Join Me!

Next weekend is the 189th General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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I am grateful that every 6 months we gather together as an entire church and receive counsel from our leaders. Since there are millions of members throughout the entire world, we don't physically meet together. Instead our normal Sunday meetings are cancelled and we are invited to watch the four general sessions over the weekend in a wide variety of ways. Jonathan and I prefer to stream it live at home.

Over the past few weeks, I've been thinking about when President Russell M. Nelson came to San Antonio and we were able to hear his counsel, along with other leaders and their wives, for those of us that live in the area. It's hard not to feel valued when the prophet, who travels all over the world chooses to come to your area and talk to you.

It was a wonderful experience. President Nelson specifically asked that the girls and boys from ages 16 to 18 sit on the floor of the stadium directly in front of him. It was powerful to be with so many other people that wanted to hear the words of our prophet. One of the most powerful parts of the evening was when Sister Wendy Nelson shared her testimony of her husband's calling to be the prophet on the Earth today. She has seen and felt a distinct change in him from how he teaches to how frequently he receives revelation to appearing younger as he is speaking to a crowd. I may not see all that Sister Nelson does, but I am certain that President Russell M. Nelson is the Lord's chosen prophet today. He is helping us become better disciples of Jesus Christ by seeing the good that is already there and then inviting us to be better.

I kept remembering when I was a little kid and we went to Arco Arena
when President Gordon B. Hinckley came for a similar visit.

I planning on taking this week to make sure I am prepared for General Conference next week. I am going to review some more talks and write down questions that I need answers to. I love taking notes while listening to General Conference and often find that the speaker is directly answering my questions. Here are some more ideas on how to prepare for General Conference.

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I truly hope you will join me. It is a lot of time, but even if you can only spare a few minutes to listen you will be blessed.

What a Month! February Edition

February was one crazy month. It ended up having a family wedding, a few birthdays, our anniversary, my grandpa dying, along with our normal everyday lives. Let's start at the beginning of the month though!

We landed in California the previous day for Thomas and Morghan's wedding. It was a lovely wedding and I loved being able to catch up with so many family members and friends that day.

The happy couple!

The following day (I didn't take any pictures), we saw Amy & Mike's new house and spend time with their kids. We ended up visiting with my grandpa and it was a bit startling to see how much he changed since I saw him in December. It was like he was a totally different person. Anyway, I was able to report back to him that I was following the advice he gave me back in December. He was relieved to hear that and reiterated his belief in me. Jonathan spent the evening with his family and I spent the evening with Andy's kids since we hadn't seen them up to that point. Kyle was particularly wanted to hang out and play games with me. We played some checkers and Lyla joined in when we were playing Mario Party. I assured them that they would see both me and Jonathan in the summer, but I ended up coming back to California in March.

Our flight home was filled with wonderful views like this one. We got home and back to normal life. With the wedding and our anniversary coming up, I had a quote stuck in my head and decided to get it up on our wall.

I love the way my marriage with Jonathan works. It has given our individual lives a strong foundation for us to pursue our dreams and our dreams pull us closer together. Jonathan's goals and dreams have become mine and my goals and dreams have become his. Now I can't make all of his dreams come true. He still needs to put in the work and effort, but I can find ways to assist him and the same is true for my dreams. We've made some big and terrifying jumps together and they didn't really work until we truly held on to each other and allowed ourselves to be 100% open and vulnerable. I honestly believe that is why there was no hesitation from either one of us about moving to Texas. We had already gone through experiences that could have broken us and honestly were breaking us as individuals. The only thing that stopped that outcome was that we opened up and were vulnerable. It was hard, but it brought us so close to one another. When the opportunity to move to Texas came along, we felt good about it and knew that we could overcome any challenge that came with it because we could trust each other.

Texas sunsets are gorgeous 99.99% of the time.

Before leaving California, I told Kyle we would FaceTime with him on his birthday. Thankfully he forgave us and we ended up FaceTiming a few days later.

I didn't take any pictures of our Valentine's Day meal, but here are the remnants of it. I may only use the heart-shaped pans once a year, but they are fantastic. In previous years they've held desserts, but this year it was cornbread to go with some delicious chili.

The weather in Texas has been so mild this February that I didn't want the month to end. We had our delicious tacos on the patio wearing shorts and t-shirts.

The week before my grandpa died, Jonathan and I went to the San Antonio Temple. I love being in the temple and how it helps me shift my perspective from what I'm concerned about in the short term to what truly matters. When I feel like I'm not enough, the spirit within the temple reminds me that I am priceless as I am today and I am capable of so much more in the future if I continue on the covenant path. For me, the temple is an empowering experience and I need it in my life.

The following Saturday, my grandpa died. I was working hard to catch up on my homework, so I wasn't really able to process all of my emotions. By Sunday morning though, I was able to figure out what I was feeling. Here's what I shared with others.

I honestly haven't felt sad about my grandpa's death. Sure I've gotten emotional and shed a few tears, but it hasn't been out of heartache or regret or anything like that. I was able to be with my grandpa twice in the three months that led up to his death. He gave me sound advice that while he was focused on a single subject was given broadly enough that I will be able to use it daily and I was able to report back to him at the beginning of February that I was following through with his advice. I am so grateful that I took those opportunities to be with him or I might have some regrets and feel sad, but I am so happy that he is now with my grandma. They spent over thirty years apart and I have a feeling they have been talking nonstop for the past few weeks catching each other up on what they've been up to and all about the family.

A couple of days later, we celebrated our anniversary. It started out with us keeping the romance very much alive by getting a new car battery. Jonathan took the day off of work and when it was time for me to go to school the car wouldn't turn over. I ended up taking an Uber to school while Jonathan took care of getting the battery charged enough to make it Auto Zone for a new one. He picked me up from school and we went out to dinner. Much like last year, I ended up having the most tender steak around! Before going home, we ended up stopping off at Fry's Electronics to buy our own Nintendo DSs! Didn't you know that the eighth anniversary is the Nintendo anniversary? Okay, it isn't really, but for us it is. In all of our years of marriage, we haven't owned any sort of gaming console even though we both really enjoy playing video games. Jonathan beat me at Mario Kart, but I beat him at Star Fox so you can say we are pretty evenly matched. When I've told family members about our anniversary present, they all agree that Jonathan and I are perfect for one another. I have to agree!

At some point during the week, I decided to fly to California for my third time in three months. I had been debating about staying home and honoring Grandpa by focusing on my schoolwork, but ultimately I felt strongly that I should be around my family. Clearly that was the best choice.