A) at recognizing my blessings on a daily basis, and B) at blogging.
Duh.
So I am finally off of the night shift, and can I just say, it is fantastic! I feel so much better without having to plan my day around sleep. This last week was the first full week that Jared and I got to spend every night together since our honeymoon--over five months ago. It was such a blessing to have that one week...actually, the blessing was that my last night shift was last Sunday so that we could have that week together.
Because guess what.
As of today, he's back on night shift at the factory. Granted, he does switch back and forth from nights to days, so he would be home at night about every other week, which is way better than him working straight nights, but still, he's working nights as soon as I get daytime shifts at work. Isn't that how it always seems to go?
Blessings, burdens, and trials. None of them would exist without the other.
Wednesday
SMALL AND SIMPLE THINGS
I'm terrible at praying before I go to bed and when I wake up...like, the worst. I work the night shift so I'm also going to bed and getting up at odd times. I have the hardest time sleeping during the day. I go to bed around 8:30 and usually can't sleep past noon. And I am getting so sick of it. Why can't I sleep for at least 6 hours, especially since I've just been awake all night??
Well, this morning when I went to bed, like always, I was prompted to pray. But this time I actually did it. I asked (among other things) that I would basically be knocked out so I could get the rest I so desperately needed. God delivered. I went to bed at 830 and didn't wake up until three.
It might not seem like a huge deal but it was major for me. It was a major reminder that God still hears and answers prayers, even though I've been silent for a little while and it was a reminder that He still loves me. And He still loves you. Pray. Talk to your Father in Heaven. He wants to hear how you're doing. He wants to know the things you need in your life. It's good.
Well, this morning when I went to bed, like always, I was prompted to pray. But this time I actually did it. I asked (among other things) that I would basically be knocked out so I could get the rest I so desperately needed. God delivered. I went to bed at 830 and didn't wake up until three.
It might not seem like a huge deal but it was major for me. It was a major reminder that God still hears and answers prayers, even though I've been silent for a little while and it was a reminder that He still loves me. And He still loves you. Pray. Talk to your Father in Heaven. He wants to hear how you're doing. He wants to know the things you need in your life. It's good.
THE PRIESTHOOD AND WOMEN
A friend of mine, Steven, is a pretty neat guy. He recently put into words so perfectly what I've been thinking ever since this whole "ordain women" thing came about. I would never have been able to say it the way he does. And here it is; just his thoughts on the Priesthood vs. Motherhood:
"OK so when I am at work my mind tends to wander... Today's topic was the Ordain Women movement. I am not going to talk about the excommunication. I am not going to judge or condemn in any way, I am just going to talk doctrine and some of the things that were roaming around in my head today.
"Women get something that men don't and men get something that women don't. Women get to be mothers. I know what you're thinking! 'Men get to be fathers!' Being a father isn't motherhood, it is parenthood, and motherhood is so much more. I used to hate it when people would say that motherhood was the reason women don't receive the priesthood. I always thought 'Wow that sucks for them, they have to give birth and the men get the priesthood. ' Now that I am a little older and am married, I look at motherhood a little differently, I guess. The thing is women have a special bond with their children that a father will never have. When I got home from school, the first word out of my mouth was 'Mom!'
"Now, I know what you are thinking. 'What about all those women who never get married so they can't have kids? That's not fair when they are righteous and a man gets to have the priesthood. ' If the woman is righteous, she will be given the opportunity to be a mother either in this life or the next. She needs a man to be a mom, yes, but a man needs a woman to progress in the priesthood as well. A man can't hold offices in the priesthood like Bishop without being married. He needs to be made a high priest. So some men will go through this life and never progress higher than an Elder.
"Well what about the woman who is married and can't have kids? Again, she will be given that chance, one day. This is also the same as a man who is married, but for some reason is never made a high priest. Usually, a man is only ordained to the office of high priest if he is receiving a calling that needs the higher priesthood.
"If women were given the priesthood, it would be like children getting gifts at Christmas and then having one child want both her gift and his. This is not 'equal' like we keep hearing it would be.
"It isn't a bad thing that God sees Motherhood as an equal to priesthood. I think it is kind of amazing actually. God gives man the priesthood, which is His power, and He gives women motherhood which is the power to create life. (Also, a power of God. )
"What we need to do is remember the sacred role of mothers and see that women in the church are just as powerful as men. They certainly hold just as much responsibility in God's eyes."
"OK so when I am at work my mind tends to wander... Today's topic was the Ordain Women movement. I am not going to talk about the excommunication. I am not going to judge or condemn in any way, I am just going to talk doctrine and some of the things that were roaming around in my head today.
"Women get something that men don't and men get something that women don't. Women get to be mothers. I know what you're thinking! 'Men get to be fathers!' Being a father isn't motherhood, it is parenthood, and motherhood is so much more. I used to hate it when people would say that motherhood was the reason women don't receive the priesthood. I always thought 'Wow that sucks for them, they have to give birth and the men get the priesthood. ' Now that I am a little older and am married, I look at motherhood a little differently, I guess. The thing is women have a special bond with their children that a father will never have. When I got home from school, the first word out of my mouth was 'Mom!'
"Now, I know what you are thinking. 'What about all those women who never get married so they can't have kids? That's not fair when they are righteous and a man gets to have the priesthood. ' If the woman is righteous, she will be given the opportunity to be a mother either in this life or the next. She needs a man to be a mom, yes, but a man needs a woman to progress in the priesthood as well. A man can't hold offices in the priesthood like Bishop without being married. He needs to be made a high priest. So some men will go through this life and never progress higher than an Elder.
"Well what about the woman who is married and can't have kids? Again, she will be given that chance, one day. This is also the same as a man who is married, but for some reason is never made a high priest. Usually, a man is only ordained to the office of high priest if he is receiving a calling that needs the higher priesthood.
"If women were given the priesthood, it would be like children getting gifts at Christmas and then having one child want both her gift and his. This is not 'equal' like we keep hearing it would be.
"It isn't a bad thing that God sees Motherhood as an equal to priesthood. I think it is kind of amazing actually. God gives man the priesthood, which is His power, and He gives women motherhood which is the power to create life. (Also, a power of God. )
"What we need to do is remember the sacred role of mothers and see that women in the church are just as powerful as men. They certainly hold just as much responsibility in God's eyes."
Thursday
This weekend. As in Saturday!!!
One of my best friends is marrying the love of his life and I am so incredibly happy for them! I feel like I've been on this big, long journey with him as he has searched nonchalantly and coyly (is that even a word??) (All be it relentlessly), for the girl that fits his very specific criteria. And he found her. In Idaho, he found her! There is only one thing that doesn't necessarily fit his idea of what he wants perfectly, and that is sometimes she doesn't quite fully understand what he's talking about. (But really , who does?!) For that to be the only thing out of a thousand, I'd say he did pretty good. And the more I get to know her, the more I realize they are totes MFEO! (That was for you, Lindz.) What makes it even better is that she and my cousin's wife were roommates at BYU-I. Crazy, right?! I love it. Small world, big steps. I simply cannot wait. Hashtag excited!!!
I'm so mad
I had a post almost completely finished and my phone decided to update Chrome and it closed it while I was typing and erased my whole blog post. Piece of crusty old toenail! Ughh
Tuesday
the grass is always greener somewhere...
I think I messed up that phrase. Anyway, thoughts thoughts thoughts... oh yeah!
I've never been one to look at other people and be jealous of how good they have it. I appreciate the blessings in my own life fairly well, I suppose, so I'm putting a different meaning to the phrase "the grass is always greener on the other side". The "other side" I make reference to is the other side of trial.
I'm no stranger to trials. I've had my fair share of tests in this life and I know it's only a fraction of what I'm in store for. One thing I've realized, even been told, is that blessings come from being faithful through trial. After all Ether 12:6 says "...ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." (That's in the Book of Mormon) and it's true! The only way we learn is through being tested and tried. Sometimes it takes a few times for us to learn what we're supposed to, but we learn even more along the way.
I realized today that the grass is always greener on the other side of hard times. When we've mastered what it was we were supposed to learn, life is sweeter. We can look back and be grateful for those rough patches because it got us to the beautiful pastures we are in today.
I've never been one to look at other people and be jealous of how good they have it. I appreciate the blessings in my own life fairly well, I suppose, so I'm putting a different meaning to the phrase "the grass is always greener on the other side". The "other side" I make reference to is the other side of trial.
I'm no stranger to trials. I've had my fair share of tests in this life and I know it's only a fraction of what I'm in store for. One thing I've realized, even been told, is that blessings come from being faithful through trial. After all Ether 12:6 says "...ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." (That's in the Book of Mormon) and it's true! The only way we learn is through being tested and tried. Sometimes it takes a few times for us to learn what we're supposed to, but we learn even more along the way.
I realized today that the grass is always greener on the other side of hard times. When we've mastered what it was we were supposed to learn, life is sweeter. We can look back and be grateful for those rough patches because it got us to the beautiful pastures we are in today.
Wednesday
The Honeymoon
We went to Star Valley where Jared's grandparents have a cabin. We got there around 4 or 5 to a treat!
Whoever winterized the cabin turned every. single. breaker off.
There was still food in the fridge.
But not just food. No no. That would have been too easy. There was nearly 20 POUNDS of rotten meat in the freezer. Oozy, rotten meat. It stunk a little bit. So we spent our first night cleaning out the fridge. And don't worry about the fact that we had things that needed to go in the freezer. But since it was still very much winter in Wyoming, we just packed one of the coolers full of snow and put the frozen things in it. Mostly it was just ice cream. And good thing that was the only thing we put out there because it didn't work. The ice cream melted almost completely. (that's okay, it wasn't that good, anyway.)
But don't worry, that wasn't a precursor of what to expect out of the rest of the trip. We went to Jackson the next day and just walked around downtown. It is so cute and just a lot of fun. It started snowing big fluffy wet heavy flakes as soon as we got there. We bought heavier jackets. And they are so comfy and waaaarm!!! As we were walking around, we found the Ripley's Believe it or not museum. FUN!
Of course we went in. That Ripley guy found some really interesting things on his travels.
As we were leaving Jackson, we went to the Smith's and got some groceries because everything in Star Valley is closed on Sundays, which I can respect. Then we decided to get some massage oil because our backs were killing us from the bed we slept on. it's an old one. Anyway, our search for massage oil led to me getting a full body massage from a professional. Well, it was amazing...ly painful. But it was good.
We pretty much just hung out the rest of the week. It was chill and relaxed and just so nice to hang out with my husband and not care about anything else. We had to be back so he could work Thursday night. We left Wednesday and took our time to come home. Since I had never been to Soda Springs, that's the way we went. I didn't know there was a geyser in Soda and Jared said "There's a geyser somewhere" and I looked to my left and there it was, just shooting right up. Turns out it goes off every hour, on the hour for about 7 minutes. It was 3 pm at the time so we really got lucky to be able to see it. After the geyser went away, we drove home and ended the day by opening our wedding gifts. 5 crock pots. 5.
This dog is made out of children's toys the artist collected
Whoever winterized the cabin turned every. single. breaker off.
There was still food in the fridge.
But not just food. No no. That would have been too easy. There was nearly 20 POUNDS of rotten meat in the freezer. Oozy, rotten meat. It stunk a little bit. So we spent our first night cleaning out the fridge. And don't worry about the fact that we had things that needed to go in the freezer. But since it was still very much winter in Wyoming, we just packed one of the coolers full of snow and put the frozen things in it. Mostly it was just ice cream. And good thing that was the only thing we put out there because it didn't work. The ice cream melted almost completely. (that's okay, it wasn't that good, anyway.)
But don't worry, that wasn't a precursor of what to expect out of the rest of the trip. We went to Jackson the next day and just walked around downtown. It is so cute and just a lot of fun. It started snowing big fluffy wet heavy flakes as soon as we got there. We bought heavier jackets. And they are so comfy and waaaarm!!! As we were walking around, we found the Ripley's Believe it or not museum. FUN!
Of course we went in. That Ripley guy found some really interesting things on his travels.
As we were leaving Jackson, we went to the Smith's and got some groceries because everything in Star Valley is closed on Sundays, which I can respect. Then we decided to get some massage oil because our backs were killing us from the bed we slept on. it's an old one. Anyway, our search for massage oil led to me getting a full body massage from a professional. Well, it was amazing...ly painful. But it was good.
We pretty much just hung out the rest of the week. It was chill and relaxed and just so nice to hang out with my husband and not care about anything else. We had to be back so he could work Thursday night. We left Wednesday and took our time to come home. Since I had never been to Soda Springs, that's the way we went. I didn't know there was a geyser in Soda and Jared said "There's a geyser somewhere" and I looked to my left and there it was, just shooting right up. Turns out it goes off every hour, on the hour for about 7 minutes. It was 3 pm at the time so we really got lucky to be able to see it. After the geyser went away, we drove home and ended the day by opening our wedding gifts. 5 crock pots. 5.
This poodle is made out of bottle caps
This is a coffin. This describes it.
V
Need a belt buckle?
This is a true two seater bicycle.
The presidential seal made out of nails
How about a buffalove seat?
Matchstick train
World's largest cigar
Soda Springs geyser.
Have a good day, y'all!
I got married
It was a pretty awesome day. I could not ask for better friends and family. I had so much help from everyone and it made things go by so smoothly.
Cue the highlights reel:
While working on some of the decorations, my dad slipped and cut his hand. We have matching scars now. And I can say with full confidence that blood, sweat and tears all went into making my wedding possible.
Allison was able to be there for all of it. I hadn't seen her yet since i got home from my mission and to have her there meant a lot to me.
I cried because I was able to have President Harper marry us. He has always been there, he watched me grow up and I've always looked up to him. He set me apart as a missionary, and he released me from being a missionary. It was really special for me.
It was cold! Of all the days in March that the weather decided to be unseasonable, it definitely wasn't our day. But at least it didn't rain. It sprinkled, but that's okay. Our pictures turned out really good, so I'm not complaining.
The reception was fun. It was semi-traditional. Definitely not traditional in the Mormon sense, even though my mom really wanted us to stand in front of the backdrop. It served as a good place to take pictures. We didn't want to stand in one place all night...it's the worst. We circulated the room and greeted people. I think we did pretty good at catching them all. Allison was the best! She made sure we were doing alright, checking if we needed water or anything to drink. I didn't realize how parched i was until i sucked down like 5 glasses of water! Getting married is exhausting!
The night ended and we just wanted to get out of there! The pickup truck was dressed to the nines! And it took forever getting the stuff off. As well as all the CONFETTI OUT OF THE SEATS! don't ever do that. Ever! It's really not a good thing. We got to the hotel 5 minutes after the front desk closed. We went to the Black Swan Inn in Pocatello. We stayed in the Mayan rain forest which was awesome! It has a tree house with the two person jet tub in it and a huge king size bed and two person shower. We didn't touch each other all night. What a good way to kick off the honeymoon!
Here are some pictures for all of you to wish you were there! and for those of you who were, time to reminisce.
Cue the highlights reel:
While working on some of the decorations, my dad slipped and cut his hand. We have matching scars now. And I can say with full confidence that blood, sweat and tears all went into making my wedding possible.
Allison was able to be there for all of it. I hadn't seen her yet since i got home from my mission and to have her there meant a lot to me.
I cried because I was able to have President Harper marry us. He has always been there, he watched me grow up and I've always looked up to him. He set me apart as a missionary, and he released me from being a missionary. It was really special for me.
It was cold! Of all the days in March that the weather decided to be unseasonable, it definitely wasn't our day. But at least it didn't rain. It sprinkled, but that's okay. Our pictures turned out really good, so I'm not complaining.
The reception was fun. It was semi-traditional. Definitely not traditional in the Mormon sense, even though my mom really wanted us to stand in front of the backdrop. It served as a good place to take pictures. We didn't want to stand in one place all night...it's the worst. We circulated the room and greeted people. I think we did pretty good at catching them all. Allison was the best! She made sure we were doing alright, checking if we needed water or anything to drink. I didn't realize how parched i was until i sucked down like 5 glasses of water! Getting married is exhausting!
The night ended and we just wanted to get out of there! The pickup truck was dressed to the nines! And it took forever getting the stuff off. As well as all the CONFETTI OUT OF THE SEATS! don't ever do that. Ever! It's really not a good thing. We got to the hotel 5 minutes after the front desk closed. We went to the Black Swan Inn in Pocatello. We stayed in the Mayan rain forest which was awesome! It has a tree house with the two person jet tub in it and a huge king size bed and two person shower. We didn't touch each other all night. What a good way to kick off the honeymoon!
Here are some pictures for all of you to wish you were there! and for those of you who were, time to reminisce.
"WHY would I shove cheesecake in his face??"
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