And on to Another Semester!

It seems like just yesterday I was stressing about finishing four papers within two weeks, studying for the last round of tests and quizzes before finals, and preparing for all my final exams. Now here I am, just a week later, realizing that I have a group project due next Friday, a paper due in just over a week, and my first test a week from Monday. Such is the cycle of school! I have never done a summer semester before and I'm starting to realize what they say about summer terms being quick and intense. I have a test or paper due every week for the next seven weeks! I'll have to stay on top of things!



I am taking American Literature, from 1865 to present day, and Philosophy Ethics and Values. Many of you may know that I already attempted the Ethics and Values course this past semester, but promptly dropped the class due to the professor being way out of line in referring to the Mormon religion. He was very cynical, rude, and off-base with his remarks about religion. It was ridiculous for any student to be put through such animosity. This time around the teacher seems fair and unbiased. I'm very leery of philosophy teachers though. I don't know what it is about them, but they always seem to be unkempt, wildly cynical, and indifferent. These cartoons may explain it better :):








I was hoping to have my associates degree by the end of the summer, but the English Dept may have cancelled a class that is required for graduation. I have emailed the teacher to see what is going on, in hopes that they may make an exception. If not, I'll have to rearrange things for the fall. We'll keep our fingers crossed for now.



I am also going to be taking a creative writing class, British Literature, and Critical approach to Literature (hopefully) in June to August. The terms are about seven weeks long. I am signed up for piano lessons too, but am still deciding if this will work into the schedule. There's no better time for me to learn than now! (especially since we have a piano in our home) I am excited for the semester and for the chance to continue my schooling!



We're looking forward to a fun summer with the family! We'll be out to see Brett and Melissa in June, with the Bryners for Memorial Day weekend, and in New Mexico for 4th of July weekend! We also want to get away for some weekend camping trips (if anyone wants to come along, you're more than welcome!). It'll be a fun summer!

To Every Thing There is a Season...

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven:

A time to be born, a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; A time of war, and a time of peace."
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

I love this scripture. It reminds me to have patience and to realize that every one is on a different schedule in life: Some get married at 19, some in their late twenties, and some remain unmarried. Some people graduate college in four years, some take a little longer, and some never get the chance to go. Some people have their ducks lined up in a row, some people struggle to make ends meet, and some people just can't get ahead. Some people have large families with ease, some struggle to get one, and some feel like that time will just never come.

I think I've learned that my time table is very different than that of my sisters, my friends, my family, and the people I associate with at school or church. I have also learned to trust in the Lord for guidance and to know what His will is for me specifically. It seems too often we want something so bad and we are stuck in our own little sphere with a very limited perspective. I continue to learn that this life is just a dot in the spectrum of eternity and that the things that worry me now will soon be just a small moment.

I also learn through life's experiences how much love my Heavenly Father has for me as his child. I can't comprehend the blessings that I've been given from Him. I am so blessed and in awe of how He knows me so personally and takes the time to manifest that to me. I am learning through these experiences of how to be more compassionate and understanding of the struggles other people are called to face.

Right now I am struggling to be patient in trying to have a family. I am surrounded by women who recently had babies or women who just found out they are pregnant. I know that our time will come and I have no doubt that we will be blessed with a family, but it is hard some days to keep up the optimism. I feel silly even sharing this, but felt like I should because I know that a lot of people in my own family have felt the same way.

I know this is a small moment for me and I want to learn from this more than anything else. I want to be able to give empathy to others and to become more humble. It is times like this that I rely on the strength the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I know that the power of the Atonement covers our weaknesses. I am grateful for the blessing of knowing my Savior, Jesus Christ, and being able to rely on Him for help and guidance.

So, there is a time to every purpose under heaven, and this is my time to learn and to grow. I am grateful for the bounteous blessings I've been given. I am grateful for a wonderful husband who is such a light in my life. This little moment will be gone soon enough, but for now I will learn what I can from it and keep my chin up!

Reflections on a Semester

I had my last day of classes yesterday and now I am preparing for finals next week. As I think about the past couple of months I've thought about:

1. The fact that I am a capable person, able to jump back into school no matter how much time has past since I'd last been in school. I was afraid of how I would transition back, but this semester has been such a positive experience for me to build confidence again.

2. How my mom went through school with two children (and probably one on the way) and still finished her bachelors degree in 4 years! Amazing!

3. What a great husband I have who has been the biggest supporter of me going back to school and finishing my education. Bryan is an angel.

4. How fast time flies by. I've already completed a full semester, Bryan and I have been married 8 months in a week, Brinley will be 1 year old in a month, and Cindel and Matt will have been married for 1 year in a month. It seems like just yesterday that Bryan and I were dating! We truly have to hold on to each moment and enjoy life as it is in the present!

5. How blessed we are with good family, good friends, and a good job. I couldn't ask for more!

I've learned a lot this semester both in school and in my personal life. I've learned how to prioritize things better and to remember to always put family first. I loved learning about Geology (especially volcanoes and earthquakes), British literature, writing essays better, and the history of dance. I am excited to continue to learn this summer and I will have my associates degree completed by August. It's just one small step to bigger goals, but it's a huge step for me. One semester down, only a few more to go!

Easter Weekend Fun

Since our 5K was cancelled, we decided to instead dye Easter Eggs. I forgot to buy vinegar for the dyes but found that you can also use lemon/lime juice and it works just as well. Bryan really enjoyed dyeing eggs (it's been awhile since he last did it). His creative juices were flowing and we came up with some interesting color combos. He, naturally, made a BYU egg in honor of Cougar sports. I made a football egg that said "Go Cougas" on the back. (I apparently forgot how to spell). Here's what we came up with:






We had a fun, quiet Easter weekend with an untraditional Easter dinner of Pork Barbacoa for "Cafe Rio" burritos. We had a fun day together and the Easter bunny even stopped by early on Sunday morning to drop off some chocolates, candies, and a movie. I hid the eggs around the house for Bryan and forgot where I hid one of them (I did such a good job hiding them I couldn't even find them!), so we had to break out into real Easter Egg Hunt mode. It took a little while, but we did find it in a candle jar. Close Call! (note to self: don't hide real eggs in the house.:)


Our Sunday School class is getting better. We had about 6 or 7 come on Sunday. I think we're making progress. They really are a fun age group. They have a lot of social pressures on them but they are making good choices and are good kids. We're still working on the stragglers, but hope eventually they'll want to come. Bryan and I made cookies and gave them Easter treats this week to soften them up. I figure the best way to get the stragglers is to "kill them with kindness". We've made a better effort to get to know what activities they like to do and to just get to know them individually. It's been really helpful (thanks for the tips, Rhi)


We wish we could've been with family for Easter! We are excited to start our own family and be able to start traditions of our own. Bryan and I did have a lot of fun spending the weekend together! We love you, family and friends, and hope your Easter was great too!

The 5K We Will Never Run

Yep, it's been cancelled. I finally talked Bryan into signing up for and running a 5K back in February and, to my surprise, he willingly went along with it. We've trained for it the last couple of months (not too rigorously though. There's always more training to be done...such is life), we signed up a couple of weeks ago, and now we both received the same email noting that the race has been cancelled.

And the reason?? Guess below. Is it because....

1. Bryan secretly called the organization as an attorney stating that it was not in compliance with Federal Running Regulations.

2. The US Geological Survey has determined that April 11th may be a possible earthquake day and stopped all road races from occurring.

3. The race organizer has a premonition about some recently married couples that think they are ready to run a race, when in fact they are NOT.

4. The organization actually is suffering, like so many Americans, from the downfall of the economy and there just isn't sufficient funding for the race.

5. The Utah weather system is predicting another "spring" storm--snowfall up to 10 inches in the mountains, and 5 inches in the valleys. (and 7 on the benches...where ever that is :)

And the answer is.......Number 4. The economy is not only affecting everyone's jobs, homes, and attitudes, but is also affecting the ambitious runners. All we want to do is to run as fast as we can for 3 miles straight with little to no water or breath. ....Why did we sign up for this again?? It is kind of funny that we pay to run long distances. Some one should pay us for traumatic impact on our bodies!

And so, no, we will not be running a 5K this Easter weekend. We will not be wondering at the bang of the gun why we signed up for self-inflicted torture. We will not be huffing and puffing and blowing any houses down. We will just be inside eating chocolate Easter Bunnies and Cadbury Mini Eggs.

Maybe next time! For now, our 5K will remain undone.

PS no blog is complete without some great cartoons. Enjoy!

Ward Culture Fair and Trip to Denver

March has been a fun and busy month for us. Bryan had an Environmental Law Conference in Keystone, CO that he attended for about five days. He has learned more than he ever wanted to know about being "green" and "global warming". I met up with him just for the weekend. We went snowshoeing on Saturday and went to a big time lawyers' dinner that night at the Keystone Ranch Restaurant. We had a seven course dinner there and all the people attending (except us) were saturated with wine. It was an interesting dinner. Most of the courses consisted of names and items I'd never heard before. It's funny how people will spend hours on eating a meal.


Here are some pictures from our snowshoeing excursion. Both of us had a little bit of altitude sickness. We were twice as high up as SLC. Keystone is beautiful!



Despite the sign saying "Do Not Feed The Bears", Bryan felt it was his environmental duty to take care of the animals by feeding them an environmentally safe trail mix bar.

Bryan didn't learn that trees were good at the environmental conference and is trying to push them down. He's contributing to global warming.

Striking a pose after a fun hour of snowshoeing. It's basically hiking in snow. It was a good workout and fun to get out into nature on a sunny day.

Bryan strutting his snowshoes. Looking good Bry! We went for about a two hour excursion.

Next time we'll have to go snowboarding. It was fun hiking around in the deep snow. We had a good time!

WARD CULTURE FAIR

Our Winder 5th Ward is so culturally diverse! They started having a Culture Fair each March just to showcase all the different countries our ward represents. We have people from England, Germany, Austria, Norway, Mexico, Korea, Japan, China, and the Polynesian countries. Bryan and I are on the activities committee so we helped out a little with setup and food, but we also decided to sign up and show off some of our culture. Bryan displayed things from his mission to Lisbon South, Portugal. He has all kinds of knickknacks, maps, pictures, etc. He even wore his Portugal shirt. I displayed rugs, jewelry, baskets, etc from the Navajo Nation (mostly from Bob French Navajo Rugs :). It was a lot of fun to talk about our missions and heritage with the ward and share in their heritage.

The best part was the food! I have to say Mexico always has the best food! I made Navajo Fried Bread and had some honey for them to eat it with. There was food from Italy, Norway, Poland, France, Japan, and the Philippines, just to name a few. We also had a couple of Polynesians perform Hula dancing and other native dances. It was so fun and it really brought us closer as a ward. Our ward is so great at creating a "neighborhood" feeling too. They invited non-LDS people from our ward boundaries to come and join in the celebration. We had a couple from places like Kenya who decided to do a display. Our ward is great about taking care of everyone in our area and creating a safe neighborhood network.

All the flags represent all the countries that were displayed at the culture fair. Our ward is very diverse. It's fun to be around so many different kinds of people!

The Portugal side of the display. Bryan had fun talking with people about his mission experiences!

The Navajo side of our display, complete with Navajo Fried Bread and Rugs, courtesy of BFNR :)

Bryan and I in front of the display. We really enjoyed this activity! We have such a great ward!

The total display. It was fun to talk with people about the little bit of culture/heritage we have. It was even more fun to talk to others about their culture!

All in all, March has been a great month. I am now an advisor for the Young Womens group in our Ward. It has been fun to get back into YW and remember all the great times I had and also all the important things I learned at that time in my life. I get to go to Mutuals on Wednesday, Girls Camp, Youth Conference, etc. It will be a fun experience. We still teach our little 14-17 year old class too for Sunday School and are enjoying it more each time. We still have our struggles, but overall the class is great. I am grateful to be a part of such a fun, humble ward. There's a lot for me to learn from them. We are blessed to be around great people.