sense of self

Oh hey. 

Just listening to Christmas music over here using Pandora. 

{a lil o' bit of T swift, josh groban, david archuleta, trans siberian orchestra, glee cast, and charlie brown?}

I think Pandora is getting confused from all the thumbs up and thumbs down I've been doing.

       Christmas music
plus Watching Ammon and Nephi play chess.
plus Counting down the days until the end of the semester.
plus Getting really excited to make crafts with all my upcoming free time.
plus A lot of insightful thoughts running through my head.
                                                                                                             
EQUALS the perfect time to blog

Earlier today was one of those moments where I felt so incredibly helpless. It was a momentary feeling, but it was a little scary. It's during moments like that where I realize the standing of my testimony. What do I know to be true and what am I still unsure about?

Here's what I know to be true:
-There were 2 plans up in Heaven before I came here.
-Satan's plan left no room for agency; a road with no rocks or cracks to trip over.
-Christ's plan not only has rocks and cracks to fall on, but mountains to climb and canyons that seem impossible to cross.
-Without those mountains and canyons, I wouldn't learn a thing. My life on earth would be pointless.
-People who get back up every time they fall are the coolest people I know. They have become something rather than just existing.
-And that's why I'm grateful for trials; they help me actually become something.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to hear from Kevin Kling.
He was born with a birth defect on one arm and then later completely lost the use of his other arm in a motorcycle accident. Do you think I was listening closely when he gave advice? Oh yeah.
He said the following quote:

And I think he's absolutely right.

thanksgiving break

My Thanksgiving Break was

glorious! 

Pre-Thanksgiving festivities

 riding the bus as always

 the dentist for me...blah...

snagging disney classics from D.I. and watching all of them in just a few days

Thanksgiving Day: Provo

ammon and me holding our Brick Oven pumpkin pie 

 playing with the kids at ammon's grandma's

Thanksgiving Evening: Riverton

oh just my super cute cousin amber.

 here's us with mosiah

 and mary

 oh just swinging on a swing. in a room!!
i want one.

playing with dinosaurs. watch the movie here

my uncle's sister visited and of course we all wanted to hold her beautiful 2 week old baby boy!

i got a little very baby hungry.

The thanksgiving break was also great because I was able to set up all the Christmas decorations. 

Ammon helped with the tree and lights.

We've got:

 christmas lights outside the apartment that scream: "we are so excited for christmas!"

our first christmas tree!

  stockings

a christmas event calendar

and a dishcloth to boot

My mom-in-law is the greatest. I owe all our decorations to her.
The only thing we had to go out and get was the tree.

I am so excited for CHRISTMAS!!

a sneak peak at my thanksgiving

Some say that a picture is worth a thousand words. 

So does that mean a video is worth even more than that?

I think so.

Here's a little somethin' I put together after spending Thanksgiving Day with my cousins.

Enjoy!

{I told you I was going to put my movie making skills into action and actually amaze you.}

Why yes I am blogging on Thanksgiving Day

I've decided that being married is sometimes like having divorced parents. There are two sets of families that love us very much. Both families are of equal importance so when it comes to the holidays, it can be kind of stressful trying to find a way to attend both families. And of course we want to spend as much time with each family too. Today for Thanksgiving it worked out perfectly and we get to spend time with both of our extended family. Ammon's grandma in the afternoon and my aunt's house for games in the evening. I'm pretty stoked for both. And I'm also secretly happy that I didn't have to cook a thing. 

{we were in charge of pumpkin pie and i uh purchased one from brick oven. what can i say? i got a really good deal and their pie is one of the best}

Happy Thanksgiving!

"How magnificently we are blessed! Oh how thankful we out to be! Cultivate the spirit of thanksgiving in your lives. Make it of the very nature of your lives. It will impart an added dimension to your character that will give depth and strength." -President Gordon B. Hinckley 

He ain't the leavin' kind

sometimes while riding the bus to UVU i like to listen to random songs on my i-pod.
i happened to fall upon this song right when i was feeling kind of down
it wasn't until i was about halfway done with the song that
i decided to actually listen to the lyrics.
at first i thought the song was talking about a random person
and i thought:
"is this guy for real?"
and then i realized that he is indeed for real. he is as real as you let him.
this song is about God.
and how he never leaves us. 
i got a little emotional :)

He ain't the leavin' kind- Rascal Flatts

Field with the 6th Graders

Oh hey. Just dropping by real quick to show you a little bit of what I've been up to. 

Currently I am doing field work for my program.

That means 50+ hours in an elementary school teaching lesson plans! 

Here is the digital story that my field partners and I made: (we're pretty proud of it.)

  

The kids loved it! And our coordinating teacher wants to use it too!

And here's what I'm teaching tomorrow: 

Mesopotamia

I'm pretty excited. We're going to review the basics and then write our names using cuneiform in clay tablets!

bathroom surprise

Today i came home to a nice little surprise in the bathroom:

And then there was a note afterwards. 

made. my. day. 

it is about time

It is about time I have a moment to write in this blog. 

I was getting a bad case of blogger withdrawal syndrome.  

Blogging is seriously therapeutic for me. 

Here is a little bit on the past 3 weeks:

top left and right: as you can see, i love pumpkins. i made pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin seeds. 

the pie and bread were amazing! the seeds... not so much. {i put way too much seasoning}

bottom right: ammon's mom sent us those! they are made from toilet paper rolls. instructions here

left: my nemo pumpkin! right: ammon's pumpkin is eating a potato

Yesterday was a great Halloween! Ammon and I had to work that night but it wasn't too bad because it was only for a few hours and we got to show off our costumes. 

ammon made this costume! he made it out of "for sale" signs and a bed sheet. inspiration here

it is a little creepy how much i look like her...

Here's us together:

check it

sandra dee and a nerd. 

one day we'll look grown up... :)

all the bussers and our manager singing "i'm too sexy..."

 i'm pretty sure absolutely sure i never want to see the things that happened during this song ever again. haha!