Modesty

The value of modesty has been on my mind lately. I feel like the world is spiraling downward at a fast rate in this category. It truly makes me sad. Modesty is not always "popular" and showing your body seems to be in style. Check Pinterest for example. Some of the things that are posted on there blow me away.

I believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel. We can stand up for what we know is right. We can dress in a way that shows that we respect ourselves. It is easy to dress immodestly and follow the crowd, but not everyone has the strength to stand out and be an "example of the believers" (1 Timothy 4:12). We can.

A friend of mine wrote an amazing post about modesty a few months ago. I highly recommend you read it. It was inspiring and it really made me think.

In the LDS "For the Strength of Youth" pamphlet, it gives very good counsel on modesty. I believe that we all, no matter what our age, should follow the counsel in this amazing pamphlet. The following quote is from it.

"Prophets of God have continually counseled His children to dress modestly. When you are well groomed and modestly dressed, you invite the companionship of the Spirit and you can be a good influence on others. Your dress and grooming influence the way you and others act.

Never lower your standards of dress. Do not use a special occasion as an excuse to be immodest. When you dress immodestly, you send a message that is contrary to your identity as a son or daughter of God. You also send the message that you are using your body to get attention and approval.

Immodest clothing is any clothing that is tight, sheer, or revealing in any other manner. Young women should avoid short shorts and short skirts, shirts that do not cover the stomach, and clothing that does not cover the shoulders or is low-cut in the front or the back. Young men should also maintain modesty in their appearance. Young men and young women should be neat and clean and avoid being extreme or inappropriately casual in clothing, hairstyle, and behavior. They should choose appropriately modest apparel when participating in sports. The fashions of the world will change, but the Lord’s standards will not change."   

The fashions in the world change, but the Lord's standards don't. I believe that. Let us stand together and be an example of the believers!

Christmas Break

I have officially finished my first semester of graduate school! I loved it. Social work is one of my passions. Jaren will finish up his semester this week and then it is Christmas break! We have all sorts of plans for Christmas break. Everything from a full day Harry Potter movie marathon to romantic dinner dates :) I also have a long list of things to do that I don't have time to do during school that I want to accomplish during the break. I love this time of year. Bring on the hot chocolate and candy canes!

I can't believe that Christmas is coming. Today at church we heard talks about Christmas. It got me thinking. How can I make this Christmas season more centered around Jesus Christ? It is so easy to focus on more trivial things (as seen in the above paragraph ;) so how can I focus more on what Christmas is really about? One thing that Jaren and I talked about is focusing on service during the break. Making a goal to do an act of service outside of the home each day of the break would help us, even if the act of service is something simple and small.

At this time of year, some people are hurting. A friend of mine lost her father a few weeks ago. It really put things into perspective for me. It made everything that I worry about seen so small and insignificant. I hope to make this Christmas season a time to help those who are lonely or overwhelmed with life. I think that that is how my Savior would be spending this holiday season if he were here.

Tis' the Season...

Christmas music was playing and the smell of homemade hot cocoa was in the air. Jaren and I were setting up our Christmas decorations. We had opened up our dusty boxes of Christmas decorations and were figuring out how we should set everything up. We needed to remove some of our day-to-day décor to made room for the red and white characters and twinkling lights. Our picture of the Savior was taken down to make room for cute Christmas snowmen (very ironic). A moment later, we realized what we had done. Our actions showed symbolism of what easily happens at Christmas time. With the hustle and bustle of the season, the true meaning can become more and more faded. After our realization, we decided to place our picture of the Savior as a central Christmas decoration in our living room. We want this to become a tradition.  

Tonight during the LDS Christmas Devotional, President Uchtdorf talked about the gift that we can give to our Savior. The only gift that can be given to Him is our hearts. He has given us everything: our families, immortality, eternal life. All that He wants in return is our hearts. President Thomas S. Monson said that "this is the time to rededicate ourselves."

May this Christmas season be a time of service and giving. May it be a time of pondering on the true meaning of Christmas. May it be a time of remembrance about what life is all about.

November

I love November for two reasons... my husbands birthday and Thanksgiving! Both went well this year.

Jaren turned 25 years old! I am now officially married to an old man ;) For his birthday I decided to go with the theme of "favorite things". I left surprises for him to find throughout the day. The surprises were some of his favorite things with notes on them that told him some of my favorite things about him. That might sound confusing... here are some pictures to clear it up :)

Here are the notes that I taped onto his surprises

Does anyone know how to rotate pictures in blogger?

His birthday present: New shirt and permission to get an Xbox 360 on
black friday (he has been begging for 2 years) ;)

We spent Thanksgiving down in Utah with my mom's side of the family. It is always fun to be with family.

Waiting in line for 3 1/2 hours at Walmart :)

I'm so grateful

Thanksgiving is this week. I love thanksgiving. I think that it sometimes gets overshadowed by Christmas and we miss out on how special Thanksgiving is. It is at this time of year that we can reflect on our lives and what we are grateful for. I am grateful for so much. My life is rich with blessings. I am grateful for...

My husband Jaren Lance - I started falling for Jaren when I was 16 years old. Four years later, we were married for eternity. I'm so grateful that he chose me. He treats me like a princess. He lets me spread my wings and chase my dreams. I'm grateful for our growing love.

My family - I love my family so much. They have helped me to become the woman I am. My parents are my heroes and my siblings are my friends. I am so grateful that I get to be with them forever.

My friends - I have been greatly blessed with amazing friends that love me and love their Savior Jesus Christ. Each friend that I have had throughout the years holds a special place in my heart. They are part of me.

Education - I love school and what comes from education. I'm grateful for the opportunity that I have to go to college. My college years have been an amazing time for me. I have found my passion for social work and helping the people who need it the most.

Music - Music is a huge part of my world. It calms the heart and mends the soul. I am grateful for my talents and how music has touched my life.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ - I am a Mormon and because of this, I have been able to find true joy and happiness. I know where I came from, why I am here, and where I am going. Jesus Christ is my best friend. I am grateful for my religion and beliefs.

 

A Lasting Marriage

Happy 24th Anniversary to my Mom and Dad! They have been an example of what a lasting marriage can be like. They have taught me that marriage is hard but so worth it. With divorce rates rising and Hollywood making marriage seem less and less desirable, I'm so grateful to know that love can last. Marriage can work and be wonderful. And, like my Mom says, "it only gets better."  

Jaren and I decided to suprise my parents with a romantic dinner
for the two of them at our apartment. They loved it :)

The love birds themselves :)

On a side note... I am so excited for the CMA awards! They are tomorrow night. That probably sounds silly but I LOVE country music :)

The Benefit of the Doubt

Giving people the benefit of the doubt is liberating. This is something that has really hit me this past little while. A few things happened this week that could have hurt my feelings. During these times, it just hit me that these people are not "out to get me". I was able to take a step back and realize that what was done was not to hurt my feelings. I usually do not do this well at stepping into other peoples shoes, but this time I did and I learned a big lesson. I could have wasted my time pondering on what had happened. I could have felt bad and been mad at others. But, by giving them the benefit of the doubt, I freed myself of those feelings. It was liberating. I have found that it is really easy to look into what someone says or does and take it personally. Usually, what was said or done was not meant to come across that way at all. It sure does save a lot of grief to assume that nobody is deliberately trying to be mean.

Happy Halloween!

I love holidays! I get it from my mom. She has always made every single holiday fun at our house :) I guess it rubbed off on me. Jaren and I threw a Halloween party. Here are some pictures :)

Spooky treats :)

Football player and Ref

"Flo" from Progressive and a traditional German

A "Freudian slip", Bosie State Fan, and little cow

Wrestlers

BLAST FROM THE PAST!!! I love dressing up :)

Halloween 2009

Halloween 2010

Dance Party!

Okay, don't ask why I am posting these videos. They are quite embarrassing, but pretty funny :) Last night we hung out with our best friends Hans and Stephanie. They have been our best friends for 2 years! They live in Pocatello now, but we switch off driving to each other's apartments. We have so much fun with them! This is such a fun time of life for Jaren and I and so it is neat to have such good friends to share it with.

Last night we had a dance party. Don't watch if you don't want too haha. PARTY!!!!!

Daddy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DAD!! 46 years old! I love my dad. He is my hero. He is truly the most humble and controlled person I know. He is a family man. I can tell that he loves my mom. She is his queen. His children are his world. I saw this quote a while ago,

“Dad,

a son’s first hero

a daughter’s first love”

LOVE YOU DAD!

Shooting clay pigeons around Christmas 2007
This picture of my dad makes me smile :) Jolly man :)

23 years old

As I have mentioned before in my "Blessing of Life" post, I am a very sentimental person. I love life and I get sentimental about past stages I have gone through. I look back on special times and smile. Because of this trait, my birthdays have always been a very sentimental time for me. My birthday was yesterday and I am now 23 years old. I can hardly believe it. As I laid in bed the night before my birthday, I thought back to the past year of my life. A lot as happened. I have grown. I hope that I am a better person than I was on my 22nd birthday. I want to always be progressing.

My birthday was really fun! I am so grateful for my husband, family, and friends who made my day special. In the morning, Jaren made me a yummy birthday breakfast and then took me to the temple to do a session. In the afternoon, my mom sent me on a scavenger hunt throughout Rexburg to find my gift. The clues sent us everywhere from my first semester apartment at Birch Plaza to Chesbros Music Store. It was so much fun! My little brother and sister came along for the ride and were there to help us when we had trouble finding the greatly hidden clues. That night, my hubby took me to dinner and then watched a chick flick with me. Jaren watching a chick flick would equal a miracle :) He actually really enjoyed it!

I am so grateful for my life. Life is not perfect but it is beautiful. I only get one chance to live, I want to milk it for all it's worth ;)

My birthday present from Jaren
I have hardly stopped playing since I got it!

Birthday dinner

Driving around on the scavenger hunt

Special Weekend

Can I just say that I LOVE conference weekend?! It always seems like it's a holiday weekend. My family has always made it a really fun weekend. We do something fun for every session. For one session we have a breakfast, for another we do foot-rubs, for another we have a "conference party" (similar to a super-bowl party). And then, when the boys are at the priesthood session, the girls do facials and eye-brow waxing. When the boys get home, we have ice-cream sundaes and hear about what was taught at that session. We also try to go to condos or hotels over conference weekend sometimes. All of these things are quite silly compared to the real importance of conference, but it does make it really fun!

I love the feeling that comes into our home, when God's leaders are speaking to us. I know that we can get answers to any question that we have if we listen to conference with an open heart and mind. I have experienced this firsthand. Jaren and I have a particular question in mind as we listen to conference this weekend. I know we will get an answer. We always do.

The gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true.  I love it. God's prophet and apostles are speaking to us this weekend. How amazing! I hope I don't take that granted.

We had my family over to our apartment this morning for the conference breakfast
Picture of Mom and Zachy with the food :)

Dad and Adeline watching conference this morning

Busy Busy Life

Life is busy again. I love to be busy. Sometimes the line is crossed, where I have bitten off more than I can chew, but most of the time I feel good about all I have going on. School is going well for both Jaren and I. I also got a job a few weeks ago which is a blessing. I'll be a PSR worker for an agency called South Fork Services. I worked with my two bosses when I worked at the BYUI Student Honor Office and I love them! Work is going to fill up my schedule even more, but I'll learn a lot. Jaren's semester is a crazy one as well. He can easily do up to 80 hours a week of school (between classes and homework). We try to do something as a couple each day. The quality time I spend with Jaren keeps me going :)

Homemade chips and salsa + Monopoly Deal = Date night!

Homework party :)

It is also these really busy times of life when it is easy to put the most important things aside. Like really digging into the scriptures or serving those in need. I need to constantly check myself. Am I closer to my Savior today than I was a month ago? I need to remember what is more important than my homework. More important than my work schedule. More important than everything. My Savior.

   

DATE IDEA #1

Jaren and I love to go on fun yet cheap dates together. We have thought of and done some fun ones throughout our marriage! We always have an excuse to do something fun. So today, when we were thinking of something fun to do to celebrate school starting (ironic celebration), I decided that I wanted to start putting fun and cheap date ideas on my blog. I will include date ideas that Jaren and I think of ourselves, along with date ideas that we have heard of through other people or through other websites.

I'm really excited to start these "date idea" posts! You can always find a reason or excuse to do something fun with your honey :) Hopefully these posts will give some ideas that others can enjoy! Feel free to comment if you have any fun date ideas to add!

For my first "date idea" post, I am including a few ideas that we have done in the past... Let's start this out with a bang!!

Make homemade pizzas together then watch a movie

If it's raining outside, grab your honey and dance in the rain :)

Sparkling cider by candlelight is always romantic :)

When the weather is nice, go to a nearby lake and build a sandcastle

Volunteer together! It not only builds your relationship but it also serves those in need.

Pack a picnic and go to the park (don't forget to bring a Frisbee or football to throw around!)

This is an idea I got from another website. Surprise your honey with a movie night!
Rent their favorite movie from Redbox or Netflix (so cheap!) and then make a movie ticket to give to them.

This picture goes with the one above it.
Add some treats and popcorn to the movie basket that you surprise your honey with.

Ten Years Ago...

Ten years ago today, the United States of America was attacked. The events of that day brought much tragedy, sorrow, and fear. Loved ones were lost and the security of our home land was questioned. Our country was changed forever. Those personally affected are in our prayers on this anniversary.

I also believe that those tragic events brought us closer as a people. We bonded as a human family in our home country. It was on that day that many people became closer to God. It is during times of heartache, that we realize that we cannot do it on our own.

This video takes an inside look at one 9-11 survivor’s story. He found refuge in God and it is inspiring. 

Come What May

"The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavorable. FAVORABLE CONDITIONS NEVER COME.” This is a quote that we were given at orientation for my graduate program and it is the quote that I’ll be living by for the next year and a half. My program starts tomorrow. I have been a bit overwhelmed tonight. It seems as if the conditions are “unfavorable” to be starting a masters program right now. A graduate program means more debt. A graduate program means that starting a family any time soon would be much more difficult. It means more stress.

But, more importantly, starting a graduate program means following a dream. Starting a graduate program means that I can stretch myself in a different way. It means that I have gotten an answer from my Heavenly Father and He is okay with it.

So, come what may! I’m heading into this program full force and with a smile. Life can be hard, but I can do hard things.    

Low-Carb Craver #3... Mashed Potatoes

Time for another low-carb craver! Potatoes are one of the few vegetables that are very high in carbohydrates (probably the highest carb vegetable of them all). So what about the classic mashed potatoes and gravy side dish?! It’s my favorite. My mom emailed me a great idea for a substitute: cauliflower! Sounds crazy right? It was actually good! We just steamed some cauliflower, mashed it up, and put gravy on top. The only big difference between the mashed cauliflower and mashed potatoes (besides the amount of carbs of course) was the texture. The texture of the cauliflower was not as smooth as the mashed potatoes. We liked it though.

I’m totally fine with eating actual potatoes once in a while but this is good substitute when you don’t want to totally “carb-out” (as Jaren says J)

The Open Soul

One of the reasons why I started this blog was because I love to write. When you see a thought from your mind, come through your hands and onto paper it can be liberating. For me, writing is one of the ways that I express myself. A while ago I wrote this poem and I thought I would share. It is written about a principle that I believe is very important.

The Open Soul

The open soul,
Oh, the soul that can share
Inside lies the dark and the light,
Opening can bring hope and show care.

Nobody is perfect,
That is why we are here.
Open your soul to others,
They shall gain from your joy and tear

How can the soul be opened?
That is the question for all.
Opening our souls can be frightening,
How do we take down that wall?

And yes, there are the few we can open to,
The few to whom we can share
But oh! The growth we would feel,
If we widened our circle of care.

     -Sarah W. Dickey

Blessings Of Life

Today I went through two boxes that were full of memorabilia from throughout my life. I read old letters from friends and family. I looked at picture after picture of fun times throughout my high school years and my first semesters of college. I read entries in my past journals. As I went through those treasured items, I laughed and cried. I am a very sentimental person. I feel things deep within my heart. Life has been so good.

As I scanned through old journals, I read about some hard times. Those times ranged from boy drama my first semester of college to struggling with my testimony as a 14 year old girl. It was neat to flip forward in the journals after reading about a struggling time to see how I got through it. I guess you could say that I learned lessons from my past self today.

I also read about good times in those journals. It made me reminisce on some special and fun memories. I couldn't help but think of the fact that in a couple years, I will look back and reminisce on the stage of life I am in right now. Sometimes you don't realize what a special stage of life you are in until it is past.

I'm grateful for journals. For pictures. For faded and worn letters of encouragement and love from others. I want to get better at writing in my journal today. I want to continue to take many, many pictures. Then, in the future, I will be able to show my children and reminisce on the blessings of life.

Little me :)

My family :)

High School

With my siblings on Christmas Eve 2007

Summer at Snow College with my best friend Rachel



First semester at BYUI

Look for the good in life... it can always be found!

A Kind Deed

A kind deed. It makes you smile. It warms you from the inside out. Seeing an act of kindness makes me want to become better. Whether I am the recipient of the act or whether I see the act of kindness from afar, the result is the same. Since we have been back in Rexburg, much service and kindness has come our way. Our families have been helping us so much! They helped us move all of our stuff into our apartment, and have spent so much time helping us get everything organized. We are so grateful.

I hope to follow their example of service. I believe that one person can make a huge difference. One kind deed can change a life. It may seem small to you, but to the recipient of your small act of kindness, it is huge. I have noticed that I usually forget about the kind things I do for others, but the kind things that others do for me are embedded in my heart. They are a reminder of all the good in the world. Pass it on :)    

Leaving Phoenix

We are moving back to Idaho this week. Definitely a bittersweet situation. Our time here has been very special. We have been able to explore a new city and make some good friends. Jaren and my relationship has been strengthened. The thought of driving away makes both of us sad. I have a feeling that we will look back on our time here as a "summer from a dream." That is what it has been. Jaren just barely said, "You can't put your finger on it. There is not just one thing we loved about Arizona. We loved it all." The Lord has blessed us so much this summer. It has been really neat to see His hand guide and bless us in different ways. Isn't it interesting how much we are all "in debt" to the Lord? We can never pay him back. 

We are huge fans of Arizona now. We love it here. A man that Jaren met at his internship is taking him to meet with the director of admissions of the medical school down here this week (A BLESSING FROM THE LORD IN AND OF ITSELF). So who knows... we could be moving back to AZ in two years :) I'm just grateful that God is in charge.

Jaren and I are on to a new adventure. Even though we are sad to leave, it will be exciting to move into our new apartment and to be by our families again. I will be starting a masters in Social Work program next month as well as looking for a job. I'm also taking the social work licencing exam in a few weeks (very nervous!!) which will hopefully open up job options for me. Jaren will be going back to BYUI to finish his bachelor degree. Life is changing. Change is hard for me. But, I realize that without change, we would never grow. We would never learn or continue to develop. I have also learned that when change happens, I lean on the Lord more. So... bring on the change! ;)

Here are some highlights of our time here...

Our first horse race

Professional baseball game (Diamondbacks)

Baseball stadium

Us with our friends Taylor and Dean

So many good places to eat!!

Hanging out downtown

Morning hike

Resort swimming pool

Resort

Our FAVORITE frozen yogurt ever! We ate a lot of it while we were here :)

Dinner theater

Bowling night

At work (Sports Camp)

Cheesecake factory :)

Hanging out with our friends. Such good people!