Remember, Remember

Recently, I have read several blogs/stories about families whose children have passed away at a young age. It always makes my heart ache for those people who have to deal with the incredible pain that comes along with that type of situation. It really makes you analyze your life and recreate everything the way you know it should be. I bore my testimony today in church partially on record keeping/journal writing and how important it is for us to remember. Reading those peoples' records really rejuvenates me, as well as helps me to write and remember the simple things that we should forever cherish. Here are a few of the things that have happened to us in recent weeks:

We are still feeding our raccoons. One of them is VERY brave. He is still afraid of us a little, but he will come in the house and just look at me until I give him some food. Here are a few close-ups.

A few weeks ago, they had a parade in Springville (just south of Provo) and I participated in it being the Wells Fargo frontier-woman that I am--I just walked alongside the stagecoach throwing candy out to the little children. After the parade, Devin and I met up for the carnival. We just thought it would be a cute little activity....cute and EXPENSIVE. It's a good thing I only brought a little bit of cash...cuz a lot of money COULD have potentially disappeared from our savings account that day. Here are the results:


On the ferris wheel
A lemon ade stand.
They were giving these free kittens. I wanted one...didn't happen.


This is on the ferris wheel. He loves me:O)

Just last Monday, we went to South Jordan to pick up some food storage for my Aunt and Mother, then to Salt Lake to pick up my brother and sister at the airport (they were leaving the next day for the church history trip). Between the two activities, we had a little time to kill; so we stopped by temple square for a little upliftment and some pictures. Devin especially wanted to get a picture of us right outside the doorstep like we had JUST gotten married....tennis shoes, jeans, and all! :O) He also LOVES those trees we took pictures with....they kind of remind me of the garden of Eden for some reason??? We also went into the South visitors center and listened to President Monson talk on families. It was somewhat heartwrenching to see everything of President Hinckley already replaced even though it has already been 5 months. I guess I just never expected him to go away. Don't get me wrong, I also love our new prophet...it's just hard to let go of the nearness of President Hinckley. I love that man!












The next day, I made the mistake of getting my hair done by someone OTHER than my cousins and ended up with a garfield mess! My hair was literally ORANGE! Not JUST orange, ORANGE STREAKS! And throughout my WHOLE head. It was supposed to turn out a little blonde with a little red...NOT! It was definitely orange and I was horrified. I called Devin in panic mode and we went straight to the store for a box of hair dye, which I proceeded to do absolutely immediately! It helped a lot and although I didn't get a before picture, these are the after pictures.....still some VERY RED/ORANGE at the roots, but at least I can feel somewhat decent in public. I cut the bangs myself. I wasn't going to let her do anymore to my hair. Needless to say, I shall not be making that mistake again. :O) Thank you Shelise and Tara for your help in my distress....and for never making me look like garfield or his friends.


Then, we had the Fourth of July. Not only was it nice because it was literally my first day off of work in almost two months, it was also incredible because we were able to spend a little bit of time relaxing, finishing some home projects we have been wanting to do, and EATING! We went to my favorite breakfast place of all time: MAGLEBY'S--LATE I might add, because I got to sleep in that day WITH Devin! Wahoo! Sometimes we just need that cuddle time. And OH how I LOVE it! Then, we did some painting and stuff at home. After that, I made the traditional homemade ice cream, fresh strawberries and all, and we met up with some friends. Our friend Angela (with Jay, her husband) is pregnant and still in her first half of pregnancy. She really feels the anything-but-JUST-morning sickness and had to rest in bed for a while amidst us having some fun. I was glad she was able to join us for the Stadium of Fire fireworks. We had an awesome view (but I didn't get pictures, of course) and a lot of fun talking with them. They are just THE SWEETEST people you will EVER meet in your life! Then, they went to bed because of the "morning" sickness and we went and did a few fireworks by ourselves. About half of the on-a-budget fireworks we bought were duds; so we simple lit them on fire. They proceeded to please us! :O) Here are a few pictures of us having our lovely fun!




This was the sum of our on-a-budget fireworks. We also had some cracker jacks...




This was still the line to get out of Provo ONE FULL HOUR and a HALF after the firework show....


Last of all, yesterday, Devin and I went on a rope swing in a city about 45 minutes south of us yesterday. It was incredibly high up and long and a lot of fun! Unfortunately, I had a minimal amount of space left on my memory card . I only got two pictures and neither of them show you how much fun it really was. We also got to walk around the park. It is always fun to walk with my hubby in nature, hand-in-hand and just loving each other. I love to talk with him and spend time with him. I am grateful for the simple things, and it's the important things in eternity that I always want to remember.

P.S.....

I forgot to tell about my graduation, so I'll just put a few pictures up of it....people usually like the pictures better anyway. Later, I will write about it because it was definitely an AWESOME event and I am SOOO glad I chose to go.

(Originally, I wasn't full-heartedly embracing the situation because I didn't want to wait so long in lines, spend hours listening to speeches, and get a fake diploma, AS WELL AS take a few precious days off of work for the whole occasion, BUT it was WONDERFUL and I wouldn't have traded it for the world those two days)


Here is Devin, holding me because he is so proud. These are all around the infamous "The World is Our Campus" and "Enter to Learn Go Forth To Serve" signs at the entrance of campus.









I'm just standing here :O)

And then....

.
TA DA!!! I threw my cap up in the air--flat box-hair and all!



And one more just for fashions sake. I mean, a square on top of your head and a big over-sized tent of a robe are SO attractive!!! :O)

Obviously, I conquered the world for the day. Red shoes and all...


They really were important though...that's the way my parents spotted me.

I will probably put up a few more pictures of the event later on along with telling a little bit about the experience. I just have to wait till I have a little more time to write about it and my parents send me some more pictures via email.

Little tidbits

Hello all! I am back again...for a short time. I have been working a lot and playing a lot of soccer on my free time; so, I haven't really kept up on the blog. The extremely exciting thing, at least for Devin and I, is that our co-ed team has made it pretty far in the tournament. We only have one more game to win before we are in the championship game! Wahoo! If we win, we get a BYU intramural t-shirt! YAHOO! ha ha Our last game was pretty close. It went into sudden death 10 minute overtime, where no one scored. Then, we had five penalty kicks and were tied again, so we went into sudden death PK's! Our team scored and we went crazy! It has been a ton of fun; especially cuz we've had several of our ward friends to play with. I just love it!

This leads me to my calling in our ward--and yes, you really only find this type of calling in a BYU married ward. It is not the typical calling, nor is it a calling I ever thought I would have, but.....I am the new Relief Society sports coordinator. I work in conjunction with the Elders Quorum sports coordinator and pretty much do whatever we want to sports. I am hoping to play something each Saturday afternoon starting with water-kickball. It is wonderful to get some exercise and an absolute BLAST to get to know other ward members in a whole new light. I would really like to take it from the standpoint that because our soul constitutes a body AND a spirit, we need to take care of both. "Sobering though it may be to contemplate, when we overeat or undereat, overexercise or underexercise, become obsessed with our bodies or neglect our bodies, we may be slowly relinquishing control of our bodies to Satan--as our spirits increasingly lose control" (108, Watson, Purity and Passion). Anyway, I just want to focus on getting the right balance, having our bodies yielding to our spirits--instead of vice versa-- and doing it all with something fun (because I absolutely DETEST doing exercise all by myself in a boring, repetitive motion). Hopefully, everyone will embrace it as I have! We shall see...

Devin hasn't gotten his calling yet. We'll probably find out soon. It's a good thing in some ways though, because he has been incredibly busy these last few weeks while finishing up the term. Next week he has finals, and then hopefully we can get a little bit of the break for a week! We MIGHT be able to go to Newport Beach in July because my parents have a timeshare there. If I can get the week off of work and Devin can afford to take off a few days of class, we can definitely go! That will be REALLY exciting!!! Especially because I do not have any more days off the rest of THIS month; so, I could definitely enjoy some days off in July.

We bought a new couch last week with some money I got for my graduation. It is super exciting because we haven't had a REAL couch the whole time we've been married thus far. It is really comfortable and very cute. I didn't want to get something that looked leather-like because everyone gets those. It's just a loveseat, but it has some cute green pillows that came with it. The Sage matches my house really well. Eventually, I would like to get the chair that goes with the set. It is the same material as the pillows! It will be SO cute! Here is a picture....it definitely doesn't do it justice.


I love the couch though. I am trying to do a lot of projects around the house to spiffy the apartment up, so that's probably what I'll post for a while now. Here was my last project. I wish that I had a before picture, but I don't know that I have one anywhere. We bought this dresser for $10.00 at a garage sale just before we got married. I waited a long time to paint it because we didn't have the money, but again, I used some of my graduation money to buy some paint and got my projects started! I didn't quite finish the mirror yet because of lack of time, but I will do that when I complete the headboard. It will be REALLY cool because I am going to paint some of it gold underneath and then pull it through the black. I am excited to get it done! I will paint a few other items and get some other decorations up, and THEN I will have to find some other projects to get started on. It's a ton of fun to decorate the house...and especially for as cheap as we can!

Well, there are some little tidbits for ya! I will let you know if we win the tournament! Hope everything is going well for everyone else! Let me know if there is ANYTHING I can do for you. :O)

SICK!

So, we have been moving back into our apartment for the last week and haven't had working internet. It kinda stinks, because I can hardly get online anymore. It's a big time commitment to make to race all the way down to campus, and frankly, I don't have that kind of time...even for a few moments so that I can check my mail, keep up on blogs, and do the whole facebook thing. :O) Today, I have managed to get to campus though, for a few short minutes, and am only regretting it because I am still a bit whoozy....

Yes, I am sick, AGAIN! YUCK! But this is seriously the worst sick I have ever felt. Yesterday, I woke up at 4:00 in the morning with one serious stomachache. I thought, "Oh, maybe it was those few cookies and sweets that I had eaten for our Mother's Day celebration" considering all of those unborn children I have. (I will post later on what Devin did for me for Mother's Day...but I am waiting for permission :O)--You see, it's kind of a funny; almost embarrassing story for him.) Anyway, an hour later, I was throwing up and throwing up and throwing up. I haven't thrown up in years, first of all; nor have I ever thrown up that many times in my entire life combined....TIMES FOUR! I ended up throwing up approximately 13 times and had the achiest muscles of my entire life...even with a mere temperature of 100 degrees. Today, I am doing a million times better--even to be able to get out of bed is a feat! It has really got me to thinking about having morning sickness...Tara, I have SOOOO much more sympathy for you than ever before! I hope, by now, you are also doing a million times better.

When I have a little bit more time, I will write about graduation & the move, put pictures up, and get updated on everyone's blogs since I've had very little time to read them. Once I am all better, completely finished moving in, and not working everyday, I will become a little more involved and indulged in the blog world again. Hope everyone is doing well!

95 words

Speed test

Oh the Joys!

Well, my last post seemed like a real downer, even though I didn't mean it to be; so, I decided I better post quickly before everyone thought I was sulking. I have too much to be happy about.

First of all, I'm so grateful that I had a willing and able husband that suggested we try living in Las Vegas for a few months to see how it went. He has never been much of a Vegas fan, but he knows how I have LOVED growing up around my family and that ALL of our family get-togethers have been highlights of my life, so he thought we should try it out if he got an internship here. He did, and we have been here for the last four months. There have been a lot of fun things about being around family, playing softball, and having new jobs and experiences....and there have been a few things from which we have since learned our lessons. I have loved it here...Devin has coped well, and we will be returning to Provo in the next 2 weeks for my graduation and for some new fun adventures. (I am personally excited to get back to intramural sports again. I LOVE to play co-ed soccer with my hubby! He is AMAZING! It is also fun and great exercise, and I just plain feel better. Plus, we are JUST in time for rock climbing season! All I can say is WAAAHHOOOO!!!) I really will miss the family though. I get a little bored in Provo sometimes. Mainly because I don't do as many silly things as I did when I was single and we don't have a dishwasher. ha ha. I know...pity me. --Trevor likes to remind me that only 2,000 people (in Australia) have dishwashers out of like 3 million)...so then I am forced to count my blessings--

Second of all, I'm glad we were able to make some money. It's not going to be much and it won't last long with tuition and stuff, BUT we actually had an income for almost FOUR MONTHS! WOW! I can't even believe the luxury it is to be able to work and have a consistent income from BOTH of us! PLUS, I was able to get transferred from my store here to the store in Springville; so I will continue to have a steady job with some GREAT benefits! :O) The only thing is, we're gonna have to get used to both of our full time jobs to just me being PART time for a while....at least until they can rotate me into a full time schedule. I'm sure once I get there it won't be a problem. I was offered a position at another branch too, but had already accepted the other offer....I am still trying to weigh out the options and determine what might be best for us.

Third, I am SO thrilled about the friends I was able to make at this branch here in Vegas. I know that there are some frustrating people in the world, but for all of them, I swear there are at least 15-20 absolutely FANTASTIC people if we truly give them a chance and our love. I have met people from all walks of life who DO truly care about people believe it or not. And we have had a blast! I have really loved my team!

Fourth, it is SO wonderful to have a practically fully functioning body again~! I haven't been on permanent medication for about 3 months now and have been JUST fine! I am still very tired most of the time, but I can get over that compared to what I WAS experiencing! I am grateful for a body that can get the things done that I need to get done!

We'll just do one more and then I'll be done. Last night, I was able to go to the Savior of the World musical that they had here in Vegas at one of the recreation centers. It was BEAUTIFUL! The music was inspiring and my testimony has grown! I'd like to thank all of the people who put so much hard work and dedication into sharing that beautiful message! (Thanks Kara!) I love my Savior and I hope that we as LDS members can share that love with ALL people we come in contact with...whether it be through our actions, thoughts, or words. Christ loves us all and I am so grateful to know that He is there and listening, guiding my family, and providing the way for us to return to Him! I am grateful for that knowledge!

Hope you all have a wonderful day! It is joyous to be here on earth! (And yes, Becca, a little sunshine can go a LONG way~!!!!)

April Fool's Joke Gone Bad

Well, I was GOING to play a GREAT April Fool's joke on Devin today. I know, I know...it's typical....telling him that I was pregnant, but it was going to be SO good. I was going to buy a little Texas Longhorns baby outfit and have one of my pregnant friends "pee-on-the-stick" for proof and all; however, after having what we think was my second miscarriage last week, I just couldn't carry it through! Dang, it ruined all of my plans. I've seriously had it planned for months, but when you have a miscarriage, you can't hide it; so, it's not like I could have pulled it off at this point...not without some SERIOUS proof from an OB/GYN anyway.

We weren't trying to get pregnant or anything...not yet. But I could tell that my new birth control wasn't quite working properly (that is a whole other story in itself--we just can't get me on ONE birth control pill that doesn't cause some sort of major problem with my health). Two weeks ago, I started feeling pretty nauseated in the mornings and throughout different times of the day. It wasn't very bad, but it was noticeably different. Then, my back started ACHING! I stand all day at work--we're talking 9 1/2 hours), so I thought maybe I just needed to sit for a while, but it didn't make sense because I had already stood through the entire previous month without any problems. I thought, "maybe it is because of the car accident a few years ago??" but I haven't had MAJOR problems with that in a while, so I shrugged it off. Anyway, I started to sit down at work (because we can if we have a Dr's note) and hoped it would get better...which, it didn't over the next several days afterward...

After a few days of this pain (I SERIOUSLY couldn't MOVE; especially after work), I started spotting even worse than I have for the past four months, so I was semi-concerned. Last Tuesday, however, I didn't just spot...I full on bled...BIG TIME! Now, my back is feeling MUCH better and I haven't been spotting as much since...which kinda makes me wonder how long I was pregnant, and if I had known that that was the reason for my spotting earlier that this story may have ended a little differently. Anyway, so much for my April Fool's joke gone bad! Did anyone else get a good one in?!?!?!

Perfect times

Things have gotten AMAZINGLY better at Wells Fargo for me. I have balanced perfectly for over a month now and have made a lot of progress on my sales. The most important thing is that I have been able to develop some meaningful relationships with some of my coworkers. They know I will be leaving soon, and it will definitely leave a hole in each of us until we can meet again.

Everyone at work knows I am LDS and I have therefore been the center of many stereotypes and jokes; however, the reason it is all worth it happened a few days ago! One of my coworkers, Jessica, has held a special place in my heart from the beginning. She is just one of the nicest people on earth and is SO willing to help anyone and anything she can.We were both helping drive-up and Jessica's questions started flowing. "Are you one of those die-hard Mormons?"..."Is it your duty to pro-create?"...and then finally "What is the Book of Mormon" and "Families can be together forever?" It can't get any better than that! One of my other coworkers bore testimony of her love for the principles of the gospel and another gave her a pass-along-card. AMAZING!!! I answered a lot of her questions and told her about missionaries. At this point, I am not sure what will come about. We had to leave in a rush and she has been out of town many days since, so Wednesday, I will be able to talk with her again!

It is SO exciting to be able to share the gospel! That is something I've kind of missed while being in Utah. Not that the gospel CAN'T be shared there, but the opportunities aren't as great in the BYU bubble. I am excited to see where this takes us and I am thinking of inviting her to the Savior of the World performances next week....I'll keep you all posted!

The other perfect thing is that the missionaries came over for dinner Saturday night. There's a whole story behind that (cuz I thought it was the month previous) but I was able to talk with them and get some good ideas. It is true that the Lord knows everything and guides our lives perfectly if we just follow him. Devin and I had a lot of fun feeding and talking with them. Devin LOVES to talk about his mission and missionary work; so his face just LIGHTS up with the happiest smile EVERY TIME he talks about Brazil and missionary work. It was a great night for us and we are happy to do whatever we can for the Lord! It also made me think a lot about Trevor and the mission he is serving in Australia. He's doing such a wonderful job and is always as happy as can be! We are grateful for his service and pray for him often. I guess feeding the missionaries here kind of helps me feel like I am doing something for Trevor out there! I can help take care of the missionaries here just like those families are taking care of my little brother out there! Missionary work is truly needed! Let's get out there and do the work! :O)

Life in a hurry...

Well, blogging obviously hasn't been my forte in the last month. I have been keeping very busy with my new job as a teller at Wells Fargo, as well as all of the wifey types of things I try to keep on. I am also taking a class this semester that I am hoping I will even get done with because....I finally turned in my graduation papers the other day! I know, I know, I was certainly putting it off because I'm just not sure that I want to graduate....EVER, but I finally relented and will be walking in April. I only turned the papers in yesterday, and that was after a lot of prodding from my parents and Devin. They said they will still accept them; so, the whole family will be going back up to Utah on the 23 to watch me walk. The closer it comes, the less I see the need....maybe it's because I've been there, done that. It will be exciting that day though I"m sure! But I'll probably cry. I just love taking classes! It's such an easy way to swallow a bunch of knowledge in a short period of time and I just love to learn. It will be very bitter-sweet.

'Doing school' is so much more carefree than 'doing life' I suppose. I was never NEARLY as stressed in school as I can be when I'm not doing school. I guess it's just my new job as a teller. I mean, it's simple in a lot of ways, but I never thought it would be this stressful to make sure I am in balance every single day and catch fraudsters and sell things to people and work with a bunch of gossiping girls. There are some people I have really come to like there, but overall, I have heard it's one of the hardest stores at which tellers for WellsFargo work because they go above and beyond on selling things. I have balanced well every day since I've been there except two....and the reason I didn't was because I had a fraudster! grrrrr! Well he was really an exchange artist. I wasn't even supposed to be on a drawer yet because I hadn't gone to training (a whole different story in itself because had I known I wasn't supposed to be on a drawer yet, I would have told my supervisor "no") so it makes me upset that I will take the blame for it. Another girl stole someone's identity, so I've had to deal with the stresses of giving $900 extra to someone who wasn't really that person. I guess it's just because I am such an extreme perfectionist! I DO NOT want to mess up and if I do, I am VERY hard on myself.

The interesting thing is how the job has been affecting me. Devin says at various times throughout the night (while dreaming) I will yell out "JaNae, don't do that transaction!" or "50,000 accounts receivable!" lol He will try and talk to me, but I, of course, only mumble and go back to sleep. I talk about banking most every night. I just sit and think...school was never this stressful. And who would have thought I would be THIS stressed at a job like the one I have. It's not THAT hard, is it?! I must say, however, that they offer GREAT benefits and lots of discounts on things (such as 26% off our monthly sprint bill) so that will really help longterm. I have also begun my 401K and have gotten on a lot better health insurance than I had at BYU, which is VERY needful. Mostly because on my healthcare alone, Devin and I spent at least $2,000 out of our own pocket last year...and the insurance covered about $10,000. Boy are we grateful for health insurance!

Anyway, the fun stuff is that every Wednesday night, Devin and I play on a softball team together. We have a blast! I have actually done surprisingly well! I hit pretty much every time and because of my speed, I get around the bases quickly. Devin, as always, is amazing at sports! He is obviously very fast, but not only that, he completely sacrifices his body for any sport! He will probably die someday playing in a sport game! Last week, he came home literally bloodied all over his arm and a big chunk of his hand was gone. To spare you all, I have opted to not take a picture of it and put it on here, but you can take my word for it, it was GROSS! Good thing he had long sleeves to cover it up so in his words, " no one else would see and pull him out of the game because he was bleeding." He's a crazy one! I never sacrifice myself like that for a game :O) Sometimes, I feel like this though....







The whole team drinks and drinks and drinks the whole game (no wonder we haven't won ONE!) They are all guys and gals from Devin's work and they obviously love to drink. I get offered a beer every game--they apparently haven't noticed that I never accept...or they just want to be nice and make sure I feel welcome?? ANyway, they really are VERY kind people! They have been extremely welcoming and encouraging and they even think I"M good! ME! Crazy huh?!

Devin is enjoying his work as well. He is learning a lot of new things at his internship and thinks the building they are completing is AMAZING. He is gaining a lot more things to do; so, he is feeling much more useful at this point. (When we first got here, he was feeling VERY disposable...which is completely natural for a new worker who only has a semester of the Major under his belt). Now, things have definitely improved. Martin-Harris has DEFINITELY been good to us!

Other than school, work, and hanging out with our families, Devin and I eat crepes (MMMM! MMMM!!), eat ice cream, eat REAL food, and watch American Idol and Survivor--Guess which one goes with which person! Devin has been an EXTREME help around the house because I've been so busy with working and stuff. Last week, for the first time since we've been married, he took COMPLETE initiative and did ALL of the laundry without me even knowing it! I was utterly shocked! What a good man, eh? He's taken a lot of stress off of me, which I appreciate, and we are enjoying being here. Devin has also been up to the Valley of fire and some bird sanctuary (which has hopefully been enough nature for him to suffice for now) and so I'll put a few pictures up of that.--scratch that, I can't find the camera...so I'll put it up later.

Anyway, that's a slight update on us at the moment. I really want to get taking some pictures, so I'll try my best in the near future! Have a fabulous day!