Forget Me Not

I loved listening to President Uchtdorf's talk during the General Relief Society meeting last Sunday. It was a talk that I definitely needed to hear at the time and it reminded me of several things I should never forget.

He centered his talk around 5 things we should never forget...one reminder for each petal on the small, yet beautiful Forget-Me-Not flower.

1. Forget not to be patient with yourself. God is fully aware that we are not perfect. We often spend too much time comparing the weaknesses we see in ourselves to the strengths we see in others. We all have strengths and weaknesses. The goal is to eventually turn all of our weaknesses into strengths. But this is a long term goal. We need to be thankful for all of the small successes in our home. Even though these successes may seem small and unnoticed by others, they are noticed by God and they are significant to Him.

2. Forget not the difference between a good sacrifice and a foolish sacrifice. An acceptable sacrifice is when we give up something good for something of far greater worth. For example, losing some sleep to help a child who is having a nightmare is a good sacrifice. However, staying up all night to make the perfect accessory for a daughter's Sunday outfit may not be a good sacrifice. We need to ask ourself if we are committing our time and energy to the things that matter most.

3. Forget not to be happy now! Many people are waiting around for their Golden Ticket that they believe holds the key to the happiness they have always dreamed about. It may be a perfect marriage or a perfect house. There is nothing wrong with righteous yearnings. The problem comes when we put our happiness on hold while we wait for a future event to happen (our Golden Ticket). If we wait around for fabulous roses, we might miss the beauty and wonder of the tiny forget-me-nots that are all around us. We want to strive for the best that is within us.

4. Forget not the WHY of the gospel. Sometimes we unintentionally overlook the vital aspects of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We sometimes look at all of the duties and responsibilities of the gospel as a long list of tasks that we must fit into our busy schedules. We focus on what the Lord wants us to do and how we might do it, but we sometimes forget the why. The gospel is not an obligation. It is a pathway marked by our father in heaven leading to happiness. The gospel is a light. When we understand why our Father has given us that pattern of living and why we have committed to making it a foundational aspect of our life, the gospel ceases to be a burden and instead becomes a joy and a delight. The why of obedience sanctifies our actions.

5. Forget not that the Lord loves you. We can sometimes feel small and very insignificant; just like the forget-me-not flower. We are NEVER forgotten by the Lord. Never. He loves us with an infinite love. We are the daughters of His kingdom. He loves us even though we make mistakes. The love of God and the power of the restored gospel are redemptive and saving. We are closer to heaven than we suppose.

I'm really thankful for this talk and I greatly look forward to the upcoming weekend of General Conference.

Home Sweet Home

Phil and I are finally starting to feel settled into our new home. Here is a little tour...

2 pics of our family room

(we turned a bedroom into our family room)

Our bedroom minus the dressers.

They didn't fit in the picture

Bathroom

This area connects our bedroom to our family room. The order of things goes our bedroom, a vanity, shower, toilet, another vanity, then our family room. It's a nice connection.

Dining area and kitchen

Closer view of kitchen

This is the view out of the window over my sink.

I love it because it makes me feel like I'm not in a basement anymore.

Plus sometimes the cats will curl up down there and hummingbirds feed from flowers growing to the right of this picture. I LOVE it!!!

A few things came with this move that I have not had in my two years of marriage....

AND

Isn't that a pretty sight?!

Change

It seems like people always talk about how the summer went by too fast. Well…that has never been more true for me. I took classes at BYU spring and summer terms. My summer finals ended two weeks before fall semester started. My two weeks of summer vacation definitely went by WAY too fast. During my break from school, my main priority was getting our Provo apartment packed up so we could move into Phil’s parent’s basement in Highland.

Packing was somewhat of an emotional process for me. I thought about how I was going to miss our cute little apartment that we have lived in for the past two years, the great married student ward we have become apart of, and being close to our incredible friends in Provo. Despite these feelings, change inevitably comes as a part of life and it usually turns out for the best. I mean you can't stay in a married student ward forever right? Phil and I are ready to start this new chapter of our life.

I thought I’d post a few pictures of our first apartment for my memory’s sake.

Our moving boxes haha. Phil and I had to get up at 3am to go pick these up!

Goodbye to our empty apartment

After we moved to Highland, we didn’t have long to get settled in before Phil started classes at U of U. My classes started a week later so I had more time to get things situated. Things are finally starting to feel settled (pictures to come).

We have gone to our new ward for three weeks now. It is a lot different than the married student ward we are used to. But once again, change is a good thing. We are in Phil’s family ward so he knows a lot more people than I do. I’m trying my best to get to know people. However, I got a calling today, which may slightly impede my abilities to continue getting to know people. I got called to work in the nursery… change is good … I keep reminding myself. The kids are cute so I’m sure it will be a good experience (or at least just an experience). Phil has yet to receive a calling, but he is super excited for it to come.