Monday, December 28, 2009

Christmas

The approach of Christmas this year left me a bit upset. Over the course of being married I have come to truly appreciate being sealed in the temple. It has been such a blessing in my life and I couldn't imagine marriage any other way. I began dwelling on the fact that my family is not sealed because my parents are not members.

It is difficult being the only member in your family. Especially when you see so many families around you happily enjoying the gospel, sometimes not even being aware of what they have.

A couple of nights before traveling to Yakima I was in tears telling Kyle my only wish was that my family could be sealed together.

It is hard but I think I am beginning to understand why I came into the world at this time, in this family and why I need to be patient and wait.

Truthfully, I am not very patient.

But actually being home gave me a much needed realization.
I love my family
Whether they are members or not I know they love me and I love them and being home is fun. We aren't terribly tidy, we have tons of cats so everything tends to smell like cat pee, we can smash everyone into our suburban (its more fun if someone gets to sit in the trunk), all my little sisters want to do is spend time with me (Margaret snuggles and Caroline seeks for approval), I still can't tell when my brother Robert is being serious or not (it used to make me feel stupid but now I can just laugh)

I can't say it doesn't bother me that they drink (thankfully its not binging in the least bit) or swear, but ultimately I love them.

Which sometimes makes it harder to be patient. Whether it is beyond this life or not, I want to be sealed to my family and I know that someday it will happen.

Christmas was great and I am so happy I have Kyle who seems to understand me more than anyone. He gets my quirkiness which most people find strange and he loves me more for it.

It has been a Merry Christmas!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Excited

There are so many things to be excited about in life!

Autumn Quarter 2009 all done!

Only one quarter of school left!

Christmas is soon!

Big & good life changes coming up!


Could life get any better?


I submit that it cannot!

Monday, December 14, 2009

6 Months

It has been 6th Months since Kyle and I were married.

I remember people asking me if I felt different after being married, if things were different.

At first the only difference was that we slept in the same bed and were able bond more intimately...

Now however, after looking over the course of these sixth months we are both a little different.

I truly think we know each other better now. I know that sometimes Kyle needs a gentle nudge while he is saying his prayers at night so he doesn't fall asleep.

He knows that the best way to get me out of bed in the morning is to kiss me and let me take my time.

I know that he loves to study

He knows that sometimes I need a little special purchase (like a smoothie or a pair of gloves)

Things have been so wonderful.

On Saturday we had our ward christmas party. Kyle and I were part of the program and then afterwards I took him to a surprise....

SWING DANCING!
Kyle and I used to swing dance at Camp and teach it to the kids. We got pretty into it and then he left on his mission. I didn't like dancing with other guys so I stopped...and when Kyle got back I felt like I had lost my grooves. However,we found out that we pretty much rock still : )
We learned a few moves which has left my right shoulder in pain....
We also learned that Kyle has a hard time spinning when dancing.....

I love him SOO much.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

'Tis the Season

I love this time of the year. There is so much to be grateful for, to find hope in. I love that Christmas draws you near to your family. It requires family time, something I increasingly love. Before the Christmas season approached I asked Kyle what traditions he would want for Christmas. He wanted to make sure it was a spiritual experience, especially for our future children. That we wouldn't get caught up in the commercialization. I had a few requests...things that I loved as a child.
1. Ice Skating... My family is a huge hockey family. In fact I figure skated competitively as a child. Usually my family will go dozens of times (minus my mother who would help tie our skates and watch from the sideline). Fortunately while in Yakima over Thanksgiving weekend, it was my little sisters birthday. She decided to go skating with her friends, so of course Kyle and I grabbed the opportunity for a free skating session.

2. Getting a REAL Christmas tree. Kyle grew up with a fake one and I told him that I could not possibly go without that pine smell. So while in Yakima I grabbed all of the ornaments I loved growing up that my mother was willing to give away and then Friday, Kyle and I shopped at goodwill for additional decorations. Ultimately we totally scored. I think goodwill is a fabulous place to get ornaments because they are .99 CENTS!
The tree strapped onto our car.

The tree and me.

Our tree stand from the 60s that we found at Goodwill for $3!

When we bought the tree stand Kyle took it out of the box to ensure all parts were there. Well he left the screws that hold the tree in place at Goodwill. This is him after he had to go back to Goodwill (the next day) and get them.

We got these sweet beads in a bag, unfortunately they were tangled to the max. This is how Kyle undoes them.

Decorating the tree.

This is my favorite. Latter-Day Saints will understand. It's the beehive which is kind of a symbol of the church.

Kyle's favorite ornament we found at Goodwill...it is pretty sweet.

This is what is on top of our tree. I made it in 3rd grade out of wet paper towels...

This is my favorite childhood ornament. I'm not sure why exactly...but probably because its sparkly.

Our finished product!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Last Quarter....

Well my status as an college undergraduate will soon be at an end...at the end of March. As a senior I received the privilege of getting to register for my last classes far earlier than the meager freshmen. However, I usually know what I want to take or at least have something I needed to take... which has guided my schedule. This quarter I didn't even wake up at the opening time of 6 am (which I have never fully understood in the first place). I lazily decided the night before that I would register for the history of the holocaust (I love this subject), Dance 102 (I took dance this summer and loved it so I figured lets keep going), and the Hebrew Bible (This was recommended to me and I figured it would help out with my gospel understanding).

Well after a month of having this schedule I looked at it and realized that it would only allow me to work two days a week. The past two quarters I have been averaging 3 days a week (15 hours). This has been perfect. Enough money to save up in the bank and enough freedom for studying and social events.

But because my new schedule only allowed 2 days, I would have had to sacrifice my friday or saturday. I refused. Instead I decided to try to find some other classes that would open up my schedule more.

Really I should have thought of this before I registered and then I would have been able to take some really neat classes before the nasty little freshman got in. Now I would have to pick up the scraps of the freshman.

I finally found something that worked.

I refused to let go of my history of the holocaust and sadly cried when I dropped dance....This left me taking intro to political theory (I figured it would be useful for life) and social deviance (it was the ONLY class that worked).

Today, I researched who my new teachers would be on ratemyprofessors.com (I love this website)

My social deviance teacher had reviews such as:
-HUGE EGO
-WORST TEACHER EVER!!!
-DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS!!!!

Needless to say, I was freaked out. I scrambled to find a different class. Anything but this teacher. I mean the reviews were AWFUL and then I remembered my roommate took him and she HATED him.

Guess what I am taking now?
Oceanography 102-Changing Oceans
I was desperate and its online which means its probably way easy and less time commitment. TAKE THAT SUCKERS!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Thanksgiving....

The spread

Sweet Potatoes....my favorite.....

Texan Jello (cherry-coke jello, pineapple, bing cherries, and cream cheese)It's a big tradition.

Waiting for the feast to start....I make faces...

Me with my first turkey ever... yummy

Gina: Kyle pretend like you are a model carving a turkey!


Thanksgiving was fun. I realized that its not as hard as it sounded. I found I had a lot of spare time. I probably could have made homemade stuffing instead of stoffers and added a vegetable. We had no greens.....oh well.