Sarah Harris

Sarah started out life as her grandmother called her "a little china doll." She had very dark hair and white porcelain skin. She loved to smile and observe people.  She has continued to observe a lot of things about herself and others. Sarah has high expectations of herself and a great sense of loyalty and dedication to what she believes. When she is comfortable, her secondary fun and outgoing side bring out her vibrance for life. These attributes have served her well throughout her life including her early years. Sarah is the oldest of six children. Because of her responsible nature,  she was the go to babysitter & chauffeur. These roles weren't all bad.  They allowed her to coach her youngest brother's soccer team, to do Sleeping Beauty sleepovers at college with her youngest sister, and even to discover the great atmosphere of BYU while chauffeuring another sibling to an event down there.  

When she was young she enjoyed playing the piano, playing soccer, and dancing. She loved that dance and piano allowed her to express her creative side. She loved soccer but she just wasn't quite as competitive as her other siblings who went on to play at the collegiate level. Her fondest soccer memories are soccer pick up games with her siblings & parents in the back yard. Her husband, who has a calmer energy, has been known to tell her, "Your family is over the top; they need to tone it down!"

Her intensity was more channeled into her studies. She maintained a 4.0 in high school and even did so at the sacrifice of her own health. In her senior year, she was involved in so much, being the co-editor-in-chief of the yearbook, participating in the high school musical, and being in four AP classes. She got so worn out trying to keep up with such a demanding schedule that she got pneumonia. During this time, she still wanted to maintain her perfect grades, but when she failed to get an assignment in and wanted to do the required extra report to make up for it, her teacher excused her from the extra report & let her know that she needed to be mindful of her health and the bigger picture. She said that she learned from that experience, "We need to find balance, a time & season, you don't have to be everything, every second!" So, she finished the acclaimed high school musical & its encore performances and then after much prayer decided to rearrange her class schedule to allow her to achieve her most important goals. She was able to graduate from Alta High with a 4.0.

Her dedication to her studies paid off as she was accepted to BYU and then was also accepted into their competitive accounting program. She worked hard and did well, but she made sure to throw some amazing experiences in as well. She really wanted to study abroad! When she heard that a certain business professor would be going to London for a semester, she decided to apply to go on the adventure of a life time. The experience did not disappoint! From seeing Northern Ireland, England, and Paris, in addition to living in London for 3 months, there were plenty of adventures to scrapbook about! One of the funniest occurred in an elevator at the top of the Eiffel Tower. A man kept trying to get all the girls on the elevator to kiss him. It made for a humorous and awkward elevator ride. Only in Paris, eh!?! (Side note seven years later she made another elevator ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower with her husband & the ride went much better!) Another thing that made that semester abroad incredibly memorable was that 9/11 happened as she was abroad! She was very touched by the outpouring of love and concern that she saw and felt from the people in Europe who were praying for the Americans there!

Little did she know after returning to the more patriotic US than she had left, an outpouring of love, of the romantic kind, would be entering her life in the not too distant future. She and her friends were going to go to a birthday party and a movie afterward. When they found out that there was going to be only three boys and ten girls at the movie, they were not dummies; they decided that they needed to even things up a lot more. So, they invited another group of guys from the Davis County area who had attended the party to come and join them for the movie.  Among these was a returned missionary named Matthew Harris. He first talked to a different girl while walking up the steps of the BYU hill, but when he found out she was from Georgia he lost interest. He moved on to the next girl who was none other than Sarah. They had a nice enough chat that Sarah ended up giving him her phone number. One of his friends was very interested in Sarah's roommate, so Matthew gave his friend Sarah's number to contact her roommate. Because Sarah did not want his friend to be lead on, she let Matthew's friend know that her roommate was not interested.  She told him that if Matthew wanted to call her, though, she would be interested in talking to him again. 

Matthew took the bait and called her shortly after. Because Matthew was much quieter than she was used to in her family and because they went to a pathetic movie, Sarah wasn't feeling it and thought there may not be a second date. Then, something fortuitous happened. The car tire blew out. Why is that fortuitous, you might ask? Well, because Sarah got to see Matthew in action pumping up the car & fixing the tire. She gave him a second chance. He warmed up and they had a wonderful second date;o)!!! From there, there were very few hiccups in their dating and they were married almost exactly one year later in May. A funny side story is that when one of Matthew's friends later asked him, "I've been dating this girl. I've thought about and I really feel good about it. How you know that she's the one?" Matthew told him, "She'll let you know!"

In their early married years, Sarah and Matthew stayed very busy with Matthew working towards getting into dental school and with Sarah finishing her bachelor's at BYU and her masters in accounting from the U of U. After Sarah graduated with her masters, they headed off on their next adventure in Virginia for Matthew to go to dental school at VCU in Richmond. 

Matthew was busy in dental school, but Sarah was no less busy! She worked at PWC as an accountant for three years. It was not uncommon during tax season for her to work 17 hours on Saturday so that she wouldn't have to work on Sunday. She felt like the blessings that resulted from her sacrifices to keep the Sabbath day holy were bountiful. She was inspired by a quote that she heard Jenny Oaks Baker say about 6 days at 100% being more than 7 days at 75%. She loved and lived that truth!

Upon finishing dental school, they moved to Williamsburg, VA, where Matthew worked as a dentist, with a beautiful addition, their sweet oldest daughter Karlie! A year later while pregnant with their second daughter Abigail, they returned to Utah. After Abigail, they added two lively boys Brayden and Christian.  While challenging, Sarah loves being a mom and really pays attention to her kids' personalities types. She tries to come to know them and how she can best support them in their unique beauty and talents!

Sarah's beauty, inside and out, is bold and vibrant and lovely! She is so fun and easy to talk to! Next time you have the chance to visit with her, take it. I promise it will be fun and interesting in ways that are enlightening and endearing!

Michelle Roe

Michelle was born the sixth child of seven. Her full name is Leanna Michelle Richards Roe (One of her great great grandfathers is Willard Richards from early church history). She was named after a young girl her dad baptized while on his mission in Quebec. Their family stayed in contact with this girl a bit over the years.

Michelle was born into the royalty line of Holladay Utah, furniture royalty that is. Back in the day before online shopping, and RC Willey had taken the Wasatch front by storm, the place to buy your furniture was Granite Furniture. In fact it was the only place you could outfit your whole home. It was established in 1853 just a few years after Brigham Young led the saints to the Salt Lake Valley. Because her father is the president and CEO of the company, the furniture store was a central part of Michelle's life and continues to be a huge focus of her relationships with her parents and siblings.

Michelle's family was a blended family. Her mother had been previously married and brought 4 children into their marriage. In her first marriage, she lost a set of twins and had several miscarriages. She was able to have one child but the doctor told her she wouldn't be able to have any more, so she adopted a child, but then her womb seemed to open up and she didn't have a problem. However, even after she and Michelle's father married, she lost another set of twins. Because of the trials Michelle has watched her mother face, Michelle says her mom is a warrior. That she in an incredibly strong woman. Michelle looks up to her and is very close to her. She has had probably the greatest impact on Michelle's life out of anyone and Michelle says she is one of her best friends. Michelle is also very much a daddy's girl. She loves both her parents and is so grateful for their strong testimonies of the gospel and the spiritual strength they give her.

Michelle says her parents allowed her and her younger sibling to do whatever they wanted. Michelle says while growing up she tried everything. Hence she says she became a « jack of all trades, master of none. » However all this diversity did help her to become a well rounded individual. She tried tennis, horseback riding, dance, sewing, cooking, music including violin and piano and singing classes. She even was in the auto mechanic club at her high school. But she says she was in it for the easy A, not even to meet the boys!

Michelle says all throughout high school and College she had a clearly defined focus, to have fun and meet boys. It permeated many of the decisions she made. Including the paths she chose in college. She started her college years with a semester at Salt Lake Community College. Her dad let her know as long as she was going to college she wouldn't have to have a job. So after a semester at SLCC she transferred to USU. Her dad helped her get up there by registering her and even signing her up for her classes.

Well, Michelle was no fool. With her purpose in life in mind, she got up to USU and promptly dropped some of her classes so she wouldn't have more time for fun. It was up at USU that Michelle met her husband Mike. How you might ask. Well, no one knows. Anyhow, Michelle and Mike don't know. Neither of them remember how they met. Michelle thinks it might have been at a bon fire. Mike thinks it might have been at a birthday party. It clearly was not memorable, however what they do remember is that after meeting they quickly became best friends, best friends with some kissing benefits. Michelle says Mike is the most positive person she has ever known. That he is always happy and she was just drawn to him. She loved being around him.

But being exclusive with one person would get in the way of Michelle's focus. So exclusivity was out of the question. After a year however Mike was ready for more. He got up the courage and asked Michelle if they could start being exclusive. At first Michelle said no. She came home after their conversation and told her roommates. Her roommates looked at her like she was crazy. For two hours they talked to Michelle helping her realize that Mike was the greatest thing that ever happened to her and that someone better wasn't going to come along. She also remembered her patriarchal blessing had told her, « To choose good friends because her husband would be found among them. » So two hours after turning Mike down, she hunted him down and in true girl form, told him she had changed her mind. 2 months later they were engaged and 5 months after that they were married.

Following a very fun reception at the Devereax mansion in SLC, they left on their honeymoon. They went on a Caribbean cruise. They had a blast. Mike hates the sun so he stayed in the cabin and read 2-3 Harry Potter books while Michelle enjoyed laying out the whole trip.

The day they came home from their honeymoon, they moved to Las Vegas where Mike took a construction management internship. The construction field in Las Vegas was booming so they ended up staying in Las Vegas for 7 years. Michelle says at first she did not want to be in Vegas. Her family was so close and it was hard to be so far away from them. After 4 years however, Michelle grew to LOVE Las Vegas, so much so she'd move back there in a heartbeat. She loved no snow. She loved how strong people were in their faith in Las Vegas, not just the Mormons, but people of all faiths. She loved how outside of the strip everyone was very concerned with rallying around the community and making it a safe place for their families. She also really loved how their ward really was a ward family. Mike also had a sister living in Las Vegas and she loved how they became close. They also had all three of their boys while living in Las Vegas, now who wouldn't love that!

After 7 years, the economic downturn of the country hit Las Vegas and the construction field was hit hard. It became a very great trial for their family. Mike and Michelle decided that at this point they would pay more tithing and fast offering and hope for the best. Mike started looking for different job while he continued working in Las Vegas. Michelle feels that as a result of their tithing and fast offering, Mike was able to get another job here in Salt Lake City. For one week he was working two jobs. One in Las Vegas from home by day and the other on the night crew in SLC. It was a crazy week, but they felt so blessed to have a job.

After moving here, they lived in her grandma's vacated home until they could figure out where they wanted to live. Nanette Stucki, Mike's sister, was living here in Kaysville and kept telling them how great the schools in Kaysville were. The Stucki's had started the process of building with Woodsides here in the neighborhood. Mike and Michelle also felt really good about building in the neighborhood and actually building next door to Nanette. They all really felt they were supposed to be here.

Michelle says although she really misses Las Vegas and no snow, she's grateful to be here. She loves how there are so many fun things to do along the Wasatch Front. The outdoor entertainment, especially camping is endless and that works really well for their family (anyhow it works well for Michelle now that they've purchased a trailer). She also really likes the ease of all the amenities Lagoon, Cherry Hill, movies, etc. etc. The list of family entertainment goes on and on. She says it isn't like that everywhere. Its pretty hard to find somewhere as family friendly to live.

Michelle is a gem. She is very fun. I find her to be very willing to accept and understand others and their failings as well as see what's good in them. We are very lucky to have the Roe family living here and to be expected, their whole family is extremely fun to be around and make such a happy contribution to our ward. Take the time to get to know Michelle. You will be glad you did.

Emily Stephenson

Emily was born in Salt Lake City as the 7th of 8 children.  She enjoyed growing up with her three sisters and four brothers in Farmington.  She was a sweet and shy child.

A classic story that highlights her timidity occurred when she was approximately eight years old. She was at home when she heard an explosion. She went to check it out and found the fireplace had blown up due to them having too much snow built up in the chimney. She hurried to tell her mom.  Her mom called 911 about the fire and told Emily to go get their next door neighbor, since her dad was out of town.  She ran to get him, only to find that he was already out front of their house shoveling the snow off their driveway.  She was so shy, though, that she just couldn't bring herself to tell him about the fire, even after his friendly greeting.  She distinctly remembers standing there just looking at her shoes. Fortunately, her mom and brothers were able to put out the fire nonetheless.

Emily attended Davis High and enjoyed being involved in musical productions, DECA and choir.  She got involved in the community as well, working as an anti-tobacco ambassador, acting in Kaysville city plays and participating in various service opportunities; as a result, she was awarded a scholarship for community service. Being from a large family she learned by example the value of hard work and saving for college.  She worked hard enough and was responsible enough that she got promoted to be a trainer at Famous Dave's while she was still a high school student.  She made enough to be able to save a large amount to put toward her studies at Utah State in Family, Consumer, and Human Development and in her studies at Weber State of Interior Design and Family Studies.

Interior design became an important part of her life and played a vital role in bringing Jordan and Emily together.  She got hired at the RC Willey in Riverdale as a decorator and would design and set up their displays.  When a cute, returned missionary was hired to assemble and move furniture, Emily and Jordan's boss kept assigning them to work together on projects since she thought they seemed like a fabulous match.  Emily had the vision and Jordan had the brawn and worked very well together, a dynamic that continues to work well for them to this day. Two months after working together, Jordan asked Emily out on their first date in August. They went on a super fun date, canoeing at Pineview in the dark with glow sticks. They got to canoe up to a party barge (a big square raft) in the middle provided by the Outdoor Club at WSU that had sparkling cider, cheese, and crackers.  They had a blast together.

To get a second date, Jordan had to get creative in convincing Emily since she was really not a fan of dating coworkers due to the awkward dynamics it could create on the job.  He sold her on the idea by saying that they could keep their dating a secret from their coworkers.  So, one of them often would leave ten minutes or so before the other, just so they could meet up for a lunch date undetected.  They were pretty much together nonstop after they started dating and to Emily’s surprise they dated just a few short months before getting engaged in November. The bigger surprise came when they told their coworkers about the engagement, they were still unaware that they had been dating (many who had recently been turned down for dates by Emily). All of the rejection finally made sense.

They were married in the Salt Lake Temple in March of 2007 and jumped into both going to school and working. Once they started having children, they had three in less than three years.  She had three in diapers for a few months, and YES, she had her "hands full" just as many people reminded her over and over again whenever she went out anywhere.  Nine months ago her hands got even more full, adding her fourth child who happened to be the fortieth grandchild for Emily's parents. She is a fantastic mom. 

Beyond that, Emily is a fantastic, loving and giving person.  When I asked what one of her future dreams was, she said that it would be to go to Paris with her hubby because he served his mission in Paris.  They even have a 'Paris jar' they put all their spare change into. 

Our ward is incredibly lucky to have Emily as a part of us! She is one of those amazing, wonderful people that have a gift for making others feel so special and loved! Get to know her, if you haven't already.  You will LOVE her!!!

 

Temple Babysitting List

Barbara Peterson

 

Barbara was born in American Fork. Her parents were high school sweethearts who married after her Dad's mission. Barbara was born while her dad was attending BYU. After her dad graduated from BYU law school, he took a job at a firm in Salt Lake City. Both her parents were from the Syracuse/Clinton area so they moved their family back up to Syracuse where Barbara grew up. They lived in the same house from the time Barbara was 2 until she was 17, which ended up being fortuitous for Barbara (but we'll touch on that later in the story).

Barbara was the 4^th of 5 children. When she was young, she really enjoyed watching her older siblings play sports and really, really enjoyed hitting her parents up for money to buy snacks from the vending stands. Once she got into high school, she got more involved in extracurriculars, too. She was on the yearbook committee and student council in her junior year and she was the National Honors Society President and served on the seminary council during her senior year. In her senior year, she was also in Madrigals. In fact, it was a fabulous family tradition to be in Madrigals at Clearfield High. Both her mother and father had been, as well as two brothers and her sister.

While she loved singing, academics was really her focus. In fact she graduated with so many AP class credits under her belt that she was able to enter college as a Sophomore, completing her associates degree in one year.

From a young age, the gospel was a main focus of Barbara's life. She loved church and felt very drawn to being obedient to the commandments and truths she was learning. When I asked Barbara what lessons she learned from her high school years that really impacted her life, her answer was very profound and something we all have to learn at some point. She said, « One can take obedience too far. If one becomes so caught up in strict obedience and over obedience, the love for the gospel can be lost. Then one loses the whole point of the gospel, which is love!»

Barbara says she had to learn the Mary and Martha principle. She said it was quite humorous. At home at times she appeared to be so strict that her brother didn't realize she was a very fun person. In fact, a humorous anecdote of this is that she had been one of the homecoming royalty her senior year. The following year she returned to Clearfield High School to help in the crowning of the new royalty. Her brother, now attending high school, was surprised to see people excited to see Barbara and thinking she was fun.

Later that year, her family moved into a new house. It was in the same stake but a different ward. It was a very good move for the family. In the ward lived a young family named the Petersons. The dad in this family became close with Barbara's younger brother.

In the fall of Barbara's Senior year, she went to a fireside where Brother Peterson's younger brother was performing. He was part of a group of young recently returned missionaries who were singing acapella. They also each took a turn bearing their testimonies. Barbara was very impressed with them. She started picking out which ones she thought were the cutest. Luckily they were also the single ones. She decided who the two best looking guys were and after they all bore their testimonies she decided that Jared, the Peterson's younger brother, was the whole package. She wanted to go up and tell them what a great job they had done, especially since she had been in the audience smiling her biggest smiles at them, but her brother rushed her out of there (she was also a little nervous because she had worn really high heels and didn't want to scare Jared off by being too tall). 

Shortly before graduating, Brother Peterson asked Barbara's brother if their parents would mind if they set Jared up with Barbara. When they asked Barbara if she would be interested, she enthusiastically said yes! So 8 days after Barbara graduated from high school she finally met Jared face to face. That's all it took. They were over the moon about each other.  Exactly eleven months later, they were married in the Salt Lake Temple.

After they were married, Barbara went to work while Jared finished up his undergraduate work. They then set off for Ohio to attend The Ohio State University medical school. Barbara loved Ohio. They lived in a complex with several other LDS couples who were attending the medical school. These couples became a great support system for each other and it was like they were living in a mini Utah. While living in Ohio, the Peterson's welcomed their first two little girls into their home.

After graduating, they moved for Jared to complete his residency in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They ended up moving to New Jersey across the state line because it was safer. Barbara also loved New Jersey. She loved how the people were so direct and blunt. They were completely transparent. She also loved how things were busy and so close together. They were able to see so many cool sites while living there, like the DC Temple, the Jersey Shore (don't you dare call it the beach, the Jersey peeps will skin you alive), the Reading Railroad Terminal market and Liberty Bell, Gettysburg, NYC at Christmas time, and many others. They also, had two more children while living in New Jersey, a boy and a girl. 

After having lived out East for so long, the Petersons wanted to move closer to family. So they accepted a work opportunity in Arizona where Jared began his practice in Ophthalmology. They thought they would stay in Arizona forever, so they bought a house in Gilbert, Arizona and began soaking up the beauty and enjoyment of the Arizona winters and the excitement of the new temple being dedicated – in fact, Barbara had the opportunity to work as an usher at the open house.

The job in Arizona wasn't as good as the Petersons had thought it would be. They were unsure of what to do, when a different work situation presented itself here in Layton. So in a whirl wind, Jared and Barbara decided to pack up again and move to Utah. It was a crazy time, since they had to be in Utah very quickly. With a house to sell in Arizona things got a little crazy. They lived with Jared's parents for awhile trying to sell their home.

After a few months, the Petersons realized renting out their house was a better option. As soon as they had a renter in their home, they found the house they live in now in our neighborhood. So finally, and hopefully for the last time, they moved into our neighborhood, since their oldest daughter has already attended four different elementary schools.  Also, they recently added another baby boy to their family. 

We are so lucky to have Barbara in our Relief Society. She is so fun. She is very open and happy to get to know others. She has recently been released as the Primary Chorister in our ward. In fact, she has had that calling in Ohio, New Jersey and now in Utah. She however is very excited about her new calling, assisting in interviewing and writing spotlights for our blog. If you are lucky enough to have her call you for an interview, I know you will have a great time chatting with her.

Welcome Barbara.