Five Months Later...

Wow I have been terrible at keeping up our little love blog. From now on I hope to be better!  What's new? We celebrated our anniversary!!! That's about it.

Have you ever read in the scriptures a few verses that just STAND OUT? I have found more! I think that is the beautiful thing about scriptures...and marriage...the more you read them (even if it is the same verses over and over again) the more you learn. Same with marriage the more you put into your marriage, the more you serve...even if it means washing the same pair of jeans twice in one week, or doing dishes again and again, the stronger your marriage becomes.

We are experiencing this right now. I have found out that switching roles even slightly can be a challenge. D just started grad school...HOORAY!!! He isn't working during school, we didn't want to take our more loans, need I say more? and a job came to me at the perfect time. It has been a BIG blessing in more ways than one. I only work a few times a week for a few hours a day. I am grateful that it isn't a full time job because all the money in the world wouldn't be worth being gone from our little lady all day. So even though money will be tighter than ever, we will be okay. Little lady asked me to turn on this little video one morning and we watched it together...she watches it for "the little girl swinging on her belly on the swing."

http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=2119328537001 

To be honest I feel like one of the little children in the video. The father talks about how they expect food to be in the pantry when they open it, the crayons and toys they use, the clothes they wear are just there. All of it is provided for them. With D working I knew where our money was coming from that he was providing, but I never really felt the anxiety that he felt, that a father feels in needing to provide for the family. I never had to think If I miss work today we'll be short money this month. But I have felt that now, not to the same extent. This has helped me appreciate D more and I am grateful that one of his roles as a father is to provide for our family. Wow what a sacrifice that is.

So goal for each of you...Take a step back and think about the sacrifice that your husband makes for your family each day to provide the necessary things in life and vv. D and I, being in school since we got married, have always been pretty good with our money, we haven't had much and we have lived pay check to pay check for four years. We've really learned and still are learning to live within our means, buy the NEED not the WANT. It is hard sometimes, but worth it to us. We have been able to not fight over finances and know we are on the same page.

So back to that scripture that has stood out to me. And not it doesn't have anything to do with the above thoughts...Proverbs 31:10-12

"Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies."

"The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil."

"And she will do him good and not evil all the days of her life."

This is one of my live by scriptures. Virtue is one value that isn't well known in the world. It is a value that I believe should be known and practiced by all in our home and our lives.

Love Stories

Quotes, quotes, quotes. There are SO many quotes. I have been and still am a quote girl. I love writing quotes, reading quotes, and hanging quotes up all around (which I realize is missing right now in our house). This has been my newest addition which I painted on copy paper and hung up in our house. It is this...

Every love story is beautiful,

But Ours in my Favorite.

Growing up I liked watching chick flicks, and sometimes still do, they are fun and when I was younger I liked thinking about how my own love story would be. As we were getting ready to watch the movie I kept dragging my feet, I wasn't really in the mood to watch but it ended up being an okay movie :) I realized why I didn't really like it...because it isn't as good as our love life story!

One thing that D and I love to do, and I believe it is healthy for every marriage relationship is to look back and remember how your love story unfolded. We love talking about it and realizing more and more how the Lord guided us all along, through the hard and the wonderful times. We love going back to Rexburg Idaho. Beautiful, cold Rexburg is where we met. We love walking into the ballroom in the MC, going to Craigo's (now Pizza Pie Cafe) for some yummy cookie dough pizza. I could go on, but that's for another day. Simply remember. Choose your love and love your choice.

Home is Where We...

So I have been going through my college bin, looking at what assignments, talks, articles etc that I had saved. I came across one of my favorite classes, home decor! The first assignment of the class was to answer the question, "Home is where we..." Have you ever thought how to answer that question if you were asked? You could substitute many things in here, like marriage is...motherhood is....fatherhood is... and so on. Why not take the time to write it down, I find that reflecting on questions helps me to realize where my priorities are and where I want them to be. So here goes my list.

 Home is where we...
1. Are taught and teach our own children that God loves them. They are His children. He is their Father and He knows them individually.

2. Learn and teach our children that marriage is ordained of God and essential to His plan of happiness. We are created in the image of God. We each have a different plan, different struggles, but we have been given ways to make it through life and become who God knows we can be.

3. Gender is essential to God's plan, and we existed before as we do now, as a male or female...that never changed.

4. Learn and are reminded of premortal life (or life before we came to earth). We worshiped God and chose to follow His plan. Which meant we would come to this earth to gain a body and experience trials and tests that, with our choosing, will either bring us closer to Christ or farther away.

5. Learn that we can be an eternal family.

6. Teach our children about the sacred way in which children are created and that that sacred power is only to be shared between husband and wife after they are married. Teach it is a sacred thing that the world portrays as only for pleasure and getting gain.

7. Teach our children the wonderful roles of being a husband and wife, father and mother. Raise our children in love and righteousness. They learn rules, respect, discipline but in a way that is firm and fair, not degrading or abusive.

8. Help our children see how wonderful marriage is and children. Help them see that fidelity in marriage is vital and possible.

9.  Learn to pray, study scripture, keep the commandments, follow Christ and come to know Him.

10. Teach our children to stand up for what they know is right, even if it means standing alone. That means as parents you are committing to always stand up for the right even if you stand alone, because what you do speaks louder than what you say.

11. Learn to have fun together, to serve, learn to laugh, love, enjoy life!

The Sort of Getting to Know Us Post

Well, we are doing it. We are starting our little marriage and family blog. We hope you will enjoy it and maybe even take something from it...I know we certainly will! Like I said, I am in NO WAY an expert or a counselor, just a married woman with a lot to say.

D and I have been married for over 3 years. We met in our social dance class our first semester at school. We knew soon after that we wanted to marry each other, and after a few months of bumps and mountains we knew even more and got married in the Salt Lake LDS temple. We have a beautiful little girl who we sometimes call little lady. She has been the biggest blessing in our life! She keeps us moving, laughing, sometimes crying, and every day praying to be able to know how to teach her and for me not fear raising her in a world that is scary to me.

We are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, believe in God our Heavenly Father, in Jesus Christ, and in being able to be together as a family after we die. You may think me crazy...but why come this far through life, being this happy, having children, gaining experience and then at death have that all just end? I do not believe a loving Father would let it end, family is central to His plan and can bring the greatest happiness of all. Even if I you don't believe the way I do I hope you still stick around. 

One of my minors at school was in Marriage and Family studies. The classes, books, and studies we did in school have greatly blessed my life, our marriage, and helped me see even more that the world is a tricky place with society tearing family and marriage apart, but we do not have to be fearful. Take a stand against it by keeping your marriage strong, faithful, happy, and teach children.