Holidays Rule

YES!

 Simply having a wonderful Christmastime.

Little Nothings

Sometimes (especially during Christmas and birthday time) I spend many moments dreaming about those little nothings that I would REALLY like to own. Some of my latest loves include...

 Dresses and colored tights

 Thin, gold infinity ring.

 Colored kitten heel

 And the thing that I have to be careful NOT to covet or idle my time away wishing I owned one... is a brown leather jacket. 

 

I'm partial.

AND THIS IS WHY I AM PARTIAL TO BOYS. I wish I had a photo of my other nephews, Owen and Milo but unfortunately I do not.I love my nephews more than I thought I was capable of loving. I didn't expect to cherish these boys so much but I do. I can only imagine what it will be like when I have my own some day!

Something about being a child is just simple. They don't over think much, they rarely find fault in others, and they typically do not let one mistake or mishap ruin their day. They just enjoy living. I hope to be a little more like my sweet nephews and simplify my outlook on life.

Mind Game

Yesterday Brenner and I were able to spend some time together and go mountain biking here in Tucson. I have been very eager to learn this skill and I can say now that I am even more anxious to continue improving in this new hobby of mine. 

 I started off doing fairly well and I had no trouble riding up or down little hills and over rocks and boulders. I made it an effort to find the best route and try to avoid any harmful obstacles along the trail. After peddling up a small hill, I found myself stopped at the top and staring at the rocky downhill slope ahead of me. I had already ridden down many hills like this one but for some unfathomable reason my brain simply would not have this. 

I wonder why in life we find ourselves so focused on one obstacle in our midst. What's  worse is when we doubt our own capabilities when we have already defeated so many hindrances just as difficult, if not more, already. It's all a mind game. The truth is, we can't stop after climbing up a steep hill. This is when fear and self-doubt flood our thoughts. We have to ride on and know that we are capable of prevailing any hardship along our way. 

Partners

I just wanted to give a shout out to my best friend, cousin, partner in crime, and one of the greatest examples I have in my life. Andraya and I have grown up together as the greatest of friends despite the distance that separates us. We have shared everything with each other and the moment we reunite it is as if we never parted at all. I love you Andraya and I am so happy that you will be a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! The Spanish speaking people of Houston, Texas will be forever grateful to have you with them. I wish I could make a collage of all of our crazy memories but nobody else would appreciate it as much as you and me, not to mention you already have a video with pictures of us growing up together. I'm so proud of you Dr. Dray!

Hold that Head Up High

When everything seems to be conspiring against you, if there seems to be an endless number of obstacles in your way, keep your head held high. God gives the toughest trials to the toughest soldiers. Everything will work out. And the moment you realize you conquered what used to seem impossible, you will feel a renewed sense of peace and a sweetness of life that cannot otherwise be felt.

Spontaneity

Spontaneity is something I have consistently lacked, but a noun that Brenner seems to familiarize himself with quite often. Together I believe we make the perfect balance of practicality and spontaneity. 

Never mind us now. I recently read The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo. This book resonates life in its most childlike and simplest form. It reiterates the necessity to follow your personal legend (or destiny), and to never quit no matter how far or impossible your destination may seem. It encourages a spontaneous way of living, following the signs God has given us, and taking chances to reach the ultimate treasures of life. Although there are a few hokey moments, it's a must read if you are in search of a good book to indulge in.

So fill your life with the appropriate amount of spontaneity and break free from the monotonous life we are all so prone to living. After all, "When each day is the same as the next, it's because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises" (pg 27). We have the power to bring about these good things in our lives.

As a side note, Brenner and I just bought tickets to San Francisco for spring break! How's that for spontaneity? I will say hello to the Tanner girls for you.

Also, I am going to be changing up the way I compose my posts a bit. I decided not to start a new blog because I think it's a little humorous to see some of my very first posts. Have a nice day!

Thank You for Loving Me Enough to Cut Me Down.

I love this video and wanted to share it with whoever stumbles upon my blog.

Enjoy.
I also have to mention how incredibly grateful I am that a temple was announced in Tucson, AZ. Those are some of the sweetest words my hears have heard. It has been hard to actually have to plan temple trips and make a day out of it because I don't have the blessing of having a temple 10 minutes away anymore. I don't know if we will still be here when the temple is finished but I couldn't be happier for the members down here to finally have a temple so close.

Reflection

This song is simply beautiful. It reminds me of all the blessings Heavenly Father has given me. It somehow has the power to brighten any dark day I experience. I don't know how this instrumental piece of music accomplishes all this but it just does. It's my go-to song whenever I need personal reflection time. Of course, life is far from being perfect all the time. If it was meant to be that way then we would not have made the decision to come to this earth. Sometimes we have a rough day, a rough week, or long periods of doubt. 

A word of advice: NEVER fail to remember that we have our own personal advocate who knows exactly what we are going through. Most importantly, NEVER fail to remember that you are blessed far more than you can possible imagine, and quite honestly more than what is truly deserved. 

So, if any of you readers have the time, take a moment and reflect on how gracious our Heavenly Father has been to us. I prefer to do that while listening to this excellent song.

More Adventurous

I have felt so strongly the love that my Heavenly Father has for me (and for all His children) the past few weeks. I don't know why but it almost feels tangible to me. It is not so much of an abstract concept anymore. I have felt our Savior's love periodically throughout my life but never so consistent as I do now. It's wonderful- and so is this place.

I was able to go with Brenner's mother during a day trip that I had to make to Mesa. It never fails to give me peace and refocus my perspective on well, everything.

Here are our latest adventures. I'll go picture by picture. Please pardon the no make up in any picture, but we were camping.

 Hiking at Sunrise over Labor Day.

 I got a pretty good action photo of the boys shooting.

Found WEED? I don't know. Maybe. We don't do drugs.

 We went to Patagonia on Brenner's day off but it was a dud so we went exploring and found a really neat old graveyard dating back to the 1800s. Most head stones indicated they were related if not all.

YOU KNOW YOU'RE CLOSE TO THE BORDER WHEN....... My personal favorite.

Cook some cookies!

COCONUT LIME WHITE CHOCOLATE MACADAMIA NUT COOKIES.

(What?!)

Truly as amazing as they sound.

I discovered that I have a love for cooking. It simply relieves my stress and makes me feel accomplished. It's fun to start out with all these ingredients that would taste nasty by themselves, and then you combine them and make something super delicious! I don't even know why I'm rambling about this. I'm going to stop. But I can say that I am discovering so much more about myself now than ever before. Thanks marriage, school, and fellow Tucsonians! I am now a better person. 

(Remember those yummy cookies? Ok good. Me too.)

There's something else I discovered. Things rarely happen the way you envision them. So relax, realize that God's hand is in all things, and eat a cookie!

I think I thought

There have been a few random phrases that have stuck out to me this past week. I won't dissect or analyze them for you. They just made me stop and think so I wanted to share them.

"Society Heavenly Father deals out the cards, and it is up to us how we decide to play them."

~Sociology book, with my twist on it.

"BIND up the testimony, SEAL the law among my disciples."

~Isaiah 8:16

"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and fatling together; and a little child shall lead them." (Feel free to click on the last phrase in the scripture which is my personal link to what comes to my mind.)

~2 Nephi 21:6 

And here is my favorite quote of the week, inspiring a new way of thinking. Boy does it bring me back!

SO GOOD.

Cat Call

I'm loving Tucson these days.

Not to mention, I'm a Wildcat now.

HOME IS WHEREVER I'M WITH YOU

Well about a week ago we did the big move to Tucson into our new little house. I have news for all you doubters out there- I really, really like Tucson! I love being slightly out of my comfort zone and out of the Mesa bubble. (Not that I don't appreciate it because I loved growing up there) I love the diversity, our ward, and just being with my husband in our very own place. It also helps to have a few friends here as well. I start school Monday so these frequent blog posts may become... less frequent. 

Today my parents came to town to help put things on the wall and to see us of course! Today I finally feel like our house has become our home. It's totally ours now and everything has been organized with no clutter for the most part. Anyway, I really appreciate my parents coming to do that for us and we loved having them here for the day! And we are so glad they loved Mi Niditos as much as we do. Anyway, life is great and we're excited for our life here in Tucson during the next few years.

 Yeah we still need to accumulate more things for the shelves but at least they're up!

 Some things in the house were left from the last couple. Like the drapes and some lamps. Free stuff!

 If you didn't know, I have this thing for books- and book shelves. My favorite part of the house!

 Our bedroom. Still some work needed.

So there you have it, our little house! Our guest bedroom is not worth taking a picture of since it's our extra storage room at the moment. But we love it here and Tucson has treated us well! Since we're on the subject of home...

I'll Admit It

Affection: strong fondness. 

Sometimes a person can bring out that schoolgirl crush in you. 

Especially when he does stuff like this~

1. When I feel sick he makes me food then will let me cuddle him while watching a show that I love... and he sorta hates.

2. He bakes cookies with me when I feel like it even if it is 10 at night.

3. He'll laugh at me even if what I say or do isn't really all that funny. 

4. He let me switch plates with him at a restaurant when I was embarrassed by how much I ate.

5. He brought home brownie mix even though it's his least favorite dessert, just because it's mine.

6. He picked flowers from the side of our house and put them in my hair after he came home from work (really to be funny but I still thought it was sweet).

7. He tells me I am pretty often enough so I feel loved but not so much that it becomes meaningless.

8. He supports me 100% in whatever plans I have for myself- that day. And he'll always support me even though I am extremely fickle.

9. He encourages me to take adventures and risks.

10. When I asked him a hundred times what he would think if I cut my hair he replied, "You could shave your head and I wouldn't care. You'd still look good to me."

11. He loves kids and they love him!

12. He puts me first and I put him first.

13. He tells me thank you for the simplest things and then the next second he'll try every tactic he can to annoy me. And that goes both ways! We like to see how far we can push each other and how long we can withstand each others pranks. I'd say I win most of the time.

14. He does the dishes for me even if he is in a rush to get out the door for work. Then he'll come home and greet me with a big smile on his face.

15. He makes me feel secure.

I'll admit it. 

I HAVE A HUGE CRUSH ON MY HUSBAND.

Strawberry Swing

First off, this song is great! It makes me real happy. Feel free to play it while you read this post.. or don't. Do whatever you want!

Well folks, I did it. I donated my hair! We cut off about 10 inches total and 9 of those were donated. It feels so good! No regrets.

I wish I could've taken a cute picture but of course when you want to the most, you usually don't get it.

This weekend we went to my parents' in Mesa and played in the rain, played pool volleyball, went to the movies, and just had a good time!

It was a gooood weekend.

IT'S SUCH A PERFECT DAY.

Celebrate Good Times!

I forgot to do a little post about our awesome week camping with the Freemans over the 4th! The Smiths, Horne family and Brenner's family all camp up in the white mountains for a large portion of the summer and we were fortunate enough to join them for almost a week. Our stay consisted of a 4th of July parade, tons of card games, long morning walks, intense badminton, hiking, and just hanging out. And on the 6th Brenner, his mom and my parents and I all hiked Mt. Baldy (fyi it's the second highest peak in AZ). It was about 16 miles there and back and we did it in about 7 hours. I felt so accomplished! It was long but so worth it and I have some pretty sweet blisters as proof. Anyway, it was such a fun week and we were so blessed that Brenner was able to get off Wednesday through Friday. It's the most I've seen him in a long time. And yes, he did make my birthday relaxing and it turned out just the way I hoped it would. He's pretty amazing!

 Thanks Pinterest for the yummy and cute idea!

 4th of July parade. Pretty impressive, I might add.

 Sisters do as sisters should. We're all together sisters.

They're fun.

 I wish you could tell how high up we were from this.

Luff.

Spread the Love

I find that when you are nice to people...they're nice right back.

This is a little cheesy but I still appreciate it.

Thank you old man behind me at the grocery store.

Recalled to Life

I am in the middle of reading A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. There is one particular theme in this novel that stands out to me. It is found in the simple phrase, "Recalled to life." The theme of resurrection is widely apparent throughout the book and it got me to thinking. We are recalled to life every morning and throughout the day! We get the chance to start over, make it different from the last, and ultimately progress. We say I am sorry, I love you, thank you, etc.. And in this, I would say we are in a way being recalled to the life we are meant to be living.

It is human nature to set goals and make plans. We begin to imagine (sometimes even fantasize) how we would like everything to play out. Then, in the midst of pursuing our plans, we find a glitch and then what? We are faced with yet another decision. Do we compromise our plans to adjust to what reality is, or do we stick ourselves in a mindset of stubbornness only to dwell? I'm talking about dwelling on those "What ifs" or "It's not what I planned."

 REALITY CHECK: Compromise is essential in life! We need to take an opportunity of change with the faith that our Heavenly Father knows what is the absolute best thing for us. Are we going to tell Him that we know what is best or that our plans are better than His? Of course not. He has been planning a lot longer than us. This life is meant for us to learn as we go, take things as they come, and progress toward a better version of ourselves. We are part of The Great Plan of Happiness. Please, let's not turn it into The Plan of Self Pity. So today I am using the power that all of us people have to truly live life the way we want to. I will not be recalled to any dream that didn't go my way. But only to my free agency, aspirations, expectations, and passions. I am recalled to life.

Butterfly Blessings

This morning I walked outside to water our flowers and as I did about 20 butterflies flew out and started hovering all around me while I did so. Being in a super small town (villiage?) where you don't know anyone and do not have a car makes you appreciate things like that. Also, our water was down for about a day and a half and luckily I was blessed to have just bought a case of water bottles the night before. Coincidence? I think not. So today I am thanking my Heavenly Father for watching out for me and letting me know that I am not alone while Brenner is gone all day long. Thank you for sending me butterflies.

Happiest

Marriage is awesome.

 I know I look like I'm 12 here but I promise our relationship is legal.

 I really could take pictures of him all day.

 Even if he does become a stinker.

 Lovin Newport!

 Sunglasses, books, beach.

Easily the best decision I've ever made.