The Perfect Haircut!

I love having short, short hair. Jonathan is found of my long hair. I decided to grow out my hair for Jonathan. I really have enjoyed it, but as the weather changed I too was ready for change.

Last Wednesday, I decided to cut my hair. I asked the amazingly talented Christina, my sister, to see when she could cut my hair. I was shocked to find out that she would be able to do it the next day. I showed her the inspiration picture, and I'm not sure who was more excited out of the two of us. (She doesn't get the opportunity to cut that much hair at one time.) I almost couldn't sleep I was so excited!

I decided that I would surprise Jonathan and not tell him that I was chopping off my hair. That made the change even more exciting for me. (Jonathan and I are rather predictable, so I don't mind giving him a few surprises!)

The scissors came out and the hair fell quickly! It felt so good feeling all that hair go. I love love love having short hair again! Christina did such a good job!

Jonathan at first acted like nothing was different, and then realized that my hair was short. He wasn't that surprised by it because I had short hair when we first met. Jonathan does love it though and that's all I wanted.

Yesterday

I had a plan for yesterday: run some errands, print out some pictures, have lunch with a friend, grill chicken for our dinner with the missionaries. Things quickly changed when Jonathan called in sick to work. He still made me go to lunch with my friend (I'm really glad that he did that). I also went to a store so we would have dessert for the missionaries. Then I came home feeling really tired (and paranoid that I'm getting sick too). After laying down, I focused on cleaning up our little apartment. I realized that I really didn't feel like defrosting chicken, so the menu quickly change and that was that. While I was vacuuming, I remembered that our lease was up at the end of the month. Jonathan ran down to the office to get our new contract and brought it to me to sign. (Thank goodness we remember important things while doing mundane tasks!) The dinner that we made was so much easier and still delicious.

After the missionaries left, we had our typical Friday night. Nothing special, just Jonathan sitting at the computer doing some C programming homework. It usually takes most of the night (and sometimes some of the morning too), but he finished up early. We got to play a game of Phase 10 and then called it a night.

I am so excited for Jonathan to be all done with school. Then we can have real date nights and more time together. Even with those feelings, I love the simplicity of our life. We can make a plan for the day and easily change it. We can be sick and have a lazy day. I am very grateful for this time that we have because it won't last forever.

PS Here's a new blog I found.

My Favorite Part of Rainy Weather

I love stomping through puddles in my rain boots. Luckily, Garrett does too! A few weeks ago we found an awesome puddle by my parent's house and boy, did we have fun!

Garrett liked having his car drive on the water. Then we found a worm. Garrett tried to kill it by stomping on it, but that worm was too tough for him.

I Finally Got One!

Last month, my ward had an activity for the women to celebrate the Relief Society's 170th birthday. The Relief Society is the name of my church's woman's organization. It started out with only 20 members and has grown to more than 6 million women! I read this article about the Relief Society's birthday. Here's a few quotes that I really liked.


It is appropriate to celebrate "the glorious heritage of Relief Society, which has ties back to the ancient Church during the time of Jesus Christ," Sister Julie B. Beck, Relief Society general president told the Church News. "This year marks 170 years since Relief Society was established in this dispensation. The sisters were given authority to preside over the unique work that would help build the kingdom of God and would make a significant contribution to the Lord's work of salvation. The purposes of Relief Society have remained constant through all time."


"We truly are a society of women — a great worldwide sisterhood — who know how to provide relief as our Savior defined it," she said. "We have always been loved and trusted by the Lord and His leaders. We testify that the Lord speaks directly to His daughters who seek for and qualify for personal revelation."


"Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve said, "Latter-day Saint women, strong in faith and testimony, have truly been given the 'errand of angels.' Every sister in this Church who has made covenants with the Lord has a divine mandate to help save souls, to lead the women of the world, to strengthen the homes of Zion and to build the kingdom of God" (Daughters in My Kingdom, p. 25).

Women have a unique role to play in God's plan. We can reach out to people in a way that is like nothing of this earth. It is such a blessing to know that Heavenly Father accomplishes so much good through His daughters. Women reach out and help one another more naturally and when they are organized, there is such a heavenly power there.

In my ward's Relief Society celebration, we had a lovely dinner and learned a little bit about each of the General Relief Society presidents. It was interesting to learn about them and the needs during the time of their presidency. During the 1930's and 40's, there was a focus on organizing the Church's own welfare program. In recent years, the focus has been on making Relief Society a place where women of all ages would feel at home and find a bond of trust, friendship, and support. (My ward does a really good job of that!)

After talking about the history of Relief Society, they brought our focus onto something that our Stake President has been encouraging us to do. He has invited us to read the scriptures and keep a scripture journal as we read. Then while you read, you have the opportunity to record any promptings from the spirit or maybe some different ways you can apply the scriptures in your own daily life. As a gift, they gave each of the women their own scripture journal. I was so thrilled! I wanted one of my own, but for whatever reason was procrastinating on getting one.

I decided to start reading the Book of Mormon again from the very beginning and record some factual things like who is in that chapter and where they are to personal applications. It is such a blessing to have the scriptures and I am glad that I now have the opportunity to get even more out of my personal study!

Stake Activity Day

My mom has a leadership position with our church. She is part of the Stake Primary presidency. She helps train the leaders over the children from the ages of 18 months to 12 years old in Roseville. She helps out with Cub Scouts for the boys from 8-11 and Activity Days for the girls 8-11. Once a year, the Stake Primary presidency has a special activity for all of the girls. One of the main goals is for the girls to realize that they are loved so much and are all special.

I have been lucky enough to help with the last three and I have to say that they get better and better every year. This year the theme was "Choosing The Right To Your Happily Ever After". It was so amazing to see all the hard work that went into the activity and then the girls reaction. The night before Jonathan and I went to help set up the Cultural Hall for the activity. There were a few people at the church building and they thought we were setting up for a wedding reception. (Yeah, it looked that good!) After hours and hours of planning and setting up, the girls started arriving. The older girls knew the drill and the younger girls followed along: sign in, make a name tag, and head into the Cultural Hall for the activity to start.

I was out by the sign in table, but I could hear some of their reactions to the beautiful room decorated just for them. They were sent off to their 4 classes prepared just for them: a Family Home Evening lesson that they could teach their families, PJS (prayer, journal, and scripture study), friendship bracelets, and a class on their own potential.

The extra refreshments for the adult leaders.

A few months before the activity, the girls made quilt squares about something they wanted to improve or something to focus on. It was so sweet seeing all the different quilt squares. The quilt was finished the night before the activity so the girls could see all of their hard work. The quilt was a special gift for the Stake President, President Olsen. He is in charge of all the congregations in Roseville. Yeah, that keeps him really busy!

President Olsen with all 111 girls and the quilt they made for him.

The tables with a cupcake stand and tiara for every girl.

Before the girls could wear their tiaras, they needed to learn what it truly means to be a princess. It is more than to wear pretty clothes and marry a prince. You are a daughter of a king, we are all children of a heavenly king. What's even better is that they have the potential to become queens, by making a lifetime of righteous decisions. It is a wonderful promise. Now, not all of the girls there were girly girls that love pink and already think they are princesses (I would have fallen into that category when I was their age). Even though they didn't care about those things, they understood that they are princesses to their Heavenly Father. It was such a wonderful sight! The activity was a success!

During the activity, I got to hold the Primary President's baby boy Kody. I was in heaven! He was such a good sport during the activity and didn't get fussy until most of it was cleaned up.

My new buddy Kody.

I can't wait to see what the plans are for next year!

We MUST Be Related

These are two nightstands. The one on the left is mine and the one to the right is my dad's. We both have multiple books because we can't just read one at a time. Where's the fun in that? I hope that one day, I'll have a child who has a matching nightstand too.

My Birthday

On my actual birthday, we had our normal Sunday morning. Jonathan made us breakfast and then we went to church. I brought cupcakes for my class and they were so much more attentive during the lesson. I wonder if there is a connection there...

After church, Jonathan made us lunch and I got a few more gifts (mostly books). We went to say goodbye to Hannah while she packed for her last semester in Idaho. Luckily, she'll be coming home for a visit in May and Jonathan & I will be in Idaho in June. It works out perfectly! Then we headed over to my parents' home for a family birthday dinner. Garrett provided us all with some good laughs and damaged ear drums (the kid screams like a girl). The angel food cake my mom baked was gone in 5 minutes and it was delicious! We ended up watching Cars and Garrett would yell truck every time a big truck was on. He's such a boy! Eventually it was bed time for Garrett and the rest of us.

This was all that was left of the cake.

It was a lovely, easy going day. I had a lot of birthday wishes and I loved them all. Many contained wishes for a wonderful day or even being spoiled by Jonathan. At first I thought that there wasn't much difference from our normal Sunday routine. I was slightly disappointed, but then I thought about it some more. Jonathan did the usual: kissed me good morning, made us breakfast, helped me get things ready for my class, made us lunch while I watched Peter Pan, joked around with me, visited with family, read scriptures with me, and talked about our future. The only way I can tell it was my birthday is that I got presents and Jonathan let me tickle all day (best gift EVER). Jonathan spoils me every Sunday. I feel so blessed to have such a loving and generous man. That is by far the best gift a girl can have because you don't have to wait a whole year for it.

My late birthday picture from the Idaho Patterson family.

Here's my Nelson family birthday party! It was a lot of fun!

It's My Party!

And I got to plan it! It was so fun! We had the entire Nelson family over for cake and it was great! I decided to leave up our Easter decorations and added some streamers to make it feel more like a party.

I have been wanting to bake a cake from scratch for awhile, but I never had a reason to until my birthday, though Dad reminded me that you never really need a reason. It was so much better than my first layered cake. (It was totally falling apart.) This one turned out so much better (mostly because I actually let the cake cool down before I did anything else). It was so much fun to finally bake a real cake and have it look pretty too!

We had a lot of fun just sitting and talking about so many different things. I never realized just how many times Thomas, my younger brother (ok technically Jonathan's  brother, but I don't have one), had been knocked out. After awhile, Mercedes was looking a little bored, so I showed her some fun things she could play with like paper flowers, some ribbon, and a jar of coins. We are slowly becoming friends and I love it! She even gave me a hug when she left!

Christina & Adam got me the shirt and belt and
Kenzie & Taylor gave me the perfect necklace for it!

I have a lot of reading ahead of me!

It was such a lovely evening (even though there was a down pour when everyone came) with some of our favorite people!

Just Wait...

Anyone who follows me on pinterest knows that I can't wait to start having a family. It's hard not to especially when I know at least 16 people who are either pregnant or had a baby this year (with 4 babies born during the last week of March alone). Though there are moments when I worry whether or not I am ready to be a mom, but then I just get excited all over again.

I want to have the joy that my siblings have with their children. It's amazing to watch my nieces and nephews grow and mature and make good choices. I love going to baseball, basketball, and soccer games and see them succeed. I love watching Garrett and Seth be protective of baby Lyla. I can't wait to share this amazing world with my children. It's not all fun and games being a parent, but there are deffinate perks.

I can't remember when I first saw this, but I wanted to share this story.

As I wait at Target, a young couple pushes a stroller in the line behind me. The stroller, brand new, appears to be on its maiden voyage. I  peer at the tiny sleeping newborn, his fingers curled up near his ruddy face.

“You guys do good work!” I comment. The parents beam with pride, but the weariness in their eyes lets me know that they are all still in the process of getting to know each other. The lady behind the couple glances at the stroller as well, and asks. “Is this your first?” They nod proudly.  ”Just wait…” she snorts, and then follows with a comment about unruly teenagers.

Inwardly, I wince. We seem to live in a country overrun by a great lot of negative naysayers when it comes to parenting. I remember hearing comments like that when I was a new (and overwhelmed!) mom.  It seemed that many parents were suffering from a chronic case of disappointment and dissatisfaction called ”Just-Wait-itis,” characterized by the inflammation of impending doom in parenthood….I felt trapped in a swirl of know-it-alls who were warning me that the worst was yet to come.

Of course, now that my kids are teenagers, I know the truth. Parenting is complicated; it’s wonderful and challenging. Exhausting and gut wrenching. Heart warming and heart breaking.

And, at the outset, parenting can be utterly daunting. It just doesn’t help when others douse young parents with stories leading to doubt and despair.

Instead, we seasoned moms could infuse joy into our “just waits…” As I regard this weary pair, I think of so many things I could say…

Just wait until your preschool son sees you in the hallway at pick up time and covertly grins and waves to you. (It’s the best flirting in the world.)

Just wait until you watch your kindergartener jump off the bus after that first day, triumphant and tired, melting into your arms.

Just wait until your son is up to bat, and strikes out, holding it together despite disappointment. And just wait until the crack of the bat meeting the ball surprises him and he races to first base…safe.

Just wait until your daughter stands up for a classmate who is struggling, and her peers, humbled, apologize.

Just wait until your child, painfully tethered to tubes and machines in the hospital, whispers, “I just want my mommy.” (and you are suddenly aware that your presence is more powerful than any prescription.)

Just wait until your son gets his very first summer job and he is, unmistakably, walking taller and more confidently as a result.

Just wait until your child’s quick sense of humor makes you double over with laughter.

Just wait until you hear your son invite a friend to church.

Just wait until your daughter receives her first college acceptance and you find yourself overcome with tears…not because she’s leaving, but because she’s ready.

The baby in the stroller whimpers, breaking my reverie.

I smile at the couple and look them straight in the eye.

“You have so much joy ahead of you…” I remark…

“Just wait.”


Katie Wetherbee

Let it be known, I'm not making an announcement, but I can't wait for all the joy that will come to us as we have a family of our own. This is a joy that has no end. My parents starting having joy from their children way back in 1980 and there were lots of hard days and we heard a lot of "I didn't have all of you kids so you would have someone to fight with". Then as time past, we slowly grew up and had a lot less fighting and a lot more joy. My parents worked very hard for us kids and  now there isn't a day they don't have joy from the men and women that we grew up to be. Plus we've been giving them grandchildren to find more joy in. Our family has changed so much in the past 32 years and yet we still have so much more joy ahead of us.

Just wait...

Family Easter Celebration

We are so lucky to have our families so close. Sometimes it gets a little tough with sharing holidays, but some how things work out. This is how our Easter went.

We started out with a wonderful morning at church. The choir was so beautiful and the talks were wonderful. Something that a speaker shared was the various names and titles that Jesus has like Jehovah, Savior, and Redeemer. He shared a very well known scripture "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13. He made the connection that Jesus gave his life for us, his friends. I want Jesus to be my best friend!

The Easter bunny really likes us!!!

After Church, we headed over to my parent's house. Garrett looked incredibly handsome in his new Easter outfit. He loved playing outside, throwing Easter eggs and stomping on them. The missionaries came over and had dinner with us. It was really nice and easy going. We had to leave before Andy's family came, but Ryan left us a sweet note from the day before. I love how thoughtful he is!

Don't (take) tell Easter
Happy Easter BJ and Jounithin.
From,
Ryan
Happy Easter Miek and Amy
From,
Ryan

We then made the trek down to Davis to spend some time with the Nelson gang. Jonathan scared Christina when we walked right into their apartment. It was really funny. Mercedes is still not sure about Jonathan, but she still loves walking around in my shoes. Anyways, we listened to some comedian and played Uno. One of my favorite games growing up! Before we left Mercedes even let me tickle her! It was so much fun spending time together as a whole big family.

That's Adam's hairy head!!!

It was so wonderful being able to spend time with both of our families. They are the most important things in our lives. I love Easter and how fresh everything is. It is such a blessing!

He is Risen!

Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the more commercial aspects of holidays. Bunnies, colorful eggs, yummy chocolate, and baby bunnies and ducks... none of those things add up to what the real celebration of Easter is all about. It is about the final days of Jesus Christ before His death and resurrection.

Jesus gave us the Sacrament, so we would remember Him and be able to renew our covenants that we make at baptism.

Later that same night, He went to the garden of Gethsemane and suffered unimaginable pain as He took my sins and your sins. He did it because He knew there was no other way to return to our Heavenly Father. Because of the atonement, we all can be made clean through repentance.

After suffering for all of mankind, He was treated so badly, scoffed and scorned, and he never once complained. How often do we complain when we get cut off while driving or get upset when someone treats us poorly? Christ was treated like the scum of the earth and bore it,

I think we all can pull strength from His perfect example.

Jesus, the only perfect man to walk this earth, was condemned to death.

And He did not fight it.

He finished His mortal mission while hanging on the cross. His spirit was separated from His body,

but not for long.

His body was laid to rest in a tomb for three days.

His spirit was reunited with His body to never be separated again. 

Christ is our master and savior. All He asks of us is to turn to Him and 

strive to emulate His perfect example.

He was truly resurrected. His body was made perfect just like ours will be.

Christ truly lived and suffered unimaginable pains for

you and me. He died and rose on the third day,

forever defeating death.

It is only through His atonement and love that

we are able to return to our Father in Heaven.

Christ lives and loves each and everyone of us.

Take this time to come unto Christ and learn more about His work.

“He it was who died on the cross to atone for our sins. He became the firstfruits of the Resurrection. 

Because He died, all shall live again.” 

- President Thomas S. Monson

Do You Know the Way To San Jose?

Jonathan and I do! We were trying to decide what we wanted to do on Jonathan's day off during spring break. We thought about camping, but then I was worried about the weather. Then my dad had the idea of going down to San Jose to visit my brother's family. I asked Jonathan if he liked it and then plans were made!

Almost there!

My nephews didn't know that we were coming and woke up to a great surprise the next day seeing Jonathan and me on the bottom bunk! We slowly got up and then played on the trampoline with Tyler and Kyle for at least an hour and a half. Then we played some video games before meeting up with Andy at Apple for lunch. This was Jonathan's first time on Apple's campus. It was fun to be there and spend some time with Andy at work.

It was so much fun to be around the boys and Lyla. I feel like they are my kids especially since they've been part of my life for so many years. I love them all so much and love spending time with them even if it is only for a day. I'm so glad that next week is their spring break so we will be able to play with them this week too!