One Positive Thing 1/31

This Tuesday was pretty great. There were a lot of positive things that happened, like sleeping in until 9:15, getting to eat lunch with Jake, class being 12 minutes long, finishing my book, and then at the end of the day, going on a double date with some dear friends of mine!

I'm a convert to the church and I was able to meet with several missionaries during that process. The very first missionary I ever had was Elder Durtschi. He taught me for quite a few months and I think he finished his mission in Coppell. Ever since I got baptized in 2013, we've stayed in touch. We don't talk every week by any means, but we know what each other is up to and don't feel awkward texting each other! So, this past week, he texted me and said that we should all go on a double date. And we actually planned one! I told him that bowling sounded fun and he and his wife agreed so we all met up today. It was so fun to see them since it's been over a year since I last did. His wife is 7 months pregnant and looking great and we just caught up with each other and promised to hang out again in the future. It's fun having married friends. ;)

During one of the times we were all 4 sitting down, Jake asked Durtschi a couple of questions about what I was like when I was taking the discussions. He said something like, "Trouble maker", but then was like, "No she was really awesome and inquisitive." He told a story that I hadn't heard before how the bishop at the time told them to stop teaching me because I was too young and it wasn't going anywhere. Durtschi had then gone to go talk to the Stake President, President Blake, and told him that I was no longer going to be "under" that Bishop, but I was going to be under the mission. President Blake then went and talked to Bishop York and told him what was going on and that it was okay for me to be taught. Basically: Durtschi saw potential in me and wasn't going to give that up just because I was 14 years old.

When we got in the car, Jake said, "I almost started to cry!" I said, "Why?" And he told me, "Because, I was just thinking about how important his role was in your life and now in our lives. If he hadn't fought to keep teaching you, we wouldn't be here . . . Who knows where you'd be?" And it was so true. I'm grateful that missionaries see potential in not only their investigators but in themselves, too. I'm so lucky to have been taught by some of the best missionaries and am even more lucky that we're still friends to this day! I'm also grateful for my husband that he is able to recognize the Lord's hand in everything and that he is willing to acknowledge the blessings of missionary work. The day couldn't have ended any better.

One Positive Thing Today 1/30

I'm doing this as an assignment for my Family Processes class, but it's a win-win for me because it'll help me be a regular journal-er. Or at least I hope.

One positive thing that happened today is my husband picked me up from school, right on time might I add, and when I got in the car, he had already gone grocery shopping.  He had gotten orange juice, hot fries (our vice), chicken for dinner that night, two boxes of cereal (Honey Nut Cheerios for me, Honey Bunches of Oats for him), a new meal to try later this week, bacon for the next morning, butter, granola bars, and a few other things we were missing. I was thinking we'd have to go to the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner and even breakfast the next morning, but he had gotten everything while I was at school! He does things like this pretty often, but they're generally around the time I need it most. I knew I was going home with a lot of homework to finish and a dirty kitchen (from waffles and eggs this morning), and shopping was just another thing to add to the list, but it was so nice of him to get it all finished for me.

When we arrived home, there were not one, not two, but three packages waiting for us . . . Of course this made that positive moment even more positive and happy! My computer finally came from being broken at our wedding, we got wedding pictures in to finally put in empty frames we have, and a book I ordered from Amazon arrived. While I was opening all the boxes, my husband was unloading all the groceries. There wasn't a plastic bag in sight when he left the kitchen and that makes my heart happy! Although I don't mind unloading groceries, it's nice to not to do it every once in a while.

I remembered a conversation we had at church on Sunday with our Bishop. He knew us before we were married and he asked us, "How's married life?" We both said, "It's great!" and he responded, "Usually the men are all, 'It's great! I'm loving it!' and the women say, 'It's such hard work.'" And he laughed. It is hard work! But I do it because this is all I've ever wanted to do: be a wife, and mom. I'm a nurturer, always have been. Doing laundry, doing dishes, cooking (what I know how), making sure people are taken care of, it's my thing! I'll do it forever, happily, most of the time. ;)

All in all, a good day.

Our Teeny Little House . . . And Its Million Projects

We are so grateful for our little house! For some reason, BYU makes it IMPOSSIBLE to find married housing . . . seriously impossible. The only way I found to do it was by joining a Facebook page where people were listing their contracts. But even then, only about 2 people would list a contract per week and then that post would get 30 comments within the HOUR. And the people that were commenting were like, "We'll take it now without even seeing it" or "We'll give you a million dollars if you let us live here." I mean, EVERYONE was desperate to find married housing! Seriously! I looked and looked and looked and everything honestly looked like junk. We were sitting at Amanda and Kyle's house one night doing homework and we had looked at some contracts earlier that day but most of them were trash or already taken, so we didn't know what we were going to do. Well, Kyle called us . . . from Hawaii, and told us that the guy that was renting their little house had recently purchased a new house a little further south and would be moving out. He then asked if we would like to rent it . . . OF COURSE! It's not fancy by any means, but it's secluded, not an apartment, has awesome landlords (haha), has a chicken coop, and is perfect for just Jake and me. So we said yes.

Oh yeah... Apparently Utah decided it was going to NEVER-EVER-EVER-EVER-EVER stop snowing this year. He has to shovel our driveway sooooo many times. . . 

Well, we've been moved in for a little over three weeks now and it's been great! Our heater is a little funky and old, but runs and keeps our little house sort of warm, so we like it. We can park both our cars in the driveway. We have a home for our cute little chickens. And we have plenty of storage!

There are some tricky things about the house though. . . It's pretty old and random, and honestly, it's like someone built the house straight from concrete and then painted it. What does this mean? It means that it's impossible to hang stuff on the walls. We learned this the hard way. . .

The walls are plain, so I wanted to have Jake build some hanging shelves. We thought this was going to be an easy task! So, we bought the wood and some other tools we would need for the project, and after going to Lowe's three times, we thought we were good. So Jake starts drilling through the wall and what do we find?... THE HOLE WENT ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE WALL. I could see from the kitchen, through the wall, to the living room. . . I sighed heavily.

Jake Facetimed his dad and showed him the issue. RALPH TO THE RESCUE, as always! He told Jake what to do (and I wish I could explain how he did it, but it basically was like he built a mount on the other side of the wall. . . Luckily they're all covered, because they're not pretty). And the thing is so sturdy I could sit on it... Apparently. I'm not planning on testing it out. So we have that.

We do plan on painting them and putting pictures in those frames. . . at some point.

But we went to Hobby Lobby last weekend and I bought this thing to go above our bed because that, too, is pretty empty. . . And it's so heavy, Jake doesn't think he'll be able to hang it. At this point, I'm not even sure we could figure out how to hang up pictures on the walls?!?! AGH! But it's ok, because luckily Jake loves projects and doesn't get stressed out easily like his wife. :)

Our house is a work in progress, but hey, at least we have a bookshelf. . . Thanks, Ikea. Oh, and we have a projector for our room. Thanks, Amazon. Except now our issue is... if I hang pictures on the wall above the dresser, how will we watch our shows?!?!!? OH, THE HORROR.

And yes, you can see that I have my own bag of popcorn and Jake has his own bowl. That's because he's a butter and salt kind of guy, where I prefer the kettle corn. . . and yes, if you think we teetered over getting the Whirly Pop or the Hot Air Popper Whatever at Bed Bath and Beyond, you are correct. . . I have a feeling he's going to get me the Whirly Pop for my birthday. . . . . . . .

Wedding: The Reception!

We did a ring ceremony before our reception and then we did speeches afterward so that our families could get to know each other a little better! 

We had cute flower girls, Jake's nieces, and little sister, and they were so fun! I think they loved doing that. And then we had the cutest ring bearer ever, Max! And we were so shocked at how well he performed his duties.. seriously! That boy is a little tricky sometimes so we didn't know how he'd do, but he walked down slowly, smiling at everyone and when he got to us, he gave each of us a kiss and then went back and sat with his family... Oh we love him! We were so glad to make the kids such an integral part of the day, especially since they were probably wondering why we kept keeping them out in the cold all day! Honestly, people should hire Max to be their perfect little ring bearer.:) 

The ceremony was great; our uncle Scott went above and beyond by preparing the sweetest eight-minute speech that included marriage advice, spiritual thoughts, and stories he thought we may want to hear. As we listened to him, I thought of all the blessings marriage can bring to Jake and me and all the fun we get to have over the years. I thought of how I get to hold his hand every day for the rest of my life. I thought of the sealing we had just hours before and how special the day was and was continuing to be. I thought of all the hard work and patience and planning it took to get to where we were and I was so grateful. So grateful that people had done so much just for the two of us.

After our ring ceremony, we had previously invited family and friends to give some speeches. I knew this was going to be a fun part, but also a part that made me cry like a baby... and it did not disappoint! The first to speak was our brother Brent and he had me AND Jake crying! His words were so sincere, genuine, and thoughtful... I love him. Lisette spoke after and could barely get her words out! Haha. Amanda, Carli, Beth, and then Ralph spoke.  They all had us laughing, crying, and overall, so grateful for our friends and family! We especially love Jake's sweet dad Ralph -- such an amazing, inspiring, thoughtful, kind man and I am so lucky to have him as my father in law. Of course he got a huge hug from the both of us! 

The reception was really so fun. I was the first one to get through the line of food, and it was SO GOOD. Our uncle Dennis did pork FROM the farm which was my favorite part! We also had mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, bread... What more could a girl (or 150+ people want?) We served apple cider, hot chocolate, and water... perfect for a cold day, probably. I snuck a Coke (and orange juice as seen in the picture below) in before the reception. Brian Busken also surprised us with cookies with our FACES ON IT! I didn't know who the culprit was, but when we were making our rounds saying hi to everyone he kind of snickered and said, "Do you like your cookies?" ... So sneaky. We have so many left over still. Luckily they taste so good, and we thought that was so nice!

We were honestly shocked at how many people came, especially since the day before it was freezing rain and the rest of the night showed it was going to be rainy... which on the farm, means so muddy. But people came and seemingly enjoyed their night (and especially the food) and it was so good to see them all. We are so grateful to Ralph and Grandpa Blackwelder for figuring out the tent situation - that baby was amazing! It had real doors on it and space heaters for those who were cold. We were able to fit everything perfectly in the tent -- the cake, the arch, the serving tables and even the drinks. Even though sometimes it felt like NOTHING was working out -- the few days before, everything just started coming together (and still is). 

As much as I can say I'm so glad this day is over and done with, I can honestly say it went exactly how I would have wanted it to and I would maybe relive it once or twice. So many hands worked for us that week. They put all the florals together, built as an arch (that is AMAZING), prepared food, positioned and re-positioned tables and chairs, made us a cake, set up the lighting in the tent, built fires, decorated, and in the end... the same hands took all the stuff down and made it look there was never even a huge, crazy tent there! I love my husband and I look back on this day as such a great day with the most important people around the both of us. So much love to everyone. 

SISTER GENTRY IS HOME

Happy. freaking. day. My best friend is home from her mission!

Samantha and I met our freshman year of college by chance. We happened to be living in the same apartment, and for some reason, we got close REAL fast. And I am so grateful for her!

Fast forward a little while and it was the summer of 2015 and Sam had put in her papers to serve a mission. I always knew she wanted to serve a mission, I just never thought it would come so fast! Naturally, the weekend she got her call I had gone home to Texas. But I do remember that someone had Facetimed me while she was opening her call and I was sitting outside of Anamia's listening. I couldn't quite catch it and I texted several people afterwards saying, "WHERE? WHERE IS SHE GOING?" I was like her stalker boyfriend.

Several months later, it was time for her to go. I was able to fly up to Utah (Thanks Kurt and Cate) to listen to her farewell talk and celebrate her birthday! It was such a fun weekend reuinted with Sam and Courtney again... And we didn't even cry!

Then, I was in San Antonio with the McDade girls, at the pool, when she was hours away from entering the MTC. I had FaceTimed Walker and told him just to nonchalantly walk by Samantha so I could say bye . . . again. She was already a missionary, so we had to be sneaky. ;) We said our goodbyes and I truly hoped that the next 18 months would go by so fast.

We emailed pretty much every Sunday she was gone, although there were many Sundays we didn't catch each other right at the same time so instead of chatting back and forth, they were just simple emails. A few times I was with her family, her dad joked that Samantha always emailed me before she emailed him, and if I could please stop emailing her so much so she'd have time for her family. Hahaha. But I couldn't help it. . . I wanted Sam to know every detail in my life!

It was so fun hearing every detail of hers too. Well, the emails did get shorter and shorter, but it was really cool to watch the Lord work within her . . . He really knew what He was doing when He sent her to the Philippines, because when she was called, that was maybe the last place she wanted to be. Now it's the only place she wants to be. :)

A lot of growth happened on both our ends when she was gone! I met and married Jake, growing spiritually in so many ways I didn't think possible. . . and she taught amazing people, learned a new language, and strengthened her testimony (and so much more). While sometimes I felt like my best friend had been taken away from me for WAY too long, I know how much good has come from it. . .

But, with that being said . . . I am SO grateful she's home. Seriously! It was a fun countdown after we got married and the time passed so fast. Her mom gave me the flight info and then suddenly we were at the airport waiting for her to come out! She took her sweet time of course, but it is always so fun welcoming a missionary home (which we had just done for Jake's brother a few weeks before). :)

Sam, Courtney, and I sat on the couch all snuggled up and Sam said, "The girls are back!" (or something to that effect). . . and that's exactly how I feel right now. So happy she served and is healthy, but so happy she's home to be a real, tangible friend again. Sam makes most everything more fun and she truly is hilarious. She's a loyal and kind friend . . . so, luckily, she's mine (and nobody else's or else I'll freak out, at least for a month). :)

Getting Our Chickens! And all things that come with them . . .

This isn't normal for your chickens!! This will cause them to not be able to eat properly which could lead to their DEATH. Clip their beaks if they, for some reason, look like this!!! 

My sweet friend Nicole told us that she was getting us chickens as a wedding gift! I didn't believe her, but when we got back to school, she set up a time to go to her aunt's house to pick them up! Oh my gosh I was so happy. I told Jake I probably wouldn't be able to sleep that night! 

On Friday, we went to Tractor Supply and picked up all the things we'd need for them. Feed, something to put the feed in, something to put their water in, cracked corn (snacks!), and anything else I came across that they might possibly need (unfortunately we didn't come across chicken sweaters). 

Saturday we went and picked them up, brought them back home in a box, and that's when I started to love on them. . . duh. They seemed to enjoy their new (and much bigger) coop and run. Even though it was pretty cold during the day, they were just hanging out outside the coop. Luckily the figured out where to roost that night, even if they didn't realize that they were pooping in their nesting boxes. Gross. 

I noticed one of my chickens had this weird thing going on with her beak. It looked like there was something in her beak, but when I picked her up, there wasn't anything... just a crazy elongated beak. It looked like she had an under bite! I told Jake about it and his first thought was that she had something in her mouth, but we quickly figured out that wasn't it. So after researching a little bit about what we could do, it seemed like a lot of people clip their birds' beaks. Easy enough. I'd have Jake do it! Hahaha.

I held her while Jake clipped the bottom half with nail clippers. It didn't seem like it hurt her much, but she still didn't like it. Jake had to hold her neck pretty tightly to keep her still and when he gave her a little break, I THOUGHT SHE WAS DEAD!!! It was the worst 8 seconds of my life (drama queen). She had laid her head down on my arm and closed her eyes and wasn't moving. I handed her to Jake... I wasn't about to have my chicken die in my arms!!! She ended up opening her eyes and being fine, she just needed a second to recouperate.

When I told Jake that I thought he had killed her today, he told me he thought he had too!!! Oh my gosh. He said, "I seriously thought I had killed my wife's CHILD." (He gets me). Luckily she's alive and kickin' it, eating mash and snuggling her sister hens. They're not laying yet, but I'm determined to love them enough that they'll start up again, even if it is the dead of winter. . . 

Wedding: The Temple

You guys. Getting sealed in the temple has got to be the best thing life has to offer. The whole experience was seriously incredible! I had gotten endowed a few months before our sealing, so the week before we got married, we went to the Provo City Center temple to do sealings for the dead. That was an amazing experience! We listened to the blessings that are given to you by being faithful in your covenants over and over and got to experience what it'd feel like to get married... or so we thought!

The day of our wedding, we went to the temple at 9 am to get paperwork and what not filled out. We then went to separate dressing rooms to change and relax a little bit. Luckily for us, the Columbus Temple was not too busy, so we had a lot of quiet time and peace to ourselves. We stayed in the Celestial Room for quite some time together after speaking with the temple president as well as the man who would be sealing us! I can't remember what we talked about, but right before Brother Ralph took us in to the sealing room, Jake said, "I think I might cry." And I was feeling pretty cool, confident that I wouldn't cry and he said, "If I cry, you have to cry too otherwise it'll be weird."

When we walked into the sealing room and saw all of our family sitting there for us, I just lost it! Haha, it was so embarrassing but also it was okay. Beth got me several tissues and handed them to me. As we were sitting and listening to the sealer talk about the blessings of temple marriage before we got married, I was just crying. Luckily I wasn't sobbing, but there were steady tears... it was crazy! Everyone else must have been feeling it, too, because when I looked up, everyone else had tissues in their hands! The moments leading up to kneeling across from each other are so special and sacred to me. Has it really been a month since we did that?!

When we kneeled down across from each other, we were both just crying. It was such a spiritual, pure experience that I can't find words to describe it. I've tried to remember it perfectly so many times since that morning and I don't think that memory will ever go away. Jake and I had never been "mushy" or "lovey-dovey", but that morning we were. We were just so happy we were finally married!

After we left the sealing room, I went to change into my wedding dress and then we walked out together to everyone cheering. It was so special to see all the people who made the icy drive from Cincinnati. I was so warm in my dress, but I noticed other people around me were freezing, so we headed back to the farm. I could relive this morning over and over again.

This was right after Tracey slapped my butt. Hahahaha! I deserved it though, because my position in this picture is quite awkward for her... Hahaha, I have the best MIL ever. 

Wedding Cake Appreciation Post

Warning: this post is literally about my wedding cake. It's pictures (which I made their original size so you can see everything) of cake and then words about cake. Enjoy.

We had a pretty low budget wedding, especially with getting married in 4 months. We asked Jake's aunt Beth to make the cake (as she had for cousins' previous weddings) and thankfully she said yes! W went with vanilla cake and then raspberry on the inside. That wasn't the tricky part... I told her I wanted a naked cake and she had never done one before! She said she'd try her best.

And did she kill it or what you guys?!?!! Seriously... when I first saw it, I was in awe. She got every single part right, and I only sent her one picture months before! Now I'm curious if she secretly practiced at home ;) But seriously... it was amazing. And it tasted SO GOOD. Like pieces of heaven. 

Jake was trying to find me to introduce me someone later in the night, and he found me by the table eating cake. He joked, "I was trying to find the bride... and of course she's over here eating cake!" Well, joke's on him because he didn't even get a piece and I got 2. Do your wedding right, people.

Thanks Aunt Beth for making this amazing cake. I'm still thinking about it and all of its goodness. 

Quick funny story: Right before we went to cut the cake, Jake told me, "Do NOT smash it in my face! I'm serious!" Apparently he has a sweet wife who listens to him. 

____________________________________________________

All pictures taken by Olivia Leach. My queen, honorary bridesmaid, honorary sister, best friend, lifesaver, knower of all things.

The Night Before Our Wedding

Holy cow, I should honestly have Olivia co-write this blog post (I might do that, just to hear her perspective.. haha!) but the night before our wedding was seriously insane. When you think you have your wedding planned down a T, it'll probably start raining and the temperatures will drop to the 20s so what do you get? Freezing rain and closed highways. BEAR WITH ME!

Push Continue Reading to see the rest of this post!

I'm Trying To Make Some Goals

I don't know that I've ever made a real New Year's resolution or any kind of New Year's goal, for that matter. This year, I'm not going to make any goals that are like "lose weight!" "find a job!" "get a dog!" "travel to over 40 countries!" or anything like that, but I think I'll make some that are character-minded and achievable. Things that will help my relationship with myself, with my husband, with our family, with my friends, and acquaintances. I'll just try to be better.

I think "being better" can come in a lot of ways. For me, I think that'll come in:

• Being kinder. Like, so kind. Killing people with kindness kind of thing. Like, you cut me in line, stepped on my foot, rolled your eyes at me? I'm still going to smile and maybe even compliment your scarf.
• Being more patient. With Jake's driving, with other people's slow driving, with class assignments, with money, with life in general.
• Take the time to appreciate what's going on right now and not looking so much to the future. We have a lot of fun things that are going to happen... and soon... but first, we have to get through this semester and next term! I need to be better at being more present and not getting through these days to get to the summer.
• Be more intentional and more thoughtful. I need to be better about thinking about people on their birthdays, or on random days of the week -- noticing when someone isn't doing so hot and maybe I can do something about it. Even if it's just with Jake or close family, I want them to know they're important to me.
• Pray "better" and more consistently. This is something Jake and I both probably need to improve on! We've definitely gotten better at switching off praying at dinner time, but we also need to work on being thoughtful and awake during evening and morning prayers. If we know that there are blessings and answers that come from praying, why aren't we better about it?!
• Reading the scriptures AWAKE every evening. We're getting a little lucky this semester -- we're both taking a D&C class together and this year in Gospel Doctrine we're reading the Doctrine and Covenants! So we get a double whammy in taking this class, so hopefully we'll learn something. Last night as we were reading, Jake asked me to just read aloud so he could hear and I said, "If you read aloud tomorrow night!" Hahaha. It'll work, for now, we just need to be consistent about it!
• Keep the sabbath day holy. Oh my gosh, we are so bad at this. We attend all three hours of church -- but do we pray before we fast? Do we sometimes go get a coke or ice cream Sunday evening? There are things we could be better at, and some advice we got from our stake president before we got married is to keep the Sabbath day holy wherever you are. And when we're at home, we'll be trying to do that the best we can.
• Going to bed early, getting up early -- even on Saturdays, and EVEN on Sundays when our church starts at 1 pm. Going to bed early is easy for me, but waking up is not quite as easy. . .  But I do find when I get up early and start the day, I am more awake and happy than I am if I sleep through half the day! There are probably other benefits to this, but I just want Jake and I to get a good amount of sleep and get a lot of work done during the day. 

Maybe there's more I should've added to this list... like brushing my hair every day and not buying a 48-pack of Ramen from Costco... but maybe I'll add that to my list next year. I think 2017 will be a good one. 

Our Time in Ohio

After our wedding and honeymoon, we went back to Ohio to get in some major family time. Aaron had just come home from his mission and I wanted to get to know him better, but we also just wanted some lay low relaxation time at the farm. Every four years, BYU has 3 weeks off for Christmas break as opposed to its normal 2 weeks, so this year we got lucky!

Push Continue Reading to read the rest!