The Raa Play

I'm not a fan a Shaq, but this commercial was on the other day, and I found it funny. Enjoy.

New Job

I worked at DownEast for almost a year, but in November 2011 I quit. For the most part it was a very good job. I loved what I did and I loved the people that I worked with. For most of the time I worked at the Layton Hills Mall, but when Eric and I got married I transferred to the Gateway mall.

After about a month of working there Eric and I both knew that something needed to changed. I was working mostly nights and I worked every Friday and Saturday night. Working nights wasn't that different before, but that was before I was married and nights weren't the only time I had to spend with my husband. I literally worked every Friday and Saturday night. I knew that I would have to work some I was even prepared to work one weekend night a week. I thought that was reasonable, but that wasn't how it worked. The problem soon became that Eric and I didn't really get to spend time with each other, and we had a big decision to make.

We knew something needed to change but we weren't sure what. We fasted and prayed about this decision. Our options were for me to talk to my manager about the problem, stay at that job until I found a new job, or just quit. The answer we got was just to quit. It was very hard for me to do, but I felt good about it and I knew that it was what I was suppose to do.

4 months later I have a new job that is going to be so much better for me and for Eric. I now work for a law firm called Jones Waldo. I will be a law librarian. The thing I'm most excited for is I have a set schedule. I know exactly when I will be at work. I don't have to say, "I don't know, I don't have my schedule yet." I don't know many people yet, but the people I do know seem really nice, and my boss seems very understanding when it comes to school schedules.

I've been in to fill out my paper work and for some training. My first real day is next Monday. I'm am so excited to start at my new job and for the new responsibilities. I know that this job will be so good for me and some much better for me family.

6 Month Anniversary

On March 2 Eric and We will be married for 6 months. I never posted about our wedding for many reasons, but it all boiled down to being busy. I think that this is a good occasion to post about it.

We were married on September 2, 2011 in the Salt Lake Temple at 9:40 am. I love the Salt Lake Temple and have always loved it. My wedding was extra special because my great grandfather sealed Eric and me for time and all eternity. I also had the special experience of having my great aunt be the one took me around the temple and showed me what to do. She is a temple worker at the Salt Lake Temple and was assigned to help the brides at the time I was married. I know that it wasn't a coincidence, and that it was a special little gift from a loving Heavenly Father.

After we were married we took pictures outside the temple with family and friends, and then a few with just us. As we were walking around the temple grounds we had random people taking pictures of us. It was kind of weird. These are some of my favorite

 

Eric's cousin, Savanah, was so excited.

I love how blue the sky looks.

Once we were done we went to Heritage Park for our luncheon at the Brigham Young Farmhouse. The food was delicious, the day was gorgeous, and it was wonderful to be surrounded by such wonderful friends and family. I was really nervous that it was going to be uncomfortably hot, because it had been the past few days, especially with and outdoor luncheon and reception, but the weather was perfect. It was the perfect temperature outside without a breeze. I didn't have to worry about anyone sweating in their wedding clothes our the wind messing anything up. Here are some pictures from our luncheon.

With my Grant Grandpa who was our sealer.

With Eric's cousin Adam and his wife Brooke.

Eric's  mom Laurie sharing memories of Eric.

Our reception was at the Lion House in the garden. It was gorgeous. We had white table clothes with table runners that had a damask pattern and red ribbons tied around the chairs. The center pieces were made by one of the mission couples in Eric mission, Judy (she also did my bouquet). They were three  vases with either red, silver, or black beads in them and they had a red ribbon tied around them. Simple but so pretty. For our refreshments we had chocolate cover strawberries, mini  chocolate, or strawberry cheese cakes, and either chocolate mint cookies or German chocolate cake cookies with a mango juice mixed with sprite (Eric's idea). I highly recommend the Lion they are completely willing to work with you, and are completely honest with what they can and can't do. Plus they didn't try to charge you for stupid things (we looked at a place that charged you for cutting the cake, but wouldn't let you do it yourself). Here are some pictures of the details.

 

 The centerpieces

 My bouquet

 The Cake

The guest sign in

Our refreshments

We took pictures until our reception started at six. My aunt Michelle sat at the table were had our guests sign pages of a scrapbook for us (made by my mom, grandma, aunt Michelle and me). We stood in line with both of our parents greeting people for the full two hours. My arm got tired from holding my flowers and I had to keep switching hands Eric thought it was funny but he did offer to hold them for me. After the line we cut the cake. Yes, we were nice and didn't smash it into each others face. I really didn't want cake on my wedding dress. We danced to You're the Inspiration by Chicago. I tossed my bouquet. I threw it so hard that it went over a tree branch and almost hit the photographer. Our sisters fought over it, but not our 18 year old sisters, our ten year old sisters. In the end Kalli (Eric's sister) let Aly (my sister) have it. Eric's Aunt Debbie was a life saver and brought us a Subway sandwich for us knowing that we would be starving. After that we left. When we got to our car it was completely covered in shaving cream, a silly string. Eric was not happy, that was probably the only thing he wanted. Here are some more pictures.

 Cutting the Cake

 Out Dinner

 Catching the Bouquet

First Dance

I honestly couldn't ask for a more perfect day. It was truly the best day of my life. I'm so thankful for a wonderful husband and for all the people who helped make our day a little more special. I know that this was kind of long but it is more for me, so that I don't forget that special day.

Rant

Yes, I'm going to go off on a rant (okay two rants), sorry. If you don't want to hear it, you don't have to read it. I just want to get it out of my system.

Clothing Sizes

One day at work I had a woman come up to me a very rudely say "Doesn't this store carry any real sizes!" I politely asked what size she was looking for and found out she was looking for a large. I told her I would check in the back, on my way to the back I checked the item she was looking and found it out on the floor! She didn't even look!

All sizes are real sizes and I have had every single possible size come to me asking if we had that item in a different size in the back. I have had every single size get frustrated because they couldn't find anything they liked in their size. It is not the store's or employees' fault if your size is not in stock. It could mean that it is an old item and not being made anymore to make room for more seasonable items, and all new items that are coming will come in all sizes. It could also mean that you have exceptional taste and are choosing items that have been very popular.

Body Styles

I have a class on adolescent development. For one of the classes we talked about how adolescents are often confused by the media on body image. We had to do an activity were we watched an hour of a TV show geared towards teenagers and count how many were underweight, average, weight, and over weight. It made me mad at how many of the students were aggressive toward underweight females. I know that eating disorders are rampant and very dangerous. I know that all body styles are beautiful and that we should appreciate all of them. All of that doesn't mean that someone who underweight has an eating disorder, or an healthy life style. That is simply how there body is. Just like all body types. All are beautiful no one should be made to feel that they are doing something wrong because of their body type.

One of my favorite shows is What Not to Wear, and the reason is because Clinton and Stacey always tell women that they should embrace the body they have now, and when something doesn't look good to blame the clothes and not their bodies. I think that this is something all people men or women, young or old should do.

Sorry for my rant.

Unexpected Pleasant Surprise!

Yesterday Eric had a final at 1. I had assumed that he would leave work early and go straight to his final. That is not what he did, instead he left work early and came home and had lunch with me. It made my whole day. I couldn't stop smiling I just couldn't believe that he was home for lunch on a weekday.

The first thing I said when he came home was "What are you doing here?" I don't think that was the greeting he expected because he said "Fine, I'll just leave." I quickly got up and hugged and made sure that came inside before he could leave.

It was so nice to spend half and hour in the middle of the day with my husband.

Eric's Talk

This is Eric's Talk that he gave. I think that he did a wonderful job. He started with a poem about Thanksgiving since it was the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

T’was the night of Thanksgiving,

But I just couldn’t sleep.

I tried counting backwards,

I tried counting sheep.

The leftovers beckoned,

The dark meat and white.

But I fought the temptation,

With all of my might.

Tossing and turning,

with anticipation.

The thought of a snack

became infatuation.

So I raced to the kitchen,

Flung open the door,

And gazed at the fridge,

Full of goodies galore.

I gobbled up turkey,

And buttered potatoes,

Pickles and carrots,

Beans and tomatoes.

I felt myself swelling,

So plump and so round.

‘til all of a sudden,

I rose off the ground.

I crashed through the ceiling,

Floating into the sky,

With a mouthful of pudding,

And a handful of pie.

But I managed to yell

As I soared past the trees

Happy eating to all,

Pass the cranberries, please!!

May your stuffing be tasty

May your turkey be plump.

May your potatoes and gravy

Have nary a lump.

May your yams be delicious,

May your pies take the prize

And May your Thanksgiving dinner

Stay off of your thighs!

by Lauren

Every week when we come to church and partake of the sacrament we promise with God that we will “always remember him.”  This promise is so important that it is specifically written in both the sacrament prayers.  It is clearly stated in the prayers that in order for us to “have his spirit to be with us” we must first “always remember him.” In essence it is a commandment from God to “Always remember him.”  Why would God have us promise each week to always remember him?  How is that connected with us obtaining the Spirit?  Remembrance is the seed of Gratitude.  Gratitude brings Humility and Charity.  Humility and Charity bring the Spirit.

I don’t know if I would be to far of by stating that remembering God and all that he has done for us will lead us to guidance by the spirit. Remembrance of Jesus Christ always  brings about gratitude.

What is Gratitude?

Gratitude is a feeling of thankfulness for blessings or benefits we have received. Grateful people are quick to acknowledge the kindness and help they receive from our Heavenly Father and others around them.

To have gratitude we must first recognize the blessings that God gives us.  To recognize the blessings we must 

How will developing a deeper level of gratitude effect my life?

A grateful heart is the beginning of greatness. Gratitude builds humility as we recognize an act of kindness, service, or caring from someone else. True gratitude is a foundation for faith, courage, contentment, happiness, love, and well-being. Being grateful leads us to look outside ourselves and turn to the bestower of the blessings.

“Gratitude is an uplifting, exalting attitude.” (True to the Faith)

Gratitude is not something we DO, it is something we BECOME.  I can’t just do gratitude like I can pay my tithing or go to church.  Gratitude is who I am.  I have to be grateful not do grateful.  

Being grateful is so much more that just words.  Gratitude is a feeling, or an attitude within us.  In True to the Faith we learn that we need to “Work at being grateful.” It is an attribute that we develop and work at just like faith and humility.  Gratitude is not something that we can be just once a year around thanksgiving time.  

Get into a habit of expressing gratitude. (Alms 34:38) To be truly grateful we must be grateful daily and not yearly. 

How can we daily develop a habit of Gratitude?  I think that the best way for us to develop gratitude is to recognize the hand of God in our lives or ALWAYS REMEMBER HIM. We need to recognize the Hand of God in our daily lives and then thank God for what he has done for us. But how can we recognize God’s hand in our lives?  President Eyring found a way that worked for him to recognize for yourself. Write them down.”

I went inside. I didn’t go to bed. Although I was tired, I took out some paper and began to write. And as I did, I understood the message I had heard in my mind. I was supposed to record for my children to read, someday in the future, how I had seen the hand of God blessing our family. Grandpa didn’t have to do what he was doing for us. He could have had someone else do it or not have done it at all. But he was serving us, his family, in the way covenant disciples of Jesus Christ always do. I knew that was true. And so I wrote it down, so that my children could have the memory someday when they would need it.

I wrote down a few lines every day for years. I never missed a day no matter how tired I was or how early I would have to start the next day. Before I would write, I would ponder this question: “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?” As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done.

More than gratitude began to grow in my heart. Testimony grew. I became ever more certain that our Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. I felt more gratitude for the softening and refining that come because of the Atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ. And I grew more confident that the Holy Ghost can bring all things to our remembrance—even things we did not notice or pay attention to when they happened.the blessings of God in his life. From this he learned to develop gratitude and testimony.

“When our children were very small, I started to write down a few things about what happened every day. Let me tell you how that got started. I came home late from a Church assignment. It was after dark. My father-in-law, who lived near us, surprised me as I walked toward the front door of my house. He was carrying a load of pipes over his shoulder, walking very fast and dressed in his work clothes. I knew that he had been building a system to pump water from a stream below us up to our property.

He smiled, spoke softly, and then rushed past me into the darkness to go on with his work. I took a few steps toward the house, thinking of what he was doing for us, and just as I got to the door, I heard in my mind—not in my own voice—these words: “I’m not giving you these experiences

The years have gone by. My boys are grown men. And now and then one of them will surprise me by saying, “Dad, I was reading in my copy of the journal about when …” and then he will tell me about how reading of what happened long ago helped him notice something God had done in his day.

My point is to urge you to find ways to recognize and remember God’s kindness. It will build our testimonies. You may not keep a journal. You may not share whatever record you keep with those you love and serve. But you and they will be blessed as you remember what the Lord has done. You remember that song we sometimes sing: “Count your many blessings; name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.” 2

“You could have an experience with the gift of the Holy Ghost today. You could begin a private prayer with thanks. You could start to count your blessings, and then pause for a moment. If you exercise faith, and with the gift of the Holy Ghost, you will find that memories of other blessings will flood into your mind. If you begin to express gratitude for each of them, your prayer may take a little longer than usual. Remembrance will come. And so will gratitude.”

Recognizing the blessings of God in our life help us develop gratitude.  Gratitude leads to Humility and Charity. Humility and Charity lead to Guidance of the Spirit.  

Recognizing the hand of God has helped me in my life to understand how the spirit works.  By recognizing the hand of God in my life my testimony of the Holy Ghost grew.  I began to see specific things - very specific things - that God helped me with in my day. I recognized when the spirit guided me, which other wise I would not have recognized.

Gratitude

Last Sunday Eric and I were asked to speak in our ward. We were asked to speak on Gratitude. I thought I would post our talk's for you to read, but you don't have to. This is my talk. I will post Eric's later.

 

We were asked to speak on gratitude. I looked up gratitude in the dictionary and it said "Gratitude: the state of being grateful." I then looked up grateful and it said "Grateful: expressing gratitude or appreciative of benefits received." That was not much help. So I turned to the church website where it said “Gratitude is a feeling of appreciation and thankfulness for blessings or benefits we have received. As we cultivate a grateful attitude, we are more likely to be happy and spiritually strong. We should regularly express our gratitude to God for the blessings He gives us and to others for the kind acts they do for us.

Grateful people are quick to acknowledge the kindness and help they receive from our Heavenly Father and others around them.

Where there is gratitude, there is courtesy; there is a concern for the happiness and well-being of others.” 

The part that stuck out to me the most is the part that says “We should regularly express our gratitude to God for the blessings He gives us and to others for the kind acts they do for us.” This sentence brought up two questions the first was why should we regularly express gratitude and the second was how to we regularly express gratitude. 

I will start by answering why we should express gratitude. At first the answer seems obvious we should express our gratitude because it helps us realize all the blessings that we have, but I found a better reason. In D&C 59:7 it says “Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things.” We should express our gratitude because the Lord commanded us to. 

The Lord always gives us commandments for a reason and they are always for our benefit. How will being grateful benefit our lives? 

In the True to the Faith it says “The Lord has promised, ‘He who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious’ (D&C 78:19). Gratitude is an uplifting exalting attitude. … You cannot be bitter, resentful, or mean-spirited when you are grateful.”  

James E Faust said “It seems as though there is a tug-of-war between opposing character traits that leaves no voids in our souls. As gratitude is absent or disappears, rebellion often enters and fills the vacuum. I do not speak of rebellion against civil oppression. I refer to rebellion against moral cleanliness, beauty, decency, honesty, reverence, and respect for parental authority. A grateful heart is a beginning of greatness. It is an expression of humility. It is a foundation for the development of such virtues as prayer, faith, courage, contentment, happiness, love, and well-being.” 

To me these say that being grateful helps us to be more Christ like. Humility, faith, courage, and love are all characteristics of the savior that we strive to have. These characteristics are gained through gratitude and will help us return to our Heavenly Father.  

                While studying for this talk one story kept coming up. I know that you have all heard it before, but I thought I would share it with you again. It is found in Luke 17:11-19. “And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:

 And they lifted up their voices and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

And when he saw them he said unto, them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went they were cleansed.

And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified god,

And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?

There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.

And he said unto him, Arise go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.” 

                This shows how we should express our gratitude. The one that opening gave thanks for being cleansed was the one that was praised, and the one that received extra blessings. It is entirely possible that the other nine were grateful for being cleansed but because they did not express their gratitude they were seen as ungrateful and missed out on the blessing of being made whole. It is not enough just to be grateful we need to express it.               

                There are many ways to express our gratitude. The most common way is to say “Thank you.” How many times throughout our day do we have the opportunity to say thanks but don’t? I know that I am guilty of not saying thank you enough. So many things are done for us and we take them granite. When we take things for granite we come to expect them and we no longer see them as blessings in our lives. Sister Hinckley illustrated this when she said, “A grateful heart will give you a touch of refinement that can come in no other way.

I went to high school during the days of the famous depression. It was a miserable experience. But, in a way, I wish you could have been there with us. Somehow it helped me to appreciate much more the prosperity we now enjoy. I know some of you think you are on a tight budget, and you are. I am glad if you are. But it is a tight budget because you have nothing else to compare with it. It isn’t your fault that you have had three square meals a day, most every day of your life. It isn’t your fault that somehow or other you have always been able to get a new pair of shoes, whether you needed them or not. It isn’t your fault that you have at least five or six changes of clothing in your crowded closets. But all of this makes doubly hard for you to be truly grateful.

Has the feat of not being able to get an education ever struck terror into your heart: Probably not, for you knew that somehow or other you would get here and that somehow or other you will stay as long as you so desire, for this is America, where only you own indolence can keep you from the good things in life.

And when you finally develop a little gratitude in your heart, make up your mind to express it. 'Appreciation unexpressed is not appreciation.' If you can’t find someone to say thank you to for something, just take a look at you toothbrush and say, 'Thank you for being. You are a wonderful little gadget.'

'Thank you' is a wonderful phrase. Use it. It will add stature to your soul. Never let a day go by without saying thank you to someone for something- and especially to your Heavenly Father.”

Saying “thank you” is a simple and easy way for us to show our gratitude.  

                Gratitude can also be shown through our actions. The phrase “actions speak louder than words” applies very well when showing gratitude. If you appreciate something that someone has done for you, do something nice for them in return.  You can also show your gratitude by doing the same act of kindness for someone else. Very recently I was talking to my mom and thanking her for the things she had done for me. When I got done she said “All that I ask is that you pay it forward to your children.” She didn’t want anything from me. She did these things for me out of love; all that she asked is that I show that same love to my children. Sometimes all we can do to express our gratitude is to show that same kindness to those around us. This can be applied in many different circumstances from passing the love of your parents onto your children to holding the door open for a stranger. 

                Not only do we need to express gratitude to the people in our lives we need to express gratitude to our Heavenly Father. We express gratitude to our Heavenly Father through our words and action also. In the True to the faith it says “We should thank our Heavenly Father for His goodness to us by acknowledging His hand in all things, thanking Him for all that He gives us, keeping His commandments, and serving others.” 

                We need to tell our Heavenly Father every day the things that we are thankful for through prayer. We should not skip straight to the blessing that we need. We have to take the time to sincerely tell our Heavenly Father that we are thankful for the many blessing in our lives. Our Heavenly Father has given us everything we have and we need to take the time to tell him that we are grateful. By showing gratitude is our prayers we can acknowledge Gods hand in all things. 

We also express gratitude to our heavenly Father through keeping his commandments in Mosiah 2: 19-22 it says “And Behold also, if I, whom ye call your king, who has spent his days in your service, and yet has been in the service of God, do merit any thanks from you, O how you ought to thanks your heavenly King!

I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another-

I say unto you if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another-I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.

And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments . . .” 

Our Heavenly Father has given us so much the least we can do is keep his commandments.

I know that expressing gratitude to our Heavenly father and those around us will benefit our lives. I know the being grateful for the blessing in our lives makes us happier and that our Heavenly Father blesses us when express our gratitude. I know that our Heavenly Father loves me and that I can show my love for him by being grateful for everything that he gives me.