I don’t know about you, but I love setting goals. One of my goals for the year was to read The Book of Mormon again. I am proud to say that I accomplished my goal on April 30th. I feel like each time I read The Book of Mormon I learn something new. This book really contains a wealth of knowledge and is something I consider to be a “pearl of great price.” Any time life gets hard and I don’t know what to do, I can find peace, comfort, and answers to my problems by studying this book. I am so grateful for the scriptures and the joy they bring to my life.
If you have never read The Book of Mormon before I encourage you to read it. Find out for yourself whether this book is true. If you don’t have a copy of The Book of Mormon and would like one, let me know and I will mail you one. =)
June 30, 2014
June 27, 2014
A Date To Texas Roadhouse
On Friday April 25th Andy and I went on a date to Texas Roadhouse. Whenever we go to Texas Roadhouse we call ahead so that we can be seated faster, usually we still end up waiting quite awhile though. On this particular trip to Texas Roadhouse we were seated very quickly.
As soon as we were seated our waitress came up and started talking with us almost instantly, she told us that it was her first week on the job and took our orders. She noticed my wedding ring and came back to chat with us every time she had a spare moment.
Whenever Andy and I go out to eat, we sit next to each other. The waitress would sit down across from us and she started asking how we met, started dating, and she wanted to know how we knew that it was right to get married. She was shocked as we told her our story, it’s a little crazy.
As the night went on, I told Andy that we needed to ask her what her story was. I told him that she wasn’t just asking these questions to be friendly. Eventually we asked her what her story was and she told us that she had been dating a guy for about 10 months and he has a ring and wants to get married but she wasn’t sure if it was the right thing. She told us a few things about him and said that her family didn’t like him because of the things she had previously shared with us. This sweet beautiful waitress also told us that she is 23 and she is ready to move on to the next stage of life.
I reassured her that she is beautiful and she still has her whole life ahead and her. I told her not to rush into anything. I asked her to think about the things her boyfriend had done (most of these are bad habit type of things) and to think about how those things made her feel. I asked her if she wanted to live with those things the rest of her life. I told her to consider the things her family was saying about her boyfriend. I explained that when we are dating someone, we can only see the good things in that person and we overlook the bad but our families can see the big picture. I explained that when I was younger and dating that there were times when I wish I would have listened to my family’s advice. I told her her family loved and cared about her and only had her best interest at heart. The whole time we were at Texas Roadhouse it felt as if we were meant to be seated in that particular section, with that particular waitress, and that we were supposed to have the conversation we had with her.
I don’t remember our waitress’s name but I hope she made the best decision that she could for herself.
As soon as we were seated our waitress came up and started talking with us almost instantly, she told us that it was her first week on the job and took our orders. She noticed my wedding ring and came back to chat with us every time she had a spare moment.
Whenever Andy and I go out to eat, we sit next to each other. The waitress would sit down across from us and she started asking how we met, started dating, and she wanted to know how we knew that it was right to get married. She was shocked as we told her our story, it’s a little crazy.
As the night went on, I told Andy that we needed to ask her what her story was. I told him that she wasn’t just asking these questions to be friendly. Eventually we asked her what her story was and she told us that she had been dating a guy for about 10 months and he has a ring and wants to get married but she wasn’t sure if it was the right thing. She told us a few things about him and said that her family didn’t like him because of the things she had previously shared with us. This sweet beautiful waitress also told us that she is 23 and she is ready to move on to the next stage of life.
I reassured her that she is beautiful and she still has her whole life ahead and her. I told her not to rush into anything. I asked her to think about the things her boyfriend had done (most of these are bad habit type of things) and to think about how those things made her feel. I asked her if she wanted to live with those things the rest of her life. I told her to consider the things her family was saying about her boyfriend. I explained that when we are dating someone, we can only see the good things in that person and we overlook the bad but our families can see the big picture. I explained that when I was younger and dating that there were times when I wish I would have listened to my family’s advice. I told her her family loved and cared about her and only had her best interest at heart. The whole time we were at Texas Roadhouse it felt as if we were meant to be seated in that particular section, with that particular waitress, and that we were supposed to have the conversation we had with her.
I don’t remember our waitress’s name but I hope she made the best decision that she could for herself.
June 23, 2014
Easter Weekend
On Saturday April 19th, we drove out to Andy’s parents for the Easter weekend. We wanted to make one last trip out there before we move. Shortly after we arrived at the house, a neighbor knocked on the door and informed us that the field next to the house was on fire.
Earlier in the week Andy’s family had purposely burned the land. The fire started out as a controlled burn but quickly got out of hand and ended up burning over 300 acres. At one points Andy’s grandpa (who was in a tractor) was completely surrounded by the flames. He ended up driving the tractor through the flames in an attempt to save his own life. He was very lucky that the tractor didn’t catch on fire and he survived.
Once we were told that field was on fire, we all hopped in a truck and headed down to the field with gloves and shovels—we didn’t want to repeat what happened earlier in the week. The first wasn’t too big and we were able to put it out pretty quickly. Then Andy’s dad drove us around the property to show us everything that had burned two days before. It was pretty bad, not sure how many years it will take for everything to grow back.
Later that night we tried shooting Andy’s little brother Shaun’s bow and arrow. Andy and I both lack in archery skills.
The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and playing games.
Earlier in the week Andy’s family had purposely burned the land. The fire started out as a controlled burn but quickly got out of hand and ended up burning over 300 acres. At one points Andy’s grandpa (who was in a tractor) was completely surrounded by the flames. He ended up driving the tractor through the flames in an attempt to save his own life. He was very lucky that the tractor didn’t catch on fire and he survived.
Once we were told that field was on fire, we all hopped in a truck and headed down to the field with gloves and shovels—we didn’t want to repeat what happened earlier in the week. The first wasn’t too big and we were able to put it out pretty quickly. Then Andy’s dad drove us around the property to show us everything that had burned two days before. It was pretty bad, not sure how many years it will take for everything to grow back.
Later that night we tried shooting Andy’s little brother Shaun’s bow and arrow. Andy and I both lack in archery skills.
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| Shaun practicing shooting with his bow. |
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| Andy trying his hand at shooting. |
The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and playing games.
May 27, 2014
Learning To Cut Hair
For quite some time Andy has been asking me to cut his hair. Typically my response would be something along the lines of, “I don’t know how to cut hair and I don’t want to mess yours up.” To which Andy would reply, “Well, if you mess it up I can go to the salon and get it fixed.” I never liked this idea and figured I would save myself the stress and have him just go to the salon.
One day while we were visiting my brother, I decided to try and cut Andy’s hair and I did a pretty good job. Andy was very impressed and went out and bought us some shears.
The next time I tried cutting Andy’s hair, I didn’t do so well. We both ended up frustrated, I cried, and he ended up going to the salon. The gal at the salon told him all I had to do was blend his hair, otherwise it looked great. Too bad I didn’t know how to blend his hair.
I decided to see if my neighbor Brooke (she went to hair school) could teach me how to cut his hair. Brooke agreed to teach me one evening and I have been cutting Andy’s hair ever since. I so glad I learned this useful skill, it saves us almost $200 a year.
One day while we were visiting my brother, I decided to try and cut Andy’s hair and I did a pretty good job. Andy was very impressed and went out and bought us some shears.
The next time I tried cutting Andy’s hair, I didn’t do so well. We both ended up frustrated, I cried, and he ended up going to the salon. The gal at the salon told him all I had to do was blend his hair, otherwise it looked great. Too bad I didn’t know how to blend his hair.
I decided to see if my neighbor Brooke (she went to hair school) could teach me how to cut his hair. Brooke agreed to teach me one evening and I have been cutting Andy’s hair ever since. I so glad I learned this useful skill, it saves us almost $200 a year.
May 14, 2014
Conference Weekend Photos
After waiting for several weeks, I finally received a copy of the photos taken when we hiked the Y. Enjoy!
May 12, 2014
Volunteering At The Food Bank
I have always loved volunteering and serving those around me. In high school and college I took part in clubs where we would go out and volunteer. My favorite volunteer activities were the ones where we would serve at the local food bank and soup kitchen. Something about giving food to others resonated with me.
On April 9th I had the opportunity to go volunteer with the Young Men and Young Women in our ward. The evening was spent at our local food bank restocking the pantry shelves with canned food. I was surprised to see how many of the cans were expired; they weren’t expired by just a few months but by several years.
For me it is always a humbling experience to serve in this kind of way. I feel bad for the people who have to utilize these services and I hope I never find myself in a situation where I need to depend on a food bank for my food. Being in that kind of environment brought back a lot of memories Key Club and Circle K. If you have never volunteered at a food bank or soup kitchen, you really should try it sometime—you won’t regret it.
On April 9th I had the opportunity to go volunteer with the Young Men and Young Women in our ward. The evening was spent at our local food bank restocking the pantry shelves with canned food. I was surprised to see how many of the cans were expired; they weren’t expired by just a few months but by several years.
For me it is always a humbling experience to serve in this kind of way. I feel bad for the people who have to utilize these services and I hope I never find myself in a situation where I need to depend on a food bank for my food. Being in that kind of environment brought back a lot of memories Key Club and Circle K. If you have never volunteered at a food bank or soup kitchen, you really should try it sometime—you won’t regret it.
May 11, 2014
Feelings Of Peace
As I mentioned in this post, I went through a point in my life where I was surrounded by toxic people. These kind of people and the bad environment really took a toll on me and my husband. My husband and I made the decision that we couldn’t be around those kind of people and subject ourselves to the toxic environment. As part of this decision I made a job change and we quit spending time with certain people.
One day I was looking at a friend’s blog and she posted the following quote.
For some reason that quote hit me and I realized that I am not the only one who has struggled being around toxic people. This quote also helped me feel peace with the decisions we had made to remove toxic people and toxic environments from our lives. Once we started to remove the toxic things in our lives, life became a lot more peaceful and enjoyable.
With the big move looming in front of us, we decided to make one last attempt to build some bridges with the previously mentioned toxic people. We wanted to feel that we had done everything in our power to make the relationships better before we moved. With the help of a counselor we were able to sit down and try to work through some of the things that had been toxic to the relationships. I was terrified each time we walked into one of these meetings, knowing you’re going to have to share your inner most feelings with someone who has wronged you is a scary thing. Each time I have come out of one on of these meetings I have felt heard and like people were willing to try and change. I know that we have done everything we can to make things better. Time will tell if our efforts were worth it, but right now I feel at peace.
One day I was looking at a friend’s blog and she posted the following quote.
For some reason that quote hit me and I realized that I am not the only one who has struggled being around toxic people. This quote also helped me feel peace with the decisions we had made to remove toxic people and toxic environments from our lives. Once we started to remove the toxic things in our lives, life became a lot more peaceful and enjoyable.
With the big move looming in front of us, we decided to make one last attempt to build some bridges with the previously mentioned toxic people. We wanted to feel that we had done everything in our power to make the relationships better before we moved. With the help of a counselor we were able to sit down and try to work through some of the things that had been toxic to the relationships. I was terrified each time we walked into one of these meetings, knowing you’re going to have to share your inner most feelings with someone who has wronged you is a scary thing. Each time I have come out of one on of these meetings I have felt heard and like people were willing to try and change. I know that we have done everything we can to make things better. Time will tell if our efforts were worth it, but right now I feel at peace.
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