Relief Society Broadcast

If you didn't watch the relief society broadcast yet, go watch it! It's amazing how these talks given to a world audience can touch you so personally. I found another marriage saver tip is this meeting, so here it is.
The Atonement is the best gift our older brother has given us. No matter our circumstance, he knows EXACTLY what you're feeling. Sometimes your husband won't understand you perfectly, but Christ always will. If you need some sympathy, fall on your knees and pray. Then learn from his example.
First, seek to understand. When I got back from the meeting, I know my grandma was inspired to talk to me. After the talks, I was wondering, when Jesus wept with Mary after he heard Lazarus was dead, did he know he was going to bring him back to life? Why would he weep when really all was well? My grandma told me about how the Savior did know he would raise Lazarus. However, instead of passing off Mary's tears because he knew everything would be fine soon, he wept with her. He seeked to understand her feelings, and he fell on his knees and cried beside her for her loss and sorrow. After he took the time to understand, he performed his miracle.
As wives, I think we need to remember to seek to understand our husband a little better. They have worries and pains. They need to know we're listening, we care, and we are trying to understand. Instead of jumping in to solve his problem right away, maybe try to sympathize with him first. Feel what he's feeling until he feels understood. I know that's what I need most days.
The second principle  I learned was that of eternal love. I love the personal experience the second counselor shared. She talked about how she neglected God. She was upset and angry that God had put something so hard in her life. However, the second she fell to her knees and prayed for comfort, he poured it upon her. This eternal love amazes me. I know if my husband is going through a hard time and I feel like he is being angry with me, I'm not quick to comfort him when he asks for it. I'm more focused on the wrongs that were done to me. Forget yourself and reach out to comfort your husband. Never turn away when he comes to you looking for comfort. Show that eternal love our Heavenly Father gives each one of us to your sweet husband.
These are definitely hard things to do, but I promise you if you follow Christ's example with a loving heart, your marriage will be strengthened. Be patient and be understanding. Good luck :)

Pinterest

Ok so as my life as a married person, I decided to become as boring as possible. I pulled the plug on my Facebook. Ohh how sad, but so wonderful! Stupid website just made me depressed anyways. For the longest time, I have just been hearing about Pinterest, Pinterest, Pinterest. Well guess what, you couldn't get a Pinterest without a Facebook. I swear people are like trying to ban me in a dark corner of the world because my profile is not published to be stalked.

Well, FINALLY, Pinterest allowed me to join with just my email :) Yay! I mean as a married person, I don't need a stalker website, but I do need ideas to craft and create my wonderful new home. Well everyone in the world already knows about Pinterest probably, but my discovery this weekend was a GREAT one. I have become creative...overnight! Yesterday, Mark and I went to the D.I. and I found a lovely little wooden organizer with a cute little drawer, so what did I do? I followed my heart (aka Pinterest) and I hung that little drawer on my wall and put some cute little old spice bottles in it. I am feeling more wifely every day. I also bought a vase to paint and place on a table for decoration. Oh, I'm so creative.  

I love the new fad of just taking ordinary things and making them decoration or art. I love simple and I love bold.  Also, I love cheap! Who doesn't??   My new crafts will start with D.I. and end with the scarps of my house. It's a lot more fun that way. You feel artistic, you feel like your creating, you feel like you accomplished something. So lesson here is if you feel like you haven't done anything and your day is worthless, go walk around your house and start turning crap into craft :)

My Future Home

 I love rivers! Before I die, I will live in a house that has a quaint little river running through my backyard. I love the sound of rushing water. I love the stillness and peace it brings even though it is constantly in motion.It's interesting...

 

I love love fruit! Most of the time I even love it more than chocolate, which is saying a lot. My favorite fruit is berries. Washington has berry farms everywhere! You can just go visit and pick a pail of berries and pay super cheap for them. It's like a dream come true. One day I'll grow raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries in my backyard. Have you ever read the Butterfly Box series by Michele Bell? It sounds cheesy, and well it kind of is, but that's where my berry farm dream came from. Book two explains exactly the town I'd want to live in. A small little town in Washington where everyone knows each other. There's a small downtown you walk through in the mornings to run errands and chat with friends. There's berries to be grown, forests to explore, and rivers running through it all. It's basically everything I have ever imagined.

Mark and I love being outdoors. Here, we went hiking in some caves. I'm so amazed at how different nature can be in different places. There's mountains, caves, waterfalls, forests, rivers, lakes, deserts. It's all so beautiful. My day never feels complete until I spend some time outdoors. I almost wish I could have my home made of glass, but then it would be super scary at night and everyone would always be watching me. Creepy... nevermind. I will have a sun room in the back  of my house like my grandma has. If it rains in Washington as much as everyone says it does, I'll need something like that to enjoy the outdoors and watch beautiful thunderstorms.

Lastly for Washington, isn't this picture adorable?? I love waterfalls, but even more than that I love my husband! I just now he's going to be such a good dad. Mostly because he's the biggest kid I know. Today I let him draw on my hand during stake conference because he couldn't hold still. He keeps life entertaining!This has given me an idea! After mindless random blog posts, I think I will now have a theme. It will be learning to become a wife because I think I've learned a lot of tricks and things to make life a little more fun and easier. Here I conclude my randomness of blog posts and start the beginning of my life as a wife! Ohhh hey that has a ring to it. New blog title!!

Wedding Pictures

We got married December 28, 2010 in the Bountiful temple. I never posted wedding pictures anywhere, and everyone asks to always see them. Here's some favorites...

Summer's Long Over

 I'm not doing really good with keeping up with this blog... So to catch up, I'll just post a bunch of pictures of the summer and tell you that this last semester of school was bearable.

Camping in Squaw Peak 

More rock climbing

 

Mark worked as an EMT for Seven Peaks Water Park

 

Hiked to the top of Mt Timp

Our first rodeo

Shoot Mark's rifle

Found a double rainbow

Last Harry Potter premiere

Hiked the Y

Ward camp out

 

Rock Climbing

Love it, love it, love it! Mark and I started rock climbing in March of this year. It all started when Mark went on a rock climb with his friend, Kenny, out in rock canyon. He came home and announced that this should be our new hobby and we should buy all of the gear immediately. Mark is somewhat of an impulse buyer... So we looked up a lot of stuff about it because I am not an impulse buyer. We visited the Quarry, looked for sales on the internet, and finally collected all our gear. For the next three or so months we climbed at the Quarry, an indoor rock climbing facility in Provo, about 2 to 3 times a week.

We were loving it, but we wanted something new, something more thrilling, so we went outside. Rock canyon is full of rock climbing routes and conveniently located about 5 minutes from our house. We go there about once a week of so. Mark's favorite spot is the Red Slab. It's a short hike there, but it is blazing hot in the sun.

Well the other day, we went with Mark's friend, Billy, and climbed the Red Slab like always, but THEN we hiked up a little more and climbed up another route.  It was 110 feet!! Oh my goodness, you're already 150 feet high from were you originally started, so you are sooo high once you get to the top. It's beautiful! It is one of the best feelings to climb a challenging wall to the top and look out over Provo. You almost feel like your flying. 

Mark lead climbed this route, so he probably had the most adrenaline running though his veins. The bolts were pretty far apart, so he would have taken quite a fall. However, Mark never goes past his capacity, or so he tells me, so he never fell on the route. He's amazing...so attractive when his muscles bulge as he rock climbs. Although, I couldn't watch him do this rock climb. It scared me. Good thing Billy was there to belay. Anyways, I can't believe I did it! 

Well, we were able to repel down just as we started hearing thunder. As soon as we got to the ground and got our stuff pack, it started POURING! Like the little girl I am, I snatched the keys and ran to the car. Mark and Billy decided they were too manly to run, so they stayed behind carrying the backpacks. It was one of our best rock climbing adventures. I absolutely love it!