Thursday Thought

For the past few days I have been thinking about fear and why we as people have a hard time facing our fears. It is my personal belief that fears hinder us. Fear hold us back and prevent us from living life to its fullest. I thought I would share a few of my favorite quotes on fear. 

The first thought comes from President Thomas S. Monson. President Monson said, " Of course we will face fear, experience ridicule, and meet opposition. Let us have the courage to defy the consensus, the courage to stand for principle. Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God's approval...Remember that all men have their fears, but those who face their fears with [faith] have courage as well.

Are you afraid to do something because it isn't the popular thing to do? Are you afraid of what others might think? Be brave. Have courage.
 

Eleanor Roosevelt said, "You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do."

You can do it!

The last quote comes from Gandhi. He said, "The enemy is fear. We think it is hate; but, it is fear."

I have been working on facing my fears and I can tell you that it is liberating to do something you were afraid to do. I feel I have learned a lot and grown as a person by facing my fears.

Is fear holding you back? What are you afraid of? How are you going to face your fears? Be brave! You can do it! I know you can!

Weekend In Review

 Friday

We had the sister missionaries over for dinner on Friday night. Sister Ungerman had previously served in our ward, it was a lot of fun catching up with her! We also enjoyed getting to know Sister Bingham! The sisters are awesome and we love them! We hope to have them over again soon.

Saturday

We arranged to meet up with my cousin Cooper at the Portland. It has been a long time since we have seen Cooper, it was really good to see him and catch up. The temple was amazing! I love going to the temple! There is a special spirit in the temple and you can't help but feel calm and peaceful while inside.

After we finished up at the temple Andy and I went out to lunch at a nearby Mexican restraunt. The food was really good and we plan on eating there in the future.

The rest of the afternoon was spent looking at cars. The Grandpa-Mobile is quickly on its way out and we can't afford to not have a way to get around. The car is currently running on faith right now.

Sunday

Sundays are a day I look forward to each week. I have the opportunity to go to church and be reminded about what life is really about. Church was amazing as usual, service and living a Christ-like life were the focus of the meetings-- it was super uplifting.

An Evening At PK Park

*Sings * Take me out to the ball game. Take me out to the crowd...

A few days ago we spent the evening at PK Park with Andy's coworkers watching a good old fashioned baseball game. Baseball is one of my favorite sports to watch. It's something about the sound of the bat cracking as it slams into the baseball, the cheer of the fans, and the wafting smell of garlic fries. Mmm garlic! My mouth is watering now.

Andy & I.

Andy, Daniel, & I. Daniel really wanted to be in a photo with us.

The Eugene Emeralds really brought the heat against the Vancouver Canadians-- yes they really are the Canadians. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

Thursday Thought

The other night Andy started singing Hanson's MMMBop and I started dancing-- this wasn't normal dancing, this was stupid dancing and it was A LOT of FUN! Before too long we pulled out the video camera and recorded his singing and my dancing. When we watched the video we both just busted up laughing. It was one of the most ridiculous videos we have ever seen, let alone made.

After watching the video several times and laughing to the point that it hurt I started thinking, "I wonder what other people would think if they saw this video." Then the following thought came to my mind, "Be yourself, nobody is as good at it as you are."

It seems as though we are constantly told who we should be and what we should be doing in order to fit in and be accepted. For women, "You have to be a size 2, tan, have long blonde hair, wear lots of makeup, be in shape, drive a nice car, be super fit, like a particular genre of music" and the list goes on. When did it become society's job to tell us whether or not we measure up? Whether or not we fit in? Or whether or not we are worth something?



Everyone is different and everyone is special. In fact, it is our differences that make us unique. The world would be a pretty boring and dull place if we were all the same. You weren't meant to fit in, you were meant to stand out. Let your true colors shine and be happy and content with who you are! You don't need someone else to tell you, you're good enough. You are more than enough!

4th of July

I really love the fourth of July! Seeing the colors red, white, and blue make me feel all patriotic inside and cause me to reflect on the freedoms we enjoy here in America. I feel truly blessed to live in this beautiful land!

This year for the 4th of July we did something different, we went and picked raspberries. Who picks raspberries on the 4th of July right? We do. The berries have been coming on super early this year and we didn't want to miss out, so we went and picked berries first thing in the morning.

Then we headed over to our friends house to eat yummy food (jalapeno poppers, deviled eggs, watermelon, smoked salmon, ribs, and salad), play games, and light off fireworks. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable day.

Happy Birthday America!

The Five Love Languages

You may have figured out by now that I love setting and achieving goals. I don't usually share what my goals are on the blog until I have accomplished them, but I want to share this one with you.

I love to read! Like I really really love to read! I spend all of my breaks at work reading, I guess you could say I'm addicted to reading. I learn so much when I read that I can't help but want to read more. This past fall as I was looking though my bookcase, I realized I had read almost every book on the shelves-- kind of ridiculous I know. And no, I  don't keep every book I have ever read if that were the case I would need my own personal library.

Anyways, as I was looking though my book case I noticed that the majority of the books I hadn't read were the books on relationships that people gave us when we first got married. Andy and I have a great relationship and neither of us have really felt the need to read any of said relationship books.

After staring at these relationship books for several minutes I thought to myself, "Why not read them? Why not read all of them? That would be a great goal!" As you may have guessed "Read all of the relationship books we own" made its way onto my list of goals.

I recently finished reading my first relationship book, The Five Love Languages  by Gary Chapman. I know reading a book on relationships may sound like drudgery, but this book was AMAZING! I learned sooo much!

Even if you have a great relationship with your spouse, there are little things you can do to make your relationship even better. I learned a lot about myself as I read this book. This book is a must read!

Thursday Thought

Andy has a quote hanging on the wall by his desk that we both love. It reads:

 "...work very hard. If you want anything in life, you have to work hard to get it. That's really it. It's hard to find people who want it so badly that it's all they think about. There's a price you have to pay, and it's putting in a lot of hours. That's the number one thing that I tell people: work, work, work, work, work."
-Michael Cina

The average person doesn't wake up and go run a marathon on a whim, they train to get there. The same is true with anything else in life that is worthwhile. A degree, a relationship, a century bike ride, making lots of money, mountain climbing, etc. What do you want in life? Are you willing to put in the effort to get it?

Carpe Diem!