Not my day... Needing a new perspective...

I am delaying getting ready for church... So I figured I could update my blog. Several days ago, I made a post on Facebook saying that today was not my day. It was a bunch of little things that, strung together, made the day seem impossible. I went to Target to get some baking items. They didn't have exactly what I wanted so I settled on something else. I bought flour and the bag had a rip. I was to exhausted to do anything about it, so I bought it as is. I came home and within minutes of sitting down, got a call that my laptop was done. I was annoyed, but I didn't care because I was tired. After some time I decided to bake. I began, but forgot to check to see if I had all ingredients. Halfway through baking, I realized I was missing three key ingredients. I decided to check my whole baking/cooking cabinet thinking maybe it was hiding. My shelf supports broke in search of these missing ingredients. Ahh! So I figured I'd have to run to the store since I'm a bit compulsive and having stuff sitting on my counter instead of the cabinet where they belonged would drive me crazy AND I needed my 3 ingredients to finish baking. So I went to Home Depot, Walmart, and my laptop repair shop all on the same corner/street. While at Walmart, an older woman was on the ground in the parking lot. She clearly was not having the best of days either and clearly it was far worse than my day. It gave me a bit of perspective and even though things were not perfect in this day, I realized life could be far worse!

July & My Birthday

The end of July has been fun. I have been busy with name changes and preparing for school, which begins in less than a month. EEK! Oh and I have been deleting work emails too.

So my birthday was fun. Josh and I went out to eat for lunch. After that we went to places around town and did some window shopping. It was nice because I feel like I never get to do anything any more. I did get my nails done though (finally!) and I got my hair done the following day. I seriously can not wait to post some photos!

I thought I would have more to write than this, but I don't. Short and sweet it is!

Vacation & July

We spent our week-long vacation in and around Burley, Idaho. There are a few friends and family who were not to happy we didn't come by to see them, but the trip we did make took its toll on me. We left June 26th, as soon as Josh got off of work. With me being pregnant, it took about 10 or 12 hours to get there if I remember correctly. It should've only taken us about 8-9 hours. I literally slept all day Thursday and Friday. The trip seriously wore me out. Saturday we went to Twin Falls and some beautiful surrounding places. Sunday, we of course went to church and hung out at home. Monday, we got new tires and went up a nearby mountain and stopped at a lake on the way back. On Tuesday we left, we made several stops along the way including Tremonton, Brigham City, Payton, St. George, and then Mesquite. I stayed in Mesquite with my mom while Josh came back to work the 4th. That was about the time the fire started up in Mt. Charleston. :( Josh had come back to Mesquite for the weekend and was sick from all the smoke in the air, he even had ash on his car when he left work on Friday. After we came back from Mesquite, I threw myself a pregnancy pity party. I was a bit sad I couldn't do much like hiking, bowling, shooting, or whatever else it seemed like I wanted to do. We planned on getting pregnant and many things that came with having a baby... "losing my independence" as was stated on one of the baby websites was not something I planned on and didn't expect. I was in a funk for like a week, maybe a tad bit longer before I snapped out of it and realized there was about a month before I had to be back to school and there is much to take care of between now and then. One thing is name changes... Finally! I had more to write but I am being kicked off so I will write more soon.

May & June

There is no April pt. 2 in case you were wondering... I already have pregnancy brain which will make teaching in about one month very interesting. As I said earlier, May was a busy month. I was busy with school including cheer. Josh was working as usual, still loving his job and working a new shift... sort of and working over time every so often. June was hectic. The last days of school were very busy. I literally got sick on the very last day of school (with no students thank goodness)! It was the first time my nausea actually got to me. I mean I gag a lot, but not much comes from it. Once school was done, I just rested until I had to get busy. Josh was busy. One of his co-workers was expecting twins around the time of our vacation so he was sweating wondering if we would still be able to go. Things sometimes are not always made clear until the event actually occurs (which as a person who plans ahead, actually is really annoying). We found out his co-worker's paternity leave would not effect our vacation. We left for Idaho at the end of June. Pictures will come as soon as I get to a computer.

Whoops!

So, it has been a very long time since I've updated the family blog. As you can see from my April Fool's post (made in July) I was trying to keep a memory of all the things I was craving and the changes that happened within the pregnancy. I did a pretty good job... until May came... a.k.a. the last month of school. As of today I am 21 weeks pregnant! I did miss a lot of time. I had school, then a bunch of time to just rest up from all the fatigue I felt, then we went on vacation, and then my sleep schedule getting all out of whack, and throwing a pity party, and then pulling it together and getting caught up on things like laundry, cleaning, name changing and who knows what else?!? I have been pretty busy the last week... I guess I should use my husband's phone and some relaxing time to do my monthly updates! (Hopefully there are no typos because I am using my hubby's phone and if there are, I apologize.)

April Fool's

So Josh and I have exciting news!

As of April 1, Josh and I found out we were pregnant. No, it is not an April Fool's joke. :)

Symptoms during week 4 of my pregnancy were fatigue, insomnia, and bathroom runs.

Symptoms during week 5 of my pregnancy were even more fatigue, aversions to sweets and cheese, craving bell peppers, bloating, growing boobs and butt (at least according to Josh), hot flashes, easily sun-burnt, bathroom runs, and backache.

Symptoms during week 6 of my pregnancy were fatigue, bathroom runs, a bit of dehydration, aversions to sweet potatoes, craving chips and salsa, hot flashes, and my first nose bleed in forever!

Symptoms during week 7 of my pregnancy were fatigue, bathroom runs, hip pain, bloating, aversions to cheese, and coming very close to throwing up on the drive to work one morning.

Symptoms during week 8 of my pregnancy were fatigue, dry skin, bloating, aversions to all meats (my baby is going to be vegetarian! lol) and cheeses, craving anything liquid--smoothies, tomato juice, icees. Our first appointment was this week too. All is healthy!

We are a little scared and very excited for this bundle of joy! We are waiting to share the news with the world until we are past Trimester 1 at the end of May, just because of the busy schedule I have... in case of worst case.

Our First Talk Together!

About a week and a half ago, Josh and I were asked to give a talk in Sacrament Meeting today in church. Without hesitation, Josh said yes. I was not so happy about it because I had family in town this weekend, but I am so glad we did it.

Every time I give a talk, I always post it for others to read so I will be posting mine and I will try to summarize Josh's to the best of my ability because he never writes his talks down.

Mine:

In my life, I have always believed that everything happens for a reason whether we know instantaneously or we know years after the fact. There is a divine purpose in all of life's details. If I were to go into why I think the details happened, sometimes even as minute as they may be, I could spend hours or maybe even days connecting all the details together. I remember telling my roommate one evening, for over 2 hours, every minute detail about the relationship my husband and I had knowing there had to be a greater purpose then where he and I were at that moment in our lives.

That is the beautiful aspect of this life, we have a Heavenly Father who knows the outcome and has considered the right placement of every minute detail about everything in this life that we live in, whether we understand it or even like it. We have a Heavenly Father who see's the greater picture and plans to do what is best for us, best for the world, and ultimately best for his kingdom.

If you have not guessed already, I have been asked to give a talk about the restoration and the second coming. The specific talk I was asked to base my talk on is from the October 2005 General Conference by Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles titled, "My Hand Shall Be Over Thee." If you have not read this talk, you should! It is very interesting.

This talk states many things that had to occur in order for us and the church to be where we are today. As a convert, and sometimes being the egocentric person I am, it was only until a few months ago I was able to apply what I knew to be true for me or others around me, that all things happened for a reason, and applied to something much greater than myself and my life. Between Elder Hales talk and the Sunday School lesson, I am going to summarize to the best of my ability what I've learned (which is not a strong suite!)

The gospel was established with Adam. Our Savior sacrificed his life for us. After his apostles were persecuted or martyred, the world fell into spiritual darkness. The bible was originally written in Hebrew and Greek. A man named Jerome translated it into Latin. Later John Wycliffe translated it from Latin into English. This scared some of the church leaders at that time because people could interpret the bible for themselves or that people would no longer feel the need to go to church. In translating, Wycliffe was considered a heretic. A moveable printing press was created and America was found. Later, William Tyndale thought the bible would be more accurate with a direct translation, so he translated the bible from Hebrew and Greek into English. He was warned by his friends that he would be killed for doing so, but he remained undaunted. Political change occurred and bibles were placed in every parish church. Later Tyndale's translations became apart of the King James Version which is not surprising it is the version accepted by the church because Tyndale was quoted telling a man, "If God spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that driveth a plough shall know more than thou dost." Eventually people came to America to escape religious persecution. Over a century later, Americans had the Bill of Rights and shortly after Joseph Smith was born. With Joseph Smith came the final restoration beginning with the First Vision. Within a short amount of time he began to translate the Book of Mormon. He read and desired to know more about baptism and so the Aaronic Priesthood was restored and then later the Melchizedek Priesthood. The Book of Mormon was printed, Joseph was inspired with more revelation resulting in the Doctrine and Covenants. Soon Kirtland Temple was built and dedicated. Joseph was given more priesthood keys and conferred the keys to his apostles and said that the keys will never be taken for this Earth again. Joseph and his brother within months were martyred. If you notice, as each event occurred, the time between each was more frequent until it felt as though it was moving at a fast pace. Since the Second Coming is at hand, whether we realize it or not, these connections will continue to be placed together at a rapid pace.

I was listening to talk radio earlier this week. I have no clue what show I was listening to or who the host was, but the man made an interesting point. In Roman times when religious and moral values were dropping, there was a man who stood and kept these values alive and valiant. The host kept asking, "Is there a leader, a man, someone, who can lead us in these days at this time?" He kept asking this questions and all I could think of was "YES!" Then after about a minute, the host said with a disappointing tone, "no." In that moment, all I could think about is that we have a man, we've had many, and we have many yet to come that will be a prophet of this church. Our prophets, past and present, have directed and guided us because they have revelations for all members of the church. (What a BIG responsibility considering out church is wide spread, all over the world and not just in one nation.) The messages are relayed to us and we as people with agency decide how we must live our lives in this ever-changing world. We have a prophet, apostles, and other church leaders who stand valiantly and keep the morals and values we know and are taught to be true alive. If there is ever a day, they will always be here to help lead us in the right direction. We have even been promised by Joseph Smith this authority will never be gone from us again.

If you haven't done so already, follow the prophet and words he stresses. Do those things that should be a priority in your life. Keep you religious and moral values high and spread that love and responsibility unto others. When others within the world see this, they will notice there is not just one man, but a whole church that will lead us to eternal and everlasting life. As Robert D. Hales said, "The Lord expects us to be as faithful, as devoted, as courageous as those who went before us. They were called to give their lives for the gospel. We are called to live our lives for the same purpose. In these last days we have special reason to do so." Two paragraphs later he asks, "Do we have the eyes to see that the events and prophesies of our time are preparing us for the Savior's Second Coming?"

We have been foretold of the life to come. We have been foretold  this leads to the Second Coming. If we listen and we watch, we know of the future we have ahead. But, we know if we hold strong and faithful we will be blessed and we know we should not fear because Jesus Christ conquered the world. We know that Jesus knows from the end to the beginning and as a teacher, I love that. We teach with the end in mind so we know what steps we need to take to make sure our students learn what is needed to prepare them for the final test, project, or whatever it may be so I love how Jesus knows from the end all the way to the beginning; there fore my hand shall me over thee.

How comforting to know that Heavenly Father and Jesus know every minute detail, that their hands are over us, blessing us, and comforting us; that they have a plan that includes each and every single one of us and that is connects together to lead us to a greater purpose, the Second Coming.

Josh's:
His was based on a talk given by President Gordon B. Hinkley in the October 2007 General Conference titled, "The Stone Cut Out of the Mountain."

He started his talk with how much the church has grown, where there are members, churches, and temples located, and where our missionaries serve. He said it is not just up to the missionaries and the church leaders to roll the work forward, it is up to all members of the church. He talked to three groups: the youth, the "older" members, and the "newer" members. He asked the youth to not only be valiant in their work with 21st century media, but to not forget to have real conversations so when they do serve a mission they know how to talk and relate to people. To the older members, he asked us to look around. He said we all probably know someone who is not here today, whether it is a friend, a family member, or someone we home-teach or visit-teach. He asked us, "What are we doing to help them come back?" He gave an example of himself when he was less active and said if it wasn't for his home teachers, he is not sure he would be back today. To those who are not members, what are we doing? We do not need our message to be perfect, we just need it to be simple and possibly give them hope in this degrading world. And to the new members, what a perfect time for you to share the message. Again it doesn't need to be perfect, but it can be as simple as come and see. You can converse with other what brought you to the church and maybe bring others to the church at the same time. The main idea of the talk is what are WE doing to make sure this church and Heavenly Father's work moves forward. 

I wish I could have written his word for word, but like I said he does not write his talks so it makes it hard to do.

I am very glad we were able to talk today and on this specific subject. I personally just feel more comfort and peace.

April Pt. 1

So here is to me trying to update my blog more often...

Josh is still busy with work. He is no longer the "rookie", he is now considered the "FNG"... something so not appropriate. His steady schedule is up to bid... I don't fully understand, I guess work politics, but there is a possibility his schedule will no longer be steady. Oh, and he broke his pinky toe on the weight set (very tiny) in our apartment on the way to the bathroom the other morning. :/

I am still busy with work, but it will be winding down soon. Since the end of the school year is upon us, I will be busy in my classroom the next few weekends making sure all is well. I am one of the cheer coaches this year again. We have played two games this year. Our girls have done so well. I am so very proud of all their hard work. My second graders are showing maturity and beginning to act like 3rd graders. I am certainly going to miss them at the end of the year. I have a busy few weeks with classes, parent conferences, basketball games, and the like.

Married Life....
Is great! Our apartment is a mess... lol... still... we are considering moving. We love where we are living, but it is very crowded. We made stuffed bell peppers for the first time last week. They were very good! We were able to watch General Conference for the first time together. It was very nice!

I think that is all I have to share...

Feb. & Mar. 2013

In February, Josh got a new job! He is much happier! So am I!

At the end of March, I had Spring Break and tried to finish the apartment, but it didn't work out so well. My oldest niece flew out here to see me and my mom. She flew out to AZ though. Josh and I picked her up and dropped her off. It was wonderful seeing her. It has been nearly 5 years!

While there, we also went to the Mesa Temple. He has never been there so he enjoyed it very much. It was beautiful. We wish we took our camera!

Other than that, Josh and I have been busy working as usual.

Jan. 2013

We went to see my family to celebrate New Year's. While there I got to visit two friends I have not seen in a very long time. We played games and had fun! I fell asleep before the New Year rang in. We went home and shortly after, I was sick! I had the flu! YUCK! I really did not spend any time with my mom and didn't even get to see my grandma. :( Needless to say, I do not think I will be eating Moroni Turkey ever again.

Other than that, life went back to usual. Both of us busy with work.

Josh and I began going to a family ward up by where we live.

At the end of the month, Josh started to go through the process of his new job.

Dec. 2012

December was an insane month!

I got my hair done on the 1st.

I was busy at school. (When am I not?)

I got married the day after school ended for winter break. (Pictures Below)

Went on a two day honeymoon at Lake Las Vegas.

Tried to organize the apartment since I had some time.

Spent "Christmas" with Josh's family. Several people had to work on Christmas including Josh so we celebrated it later.

 

The photos below are taken by Sheree Flick

Friends and Family

The Wedding Party

My Folks

His Folks

Coming Out of the Temple

 

 

The photos below were taken by a friend.

 

Oct. & Nov. 2012

I decided to merge October and November together because in all honesty, I do not remember much of anything.

I remember being stressed out with work, trying to get acclimated to teaching second grade, and being flexible with every change that occurred. I felt like I was a sinking ship, no joke.

I was very thankful for Josh's family. His mother and sister planned the whole reception. I do not know where I would be in my job without them.

The bridal shower was in November. My roommates were so awesome to put the cute shin-dig together and have it at the house.

I also moved in November. Before I moved, I lived seven minutes from my job. After I moved, I lived a half-hour or longer from my job. They are the cutest apartments ever. I moved into a spacious one-bedroom apartment.

Pictures will come soon!

Sept. 2012

September was a crazy month. Josh and I decided to go to Zion National Park for Labor Day. He proposed! :) If you were following my blog, you now know why I have not posted for months! It was the cutest thing ever!

Before the start of the day.

As he proposed.

After proposal, chilling at Menu Falls

Better look at Menu Falls

We then got our engagement photos taken on Sept. 23rd at Floyd Lamb Park. Thank you Sheree Flick for the beautiful photography!

 

Towards the end of September, I quit my part-time job. It was was too much for me to handle between teaching and being engaged.

Updates Coming

Hello everyone!

It has been far too long, but I have been way too busy since school started to even think about blogging! Then I moved and I no longer have internet. So now, when I do get online I am busy trying to get done all the required things. Thinking of those things, I should be doing them now, but all my mind can think about is document, document, and document. So I am here to document my life changes. :)