Wedding Bells

Mags on the Move

We have lived in our home in Duarte for the past 33 years.  We'll be moving to South Jordan, Utah soon.   Our new home is being built and it won't be ready to move into until August or September.   How do you get 33 years of living moved to South Jordan?  And where do you store it while your house is being built? Read on to learn how.

First of all, you move your piano to Utah and store it at your mother-in-law's house.  

I used this company to move my piano.  

Then you sell or give away most of your furniture.  Next, pack your suitcase with a couple of weeks worth of clothes.  Then you pack everything else into boxes...

 ...or wrap them with stretch wrap (coolest new discovery)

Then you put all those boxes and wrapped things into 4 moving pods with the help of your friends and the missionaries.  

Then when Door to Door comes with their forklift, watch with a tender heart as he puts the pods on their moving truck.

You can watch the forklift working on the video below

You can also see the video by clicking here

The pods will be moved and stored in Salt Lake City until we are ready to move into our new home. 

I think Scott and I should be poster children for Door to Door j/k

You can learn more about Door by clicking here.

Like a Broken Vessel

We all deal with the issue of mental health at one time or another and it is comforting to hear what our church leaders have to say on the topic.

You can also see the video by clicking here.  

The talk that inspired this video is found here.

Out of the Mouths of Babes -- Baptism

Watch as children explain everything you need to know about baptism.

You can also view the video by clicking here.

To stage or not to stage

When we talked to our realtor about putting our house on the market, she suggested that we stage our house.  She said it would be more inviting for potential buyers as they walked through our home.

We hemmed and hawed over the idea, talked to the stagers, talked to our friends who had their house successfully staged, and talked to our realtor again and again.   She kept telling us about the success of her clients who had their house staged.  We finally said yes and hoped for the best.

This is the same room that is shown above after it was staged.  

Living room

Bedroom

Dinning room

Kitchen

Bathroom

Backyard

Guess what.  The staging was very successful.  We had multiple offers well above the asking price.   

Thanks Daniel and Jacen.  You are amazing, talented, and  a joy to work with. 

So, to answer the question:  To stage or not to stage? 

The answer is a resounding, YES!  Do it. 

Going, going, GONE!

With Scott retiring at the end of this month and in preparation of serving a mission, Scott and I decided to put our house on the market.  We have lots of memories as we raised our family in our home for the past 33 years.  We may move away from Duarte, but our hearts will always be here with our dear friends, neighbors, and co-workers we have met over the years.

This is what our house looked like when we bought it in 1983

Our 1990 house addition...

...for our growing family

This is our home 33 years later as it appeared on Podley's brochure.  

 Our home sold in one day!

Thanks, Rana. You are the best!  

Seminary

After teaching seminary for 5 years, the Monrovia/Duarte Seminary classes honored me with a surprise farewell party, complete with a beautiful video, tributes, thoughtful gifts, and a book with my  student's testimonies.

You can also view the video by clicking here.

As the students unburied and opened our Old Testament time capsule...

...the contents were replaced with a note.

Into the cultural hall for a PARTY!

Thanks Sis. Cornwall for all of your love and mentoring
throughout my 5 year adventure of teaching seminary.  

So long, farewell - Scott's retirement party

After 37 years in education, Scott will be retiring on June 30, 2016.  The last 15 years of his career he had the privilege of being the principal at Gladstone High School.  This past Friday Scott's secretary, JoAnn Gomez, organized a retirement party for Scott and 8 of his  colleagues.  

Thanks to Anna Kwak for making this beautiful video for the occasion.  You can also view the video by clicking here.

Scott asked me to say a few words at his retirement party.  I ended up not saying any of the things that I planned.   Instead I talked about Scott’s poker face that Sam Perdomo (Scott's former assistant principal)  referred to in his remarks before mine.  

When I was handed  the microphone, I explained that we were going on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  When Sam talked about Scott’s poker face, I suddenly got a revelation on how we were going to fund our mission. We could make a visit to Las Vegas to play a little poker.  Then we’d have enough money to fund our mission!  I was kidding, of course.  Everyone laughed. 

These are some of the notes I planned on saying about Scott:   

If I could use one word to describe Scott, it would be humble.   He is not one to brag about his accomplishments.   I would like to brag a little about him now.   

He has many lives.  

#1  He is a son of God.  He knows who he is and he has a strong testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  He as served many ways in our church.  He was a missionary in Mexico for two years as a 19 year old young man.  He has served as a Sunday School teacher, youth leader,  Cub master, Bishop to our local congregation, and Stake President advising the local leadership in Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Temple City, and Rosemead areas.  

#2  He is a family man.  He is a great husband, father, son, and sibling.  

#3  He is an educator.  He has touched countless lives of students, athletes, and co-workers.  

This is what others said about him in a book his daughters put together for his 60th birthday:  

 1.  Craig (brother-in-law):  What do I think about when I think of Scott Magnusson?  I think of someone who is quiet, witty, and always willing to help.  Scott doesn’t dominate the conversation but when he speaks it is usually very witty and insightful.  He is also willing to help whenever he is around.  It is always a pleasure to have him visit with his family.   

2.  A fellow administrator from Temple City School District:  I enjoyed problem solving with you as fellow administrators and was impressed by your dry sense of humor and the fact that your interests and decisions were always based on what was best for the students, faculty and staff under your charge.  You were always positive and upbeat as well.  I also enjoyed serving on several WASC teams together and keeping in touch over the years. 

3.  From a member of our church congregation:  President Magnusson has influenced me in small and big ways.  I remember when we first moved into the ward, he was the Gospel Doctrine Teacher.  Every time I attended his class, I noticed and made a mental note of a few things.  He always taught from the manual.  He always was respectful and eager for his class to participate.  He always turned to the scriptures to answer questions.  He always had a visual aid.  He always shared his testimony.  What great things to remember when it became my turn to teach! 

4.  From Kathleen (wife):  …As I have read through the birthday wishes in this book, it is great to know that others recognize what I have known all along.  And that is you are an amazing person.  You are a man of integrity, a teacher, a leader, humorous in your own way, and you possess a strong testimony of Jesus Christ.  

 Now here we are 38 years after our first birthday celebration together.  It is great to be married to your best friend.  I love the man I married and I’m glad that we can go through this journey called life together.  I look forward to spending the rest of eternity with you.   

Temples!

On mormon.org we learn that holy temples are as necessary today as they were in ancient times. From reading the Bible we know that God's people have built temples.  In the Old Testament we read  about Moses' and Solomon's experiences with the temple.  In the New Testament it talks about how  Jesus Christ spent a lot of time in the temple at Jerusalem.

You can watch the video below and learn about temples that are on the earth today.

You can also view the video by clicking here  

The Restoration of Jesus Christ's Church Simply Explained

I am a simple minded person and I was happy to find this video that explains what I know.

This is what the LDS Youth YouTube  page has to say about this video:  

"What happened to Christ's church after He and all the apostles died? What characteristics does Christ's true church contain? This simple video explains clearly the "apostasy" and "restoration" of Jesus Christ's church as He instituted it during his mortal ministry."

You can also view the video by clicking on Youtube here.