I seem to have the worst luck flying anymore. In fact I joke that I can’t live back east because every time I try to fly back there something goes wrong. But this time it happened on my way home!!! I went to leave for my trip home and everything was going smooth. I made it through security and they started to board the plane and then the plane must have done something naughty because it became grounded and they were deboarding my plane. (Well…. Actually it was fog in Atlanta but naughty planes is much more interesting.) I went to see if I would make my connection in Atlanta and they told us all that we were fine. Then they announce that if you are going to these 7 different connections that you need to come talk to customer service. I go up and the guy tells me the next available flight lands in Phoenix at 11:00 PM the next day. I am supposed to be home in time for Marc to get the priesthood the next day and so that is just not going to work. I ask him what time the flight leaves and if I have ANY other options. He says the flight leaves at 5:50 AM and that I don’t. I do the calculations and realize I have about 12 hours before my plane is supposed to leave the next morning and I tearfully tell him to change my flight. He prints off my new boarding pass and I walk away. (Now… up to this point the customer service guy has been less than helpful and I am not impressed at all. He would be like midsentence with someone and then answer his cell phone and was very rude to everyone. Well actually he never became more helpful. Back to the story…) I look at my boarding pass and it says I am landing in Phoenix at 11:20 AM. Well now I am just confused because he clearly said PM when he was talking to me. It also said that my flight was leaving from gate ?. Now I don’t know if you have ever tried to find gate ? but it is really hard. I think it is next to gate ; but I couldn’t be 100% sure. So I called my personal travel agent (Melissa) and ask her to check my flight for me. I want to know which gate and when the thing actually lands. Sure enough it does land at 11:20 AM (that is a good thing) but it still out of gate ? (not a good thing). So I joke around with Melissa and my Mom as I call home and tell them that I am not coming home that night. Marc wasn’t as easy to joke around with….he was a little upset with it. I can’t say I blame him but I needed to find those silver linings. Anyway, at one point I asked my Mom if she wanted the good news or the bad news first. She says the bad news and I tell her that I am not coming home that night. She asks what the good news is and I say that I don’t have to worry about looking like Frankenstein the next morning at breakfast. Marc’s family was planning on coming over for breakfast and for those of you who have ever had the privilege of seeing me get out of bed…. I am so sorry. I do look like a very scary version of Frankenstein. Anyway, so I knew that I would be spending my morning in the airport and so I wouldn’t have to worry about frightening the future in-laws. I also said that I would just spend the 12 hours in the airport. I kept calling it a “bloggable moment” and said that I had been looking for one and this was my chance. I needed a new adventure and I was a big girl now so I would be just fine. I was all set with my plan. I didn’t want to spend the money on a hotel and to go home would be a little ridiculous because it would take 2 hours to drive one way and that meant adding 8 hours to someone else’s day and I just couldn’t do that. They would have but I figured I would be just fine. I called Melissa to tell her that G.T. would be picking me up from the airport and she was worried about me sleeping in the airport. I kept trying to convince her that I was fine and everything was good and then the mice came out. Yes I did say mice and not mouse. There were 2 very friendly mice. (When I told my family this story later they said I should have fed them or talked to them or made friends with them like Cinderella. But if I fed them they would have never gone away and I am not crazy enough to talk to rodents and mice are gross!!) So anyway, I was on the phone, probably midsentence, and I see the mice and start freaking out. Melissa at this point told me she was booking me a hotel and I didn’t argue with her this time, especially when I could hear a 3rd one coming to visit his other little furry friends. So I went to tell the closet TSA agent that the airport had mice and he casually told me they were the airport mascot. GROSS!!!! YUCK!!! DISGUSTING!!! I left that terminal so fast… I was probably a blur.
So I went outside and caught the shuttle to the hotel and stayed the night there is a nice big bed, with no mice, and not having to worry about other people being there while I slept. It was wonderful. It did take me awhile to get to the point where I was warm enough to sleep though. I woke up early and went to the airport and tried this whole leaving thing again. I made it all the way home and made it to be able to see Marc get the priesthood and I was so grateful I did. It was wonderful to spend the day with my family and his family and get to be there for all of it…. Well most of it…. Well some of it. (I was really late!)
So some side notes to this already ridiculously long post. On the way to Atlanta there were these two women who I swear were still stuck in high school even though they were clearly in to the airport and tried this whole leaving thing again. I made it all the way home and made it to be able to see Marc get the priesthood and I was so grateful I did. It was wonderful to spend the day with my family and his family and get to be there for all of it…. Well most of it…. Well some of it. (I was really late!)
So some side notes to this already ridiculously long post. On the way to Atlanta there were these two women who I swear were still stuck in high school even though they were clearly in their 40s. They needed some tips on how to dress modestly… it was disgusting! I also found out that I am planning my wedding ALL wrong because I was planning like this lady’s niece. Her niece is planning her wedding and had the audacity to ask the women in her bridal party what they wanted to wear. Apparently she should have just dictated all decisions. I have also asked the women in my bridal party and so I am going to apologize for asking their opinion…even though I am still basing my decision on it. I also found out that it is atrocious that I don’t know exactly what I want to be when I grow up. Apparently following the Spirit and knowing I will figure it out eventually is not good enough. Silly people on planes. They do make the trip really interesting though. I don’t think this will be a trip I forget for a very long time. But I am hoping the plane ride back goes a little smoother than the one out here did.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Religion
I am taking a religion class this semester and it has given me a chance to look at different religions. I must say this class has taught me lots of trivia but it has also allowed my testimony to grow that much more. It reminds me on a daily basis that I know that the gospel is true. I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God. I know that there is one God. I know that his son and my Savior and Redeemer died for me on the cross and was resurrected three days later. I know that I can repent for my sins. I know that I will one day be able to return to my Father's presence. I know that God is my Heavenly Father and that like a Father he cares about me and loves me. I know that he knows me personally. He knows my struggles and heartaches and joys and fears and triumphs and hopes and wishes. I know that the scriptures are true. I know that we are lead by a prophet today that is the mouthpiece for the Lord. I know that we have stake presidents and bishops and other leaders that are called of God. I know that I am a child of God. I know that I can be married and sealed in the temple for time and all eternity. I know that I am so grateful for my religion class and the constant reminder to me that I know what I know without a doubt.
First Prayers
Kaelen has been saying family prayers with us for a while. He folds his arms and kneels on the ground with the kids. At meals it is usually one are folded while the other is still shoving food down his throat. But he does participate with us all the time. The other day he was sitting at the counter eating and Melissa and a friend were talking and Kaelen caught my attention. He motioned for me to fold my arms and I did. He then bowed his head and waited for me to follow suit. He then said his first prayer. "Thank you. Amen." It was by far the cutest thing ever. We said multiple prayers after this. Just short ramblings and then we would put our head back up. Tonight I tried to help him say the prayer and he was frantically waving at me as I said it wrong. But his first prayer hit me very strongly. His first prayer was absolutely perfect. How many times do I forget to be thankful for everything in my life? How many times is it Lord I need thine help?
I talked to my nursery kids on Sunday about saying prayers. I explained to them about how we need to thank our Father in Heaven but we can also tell him about our day. It made me look back at my personal prayers. There are times that I forget or neglect to talk to my Father in Heaven about the daily challenges and joys of my day. I was so grateful for my little friend and the reminder he gave me of what my prayers should be. I owe a lot to him and the reminders that he gives me on a daily basis. Sometimes he teaches me to just enjoy life. There will be moments where I am stressed out about school and he will come and sit on my lap. This now makes doing school basically impossible. My initial reaction is to become more frustrated. But how can you get upset when you have such a cute rugrat wanting to cuddle with you? How can you get upset when he just wants to spend time with you. It makes me sit back and realize that all of those little moments are so important. I realize now that I want to be remembered as being the type of person who took time for those rugrats. They teach me so much and I am so grateful for that.
I talked to my nursery kids on Sunday about saying prayers. I explained to them about how we need to thank our Father in Heaven but we can also tell him about our day. It made me look back at my personal prayers. There are times that I forget or neglect to talk to my Father in Heaven about the daily challenges and joys of my day. I was so grateful for my little friend and the reminder he gave me of what my prayers should be. I owe a lot to him and the reminders that he gives me on a daily basis. Sometimes he teaches me to just enjoy life. There will be moments where I am stressed out about school and he will come and sit on my lap. This now makes doing school basically impossible. My initial reaction is to become more frustrated. But how can you get upset when you have such a cute rugrat wanting to cuddle with you? How can you get upset when he just wants to spend time with you. It makes me sit back and realize that all of those little moments are so important. I realize now that I want to be remembered as being the type of person who took time for those rugrats. They teach me so much and I am so grateful for that.
Jorden
Jorden is one of the most literal people I know. That boy makes me laugh constantly with all the different things he can come up with. The other day I was hiding upstairs working on school. He came in to come see me and I had just started my math test. He came and sat at the foot of my bed. I told him that if he was going to be in the room he needed to be quiet. He says okay. He sits there for about 15 seconds and then whispers to me, "How was your day Aunt Ohleo?" It was quite possibly the cutest thing ever. I laughed and told him that I had just started a test and so I couldn't talk. I meant more no talking when I said be quiet but I guess I could have been more specific!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Gratitude
Life lately has been a little crazy for me. It hasn't been anything earth shattering but really hard for me to juggle. I feel like I have been running out of steam and it frustrates me. I have always looked up to the women around me. I have such amazing examples of womanhood. I always felt like the women around me were perfect. They never struggled, they never doubted, they never had a bad day, they had perfect marriages and never disagreed with anyone, they had perfect hair, and had a perfect schedule, and everything always went according to plan, and they simply were perfect. I couldn't ever figure out what was wrong with me because I had bad days, and things don't always work as planned and sometimes I felt like I couldn't walk any farther. I had one of these days on Sunday and I was supposed to teach nursery. I wasn't sure if I would be able to deal with nursery and I needed more spiritual uplifting than what nursery could offer me and my amazing sister stepped in and allowed me to go to Relief Society. I was so grateful to her and I am grateful for the example that she has given me over the last year and all of my life in fact. I am grateful for the strength that she has. I am grateful for a mother who has shown me so much love over the years and is now one of my best friends. I don't know what I would do without her and I never want to find out. I love that I can call and talk to her about anything at anytime and how supportive she is of me. I am grateful for all the other women and the examples that have been set for me.
I have started blog stocking people's blogs and am so grateful for the opportunity to be part of these women's lives. I read about their joys and their struggles and it makes me admire them that much more. I read as they post their testimonies or things about Christ and the gospel. I grow so much closer to these women that I don't know if I would have the chance to any other way. I learn from them that these struggles are a way of growing, (which I knew but those reminders never hurt!) and that growth is a good thing. That on those days that I struggle I need to look at it from the what-can-I-learn-from-this point of view. I usually can have a glass half full approach but there are those days where it feels like the glass is completely empty and when that happens it is nice to have those reminders.
Most of these women I had contact with when I was younger and the relationship was not compatible to hearing about the trials and struggles that they had. I mean you usually don't tell your 13-year-old babysitter that your week has been really tough! And now, I look forward to each time they post and an opportunity to know them better. I grow knowing that it is okay to have a bad day or it is okay to not have all of the answers. It is okay to feel like you are walking through a dark tunnel, as long as I have the faith that there will be a light at the end and I just have to hold my Savior's hand and he will guide me. I know that this will pass and that I am being taught lessons now that will be used in days to come. I know that I don't go through any of my trials alone.
I realized today that as I get older and become a "big kid" (as I am not quite to the adult stage) that one day people could look up to me and I wondered what type of example I would be setting. Would I be that amazing woman in Relief Society that, though isn't perfect, has a testimony and knows her Father in Heaven loves her, that there is a plan and she must have faith? Would I be someone to look up to? I realize that most of you don't ever know that girls like me are watching or what we see, but I wanted to tell the women in my life that I am so grateful for you. I am grateful for the example that you have given me. I am grateful for the strength that you each possess and the love that you have. I am grateful for the support that you have shown me over the years and how quickly you have all come to my aid in times of need. I am grateful for the love that you have for your children and other children and allowing me to part of their lives. There are so many things that I could thank you for but the tears in my eyes, thinking of how special you all are to me, are making it hard to see.
I will end by a quote that I read while at a YSA fireside on Sunday and it was exactly what I needed to hear that day and so maybe it will something that someone else needs to hear today. This was a fireside given by Sister Dalton and she talked about not always needing all of the answers and I loved that thought!
"I feel to invite women everywhere to rise to the great potential with you. I do not ask that you reach beyond your capacity. I hope you will not nag yourself with thoughts of failure. I hope you will not set goals far beyond your capacity to achieve. I hope you will simply do what you can do in the best way you know. If you do so, you will witness miracles come to pass."
- Gordon B. Hinckley
This post might be a little random and out of the blue from the typical pita-making entries but I have really struggled with life lately as it has been super stressful and I took a moment to read through blog posts today and I read ones that were the exact thing that I needed to hear. And after knowing that those were an answer to my silent prayers, I was filled with this overwhelming gratitude to those women in my life. Each of you have such a great impact on my life and I am so grateful for you. Thank you for being a part of my life.
I have started blog stocking people's blogs and am so grateful for the opportunity to be part of these women's lives. I read about their joys and their struggles and it makes me admire them that much more. I read as they post their testimonies or things about Christ and the gospel. I grow so much closer to these women that I don't know if I would have the chance to any other way. I learn from them that these struggles are a way of growing, (which I knew but those reminders never hurt!) and that growth is a good thing. That on those days that I struggle I need to look at it from the what-can-I-learn-from-this point of view. I usually can have a glass half full approach but there are those days where it feels like the glass is completely empty and when that happens it is nice to have those reminders.
Most of these women I had contact with when I was younger and the relationship was not compatible to hearing about the trials and struggles that they had. I mean you usually don't tell your 13-year-old babysitter that your week has been really tough! And now, I look forward to each time they post and an opportunity to know them better. I grow knowing that it is okay to have a bad day or it is okay to not have all of the answers. It is okay to feel like you are walking through a dark tunnel, as long as I have the faith that there will be a light at the end and I just have to hold my Savior's hand and he will guide me. I know that this will pass and that I am being taught lessons now that will be used in days to come. I know that I don't go through any of my trials alone.
I realized today that as I get older and become a "big kid" (as I am not quite to the adult stage) that one day people could look up to me and I wondered what type of example I would be setting. Would I be that amazing woman in Relief Society that, though isn't perfect, has a testimony and knows her Father in Heaven loves her, that there is a plan and she must have faith? Would I be someone to look up to? I realize that most of you don't ever know that girls like me are watching or what we see, but I wanted to tell the women in my life that I am so grateful for you. I am grateful for the example that you have given me. I am grateful for the strength that you each possess and the love that you have. I am grateful for the support that you have shown me over the years and how quickly you have all come to my aid in times of need. I am grateful for the love that you have for your children and other children and allowing me to part of their lives. There are so many things that I could thank you for but the tears in my eyes, thinking of how special you all are to me, are making it hard to see.
I will end by a quote that I read while at a YSA fireside on Sunday and it was exactly what I needed to hear that day and so maybe it will something that someone else needs to hear today. This was a fireside given by Sister Dalton and she talked about not always needing all of the answers and I loved that thought!
"I feel to invite women everywhere to rise to the great potential with you. I do not ask that you reach beyond your capacity. I hope you will not nag yourself with thoughts of failure. I hope you will not set goals far beyond your capacity to achieve. I hope you will simply do what you can do in the best way you know. If you do so, you will witness miracles come to pass."
- Gordon B. Hinckley
This post might be a little random and out of the blue from the typical pita-making entries but I have really struggled with life lately as it has been super stressful and I took a moment to read through blog posts today and I read ones that were the exact thing that I needed to hear. And after knowing that those were an answer to my silent prayers, I was filled with this overwhelming gratitude to those women in my life. Each of you have such a great impact on my life and I am so grateful for you. Thank you for being a part of my life.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Self-Esteem
Last night I had a growing experience. Well at least a learning experience. I had a chance to go shopping with Megan last night and I had a blast. We were at Kohls and we were looking at clothes. We went to this rack that on one side had those silly slogan shirts. The ones that are and orange looking at a glass or orange juice and saying "Mom?". Or the one that says I am not short I am fun sized. (I have decided for the record that I think I want one of those shirts just for the fun of it. I want to claim I am fun sized!) Anyway, so those types of shirts are over there and then on the other side are some punk-like hoodies. I noticed that there is a sign saying that the Self-Esteem hoodies are on sale. So I start looking for ones that say something that would boost your self-esteem. "You are absolutely gorgeous today." "Why yes I am having a fabulous hair day!" "Why yes, I do look 5 lbs lighter." Or something like that. I mean what else would a Self-Esteem hoodie be? (As a disclaimer, I obviously don't get out very often. I either go shopping with five kids, which is not the funnest experience of your life and definitely not very good for goof-off girl shopping. Or I would go with Marc and though I love him dearly, he is a boy and just isn't as fun to go shopping with. Or I would go by myself, which is also not very fun. So I have stuck with online shopping. So I am little naive when it comes to the real world.) Anyway, I wanted to find what hoodies were on sale because I LOVE hoodies. But I can't find any so I ask Megan, "What is a self-esteem hoodie?" She asks me if I am joking to which I sheepishly respond that I am not. She laughs and tells me that Self-Esteem is a brand name. Oh..... I confessed that clearly I live a very sheltered life. So then I bought one because they were on sale and I have always wanted a punk hoodie but they are always super expensive. So now I have educated you so that when you see a Self-Esteem hoodie, you won't be looking for the ones that have feel-good messages on them.
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