there have been 3 announcements today over the loud speaker regarding student cars.
the first one was about a black bmw.
the second one was about an audi.
the third one was about an acura.
oh private school...
Lilypie First Birthday tickers
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
long weekend
as i hope all of you did, i really enjoyed my long weekend.
friday night, matt and i went to dinner (he treated me to mexican, since it's my all time favorite and i can never get enough of it) and then we watched megamind. it was good but i was a little disappointed, it was slow. but we enjoyed a night together!
then saturday we ran some errands, got the oil changed in my car, and enjoyed a relaxing day doing a lot of nothing. we watched little fockers, which i had seen before but matt had not and i like that movie a lot. again, we just had a good day!
then sunday of course was good- it was sunday! church was great and afterward we went to a wedding shower for our friends sarah and david. it was a couple's shower at the brides grandparents home which is on lake murray in chapin and absolutely beautiful!! i cant believe they are getting married in just 4 weeks!
then monday we went couponing. i prepared the night before and early that morning (by early i mean 7:45, that's when the dogs woke me up). we ended up saving 56% by the end of the day- i think that's pretty good. we got a bunch of random stuff too but all stuff we needed- i only bought it if it was on sale and i had a coupon (or if my coupon was about to expire). then we went home, took a nap, and grilled hamburgers before we left for charlotte.
so all in all you may find this to be a very boring post about a fairly uneventful weekend- but that's exactly why i documented it. i do not have another free weekend left in the summer. seriously. there is something on my calendar everyweekend until august and then i will have a baby. so i needed a way to remind myself that life is slow sometimes and those times are great! and they come rarely for me so when they do, theyre worth mentioning.
friday night, matt and i went to dinner (he treated me to mexican, since it's my all time favorite and i can never get enough of it) and then we watched megamind. it was good but i was a little disappointed, it was slow. but we enjoyed a night together!
then saturday we ran some errands, got the oil changed in my car, and enjoyed a relaxing day doing a lot of nothing. we watched little fockers, which i had seen before but matt had not and i like that movie a lot. again, we just had a good day!
then sunday of course was good- it was sunday! church was great and afterward we went to a wedding shower for our friends sarah and david. it was a couple's shower at the brides grandparents home which is on lake murray in chapin and absolutely beautiful!! i cant believe they are getting married in just 4 weeks!
then monday we went couponing. i prepared the night before and early that morning (by early i mean 7:45, that's when the dogs woke me up). we ended up saving 56% by the end of the day- i think that's pretty good. we got a bunch of random stuff too but all stuff we needed- i only bought it if it was on sale and i had a coupon (or if my coupon was about to expire). then we went home, took a nap, and grilled hamburgers before we left for charlotte.
so all in all you may find this to be a very boring post about a fairly uneventful weekend- but that's exactly why i documented it. i do not have another free weekend left in the summer. seriously. there is something on my calendar everyweekend until august and then i will have a baby. so i needed a way to remind myself that life is slow sometimes and those times are great! and they come rarely for me so when they do, theyre worth mentioning.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
really tired of limbo
as most of you know, matt and i are SERIOUSLY in limbo right now and frankly, i'm getting tired of it.
yesterday, i had my first breakdown since being pregnant. honestly, i have had no emotional symptoms of pregnancy. i was even able to play the organ for a funeral of a very loved child of a very loved friend and not cry. but yesterday, not so much luck.
here is the short of it: i am not going back to my job. i am done in 2 weeks (june 10). matt just graduated 3 weeks ago. he will be the only worker in our home. he does not yet have a job. therefore, we do not know where we are going to live for this coming year (i always think of years in school years- i'm a teacher).
now typically, this would only be a minorly stressful situation. NO ONE with a teaching degree has a job yet. (okay maybe like 2 people, but seriously, no one). schools don't even know how many jobs they will need filled yet. schools work on a very late and stressful calendar- but you deal, cause it's what you signed up for when you checked "education" as your degree.
well, i'm almost 31 weeks pregnant. and THIS is why it's SO stressful. and here is the story of the breakdown...
we went to the doctor yesterday for check-up (everything is perfectly normal, including my weight gain- yay!). he asked if we had registered yet at the hospital. this is when my heart started pounding. yes, we have, but are we really having him in charlotte? i do not know. i did not cry then but when we got in the car, i did. there are just SO many uncertainties in our life right now. like where will we live? where will he be born? will i have to switch doctors in the last month of my pregnancy? when will be able to move? will we be able to buy or will we need to keep renting?
i have all of this baby stuff, including furniture, and it's all just in boxes. everything i read says this is the prime time to get the nursery ready and things like that. well, you kind of have to have a house to have a room to make the nursery to get it ready. this baby currently has no where to sleep or live. it's very stressful.
so if you see me around and i look like i'm stressed beyond my capability to handle, i currently am.
yesterday, i had my first breakdown since being pregnant. honestly, i have had no emotional symptoms of pregnancy. i was even able to play the organ for a funeral of a very loved child of a very loved friend and not cry. but yesterday, not so much luck.
here is the short of it: i am not going back to my job. i am done in 2 weeks (june 10). matt just graduated 3 weeks ago. he will be the only worker in our home. he does not yet have a job. therefore, we do not know where we are going to live for this coming year (i always think of years in school years- i'm a teacher).
now typically, this would only be a minorly stressful situation. NO ONE with a teaching degree has a job yet. (okay maybe like 2 people, but seriously, no one). schools don't even know how many jobs they will need filled yet. schools work on a very late and stressful calendar- but you deal, cause it's what you signed up for when you checked "education" as your degree.
well, i'm almost 31 weeks pregnant. and THIS is why it's SO stressful. and here is the story of the breakdown...
we went to the doctor yesterday for check-up (everything is perfectly normal, including my weight gain- yay!). he asked if we had registered yet at the hospital. this is when my heart started pounding. yes, we have, but are we really having him in charlotte? i do not know. i did not cry then but when we got in the car, i did. there are just SO many uncertainties in our life right now. like where will we live? where will he be born? will i have to switch doctors in the last month of my pregnancy? when will be able to move? will we be able to buy or will we need to keep renting?
i have all of this baby stuff, including furniture, and it's all just in boxes. everything i read says this is the prime time to get the nursery ready and things like that. well, you kind of have to have a house to have a room to make the nursery to get it ready. this baby currently has no where to sleep or live. it's very stressful.
so if you see me around and i look like i'm stressed beyond my capability to handle, i currently am.
Monday, May 16, 2011
the eternal blessing of marriage
yesterday, i spoke in church. my assigned topic was "the eternal blessing of marriage". if you would like to read my talk/testimony of this sacred union, i have included my talk below. it comes straight from my heart and i needed to post it today to remind myself exactly how blessed i am in most everything in my life even if some of it right now feels like it is crashing down.
I have been a member of the church my entire life. My mother was raised a member and she always took my sister, Katie, and me to church. My dad was not religious at all but he supported us and our mom in everything we did for the church and would always come when she spoke or for the primary program or things like that. My dad was always a good man and father. He worked hard and loved our family, but something was always missing. I remember right before my 8th birthday crying to my mom because my dad couldn’t baptize me and my grandfather had to do it instead. I just couldn’t understand what made my dad not want to do for me what all of my friends dads had done for them.
As one of my birthday gifts for my 8th birthday in February of 1996, I got the game “Book of Mormon Quest”. We played it a lot for family home evening. At first, my sister and I would answer the questions for my dad but as the year progressed, he started knowing the answers for himself. It was the summer of that year that he told us he was going to take the missionary discussions. It took my dad 5 months with the missionaries before he committed to be baptized but in November of 1996, after 11 years of marriage to my mom and at the age of 41, my dad became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was a fast Sunday that he was baptized and still 88 people in our ward came to see it happen, it was that big of a shock for so many. That next June, my dad was able to baptize my sister and 6 months after that, in December of 1997, my family was sealed together for time and all eternity in the Atlanta, Georgia temple.
Although my memories of my dad pre-baptism are few, I distinctly remember things changing in our home after he was baptized and even more after we were sealed. There was more happiness and peace. I don’t have a single memory of my parents fighting. We tried to have regular family home evening, scripture study, and prayer. My mom had always been so involved at our school and in our lives but I remember how much more my dad became involved, especially when we were in high school- and he was bishop then. He did not miss a single band competition or concert and watched at least a couple of rehearsals for marching band each week. Katie and I both graduated from seminary and received our personal progress awards- largely due to the support and encouragement we received from home, from 2 parents who knew for themselves the truthfulness of the gospel and ensured that their girls did too. I have no doubt in my mind that everything about my life would be different had my dad not made the decision to join the church when I was young.
Joseph Fielding Smith, the tenth president of the church, said the following: “No ordinance connected with the gospel of Jesus Christ is of greater importance, of more solemn and sacred nature, and more necessary to the eternal joy of man than marriage in the house of the Lord.” Ezra Taft Benson, 13th president of the church, said: “Faithfulness to the marriage covenant brings the fullest joy here and glorious rewards hereafter.” Gordon B. Hinckley, 15th president of the church, said “Our Father in Heaven, who loves his children, desires for them that which will bring them joy now and in the eternities to come, and there is no greater joy than is found in the most meaningful of all human relationships: the companionships of husband and wife and parents and children. And that companionship will endure beyond life if the parties to the marriage live worthy of the promise.” All of these quotes from modern day prophets have one word in common in regards to eternal marriage and family: joy.
I don’t think anyone would disagree that life’s greatest joys are found in the family. Strong family relationships require effort, no doubt about that, but with that effort brings great happiness in this life. Why would our Father in Heaven not provide a way for that happiness and bond to continue throughout the eternities? The good news is He did. And it is available to all those who will listen to and heed his word. In our Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness, a man and woman can be sealed to one another for time and all eternity. Those who are sealed in the temple have the assurance that their relationship will continue forever if they are true to their covenants. They know that nothing, not even death, can permanently separate them.
So what really changed about my dad? Was it that he no longer drank coffee? Or maybe that he now got up with us on Sundays and put on a suit and drove us to church? No. It was neither of those things. It was the fact that he had gained an eternal perspective, particularly about family. As Latter-day Saints we are living with an eternal perspective and not just in the moment. We can receive blessings in this life as a result of being married for eternity. Elder David A. Bednar said “The ultimate blessings of love and happiness are obtained through the covenant relationship of eternal marriage.” One of those blessings is the sheer knowledge that our marriage can last forever. Nothing can separate an eternal marriage except for our own disobedience. This knowledge helps us work hard to have happy and successful marriages. A second blessing is knowing that our family relationship can continue throughout eternity. Knowing this helps us be careful in teaching and training our children. It also helps us show them greater patience and love. As a result, we should have a happier home while here in mortality. A third blessing is that because we have been married in God’s ordained way, we are entitled to an outpouring of the spirit on our marriage as we remain worthy.
We can receive great joy because of our eternal family relationships. Trials and hardships become easier when we share them with our families. Our lives become richer and more enjoyable because of the love we share. And we feel a great peace and comfort because we have the assurance that we can be together forever. All of these blessings are contingent upon our righteousness. Couples must center their lives in the gospel of Jesus Christ. As couples help one another keep the covenants they have made, attend church and the temple together, study the scriptures together, and kneel together in prayer, God will guide them. Their companionship will sweeten through the years; their love will strengthen. Their appreciation for one another will grow.
Heber J. Grant, the 7th president of the church, said: “The blessings and promises that come from marriage, for time and eternity, in the temple of the Lord, cannot be obtained in any other way. When Latter-day Saint men and women participate in that sacred ordinance, together they find that their eternal partnership under the everlasting covenant becomes the foundation upon which are built peace, happiness, virtue, love, and all of the other eternal verities of life, here and hereafter.” I have a personal testimony of the truthfulness of this statement. I have seen it in my childhood and now, as an adult in my own marriage. Matt and I were civilly married in July of 2009, just 3 months after he joined the church. We were sealed together in the Orlando temple almost a year later, in June of 2010. Our marriage has been so blessed since then. As much love as we thought we had before, it only grew and filled our home more. And by the end of this summer, we will have the great blessing of bringing a baby into our home, who will be born under the covenant and ours forever. I cannot imagine a sweeter blessing than knowing our growing family will be together throughout the eternities.
the atlanta, georgia temple. where my family was sealed in december of 1997.
the orlando florida temple. where matt and i were sealed on june 5, 2010.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
bouncing baby boy- baby shower #1
my first baby shower was 2 weeks ago today. it was SO MUCH FUN!! my mom and sister threw it for me and all of my school friends were invited. we played lots of fun games and really enjoyed the afternoon together- especially since i dont get to see a lot of these girls very often. and baby evan and i really racked up on the gifts! these girls know how to shop (duh... they're college girls). here are some of the pictures. some highlights from the games and some with my favorite people!
2 of the games we don't have pictures of. (well i think someone does but, it's not me). for the first game, everyone passed around yarn and scissors and had to cut a piece the length they thought my belly size was. the rule was you couldn't go over, well my mom was the only one who didn't! so we went the closest over. people think i'm a lot bigger than i really am, but i was happy to prove them wrong!
the other game we don't have pictures of was called "hidden baby evans". they had printed baby boys on little stickers (the same baby boy as the invitation) and put them EVERYWHERE. you just had to run around the house and outside and collect the most stickers. some of the girls were crazy! that's why i love them though.
one of the games was the diaper game. you had to identify what candy bar was melted into the diaper. the only thing about it- they look SO gross!! here are some of the best photos from the game:
kaitlin is not liking that diaper!
grammye wasn't scared
and this just captures the absolute grossness of the diapers.
the actual contents of the diapers
in another game everyone had to go outside and pop balloons. there were lots of balloon and some of them were empty while others had tiny pacifiers, bottles, or even little babies! whoever got the most loot, won! some of the girls were going crazy, i just observed.
the beginning (there were balloons everywhere. this picture does not do it justice)
this might give you a better idea, just by looking at the aftermath.
then we came back in for presents! i came home with a car full of stuff! everything from bibs to spoons to a turtle sandbox! and my baby bag (beautiful!) and 2 little night dresses for me to wear in the hospital and all sorts of other goodies. we are so blessed to have such giving friends and family!
baby stuff is oh so cute!
everyone loves to look at all the cute baby stuff!
some of the damage. this really doesn't do it justice.
so many beautiful friends came. i love them all so much! most of them are my sorority sisters. we really had the best time together. we ate, laughed, played games, and just mainly enjoyed each others company.
everyone at the shower
me and one my sai sisters, who last weekend became dr. pandolfino!
these 2 sai sisters were the first friends i made in college. i love them both so much!!
me with the hostesses. my sister and my mommy.
my grammye, mom, me, and sister
another sai sister- kaitlin! came from charlotte to celebrate.
meredith definitely wins the prize for travel though! she has been my best friend since 6th grade and she came all the way from atlanta for the party. seriously don't know what i would do without her and our other 2 best friends in my life.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
graduation!
this past weekend was full of eventfulness! friday was matt's 27th birthday, saturday was his and katie's graduation, and sunday was mothers day. we had a wonderful time with my parents, his parents, and my grandparents all in town for the events!
on friday, for matt's birthday, we grilled steaks and salmon and ate outside at our house. matt got a really fun game from my parents called "quelf". we played it for a while and had a blast! it's hilarious. he got some ties and a shirt and money for his birthday too, all good stuff!
saturday was the big event. in the morning, matt, both of our dads, and a friend, jacob, went golfing. i was proud of matt because he didn't get a sunburn, he actually kept his hat on! then they came home, cleaned up, and we headed to the colonial center for graduation. it was his and katie's graduation. matt graduated with a masters of music education and katie with a bachelors or music with an emphasis in music education and a performance certificate on bassoon. they both graduated with honors too! after graduation, we all came back to our house and had a low country boil. it was delicious and fun.
sunday was mothers day. matt got me some beautiful flowers (they are in my dining room right now) and katie got me a cute shirt that says "new mom 2011". church was wonderful as usual. we had an especially amazing talk given by an especially amazing 10 year old girl. there was hardly a dry eye in that congregation! what a spirit and what a sweet and wonderful girl. matt's parents left before church and mine left the night before to stay in charlotte with my grandparents. we were sad to see everyone go but so glad everyone could come and visit. it was a GREAT weekend!
here are some pictures from graduation:
on friday, for matt's birthday, we grilled steaks and salmon and ate outside at our house. matt got a really fun game from my parents called "quelf". we played it for a while and had a blast! it's hilarious. he got some ties and a shirt and money for his birthday too, all good stuff!
saturday was the big event. in the morning, matt, both of our dads, and a friend, jacob, went golfing. i was proud of matt because he didn't get a sunburn, he actually kept his hat on! then they came home, cleaned up, and we headed to the colonial center for graduation. it was his and katie's graduation. matt graduated with a masters of music education and katie with a bachelors or music with an emphasis in music education and a performance certificate on bassoon. they both graduated with honors too! after graduation, we all came back to our house and had a low country boil. it was delicious and fun.
sunday was mothers day. matt got me some beautiful flowers (they are in my dining room right now) and katie got me a cute shirt that says "new mom 2011". church was wonderful as usual. we had an especially amazing talk given by an especially amazing 10 year old girl. there was hardly a dry eye in that congregation! what a spirit and what a sweet and wonderful girl. matt's parents left before church and mine left the night before to stay in charlotte with my grandparents. we were sad to see everyone go but so glad everyone could come and visit. it was a GREAT weekend!
here are some pictures from graduation:
the master and me
the master, me and his parents
a graduate sandwich! all of us are usc alumni now!
the graduates, me and my parents
the one in the glasses is my dear friend shelley
here is one without the glasses. we are all in her bridesmaids!
the real princess grad
katie with our grammye and poppie
katies blinged out cap! she did an awesome job!
sisters
Thursday, May 5, 2011
school baby shower
i am SO behind on posting. holy moly. oh well. blame it on the fact that everything i want to post about requires me to download pictures from my camera and since i don't really have a personal computer right now, that's a difficult task.
anyway, here is something very current! like 2 hours ago current.
there are a billion teacher pregnant at my school right now (no i think just 6 but still, that's quite a lot!)
well for 3 of us it's our first baby so they threw a baby shower for all of us today during break (we have a schoolwide 20minute break everyday- oh private school...)
it was so sweet and thoughtful. they had cake with our names on it and congrats (a chocolate and white one) and punch and salty treats. and they got us all a gift! 2 outfits, socks, a book, a toy, and a sweet cross for each of us. there was me having a boy in july, a girl having a girl due in 11 days (and her baby bump is smaller than mine...) and a man who's wife is due in june with ??, they didn't find out. since he was the only one without a baby bump, he came in late and had a volleyball under his shirt. it was really funny.
this has been the best place to work. all of the faculty and staff here are so nice and happy! i never hear teachers complaining about, well, anything that has to do with their job, which is nothing like other schools i have worked in. i will really miss these people when i leave, even though i have only been here a little while (since the beginning of november). i am very blessed to have worked in such a great environment!
anyway, here is something very current! like 2 hours ago current.
there are a billion teacher pregnant at my school right now (no i think just 6 but still, that's quite a lot!)
well for 3 of us it's our first baby so they threw a baby shower for all of us today during break (we have a schoolwide 20minute break everyday- oh private school...)
it was so sweet and thoughtful. they had cake with our names on it and congrats (a chocolate and white one) and punch and salty treats. and they got us all a gift! 2 outfits, socks, a book, a toy, and a sweet cross for each of us. there was me having a boy in july, a girl having a girl due in 11 days (and her baby bump is smaller than mine...) and a man who's wife is due in june with ??, they didn't find out. since he was the only one without a baby bump, he came in late and had a volleyball under his shirt. it was really funny.
this has been the best place to work. all of the faculty and staff here are so nice and happy! i never hear teachers complaining about, well, anything that has to do with their job, which is nothing like other schools i have worked in. i will really miss these people when i leave, even though i have only been here a little while (since the beginning of november). i am very blessed to have worked in such a great environment!
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