I got the sweetest hand written letter the other day from my dear friend K. A letter! In this day and age of texts, cell phones, twitter, facebook, email... etc (the list could go on) it's so refreshing and exciting to get a hand written letter! I love it. I must admit I was like a little kid. :) There's just something about seeing an envelope with your name on it- and you know it's no advertisement or bill. So fun!! (c'mon I know you feel that way too!) I was thrilled. In fact I was so thrilled that I waited until my daughter went to bed that night and my husband was studying to read it so that I could lay down on the couch and give my full attention to this letter and bask in the joy of a letter written to me. :) I love this friend so much- we have some unforgettable memories together and I am so excited to have a "pen pal" this year! K, look for a letter coming your way soon... :)
Life is good!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Blessing in a Box
A lot of great things have happened lately... 1 My husband LOVES school, absolutely loves it and I am thrilled. 2 My daughter and I got to go on a walk almost everyday this week. We love our walks :) 3 Our loan finally came in! Happy Day! 4 My husband has come home to a delicious meal ALMOST everyday and I love being able to do that for him. 5. Tangled came out on instant play on Netflix and I have already watched it twice. Love it. 6. Jimmer Fredette is engaged (Congratulations to him!) 7 I had a lovely chat with my cousin and sister whom I love love love dearly 8 I found a scrumptious, healthy, mmm whole wheat banana bread recipe (thanks to thesisterscafe.com) 9 We are all prepared for hurricane Irene 10 a huge blessing arrived in a box today.
The other week my sister-in-law called and told me she was getting rid of baby clothes and asked for my daughters size. I told her the size and she said she'd send me some clothes. Oh my goodness, I had no idea she would send this much! She completely spoiled us! I don't think I will need to buy clothes for a very long time. L, if you only knew what a blessing this is, Thank You so Much!!! We love you and miss you tons!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
tonight
i just got off the phone with one of my very best friends. i cannot even tell you how much i love this girl and how much she has done for me. she is an angel. it boosted my spirits just talking to her and i hope she knows how grateful i am for her. its such a blessing to find those friends you just click with. thats us. we know each other so well and i can talk to her about anything. she is as good as they come and i feel so blessed to have her as a friend. no matter where we end up in life we will always keep in touch because we share such a special bond. she always knows what to say to make me feel better and i love that we are so much alike. R i love you dearly! i cant wait to get back to idaho so we can play. i miss you tons!
go get a turtle tongue for me! ha
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Weekend
I'm starting to feel more and more at home here. I love it. I need to feel this way since we are here for 13 months. I know it's not a very long time but it's a desire and a need for me, so I'm grateful that with each passing day I find myself feeling like I'm home and truly enjoying my surroundings.
This weekend we had a great time! Saturday we took of with the Gilgens, Rogers, Thompsons, Barbara, and Kevin and went to the beach in New Jersey! Let me tell you, we had a blast! Gilgens, Rogers, and Thompsons are all LDS and all the men are going to school with my husband (Salus University) so I get to play with all their lovely wives for the next year :) Barbara is from Brazil and she and kevin (not married) are attending Salus University also. Anyway, we all headed to the beach that morning. IT. WAS. AWESOME. We really had such a blast with everyone. The guys rented boogie boards and had a hayday trying to catch the waves- seriously they were like little kids out in the water. I loved it! Us ladies hung back a bit more and did some talking and playing in the sand with the kiddos and just enjoyed the beautiful weather. At one point, while I was by myself with my daughter it hit me how grateful I am for these awesome girls and how much they have helped me feel at home. Not only am I grateful to have some LDS friends out here, but they are really sweet, down to earth girls that I really want to be friends with, and although we're all in different stages of life right now we all have one thing in common and that's our husbands all attending the PA program together. So it puts us on somewhat of a mutual ground. I love these ladies already and I'm excited for our adventures ahead! We left the beach around 1:00 feeling so happy, tired, content and sunburnt (yes my husband and I were the suckers who didn't put any sunscreen on).
So naturally today, sunday, we can hardly move because our backs and shoulders hurt so much! Seriously, we look like walking zombies here, wincing at the slightest movement but bless our hearts we really are in pain! We got back from stake conference a few hours ago and it was wonderful. The members out here are so strong and you can just feel the excitement for the temple that's going to be built here. The groundbreaking for it is next month and I'm sure hoping we will be able to make it.
Tomorrow starts my husbands first official day of school. Last week was orientation week so the real deal starts tomorrow. I'm so excited for him and I know he will absolutely love it here- the school, his education, his classes- all of it! So let the journey begin....
For now, I just witnessed a HUGE rainstorm. The lightning woke my husband and I up from our naps. It was raining like crazy! If we had intertubes we probably could have gone tubing down the streets. It was one of the hardest rain storms I've seen. I loved it though, it was great for a sunday afternoon- great because I had no obligations and I could just enjoy it. My husband and I sat on the couch and watched it for a while while we finished off the Tres Leches cake I make. Now I'm writing on my blog listening to a lighter, softer rain and my husband and baby are sleeping peacefully.
Life is good!
This weekend we had a great time! Saturday we took of with the Gilgens, Rogers, Thompsons, Barbara, and Kevin and went to the beach in New Jersey! Let me tell you, we had a blast! Gilgens, Rogers, and Thompsons are all LDS and all the men are going to school with my husband (Salus University) so I get to play with all their lovely wives for the next year :) Barbara is from Brazil and she and kevin (not married) are attending Salus University also. Anyway, we all headed to the beach that morning. IT. WAS. AWESOME. We really had such a blast with everyone. The guys rented boogie boards and had a hayday trying to catch the waves- seriously they were like little kids out in the water. I loved it! Us ladies hung back a bit more and did some talking and playing in the sand with the kiddos and just enjoyed the beautiful weather. At one point, while I was by myself with my daughter it hit me how grateful I am for these awesome girls and how much they have helped me feel at home. Not only am I grateful to have some LDS friends out here, but they are really sweet, down to earth girls that I really want to be friends with, and although we're all in different stages of life right now we all have one thing in common and that's our husbands all attending the PA program together. So it puts us on somewhat of a mutual ground. I love these ladies already and I'm excited for our adventures ahead! We left the beach around 1:00 feeling so happy, tired, content and sunburnt (yes my husband and I were the suckers who didn't put any sunscreen on).
So naturally today, sunday, we can hardly move because our backs and shoulders hurt so much! Seriously, we look like walking zombies here, wincing at the slightest movement but bless our hearts we really are in pain! We got back from stake conference a few hours ago and it was wonderful. The members out here are so strong and you can just feel the excitement for the temple that's going to be built here. The groundbreaking for it is next month and I'm sure hoping we will be able to make it.
Tomorrow starts my husbands first official day of school. Last week was orientation week so the real deal starts tomorrow. I'm so excited for him and I know he will absolutely love it here- the school, his education, his classes- all of it! So let the journey begin....
For now, I just witnessed a HUGE rainstorm. The lightning woke my husband and I up from our naps. It was raining like crazy! If we had intertubes we probably could have gone tubing down the streets. It was one of the hardest rain storms I've seen. I loved it though, it was great for a sunday afternoon- great because I had no obligations and I could just enjoy it. My husband and I sat on the couch and watched it for a while while we finished off the Tres Leches cake I make. Now I'm writing on my blog listening to a lighter, softer rain and my husband and baby are sleeping peacefully.
Life is good!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Here I come!
Okay, so I've been using this blog more to write down my feelings about big things or events that mean a lot and I want to remember. Which is good, it's been great. Now, I'm going to start using it as a journal to keep track of my days/weeks better. So, not everything on here will be super interesting or exciting- just what's going on in the daily life of me :) Feel free to continue checking in and reading if you'd like, otherwise I totally understand if you want to delete this blog from your list. Anyway, here goes!
Yesterday was a pretty productive day! I kept myself super busy which was a huge blessing because I have pretty much had my husband all to myself since April. April folks! That's a long time and it has been soooooo fun. I know, I've been spoiled and I totally took advantage of it. It's been fantastic! Well yesterday reality hit again. My husband started his first day of PA school. But I must say, we are extremely excited for him to start his graduate program and it does feel good to get back on a schedule. So my daughter and I walked up to school with him yesterday, kissed him and waved goodbye, then went for a morning jog. It felt good but I won't even say how far I went because for some people it would be a mere walk.
Then we headed to wal-mart to get groceries because we were feeding the missionaries for dinner. Well, bless my heart, I rarely ever go down the "prepared dinners" isle or even looked at the packaged food ( if you can even call it food) because I know how bad it is for you. Well, with all of America talking about eating healthy and stopping obesity, more exercise...etc who would have thought in wal mart I'd find a heart attack on a stick. Ha I was disgusted and had to laugh at it. Sausage and pancakes. Okay, let me tell you it was exactly like a corn dog! Sausage on a stick with a breaded coating around it that was a pancake! For real? Bless our hearts. That's almost as bad as the "goobers" - peanut butter and jelly in the same jar. Anyway, I just could hardly believe it when I saw it and maybe I need to bless those who buy it.
The rest of the day went well. Sadie took a good nap, the missionaries enjoyed dinner and desert and my husband and I fell asleep watching a movie about LeBron James.
*Something else I don't want to forget about yesterday- I got onto youtube and played a church song for my daughter that had a slideshow of Jesus Christ on it. She was so cute and kept pointing at the computer saying "Jesus" in her sweet way she says it. Then she wrapped both her little arms around my neck several times and kept giving me hugs. (sigh) It really is amazing how fast music can invite the Spirit into a room.
*A couple days ago my husband was saying family prayer and I wanted him to pray about something specific so I was going to whisper it to him while he was praying so he would remember to include it and just as I was about to whisper to him he started praying for that very thing. Tears rolled down my face and I felt such a closeness with him. I love those moments.
Life is good!
Yesterday was a pretty productive day! I kept myself super busy which was a huge blessing because I have pretty much had my husband all to myself since April. April folks! That's a long time and it has been soooooo fun. I know, I've been spoiled and I totally took advantage of it. It's been fantastic! Well yesterday reality hit again. My husband started his first day of PA school. But I must say, we are extremely excited for him to start his graduate program and it does feel good to get back on a schedule. So my daughter and I walked up to school with him yesterday, kissed him and waved goodbye, then went for a morning jog. It felt good but I won't even say how far I went because for some people it would be a mere walk.
Then we headed to wal-mart to get groceries because we were feeding the missionaries for dinner. Well, bless my heart, I rarely ever go down the "prepared dinners" isle or even looked at the packaged food ( if you can even call it food) because I know how bad it is for you. Well, with all of America talking about eating healthy and stopping obesity, more exercise...etc who would have thought in wal mart I'd find a heart attack on a stick. Ha I was disgusted and had to laugh at it. Sausage and pancakes. Okay, let me tell you it was exactly like a corn dog! Sausage on a stick with a breaded coating around it that was a pancake! For real? Bless our hearts. That's almost as bad as the "goobers" - peanut butter and jelly in the same jar. Anyway, I just could hardly believe it when I saw it and maybe I need to bless those who buy it.
The rest of the day went well. Sadie took a good nap, the missionaries enjoyed dinner and desert and my husband and I fell asleep watching a movie about LeBron James.
*Something else I don't want to forget about yesterday- I got onto youtube and played a church song for my daughter that had a slideshow of Jesus Christ on it. She was so cute and kept pointing at the computer saying "Jesus" in her sweet way she says it. Then she wrapped both her little arms around my neck several times and kept giving me hugs. (sigh) It really is amazing how fast music can invite the Spirit into a room.
*A couple days ago my husband was saying family prayer and I wanted him to pray about something specific so I was going to whisper it to him while he was praying so he would remember to include it and just as I was about to whisper to him he started praying for that very thing. Tears rolled down my face and I felt such a closeness with him. I love those moments.
Life is good!
Monday, August 15, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
so many blessings
Alright, time for a little more catching up...
A couple weeks ago our bishop taught sunday school and my husband and I both thought it was a great lesson. He taught us about the temple- all the wonderful, important, sacred truths about the temple. It got me thinking about several things. First, I've had my mental list of "things I want to do in Philly" and of course have been hoping to get all them done in the year that we are here. I want to go home having "experienced" the east and of course I still want to do that but since I have been here and especially going to church and seeing how few of us Latter Day Saints there are, my list of "things I want to do in Philly" has changed a bit, or atleast the priority has. I'm starting to realize that if I go home having done what I want to do- that's fine, but if I don't go home a changed person, more mature, spiritual, and self confident, then really nothing else matters. So, my goals here now are more along the lines of: Serving someone everyday, give more compliments to people, smile and say "hello" more, talk to people about the church, invite people over for dinner, visit the nursing homes,... etc. I want to go home a better person than I came. That's my goal and I know the key to that is the same key to happiness- service.
Last night I got to talk to a dear friend. We only talked for 15-20 minutes but it was so fun! I love this girl. I truly do. We connect and understand each other really well. We just caught up on what's been going on the last few weeks and had a great conversation. She is an incredible example to me in so many ways and the Spirit radiates from her. Honestly, you can just feel her goodness. I feel privileged to be her friend. (Thanks for talking to me L- it helped me so much!)
Today my husband, daughter and I hopped in the car and I got to take a trip down memory lane. It was soooo fun! And something I've been hoping that I would one day get to show my husband. Today we drove to the town I nannied in a few years ago!! Memories came flooding back as we drove all around the town and especially driving past the house I lived in. Oh how I love the family I nannied for. I will always be grateful to them for letting me have such an incredible experience there and for being so good to me. It's a town that's very dear to me because I feel like I did so much growing up there. It was my first time away from home and of course some days were hard but I grew leaps and mounds there. It's been 3 years since I've been there so it was sooooo awesome to go back today. (K and T I thought about you guys so much!)
I have witnessed the Lord's hand in our lives so much out here in everything we've done. I know He is watching over us and has sent extra helping hands to us at times. We have received so many blessings and we are so grateful. Being away from home is really helping me learn to rely on my Savior more. It's different here, living outside the "bubble". There's pro's and con's to wherever you live and I'm glad I'm where I am right now because I feel I'm being stretched and tried in ways that I couldn't had we stayed where we were. I feel my relationship with my Savior growing in so many different ways. It's wonderful and I'm so grateful for the opportunities I've already been given to learn and become better. I know this is where my family is supposed to be right now and that is such a comfort. We are growing and learning and becoming closer together as a family. I love it.
Life is good!
A couple weeks ago our bishop taught sunday school and my husband and I both thought it was a great lesson. He taught us about the temple- all the wonderful, important, sacred truths about the temple. It got me thinking about several things. First, I've had my mental list of "things I want to do in Philly" and of course have been hoping to get all them done in the year that we are here. I want to go home having "experienced" the east and of course I still want to do that but since I have been here and especially going to church and seeing how few of us Latter Day Saints there are, my list of "things I want to do in Philly" has changed a bit, or atleast the priority has. I'm starting to realize that if I go home having done what I want to do- that's fine, but if I don't go home a changed person, more mature, spiritual, and self confident, then really nothing else matters. So, my goals here now are more along the lines of: Serving someone everyday, give more compliments to people, smile and say "hello" more, talk to people about the church, invite people over for dinner, visit the nursing homes,... etc. I want to go home a better person than I came. That's my goal and I know the key to that is the same key to happiness- service.
Last night I got to talk to a dear friend. We only talked for 15-20 minutes but it was so fun! I love this girl. I truly do. We connect and understand each other really well. We just caught up on what's been going on the last few weeks and had a great conversation. She is an incredible example to me in so many ways and the Spirit radiates from her. Honestly, you can just feel her goodness. I feel privileged to be her friend. (Thanks for talking to me L- it helped me so much!)
Today my husband, daughter and I hopped in the car and I got to take a trip down memory lane. It was soooo fun! And something I've been hoping that I would one day get to show my husband. Today we drove to the town I nannied in a few years ago!! Memories came flooding back as we drove all around the town and especially driving past the house I lived in. Oh how I love the family I nannied for. I will always be grateful to them for letting me have such an incredible experience there and for being so good to me. It's a town that's very dear to me because I feel like I did so much growing up there. It was my first time away from home and of course some days were hard but I grew leaps and mounds there. It's been 3 years since I've been there so it was sooooo awesome to go back today. (K and T I thought about you guys so much!)
I have witnessed the Lord's hand in our lives so much out here in everything we've done. I know He is watching over us and has sent extra helping hands to us at times. We have received so many blessings and we are so grateful. Being away from home is really helping me learn to rely on my Savior more. It's different here, living outside the "bubble". There's pro's and con's to wherever you live and I'm glad I'm where I am right now because I feel I'm being stretched and tried in ways that I couldn't had we stayed where we were. I feel my relationship with my Savior growing in so many different ways. It's wonderful and I'm so grateful for the opportunities I've already been given to learn and become better. I know this is where my family is supposed to be right now and that is such a comfort. We are growing and learning and becoming closer together as a family. I love it.
Life is good!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
CHANGE
Wow. So much change lately. So many things I don't want to forget and I'm so far behind so I have so much to write down!
Well let's rewind a few weeks ago...we got a storage unit, packed up our old apartment, put most things in the storage unit then went and lived with my parents the last two weeks in Idaho. It was awesome. My daughter loves my mom and my grandma (who lives next door to my mom) so she was in heaven. The last two weeks in Idaho are almost a blur now.... so much happened.
It was hard saying goodbye. Really hard. Mostly taking my girl away from her grandma and great grandma because I know how attached they all are and what a special bond they share. But now that we are here we are so happy and truly loving it.
Some amazing things that happened before we left Rexburg:
My husband and I got to know another couple and we became such great friends! Not just casual friends but real, true, sincere friends that we hope to always keep in touch with. Isn't it such a blessing to find friends like that? Friends that make you want to be better people, friends that you feel a real connection with and you know it's not just an ordinary friendship? That's how we feel about them- we love them and we want the best for them and we will for sure keep in touch with them. Some fun things we did together- games, tin foil dinners, roasting marshmallows, mini golf, tennis, dutch oven, boating (the 1st time), kerri anne's, and just chatting. We miss them so much already!
Okay, my cousin who I have grown up with my whole life and whom I love as much as life itself was due with her first baby the 24th of July. I was scheduled to fly out the 19th. Well at her doctor's appointment they said they would induce her the 18th! I was extremely excited and nervous and anxious just hoping the baby would come quick enough for me to see her before I had to head to SLC to fly out early that next morning- the 19th. Well, my cousin went into labor on her own and had her baby the 17th!!! I cannot even tell you what a blessing and tender mercy that was to me. It meant so much to me that I was able to see her baby before I had to leave. I will never forget walking into the hospital room for the first time. I started tearing up automatically before I even saw the baby and then I looked at my cousin and she started tearing up too but she also had a look of pure joy on her face. It's something I can't explain but I know I will never forget that moment or the feelings in that room. It was totally incredible.
Along with that neat experience, I also had another experience that taught me how precious life is. It's not a story I necessarily want to dwell on or remember but there were some really neat things that came from it too so I will just share the basics. My small family, our awesome friends, and 4 others were involved in a terrible boating accident that resulted in a girl from another boat losing her life. It was awful, and there are sounds and images I want erased from my mind but at the same time I know the Lord's hand was in everything that happened. I know he blessed us in so many ways and I have come out a stronger person through all of this and it has strengthened my relationship with my Savior. Priesthood blessings were given, testimonies were shared, and a lot of us have become better people.
Now we are here in Pennsylvania- sometimes it seems a world away and other times not. We truly love it here and are trying to soak up every minute of it because we know how fast time flies. I have my moments of being homesick but at the same time wherever my husband and daughter are will always be home. We are happy to be here and we hope for lots of missionary experiences. We are so excited to see what this chapter of our lives bring. Life is good!
Well let's rewind a few weeks ago...we got a storage unit, packed up our old apartment, put most things in the storage unit then went and lived with my parents the last two weeks in Idaho. It was awesome. My daughter loves my mom and my grandma (who lives next door to my mom) so she was in heaven. The last two weeks in Idaho are almost a blur now.... so much happened.
It was hard saying goodbye. Really hard. Mostly taking my girl away from her grandma and great grandma because I know how attached they all are and what a special bond they share. But now that we are here we are so happy and truly loving it.
Some amazing things that happened before we left Rexburg:
My husband and I got to know another couple and we became such great friends! Not just casual friends but real, true, sincere friends that we hope to always keep in touch with. Isn't it such a blessing to find friends like that? Friends that make you want to be better people, friends that you feel a real connection with and you know it's not just an ordinary friendship? That's how we feel about them- we love them and we want the best for them and we will for sure keep in touch with them. Some fun things we did together- games, tin foil dinners, roasting marshmallows, mini golf, tennis, dutch oven, boating (the 1st time), kerri anne's, and just chatting. We miss them so much already!
Okay, my cousin who I have grown up with my whole life and whom I love as much as life itself was due with her first baby the 24th of July. I was scheduled to fly out the 19th. Well at her doctor's appointment they said they would induce her the 18th! I was extremely excited and nervous and anxious just hoping the baby would come quick enough for me to see her before I had to head to SLC to fly out early that next morning- the 19th. Well, my cousin went into labor on her own and had her baby the 17th!!! I cannot even tell you what a blessing and tender mercy that was to me. It meant so much to me that I was able to see her baby before I had to leave. I will never forget walking into the hospital room for the first time. I started tearing up automatically before I even saw the baby and then I looked at my cousin and she started tearing up too but she also had a look of pure joy on her face. It's something I can't explain but I know I will never forget that moment or the feelings in that room. It was totally incredible.
Along with that neat experience, I also had another experience that taught me how precious life is. It's not a story I necessarily want to dwell on or remember but there were some really neat things that came from it too so I will just share the basics. My small family, our awesome friends, and 4 others were involved in a terrible boating accident that resulted in a girl from another boat losing her life. It was awful, and there are sounds and images I want erased from my mind but at the same time I know the Lord's hand was in everything that happened. I know he blessed us in so many ways and I have come out a stronger person through all of this and it has strengthened my relationship with my Savior. Priesthood blessings were given, testimonies were shared, and a lot of us have become better people.
Now we are here in Pennsylvania- sometimes it seems a world away and other times not. We truly love it here and are trying to soak up every minute of it because we know how fast time flies. I have my moments of being homesick but at the same time wherever my husband and daughter are will always be home. We are happy to be here and we hope for lots of missionary experiences. We are so excited to see what this chapter of our lives bring. Life is good!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)