I Pledge Allegiance

Today I officially became a citizen of the United States of America and it's a great feeling! These pictures are from the oath ceremony this morning. I'm so lucky to have so much support from family, so thank you to all who attended! The ceremony was very meaningful and I'm proud to be American, not only in my heart, but on paper as well. I feel so blessed to have lived in freedom all my life. Coming from Canada I never knew poverty and war like many others at the ceremony today. I sat beside a woman from Russia, Anna, and another woman from Columbia, Gloria. They were so excited to become citizens and all three of us cried when we were sworn in.

Ava standing beside me after the ceremony. I'm holding my Naturalization Certificate which is similar in function to a birth certificate.

This is the Rose Wagner Theatre before the ceremony started.

I'm so lucky to have Luke there to take pictures! He did a great job, even with the low lighting!

My family cheering me on!

Taking the oath.

There were 200 new citizens sworn in today.

The Judge who presided over the ceremony and spoke of his own parents immigrating to the U.S. from Romania.

We had the opportunity to say a few words so I commented on my gratitude for becoming an American and united my family together under one country.

Another picture with my Naturalization Certificate.

Below is a letter that each new citizen received from the President. I included a copy of this because I know how much Kristy and Justin will enjoy seeing it! It's printed on official White House paper and signed by President Obama. Pretty cool!

Overall it was an amazing experience. Here's a quote about immigration from President Woodrow Wilson that really sums up how I feel:

"You have just taken an oath of allegiance to the United States. Of allegiance to whom? Of allegiance to no one, unless is it God. Certainly not of allegiance to those who temporarily represent this great Government. You have taken an oath of allegiance to a great ideal, to a great body of principles, to the great hope of the human race."

New Picture of Elder Shaw!

This picture will appear on the 10 o'clock news tonight along with another interview I did about Brian. The picture shows some of the food and supplies brought to the missionaries from the members at the Misawa military base branch in Japan. I'm so glad he's doing well!

Elder Shaw

Good News! As of this morning the Church confirmed that all the missionaries in the Sendai mission are ok. No injuries or deaths, thank goodness!

Here's a link to the KSL interview I did about the situation.

click here

Thanks for all your prayers and support. Here is a link to the press release issued by the church: click here

Great Grandma

My Great Grandma, Marjorie Barton Selk, passed away yesterday afternoon. I am her oldest Great Grandchild and was able to spend a lot of time with her when I was a child. The funeral is in Canada, so I won't be able to make it unfortunately, but I will be thinking of her and remembering her great life. I've always been very impressed with my Great Grandma because she had 10 children! She was such a hard-worker and lived a difficult life, I'm sure full of long hours. I've heard stories that she'd stay up late at night, sewing clothes for her children. She was an excellent seamstress. The last few years of her life she's struggled with alzheimer's disease. I know I'll see her again after this life restored again to a perfect state. I look forward to that with my hope and faith in Christ.

This is an old picture I have of my Great Grandma, with her first 4 children. My grandma, Joan, is the oldest child, on the right.

These are my Great Grandparents as I remember them from my own childhood. Grandma Selk is in the middle.

We had a family reunion celebrating my Grandma Selk's posterity in August 2009. There are still lots of people missing from this picture, but you get the idea. It's a big family!

This shows our five generations with my mom, grandma Joan, Tessie, myself, and my Great Grandma.

San Diego!

Balboa Park, San Diego

This museum was cool because it was dedicated only to photography. There aren't many museums like that. Luke saw some famous photos that he's studied in school, so that was pretty awesome.

The beach wasn't as warm as Ava makes it look! I wore a sweater and had Tess wrapped up in my arms. Ava loves the beach so much that she didn't let the cool weather dampen her excitement. She played in the water and the sand.

We love visiting San Diego! It's fun to be near the ocean and enjoy the warmer weather. We also love visiting our cousins, the Williams! They are awesome and we have so much fun together!