School's Out for Summer!! :D

After three demanding semesters, I am thrilled to be taking a summer off! School is going well, and I'm actually really excited to announce (if I haven't already) that Andrew and I will both be graduating from UVU by the end of 2014! Andrew with his Bachelors and me with my Associates. I changed my major to Behavioral Science, and now have only 2 semesters left until I graduate with my Associates of Science. I'm focusing on Family Studies. Andrew is majoring in Computer Science, emphasizing in Computer Programming. He is really good at it, too! He's already gotten a job doing everything he's in school to learn right now, and I couldn't be more proud of him! :) Andrew has 2 or 3 semesters left depending on how ambitious he's feeling with his classes (he might do a semester entirely dedicated to a VERY difficult class at UVU where he has to write his own operating system just so that he can give it the time it needs so he can pass it).

I'm actually quite excited with how school has been going for me! Just to sum up how I did on my last 3 semesters...

Yes, I'm crazy... I took Math 1050 during SUMMER Semester.
Also - FIRST 4.0 I had EVER received in my entire academic career! WOOT! :D

Everyone preached doom & gloom about Ethics & Values classes when they heard I was taking it -
I rather enjoyed it, actually.

Silly A-; that's what I get for getting sick and skipping class and getting a B on the final.
Oh well, all the classes that really mattered I got A's in. :)
And in case you missed it - I GOT AN A IN ENGLISH 2010!!! :D

Also, since Andrew won't do it for himself, I'm going to do bragging time for him:

He did AWESOME in his Programming classes last semester!! :D

After working our bums off the past few semesters, we're definitely ready to have some fun together this summer. Especially since we couldn't do anything the summer of our first year of marriage because I was in school during Summer Semester back then!

So to make up for it, we've made some really fun plans... <3

In June we're going to go camping in Goblin Valley with our friends Brian & Genni.
Also, my mom is getting married June 29th!! :D I'm so happy for her <3
Her wedding is followed quickly by my older brother James' on July 2nd!! <3
In July we're going to Lava Hot Springs for the 4th of July with Brian & Genni to go tubing and watch fireworks.
We're then later heading to Oregon for my cousin Savannah's wedding! I'm so excited to visit the coast & see Savannah! She is going to be a beautiful bride <3

In August we're doing a solo trip to Zions National Park ( - where we went on our honeymoon ;) ) just before school starts.

We're also planning on doing a lot of hiking, building up to us hiking to the top of Mt. Timpanogos in August! I'm really excited for that :)

What about you, do you have any fun summer plans??

Life at the Moment

First off, WE MOVED!!! :D I am so excited, and I love our new little apartment already :)

The front room is the only room in the house that is reasonably clear of boxes, so that's all I'm sharing pictures of so far. But I'm impressed it's this put together already; we moved in two days ago!
I love the way that, when you enter the apartment, the bookshelf draws your eyes to it; it has become the center of our home :)

I officially went in and got my major changed as well. Turns out, that actually brought me a lot closer to graduation!! I should be graduating around the same time as Andrew (Spring or Fall of 2014). We're talking about what's going to happen after our graduations, and right now it's sounding like Andrew will get a job and we'll work towards paying off our student loans, and I will pause my schooling to become a stay-at-home mom. Once our kids are all in elementary school and above, then I might start taking some classes to work towards my bachelor's degree during the time frame that they are all at school. That's the plan right now, anyway :) If we get prompted in another direction, we will head down that course instead.

Major Change

As I was reviewing my patriarchal blessing, I read over the part talking about how I would be guided in the area of my profession. I contemplated my chosen major, Early Childhood Education. I've told people over and over how I was planning on being able to teach preschool in our home if we needed the extra income so I could still be a stay at home mom while helping out. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I just couldn't see myself doing it. I love children, and I'm not bad at teaching, but overall it just seemed off.

I began writing, thoughtlessly, on my notebook. After a while, I actually realized what I had written. "Foster Parent" my doodled words spelled out. It was something Andrew and I had talked about before very briefly: being foster parents and maybe even adopting some of the kids. I would be lying if I said that I had spent a lot of time thinking about it since then, though. Staring at the words, I finally ripped a paper out of my notebook and passed a note to Andrew.

I think I'm going to change my major.

Andrew gave me a look then wrote down on the paper and passed it back.
Why? and to what?

I began writing as quickly as the thoughts came to me.
Because while I could do an in home preschool and be happy with that, it just doesn't feel quite like what I need to be doing. I can't actually super see myself doing it. In all of my designs of our dream house, was there ever a place where I could teach?
I think I should just switch to and start the Family Studies major.
I'm still considering the Foster Parent thing, I think I'd be more likely to do that than teach preschool.
I might still take some early childhood education classes, but not to teach preschool. So I can be a better mom.

Andrew nodded as he read it knowingly, then looked up from reading and leaned over to me. "We'll talk about it at home," he told me.

Sunbeams, like always, was full of kids wanting to sit on my lap, sit next to me and cuddle, and kids that wanted to run all over the room pretending to be a wolf/cat/dog. Then there's the one Sunbeam that reminds me of Grumpy Cat. No matter what I ask him, the answer is always NO! He reminds me of the famous Grumpy Cat:
He even has the face down perfectly.

Mostly it's because he's having a SUPER hard time adjusting to Sunbeams after Nursery. He'll get there eventually :) It'll be hard for him all over when we move out of the ward... We did make progress today: he sat on my lap and even participated in a few things! By the end he was having a BLAST playing dinosaur with one of the other sunbeams.

Anyway. Sunbeams ended and slowly all of the kids were picked up by their parents. They even all helped clean up! It was great. Sunbeams is crazy, but I'm going to miss the kids. I hope they can find someone new soon; apparently they've had several people actually turn down the calling! Poor Sunbeams... My heart goes out to them. The adjustment, all over again, will be so hard for them if no one will accept it before we move to help with transitioning.

After we got home, I brought up the subject of the major change again. And what Andrew had to say kind of surprised me.

"Honestly, I've been thinking you needed to change majors for a while, I just didn't want to say anything and make you feel like I was wanting you to quit school. When you had to drop the Health for Elementary Ed class, I caught myself thinking, 'Good. She doesn't need that class anyway,' which made no sense. But I've been thinking you should switch to the Family Studies major for a while."

We talked about foster parenting, and he dumped another surprise on me: when we got the prompting to start our family last year, he was also prompted that we were going to be foster parents someday. That prompting was that it wasn't a big deal because it wasn't immediately soon and he was prompted to not worry about it, but he never even thought twice about it. It just was going to happen.

It feels right. I don't want to teach or ANYTHING as much as I desperately want to be a mother. So, fittingly, my profession will be as a foster mother :) It will be a challenge, a joy, and SO worth it. I'm really excited to go in and change my major.

Family Update & Blessings

Like all things, we have gotten both wonderful blessings and a few disappointments since my last post. However, I really am so very richly blessed; while I won't leave out the disappointments, I would like to put in at least two blessings per disappointment. I want this post to highlight the positive note that my life really is on right now; after all, no matter what bad comes to us, we are richly blessed, and Heavenly Father deserves to be given credit for all of the wonder and joy that comes to us.

On Wednesday of last week, my wedding ring went missing. I may not ever see it again, since I believe it was lost on UVU campus outside in the snow. Although this was disappointing to me, and I love that ring, I'm glad that that wasn't why I married my sweet husband. Rings will come and go, but I very very highly doubt I could have found a better man for me than my husband. He is one in a trillion, and I feel so proud to be the woman he chose to be at his side. My life would be completely incomplete without him, and I couldn't bear it if I lost him. In comparison, losing my wedding ring is completely insignificant.

On a high note, I made it into the UVU Ballroom Company, and I am SUPER excited!!! My team will be performing the Mambo and (most likely) the Tango. Our performances will be April 18-20th, so save the date! I can't wait to do my best performing ballroom on the stage. My dance partner is named Travis, and I still have a long way to go in getting to know the rest of the team, but I am enjoying it a lot so far, and am determined to do my best and enjoy being part of the team. (Unfortunately, my husband and I are not on team together since he didn't have room/time to do that this semester. I would have loved to be performing with him, but maybe later.)

I am officially a sophomore! After taking over a year off from school, having to retake classes to get my GPA up to qualify for financial aid after a first semester that pretty much blew up in my face, I'm back in the swing of things and I even got my first 4.0! And then my second 4.0! I even chose what I am going to be doing for a Bachelor's Degree after I finish my associates! I'm really excited to be back in school and doing well.

Andrew is also doing really well in school, and is officially a Senior! If he plays his cards right, he could graduate at the end of Spring semester in 2014! I'm so proud of him and all of the hard work that he is putting into his schooling. He might end up taking one class in Fall semester of 2014 just to ease his workload, especially since the class he might take on its own is said to be the hardest class offered at UVU, but by the end of 2014, my wonderful husband will be a graduate!

(Sorry for throwing all of the exclamation marks in your faces; I don't know how else to truly portray my enthusiasm and excitement for all of that good news.)

Life is wonderful, and I am looking forward to the joys and blessings that will continue to come to Andrew and I as we move forward together, especially as we continue to seek God's will for our family.

Love and joy to you all!

God Has Other Plans

I have received a lot of criticism from people saying that I should have gone on a mission, and that they expected so much more from me, and that I should wait a couple of years before I have children. I would like to tell my story on how I know I am following God's plan for me:

Growing up, I'd always thought, "You know, if I'm not dating anyone seriously by the time I'm 21, I'm going to serve a mission." With how my dating life in high school was turning out, I was not only positive that I'd be going on a mission, but that I probably wouldn't be getting married until I was somewhere between 24-26. My friends all laughed at me and told me that I'd be married by 20.

Well, it turns out Heavenly Father had different plans for me than I had thought and my friends were all right. In May 2011, I officially met my future husband. I had unofficially met him when I went on a date with his roommate in October 2010, and he doubled with us.  He was originally just dating while he waited for a Sister Missionary, but I didn't know that at first. 

When I first found out he was waiting for a Sister Missionary, I was pretty upset. I was already really interested in him at this point, and we had been on a date a week for 4 or 5 weeks now. My roommates had started spying through the peep hole after our dates to see if I would be getting my first kiss anytime soon, and I would be lying if I said that I wasn't hoping for it as well. Finding out that he was waiting for her was crushing, and I began to resolve to get over him and to move on with my life. I had made resolutions like this before with other guys, and it never took long for me to actually follow through these types of resolutions. It's lucky for him that the very next day he asked me if we could go on a walk because he needed someone to talk to. 

On the walk, he told me that he didn't know where things were going, but that he was having a lot of fun going on dates with me, and he still wanted to continue to go on dates. The peace and reassurance I felt was phenomenal. The Spirit prompted me strongly that I should continue dating him, even though I didn't know where it was going to go. Later, when we began talking about marriage I made it a matter of prayer. I counseled with my bishop, who listened to me and then asked me if I'd prayed about it. When I told him that I had and that I felt good about it, he encouraged me in my decision. And I had felt good about it. I knew that Andrew was the right guy for me to marry. We were married December 16, 2011 in the Draper, UT LDS temple. On our wedding day, in the Celestial room, I felt a VERY strong confirming witness that I was marrying the RIGHT guy in the RIGHT place at the RIGHT time.

We had gotten a lot of advice from people telling us to wait to have children, because we really need the first couple of years to strengthen our relationship before we brought children into the picture. We decided that was a good idea and decided to wait a couple of years to have children.

Once again, Heavenly Father had a different plan for us. During our Building a Celestial Marriage institute course, we were discussing not postponing having children. It was emphasized that it was between us and the Lord, but I felt an overwhelming thought come to me. WE HADN'T PRAYED ABOUT OUR DECISION TO WAIT. I talked to Andrew about it, and we made it a matter of personal prayer and study, and at the end of the week brought our answer to the temple. Through the entire week I couldn't shake the VERY strong feeling I was getting that we were not supposed to wait to start our family. At the temple, we had confirmation after confirmation after confirmation that we weren't supposed to wait.

It hasn't ended there. I have received inspiration at the temple time and time again since then that we're not supposed to wait, that our children are on the other side of the veil praying to come down to us, and on and on. Andrew and I are not going to wait.

I haven't used any form of birth control for 9 months now, and we are both excited and sometimes impatient to be able to have children. I am still not pregnant. I have received very strong witnesses that Heavenly Father is in charge of the timing of when our children will come to us, though, so I do not have to worry.  I trust in my Father in Heaven, and I know that He is in charge of this timing. I know He has what is best in mind for my family and I. Because of this, I am willing to wait however long He needs me to.


Heavenly Father has other plans for us. I believe that I AM serving a mission where I am, as a faithful daughter of God, and wife to my husband, as we do family names and bring them to the temple. I believe that our striving to break family cycles of abuse and dysfunction in the home is a mission and calling from God as well. I have been told by countless numbers of people that I should wait to have my family. THAT IS NOT GOD'S WILL FOR ME. I can't ignore the answers and promptings I have received. God knows the bigger picture, so even if His plans are different, I am following them.

Family Principles

In Andrew's and my "Scripture Principles for Marrieds" class and our "Marrieds Dinner and Seminar" that we've been attending, we've been counseled to create a Family Constitution. So, for Family Home Evening one day, we started it.
"So, what rules should we have in our home?" I asked Andrew.
"I don't think we should start with the rules," Andrew disagreed lightly. "We can come up with a long list of rules and not necessarily get anywhere. It would probably be more beneficial to create a list of principles that we want to found our family on."
Although I was, at first, puzzled on what he meant, I agreed. By the time we were done, I was feeling the Spirit strongly. We're still working on the wording on some of these, and we may add/change some of the things on this list, but I would like to share what we came up with:

“… Establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning,
a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;” –Doctrine and Covenants 88:119
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            The goal of our home and family is that all of us may return to our Father in Heaven that we may be an eternal family. As such, through the guidance of the Spirit, we establish these principles that our home will be founded upon whereby we may obtain this goal.

            The first principle of our home, and in our lives, is that our family comes first. The Godhead stands as the center stone of our family. Our family is God first, our marriage second, and our children next.

            All important decisions will be made in council and family decisions are made by the whole family. All family members that can be at the meeting should be; we invite God to meetings through prayer before starting. The decisions we make will not be made on a “majority rules” concept, but on a basis that it will give each of us a chance to learn to seek revelation on what God wants us to do.

            We do things the entire family can participate in; if one person shouldn't do it, no one should.
E.g.: As parents, we will not stay up late watching movies the children shouldn't watch. This does not mean that if a baby is too young to participate that we cannot play a board game as a family.

            Ours is a home of celebration. We will rejoice in each other’s accomplishments and achievements. We have traditions to strengthen, fortify, and build-up our family bonds, and to make life more enjoyable and fun.

            Our home is a place where we feel safe and comfortable, and we feel comfortable inviting others. Because God is a part of our family, He needs to be present in our home. We must keep an atmosphere wherein the Spirit can reside.

            Because the world tears us down, ours will be a home that builds up ourselves, each other, and others. We encourage and help each other be the best we can be.

            We talk, spend time, and listen to/with each other. Because God is family, this means the rule applies to Him, too. We talk with, listen to, and spend time with God through prayer, scripture study, the temple, seminary/institute, etc. We express love to each other, and show our love to each other through our actions.

            We will “seek diligently and teach one another words of wisdom” and “seek learning, even by study and also by faith.” – Doctrine and Covenants 88:119

            Our family works together and finds opportunities to serve each other and others. All of us work hard to contribute to following the principles that have been established, and each of us does our part. Because we serve each other and God is family, we must allow God to serve us by receiving His aid through priesthood blessings, prayer, and so forth. We will ask for priesthood blessings not only for “emergencies.”

            We will obey the will of the Lord and the law of the land. We will see God’s counsels as God’s commandments.

            Rules are not arbitrary – they must be and will be based off of family principles.

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“Choose you this day whom ye will serve: …But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” – Joshua 24:15

New Jobs!

A friend of Andrew's sent him a link to a job that he'd seen that made him think of Andrew. The job was in Programming, which is exactly what Andrew's in school for right now. He applied by email, sending his resume and cover letter. They were, apparently, impressed and asked for more clarity on some of the courses he's taken so far. He landed an interview, and we were so excited!

We got there about 20 minutes early, and sat out in the car for a little while before he was supposed to go in. We said a prayer really quick that Andrew would be guided to know what to say, and that he would be able to do well, essentially. After the interview, we went to Wendy's to grab frosties to celebrate the interview. :) We found out that evening that 30 minutes after the interview was over, they had emailed him to ask him to come in for a second interview. Andrew was really nervous, because this one would involve him programming something for them as part of the interview.

We got there about 15 minutes early, and again we said a prayer before he went in. Andrew asked that Heavenly Father would ensure that whatever happened, whether he got the job or not, that it would be done in our family's best interest. Then he went in for it. When we went to the temple the next day, Andrew prayed about the job. He felt assured that Heavenly Father would make what was best for us happen, and that everything would work out. The following Wednesday, I told Andrew that he should send in a follow-up letter thanking them for the interview. Later that day, Andrew and I both got calls! To my surprise (as I had completely forgotten I'd talked to people at the Part-Time Job Fair at UVU), I was called and asked if I was still looking for a part-time job and was offered a position tutoring at an Elementary School. Andrew was called and they asked him to do a background check for them. Two days later, they called and officially offered Andrew the position. I'm ecstatic for him! This job is absolutely PERFECT for him! It gives him experience in the field he's studying, which will be perfect for his resume after graduation when he looks for whatever job position he wants. Not only that, but it even pays more than the job he currently has.

So glad that Heavenly Father is an active participant of our lives, and that He is aware of our needs, and helps us out when we need it :)