“We all have our demons beneath the roads we walk, yours’...have been waiting a long time.” Mycroft. Wendy once quoted Elder Bednar who said something along the lines of when we think we have no need of a warning that is the time we are in the greatest need of warning. These messages are both true and I should have taken the warning with more gravity than I did.
If you are reading this blog post then my divorce with Wendy has been finalized. It has been a little shy of three months now. I won’t attempt to describe the hurricane of emotion this event has caused in not only my life but of those around Wendy and I, let alone everything leading up to it. I am writing about this situation not because I want to, honestly I would rather only talk about it exclusively with friends and family as I don't know who else will read this post, but because I have felt prompted to do so. I know that people will wish to judge me or Wendy harshly for letting this situation happen. I humbly plead with those who would do so to remember the following two counsels from the Savior taken from the testimony of Matthew “For with what judgement ye judge, Ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” (Matthew 7:2) and “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” (Matthew 5:7). So I ask that you be merciful in judging either of us whether or not you think we deserve it. I have no intention of pointing fingers as it is not healthy nor productive to do so. I will state that I believe that the divorce came into being because of sins from both parties. In my post I will not discuss others sins, I will only discuss mine as on only those I can speak confidently. I am trying to abide by the philosophy “Let God judge between me and thee...”
The first of my sins that I will discuss is being critical. I am analytically minded and having a desire to understand things, I tend to mentally disect things. If I am in a bad mood I often resort to being critical of others and organizations. In either case I tend to be unfair and more often than not, my knowledge is usually rather incomplete. I will say that I have been guilty of doing this in a myriad of situations. With this in mind, I tend to try to offer constructive criticism or critiques whether or not others want them and this sin definitely contributed to my divorce.
Those who know me will know that I am passionate if nothing else. Because I am passionate I am not always as careful or as calculated with my words as I should be. This combined with the fact that I am analytically minded means that I can make incredibly biting remarks without much thought. If some of you know me as kind, as I hope at least some of you do, I hope you appreciate the fact that I am kind and nice intentionally rather than naturally. In high school I know my parents pointed out this fact and told me that I really needed to work on it. It is something I have had to and still consciously work on.
I took a marriage class once with Wendy and it analyzed how we tended to handle conflict. It stated that generally we have three stages. Mine are helpful, avoidance and fight. I mention this study only because I found it accurate for me personally. I found that generally if I feel like I have a point of conflict with people I tend to try and comprise or get incredibly helpful by offering them more inform about my opinion or view. If that fails then I avoid the topic or avoid going into any detail about the topic. I have termed this clamming up. I tend to do it when I am really hurting or depressed. It’s not healthy and it is something that I am working on overcoming.
I have anxiety about the future. I don’t like planning because I feel like for me personally it’s only rarely helpful. I generally don’t like thinking about the future or even setting goals as I feel like it’s often hard to achieve them. This is also something else that I am working on.
We all are lazy and I am definitely guilty of this sin too. I know that there were a few nights that I chose not to get up with the girls again because I was tired and I knew that I would need to get up for work the next day. To quote one of my favorite mantras and something I will hopefully soon have on a shirt, “Strength before weakness” I will make mine and own.
Last but certainly not least on my list is pride. I know someone will point out that this sin clearly is the foundation for the rest of them which is true. My pride has been focused on appearing good to others or being very concerned with what others think of me. I’m not talking about being considerate of others but more about being preoccupied with my “reputation” for lack of a better word. This problem has in turn led me to not be as emotionally vulnerable and get the support I needed.
July 20, 2017
November 15, 2015
Paying Attention and Loving
So many changes that have happened in over the year since I last posted. First we are in Utah and we doing better. Our little family has grown and we are blooming family of four. We are a fun and silly bunch which I'm glad to say that I learned from my family that I grew up in. Evelyn is a cute toddler who understands two languages, French and English, and speak one and a half. Julie Leanne joined our family four months ago and is a happy little girl who has thus far decided to Daddy's little girl and Evelyn has taken claim of Mommy.
I love to expound on the ways that our lives have gotten better but some of them are too personal to address on here. I will say that I have been doing some "Wii exercises" as one of my friends used to joke with me. I have also cut back on my reading which has helped me focus on families and friends. Wendy and I have made friends in our ward or congregation and we intend to only get more because we are greedy like that. I do want to say that I am married to my best friend who is wonderful and who is bent on helping me be a better man. I love flirting with her. Also if you haven't have listened to the song "Beauty and the Beast" it's awesome. My favorite line from it now is "learning you were wrong". I like it mainly because my first impression of the beautiful woman who would become my wife was not a positive one at first. I've had the good experience of learning just how wrong my first impression was of her.
I do want to mention that I am excited for the Pokémon Go App. I will only mention this topic in passing to warn anyone who might have an inclination of talking to me about it, as I might talk your ear off about that subject. I do want to mention that Brandon Sandersen has become my favorite author is another subject about which I could talk at length.
The title of my post is based on something I realized from an experience with my second daughter Julie. Wendy had just given birth to our daughter, I had clamped the cord and Julie was off to a great start. As always the nurses needed to check all of Julie's vitals and make sure that she was healthy and ensure that she could indeed survive on her own. I remember that there were three nurses checking all of the monitors and looking at Julie to make sure would be fine. In the midst of all of these screenings, I remember hearing Julie cry for probably the second time in her short little existence. I glanced at Wendy to ensure she was alright and then went over to little Julie. She was crying, red and flailing. I put my hand out to her and she grabbed my finger in her tiny little hand and suddenly stopped crying. As I reflected on this experience I realized that three very caring people were all paying attention to Julie but I had to reach out in love and that's what she felt. I think that we often tend to pay attention to what someone is saying or doing or we are thinking about our response. I think that we often forget the vital part that we need to love them. I'm not saying that things two things are mutually exclusive but I am saying that we tend to do one rather than the other. As both the Apostle Paul and the Book of Mormon prophet Moroni taught that if we don't have charity we are nothing. While we do need to pray for charity, I think that it is also important that we exercise the muscle that is love towards our brothers and sisters. I pray that as you go through out your week that you will exercise that muscle of love towards your neighbor. I know that as you do so you will touch the lives of others in positive ways and you will start to reflect the love our Heavenly Father and Christ to others.
I love to expound on the ways that our lives have gotten better but some of them are too personal to address on here. I will say that I have been doing some "Wii exercises" as one of my friends used to joke with me. I have also cut back on my reading which has helped me focus on families and friends. Wendy and I have made friends in our ward or congregation and we intend to only get more because we are greedy like that. I do want to say that I am married to my best friend who is wonderful and who is bent on helping me be a better man. I love flirting with her. Also if you haven't have listened to the song "Beauty and the Beast" it's awesome. My favorite line from it now is "learning you were wrong". I like it mainly because my first impression of the beautiful woman who would become my wife was not a positive one at first. I've had the good experience of learning just how wrong my first impression was of her.
I do want to mention that I am excited for the Pokémon Go App. I will only mention this topic in passing to warn anyone who might have an inclination of talking to me about it, as I might talk your ear off about that subject. I do want to mention that Brandon Sandersen has become my favorite author is another subject about which I could talk at length.
The title of my post is based on something I realized from an experience with my second daughter Julie. Wendy had just given birth to our daughter, I had clamped the cord and Julie was off to a great start. As always the nurses needed to check all of Julie's vitals and make sure that she was healthy and ensure that she could indeed survive on her own. I remember that there were three nurses checking all of the monitors and looking at Julie to make sure would be fine. In the midst of all of these screenings, I remember hearing Julie cry for probably the second time in her short little existence. I glanced at Wendy to ensure she was alright and then went over to little Julie. She was crying, red and flailing. I put my hand out to her and she grabbed my finger in her tiny little hand and suddenly stopped crying. As I reflected on this experience I realized that three very caring people were all paying attention to Julie but I had to reach out in love and that's what she felt. I think that we often tend to pay attention to what someone is saying or doing or we are thinking about our response. I think that we often forget the vital part that we need to love them. I'm not saying that things two things are mutually exclusive but I am saying that we tend to do one rather than the other. As both the Apostle Paul and the Book of Mormon prophet Moroni taught that if we don't have charity we are nothing. While we do need to pray for charity, I think that it is also important that we exercise the muscle that is love towards our brothers and sisters. I pray that as you go through out your week that you will exercise that muscle of love towards your neighbor. I know that as you do so you will touch the lives of others in positive ways and you will start to reflect the love our Heavenly Father and Christ to others.
August 4, 2014
Where True Richness Lies
It's been almost a year since I last posted. I really should stop trying to set some sort of personal record for how long I can go before I post. I would say that I was busy but that's not entirely true. I won't get into those details right now. The big news is that my little family and I moved to Georgia. And our little girl is almost nine months old.
For reasons I won't list here, my little family is on the low end financially. In the entire time that Wendy and I have been married I don't know that we've ever been poorer than we are currently. That being said, I've realized something. I've realized that I already am rich. I have riches that money can't buy. I'll list just a few of them here.
I have my wonderful daughter Evelyn. Her smile is a wonderful thing to which to wake up. I love watching her explore and learn about the world around her and her little laugh is worth thousands at least. I love watching her make new and different expressions; it's cool because then I realize that I am indeed dealing with a strange, new, tiny human being who is just starting to be capable of showing me her personality. I look forward to seeing more of it.
I am especially rich because I have my wife. I get to wake up to her beautiful face every morning. I get the opportunity everyday to love her and try and love her better than the day before. I get romance her everyday. I never realized how easy it is to court a new girl every couple of months until I've been dating my wife for over a year and a half; marriage is an awesome challenge in that respect. I get to have fun with her and hear her quips. I get to kiss her everyday. I get to eat her cooking which is on par with the French cuisine I had. Most of my reads should know what a compliment that it is in it's own right. I get to see her play with Evelyn as she makes her laugh. I love it.
I am also richly blessed to have my parents and siblings. My parents support and encourage me despite my failings. I love talking to my siblings and getting their different ideas. I know my siblings and I don't always have much in common but it is awesome to see how we've all changed and how in some odd way we've stayed the same.
I want to be clear to my reader that I do realize that I do need money to maintain my richness. I just want to help my reader understand that in my eyes, I am already richly blessed. I hope that y'all can recognize where your true richness lies! I love you and hope that you have a good life until next time I post!
For reasons I won't list here, my little family is on the low end financially. In the entire time that Wendy and I have been married I don't know that we've ever been poorer than we are currently. That being said, I've realized something. I've realized that I already am rich. I have riches that money can't buy. I'll list just a few of them here.
I have my wonderful daughter Evelyn. Her smile is a wonderful thing to which to wake up. I love watching her explore and learn about the world around her and her little laugh is worth thousands at least. I love watching her make new and different expressions; it's cool because then I realize that I am indeed dealing with a strange, new, tiny human being who is just starting to be capable of showing me her personality. I look forward to seeing more of it.
I am especially rich because I have my wife. I get to wake up to her beautiful face every morning. I get the opportunity everyday to love her and try and love her better than the day before. I get romance her everyday. I never realized how easy it is to court a new girl every couple of months until I've been dating my wife for over a year and a half; marriage is an awesome challenge in that respect. I get to have fun with her and hear her quips. I get to kiss her everyday. I get to eat her cooking which is on par with the French cuisine I had. Most of my reads should know what a compliment that it is in it's own right. I get to see her play with Evelyn as she makes her laugh. I love it.
I am also richly blessed to have my parents and siblings. My parents support and encourage me despite my failings. I love talking to my siblings and getting their different ideas. I know my siblings and I don't always have much in common but it is awesome to see how we've all changed and how in some odd way we've stayed the same.
I want to be clear to my reader that I do realize that I do need money to maintain my richness. I just want to help my reader understand that in my eyes, I am already richly blessed. I hope that y'all can recognize where your true richness lies! I love you and hope that you have a good life until next time I post!
September 22, 2013
Building Others
So I think that I should start with some updates. I finished my internship in Utah. It was really cool. I loved being able to contribute to a community. Wendy and I moved back up to Idaho. While I was down in Utah I made a shirt for a good friend of mine. It was the first shirt design that I'd ever done on my own. The quote on it is an inside joke from a double date with him and his wife.
.JPG)
.JPG)
Since moving back to Idaho, Wendy has started back to school and I've started back to work. We've made lots of friends in our new ward and we're really liking it. Also I made Wendy a shirt design after we got back. I have to admit, I really like making the designing because it gives me a creative outlet. Now I'm thinking about making more shirt designs.
Wendy and I have arranged our apartment and made general preparations for when our baby girl comes in a few months. We've been blessed to have all of our parents helping us out in that regard. One of my new favorite things is to put a hand on Wendy's stomach and feel our little girl kicking or moving. Wendy and I have discovered that we like eating at Frontier Pies. We both really like their pies.
My spiritual thought comes from our Gospel Doctrine teacher at church. Every Sunday he gives his lesson and finds a way to emphasize helping others out. Each week he asks us if we have experiences from the previous week on how we've helped others. Recently I've realized that the whole goal of the Gospel of Christ is to help others. Christ's teachings uplift us and help us to understand how to teach everyone but I think the ultimate goal of His teachings and actions was to show us how to help others. This week it is my goal to be more like my Savior and try to help those around me. A friend of mine once told me that I was a "builder" or someone who tried to build others up. At the time I believe I did a better job at "building". I want to challenge y'all to try to help build those around you then let me know how you did. I hope y'all have a great week!
.JPG)
.JPG)
My spiritual thought comes from our Gospel Doctrine teacher at church. Every Sunday he gives his lesson and finds a way to emphasize helping others out. Each week he asks us if we have experiences from the previous week on how we've helped others. Recently I've realized that the whole goal of the Gospel of Christ is to help others. Christ's teachings uplift us and help us to understand how to teach everyone but I think the ultimate goal of His teachings and actions was to show us how to help others. This week it is my goal to be more like my Savior and try to help those around me. A friend of mine once told me that I was a "builder" or someone who tried to build others up. At the time I believe I did a better job at "building". I want to challenge y'all to try to help build those around you then let me know how you did. I hope y'all have a great week!
July 14, 2013
Enabled by Grace
I'd like to offer my sincere apologies for having not written sooner. After my last post I got an internship down in Utah and moved down there. It's been very exciting to work with local city government to get necessary things accomplished. I'm looking forward to seeing how my work influences the city decisions. Also my wife, Wendy and I are expecting our first child later this year. We're very excited about welcoming our little girl into our new family. Wendy and I also visited Idaho about a month ago to visit friends and family. I'm close to finishing up my internship. I'm currently reading the Foundation series and Dad is rereading it.
My sister Catherine has a skill for making shirts and Onesies. At my request a few months ago she taught me how to make them. I came up with a design and then most of the execution with her careful oversight. This is the result.
.JPG)
.JPG)
The concept comes from one of my favorite TV shows the Avatar: the Last Airbender.
Here are two other shirts Catherine's made for me.
.JPG)
.JPG)
The above one is also from Avatar.
.JPG)
.JPG)
This shirt comes from a book called "The Little Prince". The quote on the back reads "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye". The quote is in French because I wanted a shirt with French on it that wasn't something mundane like "J'aime Paris" or "I love Paris".
So I came across a concept that I really like. It came from a talk in the last April session of LDS General Conference. The talk was by Elder Cardon entitled "The Savior Wants to Forgive". I liked the concept so much that I made it into a diagram which makes me feel like I understand it pretty well. Elder Cardon explains that if we seek the Lord's grace that it will be granted to us and make weak things strong. Endowed with this grace we are then capable of accomplishing tasks that we normally would not be able to do alone. It's a really simple message but it was something that really stuck out to me. It's something that I really believe to me true because I've searched for grace and been enabled to do things that I never thought I would be able to do.
I hope y'all have a good week!
My sister Catherine has a skill for making shirts and Onesies. At my request a few months ago she taught me how to make them. I came up with a design and then most of the execution with her careful oversight. This is the result.
.JPG)
.JPG)
The concept comes from one of my favorite TV shows the Avatar: the Last Airbender.
Here are two other shirts Catherine's made for me.
.JPG){kind=avatar}
.JPG){kind=avatar}
The above one is also from Avatar.
.JPG)
.JPG)
This shirt comes from a book called "The Little Prince". The quote on the back reads "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye". The quote is in French because I wanted a shirt with French on it that wasn't something mundane like "J'aime Paris" or "I love Paris".
So I came across a concept that I really like. It came from a talk in the last April session of LDS General Conference. The talk was by Elder Cardon entitled "The Savior Wants to Forgive". I liked the concept so much that I made it into a diagram which makes me feel like I understand it pretty well. Elder Cardon explains that if we seek the Lord's grace that it will be granted to us and make weak things strong. Endowed with this grace we are then capable of accomplishing tasks that we normally would not be able to do alone. It's a really simple message but it was something that really stuck out to me. It's something that I really believe to me true because I've searched for grace and been enabled to do things that I never thought I would be able to do.
I hope y'all have a good week!
March 25, 2013
Going Home
So I have a confession. I've lied. I didn't know the meaning of busy until I got married... Oh yeah, for those of you who missed it. I got married to my best friend Wendy. She is crazy like me so we have some pretty awesome times. I was planning on writing this post several times in the course of the last three months but things kept coming up. I will say that being married is a lot of fun though.
I'll do a brief summary of what's been going on in my life. I got married. We got an apartment. Wendy started another semester and I started a new job. Wendy and I went our friends Sean and Liz to a Valetine's day stake party. Wendy and I hang out with friends and sometimes family. We had my brother-in-law Gregory here which was fun. We had to go down to Utah to pick him up so we stopped by to see my family. Also I got my sister Catherine hooked to Percy Jackson & the Heroes of Olympus series. I'm working on getting an internship down in Utah for the summer. Now for some pictures.
And here is a picture from the Valentine's day dance.
My thought this week comes from a quiet moment today. Today I sat outside the Rexburg temple. I haven't been there this entire semester which is the longest that I've been without it since I was on my mission. I'm not gonna lie, I miss going there. Sitting there on a cool quiet day reminded me that it was really here that I felt like I was home for the first time in this small town. I was reminded that the temple is in part a reminder that one day we'll all go home one day or another. Our time here is time to get prepared to go back home to our Heavenly Father. This life is a temporarily sojourn in which we must learn, grow, and "write home" as frequently as we can. If you haven't talked to your Heavenly Father recently, I recommend it. I know that He always wants to hear from you and sometimes if you listen He has something to say. I hope y'all have a great week!
I'll do a brief summary of what's been going on in my life. I got married. We got an apartment. Wendy started another semester and I started a new job. Wendy and I went our friends Sean and Liz to a Valetine's day stake party. Wendy and I hang out with friends and sometimes family. We had my brother-in-law Gregory here which was fun. We had to go down to Utah to pick him up so we stopped by to see my family. Also I got my sister Catherine hooked to Percy Jackson & the Heroes of Olympus series. I'm working on getting an internship down in Utah for the summer. Now for some pictures.
And here is a picture from the Valentine's day dance.
My thought this week comes from a quiet moment today. Today I sat outside the Rexburg temple. I haven't been there this entire semester which is the longest that I've been without it since I was on my mission. I'm not gonna lie, I miss going there. Sitting there on a cool quiet day reminded me that it was really here that I felt like I was home for the first time in this small town. I was reminded that the temple is in part a reminder that one day we'll all go home one day or another. Our time here is time to get prepared to go back home to our Heavenly Father. This life is a temporarily sojourn in which we must learn, grow, and "write home" as frequently as we can. If you haven't talked to your Heavenly Father recently, I recommend it. I know that He always wants to hear from you and sometimes if you listen He has something to say. I hope y'all have a great week!
December 9, 2012
Update
For starters, I'm alive. It's been over two months since I posted. They have been crazy busy for the most part. I apologize for not writing sooner. Either I remembered and didn't have time or I forgot; the last few weeks have been a lot of the former. I'm very sorry guys.
Well, what to tell you.... I've been doing school stuff, work, wedding stuff and sometimes relaxing. Since last time, Wendy and I went to a Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert on campus. Wendy was super happy to go and we had really good seats. Wendy and I also went down to my parents house for General Conference and Thanksgiving. Both of those were really good and I was glad to spend time with my family and my darling Wendy. These last couple months have been full of ups and downs.
Today, going to church was a bittersweet experience. It was sweet because it was my last Sunday in a single's ward. While I have really enjoyed being in that ward, I won't miss the competition that seems to go on in a single's ward. At the same time, it was a bitter experience because it was my last time in the 67th ward. The ward that has become my home ward having been in it for two years. The experience was embittered more by the fact that the man who's been my Bishop for two years got released today. I won't deny it, that man has become my friend because he's helped me in some of my toughest moments. I will note that I was pleased to have him do an important interview for me today which was very touching because he's not just my Bishop, he's my friend.
Well, I should say that I'm really happy to be finishing up school this week and heading home for bit. Then from there I get to fly home with my darling Wendy to meet her family. And a few weeks after that I get to marry my best friend!
My spiritual thought this week comes from a reflection that I had during sacrament meeting. I realized one of the reasons that this ward has become my favorite and my home ward. It is because of all the friends that I've made here. Something I've really come to appreciate over the last few days are the friends that I have. They are really great people and I love them dearly. They have helped me and more often than they know they have changed my life for the better. As Sister Dalton once said in a devotional here on campus, everyone in your life is there for a purpose. I know that this is definitely true of my friends and I'm grateful to have them in my life. I hope y'all can recognize that your friends are gifts from God and I hope you let them know how much you love and appreciate them! Have a good week!
P.S. I've stop talking about what books I'm reading because I'm pretty sure no one really cares. Let me know if you wanted it included. If not I'll leave that part out.
Well, what to tell you.... I've been doing school stuff, work, wedding stuff and sometimes relaxing. Since last time, Wendy and I went to a Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert on campus. Wendy was super happy to go and we had really good seats. Wendy and I also went down to my parents house for General Conference and Thanksgiving. Both of those were really good and I was glad to spend time with my family and my darling Wendy. These last couple months have been full of ups and downs.
Today, going to church was a bittersweet experience. It was sweet because it was my last Sunday in a single's ward. While I have really enjoyed being in that ward, I won't miss the competition that seems to go on in a single's ward. At the same time, it was a bitter experience because it was my last time in the 67th ward. The ward that has become my home ward having been in it for two years. The experience was embittered more by the fact that the man who's been my Bishop for two years got released today. I won't deny it, that man has become my friend because he's helped me in some of my toughest moments. I will note that I was pleased to have him do an important interview for me today which was very touching because he's not just my Bishop, he's my friend.
Well, I should say that I'm really happy to be finishing up school this week and heading home for bit. Then from there I get to fly home with my darling Wendy to meet her family. And a few weeks after that I get to marry my best friend!
My spiritual thought this week comes from a reflection that I had during sacrament meeting. I realized one of the reasons that this ward has become my favorite and my home ward. It is because of all the friends that I've made here. Something I've really come to appreciate over the last few days are the friends that I have. They are really great people and I love them dearly. They have helped me and more often than they know they have changed my life for the better. As Sister Dalton once said in a devotional here on campus, everyone in your life is there for a purpose. I know that this is definitely true of my friends and I'm grateful to have them in my life. I hope y'all can recognize that your friends are gifts from God and I hope you let them know how much you love and appreciate them! Have a good week!
P.S. I've stop talking about what books I'm reading because I'm pretty sure no one really cares. Let me know if you wanted it included. If not I'll leave that part out.
September 21, 2012
Looking Back
So I'm taking a few minutes to breath and get people updated. Sadly I'd love to talk to most of you one on one but alas, I do not have the time to do that.
After my last post, Wendy returned from her sojourn overseas. We enjoyed being reunited. We'd both grown closer to one another during her absence. Wendy was happy to spend good quality time with both her parents. A couple days after she got back, we came back to Idaho. Classes have started and we both have kind of crazy schedules. Plus, I started back to work this week so that's made life that much more hectic. The last couple of weeks have been good but a bit difficult getting back into the swing of things. I should mention that Wendy and I have one class together which is nice because it means we have a least two times a week that we're guaranteed to see each other. This semester, I have all new roommates which is cool. We're all chill which is nice. I'm currently reading two books "The Power of Six" which is from the sequel of "I Am Number Four" and the fifth book of Fablehaven. The latter series Wendy recommended to me and I really like it.
Wendy and I got to hang out with a couple of my friends from my freshman orientation. They meet in my group and later started dating. They are now married and they are living in the apartment complex that Wendy and I are hoping to live in next year. We threw around a Frisbee, and had a small game night with dessert. I'm sorry, I don't have photos of that.
Lately, I've been thinking about the past and where I was a year ago or two or however many. I guess, I've thought about this because of reading over my journal and just the events happening all around me. I thought about all the dating that I've done here at BYU-Idaho. I know I haven't dated tons of girls but I will say that I tend to get really attached to people. In the past, it's always made breakups a bit more rough for me. Having reread some of my journal entries from those times, it made feel kinda sad but also made me want to reach out to my past self to tell him that everything will be okay and this is just part of Heavenly Father's plan for us. Saying that reminds me of a video that I love from Elder Holland that you can see if you click here. I watched this video after most of my breakups to help remind that the future would be better. But I digress, if I could go back, I would tell myself to keep going even though it's hard. I would tell myself to that it will get better even if there's another breakup down the road. I would tell him that God has the situation firmly in hand and that He's guiding you even if you don't see it yet; I'll promise him that one day he will see it and it'll be awesome beyond his imagination. And I'll answer his question, the question he was always too timid to ask. I would tell him that all the heartache and sacrifices he went through we were worth it. I'd let him know that he was trading small copper nuggets for a treasury of gold. I want to conclude by saying to those going through hard times right now: keep going! It will get better. If you feel like the Lord wants you to sacrifice something or a relationship with someone, do it. I promise that it will be worth it. I promise that you will be blessed for your sacrifice even if like Abraham, you can't see how God will make it work. I hope that y'all have a good week. May the Lord watch over you and bless you.
After my last post, Wendy returned from her sojourn overseas. We enjoyed being reunited. We'd both grown closer to one another during her absence. Wendy was happy to spend good quality time with both her parents. A couple days after she got back, we came back to Idaho. Classes have started and we both have kind of crazy schedules. Plus, I started back to work this week so that's made life that much more hectic. The last couple of weeks have been good but a bit difficult getting back into the swing of things. I should mention that Wendy and I have one class together which is nice because it means we have a least two times a week that we're guaranteed to see each other. This semester, I have all new roommates which is cool. We're all chill which is nice. I'm currently reading two books "The Power of Six" which is from the sequel of "I Am Number Four" and the fifth book of Fablehaven. The latter series Wendy recommended to me and I really like it.
Wendy and I got to hang out with a couple of my friends from my freshman orientation. They meet in my group and later started dating. They are now married and they are living in the apartment complex that Wendy and I are hoping to live in next year. We threw around a Frisbee, and had a small game night with dessert. I'm sorry, I don't have photos of that.
Lately, I've been thinking about the past and where I was a year ago or two or however many. I guess, I've thought about this because of reading over my journal and just the events happening all around me. I thought about all the dating that I've done here at BYU-Idaho. I know I haven't dated tons of girls but I will say that I tend to get really attached to people. In the past, it's always made breakups a bit more rough for me. Having reread some of my journal entries from those times, it made feel kinda sad but also made me want to reach out to my past self to tell him that everything will be okay and this is just part of Heavenly Father's plan for us. Saying that reminds me of a video that I love from Elder Holland that you can see if you click here. I watched this video after most of my breakups to help remind that the future would be better. But I digress, if I could go back, I would tell myself to keep going even though it's hard. I would tell myself to that it will get better even if there's another breakup down the road. I would tell him that God has the situation firmly in hand and that He's guiding you even if you don't see it yet; I'll promise him that one day he will see it and it'll be awesome beyond his imagination. And I'll answer his question, the question he was always too timid to ask. I would tell him that all the heartache and sacrifices he went through we were worth it. I'd let him know that he was trading small copper nuggets for a treasury of gold. I want to conclude by saying to those going through hard times right now: keep going! It will get better. If you feel like the Lord wants you to sacrifice something or a relationship with someone, do it. I promise that it will be worth it. I promise that you will be blessed for your sacrifice even if like Abraham, you can't see how God will make it work. I hope that y'all have a good week. May the Lord watch over you and bless you.
August 30, 2012
Answering Our Prayers
Oh wow. So it's been over a month since I last wrote. Well to get y'all caught up. A few days after my last post, my family and I left for California to see my sister Megan get married to her best friend, Garett. It was fun experience and I'm glad to see my sister be so happy. It also made me excited because... It means Wendy and I are next! Yay!!!
After the wedding, we came back home to Utah. Since being back, I've done my best to keep busy and get needed stuff done. Well and I've done my best not to think about how much I miss Wendy. While being home I've been to a fair in Bountiful that had a some fun dance groups and one of them was French! It was fun to see a French dance group and made me miss the country even more. My darling Wendy got to visit it which made me a bit jealous. Well, I hope to one day visit it with my darling Wendy. I should also say that during this break we've been able to grow closer to one another.
I've got to hang out with my family and get caught up with them. It's been really nice to be able to hang out with them. I love being around my family; it always makes me feel like I'm spoiled. I've also been able to play with my little nephew Nikolai. He's adorable and he's crawling like crazy. For the most part he's really happy and really fun. Last week, my sister Catherine helped me make (more like helped her) a really cool t-shirt. It's a copy of a shirt from the Heroes of Olympus series that I read earlier; that series is a continuation of the Percy Jackson series. Anyways, I'm happy and excited to wear the shirt around campus.
I've also got caught up on watching some movies that I've wanted to see. I got to see the new Batman movie which was really good. I also got to talk to my dad about the French Revolution parallels in it. For me, it was really fun to be able to do that with him. I also got to watch a movie recommended by one of my French teachers called "Joyeux Noël" or Merry Christmas. If you watch it, you probably want to put English subtitles on. The movie has English, French and German all spoken in it. It's based on a true story from WWI. Around the Christmas season, a German tenor came and sung for some German soldiers in the trenches. He sung a hymn for them and a Scottish priest recognized the hymn and started accompanying the tenor on his bagpipes. From there three battalions, one German, one Scottish and one French rapidly become friends and stopped fighting. It was really cool and for me showed how the spirit of Christmas can unite people. It was really good.
So a few weeks before Megan and Garett's wedding, Catherine (my other sister) and Jesse's car broke down. It was horrible timing on many levels. I watched as they struggled with this trial. I know that they prayed a lot about it. I know that my parents and I prayed a lot about it. I will admit that I was impressed by both Catherine and Jesse's strength during this trial. A couple weeks ago, they were able to purchase a very good used car. It reminded me that the Lord does indeed hear and answer our prayers, even if our answers to our prayers are not immediately forthcoming. It also reminded of another prayer that was answered. I got home from my LDS mission in March of 2009. My plan was to date around for about a year and then find my special someone and get married. The Lord though, had a different plan for me. For three years, I went on flirted, went on dates, and did the whole dating game at BYU-Idaho. It was long and tiring . At times it was heartbreaking but I continued my search and continued praying. I'm glad that the Lord didn't get annoyed at my incessant prayers about finding my wife. Well three years to the day (or pretty close) that I got home from my mission, I got engaged to my best friend, Miss Wendy. I'll try not to brag about her too much... I just want to say that she really is my best friend in the whole world, like no else has been. To be honest, when I think about Wendy, I can just see so many of my prayers answered about how I wanted my wife to be, plus so many more awesome quirks and traits! I can honestly see that the Lord really did answer my prayers by giving me her.
I want to testify that the Lord really does hear and answer our prayers, even when we don't yet see it. Oftentimes we have to work hard, pray hard, and be patient to see our prayers answered but the Lord will answer them in His time. I have a quote that I shared with a friend of mine earlier that relates to working towards the Lord's answers to our prayers. Elder Holland said “Take advantage of every opportunity to learn and grow. Dream dreams and see visions. Work toward their realization. Wait patiently when you have no other choice. Lean on your sword and rest a while, but get up and fight again.” I testify that the Lord hears and answers our prayers. Oftentimes we have to work diligently towards their realization. I testify that the heartache, tears, and sacrifice that we have to go through will always be worth it. May the Lord bless you with the patience to see the answers to your prayers! Have a good week!
After the wedding, we came back home to Utah. Since being back, I've done my best to keep busy and get needed stuff done. Well and I've done my best not to think about how much I miss Wendy. While being home I've been to a fair in Bountiful that had a some fun dance groups and one of them was French! It was fun to see a French dance group and made me miss the country even more. My darling Wendy got to visit it which made me a bit jealous. Well, I hope to one day visit it with my darling Wendy. I should also say that during this break we've been able to grow closer to one another.
I've got to hang out with my family and get caught up with them. It's been really nice to be able to hang out with them. I love being around my family; it always makes me feel like I'm spoiled. I've also been able to play with my little nephew Nikolai. He's adorable and he's crawling like crazy. For the most part he's really happy and really fun. Last week, my sister Catherine helped me make (more like helped her) a really cool t-shirt. It's a copy of a shirt from the Heroes of Olympus series that I read earlier; that series is a continuation of the Percy Jackson series. Anyways, I'm happy and excited to wear the shirt around campus.
I've also got caught up on watching some movies that I've wanted to see. I got to see the new Batman movie which was really good. I also got to talk to my dad about the French Revolution parallels in it. For me, it was really fun to be able to do that with him. I also got to watch a movie recommended by one of my French teachers called "Joyeux Noël" or Merry Christmas. If you watch it, you probably want to put English subtitles on. The movie has English, French and German all spoken in it. It's based on a true story from WWI. Around the Christmas season, a German tenor came and sung for some German soldiers in the trenches. He sung a hymn for them and a Scottish priest recognized the hymn and started accompanying the tenor on his bagpipes. From there three battalions, one German, one Scottish and one French rapidly become friends and stopped fighting. It was really cool and for me showed how the spirit of Christmas can unite people. It was really good.
So a few weeks before Megan and Garett's wedding, Catherine (my other sister) and Jesse's car broke down. It was horrible timing on many levels. I watched as they struggled with this trial. I know that they prayed a lot about it. I know that my parents and I prayed a lot about it. I will admit that I was impressed by both Catherine and Jesse's strength during this trial. A couple weeks ago, they were able to purchase a very good used car. It reminded me that the Lord does indeed hear and answer our prayers, even if our answers to our prayers are not immediately forthcoming. It also reminded of another prayer that was answered. I got home from my LDS mission in March of 2009. My plan was to date around for about a year and then find my special someone and get married. The Lord though, had a different plan for me. For three years, I went on flirted, went on dates, and did the whole dating game at BYU-Idaho. It was long and tiring . At times it was heartbreaking but I continued my search and continued praying. I'm glad that the Lord didn't get annoyed at my incessant prayers about finding my wife. Well three years to the day (or pretty close) that I got home from my mission, I got engaged to my best friend, Miss Wendy. I'll try not to brag about her too much... I just want to say that she really is my best friend in the whole world, like no else has been. To be honest, when I think about Wendy, I can just see so many of my prayers answered about how I wanted my wife to be, plus so many more awesome quirks and traits! I can honestly see that the Lord really did answer my prayers by giving me her.
I want to testify that the Lord really does hear and answer our prayers, even when we don't yet see it. Oftentimes we have to work hard, pray hard, and be patient to see our prayers answered but the Lord will answer them in His time. I have a quote that I shared with a friend of mine earlier that relates to working towards the Lord's answers to our prayers. Elder Holland said “Take advantage of every opportunity to learn and grow. Dream dreams and see visions. Work toward their realization. Wait patiently when you have no other choice. Lean on your sword and rest a while, but get up and fight again.” I testify that the Lord hears and answers our prayers. Oftentimes we have to work diligently towards their realization. I testify that the heartache, tears, and sacrifice that we have to go through will always be worth it. May the Lord bless you with the patience to see the answers to your prayers! Have a good week!
July 26, 2012
Making Decisions based on Correct Principles
So these last few weeks have been crazy. Lots of exams, stress and generally getting things done. I'm currently writing from my parents place. I've been able to have lots of fun with Wendy despite the hectic schedule. Last week Wendy's mom came up to pick up Wendy and to get to know me better. Getting to know part of Wendy's family was really nice and helped me understand my Wendy a bit better.
A few weeks ago I found a website that sells t-shirts with special designs from different movies and TV shows. I know that my sister Catherine, is really good at making cool designs for shirts. So I talked to her and in the next few weeks, hopefully she'll be able to teach me how to make cool shirt designs in the next few weeks. If I make any cool shirts, I will be sure to show you, my dear readers. My other sister Megan is getting married in a week. It makes me anxious for December so that it'll be my turn. My sister Catherine cut my hair recently which is nice because it is warm out and then I'm going to California for Megan's wedding soon. I currently reading the fourth book of the Fablehaven series, which Wendy recommended to me.
I will say that the last four days have been rather long for me. Why, you may ask? Because for the last four days I have been missing the company of my darling Wendy. This is the longest that I have been absent from my darling Wendy since we first met. Honestly, I don't remember missing this much since I was little and emotions were overpowering, or like being Tinkerbell who can only have one emotion at a time. Being without her has made me realized how truly blessed I am to have her in my life. Recently, I've thought about the decisions that lead to me meeting my darling Wendy. Looking back I realized that I have not explained this story on my blog.
It started with a decision that I that I made in back in the spring of 2010. I knew that for a break between semesters that I would be working. Just working and being a single guy. I heard about a service opportunity on campus to be a director for freshman orientation. I decided to volunteer for it because I hated the idea of being selfish for seven weeks doing nothing for anyone else. For that seven week break, my apartment complex needed to move me to another complex for the break. When I was filling out the paper, I asked the guy advising me which address I should put down and explained my situation. He told me the address that I was at for the break. In hindsight, I realize NORMALLY I should have put my regular address. The break was fun and I ended up having a girlfriend for a week while I helped with freshmen orientation. The guy's mistake just meant that I would do more walking while helping the freshmen but not much more.
So time went by and I kept in contact with some of my group and went to get-together parties when I could. In March, I was invited to party by a the girl on the far left in the purple. She happened to be roommates with a girl named Michelle who was a former sister missionary (for my church) where Wendy lived. I mentioned Michelle in this post as the girl I helped by giving advice. Michelle had tried to set up Wendy with another guy at the party. I helped Michelle and even asked if it'd be okay if we could go on a date sometime. I remember talking with Michelle when Wendy came by and interrupting making a (in my opinion) rude comment about how she was still going on about her last break even after three weeks. Well after the party, I was walking home when Wendy got my attention and asking if she could walk with me. I agree and we talked until we got to the entrance of her place and then we talked for about an hour more. It was good conversation, if not a bit awkward at the time. Wendy asked me on a date and even offered me her number so that I could "help [her] with French homework". Before I left, Wendy asked me if I'd give her a hug. I said that I would stating that I like hugs but that I know that not everyone does. Well, I gave her a hug and she commented that I knew how to really hug unlike other people she knew. Well I left thinking that I had a date with her but nothing would probably come of it, like so many of my dates. How wrong I was! Well we went on a date and Wendy made sure that Michelle knew that she was interested in the redheaded guy (i.e me) and so I never got a date with Michelle but got a second date with Wendy instead. :) And as they say, the rest is history folks!
The moral of my story is make decisions based on correct principles and the Lord will guide your life. At the time, I didn't think I was being guided by His hand but I was. You may not see it. It may be frustrating and aggravating but trust me, He has a plan. Just make sure that you're doing your best to obey correct principles and God will bless you for it. It may not be immediate and it may be years from then, BUT He will bless you. I promise you this. I love the Lord and He has blessed my life beyond my wildest imagination. I hope that y'all have a good week!
P.S. Never write about your fiancée when she's out of the country. You end up spending half your time looking at photos of her and missing her more. 5 more months!
A few weeks ago I found a website that sells t-shirts with special designs from different movies and TV shows. I know that my sister Catherine, is really good at making cool designs for shirts. So I talked to her and in the next few weeks, hopefully she'll be able to teach me how to make cool shirt designs in the next few weeks. If I make any cool shirts, I will be sure to show you, my dear readers. My other sister Megan is getting married in a week. It makes me anxious for December so that it'll be my turn. My sister Catherine cut my hair recently which is nice because it is warm out and then I'm going to California for Megan's wedding soon. I currently reading the fourth book of the Fablehaven series, which Wendy recommended to me.
I will say that the last four days have been rather long for me. Why, you may ask? Because for the last four days I have been missing the company of my darling Wendy. This is the longest that I have been absent from my darling Wendy since we first met. Honestly, I don't remember missing this much since I was little and emotions were overpowering, or like being Tinkerbell who can only have one emotion at a time. Being without her has made me realized how truly blessed I am to have her in my life. Recently, I've thought about the decisions that lead to me meeting my darling Wendy. Looking back I realized that I have not explained this story on my blog.
It started with a decision that I that I made in back in the spring of 2010. I knew that for a break between semesters that I would be working. Just working and being a single guy. I heard about a service opportunity on campus to be a director for freshman orientation. I decided to volunteer for it because I hated the idea of being selfish for seven weeks doing nothing for anyone else. For that seven week break, my apartment complex needed to move me to another complex for the break. When I was filling out the paper, I asked the guy advising me which address I should put down and explained my situation. He told me the address that I was at for the break. In hindsight, I realize NORMALLY I should have put my regular address. The break was fun and I ended up having a girlfriend for a week while I helped with freshmen orientation. The guy's mistake just meant that I would do more walking while helping the freshmen but not much more.
So time went by and I kept in contact with some of my group and went to get-together parties when I could. In March, I was invited to party by a the girl on the far left in the purple. She happened to be roommates with a girl named Michelle who was a former sister missionary (for my church) where Wendy lived. I mentioned Michelle in this post as the girl I helped by giving advice. Michelle had tried to set up Wendy with another guy at the party. I helped Michelle and even asked if it'd be okay if we could go on a date sometime. I remember talking with Michelle when Wendy came by and interrupting making a (in my opinion) rude comment about how she was still going on about her last break even after three weeks. Well after the party, I was walking home when Wendy got my attention and asking if she could walk with me. I agree and we talked until we got to the entrance of her place and then we talked for about an hour more. It was good conversation, if not a bit awkward at the time. Wendy asked me on a date and even offered me her number so that I could "help [her] with French homework". Before I left, Wendy asked me if I'd give her a hug. I said that I would stating that I like hugs but that I know that not everyone does. Well, I gave her a hug and she commented that I knew how to really hug unlike other people she knew. Well I left thinking that I had a date with her but nothing would probably come of it, like so many of my dates. How wrong I was! Well we went on a date and Wendy made sure that Michelle knew that she was interested in the redheaded guy (i.e me) and so I never got a date with Michelle but got a second date with Wendy instead. :) And as they say, the rest is history folks!
The moral of my story is make decisions based on correct principles and the Lord will guide your life. At the time, I didn't think I was being guided by His hand but I was. You may not see it. It may be frustrating and aggravating but trust me, He has a plan. Just make sure that you're doing your best to obey correct principles and God will bless you for it. It may not be immediate and it may be years from then, BUT He will bless you. I promise you this. I love the Lord and He has blessed my life beyond my wildest imagination. I hope that y'all have a good week!
P.S. Never write about your fiancée when she's out of the country. You end up spending half your time looking at photos of her and missing her more. 5 more months!
July 15, 2012
Holding On and Letting Go
Holy cow! It's been over a month. Sorry y'all. These last couple of weeks have been pretty crazy with school, work, and Wendy.
My classes and work have been going pretty well. In my legislative branch class I even got a bill of mine passed. In other news, Wendy and I got our engagement photos taken, which was a lot of fun. Especially Wendy laughing every five minutes or so from something silly I said. Here is a preview of them. I'll post them later on facebook.
Don't worry, this isn't the one that we will be using for the invites. Y'all will see those later. As Wendy said "cuz they are a surprise!"
We've been able to grow closer together these few weeks. We've also had a lot of fun. Wendy was able to go to my sister Megan's bridal shower where she got to hang out with the women of my family. Megan gets married in three weeks. One of my favorite TV series, Legend of Korra had its season finale which was epic. And I got to watch it with my darling Wendy, which always makes it better.
During the last few weeks, I've been reading a talk called "Holding On and Letting". It is a really good talk that talks about times when we need to hold to important spiritual principles and letting go of unimportant things. I feel like this has been a big lesson that I've learned this year. Between the two relationships that I've had this year, I can say that this is definitely a lesson I've learned. Often we need to hold on to the important gospel principles during our trials and we need to let go of our plans, incorrect thoughts and habits, and those who pulls us down. On the other hand we need to hold fast to the teachings of the prophets, the scriptures, and hold on to those who lift us up. With Wendy I have learned to hold on to her and the gospel and let go of my thoughts and perceptions.
I hope that ya'll learn to hold to the good principles and let go of the bad things! Hope y'all have a great week!
My classes and work have been going pretty well. In my legislative branch class I even got a bill of mine passed. In other news, Wendy and I got our engagement photos taken, which was a lot of fun. Especially Wendy laughing every five minutes or so from something silly I said. Here is a preview of them. I'll post them later on facebook.
We've been able to grow closer together these few weeks. We've also had a lot of fun. Wendy was able to go to my sister Megan's bridal shower where she got to hang out with the women of my family. Megan gets married in three weeks. One of my favorite TV series, Legend of Korra had its season finale which was epic. And I got to watch it with my darling Wendy, which always makes it better.
During the last few weeks, I've been reading a talk called "Holding On and Letting". It is a really good talk that talks about times when we need to hold to important spiritual principles and letting go of unimportant things. I feel like this has been a big lesson that I've learned this year. Between the two relationships that I've had this year, I can say that this is definitely a lesson I've learned. Often we need to hold on to the important gospel principles during our trials and we need to let go of our plans, incorrect thoughts and habits, and those who pulls us down. On the other hand we need to hold fast to the teachings of the prophets, the scriptures, and hold on to those who lift us up. With Wendy I have learned to hold on to her and the gospel and let go of my thoughts and perceptions.
I hope that ya'll learn to hold to the good principles and let go of the bad things! Hope y'all have a great week!
June 10, 2012
My Brother--An Answer to Prayer
This week was good and stressful. I was more productive than I had expected. I took a history test and did pretty well. Wendy and I watched the Muppets Movie, that Wendy gave me and we went to the Cacao Bean this Saturday to relax. I should also mention that it's my sister Megan's 20th birthday! I'm glad that she's a member of my family and that she's my sister.
This is my brother and I. He's the one with brown hair.
So I've had this idea for a post for at least two weeks. Clearly, I've gotten distracted a lot since then. Well one of the highlights of this week (besides wedding planning) was getting to talk to my brother Aaron. He is really cool. When I was young, I always wanted to have a brother. I remember that when my mom was pregnant with my sister Megan, that I prayed that she would be a boy so that I could have a cool little brother. Then a few years later, my mom had Aaron. I was happy to FINALLY have a little brother. Eventually my excitement wore off after I realized that we had a large age gap.
Like many siblings, I've always loved him but I've not always liked him. When we were younger, we didn't always get along. First I should explain that my brother is really smart. Originally this was really cool because I could talk to him about intellectually about the stuff I talked to my peers about. Well eventually like any good little brother, he decided to use his intelligence to get on my nerves. Luckily that phase didn't last long.
After that phase we've gotten along pretty well. We talked about lots of random stuff, as memory serves, most of it was imaginary things. Then I went on my mission and everything changed. My family members had changed a lot and I'd hardly heard anything from my siblings. I had to restart my relationship with all of my siblings and my brother was no exception.
It was hard because we didn't have any common ground. So I took some advice from my mom and decided to just hang out with him. We started hanging out at a creek near our home in North Carolina. Since that time we've done a lot of hanging out at that creek. Now we talk discuss temples, politics, fashion (we have strong and sometimes differing opinions about what looks good) and both the Avatar series.
Aaron is my brother and he is a dork just like me. Being his older brother, I've had the opportunity to watch him grow up and to be a part of his life. I've tried my best to set a good example to him and I think that he's done a great job at living the Gospel despite how hard it can be. He is cool, lovable, geeky, and all around a lot of fun. I love my brother and I'm glad to be his brother.
I hope that y'all have a good week! Remember to love your family. Try to find ways to show you that you do!
This is my brother and I. He's the one with brown hair.
So I've had this idea for a post for at least two weeks. Clearly, I've gotten distracted a lot since then. Well one of the highlights of this week (besides wedding planning) was getting to talk to my brother Aaron. He is really cool. When I was young, I always wanted to have a brother. I remember that when my mom was pregnant with my sister Megan, that I prayed that she would be a boy so that I could have a cool little brother. Then a few years later, my mom had Aaron. I was happy to FINALLY have a little brother. Eventually my excitement wore off after I realized that we had a large age gap.
Like many siblings, I've always loved him but I've not always liked him. When we were younger, we didn't always get along. First I should explain that my brother is really smart. Originally this was really cool because I could talk to him about intellectually about the stuff I talked to my peers about. Well eventually like any good little brother, he decided to use his intelligence to get on my nerves. Luckily that phase didn't last long.
After that phase we've gotten along pretty well. We talked about lots of random stuff, as memory serves, most of it was imaginary things. Then I went on my mission and everything changed. My family members had changed a lot and I'd hardly heard anything from my siblings. I had to restart my relationship with all of my siblings and my brother was no exception.
It was hard because we didn't have any common ground. So I took some advice from my mom and decided to just hang out with him. We started hanging out at a creek near our home in North Carolina. Since that time we've done a lot of hanging out at that creek. Now we talk discuss temples, politics, fashion (we have strong and sometimes differing opinions about what looks good) and both the Avatar series.
Aaron is my brother and he is a dork just like me. Being his older brother, I've had the opportunity to watch him grow up and to be a part of his life. I've tried my best to set a good example to him and I think that he's done a great job at living the Gospel despite how hard it can be. He is cool, lovable, geeky, and all around a lot of fun. I love my brother and I'm glad to be his brother.
I hope that y'all have a good week! Remember to love your family. Try to find ways to show you that you do!
June 3, 2012
My Wendy Darling
So these few week have been pretty crazy but pretty awesome. I've been keeping up with work, school, and of course, my darling Wendy. Some of you may notice a post before this. I needed to use my blog to sell a spare ring that I have. So you can ignore the last post.
So over the last several weeks, Wendy and I have gotten to know each other much better and become great friends. We've developed a deep level of friendship that neither one of knew existed. Wendy's been able to meet my crazy family and get to know them better. So now on to the story that most of my readers are waiting for.
A week before my last post, Wendy and I went for a walk as we often do. On the walk, Wendy got nervous and told me that she wanted to talk to me about something but she was nervous to bring it up. I told her not to be nervous and promised that I would not be judgmental of what she said. She told me that really liked our relationship and she'd like for it to become more permanent. I told her that I think that I would like that too but I wasn't sure about it. I explained that I had recently gotten out of a really rough relationship and that I was really hesitant about considering that option. She pleaded with me and told me that she had thought and prayed about it a lot and she felt like it was right. In the end, she convinced me to pray about it. The Lord told me that my relationship with her should continue forward. I was really surprised by that answer; I was totally not expecting it.
Then after a few days and a bit of struggle within myself, I decided to start making things happen. The day before my last post, Wendy and I took her great great grandmother's fused wedding set to the jewler's to get downsized, separated, cleaned, and replated. We got them back within the week. The days prior to getting the ring back, I talked to my parents about our decision. Then I had to ask her parents.... My feelings while asking them for permission are best summarized by the last line of the announcer from the Legend of Korra. Wetting my pants
So.... yeah, it was intense. I now completely understand why my brother-in-law forgot his number. But I obviously got their approval. After getting her approval, my parents requested that we come down so that they could get to know my darling Wendy better. So last weekend, we went down to Utah and they got to know her better and they like her too.
On Tuesday, I finally got everything together to propose to my darling Wendy. I wrote her a poem called “The Greatest Miracle of My Life” and I tore off the last three lines that talked about me proposing to her. I put a little picture of a kiss over it (so that it'd be "sealed with a kiss") and taped it closed. I also printed off a picture of purple tulips because that her favorite type of flowers. I clipped both the poem and the picture to her front door and then knocked. I ran around the corner where they couldn’t see me (I found out later that Wendy answered the door) and made sure that they found it. Then I acted pretty normally all through out the morning and afternoon. On Tuesday's my university has religious fireside at two o'clock which Wendy and I usually attend. We did so on that Tuesday too. After devotional we went to Porter park (Wendy's favorite place and one of our most frequented places). We walked around half of the end of the park until Wendy suggested that we sit down under a pavilion nearby. We did and I pretended to find the piece of paper that had the last three lines on it; I glanced at it and told Wendy that it was for her. As she read it, I got down on one knee. When she had finished, I proposed to my darling. Her reaction was her expression below. And she said YES!!!!
I'm so excited to marry my best friend. As I told her once, I will never call her the girl of my dreams. The girl of my dreams was not nearly as awesome as she is. I hope y'all have a good week!
So over the last several weeks, Wendy and I have gotten to know each other much better and become great friends. We've developed a deep level of friendship that neither one of knew existed. Wendy's been able to meet my crazy family and get to know them better. So now on to the story that most of my readers are waiting for.
A week before my last post, Wendy and I went for a walk as we often do. On the walk, Wendy got nervous and told me that she wanted to talk to me about something but she was nervous to bring it up. I told her not to be nervous and promised that I would not be judgmental of what she said. She told me that really liked our relationship and she'd like for it to become more permanent. I told her that I think that I would like that too but I wasn't sure about it. I explained that I had recently gotten out of a really rough relationship and that I was really hesitant about considering that option. She pleaded with me and told me that she had thought and prayed about it a lot and she felt like it was right. In the end, she convinced me to pray about it. The Lord told me that my relationship with her should continue forward. I was really surprised by that answer; I was totally not expecting it.
Then after a few days and a bit of struggle within myself, I decided to start making things happen. The day before my last post, Wendy and I took her great great grandmother's fused wedding set to the jewler's to get downsized, separated, cleaned, and replated. We got them back within the week. The days prior to getting the ring back, I talked to my parents about our decision. Then I had to ask her parents.... My feelings while asking them for permission are best summarized by the last line of the announcer from the Legend of Korra. Wetting my pants
So.... yeah, it was intense. I now completely understand why my brother-in-law forgot his number. But I obviously got their approval. After getting her approval, my parents requested that we come down so that they could get to know my darling Wendy better. So last weekend, we went down to Utah and they got to know her better and they like her too.
On Tuesday, I finally got everything together to propose to my darling Wendy. I wrote her a poem called “The Greatest Miracle of My Life” and I tore off the last three lines that talked about me proposing to her. I put a little picture of a kiss over it (so that it'd be "sealed with a kiss") and taped it closed. I also printed off a picture of purple tulips because that her favorite type of flowers. I clipped both the poem and the picture to her front door and then knocked. I ran around the corner where they couldn’t see me (I found out later that Wendy answered the door) and made sure that they found it. Then I acted pretty normally all through out the morning and afternoon. On Tuesday's my university has religious fireside at two o'clock which Wendy and I usually attend. We did so on that Tuesday too. After devotional we went to Porter park (Wendy's favorite place and one of our most frequented places). We walked around half of the end of the park until Wendy suggested that we sit down under a pavilion nearby. We did and I pretended to find the piece of paper that had the last three lines on it; I glanced at it and told Wendy that it was for her. As she read it, I got down on one knee. When she had finished, I proposed to my darling. Her reaction was her expression below. And she said YES!!!!
I'm so excited to marry my best friend. As I told her once, I will never call her the girl of my dreams. The girl of my dreams was not nearly as awesome as she is. I hope y'all have a good week!
June 2, 2012
May 13, 2012
This is Mom
So these few weeks have been pretty hectic keeping up with school, working and trying to maintain a social life. I will say that my friendship with my girlfriend, Wendy, has deepened since I last wrote. I'm really glad to have her as my best friend. In these last few weeks my good friend Crystal has gotten engaged and I'm very excited for her. I finished the book "Ender's Game". It was a really well written book and it reminded me of how much I like Orson Scott Card as a writer.
Since today is Mother's day, I am going to write a special post about my mom. In the second grade, there was a time when we had to introduce one of our family members in our class. I introduced my mom by saying, "This is my Mom. She is really gross but cool." Whil we've long ago stopped our competition to try and gross the other person out (which was pretty fun by the way), I still think that she is really cool. Growing up, I was taught by my Dad that I was to always respect my mom. Originally I did mostly out of fear of punishment.
One day when I was about four I was riding with my Mom to go somewhere; she decided to ask me a question about what she could do as a mom. I remember that experience because it was the start (in my mind) of our friendship. Every since then we've gone a lots of cars rides together as our Mom/Son dates. Now I can say that my respect for my mom comes from the fact that she is my friend. My mom has always been supportive of me growing up. While I was working towards becoming an Eagle Scout, my mom really helped encourage and remind me of my goal. Growing up and moving out, I've come to appreciate my mom even more. She works hard and does an amazing job at managing everything that she has to juggle on a regular basis. She also very caring and generous. While she is often shy, she is loyal and supportive friend. I love my mom and I feel very blessed to be her son.
Since today is Mother's day, I am going to write a special post about my mom. In the second grade, there was a time when we had to introduce one of our family members in our class. I introduced my mom by saying, "This is my Mom. She is really gross but cool." Whil we've long ago stopped our competition to try and gross the other person out (which was pretty fun by the way), I still think that she is really cool. Growing up, I was taught by my Dad that I was to always respect my mom. Originally I did mostly out of fear of punishment.
One day when I was about four I was riding with my Mom to go somewhere; she decided to ask me a question about what she could do as a mom. I remember that experience because it was the start (in my mind) of our friendship. Every since then we've gone a lots of cars rides together as our Mom/Son dates. Now I can say that my respect for my mom comes from the fact that she is my friend. My mom has always been supportive of me growing up. While I was working towards becoming an Eagle Scout, my mom really helped encourage and remind me of my goal. Growing up and moving out, I've come to appreciate my mom even more. She works hard and does an amazing job at managing everything that she has to juggle on a regular basis. She also very caring and generous. While she is often shy, she is loyal and supportive friend. I love my mom and I feel very blessed to be her son.
April 24, 2012
Happiness is Contagious and Is Spread With A Smile
So my last few weeks have been kinda crazy. But in a good way. I went home for a week and brought my girlfriend down to Utah. It was nice to be home around my crazy family and get to play with my little nephew, Nikolai, who is adorable.
I will say that I finished Mockinjay which was good. I'm presently following two TV series, Avatar: Legend of Korra, and Once Upon A Time. Both of them are a bit cheesy but still very well written.
Classes have started back up (for me) and I'm getting the hang of them. I think I'm going to like all of them. I just need to get a lot more sleep before my psychology class.
So I just wanted to take a minute and say that my girlfriend makes me happy. She's happy, positive, and just cute. I like how she too shares my joie de vivre. I watched the latest episode of Legend of Korra before I showed it to Wendy and I thought that it was aoky. Then I showed it to her and I liked it better because of her reactions to everything.
These last few weeks, I have felt immensely blessed because of my family, friends, girlfriend and ward. There are so many reasons that I have to be happy that it's really hard to count them. I wish I could express my feelings better but I'll just have to say that I'm very happy where I am right now. I hope that you my readers, find time to count blessings. I know that they're a lot more than you think that are. When you realize how blessed you are thank the Lord and then remember; be happy!
I will say that I finished Mockinjay which was good. I'm presently following two TV series, Avatar: Legend of Korra, and Once Upon A Time. Both of them are a bit cheesy but still very well written.
Classes have started back up (for me) and I'm getting the hang of them. I think I'm going to like all of them. I just need to get a lot more sleep before my psychology class.
So I just wanted to take a minute and say that my girlfriend makes me happy. She's happy, positive, and just cute. I like how she too shares my joie de vivre. I watched the latest episode of Legend of Korra before I showed it to Wendy and I thought that it was aoky. Then I showed it to her and I liked it better because of her reactions to everything.
These last few weeks, I have felt immensely blessed because of my family, friends, girlfriend and ward. There are so many reasons that I have to be happy that it's really hard to count them. I wish I could express my feelings better but I'll just have to say that I'm very happy where I am right now. I hope that you my readers, find time to count blessings. I know that they're a lot more than you think that are. When you realize how blessed you are thank the Lord and then remember; be happy!
April 1, 2012
Enjoying the Simple Things
These last few weeks have been interesting. For part of them I was sure that I was getting sick. I will say that I managed to finish the book Catching Fire and then passed in on to my sister Megan. She's started on the last book "Mockingjay" which I'm hoping to read during the break.
I've been slowly regulating my sleep patterns which is good. I've also had a lot of fun with my girlfriend Wendy. I went to a play called Enchanted April twice because it was really cool. I went once with my good friend Chellie and once with my girlfriend. It's about a couple of British ladies from the 1920's who decided to escape on vacation to rent a castle in northern Italy. It's hilarious and deep.
Lately, I've learned just to enjoy the simple things. Like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. For me it always represents home mainly because I been eating them since I can remember. I love the simple contrast of flavors.
I think sometimes we get so caught up in trying to guess the future or make plans and we don't just enjoy the simple things. Lately, I've been doing that and it's been nice. I invite you to enjoy the simple things. They bring a lot more happiness than you know. I hope y'all have a good week!
I've been slowly regulating my sleep patterns which is good. I've also had a lot of fun with my girlfriend Wendy. I went to a play called Enchanted April twice because it was really cool. I went once with my good friend Chellie and once with my girlfriend. It's about a couple of British ladies from the 1920's who decided to escape on vacation to rent a castle in northern Italy. It's hilarious and deep.
Lately, I've learned just to enjoy the simple things. Like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. For me it always represents home mainly because I been eating them since I can remember. I love the simple contrast of flavors.
I think sometimes we get so caught up in trying to guess the future or make plans and we don't just enjoy the simple things. Lately, I've been doing that and it's been nice. I invite you to enjoy the simple things. They bring a lot more happiness than you know. I hope y'all have a good week!
March 19, 2012
The Blessing of Serving Others
So this week has been less productive then I wanted it to be. I will be honest and say that for most of the week, I've been moping or trying to avoid thinking about the ache. I have got somethings done but not as much as I'd like. It's been a while since I've been in a serious breakup so I had forgotten what I needed to do to properly handle it. This week I have again really felt the love of our Heavenly Father. Earlier this week I started preparing a lesson for Sunday school that I didn't need to and ended up learning something that I really needed to know. For me, it was tender mercy of the Lord.
This week I got to talk to my Bishop because I asked him for advice about something. It was really nice because I got to express my appreciation for him and he got tell me how much he's appreciated what I've done. It was really nice.
So I'm hoping to take a few pictures this week. I'm sorry, I've been slacking in that area too. I will say that I do like collecting inspirational posters and inspirational quotes. The poster above is one of my favorites. I feel like that's definitely been true in my life. Today was a good day. I directed my ward choir and it was really good. My choir didn't really mess up and the Spirit was definitely present after they had sung. That really made me happy because it was an answer to my prayer.
Yesterday I went to a party held by one of my friends. While I was there, I talked to a girl who had recently gone through a hard breakup. I told her that I'd been through a pretty bad breakup myself. She then asked me lots of questions about breakups. It was one of the few times that I will say that I was happy to have all my experience with breakups! I was so glad to be able to help her. This helped me to know that I was where the Lord wanted me to be. After talking to her, I realized that I knew what I needed to do recover my breakup; I just hadn't been doing that. For me this was another clear reminder of the truth which King Benjamin testified of, that as soon as you keep one of the Lord's commandments "he doth immediately bless you." (Mosisah 2:24) I've learned that in my life. I have also learned that in giving service to others that we are blessed.
I hope that y'all have a good week! I hope that you find some ways to serve others this week.
This week I got to talk to my Bishop because I asked him for advice about something. It was really nice because I got to express my appreciation for him and he got tell me how much he's appreciated what I've done. It was really nice.
So I'm hoping to take a few pictures this week. I'm sorry, I've been slacking in that area too. I will say that I do like collecting inspirational posters and inspirational quotes. The poster above is one of my favorites. I feel like that's definitely been true in my life. Today was a good day. I directed my ward choir and it was really good. My choir didn't really mess up and the Spirit was definitely present after they had sung. That really made me happy because it was an answer to my prayer.
Yesterday I went to a party held by one of my friends. While I was there, I talked to a girl who had recently gone through a hard breakup. I told her that I'd been through a pretty bad breakup myself. She then asked me lots of questions about breakups. It was one of the few times that I will say that I was happy to have all my experience with breakups! I was so glad to be able to help her. This helped me to know that I was where the Lord wanted me to be. After talking to her, I realized that I knew what I needed to do recover my breakup; I just hadn't been doing that. For me this was another clear reminder of the truth which King Benjamin testified of, that as soon as you keep one of the Lord's commandments "he doth immediately bless you." (Mosisah 2:24) I've learned that in my life. I have also learned that in giving service to others that we are blessed.
I hope that y'all have a good week! I hope that you find some ways to serve others this week.
March 11, 2012
Such Mercy, Such Love and Devotion Can I Forget?
So this last week has been good for both me and my family. My sister Megan got engaged to her boyfriend. I approve of him for two reasons. One he has good taste, he's going to marry my sister and two, I can trust his literary opinion so I'll be able to get good book recommendations from him. Okay, I'm kidding. I like the guy and he's nice to my sister, even when she clings to him like Agnes to Gru's leg.
In other news, I got my taxes done. My parents gave me the happy news that they're negotiating a contract with a couple to sell our house in North Carolina which is good. I also got registered for all the classes that I wanted to take next semester.
This week, I've also been able to talk to two of my former companions from my mission in France. I got to talk to Mark Stoker, the handsome blonde devil below and Yann Tanoé, the other handsome guy with the luscious lips.
I'm not going to lie, it was really good to talk to these guys. It was good to have some time to talk to and be able to focus on someone else for a bit.
I used most of this week to prepare my gospel doctrine lesson and it turned out well. It helped that I read a talk in the Ensign that talked about the goal of teaching in the Church. This really helped me to have a focus in my lesson and also to help me be guided by the Spirit. Also on another spiritual note, I got a bit of a surprised today when the Bishop announced that the ward choir would be singing next week at ward conference. This came as a surprise because I had planned on it being in two weeks; not to mention, we didn't have choir practice last week, and I didn't get a song that I wanted us to sing. SO, this is going to be interesting.
This week, I've really felt the love of the Lord. I feel like He's communicated his love through my family, and friends. I can't say what a blessing and a strength this has been to me this week. While this week has been a good week, I can't say that it hasn't been an emotionally hard week. I would like to tell you about one such incident from this week that made it really clear to me that the Lord loves me. On Saturday, I was on my way home from running an errand in town. It was a nice balmy 45 or so degrees outside, so I decided to take a longer way home pass a new shopping center. As I walking towards the shopping center, my Bishop got out of his car and said hi. He stopped and talked to me and asked me how I was doing. He was genuinely concerned and gave me advice and counsel. I want to say that just before meeting my Bishop I was listening to the song "Lead Kindly Light" and I had just listened to the line "I loved to choose my path, but now, lead thou me on!" I cannot in words explain how much I felt loved and humbled by my Father in Heaven. As some of my readers may know, the title of this post is a line from one of my favorite hymns "I Stand All Amazed"; this line is refers to the love and devotion of the Savior. I want to testify that I have felt the love of Lord this week and I hope that I never forget it. I hope that y'all have a good week! I hope that you are able to see how the Lord loves you!
In other news, I got my taxes done. My parents gave me the happy news that they're negotiating a contract with a couple to sell our house in North Carolina which is good. I also got registered for all the classes that I wanted to take next semester.
This week, I've also been able to talk to two of my former companions from my mission in France. I got to talk to Mark Stoker, the handsome blonde devil below and Yann Tanoé, the other handsome guy with the luscious lips.
I'm not going to lie, it was really good to talk to these guys. It was good to have some time to talk to and be able to focus on someone else for a bit.
I used most of this week to prepare my gospel doctrine lesson and it turned out well. It helped that I read a talk in the Ensign that talked about the goal of teaching in the Church. This really helped me to have a focus in my lesson and also to help me be guided by the Spirit. Also on another spiritual note, I got a bit of a surprised today when the Bishop announced that the ward choir would be singing next week at ward conference. This came as a surprise because I had planned on it being in two weeks; not to mention, we didn't have choir practice last week, and I didn't get a song that I wanted us to sing. SO, this is going to be interesting.
This week, I've really felt the love of the Lord. I feel like He's communicated his love through my family, and friends. I can't say what a blessing and a strength this has been to me this week. While this week has been a good week, I can't say that it hasn't been an emotionally hard week. I would like to tell you about one such incident from this week that made it really clear to me that the Lord loves me. On Saturday, I was on my way home from running an errand in town. It was a nice balmy 45 or so degrees outside, so I decided to take a longer way home pass a new shopping center. As I walking towards the shopping center, my Bishop got out of his car and said hi. He stopped and talked to me and asked me how I was doing. He was genuinely concerned and gave me advice and counsel. I want to say that just before meeting my Bishop I was listening to the song "Lead Kindly Light" and I had just listened to the line "I loved to choose my path, but now, lead thou me on!" I cannot in words explain how much I felt loved and humbled by my Father in Heaven. As some of my readers may know, the title of this post is a line from one of my favorite hymns "I Stand All Amazed"; this line is refers to the love and devotion of the Savior. I want to testify that I have felt the love of Lord this week and I hope that I never forget it. I hope that y'all have a good week! I hope that you are able to see how the Lord loves you!
March 5, 2012
The Power of Prayer and a Loving Heavenly Father
I'd like to start by apologizing to my readers for having not written in a while but to be honest I haven't felt like to doing much of anything for a while.
I know that many of my readers will be wondering what happened with my girlfriend. I will not put the details on here. I will simply say however, that I am writing a poem about it entitled "I Am Not A Boat". If you'd like details call, text me, or message me and I'll do my best to respond and give you the details. I apologize to those who have done so and I haven't responded.
The last few weeks have been long and hard. I will say that I know that our Heavenly Father answers prayers. I have felt that more as of late. The week of my breakup was hard for me emotionally. I was blessed to have one of my good friends in town, my old roommate Victor. I will admit that it was a great blessing to have him listen to me every night of this hard week. Having him there was an answer to a prayer.
This weekend I went "home" to Utah to visit my family and to be a part of a baby blessing of my nephew Nikolai. He is really cute.
It was nice to be around my family and have them support me through this rough period of life. I feel like the love that they have shown for me is reminder of how much my Heavenly Father love me. A few weeks ago, I listened to a devotional by Brother Walquist given at school some time ago. It was called "Lord, is it I?". If you click on the link, it will take you to a page that should have a different forms of the talk. It was a really good talk and it made reflect on what I was doing. One thing of which it reminded is that we, as Latter-day Saints, have commandment to pray vocally. I will admit that I have been pretty bad at keeping this one. Within the last few weeks, I have done my best to obey this commandment more. I will say that these prayers have made it easier to focus and to see the answers to my prayers. I would like to invite you my readers to try praying vocally. I promise that you'll more readily see the blessings that our Heavenly Father pours out upon you. I hope y'all have a good week!
I know that many of my readers will be wondering what happened with my girlfriend. I will not put the details on here. I will simply say however, that I am writing a poem about it entitled "I Am Not A Boat". If you'd like details call, text me, or message me and I'll do my best to respond and give you the details. I apologize to those who have done so and I haven't responded.
The last few weeks have been long and hard. I will say that I know that our Heavenly Father answers prayers. I have felt that more as of late. The week of my breakup was hard for me emotionally. I was blessed to have one of my good friends in town, my old roommate Victor. I will admit that it was a great blessing to have him listen to me every night of this hard week. Having him there was an answer to a prayer.
This weekend I went "home" to Utah to visit my family and to be a part of a baby blessing of my nephew Nikolai. He is really cute.
It was nice to be around my family and have them support me through this rough period of life. I feel like the love that they have shown for me is reminder of how much my Heavenly Father love me. A few weeks ago, I listened to a devotional by Brother Walquist given at school some time ago. It was called "Lord, is it I?". If you click on the link, it will take you to a page that should have a different forms of the talk. It was a really good talk and it made reflect on what I was doing. One thing of which it reminded is that we, as Latter-day Saints, have commandment to pray vocally. I will admit that I have been pretty bad at keeping this one. Within the last few weeks, I have done my best to obey this commandment more. I will say that these prayers have made it easier to focus and to see the answers to my prayers. I would like to invite you my readers to try praying vocally. I promise that you'll more readily see the blessings that our Heavenly Father pours out upon you. I hope y'all have a good week!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)