Sunday, December 30, 2012

Also

The Friday before Christmas we had a work retreat.
All the clinicians and office staff from all 7 of our offices got together for a day of workshops and good food and good company. It was a lot of fun to finally meet some of the employees from the other offices and spend time together. It was also great to get some time with the CEO and owner of the company. Work can be busy, and it's nice to have the contact with him and re-catch the vision of why we do what we do.

And also, during the retreat, they gave out awards. 
And this happened.



I was surprised and very happy and grateful.
After all my hard work this year, it was nice to be appreciated. 

Christmas 2012

Another Christmas, come and gone.
Can you believe it's the 5th Christmas K and I have known each other, the 4th we've been together, and the 3rd since we've been married? Time sure flies!

We had a great, albeit short, Christmas vacation.

We drove down Friday night to Nate and Mel's. 
Saturday was spent doing some last minute shopping, and having our Hanson family Christmas dinner and sibling gift exchange. 
Sunday we went to church together, and then K and I drove to my mom's. (And we also visited Ish on our way down!)
Monday was spent watching Christmas movies and relaxing. We had Christmas dinner as well.
Tuesday (Christmas!) we spent opening presents, and then Kyle and I drove back to Nate and Mel's for a few hours to open gifts there, and eat dinner. We got back to Poky around 8 pm, I think.

We both got some clothes, some new shoes, and movies and treats. Kyle also got me a new dock for my iPod, so we can listen to music around the house. 

We had a great Christmas and are so lucky and blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful family and friends. 
We were so spoiled this year, and we are so grateful to everyone.
But especially our Savior, Jesus Christ.
He is the reason for the season, and the One who gives us all we have.

And now, some pictures from our Christmas!

Look of pure joy opening up her crayon maker.
Present from my dad.
Christmas morning. So hot right now.
My momma's pretty tree.
Sisters :)
So much love!

Liam got Angry Birds Star Wars Jenga and he loves it! He's showing it to his guinea pig Snickers, who is enjoying her new ball.

 Baby Claire enjoying Avery's new play tent.
Avery and I had a picnic with her new set.
Whitney loves reading with Uncle Kyle.
Avery still had a mouth full of dinner, haha.
Such a cutie.
Merry Christmas from us!

Monday, December 24, 2012

I Just Wanted to Say....


MERRY CHRISTMAS!

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6

Sunday, December 16, 2012

My Heart is Sad

My heart is sad today.

My heart is sad for the families and loved ones of those precious souls (both old and young) who were killed on Friday. 
My heart is sad for Adam Lanza's family, who is now having to cope with not only a dead mother/wife/sister/aunt and a dead son/brother/nephew, but also with a barrage of hate against that same son/brother/nephew.
My heart is sad for those who got worked up over the "Wear Pants to Church" event, and who let their self-righteousness get the best of them and condemn those women who started the event to hell. 

I'm going to try to condense my thoughts by doing numbered paragraphs.

1. An article has been going around entitled "I am Adam Lanza's Mother" that I really appreciate. I will add the link, but it is written from the view point of a woman who has a 13 year old with a mental illness who has threatened to kill her and himself multiple times and is currently being placed in a mental facility. She discusses that mental health should be something more talked about. And I agree wholeheartedly. While I don't believe that blame should be misplaced - it was Adam that pulled the trigger - a myriad of things could have happened in his life that led to his making that decision, whether the decision was truly his or not.
In my Adolescent Development class at BYU, our final unit was on school shootings. We took all the different aspects of development during the adolescent years and used them to help see just what might influence someone to do that.
Say the young man had a difficult temperament to begin with, add on a family who enjoyed hunting together and owned guns, add on a liking for violent video games and the ability to get his hands on them, add on a bad break up, add on a mental illness that wasn't detected, add on being bullied - and he just might crack and no longer be in control of his decisions. 
My heart hurts for all those that don't count the shooter as a victim. Please, think before you talk. Please remember that that family lost loved ones as well. Please try not to judge.


2. That said, it is a horrific thing that happened. And many heroes were made that day. I really enjoy this quote by (Mr.) Fred Rogers that has been going around:

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers — so many caring people in this world.”

It's so true. Let's try to focus on all those caring people who are the helpers after a tragedy occurs. That is what I want to teach my children.


Let's remember that those little ones are with Christ now.
And pray that He will help comfort those that were left behind.

3. The "Wear Pants to Church" event. This has been spreading like wildfire. Everyone has an opinion. Some are not so nice. One of the main founders of this movement (entitled All Enlisted) is Stephanie Lauritzen. She blogs as the mormon child bride and I have been reading her blog for about 3 years now. She is witty and good with words. She is LDS. She struggles with her place in the Church. 
She posted a blog post yesterday that made my heart ache.
She didn't start this out of malice or with the spirit of contention. She is genuinely trying to find a place in the Church. She is trying to give a voice to those, who  like her, may feel outsiders in a religion the love so very much.
While I don't always agree with her, I see what she is trying to do, and I applaud her for her courage. And I am so sad that there are those of us, who are church members, who would send hateful comments her way. That is not the Gospel as I understand it. 

In summary, 

My heart is aching for those who are misunderstood in all aspects of life. 
Let's try to be more understanding, and less judgmental in all of our daily doings. 
Let's think before we speak and act, and be more Christlike.
My testimony is that that is what Christ would want us to do. 
Let's help build up our fellowmen.


Saturday, December 15, 2012

Some More Deets and Pix

^ I'm really good at abbreviations.


Here's a quick outline of my weekend in Utah.
Friday: got off work early, drove to Utah, joined Mel at her RS Christmas Party
Saturday: Got up early and drove to Kaitlin's house where I met 7 of my closest internet friends in real life. You all know about my MG's. These are my second group of MG's and I love them. We did a white elephant gift exchange and it was hilarious.

Top: Kaitlin, Katie, Kristin, Lara, Melissa
Bottom: Me, Michelle, Heather
Kaitlin in her sweater - I got her gift in the white elephant exchange -  a matching sweater! Loved it.
Then I went and visited my good friend's Matt and Milanne and their baby Ayla!
Then I went to Claire's 1st Birthday Party at the Aquarium!
Me holding Claire and watching the penguins!

Holding Claire and watching the rays and the fish.

Then I went to the MG Christmas Party at Lindsay's apartment. We had a favorite things gift exchange, which was the best idea ever, and just chatted before leaving to drive home in scary snow.
Top: Leanna, Adrianne, Annika, Danielle
Bottom: Me, Steph, Natali and Lindsay

Sunday was church time and nap time and dinner with the family time.
Monday was Sarah's wedding (which I already posted pictures from) and then I went to lunch with Mel and Jess (and Avery and Claire and neighbor girl Lily) at Olive Garden. And then I drove home.

I have the best family and friends ever.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

DECEMBER

Is anyone else shocked that it's practically half way through December already?? Where does the time go? I for one am excited about Christmas in a few weeks.

And before I go on and tell you about my weekend, here are a few pictures you've been missing.
K and I. Yes, that is the result of me doing my hair and Kyle shaving at the end of no-shave November.
Our pretty Christmas tree!
My snowmen craft! Love them!

 And now, let me show you pictures of my weekend down in Utah. I went down for lovely Sarah's wedding. Oh how I love that girl. And Tyler. He's pretty great too :) I spent a lot of time with friends and family and loved every second of it! (Except for maybe that scary hour long drive from downtown SLC to West Jordan in a snowstorm at 11 pm. But you know. Other than that....) 

Me and the Avery!
Claire turned 1!
Enjoying her cake :)
That smile! So mischievous. 
Claire loves her cousin Liam.
Playtime!
Can't get enough of this cutie.
Claire and her adorable smile. Love this little one.
The color turned out weird in this one, but I love it anyway.
Sarah and Tyler got married :)
It was snowing and cold but you can't even tell. Sarah was a champ and looked beautiful!
Me and Niccole and Stefanie - love these two!
Me and my BFF the bride!
And again.

It was cold!
I couldn't leave without taking a picture of the Temple in the snow!

 A funny thing to note. After the ceremony, the sealer handed the marriage certificate to Sarah and said, "here's the deed to your property". I started cracking up, it was so funny! 


 Stay tuned for some more details and pictures from my weekend in Utah!

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

In Case You Didn't Know

I'm obsessed with Les Miserables.
And need it to be Christmas NOW so that I can go see this movie.



Monday, December 3, 2012

12/3/12

Saturday night Kyle and I went out on a date. It has been a little while since we've gone out specifically for a dinner date, so I was excited.
We had dinner at Johnny B Goode's, a 50's type diner. Their burgers are to die for, and it was fun sharing orders of tots and fries, and a delicious caramel shake. Yum! When we got there we originally were sat at a table, but a large family came in and we were asked to move to a booth, which wasn't a problem. However, the nice father of the family paid  for our shake. How nice! I am touched by people who do little things like that for others. 
After dinner we visited the pet store and looked at the puppies, and then went on a drive around town looking at Christmas lights. It was a great night, and it made me extra grateful for Kyle.


In other news, we decorated for Christmas. 
Here's our tree in all it's glory.


And also, I got crafty. Love my snowmen!



......
Nevermind. Blogger is telling me I've used up all my storage.
Gotta find a way to get around it. 
Help?

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Thanksgiving Break

Thanksgiving! One of my favorite holidays. The family, the food, the atmosphere. It's all pretty fantastic. I was able to have both Thursday and Friday off, and we had a great weekend down in Utah.
Fun things included lounging around my mom's, eating a wonderful and delicious Thanksgiving meal prepared by my momma, Black Friday shopping (the clothes! the CD's! the movies!) with Ayisha, eating Chick Fil A, visiting Grandma Hanson in Price, checking out the new Gap Outlet in Lehi, hanging out with Nate, Mel and their kiddos and Alan and Jess and Claire, eating In N Out, and just relaxing and being together.

We didn't take any pictures.

But we had a great weekend.

Happy (belated) Thanskgiving, everyone.



I am thankful for my life, the Gospel, my family, and my amazing Kyle.
I am so blessed, and God is good.
My life is great.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

5 Things

1) Last night was YW in Excellence and I was able to speak. I spoke to the girls about Personal Progress, and how the habits and skills they develop while earning their award will bless their lives and most importantly, lead them to the Temple. I shared a (long) quote from President Uchdorf's talk "Happily Ever After" and struggled to keep my composure. I love my girls. I want my girls to be happy and to go to the Temple and to feel the love and peace of the Lord. I love my calling.

2) Kyle and I went and saw Skyfall last Saturday. It was SO GOOD. I've liked the other James Bond movies alright, but I loved this one! It was more reminscint of a Batman trilogy type of movie (including that creepy Silva who reminded me of the Joker) and I enjoyed it so much. Really. Go see it. Now.

3) Last night I had a dream that our country was in a civil war because of states seceding and we were in a bunker type place. A little scary. But also a little funny that I dreamt about it.

4) Kyle and I are back on the Pretty Little Liars bandwagon. I get realy worked up about Aria and Ezra's relationship. I know I shouldn't approve, but I love it so much. I yell at my TV. 

5) Lastly, I am SO EXCITED FOR LES MISERABLES. Holy crap. I cry during the trailers. I get the chills. I want to see it right now. SO EXCITED. AHHHHHHHHHH.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Luke

I found out last night that another friend of mine has passed away. His name is Luke Bateman, and he was a great friend of mine in high school. I'm sad that he's gone, but I wanted to share some memories I have with him, to celebrate the life he lived. I hope you will indulge my little trip down memory lane, in memory of Luke.


****
I don't remember exactly how or when I met Luke. The majority of my memories come from the first few months of my senior year of high school. One of my best friends at the time was Jamie Pond. We had been YCL's at Girl's Camp that summer (2006) and had become really close. Jamie started dating Luke, and I was dating Braden. Both were on the football team, and so we naturally spent time together.
****
Homecoming 2006. Braden took me, and Luke took Jamie. We had a huge group for the dance, all of our closest friends, and I can honestly say it was the most fun dance I went to all of high school. We went to a BYU football game, had dinner at Caleb's, Braden's mom took our pictures, and the dance was at the Provo Towne Centre. The four of us spent the majority of the time together, took a bunch of pictures, and had a lot of fun.
Luke and I at Homecoming
Luke and Jamie at dinner
Jamie and I
Our group - Luke in the back middle
****
That same semester Luke and I had Photography 1 with Mr. Cramer together. Oh my heck. That class was hysterical. Luke and I talked throughout the class, and often went out to do photo projects together. We cracked jokes constantly.We passed notes back and forth, and talked about relationships. During the course of the semester Luke and Jamie broke up, I believe, as did Braden and I. We were able to chat and give advice and be there for each other. (Because as you know, break-ups are hard in high school.)
****
I have a specific memory of hanging out with Jamie and Luke. It was a late night - perhaps after a football or basketball game? Or just a hang out session in general. For one reason or another we were in north Orem, and as we drove down to south Orem, we stopped at every Wendy's on the way - I know there are at least 3, maybe 4. I don't know why we did that, but it was so fun. The same night Luke and Jamie would kiss at every red light or stop sign, and it cracked me up every time. At one stop sign they played chinese fire drill, and ran around the car. I just remember laughing and laughing and laughing, being with the two of them that night.
****
I'm sure I have a ton of notes in a box somewhere, from both Jamie and Luke, describing their relationship (and other important high school things, of course).
****
There was also a specific party that Luke, Jamie, Braden and I attended and just hung out together. The four of us got along so well, and always had a great time.
****


In general, Luke was just a great guy to be around. He was one of those large, cuddly, teddy bear type of guys, with a huge heart. I have some regrets - I regret not staying in better contact after high school. I regret not asking him more about his life. I regret not knowing what was happening in his life that made him decide to take it.

But I am grateful I had the chance to know Luke and to be close to him, even for just a small period of time. I'm grateful for his friendship, and his smiles, and the laughter he shared and inspired.
I know Luke was loved by so many, and that he will be missed so much.

Until we meet again, my friend.
Rest in peace.


Online obituary here.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

The Monthly Update

(where monthly really means whenever-I-decide-I-want-to-update)

We are busy.
I know everyone is busy.
But we are busy.


Kyle: A over half way through the semester. He is enjoying his classes, mostly, but it's definitely not his favorite semester class wise. He is still interning at one site two days a week for about 5-6 hours each day, is doing one hour of intern at SOH, is working 10 hours a week at SOH, is busy planning activities for CSI, is busy in his calling as a counselor in the Elder's Quorom, and is always being awesome. He generally leaves the house around 8 or 9, and gets back between 6:30 and 9, depending on the day. He is the hardest worker ever. He is currently looking into different schools' PhD programs.... And other options..... So we'll let you know how that goes.

Me: I got a promotion/change in my job last week - and it came into effect on two Mondays ago. They decided to merge the front office and the billing office, and I am now the manager of the new combined department. My desk has moved over to the front desk area, and one of my billing employees was promoted to be my assistant manager, and she moved into my office in the billing department. She is going to keep the billing portion afloat while I take hold of the front office and learn all the policies up there. This week went by pretty fast, and I think things went pretty well. I am enjoying it. The majority of my work experience has been in front office and customer service type settings, so this is not too new to me. Other than that, I am still loving my calling of being in YW. And of course there is always the never ending list of things to clean in my house.

********

I typed that up last week. And never posted it. I feel like there is more I should blog about, but I can't think of anything. I worked 50 hours this week. That was.... ok. Although I came home on Friday with a sore neck/shoulder, and it's gotten worse :(

But what else have we been up to outside of the above mentioned things? I guess I can update what we did for Halloween. Neither K nor I are big lovers of Halloween. Two Friday's ago was the Counseling Department's Halloween party, which we went to, and was a lot of fun. We love our friends there. Kyle made his famous sugar cookies, and I helped chase around our friend Kasi's little boy, Enzo, who we just love. On actually Halloween we went and grabbed Costa Vida, then watched the Jazz season opener on TV (basketball season already, what?!).
Yesterday I went to Super Saturday, which was a bunch of fun. We had two women in the ward talk about the spirit of Christmas, family traditions, and we learned how to make chocolates. We had a delicious lunch of meatball marinara subs, with some salads and desserts. Then it was craft time. I didn't finish all my crafts (a menu board, three varying sizes of wooden snowmen blocks, coasters) but I will post pictures later when I do finish them. I love our ward so much, and the friends I/we have made there.

And with that little update.... That is the end. I'm so sorry for the boring state of my blog.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Craters of the Moon

When Kyle and I drove back from our weekend in Hailey/Sun Valley, we stopped by Craters of the Moon Monument. I haven't posted the pictures yet, so here they are!