Passing on Advice From... Mom and Dad. A Tribute to Family.

It has really been impressed upon me lately how important family is to life. It has become a clear truth to me in my life that family (immediate family, extended family, joining a new family, and creating a small new family of my own with Andrew) brings the greatest personal refinements and the most happiness to me in my life.

(This is my extended family - just the ones who could make it to a random wedding in November.)

If I didn't have family, I would be able to do a lot more of what I want to do. I could improve on some talents or develop new ones more than I do now. But I don't think indulging in those things selfishly could possibly make me as happy as I am spending time with people I love and sharing what I do learn and the successes I have when I have them. With family, I have learned that I am not entitled to everything, that people are the most important thing, what service really means, how I can be a teacher, student and friend all at once, and what is really important in life. What really lasts.

With that, I want to share some things I have learned from my parents.

Dad has taught me that I am more important than a problem. I have backed into his car, flooded the basement, and found myself in a mess of broken metal or irrigation water more than once. Any time I had made a clear mistake that had very real consequences, going to dad usually didn't mean you were in for a lecture. Dad listened to the situation and accepted it, came and helped whenever I needed help even if he was pretty upset and it was really inconvenient for him (he can still fix most anything...) and calmly gave me the tools and support to fix what I had done, knowing it was good for me to acknowledge and accept the consequences and work to fix the situation. He taught me forgiveness.

Mom taught me that loving people is always the right answer, and you should give when you can. She supported me with time and gas money like crazy. When I has an event to attend in Seattle the same day as a competition 3 hours away at home in Prosser and I realized my mistake in planning... she drove to Seattle and back so I could do both. She got me out of class in high school so I could do homework for another class. No matter how late it was or what I was unreasonably upset about (often accentuated by the fact I was tired), she would listen to me and talk to me until I felt better. I once called her on Easter Sunday at 1 in the morning with a new situation that worried me not even knowing if she would be awake and not remembering it was Easter, and she was there for me then too. She once helped Alana with a hard day of school, picking her up and taking her out... only for Alana to realize later that that day was my mom's birthday. Her first instinct is to give, and she has made having faith in a God who is always there for me make sense, because I had a parent who was always there for me already. She is an incredible voice of love and reason for our family, for her family, and for her friends. She taught me dependability and love.

Dad taught me that sometimes you just have to work, and that the service that is inconvenient and not glorious is the most real service. From cold fingers fixing fence on a clear winter night to getting up Saturday morning for a family project to telling us we were going to help a family move and staying until it was too dark to continue, he taught this by word and example. I found that you can find real joy in the work, and that rest is much more fulfilling afterward. He taught me the real value of work and the real meaning of service.

Mom taught me the joys of raising children and having a family. Even when I saw how tired or frustrated she was at times, she loved her family. She taught me you don't always have to make extravagant dinners or a spotless house to be a good Mom, and I saw through hearing others talk about my mom how often people really do see past those things and what a blessing your time and love can be to the lives of others. She taught me charity.

They taught me the simple joy of playing with kids and eating good snacks, but that it's also okay to not have to be a jungle gym all the time (: That you can solve a problem with a laugh.They taught me the value of good conversations. How wonderful it is to be outside and how much joy you can find in simple things. The importance of being a good Christian before I was a good Mormon. They taught me I don't need much to be happy. They taught me the importance of being kind.

They showed me that even as an imperfect person, you can teach principles and give love in a way that comes across perfectly. They taught me that it is never an option to give up on family, and that it's always an option to let something go. That it's good to have fun and that time together is valuable.

I am so grateful for an proud of my imperfect family and am so grateful that they love and are proud of me. It is such a wonderful growing experience to be expanding my family as I joined Andrew's, adding new personalities, opinions, and traditions and realizing that there is always room for more love and that different ideas are okay way more often than not. I learned how amazing it is that someone can love you before they even know you.

I have learned with my family now with Andrew the value of trusting a person's love for you as you are honest about different ideas or situations that you are unhappy with. I have felt the joy of learning together and developing the habits we want individually and as a couple. I have enjoyed recognizing our differences and approaching them with a laugh, and finding a plan when we need a way to bring them together.

I have felt the joy of giving and of receiving, and how important it is to do both. I have remembered once again that if I had to give everything I wanted and loved up one at a time, all my dreams and plans and hopes for the future, the one thing I couldn't give up is family. And I feel so blessed that through long days and little misunderstandings and time apart, all of my families love me, and I am able to have them AND the hopes and dreams I have for my schooling, career, and talents for myself and for my family. I am so spoiled to get to work toward those things in such a blessed and wonderful time of life right now, that is exciting because of where we are going, but also exciting because of where we are right now.

If my writing this on the Monday of a week with three tests and only a few weeks from finals doesn't show how true it is to me, I don't know what will. Family, or those kinds of relationships and friendships, are always worth it.

Falling in the Snow

The other day after several hours of classes and studying, I walked out the building door and started walking down a hill out of habit before realizing the hill was covered in slushy snow. I realized, too late, that things were going downhill too quickly (; I looked up to see how many people were walking nearby on the sidewalks and could see me as I fell on my pants into the snow. One girl made eye contact with me and I smiled so she smiled too. I got up and made my way the rest of the way slowly down the hill.

The interesting thing, is that on my way down that hill before I slipped, I was thinking about the long day and what I had on my to-do list, and it wasn't making me happy. So how come when I slipped, something unfortunate that was kind of a mistake and kind of out of my control, I suddenly chose to have a good attitude?

I thought about when Andrew would walk me home after weekend night shifts as a custodian on at midnight. When it was raining, he would bring an umbrella like the sweetheart he is, but while he walked under the umbrella I usually held his hand and walked just far enough out that I could feel the rain. I knew everything would be okay, and I liked to enjoy the rain and make it fun if it was going to be there anyway.

I didn't know falling in the snow could be such a good learning experience, but I realized that my attitude was much better when I saw the rain or the fall in the snow as they were, let it be okay and had a good attitude about it, letting myself laugh at the imperfect circumstance or situation. I realized that I should treat my long days and to do lists the same way, instead of being frustrated that my day is figuratively a little more rainy than I wanted it to be.

So hey, laugh at falling in the snow, but maybe take a minute to let your long days be okay and laugh at them too. I think I'll try better to do that myself.

Why We Spent No Money On...

When I was married on November 19, 2016, it was a magical day. Our families had come, the most beautiful place was rented for the reception, we were so excited about the food, we had nice ties and socks for the groomsmen and necklaces and beautiful blue dresses for the bridesmaids. We had great photographers who did a fantastic job. In all the festivities though, there was something, or someone, that we didn't spend a penny on.

That was me. If you want to argue it you could probably win, because we did buy the flowers and my wedding band, but that's pretty much it.

I also know this isn't some crazy thing and there are probably many women who fall in this situation for their weddings. I also definitely want to say that I don't think it's bad in any way to spend money on makeup or hair or a beautiful dress you love, because I really can't argue that it's not worth it and the bride is and does deserve to be beautiful and feel like a princess. I wanted to mention a couple reasons that not spending any money on the bride for my wedding was special for me though.

First, it was because I'm blessed. I went dress shopping and didn't find one I loved enough for it to be worth it's price. My wonderful sister was okay with me using her wedding dress, and I loved it. It was form fitting and lace and long sleeved just like Andrew and I liked. Because she's my sister and we are built similarly I didn't need it modified in a single way either. And the fact that there was a button or two missing on the back just made me smile because it reminded me how much I love my family and my sister and was grateful for her generosity.

I was blessed to be the heir of Andrew's great grandmother's wedding ring. It's not a real ruby, because his great grandfather couldn't afford one, and we can't really either right now (: It's vintage, and unique, and it was expected that if we used it it would be for an engagement ring and we would upgrade it and pick our own wedding ring, but we didn't really want to. Now my ring, like me, is unique, both interesting and absolutely beautiful, and part of something bigger than just me.

I was also offered a tiara from one aunt on my mother's side to another aunt to me. I loved its sparkle and kindness, so it became part of my day too, maybe in an unconventional way.

As for shoes and jewelry, it was what I already had from high school prom and shoes a friend once bought me. This was a second reason I enjoyed not spending money on me. I felt like me as I was was perfect already, and I enjoyed keeping to my simple me-ness.

The third main reason is the sense of independence that is both a strength and weakness of mine. I did my hair and makeup, and made my bouquets and Andrew's boutonniere the day of our actual wedding, and I'm proud of those things. The bouquet for our reception in Prosser had the little daisies I love and turned out so beautiful.

My independent, stubborn self enjoyed doing these things for myself, and I felt like I was helping other people in a way by trying to keeping the focus on me simple and easy. It was cost-efficient for us, and looking back, there would be less pictures of imperfect hair or imbalanced flower bouquets had someone else done those things for me. But there was something special in being me and letting that be wonderful. The me that didn't mind when the bustle of the dress broke and I either drug it or hiked it up in my hand.

The me that was pretty bad about carrying her bouquet with her and honestly got the bottom of her dress pretty dirty. The me that really does want to try to do all that she can for herself for both her and the family and friends around her's sake so she is taken care of and can help take care of others.

Also don't worry, I wasn't too selfish in getting ready myself. You can't see it, by Molly painted my toenails (:

I'm definitely not perfect at it and still pretty dependent on others for things like... directions... but hey, I'm trying. I think because of all those things, I don't mind some imperfect hair pictures or funny backwards tiaras or imperfectly balanced bouquets, because it felt perfect to me, and that's what mattered most.

It's Okay - Allowing Yourself a Fair Perspective

Where I am in life is wonderful. I have amazing friends and family, an amazing husband, a job as a TA at BYU that I love, and I am taking a full schedule of classes that I enjoy. My major and future plans excite me. I am not financially stressed and I feel loved and safe. I have an adorable little apartment that is perfect for us that Andrew and I have both have enjoyed settling into and making into our home. I don't feel overwhelmed by duties at home, my husband and I work hard on our school work (generally, there can be that one paper we really don't want to do), have a happy marriage, and we enjoy games and Netflix and church and friends and good food and time for ourselves.

But sometimes I don't feel like life is wonderful. I want so much to do so well in my endeavors and in being the person I want to be that sometimes I worry and stress more than I need to. 

Life is full of a lot to do and has new situations we didn't expect. It is good to have a fair amount of stress in life, because we aren't meant to be static, and growing and progressing means doing hard things. But as we face new situations every day, at least I can feel the weight of the worry that I'm not handling my responsibilities and facing the new situations as best as maybe I could or that I should be a better student, or a better family member, or a better wife, or a better friend. To be completely honest, I'm usually happy and content throughout the day of responsibilities but sometimes when I get home and there still seems to be so much to do and I still feel stress it can change from good stress to bad stress and cause me to become more worried about things I wasn't worried about before. I wanted to write this for those who, like me, though their life may be full of blessings and good efforts and good work and a great deal of wonderful imperfections, somehow, sometimes, still seem to worry now and then if what they are doing or who they are is good enough. Sometimes we're just not fair to ourselves and bring upon ourselves added stress that we don't deserve or need. As a new wife, this is hard for both me and my husband as I can become more irritable and frustrated about things in our marriage that wouldn't frustrate me otherwise.

Somewhere inside in both day to day life when we feel stressed as well as in bigger tragedies and disappointments we know "it's okay" but we don't really believe it. So I wanted to point a couple things out that I know I have to remind myself sometimes:

• It's okay to have a hard time.
• It's okay that your life is imperfect. 
• It's okay if now your life consists of something you didn't want it to. Things we don't want will always come. Things we do want and don't expect come too, and that's pretty cool.
• It's okay to not really be good at something and instead just be fabulously mediocre. My dad once said with a laugh that you have to let yourself just be mediocre at some things.
• If you're doing something you are mediocre at or even usually good at and you feel like you look stupid, that's okay too. My grandma told me it's important to look stupid sometimes.
• It's okay to do a good-enough job and not your very best sometimes when it is better for your life (but do try hard when you can). It's okay to pull back when you need to.
• It's okay to give up on somethings. I always thought it would be so cool to do a back flip and never quite got there. You can always learn something new (with certain physical limitations) and I still think a backflip would be cool, but I don't think it's important to my eternal well-being or even that important to my happiness on earth or worth the time right now.
• It's okay to know it will be okay but not be there yet. You don't have to climb a mountain, or change a habit or whatever it might be, in a day even if you'd like to.
• It's okay to seem to find something someone does that bugs you, work that you never want to do, and little clumsy moments or let downs pretty much every day. Talking to a friend (or spouse, they're good at this) about those things and letting a laugh carry them away is nice.
• It's okay to be happy. It's kinda cruel that sometimes when you are trying to be humble and kind to others you feel guilty in success. It's okay to celebrate successes and be proud of yourself. Be generous with others, but let blessings be blessings and let yourself be happy about it or share that success with a friend. It's good for the soul.
• It's okay to focus effort on yourself to find happiness, as long as it's the right kind of real happiness.
• It's okay for other people not to understand you completely. You'll always be more AND less than the next person in a lot of ways, and you'll always seem perfect to someone and the furthest thing from perfect to someone else. That's okay too.
• Earth shattering things happen, and they are called earth shattering for a reason. There is sickness and disability and failure and huge disappointments for yourself and others and broken hearts and death, and it's not okay. That's okay too. Love yourself and give yourself the time you need for it to be okay.
• It's okay to change and move on and find new stages and parts of life, and have to leave behind the old way of life even though you sure loved it that way and it can cause some separation anxiety for a while. People grow up, people change, people move, jobs come or go, and life changes. It's okay for it to be hard, but work toward accepting the change and finding happiness in it. I usually find I'm not really missing out on something like I thought I would be.
• It's okay to fail sometimes. It really stinks, but sometimes you just can't do it yet and it's okay. It's okay to not completely finish an assignment sometimes or get a little lower grade than you wanted when the stress it puts on you to finish those things or get that grade is something you can't handle happily in your life.
• It's okay to take breaks. Allowing yourself breaks when you need them has proven to make people more efficient and effective when they get back to work (or whatever you were doing). You don't always have to feel guilty for giving yourself time. Sometimes social media and Netflix help keep me sane, and that's a good thing.
• It's okay to seem behind. Somethings are going to be harder for you than other people. We're all different. People aren't as bothered to help you as we usually think. Everyone is struggling with something at any one time - it's okay to admit you would benefit from help.
• It's okay to not have everything done. Let's be real - this is pretty much always in life. Don't keep peace and happiness for when the to-do list is done, because it might become pretty rare (:
• It's okay to be quirky. I like to walk in the rain and drink pickle juice and not wear shoes. And those things are goofy and don't really seem to have a point to some, but they make me happy so I'm going to keep right on doing them.
• It's okay to think differently. 
• It's okay to not get what you really wanted, whether or not your opinion of what you really wanted changes afterwards and you're grateful or you still look back and wish you could have gotten the job or made the shot or whatever it may be. Sometimes it just doesn't work out, but life doesn't run out of opportunities.
• It's okay to cry. You don't have to feel like you failed at being strong when you do.

Sometimes I find that not realizing it's okay is the only thing holding stress and worry inside me. I guess it's right that our worst enemies in life are often ourselves. We have to not take ourselves so seriously all the time and try to stay close to Christ and remember what he thinks of us. It can be easier to be gracious and accepting and forgiving and patient with others than with yourself. But give yourself a break. Stopping holding yourself back and just letting the stress and worry go often leads to happier and more productive days and better rest.

It's fairly easy for me to write this and say these things and easy to read them and agree with them, but the point isn't to agree necessarily. It's to tell the little voice in your head that is disappointed with work or with school or with a relationship or with yourself to shut up. We know life is funnier and more comfortable and more progressive in it's imperfect glory and we will be more kind to ourselves. We all have at least something we can think of that was pretty sucky to have come into our lives and we were so surprised when everything turned out okay. The worst case scenario often isn't that bad and isn't even going to happen anyway. So when you're at the end of the day tomorrow and there's still something else you feel you should have gotten done, or something happened that put you in a bad mood, or whatever that little thing is that happens tomorrow that doesn't seem okay, gosh darn it, be fair to yourself and let it be okay.

A Story of Us - Three Squeezes

When we began dating, I didn't know Andrew very well, but what I did know about him was comforting. He was responsible, intelligent, had his own sense of humor, appreciative, humble, and kind. I had heard from a friend in a discussion at church one day that in finding an eternal companion you're not supposed to find the right person, but find the kind of person you can build the right relationship with, and build that relationship. You could say I was taking a chance or following the spirit in agreeing to date the boy from Chemistry after 8 days (we had been acquaintances before and had gone on one official great date and unofficial dates nearly every day of the following week, so you can choose to call me crazy or not as you please), but I really saw this boy as being one with that potential - the kind of person I could build the right relationship with.

The days passed and we grew. Sometimes I would laugh at how different we were, and there was a time a little bit after we started dating that I really doubted and became afraid, but in telling Andrew these things, I felt comfortable. This time when I wasn't sure about us was the first of many times I was uncertain or frustrated about something. Andrew was there for me and expressed that he wanted to be with me but he wanted most for me to be happy. His patience and understanding and trust in me and my decisions felt good. Then, and ever since, I could never find a reason to not be with Andrew. I never felt that uncertain again, I have found that my uncertainties are best confronted by Andrew and I together, even if that just means sharing a worry and having his support in my confronting it.

I give this introduction to show that in my relationship with Andrew, I was confident and happy. A lot of this comes from the kind of person Andrew is. He's good through and through. But despite this deep underlying happiness that was there no matter what, which I think is common in good relationships and especially marriages, there were and are still little things that worry me or frustrate me now and then. As we were dating, I became frustrated about feeling loved. I knew I was loved, but didn't feel it sometimes, and though it sounded silly even to me at the time, I knew we needed to find a way for Andrew to better communicate his love to me that I felt and internalized for my personal peace and happiness. We talked about how I could feel more loved before Andrew would go back to his apartment, and though we were working on it and getting better, one night I seemed especially put out. We were sitting outside against a wall, and Andrew squeezed my hand three times. It's fun to think about what my face must have looked like, because I got it and looked up and said, "Does that mean 'I love you'?" He kinda laughed and said something like, "Yeah. You haven't noticed before? I've been squeezing your hand since we started dating."

My mind immediately flashed back to when I was gently prodding for Andrew to say he loved me when I knew I was falling for him. Even before he said he loved me, he knew it inside himself and was showing me even when I didn't notice. 

I am very happy with the love I feel communicated to me now, and Andrew and I can have entire small conversations through hand squeezes. But I learned something in that moment, and I still look back on it. There was an opportunity for growth and I had certain expectations for how I wanted something to be, while all the while my Andrew was happy, content, willing to approach an opportunity for growth with me, and showing his love to me the best he could even when I had no idea. I felt such overwhelming love to have someone like Andrew, who continues to love me like that because it's who he is.

Maybe I'm sharing this story for someone to remember a similar thing they learned once with a relationship they have, for my personal recollection and growth, or for my children to read one day and see just how much their daddy loved their mom, and was as kind and humble as he is from the very beginning, 

But if nothing else, maybe it's just a fun story of us. When I think about the couple that we have grown to be, and all of the perfect imperfections that means, somehow I still think back to the original three squeezes.

Passing on Advice... from Molly

I am a huge fan of Humans of New York, and other people and organizations that highlight real people and little things in life (that are really the big things in life) that show uniqueness and strength. I want to highlight lessons I learn from people around me through this blog in short posts now and then, and call it "Passing on Advice", whether this be advice given in word or through action and example. I first want to highlight someone who seems to make my life better in every way - my little sister Molly.

 I want to highlight two little things I've learned from her lately. This Christmas, Molly taught me the beauty of pure giving and receiving. She gave everyone in our family a gift when she didn't have to, and though simple they were thoughtful and kind. She sent me and Andrew cookies here in Virginia, and not only were they really good cookies, she wrote us two notes and made us a little ornament with a picture of us that she drew. She gave the best that she had because giving made her happy.

And second, whenever I am lacking motivation in my studies at college, I call Molly. Calling my mom or my dad or my other siblings is fun and makes me happy and puts things in perspective too, but Molly's sunshine comes through the phone and makes me happy no matter what. There's something in that that I just love so much. Asking Molly's advice helps me remember everything's going to be okay. Asking her opinion, like when I used to ask who my prince should be and give her options, makes me laugh. And talking to her and spending time with her makes her so happy. 

(Skyping Molly from Spain this past spring.)

 Somehow it goes both ways too. Because I was excited for Andrew to come visit our family over the summer, she somehow became even more excited than me. 

I hope we'll always be such good friends, and that I can grow to be a little more like Molly.

The Value of Adventure

Growing up I was the designated family "adventure leader". I remember this title being applied when we went on weekend family camping trips in Palo Duro Canyon and I always wanted to explore "over there" or try climbing "that wall" despite the fact that I was 6 or 7 at the time and the biggest thing that made me an adventurer was that I believed it about myself.

That spirit of adventure and challenge never really left me. I think it exists in everyone. Everyone has that one thing that seems to them like if they could do that they would really have made it. That place they want to go. That goal they want to achieve.

I think I realize now that the value of that spirit of challenge and adventure lies in expanding what you believe about yourself. What you believe you can do. That you see yourself as someone who is doing everything that they want to do. You can do that wherever you are. You can do that living your whole life within the same 20 mile radius. But you have to live it for you. In high school I thought I would have made it in life if I was happily married, doing well in school, happy with what I was learning and doing on a daily basis and had traveled out of the country, maybe even to Europe. Now all of that is true a year and a half later. I did a humanitarian program in Peru with my older sister Alana the summer after I graduated from high school (June 11-August 11, 2015), and this past spring I studied abroad in Spain through BYU, and took advantage of some friends and a couple weeks before the program started to travel to Ireland and England (April 21-June 17, 2016).

Sunrise over the Andes at Machu Picchu 

Water balloon fight with the kids in our after school program for my birthday, 

Eagle Condor Humanitarian Service, Cajamarca Peru.

 Huanchaco Bay, Trujillo, Peru.

Blarney Castle, Ireland.

Tower Bridge, London

And the House of Parliament with Big Ben.

La Mesquita de Cordoba, Spain.

And it's not because I'm so cool. It's all still a miracle to me. I'm starting to think that it's mostly just because when the opportunities came, I accepted them and showed up. But they have expanded my view and changed my perspective so much already. It has made me more grateful for America but has left pieces of my heart outside the US at the same time. The experiences I have had have expanded my mind and my heart, and have helped me prove to myself that I can do whatever I want to do and can go wherever I want to go if I prioritize it and put my mind to it in my life.

Goofing around at lunch.

 That one day we went to France during an excursion from Spain and couldn't communicate with anybody but a lady from the Dominican Republic in a chocolate store.

Not all adventures are important. Life has a fun way of more or less completely changing your perspective every 2 years or so. But this was one big perspective change that happened to me. I felt like I had to make it in life. That I had to get straight A's in high school and college. I had to be the first and the best. The most experienced, the most daring, the most adventurous, even the most humble (because that goal makes so much sense). But the greatest adventures in life, I think now, aren't the end goals, but the little things along the way that make memories, no matter what stage of life or where you are.

 Like buying the whole shelf of 99 cent shaving cream for your graduation party and then discovering what it feels like to wash it out of your hair.

Or climbing on top of an ancient ruin in Peru when you're in the middle of the mountains and you're not going to hurt it. Featuring my flea-bitten legs.

 Like it raining when you're exploring a park in London.

 Or a bird pooping on your bag when shopping in Barcelona.

Or fitting... that many people in a car when going to church in these clothes while camping with grandpa at the Fort Bridger Rendezvous over a weekend in college.

Adventures don't have to be travelling to new countries. They can be walking down new trails, or taking new classes, or going new places or doing new activities (whether you are good at it or not) or eating new foods or meeting new people, or having new experiences with people you've already met.

Calamari sandwich!

 Sleeping on the roof (:

 Walking a trail with my sisters in law (and that other guy) over Christmas bre.

A Chinese Lantern Festival that turned out to be a lit-up zoo...

You can find whatever adventures you want, that no matter their complexity or simplicity or if you have to change your views and your plans a few times, expand your world a little and what you believe about yourself. Sometimes adventures come of their own accord in the form of new situations that are hard and require you to grow and sacrifice. But guess what? If you're growing, you're making it. And then you can find a new adventure.

Like these kids in Pulyucana, Peru who spent the afternoon sliding down this cement incline on water bottles. I guess they knew all of this all along.