The Ice Cream Aisle

It happened two years ago. Right at the peak of the mass exodus of sister missionaries from Provo, Utah... 

It seemed like every single female was getting a mission call - there were multiple opening parties every Monday and Wednesday night - foreign destinations were the topic of every lunch date - ASOS packages filled the mail trucks and littered the doorsteps of every apartment complex - FB profile pictures were updated to your mission application head shot...you remember how it was...

Well I was one of those girls. It was exactly 10 days after I had received my call to the Sweden, Stockholm mission. Kaitlin's little sister (who had also just received her mission call) was in town visiting/celebrating. She was craving Ben&Jerry's Half Baked so we made a late night trip to Smith's. 

You never really know what you're going to find at Smith's...it's right in the heart of Provo. Most often you'll walk in and see at least one person you know, or had a class with, or remember from your freshman dorm... Or a homeless person, or an NBA star, or a famous Mormon blogger, or the head of the BYU meth lab... You just never know... 

We only had one goal with this shopping trip: ice cream - Ben&Jerry's to be exact. The ice cream aisle was a straight shot back from the front entrance of the grocery store. With the few steps it took to get there, it wasn't long before I noticed there were guys blocking the freezer door to the Half Baked ice cream we were after. I didn't know either of their names, but one of them stood out. He was very handsome. And his face was very familiar to me. It took me a few seconds to realize that I had seen him before. Multiple times. Not in any sort of formal setting - just around campus here and there. I only ever admired him from afar. Every so often I remember seeing him with a person I knew, but I never took the effort into finding out more about him.

So here he was: man unknown - man in black - struggling to decide between two different brands of coffee flavored ice cream. 

(I must note here that we were only here for Kaitlin and Paige: they requested Ben&Jerry's Half Baked...but in fact, my favorite kind of ice cream is coffee flavored ice cream, so obviously I was heaven sent to help him choose which kind to get...)

To him, I was a mere stranger who really had no business interfering in his affairs. In fact, if it were anyone else, I probably wouldn't have said anything...but for some reason, he felt familiar to me, so it didn't take much courage for me to speak up and let him know that he would be truly sorry if he chose any other brand but Starbucks.

He turned around quickly, making it obvious that he didn't even notice us standing there. It was probably extremely alarming turning around to 4 girls surrounding you. He mumbled something about 'this being fate' because he had no idea which one to choose...or something like that...and he and his friend picked up their small cartons and walked towards the check-out lines.

I didn't think a single thing of it after they left. Kaitlin and Paige picked up their cartons and we, too made our way back home and spent the rest of the evening just like any other weekend night with just us girls. Tucked away in our apartment wearing who knows what and talking about whoever we felt like and worrying and wondering about what would be happening 6 months down the road...

I ended up marrying that boy from the ice cream aisle. Somehow we ended up at the same party (invited by the same person) 10 days after our encounter at the grocery story and the rest is history. We saw each other every day since then. 

My mission was deferred...and then cancelled...

Family's were met...road trips and weekend trips... 

Grad school was decided upon...moves were made...

A ring was bought...and a date set... 

A summer was spent apart...and a wedding planned... 

A contract was signed...and a U-Haul was rented... 

I think back on that trip to Smith's pretty often. I think about all the big events that led up to that one single trip to the grocery store. I think about all the other places I probably could have been that night if it weren't for all the things that had taken place in the months leading up to mission calls and Paige visiting...

Just within those last 6 months before meeting him:

- I felt prompted to extend my graduation date

- I felt prompted to turn down job offers

- I was broken up with

- I felt prompted to prepare for a mission

- Guys were broken up with

And I realized that…

If I never noticed him around campus, I would have never recognized his face there in Smith’s.

If I never recognized his face, I would not have helped him choose which ice cream to buy.

If I never helped him choose, I wouldn't have peaked his interest at the party

If we never connected at the party, he wouldn’t have gotten my name, or my number… He wouldn’t have ever seen me again… I would have gone on to serve a mission… and yeah, I think both of us would have turned out perfectly fine…but here’s the thing…

And I don't think Nate likes for me to think this, but I think there was some serious Heavenly guidance going on in each of our lives in the years before we finally met. It was too weird that we ended up having tons of mutual friends. It was too weird that we hadn't met after living within a few miles of each other for the 4 years I lived there. It was too strange that it happened when it did - 10 days after receiving one of the most life-altering letters I have ever received. It was too strange how easy the relationship was from the very beginning. It was too weird how connected we felt after only knowing each other for a week. It was too weird how I could honestly say I knew I was going to marry him after only dating for a month. 

Sometimes I wonder if Smith's was my only chance at finding Nate. I feel like Heavenly Father gave me a super small window to work with, but it proves that much more how perfectly God knows each of our lives and how much He is involved, whether we wish to acknowledge it or not.

The months I spent preparing to serve a mission were some of the best months of my life. Spiritually, I felt like I was at an all-time high. I know that if I had not gone through the motions of preparing to serve a mission for 18 months, that there is a large chance that I would not have been exactly where I needed to be that Saturday night. There's a truth to the many quotes that talk about being in the right place at the right time - but there's also a lot of work that goes in to being capable of being in that place exactly when you need to be. It takes being perfectly in tune with the spirit and constant communication with your Father in Heaven. It takes humility and sacrifice - but in return, it brings blessings and happiness beyond what you could ever imagine.  

I know now, that I needed to go through the steps of preparing to serve a mission. I know that it helped me put my life in order and become spiritually prepared to make some of the hardest decisions I’m certain I’ll ever have to make. The best part about it, is that those decisions ended up being so much easier to make with the Lord on my side. 

YW In Excellence (Take 1)

I've been a part of the Young Women's program in our church for only two months now. For those of you who don't exactly know what I'm talking about or what that means, allow me to explain:
Our church leadership is run solely on a volunteer basis. Although our bishop and bishopric members extend specific "callings" (responsibilities) to individual members, the acceptance of these callings is not required and all callings are fulfilled without pay. These callings could be anything from leading the music in a sacrament meeting, to teaching Sunday School, to in my case, working with the youth, specifically the teenage girls ages 12-18.

One of the main purposes of the Young Women's program in our church is something called Personal Progress. Throughout their time in Young Women's, the girls work through projects and experiences dealing with 8 different life values: faith, divine nature, individual worth, knowledge, choice and accountability, good works, integrity and virtue. The projects and experiences could be anything from reading certain scriptures and writing down your thoughts on them... to doing 10hrs of service in the community... With 8 values, each requiring you to complete a number of experiences and a final "value project", it took me a few years to complete my Personal Progress when I was in Young Women's as a girl.

Each year, the Young Women's program puts on a YW In Excellence night, where the girls come (with their parents) and showcase an experience or project that they worked on that year. Some girls learned how to cook with their mother's, so they brought her favorite snack samples for everyone to try; some learned the intricacies of family history work and were able to showcase all the names they were able to find and index; others shared journal excerpts or artwork...

Just as boy scouts are rewarded with merit badges for archery or swimming, Young Women are honored for their knowledge and testimonies gained in all the important life values needed to live a successful, fulfilling life as a daughter of God.

As part of the YW presidency, I offered to spearhead the YW In Excellence night. I had the girls pick out a theme for the event - they chose the Dr. Seuss book "Oh the Places You'll Go!" and I ran with it. Pinterest was my crutch through the whole thing, but I am living proof that some Pinterest projects WILL succeed! I probably took on way too much, because I'm horrible when it comes to delegating, but I don't regret a thing because it turned out perfectly and all the girls loved it :)

Straws from Target for the BOMB punch: recipe here

I had the girls make the tissue paper pom poms for our YW activity last Wednesday. We put them on wooden dowels and poured sand around them to get them to stay in the little metal pails - the perfect Truffala tree!

I found these 'sprinkle' balloons here - they were perfect for the theme. We cut out tons of tissue paper confetti and stuffed it into the balloons before blowing them up. Extra confetti was sprinkled on the tables...it was too cute to waste :)

The best snickerdoodles in all the land: recipe here

One of my most favorite snacks is popcorn. And some of the most delicious popcorn is found at Garrett's in Chicago. They're known for their caramel-cheddar mix...so I tried to mock it. It turned out a lot better than expected, so I was pleased. 

Recipe here

Yurtle Turtles: recipe here

& rainbow Jello cubes: recipe here

& obviously rainbow candy galore!

They had their choice of paper bag or little plastic bowl to dish their snacks into

The invite - I made this in Adobe Illustrator using free Dr. Seuss fonts found here

One of my favorite decorations of the night were these Dr. Seuss 'value quotes' that I made in Illustrator and had printed for the value tables the girls set their projects up on. Each color indicates the specific value the quote is associated with. White (gray): Faith / Red: Individual Worth / Green: Knowledge / Gold: Virtue

Orange: Choice and Accountability / Blue: Divine Nature / Purple: Integrity / Yellow: Good Works

The program - made in Adobe Illustrator

Invites, program, and all value quote prints are available in my Etsy shop! Made-to-order for you and your ward! Willing to negotiate based on need (ie. for Girls Camp rather than YW in Excellence or New Beginnings).

Wife of the year...or not

Oh how I love this sweet man of mine. 

I'm fairly certain Texas is just playing a big trick on us this week, but we've had perfect weather these last three days and I am welcoming fall with arms   w i d e  o p e n   

Since Nate's started school back up, life has been super crazy. When he's not working or in class, he's working on applications for fellowships. It's been an insane few weeks and I'm so ready for all these applications to be done with - mostly for Nathan's sake. 

He was so stressed at one point that he jokingly asked me to write his cover letter for him. Wellllll I kind of took him seriously one night while I was home alone. ++awesome wife points++

Unfortunately, those bonus points were quickly rejected when I ruined TWO pairs of Nate's pants. Pretty great, huh? It started when I forgot to tell Nate NOT to wash a pair of new jeans that I had hanging over the edge of the laundry hamper. Alas, as we were switching that load over to the dryer, we noticed way too many items of our clothing stained with blue dye. 

I immediately called my mom knowing in the back of my mind that this had happened to her once before. She told me to buy a package of color run remover and it would take out the blue dye no problem.

I followed the directions very carefully, but somehow didn't realize that the hot pink shirt I had in with the other items would get ripped of color along with all the spots of blue. Once the cycle was complete, not only were most of the blue stains gone, but all of the pink from the shirt as well....and wanna know where it went? Straight onto two pairs of Nate's pants.

That's right...I turned his pants pink. I was horrified and embarrased and just utterly confused. Surely my mom had the answer? I called her again and she simply said that another package of color remover should do the trick.

Commence cycle #2. In the end - the pink WAS removed, but so was most of the other color (brown) from pants. Instead of them being a nice dark khaki, they were now golden yellow. 

WIFE OF THE YEAR!

               

On a lighter note...I waited a solid year before ordering any wedding prints. And these aren't even prints, it's a book. But to be honestly, I only waited so long because I bought Walter Mitty a couple months ago and I got a free Shutterfly photo book out of it... if that wasn't included in the package, I'd still be photo-less. HA! I'm terrible.

This book turned out WAY better than I was expecting. I couldn't stop staring after I picked up it from the mailbox. So many happy, beautiful memories :)

More good news: NATE AND I WERE FINALLY RELEASED FROM NURSERY!!

Only because apparently I had been on the waiting list to get into Young Women's for like 6 months. Geez. So yes, I was immediately called as the Secretary/Personal Progress lady for YW. Holla!

I have no freakin idea what I'm doing, so feel free to send over any advice you may have. I have a feeling my Type A personality is going to get the best of me in this calling. I already went WAY overboard for a stupid ward party last month and it straight up ruined me. My expectations were on the roof and were very quickly stomped to the ground. Pray that I can make the best of this!! (AKA stop caring if everything is perfect)

Music recommendations as of late:

alt-J: This Is All Yours (album)

Broods: Four Walls (thx Kylie)

Yuna: Lullabies Adventure Club Remix (thx Brooke)

Echosmith: Cool Kids

Hozier: Someone New

Active Child: Silhouette (feat. Ellie Goulding)

Trevor Hall: Chapter Of The Forest (album)

Baseball, Sunshine, & BBQ

Summertime is swinging in fast down here in Texas...we had our first 90 degree day that other day...not too excited about it. Luckily, the rest of these last few weeks have been filled with nice 75-80 degree skies, so I can't complain too much, yet. 

We've tried to soak it all up before the heat gets unbearable. Hence the title of this post...it basically sums up everything we've been doing lately. I steal as much of Nathan's time on the weekends as possible since we don't have very many left before he leaves for the summer. [He's interning at a hospital in Las Vegas for 10 weeks starting the last week of May :( I get to stay here in College Station so I don't lose my job.]

 Ribs n stuff

We got called as nursey leaders a couple months back. Woooooooo. 

Pretty positive I'm going to be asked to be released once Nate leaves at the end of May... 

The wildflowers came out to play!! They were alive and well for about 3 weeks before they starting getting dull and drying up :( I loved them while they lasted...

(that's my work behind that small hill there...) 

Our first Aggie baseball game!! (probably our last!)

The first of many pool days :) Grills surround our pool at our apt complex, so BBQ's a plenty this summer. I can't wait.

I made these ADORABLE fruit kabobs that day and totally spaced on taking a picture of them. They were the cutest.

 Nate saved the day when all the kids forgot their Easter baskets at home. He ran all the way back and all the other moms praised him (and me) for how amazing he is. 

 Nathan insisted we hold this egg while taking this picture. NO I'm NOT pregnant.

I made some delicious cookies. Recipe can be found here. Best eaten 10-15min after pulling them out of the oven :)

MORE baseball!! I honestly hate the sport, yet we continute to go watch it. Don't ask me why...I guess it was just something to do. Besides, I didn't mind too much with this guy sitting on my lap the majority of the time :) 

Go Astros??

thx

"Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today,

 and creates a vision for tomorrow." -- Melody Beattie

this week is a week of gratitude. it's a time that we look back at our past and come to realize how we've  made it so far. it's a time to ponder on the right now - this moment. it's a time to dedicate to the forming of our futures - to our dreams and adventures ahead. let's take this week to re-evaluate. to renew, to readjust, to reconfirm, to replay, to redefine, to refuel...

I'M  G R A T E F U L  FOR . . .

my perfectly imperfect family


the innocence of childhood

the English language and people with an extensive vocabulary

cat pictures

i m a g i n a t i o n  and simple daydreams

utah sunsets

for friends who tell it like it is -
and who have taught me to expect nothing of anyone

the s k y. but mostly the stars

my mom's homemade pies

fresh flowers

the ability to conquer my fears

scented memories and tainted lyrics

the therapeutic nature of tears

missionaries

the smell outside after rain

baggy t-shirts

books i can never put down once i start

chamomile tea 

cuddly boys

celebrity doppelgangers and people who share my name
(or both at the same time)

thunderstorms

people who make me express my feelings

professors who understand the importance of the  b i g  picture
instead of just the little details

nice notes

the beauty found in symmetry

long drives in the middle of nowhere

painting

wool socks

Keep & Tennyson - for helping me grow up
[and still feel young all at the same time]

the feeling of independence

a mom who forced me to take piano lessons

brussel sprouts

a dad who taught me how to brush my  t e e t h

the art of the written word and my love for pen on paper

people with PASSION

postal tracking

>>>james franco<<<