guy in the picture ;)

The Greatest Story of My Life, So Far

I want to tell you all about the greatest event that has ever happened to me so far in my life. I offer a warning though, this post has pictures of the most beautiful, amazing, spectacular, wonderful, pretty, funny, and smart woman I have ever met. That's a warning because she is engaged to me, and no one else can have her. I am going to work the hardest I can for the rest of my life to make sure that I never do anything that will hurt her, alienate her from me, or offend her with words or actions. Now, that being said, lets get down to what actually happened.

I had known for awhile that Christina was one of the most selfless, hard working, dedicated people I had ever met. She always takes care of her family and does whatever they need. This picture below is just one example, babysitting her neices all day (they're cute kids though)

I knew that she had been busy helping prepare for the upcoming ward activity. She also had been helping me get ready to move to a smaller one bedroom apartment after my cousin, Robbie, moved down to Miami. I also knew that I could use this same business as a smoke screen for what I really wanted to do. So on the Saturday before, while shopping for some much needed items, I casually brought up that since it had been busy and the coming week was sure to be even more busy why didn't we go out for a relaxing, romantic dinner one night. Then, the day before we went out, I happened to bring up the fact that I had gotten reservations at a nice restaurant and we would have to dress up. In Christina's own words "So, if I recall accurately, which I ALWAYS do ;) Wednesday came along and Russ mentioned that I needed to dress nice for dinner Thursday, since it was more upscale then I was apparently use to, and that I may even have to potentially purchase a new outfit (buy something new? And I am forced to? No problem!) But he reassured me that wasn’t necessary, darn! And that church attire would suffice. Thursday comes along with not much of anything out of the ordinary, other than Russell informing me that it will be fun just to go out to dinner because we can." She didn't know what was coming!

We went to dinner at a restaurant called Christini's, it was not only one of the award winning restaurants in the area but I also liked the play on her name. Dinner was good and the conversation with her was even better (as it always is). My goal throughout the evening was to very specifically list some of the reasons why I loved her so much. I would try to mention something she had done, preferably recently, and how that made me realize the wonderfully amazing person she was and why I loved her for it. After explaining why I loved her I planned to surprise her. Once again I will quote Christina becuase I think she says it so much better than I do. ". . . Russell got up to go to the bathroom. . . So imagine my surprise when he came back within like 60 seconds. Apparently the bathroom was very close!? We ate our dinner, and then Russell again had to excuse himself from the table, this time because he really was going to the bathroom and ran into the waiter earlier. (That’s his story and I believe he is sticking to it.) Needless to say, the behavior was a little off, but all seemed fine. Russell returned and we were talking and he continued with his nice, kind, sweet words on why he loved me…. and then he kind of paused and looked and said, “So really, there is only one question left”. At this point in time the waiter sets a beautiful plate down with a rose, petals, and a ring with the writing, Will you marry me? I look up and Russell is just like, “Well?”. I am sure I was laughing/smiling nervously and then he asks, “Will you marry me?”. Of course I said yes! I was so caught up in the moment that Russell had to point out for me to listen to the song the accordion player was playing for us. It was Josh Groban’s, When You Say You Love Me." It was a great evening that was very romantic and special (even if the AC was turned on full blast and she was freezing cold, hence my jacket on her in the pictures). I have a few more pictures posted below, and after looking at them you will realize that I am the luckiest, most blessed guy ever!!!!! She said Yes, to me. It doesn't get any better than that! Until she actually says yes the day of the marriage, but I'm not worried about any other answer that day either ;)

Engaged!!

It's true, finally. I found the most incredible, beautiful, perfect for me, wonderful, dedicated, kind, intelligent, friendly, smart, and spectacular woman ever. And for some odd reason she said "Yes!" when I asked her. Yes, Bishop Purcell, TLM is finally getting married (how Luke Bitton got married before me I don't know;), just kidding Luke) but I'm very happy. There will be more information and pictures to follow in the next post.

Change

OK, it has taken me this long to figure out something to write for my new post, and I don't know if I even have it down coherently enough to make sense to anyone reading this (probably even myself, when I go back to read it). For those of you who may not know I don't like change very much. Oh, I don't mind little changes and of course I want to change myself so that I become a better person and become what my heavenly Father wants of me, but I don't like other things to change much. Of course this presents a problem for many people in their 20s! Changes come in the form of going off to school, changes come when you realize that your major isn't right for you and you have to change it and your classes (sometimes multiple times!), changes come when you are blessed and privileged enough to go on a mission and change the way you act and think every second of every day. Then, when you graduate from college and think you know what you want to do with your life changes come because this is the real world. You may change your job (and it may have nothing at all to do with your degree or the classes you took in college) or your roommate (though if your married you shouldn't and hopefully never do change that!). And that's what started me on this diatribe about change.

My cousin Robbie has been one of my favorite cousin roommates of all time (he's tied for 1st with Chris Porter and Jared Laney (and for those of you who know, Jared is not technically one of the cousins but we have adopted him as such so he counts!)). The other two are married (to wonderful and beautiful women) and I am happy for them, but I was very excited when I had the opportunity to live with Robbie again. Now he is going down to Miami and I am left without a roommate, and without furniture, and without the 42" LCD HDTV hooked up to the computer . . . I mean, without a roommate, yea, that's what I meant! I am happy for Robbie though, this will be a much better job for him and he seems excited about it. Of course the fact that he got an answer to go makes a world of difference too! I will miss having a roommate with crazy antics and jokes, someone to talk to late at night about life, the gospel, and girls. Before I go too much further let me just stress that I have just such a person that I can be with and talk to about all of these things, a best friend, she just can't be my roommate ;) ! So, basically what I am saying is that I will miss Robbie a lot but I wish him luck in his endeavors and work. And to all the ladies in south Florida, watch out! He's a catch!!

Super Hero Quiz

I figured I would join the bandwagon and do what everyone else in my related end of the blogosphere is doing.

Your results:
You are Spider-Man

Spider-Man 85% Superman 70% Green Lantern 70% Robin 60% The Flash 60% Catwoman 45% Iron Man 45% Supergirl 40% Hulk 40% Wonder Woman 25% Batman 15%

You are intelligent, witty, a bit geeky and have great power and responsibility.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

Mothers

With yesterday being Mother's Day I just wanted to say a few words about mothers. I am feeling particularly grateful to my mother and wanted to share that with everyone. I do apologize for everyone else in the world, you just don't have as wonderful, incredible, amazing, loving, friendly, nice, helpful, loved, beautiful, and all around great Mom as I do. I don't mean to rub it in, but my Mom is pretty much the greatest Mom in the world!

But enough about how lucky I am to have a Mom like mine, I just wanted to spend a second talking about the things I have learned from my Mom. One of the most important things in the world I have learned from my Mom, how to get, have, and keep a testimony of the God the Father and our Savior and his Atonement. That is the most important thing in life. Everything else stems from that. I learned from an early age, thanks to the wonderful and helpful example of my Mom, how to pray and (perhaps more importantly) developed the faith to know that God is listening to my prayers and that He answers them. What a marvelous blessing that is, to learn from my Mom how my heavenly Father is listening to my prayers and answering them. I learned the importance of scripture study; and I mean study, not just reading to get through a number of verses or chapters everyday, but really studying out what the prophets and the Lord are telling us and how to apply that in my life. I have seen my mother readying and studying the scriptures too many times to count in my life. I know she loves the scriptures!! And I therefore want to love them that much every day. I learned so much from, and am ever grateful for, the gospel Q&A sessions we would have as teenagers about once a month with my parents. My Mom's knowledge of the gospel is incredible and motivating to me. I could, but won't, go on about how funny my Mom is (she has a great sense of humor and there have been many nights where we would have family time that would leave us kids rolling on the ground with laughter), how dedicated to her kids she is (I learned a long time ago that my Mom will sacrifice anything for the well being of me and all her other kids, and that is an incredible amount of love!!!), and how dedicated and serving to others she is. All around I guess I am grateful that the Lord placed me in such a great family with such a wonderful, amazing, incredible mother. I love her so very much!

Here's a picture of my family from a couple of years ago when I was still in college. This was taken before my younger sister was married (the one with glasses) and back when my brother was still shorter than me:)

The Much Anticipated Explanation

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to wake up and realize you were paralyzed? Have you ever thought, "Gee, I hope I can wake up in a hospital today and when I see my Dad the first thing he will say is 'Do you know who I am?'!"? Have you ever seen any kind of punctuation like what you just read at the end of that sentence?! Well, now I can say I have seen all three; I didn't ever particularly wonder those things before December 2005, but I have now lived through them. That's right, I make sentences with funny punctuation!

But in all seriousness, who wakes up in the hospital with a ventilator/respirator in their mouth and thinks "Well, I look ok with no body parts missing so I must be alright. This thing is annoying. I'm going to pull it out!" No thought of "What if it's keeping me alive because my lungs/body aren't working?" nor "Why is my right side paralyzed and my left hand tied to the bed?" nor even "What am I doing in the hospital with all these IVs and machines hooked up to me?" Nope, not me, it was a simple "I'm going to pull this thing out of my mouth." I then had to half-sit up so my left hand, which really was tied to the hospital bed railing, could get close enough to my mouth to pull out this ventilator/respirator. Of course, that became much harder when I had it half the way out and realized that it was connected to a Gastrointestinal Feeding Tube running down my throat and into my stomach and, wait for it, the "feeding ball" (for lack of a better description) was still inflated in my stomach and very painfully coming back up. For the record, let me just state to everyone that you do not want to pull one of those things out the 'hard way' as I did. I can still tell, even now, when I swallow what it did to my throat coming out!

Let me take it a step back and tell everyone who may or may not know how I got in this position (supine and paralyzed in the hospital with everyone wondering if I would remember my own name or ever move again). In November of 2005 I was 25 years old. Many people, if you asked them then, would have said that I was a very mature, responsible adult making my way in life with all the wonderful blessings the Lord had given me. However, while taking a family walk the day after Thanksgiving, in a moment of teenage boy 'test of manhood' type of thinking, I challenged my Dad to a race. Since we were already walking backwards to talk to my Mom and sisters behind us, we decided that it would be fun to run the race backwards! (Note to anyone reading, don't try this at home or anywhere else for that matter!). My Mom, wonderful and beautiful and smart woman that she is, insightfully observed while calling out to us "Be careful, someone is going to fall and hurt themselves." Rather than paying strict head and attention to my Mom I was thinking about how I could see my Dad off to my right side and he was in front of me (which when you're running a race backwards means I was winning). The next thing I saw was the aforementioned interior of my hospital room in the ICU. My favorite insight from my Mom during my hospital stay, in relation to the fall I should say, was that she told me my head "bounced like a basketball" on the asphalt. So when the prophets and apostles and scriptures say listen to your mothers, they mean it! I could have saved a lot of time, heartache, and money if I would have done a better job listening to my wonderful, amazing Mom.

As you can tell I'm actually all better. Most of the people reading this blog will have seen me or talked to me since the accident and so will know that I'm only as brain damaged as I have always been (does anyone remember the Bill Cosby routine about brain damaged kids? It's hilarious!!). Though I have tried to make this retelling as humorous as possible severe head trauma, subsequent stroke as a result of that trauma, a medically induced coma, three months of speech and physical therapy, and the fears and worries of all my family and friends are not laughing matters. I want to close with this testimony of the power of faith, prayers, and the priesthood. For those who think that medical science has all the answers or think that God is not watching out for us I must emphatically tell you that you are wrong. Through the faith, prayers, and fasting of so many people and through the priesthood blessings given me by my father and others I not only pulled through the accident but made a complete recovery with no serious side effects! The Lord and our heavenly Father truly do watch over and protect our lives. Thank you to all for your thoughts and prayers during that time. Thank you for the support you showed my family. Thank you for your love. Thank you.

It's Always Funny w/ Robbie

This is probably one of those hilariously funny statements that you never want to hear over the phone, or anytime in your life for that matter (if you're a heterosexual guy, but if you're a female, you may just want to hear these words (but again, not over the phone)). I was talking with my cousin Robbie, who is studying to become a notary public, and who had called me to tell me that one of the things that he can now do is solemnize a marriage. Of course we are family and guys so he was giving me some good natured ribbing about how it would make my day and something about my girlfriend (who is the most beautiful, amazing, kind, incredible, gorgeous girl ever!!!!!!!) and a wedding (I don't know, his maybe?! but not to Christina!!). He ended the phone conversation by saying "So I just wanted you to know I can marry you." That's it, not "I can perform a marriage for you," nor "I can perform a marriage for you and (fill in blank) and give you oodles of money." Just "Now I can marry you." Needless to say, we got a really good laugh out of that!!

P.S. - I know I said my next post would be about why my blog is called "Running Backwards!" but I couldn't pass up this opportunity to tell you what it's like living with my cousin. My next post will be about the title, promise!

Random Musings from a Sunday Afternoon

Now, most of you will notice that this posting actually occurred on Monday, despite what the title says. However, since the observations and feelings came from Sunday, yesterday, I felt the title was still appropriate. Most of the observations I make come from church, so you may think they are not really as random as you may have thought/hoped.

I suppose I should take a minute to explain some stuff for friends who are not LDS, or just at least not familiar with the LDS church or the "unique" culture of single's wards. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (as previously mentioned the LDS Church or the "Mormons") and a big chunk of my life focuses on my religion (anyone who knows me would understand how true that statement is). It has made me who I am today, what I have accomplished, and shapes the goals I have for the future. That being said, the church is not perfect, and when I say "the church" I mean the people in the church. The Gospel of Jesus Christ proclaimed by "the Church" is perfect, the ideal organization of "the Church" is perfectly set up to bring us to Christ, but "the church" (the people in the church, the members) are still very much human and NOT perfect. For anyone who has seen previous movies, documentaries, filmstrips, etc. about the LDS Church, or known someone who was/is LDS or Mormon you know that the people of the Church make mistakes and sometimes do things a little differently. But thanks goodness the Lord has called a prophet in our latter days with 12 apostles to lead and guide the Church, and to correct us when we go off course. I am eternally grateful for that fact.

The Bishop (the congregational leader of my ward (which is the geographic boundaries for the congregation), called me as the Ward Mission Leader. Which means that I am involved with everything missionary or mission like in my ward. I served a mission, for two years in Ecuador. Now I am responsible for helping the missionaries within my ward's boundaries in the Orlando Florida area in their work. I need to get the congregation motivated and excited to tell their friends about the church, I need to go out and talk to people, I need to work side-by-side with the missionaries in teaching people, getting them ready to join the Church or in other words get baptized, and then help them stay active in the Church by getting them to make friends, learn ever more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and get them out serving and helping others. It may sound like a lot of work, but boy am I excited!!!!!!!

The take home message from my Sunday musings was that the Lord always knows exactly what is going on in our life and what we need to do. He knows how to help us with our difficulties, how to buoy us up with friends and family and with His "tender mercies." He inspires and qualifies those whom He calls, even if they are the least of His servants (as I am). In other words, I am grateful for a Lord, Savior, and Redeemer who always watches out for everyone of His flock with such tender love and care!

P.S. - That is a perfect segue into my next post which will be, after much popular demand, the reason my blog is titled such!

Welcome to My Wing of the Blogosphere.

I admit, for a long time I was unaware and uninterested in the blogosphere. But when it became apparent that I was losing touch with my friends and family (OK, not really losing touch, but missing out on some of the more fun goings-on in my extended circle of influence), I decided it was time to join the electronic world of blogging! This is my first, virgin, maiden voyage into the turbulent waters of blogging so please excuse if things are confusing or weird at first. I hope to eventually keep you all entertained and enthralled, but in the mean time, enjoy this awesome video from YouTube.