Weekend O' Fun

I had such a fun weekend! My sister-in-law Jennifer, and her kids, Braxton, Awsten, and Hailey, came to spend a few days while Cameron was in Wyoming. Friday was a very chill day. We stayed at home and let the kids play. Such cute little cousins. They really had fun being together. Jennifer and I just talked at each other the whole time... so fun! Then, for dinner, we surprised the kids and went to Chuck-E-Cheese. We got 200 tokens for 5 kids to plays games with and every game or ride is only one token. Jennifer thought 100 would be enough, but I assured her it wasn't. 200 tokens + cheese pizza = 2 1/2 hours of fun. On Saturday, I got up early and went and got my hair cut and highlighted while Jennifer watched the kids. Then, we went to Kmart and found some jackets on sale for Jennifer's kids. For dinner, we went to the mall and ate at Panda express. Brandon watched the kids at the little play area while Jennifer and I went shopping. Jennifer found some cute stuff for Hailey at Clairs. I got some cute new pants (more expensive than I would have liked, but I can't help it that my legs are too long). Then, Jennifer wanted the kids to see the strip, so, we went on a joy ride. The only problem, tired worn out kids and too many people on the strip. The kids weren't that impressed with the strip and Cody wouldn't stop crying (he just wanted to sleep, but there was too much going on for that). We lucked out and got stopped behind a bus right next to the volcano as it was starting to erupt. We only got to watch it for a few minutes, but it was fun to see. We put the kids to bed and Brandon, Jennifer and I played Family Feud. I have to say, I kicked butt at that game :-). We got to bed at 1 am. Today we went and got Cameron from the airport and Cameron and Jennifer headed home. It was so much fun to have them here. I'm sorry there are no pictures. I was too lazy to keep track of my camera.

The lesson I learned, and taught

On Tuesday, a friend and I went to the temple. We got there for the 7:00pm session and we soon learned that was the Spanish session. They told us we could wear translater headsets and listen to everything in English. We decided to just wait for the next session. It turns out there were so many people there for the Spanish session that it filled up and a lot of Spanish speakers had to wait for the 7:30 session. So, we ended up going to the 7:30 Spanish session. It ended up being a great experience. It reminded me that temple worship is important for everyone regardless of what language we hear it in. This was a good experience to prepare me for the lesson I was asked to give at Enrichment on making the temple a priority.

As I was preparing for this 15 minute lesson, I could only come up with two questions and two quotes that I wanted to use. Usually, I over prepare because I don't want to be standing in front of everyone with nothing to say. I really felt like the comments the sisters would add to my lesson would be more important than anything I could prepare. That prompting turned out correct. The sisters had so many things to say that really helped me. I know I needed to teach this lesson on the temple so that I would make a temple attendance goal for myself to go more often. My 5 minutes of prepared material lasted 20 minutes. I really felt the spirit leading that discussion and touching my heart.

Here is my favorite quote on the temple that I found in the True to the Faith gospel reference book:
"The temple is a place of peace and revelation. When you are troubled or when crucial decisions weigh heavily on your mind, you may take your cares to the temple. There you can receive spiritual guidance. Sometimes you may feel that you cannot think clearly because your mind is so burdened with problems and the many things clamoring for attention. In the temple, the dust of these distractions can settle, the fog and haze can lift, and you can understand things that you have not understood before. You can find new ways to deal with the challenges you face. The Lord will bless you as you attend to the sacred ordinance work in the temple. And the blessings He give you will not be limited to your time in the temple. He will bless you in all aspects of your life. Your labors in the temple will strengthen you and refine you spiritually.”

Valentine's Day

Brandon and I celebrated Valentine's Day all weekend. On Thursday, Brandon came home with a dozen long stemmed red roses. It was a fun surprise. On Friday, I made sugar cookies with the kids and we started eating the chocolates I had already made on Thursday. On Saturday, we took Valentine's treats to some of our friends in the morning. Brandon and I got an amazing babysitter that the kids absolutely loved. We took Cody to Olive Garden with us. It was so nice to have time to sit and talk and enjoy our restaurant experience. We usually only go to places like Denney's where everyone is used to noisy kids coming in. I love Olive garden! Of course I was full of breadsticks, salad, and mozerella fonduet before my meal even came. We came home long enough to feed Cody and put him to bed. Luckily, he cooperated and went to sleep. Brandon and I went to 3D Avatar. I liked to movie ok, but it is more of a guy movie. I was just glad we could go together. On Monday, Brandon came home from studying with a card and chocolates. I thought that was so cute. He said he felt bad he forgot the card on Saturday, so he went out in search of Valentines card on Monday. They had all been taken down already so I got a very sweet Anniversary card that had been crossed out to read "Valentine's Day."

My Lot in Life.

To all my girls out there raising kids and not living by any family, I feel your pain. This is my lot in life. Besides the three months we lived with Brandon's parents between BYU and med. school, we have never lived close to family. Even being two hours away from family, it is still out of reach of a babysitter and Sunday dinner. I see how young mothers drop their kids off at grandma's house so they can go to the Dr. or on a date. How nice would that be? Instead, I'm left to the mercy of my own pride. I hate asking for help, so usually, I don't. I have been blessed with good friends who seem to take me under their wing, and don't wait for me to ask. I consider these friends to be my family away from family. They are my role models. For this reason, I will have a hard time moving in 4 months, but I know wherever we go, there will be friends that Heavenly Father sends a long to be my family away from family.

Update on our Life

I always try to wait and blog when I have pictures to go along with it. I watched Julie & Julia last night and realized I should blog more. Not because I want to be a published writer, but because I think I would learn more about myself if I kept a journal. This blog is about as close as I've come to keeping a journal in a long, long time. Anyway, no pictures with this entry, just news and thoughts. On February 8th, we will find out where the next chapter in our life will take place. It reminds me a lot of when I was waiting for my mission call. You fill out the papers, and do the work to get ready, then you wait for the envelope that tells you where you are going. I've prayed a lot that we will be sent where the Lord would have us be. Moving is very hard for me, especially when I know it will take me out of driving distance from my family. That's what life is though. It is a series of experiences that take us out of our comfort zone and makes us grow. Brandon has applied in Michigan and Oklahoma, so that makes those two places definite possibilities, but not a sure bet.