The Birthday Part I

Last week was Jonathan's birthday and I wanted to do something special since I had an amazing birthday in Florence, Italy. I started brainstorming about it a few months ago and remembered that there is a Florence, Texas! I figured it would be the next best thing.

We had lunch at the Chunky Cow Cafe & Creamery and it was delicious!

We each got dessert and they were both divine! Jonathan got the German chocolate cake and I got the blackberry cobbler with homemade vanilla ice cream. Needless to say, we plan on taking trips to both Florence, Texas as well as Florence, Italy!

As we were leaving, we saw a saddled horse in the back of a trailer.

One of the main streets that goes through Florence is Patterson Avenue. Naturally, I needed to take a picture by the sign and pose like my dad. My mom said that I nailed it down to his turtle smile.

Before lunch, I did a bit of decorating around our place.

A new bakery opened just around the corner from us on Jonathan's birthday so we had to stop by and get one more dessert. It's called Bakery Lorraine. Jonathan went with the cheese danish and he was nice enough to let me have a bite since I was too full to get my own dessert. It was delicious and we will definitely be going back!

All in all it was a delicious birthday!

In a few weeks, we'll have part II of his birthday celebrations down in the Houston area!

Spiritual Enlightenment: Meek and Lowly of Heart

It Is Yours

Back before Jonathan got his new calling at church, I kept thinking about advise my great-grandpa Machen gave to his daughter. I decided to hang it up on our letterboard. He said:

During the past month that it's been hanging there, I can see multiple ways it has applied to our life. From Jonathan learning how to do his new calling, to making and following through with short and long term goals, to simply taking care of boring everyday tasks. I am so grateful that my great-aunt included this in the family history she wrote about her parents. There are many quotes that talk about responsibility, but I love this one because it gets straight to the point about the need to follow through with the various jobs we have in life.

I've noticed lately that the Holy Ghost is teaching me through my own memories. Sometimes it's as simple as remembering this timeless advice of my great-grandpa, other times it's to have me adapt something that worked in a past situation to help me today. It is a blessing to know that when we are ready to learn, the Holy Ghost is there to teach us in a way that we can individually understand.

Spiritual Enlightenment: The Songs They Could Not Sing

Life Lately

It's been quite some time since the last time I really posted here and now that October is almost over I might as well do one big catch up post!

During a rather stormy afternoon, I made a beetle friend.

We headed to South Congress in Austin and on the way there drove past the Capitol building.

While hanging out in South Congress, we found Allens Boots so we know where to buy real cowboy boots when we are ready.

We actually went to a movie. Super weird for us even though there is a movie theater in our neighborhood. We saw Operation Finale and we both enjoyed it.

Jonathan got a bike to commute to work which was stolen less than a month later. BOO!

I dug out this old gem to welcome Tyler into the broken arm club.

One thing we both love about Austin is the amazing clouds that roll through.

After months of being home from Europe, I finally took Jonathan to Whole Foods to recreate our typical breakfast on the trip. The gouda was cut a bit thicker than what we had in Amsterdam, but otherwise it was almost exactly the same.

We celebrated our first year in Texas with Texas-shape sugar cookies. This was my first time baking sugar cookies and it will certainly not be my last! Here's the recipe I used if you want to try it.

My cousin David came out on what I am now calling his annual visit to Austin. He came over and we hung out for a few hours and then went out for dinner. The next evening we went to Top Golf with some of his friends that also live in Austin. It's now our turn to visit him in San Luis Obispo!

A couple of weeks ago, we tried a pizza place in our neighborhood and stumbled upon Wednesday night poker. Oh Texas, I love you!

We watched General Conference with the missionaries. They came prepared with notebooks and blankets. A few days before General Conference, Amy asked if we had any traditions other than watching it. After seven years together you would think we'd have a few traditions, but we don't! So a potential tradition that we started was getting donuts. We went to a nearby donut shop called Donut 7 and they were delicious! We will definitely go back and try their breakfast tacos.

We got Jonathan a second bike since his previous one was stolen. Jonathan loves having a bike and actually enjoys the ride to and from work. 

While Jonathan gets his exercise riding, I have been spending a lot of time in our gym. I've added weightlifting into my exercise routine and that has made it way more enjoyable for me.

Though yesterday I totally misjudged the weather. When I left my apartment, it was a misty sprinkle so I didn't bother grabbing a jacket. A couple of hours later, it was pouring down! I added in a few extra reps so it was only a light rain by the time I left, but I still felt silly for not bringing a jacket or at least wearing my shorts with pockets. Oh well!

I am going to try to keep up with what we are up to and it helps since we already have a lot of plans that I'm excited to share!

I Will Follow the Prophet: Part Three

General Conference was amazing once again. I got a lot out of it and already am following through with invitations and promptings. President Nelson spoke to the women of the church during the Women's Session. His talk is titled Sisters' Participation in the Gathering of Israel. During his talk, he invited the women of the church to do four things to assist us with assisting in gathering scattered Israel.

It is similar to the invitations that he gave to the youth back in June. What's really interesting with this list however is that I was already thinking about each one of these things.

1. I noticed during the past few weeks I'd gone back to my usual ways of using social media even though I committed to be more intentional.

2. I've been studying Jesus the Christ for my personal scripture study and Jonathan and I have been reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish for family scripture study. I've been wanting to really study Spanish and it's a practical way of learning, but I haven't been getting much out of reading the scriptures. (My vocabulary is very limited, but it is growing.)

3. Since moving to Texas, we've never really gotten into a good schedule for attending the temple. Once a month seems too little, but twice a month seems like too much when you add in the traveling we need to do. Though I still miss going to the temple once a week like we did in California and Utah.

4. I haven't been able to attend Relief Society for the past year because I am a Primary teacher. I don't tend to go to the activities even when I know about them ahead of time. Before I started studying from Jesus the Christ, I finally read all of Daughters in My Kingdom. It's a manual about the history of the Relief Society (that's the organization for all the women of the church ages 18 and older.) It helped open my understanding of the importance of the Relief Society and that it is a key to Christ's church.

I started my fast from social media as well as reading the Book of Mormon the same evening that President Nelson offered these simple invitations. The next day I pulled out my trusty bullet journal and wrote down the specifics of each invitation as well as a tracker of reading the Book of Mormon. As I was rewatching President Nelson's talk, I heard two quotes that struck a deep cord with me so I wrote them on little post-it notes. As he finished his talk, he blessed all of the women of the church.

"I love you and thank you and now bless you with the ability to leave the world behind as you assist in this crucial and urgent work. Together we can do all that our Heavenly Father needs us to do to prepare the world for the Second Coming of His Beloved Son."

I am grateful to have a prophet once more on the earth that I can turn to and receive direction on how I should live my life in this fast paced, modern world. I know that following the prophet brings deep happiness that can't be replicated elsewhere. It doesn't take away the challenges of life, but it gives direction to make it through those challenges without becoming bitter or cynical.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Today is the beginning of General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In other words my favorite time of year! Last month, I finished reviewing all the talks that were given last April and I can't wait to receive more direction in my everyday life.

It's wonderful experience to meet in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, but it's amazing how easy it is to watch General Conference all over the world!

This time last year, we were able to watch even though we were still far from unpacked. All you really need is an internet connection and you too can participate in General Conference. This year the missionaries that are serving in our ward will be joining us for the Saturday Morning Session. 

I love watching General Conference. Each year there are a few talks that are clearly written to help me in whatever my current situation is. It bolsters me up and gives me guidance on what I need to improve on so I can live a better and happier life.

Check out this link to figure out the best/easiest way for you to watch General Conference this weekend.

Remember, the General Women's Session will be happening tonight!