Not Surprising

So, it turns out that even the idea of everyone knowing I failed, wasn't enough to get me to accomplish the goal mentioned earlier. Did I read? Yes. Did I read it all? No. Did I read consistently? No. But do I know that when I read my scriptures my day goes better? Yes. So maybe I'll try to use that as motivation. Who knows....but I'll keep you posted.

Anyway...

Life as of lately: James and I are in the process of buying a duplex. It needs a bit of TLC, but with a little elbow grease and a lot of work, we'll have a nice place to live and a rental property! After all the fixing up is done we will have two units with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms each. How great is that?! It's in a good neighborhood and a great school district and I am just so excited! I'm not going to lie, it's kind of weird to be doing something so.... adult. As if recently buying our first car wasn't grown-up enough, now we're doing this??? Since when am I old enough to buy a house? Last time I checked, I was still a teenager who had no major responsibilities.... (I don't really feel that way, but it still is a little weird to think that we're buying a house, you know?)

*SPOILER ALERT* Speaking of being grown up... James and I went to the midnight showing of Breaking Dawn Part 1!! (Because we're grown-ups and we're allowed to make decisions like that haha). I loved it! Were there some parts that I think could have been portrayed better? Of course! I mean, I have watched the entire series in my head while reading the books so obviously there are some things that I think could have been done better due to my pre-conceived ideas of how things should have been done. Did Kristen Stewart act the way I hope she would have when she saw Edward at the alter waiting for her? No. But was the wedding Gorgeous and everything I could have imagined?? YES! So I can overlook the small details. I think Kristen Stewart did do a good job of acting like a selfless mother though; willing to sacrifice her own life for the life of her child, and being overjoyed at the mere idea of bearing a child. I think she did well in that regard. I think Robert Pattinson did a great job bringing Edward to life as well. He really brought the emotions that I had hoped to see come from a man who thinks he may lose the love of his life.  And I was so happy with where they ended part 1. I was afraid it was going to be a horrible cliff hanger, but they wrapped it up nicely and you could tell there was more to the story, but it wasn't so blatantly obvious. I was afraid it would be like, Bella screaming in agony, Edward pulling something out of her belly, and then BAM black screen and all you here is "Renesme" *roll credits*. But that's not how they did it, and I'm glad.  They did take some liberties and deviate from the books a bit, but not too bad. Overall, I really enjoyed it and I cannot WAIT for part 2 now.

Well, that's all I have for now. I will keep you posted and hopefully I'll be able to write "We got the house!" next time. But we'll just have to wait and see....

Book of Mormon Challenge

I am a member of one of the BEST wards in the world! Everyone there is so close to their Heavenly Father, we do everything together, everyone attends the activities, and since it's such a small ward, everyone knows who you are and cares about how you are doing.

There's a Sister in my ward who has started "The Book of Mormon Challenge" and so many people in the ward have accepted the challenge (even me). It's a challenge to read the entire Book of Mormon in 30 days. Now, normally, this would not be something I could do, but since there are so many other people doing it, and the support system is so stong, I really think I can do it!!!

I also thought that telling everyone about my goal would make me more determined to accomplish it, so here I am, letting everyone in Blog Land (everyone who cares anyway) that by June 30th I will have read the entire Book of Mormon cover to cover. Wish me luck!. If you want to join me, feel free. I have the BOM Challenge blog in the list to your left. It has the break-down of what we're reading and when. I plan on writing in this blog every day during this challenge and I hope to have something that I learned to share with you each day. I guess we'll see how it goes...

Talk to you tomorrow. 1Nephi 1:1... here I come!!!

Seattle

So, as some of you do (and some of you probably don't) know.... WE LIVE IN SEATTLE, WA NOW!!!! I know, I know, it was quick and unexpected for us too. But let me just tell you, never have I felt the Lord guiding my life more than in the last month or so.
In Seattle, there is an electrician's apprenticeship (for James) and there is also an Interpreter Training Program (for sign language interpreters) (for me). So when James and I were deciding where we wanted to be for the next little while (while building our careers) this was one of 3 possibilities. Well, we prayed about it, and decided on Seattle. Then we went to the Temple and prayed to have an answer whether Seattle was the right decision. The Lord sometimes whispers to you your answers, but sometimes He whacks you over the head with them... this was a whack over the head. In our session, there were two deaf couples!!! I didn't realize this was the answer 'til about half way through the session, but then it hit me... DUH!!! WAKE UP!!!! Here's your answer honey! I was sitting next to someone who one day I hope I can interpret for. My dream job, was was sitting right next to me! (they are the deaf liaisons for the L.A. LDS Temple). What other answer could I assume this was than a YES! So that was it, We got the answer, I gave my 2 weeks notice, and on August 25th, we moved to Seattle. No jobs, to prospects, thank goodness James had come up earlier and found an apartment. Within two weeks we both had jobs, and life has been going pretty smoothly since then. I have never had everything fall so perfectly in place before. I know our prayers were answered and the Lord has been helping us every step of the way. We are in a wonderful ward, our jobs are great, and James' apprenticeship program has already scheduled an interview to meet him. LIFE IS GOOD!
Nothing really new beyond that. We don't technically live in Seattle, though. We live in Renton, to be exact, but it's pretty close to the Emerald City. Sorry I don't have any pictures for this post. The camera was a little difficult to find at first. But next time... I promise.

Kindness

Today, James and I ran a few errands. Now, normally, that wouldn't really be a blog-worthy activity, however, today it was. First we went to the bank to deposit my check. Then on the way out of the shopping center, we decided to go to Starbucks. Another car was heading to the drive through as we got there, but we let him go in front of us. No big deal, it didn't make us wait too much longer. Well, we pulled up to the window to pay and to our surprise, the driver ahead of us had paid for our order as a thanks for our courtesy. How awesome is that? This stranger, absolutely made my day!!! I want to be more grateful every day. Instead of focusing on the butt-head driver who cuts me off, maybe I will focus more on the kind driver who lets me merge in front of them. Maybe I'll be able to make someone's day like that random driver did to mine today. Just a little something to think about.

Family

I am so grateful for all the family members I have. And now that I'm married, I have even more family to be grateful for. James and I recently went up to St. George to take family pictures with his side of the family. It was so much fun!! It was the first pictures we have taken of the WHOLE family in maybe 3 or 4 years. When I first met James, his brother Elmer was on his mission, then James left before Elmer came home, and then when James got back, his sister Holly had moved to Virginia (her husband is in the navy) so it's been nearly impossible to get together for pictures. We had an amazing photographer that James' sister Hanna has known for a while. Her name is Donalee Walker. She was fun and energetic, and gave plenty of instructions to get us into the best poses. I love how James' entire family has welcomed me and immediately and completely made me feel part of the family. I love all my family members. Every single one of them has their own special place and role in my life and I wouldn't trade any of them for anything. Anyways, just thought I'd share my feelings on family, the most important thing in my world. And yes, James is most definitely included in the "family" category, even though "husband" is my favorite title for him haha. Here is one of the pictures Donalee has posted on her facebook account. Check her out! She really does a great job.

Jena made this video and I just HAD to share it. Hope you enjoy as much as James and I did!! Featuring Jena, Travis, Grandma, James, and Jade

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So Long....

So, I'm pretty sure that I'm not so good at this whole blogging thing. I guess I just don't feel like I have much news to give. But now that I really think about it, I guess I have some news.
First, James and I are planning on moving to Oregon. We're taking the weekend to check some things out up there and to see what our chances are as far as getting jobs. Cause as of right now, Cedar City has absolutely no job market. Also, if we do move to Oregon, James will be attending UBI. It is a school devoted to bicycles. He will be taking two courses. One will cover anything and everything to do with bike repair, building, maintenance, etc. The other course will be shop management. So that's what we are planning for right now. James hates his job, so if nothing else, moving to Oregon will help him be happier just from having a different job. I'm looking forward to that. I miss my happier husband. (He's still amazing and wonderful and perfect. I just want him to be happy again).
Other news: my cousin, Jenni Sue, is having a baby girl!!! Her name will be Alexis, and she will definitely be the cutest baby girl EVER (especially according to Aunt Danielle, who is the grandmother). Aunt Danielle has been wanting a grand baby for SO long, and she is finally going to get her wish. I can only imagine how much that baby girl is going to be spoiled. I can't wait to meet her!
Well, other than that, I don't have much news. For any of those thinking of moving to Cedar, my only advice would be to MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A JOB FIRST! I mean, I don't have one, and the only one James could find was swing shift at a sausage manufacturer. So yeah... Cedar City=Dead End.

Oh, one more thing. I told you I would put up pictures of our new table, but really you only need one, so here it is!



James' mom, Carla, made us the place mats and napkins as a wedding present. Overall, I really like the way it looks. I made the napkin rings and pleated the napkins myself. I got the idea from Davis and Becca's wedding luncheon.