Family Traditions

I am grateful for family traditions. I am grateful for the ones I grew up with. From birthday breakfast doughnuts to Christmas with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins to waking up way too early to say family prayers before Amy and Chris left for their 6:30 am Seminary class. (Okay, that last one was not my favorite one. I've never been much of a morning person, but looking back I'm grateful that my dad would get me up every morning even though I didn't feel that way in the moment. Sorry Dad!) Big and small, our family traditions are some of my strongest memories. Because of them, I looked forward to creating them with my own family. 

We are slowly refining our family traditions, especially our holiday traditions, into something that works for our family. We originally had very different plans for our Thanksgiving dinner and they weren't going to be particularly traditional except for the fact that we were going to be together as a family and we were probably going to have a pie for dessert. Since I was sick and my tastebuds weren't as sharp as they usually are, we switched it to the Thanksgiving feast Snoopy makes. It was perfect! I'm grateful that our holiday wasn't ruined because it wasn't the traditional meal. It will probably be one of our most memorable ones because it worked perfectly for us that day. Jonathan made the meal in minutes and we were able to spend the day relaxing together.

Traditions are very important, but when they can't be adapted to circumstances than they rule over us and don't foster unity. That's the balance we are aiming for. I look forward to finding out what works for us.

Geo George

I'm grateful that Jonathan and I were able to host Geo George for Lyla's class project. It was somewhat awkward taking pictures with a paper turtle, but it was fun! I think he had a great time with us too!

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm grateful to be with my family for Thanksgiving! I realized last night that the perfect Thanksgiving menu would be the same one Snoopy comes up with in Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving.

It was perfect! I hope y'all had a lovely Thanksgiving too!

Another Catch Up

Well, I spoke too soon because I'm sick again. So once again, I am grateful for Gatorade and that we have the Harry Potter audiobooks. (I'm already in the middle of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.)

I am grateful for the hammocks at our new apartment. After a long day of moving and unpacking, Jonathan and I would make our way down to relax on a hammock. It is amazing how comfortable they are. We had many wonderful conversations as we enjoyed the cool evening breeze. While I am grateful for the cool fall weather, I look forward to enjoying warm summer nights again.

I am grateful for new beginnings. In the middle of our move, Jonathan got a call from an old coworker that asked if he would be interested in a job with Apple. The job he described was Jonathan's dream job. Naturally, Jonathan jumped at the opportunity. He is happily learning and coding his days away.

I am grateful for our wedding presents. We've been married for almost a decade now and there are many presents that I frequently use and I remember who gave them to us. It is so moving that so many helped us get started. Between colds, Jonathan and I finally put cookies into the cookie jar that his sister, Hannah, gave to us. We were so excited that we took a picture and sent it to her. We previously used the cookie jar as a kitchen utensil holder, but now we can use it as a cookie jar!

I am grateful for temples. They are so much more than just pretty buildings and nicely furnished rooms. In the temple, I feel closer to God and Jesus Christ. I get a glimpse of the woman that they know me to be. I can take my struggles and pains with me and while they don't disappear, I see the situation more clearly and I am strengthened to continue forward. The temple is truly God's house and I am so grateful that He lets His children visit His spirit there.

I am grateful for our new neighbors. Instead of hearing the thumping bass line from the clubs, we are now hearing mooing. It's a big change, but we are getting used to it.

A Big Catch Up

To start out, I am grateful I am once again healthy. I had a weird cold that was stuck in my throat. 

While I was sick, I was very grateful for Gatorade and that it didn't hurt my throat when I drank it.

I am grateful that I was sick because I regularly take for granted having a healthy body that does basically what I ask it to do. It truly is a blessing to be free from illness and I need to be a bit more aware of that.

To wrap up what I was grateful for while sick, I am very grateful to have Jonathan as my caretaker. He was sweet and made sure that I had what I needed. I feel rather spoiled when I'm sick.

I am grateful for this silly raptor sign in the computer lab I use at school. It makes me smile each time I see it. Thankfully, I'm never there when the raptors are.

I am grateful for tender mercies. Most people would call them coincidences, but they are real and provided for us by a loving Savior. Anyway, last month I took a woman from church to a doctor's appointment because she doesn't have a car. While I was in the waiting room, I looked out the window and saw a message that I needed. The graffiti says "Just Wait". I feel like that was there for me. I want things to move ahead in the way that I want it to, but whenever I pray it doesn't feel right. That message of just wait was exactly what I needed that day. I am not forgotten while I wait and it's okay that I am currently waiting. It won't last forever.

I am grateful for stormy weather. Texas provides a wide variety of weather and by far my favorite are the storms. Sometimes there's thunder and lightening and other times it's solely rain. It doesn't really matter to me!

As I was driving yesterday, I felt grateful for the magic of fall. I was driving through colorful leaves and watching how they seem to dance as the wind blows them around felt magical. I didn't get pictures since I was driving, but that might be my favorite part of fall. The beauty struck me very deeply and I can't really describe it beyond magical.

I am grateful for my marriage. It has helped me to grow in ways that I wouldn't have otherwise. I am grateful to be married to my equal. While we have different strengths and weaknesses, they balance out and we are equal. Our marriage is a wonderful refuge from the world where we can truly be our nerdy selves and enjoy each other. I am grateful that our paths crossed and that Jonathan waited patiently for me. Our marriage is a blessing as we've face tremendous trials and challenges together. The struggles that could have (and maybe should have) torn us apart have only brought us closer together. I can't wait to see where our life takes us.

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Tuesday Nights

I am grateful for our Tuesday nights. For the past few months, we gather with a group of friends from church and learn about Personal Finances. When we started, we didn't know anyone else in our group and over time we've become friends.

You can check out the manual by clicking here.

This course is designed to guide you to understand not only about Personal Finances, but to come closer to God as well. When I think about most things involving money, I don't usually think about praying over it even though the scriptures tell us to pray for everything. It has helped us gain a better understanding of where we are and what we need to do to have the future we want. I'm grateful that we've taken advantage of this opportunity and for the friends that we've made because of it.

Veterans Day

I am grateful for the men and women who serve to defend our freedoms. It's weird because today is going to look like a normal Monday morning with work and school. In spite of that, we can carry an extra prayer in our hearts for our defenders near and far.

Family

I am grateful that family love knows no distance. While this is currently the farthest I lived from my family, I have never felt closer to them. This summer was a pretty crazy one for us. We were on an emotional rollercoaster. When we were at our lowest point, there was nothing we could do on our own that could bring us out of it. We tried so hard and a dark cloud just hung over us. My family had already been apprised of what was going on and were praying for us. They kicked it up a notch and held a fast for us. That morning was the first time in three weeks that I woke up and was not weighed down by what was going on. Amy Rosella shared this quote in our group text after shared how much better we were both doing.

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Sure, fasting and praying hasn't changed what's going on, but it did bring peace that we are on the right track. It is such a blessing that I can still rely on my family even though we are no where near each other.

Morning Routine

I am grateful for my simple morning routine. I start my day out spending time in the scriptures.

I spend about 10 minutes in the Book of Mormon, then I journal, and I finish up with the Come, Follow Me curriculum for individuals and families. Sometimes I really dive in and take my time, but other mornings I don't have as much time so I quickly go through each. I feel like it is helping me as I prioritize my mornings.

Catch Up!

I'm grateful that I can catch up on the days that I've already missed.

I'm grateful for productive Saturdays. This past Saturday, Jonathan was on a roll with getting things done around our new apartment. He assembled shelves and then used them to organize his tools in our little storage closet on our patio. This is the first time we've ever had anything like this and it has been a blessing. We no longer have a trunk filled with tools and now we can easily find whatever tool we need.

I am grateful for the Lord's tender mercies that brought us to Texas. I've been thinking a lot about how we made it to Texas as we moved out of our first place. There were so many blessings and one of the biggest ones was finding our apartment. It was hard to leave, but it was time to move forward. I am grateful for all of the memories we will have of our time there.

I'm grateful for gorgeous Texas sunsets. I love how they linger for what seems like hours and how they change as the sun gets lower and lower.

Mi Familia

I am grateful for all of our wonderful ancestors and their perseverance to overcome their challenges.

I always get choked up during this song.

We haven't been to big about celebrating Halloween, though I did pull out some fake spiders and our haunted house. After watching Coco many, many times, I thought it would be cool do our own version of Dia de Los Muertos, or day of the dead.

I got out pictures of our ancestors and Jonathan helped me make paper marigolds.

I really like that there is a holiday that focuses on our ancestors and how it helps keep us connected with them. I have found strength as I have learned about my ancestors and how they kept moving forward even though life was incredibly difficult. I think this is going to be a new tradition for us.

Home

I am grateful to have an apartment that feels like a home.

This September we moved and this was the first time we moved without really needing to move. It took awhile for it to feel real, but we kept moving forward because we ultimately did feel like it was right for us. It didn't take long for it to feel like a home. We still had boxes and piles of stuff, but it feels like a home. I can't find a better way to describe it. I loved our last place and still miss it at times, but it never quite felt like home. This past weekend, we spent time assembling more of our furniture and hanging things on the walls and it feels like we've always been here. It is such a wonderful feeling to have.

A Month of Gratitude

I don't know about you, but it feels like November came out of nowhere. As I was sitting in church this afternoon, I realized I hadn't started my annual daily gratitude posts. I am going to correct that right now. I enjoy taking the time to write out something I am grateful each day and seeing the wonderful blessings I have in my life. If you are like me and haven't started, you can join in any time!

First, I am grateful for our wonderful friends. Last Sunday, we visited with some of our old friends for a night of pumpkin carving and games. I cannot remember the last time I carved a pumpkin, but it's safe to say that it has been many, many years. I decided to go all out and do a dia de los muertos skull. Most everyone finished their pumpkins quickly, but I kept hard at work finishing mine. A few hours later, it was done! I love how both of our pumpkins turned out and that we were able to spend the evening with our dear friends.

Second, I am grateful we aren't the only Texans in the family anymore! My cousins moved to the Dallas area and we were able to visit them for the weekend. I haven't seen Steve and Sapna since I was a young teenager. It was so wonderful to spend some real time with them and for Jonathan to meet more of my family. Steve has even been caught saying y'all! His Texification is coming along great!

Third, I am grateful for reminders of my childhood (even if they my cause inconvenience). Any time I am stuck waiting for a train, I am taken back to my years in high school racing the trains to get to school on time. We raced them because they were slow moving and then would stop (still blocking the intersection) and then slowly reverse. Thankfully, the trains I wait for here don't pull those types of shenanigans, but I still get transported back to those days for just a few seconds and I can't help put smile.

That Was May

It feels like I just posted about our April adventures and it's already now June. May went by in a blur, but here are a few memories.

Jonathan and I have matching hats for our favorite Formula 1 team and we frequently wear them together. So, we decided to step up our game and wore matching outfits with our matching hats. Yeah, we are that couple and we love it!

We took care of our friend Liza's cat a couple of times during May and he actually liked Jonathan more than me! Frequently, Jonathan would be hissed at but now he is the favorite. (I can't say I'm too surprised. Jonathan usually is everyone's favorite.)

A few days later, Jonathan and I went out to dinner at the restaurant just down the street from us. It had been fairly humid all day and as we were eating the wind picked up outside. Unfortunately, we didn't finish dinner in time and we had to walk through the pouring rain to our parking garage for shelter. We joked that we should have asked to leave through their back door since it opens up to our garage. Even though we were wet, we really enjoyed the storm.

Jonathan is slowly but surely getting some much needed dental work done. He's gone through quite a bit, but it wasn't until this latest time that he didn't feel good. Thankfully, he already filled prescriptions for pain killers for previous dental work and so we were able to keep him comfortable. By the next day he was back to normal.

My sweet mom once again sent flowers to me for Mother's Day. They were delivered to our apartment building's office and when I called them to make sure they were there they told me they were delivered but that the flowers were ugly and that I should just leave them there. They were scheming to keep the flowers for themselves! They most certainly were not ugly!

The day before Mother's Day, Jonathan and I decided to go to the temple. There was a lot going on at that time for us from me finishing up the semester to Jonathan needing some guidance with work to strained relationships and more! I love how spending time in the temple helps put our problems into perspective. They don't go away, but there is a clarity that comes.

I loved the Mother's Day messages on the signs along the freeway. Instead of going straight back home, we decided to go through a few smaller towns starting with Kyle.

Unfortunately the pie shop in Kyle was already closed for the day. I guess we will just have to go back another day!

I love driving on the country roads and the beautiful Texas scenery. 

We had a delicious dinner at Kimberly's in Wimberley. Yes, it is in Wimberley, Texas. Yes, it was delicious!

The wildflowers are still amazing. I had Jonathan pull over so I could take some pictures of this massive field covered in firewheels.

It's sights like these that make the hot, humid summers tolerable!

Then we made it back to our city. I love that we can easily be in the country even though we live in such a big city.

On Sunday, my primary kids made little heart notes for their moms. That gave me an idea to make a note for my mom.

I chose green paper because that's one of her favorite colors. I feel so spoiled because I have such a wonderful and selfless mother. She truly is the mother I need!

We frequently have cute little birds landing on our ledge.

I don't have any pictures, but I finished off this semester fairly strong. My astronomy class was the easiest science class I think I've ever taken and Spanish I was crazy hard. I've been wanting to kick start learning Spanish and this helped a lot. I have a better understanding of the grammar structure and how to conjugate verbs. My Spanish profesora was wonderful and very helpful, though I am grateful that it is over!

On the last Sunday in May, we had pizza and popcorn for dinner. When my parents were first married pizza and popcorn was the meal they had every Sunday. That same day, we decided to go to a Memorial Day ceremony. It took a bit of work finding a website that had a list of where they would be held throughout Texas, but I found it. We decided to go to the one held in Georgetown at the Veteran's Memorial Plaza in Sun City.

The program began with a flyover. The men in the color guard were dressed as colonial soldiers. A few even had the big buckled shoes.

There were probably around 1,000 people there and when the band played the National Anthem the crowd was quietly singing along. It was spontaneous and I got emotional. So much of what we are exposed to is divisive and spewing with anger and this was the exact opposite. It was powerful and unifying.

The main speaker just so happened to be United States Senator Ted Cruz. His speech was very powerful. He explained the origin of the common phrase there are no atheists in foxholes. It started with the Four Immortal Chaplains. I don't believe I had ever heard this story before. There was a transport ship going across the Atlantic Ocean that was hit with a torpedo in the middle of the night. There were four chaplains aboard the ship: one Catholic priest, one Jewish rabbi, and two Protestant preachers. As the ship was sinking, they were on the top deck helping hand out life jackets and eventually each giving their own to others. All four of them were calm in the face of so much chaos  and fear surrounded them. It is said that they were last seen circled together praying as the ship went down. This story has stayed on my mind. These men embodied their religious beliefs as they focused on serving others even at the cost of their own lives. They didn't care if the men believed everything they did. They simply helped those around them.

You can see Ted Cruz in the middle of the crowd.

We are planning on taking the time to either attend a Memorial Day ceremony or do something special to mark this day. It isn't just an excuse to not go to work and go shopping for some good discounts. The man who gave the benediction talked about how we honor those that died by living a joyful life and are actively involved in using the freedoms that these men and women died in an effort to preserve them. I am so grateful we took the time to remember what the true cost of freedom is and the necessity of continuing to preserve it. 

After the ceremony, Jonathan and I got a little pot to plant cilantro in. Jonathan loves making tacos and now wants to grow our own cilantro. Fingers crossed that the birds don't eat it!

The next day, we got some very exciting mail! At the beginning of the month, we ordered a full family portrait from an etsy shop called Dreamy Daffodil. Unfortunately, the envelope was a little bent so I stacked a bunch of book on top of it to help straiten it out. I waited until Jonathan came home from work to open it and it is PERFECT!!!

Here's what I wrote about it.

I am so grateful for all the love and support we've received especially as we've slowly started sharing more and more about our children. My life is not complete without them and they still have a significant portion of my heart with them. There are still plenty of days where the grief of living without them here is overpowering, but there are even more days that I have a grateful heart for the memories that we've made with them. I love having a visual reminder that they are part of our family and that it is only through Jesus Christ that I have the hope of being with them again.

May was a good month and gave us an excellent jumping off point for this summer!