I'm behind on my blog posts. So much has happened in the past two weeks that I'm not sure if I'm going to make one large post or several smaller ones close together. But I want to record and report Stephen's and my life, so forgive me as I backtrack a bit in order to catch up.
The days leading up to Thanksgiving were busy school-wise. I wrote several research papers, did a lot of reading, and celebrated after each assignment was complete. Stephen worked hard on homework too, and at the end of Tuesday night, we both took a sigh of relief after finishing our work. Wednesday morning, we picked up my brother and sister and drove down to St. George. We ate lunch with my family and then completed our drive to Page, Arizona, where my grandparents live.
It was a nice holiday, full of food, games, and thank you cards. (For those waiting on thank you cards, I promise they're coming! For anyone who has had to write thank you cards after a wedding, please sympathize for me like I now do for you.) I enjoyed spending time with my family, and having Stephen there was like bringing my best friend on my vacation. He fits in with my family really well, but still reminds me that I'm special to him when I get distracted. Stephen has taught himself to take quick breaks from whatever he is doing to come kiss me and tell me he loves me before returning back to his work. It's those little reminders that help our relationship be great. Stephen played a lot of games over the break too, a well-earned pastime after all he's done.
Thanksgiving meal was delicious. My grandparents invited the missionaries over, and it was fun to chat with them. The food was great, and I was able to help out a lot too. It was fun for me to watch my mom and grandma cook and feel a part of a matriarchal tradition. The day after Thanksgiving, my family and I helped my grandparents decorate for Christmas, something I was glad to assist in. Because we'll be spending Christmas in Meridian, we haven't decorated our apartment much for the holiday. We set up some Christmas lights, and we have a tree made out of lights that use to go in my grandparent's lawn. It's nice to have a little bit of festivity. I hope to put up some more decorations soon and decorate our front window. Our window looks out to the stairwell, and with so many people walking past, I think it would be fun to do something cute there.
Friday afternoon, we drove back to St. George, where Stephen and I stayed at my friend Janice's house. We also went on a date that night with some of my high school friends. I was really grateful Stephen fit in so well with them. He joined in easily and joked along with the best. I have missed my friends, and spending time with them just goofing off and playing games was wonderful to me.
Saturday, my sister Susan went through the temple for the first time. That was a wonderful experience too. She'll be going on a mission to California in January. It was nice to do a session in the St. George temple and go see the sealing room where Stephen and I got married in. We then went to a wedding reception and spent Saturday night hanging out with my family. Sunday we went to church and then had a birthday dinner for me. My mom's meatloaf is one of my favorite meals, and she went all out for me. I felt very special. Thanks, Mom!
During the weekend, I also sorted through my boxes of old stuff. I would consider myself a sentimental person, though Stephen may say I just don't like throwing anything away. I keep most of the notes anyone gives to me, and found a large pile of letters from my youth and teenage years. They were fun to read through. I explained sentimental items to Stephen, who was patient as I went through half a dozen boxes of random stuff. My first CD player (which is broken), trophies from my story telling days, t-shirts from every church activity I participated in, school binders, toys and trinkets, and much more. It was fun to remember things and nice to purge and only keep what was actually important. I shrunk several boxes down to one, though I still have a few more to sort through because I ran out of time.
After Sunday dinner and birthday cake, my siblings, husband, and I drove back up to Provo. We began classes again that Monday, and for anyone going back to school after a holiday, you'll understand how hard it is to mentally get in the schoolwork mode again. It's like the school system is teasing me, showing me how nice time off is, and then yanking me back to papers, quizzes, and tests. Stephen and I both have a lot due at the end of the semester, and have decided to just plow through as best we can and hold on until Christmas. Honestly, I think the week before finals is more stressful than the actual finals week for me. It seems to be a trend every semester. Humanities classes have a lot of final papers and then less important tests.
But Monday was special for me because I turned 22! It was unfortunate that I had to spend most of my day in classes. Stephen made the day wonderful for me by surprising me over and over. He brought me flowers in the morning after picking up some milk and cereal. He got presents without me knowing and gave me a water bottle, an electric heating pad, chocolate, some videos, red boots that are still shipping here, and candy canes for a craft I want to do (Honey, if I'm forgetting something, I'm sorry). For dinner that night, Stephen and I dressed up in nice clothes and wore our fedoras out to Denny's for my free birthday meal. We've decided to make it a thing to wear fedoras just because we can. We did that once before a few months ago when we went for a Sunday walk and played in a park.
But the best part of my birthday came as a complete surprise to me. Stephen and I have a class together Monday evenings, and after class, he wandered a bit and told me to follow him. He led me into the JSB's auditorium, which was empty. I asked him what he was doing, but he just smiled at me. Stephen walked me to the front of the room where a piano sat. I grabbed a chair and sat next to him as he told me he had been practicing a song for me. He then played Jon Schmidt's All Of Me, one of my top favorite songs ever. This was the song I heard in middle school for the first time and decided nothing would be more romantic if my future husband played it for me. This was the song I asked Stephen to play for me before our first kiss. This was the song I had offhandedly mentioned several weeks ago that he should practice and play for me sometime, not thinking anything serious of it. Stephen has spent time in between classes and after group project meetings practicing All Of Me for me. I felt the sentiment so strongly that I couldn't help but cry a bit as he finished up. It was just so loving of him, and so thoughtful and considerate and special. It took me a minute to gain my composure after he finished. Stephen just held me while I tried to express my gratitude through tears.
Even though Stephen made my birthday absolutely amazing, he still thought it would be a good idea to have a fun date the weekend afterwards. I bought us tickets to go to the Festival of Trees in Salt Lake, and we decided to also attend the Salt Lake Temple during our trip. We considered eating out and going to Ikea and wandering around there, too. For anyone who has been paying attention to the weather lately, Utah decided to have a snowy winter. It dumped a lot on Tuesday, and the weekend looked like another storm was coming. On Saturday afternoon, we got in the car and started driving. It was snowing lightly and had been for a few hours. The freeway was slushy and icy in parts. We debated quickly if we should continue to Salt Lake or bag our tickets and stay home. Stephen and I crossed our fingers and went forward, not wanting to miss out on the temple (Provo's temple is closed for construction for the month).
Half way through our drive, the snow let up more, and we made it to the Festival just fine. I loved looking at the beautiful trees and Stephen humored me and encouraged me to take the time I wanted. When we were done there, we went to the temple. It started snowing again, so after finding parking, we rushed inside. Doing a session in the Salt Lake Temple was amazing! It was such a neat experience! Stephen thinks he saw Elder Oaks. We found out we got in at the last session for the day. The temple was going to close early because of the weather. Apparently the storm became worse while we were inside. When we came outside, we realized they were right. The roads were pretty bad. Our car is light, and as Stephen drove us out of the parking garage and towards the freeway, we slid a few times. We drove with our hazard lights on and had to accelerate very slowly in order to keep traction. Just before the freeway ramp, we decided to stop at a gas station and say a prayer.
The freeway was just as bad as the city. We crawled along slowly, following the path left behind by others. We joked at trucks and large vehicles who created their own lane among the edges in the piles of snow. "You dance to that drum!" We encouraged the free spirited drivers. It was scary at parts though. Vision was getting worse and we passed by an accident as it happened when a car spun into a truck next to us. At that point, we were afraid of the rest of the drive and began making phone calls. We got in contact with my Aunt Diane who lives in South Jordan. When she answered, I said, "So, we're driving home in the storm from Salt Lake and we're not sure it's safe enough for us..." and before I could finish, she said "come on over!" We left the freeway and found her house. It was nice to get out of the cold and into a warm, safe home. She had the bedroom ready for us and turned on the fireplace to warm us up. My aunt made dinner for us since we hadn't eaten yet and made us feel welcomed and at home. We were both grateful for her hospitality, especially at such short notice.
We slept much better there than we would have in our car, and woke up Sunday morning to clear skies. We were able to drive home safely and have time to get ready for church before it started. Overall, we looked back at our decision and felt that while it was risky to go to Salt Lake, the experience we had at the temple made it worth it. We felt smart to stop and wait rather than attempt to drive more in the weather. We now know better than to drive into a storm, but felt the protection and blessings from attending the temple. It was stressful at many points, but Stephen and I reflected on our ability to handle stress together. I'm so grateful for that. Life isn't seamless, but we're able to respect each other and work together to get through. I'm so glad I have him by my side.
Is this blog post long enough yet? The past two weeks have been eventful for us. We've spent a lot of time in our car, so much so that we're happy to stay put for a bit. But driving to Meridian in a few weeks will be completely worth it. Thinking of Christmas presents for my husband is fun for me to do, though he's been really good at spoiling my surprises so far. I don't have much of a poker face. He tells me I'm cute for it. Stephen is really good at telling me how cute or beautiful or wonderful I am. He's been the best thing for my self-confidence since acne cream. I look forward to the end of the semester where we can breathe easier and relax together. Wish us luck!
