When it rains, it pours.

Oh hey, its me. I haven't written in, oh.... 3 years. No biggie. So here are just a few major life changes that have happened in the last 3 years.

1. John got into dental school at Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio.
2. We moved to Cleveland Ohio (John's almost done with his second year of dental school)
3. We got a golden doodle puppy named Finn.
4. We got another golden doodle puppy named Newt.
5. I am currently working as a Receptionist at both Advanced Pediatrics and at Lakeland Animal Clinic.


So now that you are all caught up...

Its been a roller coaster of a week. So back tracking a little, we moved into our rental house in July of last year. Ever since we moved in, everything that could have gone wrong has.

1. Our oven had a gas leak. Our carbon monoxide reader kept going on. We called the fire department. They "red tagged" our oven due to the leak and we had to get a new oven.
2. Our water heater busted and flooded our basement.
3. Our kitchen sink was leaking and we had to replace the faucet.
4. Our power went out for 3 days due to high winds. Since our heat didn't work, our house temperature was down to 50 degrees and we ended up having to throw all our food away.
5. Our dryer started squeaking, but luckily someone in our ward was able to fix it. *Tender mercy*
6. Our most recent disaster, something in our bathroom is leaking into the light in our kitchen. The water made the light explode and ended up flooding the kitchen.

So cool, right? All of this has happened in the last 9 months. Being a grown up is so fun.

As if the kitchen flooding and light bulbs exploding isn't exciting enough, today Finn playfully pawed Cosmo in the face, and accidentally scratched his eye. Cosmo whined in pain, and then his eye started getting really goupy and inflamed. Soon, he couldn't even keep his eye open. We decided to take him to the Emergency vet, because its better safe then sorry. $318 later and the vet said its going to take a few days for it to heal. Poor guy! I hate seeing him miserable, it literally breaks my heart.

As we are driving home from the ER, John got a massive migraine. When he gets these severe headaches, he gets nauseous and is literally not able to function like a normal human. Luckily we made it home without him puking. *Another tender mercy*

Needless to say, it is only tuesday and I am ready for the week to be over.
I feel like I am just getting a taste of what motherhood is like. These situations are definitely great learning experiences!

Eventful Month

So a lot of big things have happened this last month!

1. We moved. Into a house! No more small, basement apartment for us! At least for a little while! We now live in Syracuse and are renting a house. It's 5 bedrooms and it's perfect for us. Kayla and Logan live across the street so it's a lot of fun living next to our best friends.

2. John and I celebrated our year anniversary and we survived! It's been a rocky road of ups and downs, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. We have both grown a lot this year and have learned a lot. I look forward to many more years of growth and adventures with my love!

3. For our anniversary we decided to go on a mini vacation. We drove to Washington and spent a day in Seattle. I've never been to Seattle before so it was a fun adventure. We spent a majority of our day in Pike Place Market. We saw the Gum wall and all the shops. We ate yummy fresh fish and smelled a LOT of marijuana. We then went to the Space Needle and the Glass Museum. The glass museum was my favorite part of the trip! It was super cool. Unfortunately, I was sick on this trip with a cold. It was difficult for me to walk around a lot because I couldn't breath very good. At the end of the day I was exhausted and just wanted to relax at the hotel. We went back early and went swimming in the pool. It was super fun to just get away from everything and enjoy a new place!

Gum Wall at Pike Place

The Pier was one of my favorite places

On top of the Space Needle

Glass Museum

4. The main reason we went to Washington was because we GOT A PUPPY! We have been looking to get a puppy for awhile. John has allergies so we needed a specific breed and size. I couldn't for the life of me find a breeder in Utah. I was fortunate to find one in Washington and it happened to be around the time of our anniversary. We decided to make it a puppy/anniversary trip! So we now have a mini Goldendoodle puppy named Cosmo! He is my everything!!

cha-cha-cha-changessss

Life. So a few things have happened in the past month.

So... John has been studying a majority of the summer for the DAT (the Dental Admission Test). He finally took it 2 weeks ago and did AMAZING!! :) An average score is about a 19 and he got a 24. That means he was about in the 98 percentile :) He is a smarty pants!

Since he did so great on his DAT, that means he can almost get into any school that he wants! :) So next year when he applies that means he will basically be guaranteed a spot!

It was also John's birthday 2 weeks ago! I decided what I really wanted was for him to be able to spend time with his cousins, Jared and Taylor. He is always happiest when he is spending time with his family. :) So I threw him a surprise party a week after his birthday!

It was perfect! I hid a key under our "welcome" mat and had Kayla and Logan come over and decorate the apartment while we went to dinner at Red Lobster. After we were done eating John wanted to go run errands but I had to tell him I just wanted to go home. We got home and he walked into the living room and was super surprised :) The party was small, but was perfect! I invited Kayla, Logan, Jared, Taylor, James and Jenny! :) We played games all night and it was super fun! I loved surprising John!! :)

We went to Spaghetti Factory with the Fam-Bam for J-Gitty and J-Coz's birthday's!

So school started TODAY! So since we are no longer going to have time to do fun things we decided to go to the drive in last weekend with Kayla and Logan! :) We took Logan's dads truck and put their foam pad in the back with loads of pillows! It was super fun! We saw Mission Impossible 4 and Ant Man! :) We had their CD player in the back that we used for our speaker but it was SUPER temperamental. If you touch it our bumped it at all, it would change stations. So in the middle of Mission Impossible we bumped the CD player and it changed stations to the Spanish music station. haha So this Spanish music starts playing SUPER loud!!! It was hilarious!!!! Although the people next to us probably hated us!

So school is starting and life is about to get insanely busy. Lots and LOTS of changed are happening! John got a new job at a treatment home. It's a halfway home for young boys that have been removed from their homes for various reasons. John will be working graveyard shifts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday! He will then also keep his job at sears a few nights a week. And then have school in the day! The lady at the treatment home was so impressed with John that he offered ME a job too!! I'm most likely going to take it. It is in my field of work and would give me experience. I think it's something I would enjoy and then I could quit Wilson-Davis, which I hate! I would be working a 6AM to 2PM shift and then work weekends at Beyond Spa and then have school at night! John and I are both going to be insanely busy! Hopefully we don't die!!

Change. Change is a good thing. And I'm excited about this new chapter in my life, as long as it all works out! I feel good about it! It's scary, but good! I'm sad I won't get to see the husband very much, but it's not forever. That's what I have to tell myself.

On a SUPER happy note, Natalie comes home from her mission in 2 weeks!!! :) #happythoughts

That's all for now, world! :)

52 weeks to a better marriage blog (week 1)

I found a cool blog article recently that talked about how to make your marriage better. I love my husband and think he is the bee's knee's. But no marriage is perfect. I know I'm FAR from perfect and I want to be better. I could definitely be more selfless and patient. That's something I think I struggle with sometimes. Those are two of John's greatest strengths. He is one of the most patient and selfless people I know! And he makes me want to strive to be better at that!

The blog tells you how to have a better marriage in 52 weeks. Each week it tells you something you can work on to improve your marriage. I decided I'm going to do it. :)

Week 1's goal: Find something small you can do for your spouse that will put a smile on their face.

I wanted to approach this as doing one selfless act of service each day for John. Something that will let him know how much I love him! He is so important to me and It's important to remind those you love how much they mean to you. Especially in a marriage!!

http://theclassychapter.com/better-marriage/

What happens at Ellison Park stays at Ellison Park...

Well, this is new! I'm blogging TWICE in one day... don't worry, it probably won't happen again. ;)

So I'm having a nostalgic moment! Natalie is one of my best friends. And she is on a mission in Brazil and she comes home In LESS than 2 months!!! :) :) I am sooo excited!!!! I was looking at her facebook and found this gem and just had to post it!

Natalie posted this note on facebook on December 18, 2009:

Wonder why your parents say parks are scary at night? Well we found out why!
Crazy things come out at night! We recorded our findings from that one scary night!

1. crazy hungry mosquitos, CAPABLE OF EATING ANYONE ALIVE! Even cute innocent girls who never did anything to them!
2. CAKE EATING MONSTERS ON TENNIS COURTS! Using nothing but forks.
3. But some of those Cake Eating Monsters with tennis rackets in hand are ARMED AND DANGEROUS!!! Their balls will fly anywhere, there's no escaping them! They are deadly!
4. "What kind of parents would let their 13 year old children run to the skateboarding rink in the middle of the night?!!" We found out why. They were actually the parents!
5. and late at night, hidden in the shadows, when they THINK no one is watching; old men in their RED SPEEDOS go out for a nice breezy jog.
6. and people in the parking lot, who can "ride their bikes with no handlebars.", "no handle bars?!" Yeah,"no handle bars!". They can also drive their "car with no steering wheel.", "no steering wheel?!", "yeah, no steering wheel!"

As you can see from the previous, Ellison Park holds many dark secrets at night! That night will always remain in our memories. The one night we went to Ellison when they THOUGHT no one was LOOKING.

BEWARE OF ELLISON AT NIGHT!!! ooohhhh! **ghostly sounds**

hahahahaha

Let me explain.
Natalie, Amber, Blaire and I went to Ellison one night when we were in high school. Our main intent to go there was to play tennis!

1) There were SOOOOO many mosquitos! And they were literally attacking Natalie. And she was FREAKING OUT! hahaha We had to stop our game of tennis because she was running away from them. haha

2) Amber decided to bring a cake to the park! So we all sat down on the tennis court. And ate straight our of the pan because we didn't have plates. :) haha

4) Ellison park has a skate park! Pretty cool. And... a majority of those "kids" there that night weren't kids! They were grown ups! Like they looked like parents!! haha

5) We were at the park pretty late. Natalie and I decided to go on a walk on the trail. When suddenly running through the trees came an older gent. Running in a red speedo!! Wow.... my eyes will never forget that sight!! Unfortunately.

6) "I can ride my bike with no handles bars" has been a long time running inside joke for me and Nat. I honestly don't know how it got started. But I believe it was on this night. We are cool :)

"So many books, so little time"

When I was younger I LOVED to read. I remember one of my favorite past times was sitting in bed, reading with my Mom. It was the thing I looked forward to every night! Some of our favorites to read together were The Unfortunate Events series and the Mary-Kate and Ashley Detective Series! (don't judge) :)

I used to read ALL the time. For Fun. And then high school happened. And they forced us to read. And then I hated it!! I also have a short attention span so I would lose interest in books easily. I hadn't read a book from cover to cover in the longest time! Until recently.

“That's the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet.”   ― Jhumpa Lahiri

Just last month, I had a random itch to read a book. I have a weird obsession with criminal justice stuff and horror/suspense things. I love scary movies and scary books! I love hearing and learning about criminals, especially TRUE crimes. So I decided to start reading a suspense book. And I got way into it! I read the book "The second captive" which was a fiction book about a girl who gets kidnapped and develops Stockholm syndrome for her capture. It was good! Not my favorite. But good!

I forgot how much I loved reading!! So I started another book! I read "A Monster Calls". It was really, really good! It was about a young boy whose trying to deal with the fact that his mother is dying from cancer. Then one night a monster visits him. The monster is there for one purpose... to tell him stories in return for the truth. This book had a lot of symbolism and you can learn a lot from it! It was sad. I cried. A lot. But it was worth it!!

“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.”  ― Joseph Brodsky

I'm just starting my next book now! "Hearing the Voice of the Lord" by Gerald N. Lund. I've started this book before but didn't get very far. It was SO good! I'm excited to finish it!! It's about personal revelation, which is something we can all learn more about!

I'm excited I've found a new hobby and started reading again! I've missed it! It's a nice change other than Tv. I tend to not stick with hobbies a lot of times though so hopefully I don't get bored of it! haha I made a goal though to read one book every month! So far I've done that the last 2 months! But school is starting next month, so we'll see if it sticks! :)

“Books are the perfect entertainment: no commercials, no batteries, hours of enjoyment for each dollar spent. What I wonder is why everybody doesn't carry a book around for those inevitable dead spots in life.”   -Stephen King

Now that I've started reading, I've made a list of books I want to read. I currently have 158 books on my list, and I add a new book almost every day! Check out my book bucket list on my blog where I list all the books I want to read! :) My goal is to read them ALL! I think I can do it. It just might take a few years ;)

Speaking in Sacrament

So, John and I had to speak in Sacrament meeting in our new ward. The last time I spoke in sacrament meeting was back in 2011. So an eternity ago! Writing a talk is much different than preparing a lesson. Both have their pro's and cons. I actually think I like teaching better though. I like having a topic already picked for me. I like having an outline of what to teach, but having the freedom to stray from it if I so choose. With a talk there is no outline. Especially when they let you pick your own topic. I rewrote my talk 4 different times because I couldn't decide what I wanted to talk about!! But it ended up turning out good I think! :) I was happy with the way it turned out and I wanted to post it. I still need to work on my delivery though. I still sound monotone and like I am reading. But I didn't feel nervous when I was speaking! So... that's a HUGE improvement! :)

So here is my talk! :)

In the October 1987 general conference, President James E. Faust said “I think we will witness increasing evidence of Satan’s power as the kingdom of God grows stronger. I believe Satan’s ever-expanding efforts are some proof of the truthfulness of this work. In the future the opposition will be both more subtle and more open. It will be masked in greater sophistication and cunning, but it will also be more blatant. We will need greater spirituality to perceive all of the forms of evil and greater strength to resist it.”

I feel as though what President Faust said 27 years ago is coming to pass. Satan’s power is real and growing stronger on the earth today. We live in a world that is full of confusion and chaos. It can be difficult to keep our focus on the Savior at times when Satan’s temptations and distractions are coming at us in every direction. There are numerous tactics Satan uses to lure us away from the Savior. One of the greatest strategies that I believe he uses, is deceiving us into justifying our petty sins. C.S Lewis gave a perfect description of this tactic in his book ‘The Screwtape letters’. In his book, the master devil is instructing the apprentice devil who is training to become a more experienced devil.

He writes “You will say that these are very small sins; and doubtless, like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness… it does not matter how small the sins are, provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing… Indeed, the safest road to Hell is the gradual one- the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”

 The safest road to Hell is a gradual one. How true is that statement! The choice to stray from the Savior is usually a slow process that is determined by our day to day decisions. Many times we do not even realize what is happening until it is too late.

I heard an analogy once that illustrates this concept perfectly. There are hundreds of species of mushrooms. Many are edible but many are poisonous. Some are even fatal if ingested. The most fatal mushroom is the Amanita phalloides, also known as the ‘destroying angel’. Just one or two in a batch of two dozen edible mushrooms can poison an entire family. The destroying angel tastes just like an edible mushroom and has no immediate effect on the victim. It isn’t until six to fifteen hours later, when the poisons have entered the bloodstream, that the victim experiences symptoms. It eventually destroys the liver and there is no known antidote. The fatality rate is about 90 percent.

 Much like the ‘destroying angel’ mushroom, Satan makes sin look appealing and normal. He slowly poisons our spirit and we begin to justify our sins. The First Presidency described Satan as “working under such perfect disguise that many do not recognize either him or his methods. There is no crime he would not commit, no debauchery he would not set up, no plague he would not send, no heart he would not break, no life he would not take, no soul he would not destroy. He comes as a thief in the night; he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing”.

Satan deceives us into thinking that just a few sins are okay. But in 1988, only a few toxic mushrooms in a whole dishful put five Oregon people in the hospital on the verge of death.
In Matthew 6:24, the Savior says “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

We cannot serve both God and the world. God encourages us to follow him. But Satan urges us to ignore God’s commandments and live of the world. We must center our life on the Savior so that we can resist the temptations of the adversary and be steadfast in serving Christ. What are some things we can do daily to help us resist Satan’s temptations?

First, we can pray for help and guidance. D&C 10:5 says “Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work.” Prayer is a great way to receive moral and spiritual strength to resist Satan’s temptations. We should kneel in humble prayer often to communicate the desires of our hearts to our God. He has the ability to give us the resources we need to stand strong against Satan’s power and temptation. All we need to do is ask.

I have a strong testimony that when we pray for strength to overcome the temptations of the adversary that God will help us. About a year ago, John and I started dating. After about 6 wonderful months of dating, we got engaged. After that point, things got really hard for us. I testify that when good things are about to happen to you in your life, especially relating to God’s plan of the family, Satan works extra hard to create failure. This was the first time in my life that I truly understood and recognized the strength and power that Satan has. We were engaged for about 4 months and I learned so much during that time. Some of my hardest days occurred during those four months. But I gained a stronger testimony of prayer. I know that Satan’s power is so real and so powerful, but it’s comforting to know what with God is on our side we can overcome and resist evil. God’s power is unshakable against the adversary. 

Second, is having an eternal perspective. By keeping an eternal perspective, we have the ability to see that Satan has nothing more to offer us than temporal pleasures. God extends blessings to us that not only benefit us in this life, but will last for eternity. Satan would have us sell our lives for the petty sins of this world. The Savior, however, calls us, without price, to exchange our sins, to take upon us His countenance. For this we may receive all that God has, which we are told is greater than all the combined treasures of this earth.

Alma 41:10 says “I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness.” The only way to true, eternal happiness is through Christ and his atonement. Nothing that Satan has to give us will provide true happiness.

Third, to have the gift of the Holy Ghost. Through personal revelation, we can be protected by the spirit of discernment through the Holy Ghost. This happens when we are obeying the commandments of God, following our modern day prophets, and repenting of our sins. The Holy Ghost teaches us the truth of all things while Satan uses deception. We need not be deceived by the adversary if we have the spirit with us.

Fourth, temple attendance. President Thomas S. Monson said “As we love the temple, touch the temple, and attend the temple, our lives will reflect our faith. As we come to these holy houses of God, as we remember the covenants we make within, we shall be able to bear every trial and overcome each temptation.”

The Temple is a house of peace and safety. When we enter into the Lords house, we leave the world and all it’s temptations behind. And not only are we able to feel of the spirit while in the temple, but that spirit can dwell with us after we leave and help protect us.
I had an experience not too long ago that showed me just how temple attendance can protect us from the temptations of the world. For our honeymoon, John and I drove to California. We stopped in St. George to stay the first night and the next morning decided to go to the St. George Temple. As we continued on our road trip and started into Las Vegas, I remember feeling a little uneasy because of all the worldly billboards and signs that we were passing by. But then I started to remember the temple experience I had a few hours earlier and the spirit I had felt there and it was almost like a shield of protection from the temptations of the world.

The Fifth way is to decide now to resist temptation. We are all going to endure temptation throughout the duration of our lives. President Howard W. Hunter said“ Without temptation, sickness, pain, and sorrow, there could be no goodness, virtue, appreciation for well-being, or joy. The law of opposition makes freedom of choice possible; therefore, our Heavenly Father has commanded his children, ‘Choose ye this day, to serve the Lord God who made you’. He has counseled us to yield to his spirit and resist temptation”.

I’m sure most of us are familiar with the story in Luke where Jesus is in the wilderness and is fasting for forty days when the devil comes to tempt him into turning the stones into bread. I LOVE Jesus’s response to Satan’s temptation. “And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan. For it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
We should all approach temptation like the Savior did. That’s why we are here on this earth, to become like the Savior. None of us are perfect at it. I know I’m very far from being perfect at resisting temptations. That’s why this gospel is so wonderful! When we succumb to temptation, because of the Atonement of our Savior, we can repent over and over again!

President Gordon B. Hinckley said “Occasionally we may stumble. I thank the Lord for the great principle of repentance and forgiveness. When we drop the ball, when we make a mistake, there is held out to us the word of the Lord that he will forgive our sins and remember them no more against us” The atonement is readily available to us whenever we want and need to use it.
I know that Satan’s temptations are stronger than ever and that his power upon this earth is real. I’m thankful that God has given us so many resources to help us thwart the powers of Satan and to stand tall against the many temptations we will face in this life. I know that if we pray for the spirit to be with us, have an eternal perspective in all that we do, and apply the atonement into our lives that God will never leave us defenseless against the adversary. I know that this gospel is the ONLY way to true, eternal happiness. Nothing that Satan can give us is worth giving up the eternal blessings the Lord has promised us. Nothing. We have to decide now who we want to serve, so that when temptation arises, we will be ready. Will it be Satan, the author of deceit and lies, whose whole purpose is to destroy us and make us miserable? Or Heavenly Father who loves us with all his heart, and is the source of all happiness and truth and wants nothing more than to reward us with eternal blessings?

I’m thankful for a loving Heavenly Father and Savior who are always there when I need them. This gospel brings me so much happiness and I’m so thankful for it! I have a strong testimony that if we have the Lord on our side, we can resist any temptation. I’m thankful for the atonement and that because of it we can always be forgiven of our sins when we give in to temptation. I’m thankful for my Savior who died for each one of us and who knows each one of us individually. And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.