Valentine's Weekend

I love my husband, in case you haven’t noticed yet. Valentine's last year, Stephen asked me out on a group date. It had been nine months since our previous date, and I figured his friends had roped him into an activity and he needed a girl to go with him. We were friends, but I had ruled him out thinking that's all we would ever be. He had apparently been trying to be more than friends, but was slow at his approach. He would try to sit by me when he could at ward activities or strike up conversations with me or come over to hang out with our group of friends more. I wasn't suspicious. In fact, I didn't notice. Our date was fun. We went to his mission friend's apartment and decorated cookies. He taught me how to play monopoly deal, though we didn't end up playing it. I had no idea I would spend the rest of my life being taught new games by him, this being the first of many, many games (anyone who spends time with the Rollins family knows how much they like games). We listened to music and talked and had an overall nice night. I went home happy but clueless as to what was ahead for us. 

Last Friday, we celebrated our second Valentine’s Day together. We had plans to go to his family’s cabin, but decided against it due to the weather. Instead, we went out to eat and had sushi. I love sushi, but Stephen isn’t use to it yet. Still, Stephen’s not a picky eater at all, so he doesn’t complain. We got sushi once before on our honeymoon, so it’s kind of our special occasion food. The wait was long and the restaurant was super busy, but I didn’t mind. We spent most of our wait deciding which rolls to get. Neither of us are connoisseurs on sushi rolls, so if you have any recommendations, please share. The names seem so arbitrary. But we ended up splitting four yummy rolls.

While we were eating, a woman wandered around the tables with a basket full of roses, offering to sell them to the couples. Both Stephen and I admired her entrepreneurship, and he bought me a rose. We went home and ate some cream-filled chocolate-covered strawberries I had made. It was nice to have an evening with my husband where neither of us was stressed over chores or homework or other obligations. We started watching some episodes of Avatar (one of my favorite childhood series we’ve been rewatching together) and ended up staying up way too late to finish the season. Neither of us regretted it once we had slept in Saturday morning.

We took Saturday easy. Stephen was able to play a lot of online games with friends and we both cleaned the house for a few hours. I finally scrubbed down my fridge, something I've been meaning to do for a while, and it looks a lot better. I still need to make time to do the freezer--by the time I was finished with the fridge, I was burned out. Saturday night, I babysat for my neighbor, though the baby was asleep the whole time, so I got some homework done. Not as fun, but still good.

I was stressed for time on Sunday morning because my hair wasn't cooperating, so Stephen made me breakfast. We commented that it was probably the first time he had made me something for breakfast. I was proud of his scrambled eggs! Good job, sweetheart! That afternoon, I invited my brother over for a dinner of homemade egg rolls (I even made the wrapper from scratch!). So Mom, don't worry, I fed him and gave him water and took him for a walk afterwards. He and I use to live in the the same apartment complex, but now that we're a few blocks away, I hardly ever see him. It was nice to have him over for dinner and to chat with him. 

Monday was the day Stephen did his homework. He spent most of the day programming and studying. I'm surprised at his workload when mine is so small. Last semester was much harder for me than this semester is. I was able to go shopping and play games and watch the Olympics. Aren't the Olympics amazing? I've been watching them when I can and both Stephen and I are getting into it. It's funny, because neither of us would care for these sports any other time of the year, but when it's the Olympics, suddenly I'm emotionally invested in the athletes. I love watching the ice skating and the freestyle jumping of the snowboarders and skiers.

Going back to reality on Tuesday was hard after a nice weekend with my husband. He's back to being busy. I can't wait until summer! 64 days until I graduate and we're freed from homework--me being freed forever! Stephen has been doing something with his computer that I don't completely understand. He gave me an analogy of his computer being a shoe box and he's putting dividers in the shoe box. He's happy with it, so I guess that's good.

Leading up to Valentine's day, Stephen and I talked about our expectations. I asked him to write me a note, which he did. He said he wanted to surprise me with something, but then was nervous if I would like it or not, so he kept telling me his ideas in order to get my approval, but then that ruined the surprise. It was cute. He talked about writing a blog post, but so far, that hasn't happened. I guess it's still an option, because it is our blog and not just mine. Though if it were up to him to recap everything, it would be an entirely different and shorter blog. Though that may be better than my mundane updates. This blogs is very much like a journal for me with motivation to write. I want to remember this time in our lives, and I'm happy to share it with those that are interested.

As of Late

Last night, at 10:55, Stephen rolled over and said to me, "I think it's going to take me a while to fall asleep. I just can't seem to get comfortable." By 11:05, he was snoring.

He and I have a lot of fun moments in life. There are plenty of time where we look at each other and laugh. He's also really great at holding me and getting me to cry even when I'm too stubborn to let it go. I've become a better listener when he just wants to vent for a bit. I also love when I can do something silly that makes his face crinkle when he smiles. It's really the little things that make our marriage so good for both of us. We're still learning for sure, but I feel like we're getting better at being married. I mean, we've been working at it for over five months now, so we should be pros, right?

I've gotten really good at making bread that Stephen loves. I can almost count on him eating half of the loaf as soon as it's done. I also had a lot of fun last Saturday freezing food. I couldn't sleep, so at 5:30, I went to the Bountiful Basket sight and helped set up the baskets. I then came home with a laundry bin full of fresh produce and decided I still wasn't tired enough to sleep, so I went to work on prepping my food. By the time Stephen woke up, I blanched and froze broccoli and asparagus, chopped and froze bell peppers, and cut potatoes and made hash browns from them. That morning, I also made a smoothie base by blending fruits and celery and froze that too, so I can add it to smoothies later (I needed stronger fruits to overpower the celery taste). During all this, I listed to Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks. It's been a while since I've listened to a mushy love story besides my own (awww). I felt so much like my mother, cooking and cleaning the kitchen while listening to an audiobook. Growing up, I would sit in the kitchen and listen to my mom's stories while she worked. Only now looking back do I realize I should have been helping her while listing to the stories. Sorry, Mom. 

One of my new years resolutions is to do my hair more. I had gotten really good at letting it air dry in an awkward angle and hiding it in a ponytail. I decided that I should either cut my hair or actually do things with it. So I've been practicing new braids, buns, and bobby pin tricks. I have A LOT of thick, blond hair. My whole life, anytime I've gotten a hair cut, the beautician has commented on how thick my hair is. My mom can curl her hair in four curlers. I use to use all the curlers just for one side of my head, and then wait for them to set before doing the other side. I got some more curlers for Christmas, and if I strategize well enough, I can make it work now. But I wanted to get better at doing my hair, and so I'm putting my pinterest to use and practicing! I put a picture on Facebook of my most adventurous attempt and I'm proud of the results. I had only ever done a dutch braid on myself the day before, so I was nervous, but it worked!

The job interview I had for being an apartment manager didn't turn out how I wanted it to, and no one else has contacted me. I'm going to now follow up, but it's a little discouraging. I've been brainstorming other ideas and am considering being a nanny for the Summer. From what research I've done, there seems to be enough of a demand that hopefully, I could find a good job that way. It would also be far too much fun for me to play house every day with someone else's children. But I'm not giving up on the management job hunt either. I have faith that something will work out for me.

This week, I went to an optometrist and updated my prescription. I also chose some new glasses, since the frames I wear now are the ones I chose in middle school for my first pair. I'm excited to get them either tomorrow or early next week. I also got new contact lenses and a scolding from the optometrist to not sleep in my contacts. Oops. I'm going to try harder now to take them out before I sleep. My friend, Kim, drove me to the appointments since Stephen had the car for work. I feel bad to impose on people and ask them for a ride, but it was really nice to spend time with Kim and chat. She's in my ward and lives nearby, and has been friendly and helpful to me.

My whole ward has been so nice to me. I gave a lesson in Relief Society a few weeks ago, even thought that's not my calling. I substituted for someone and spoke on a talk about including everyone and making sure people feel welcomed at church. I felt our Relief Society could really benefit from the lesson and was prompted by the Spirit a lot to share important things. Most of my lesson was discussion based, and I'm grateful for the input from the women. I got a lot of positive feedback, and felt successful. Really though, I think a teacher's role in Relief Society is more of a discussion facilitator rather than a lecturer, so I can't take credit for most of what people said and felt. But it has helped the women in the ward to recognize me more by name, and that's something I will take credit for--I tend to be quirky and memorable in front of a crowd like that.

Stephen's been working really hard lately. He had a meeting with his supervisors at work who told him they see potential in him and want to help him learn and grow as a programmer. While he's still considered somewhat as an intern, they intend to offer him a full-time position once he graduates. It's comforting to have that job security. He's also been working at his art skills and has been drawing more lately. I can tell he's improving, and I'm proud of him for it. Stephen also continues to impress me with his help around the apartment. I made it his assignment to check the mail since I want to be in the cold as little as possible. He's dutifully checked the mail immediately after work, but he normally just brings back icicles instead of envelopes. He likes to watch them melt in the sink. I sometimes think I married a five-year-old. He makes me smile.

Well, it's late, and I believe I've rambled enough. Don't bother looking for some overall theme or flow of idea. It doesn't exist. This is a post of things I can come up with besides saying life is normal (which it is). But I'm not complaining. I told Stephen today I feel bad for everyone who's not us, because they just won't ever understand this level of happiness, which is really a shame. Honestly, I'm sorry for you that you're not married to Stephen. It's like the best thing ever, even if he eats the bread far too quickly or leaves icicles in my sink. One day, I'll look back on this blog and roll my eyes at how much I gush about him, but for now, it's just cute.

Chicken Noodle Stew

Somehow, food has become my hobby. Specifically, making food from scratch and freezing food. I have time now to make my own bread, tortillas, pizza, and other baked goods (like the brownies in my oven right now (but I substituted half of the oil for applesauce, so I don't have to feel guilty, right? (I made the applesauce, too))). I've also been doing research on freezing fresh foods. I have berries, onions, and avocados in my freezer, waiting for my whim. I use to have more, but I've been eating it. I'll make large batches of food for dinner and freeze up individual portions for lunches and quick dinners--soup, burritos, and stir fry have been my last few endeavors. I keep telling myself I will make frozen pizzas, but as soon as I start making the pizza, I crave pizza, so I eat it right away rather than saving it. My bad.

It's been really fun for me to play in the kitchen. Between Pinterest, AllRecipes, and my mom on speed dial, I've had some really great meals. Stephen has been happy with my hobby. He says he likes my fresh bread better than the store-bought kind (though I think that's because I use white flour at home and buy 12-grain loafs from the store). I'm happy I married someone who is not a picky eater. When I ask what he wants to eat, usually his comment is either "food" or "something edible." This is helpful when I tell him we're eating Brussels sprouts, artichoke, and winter squash for dinner. (BTW, the artichoke was weird. Would not recommend.) With my food storage and bountiful baskets, I'm given a lot of creativity and potential. Not everything has been successful, and I eyeball a lot of things so it's hard to write a recipe. However! I did pay attention when I made what I called Chicken Noodle Stew. Well, I kind of paid attention. I still always eyeball spices and change it to taste, but I figured it was worth sharing. So here it is! My first official original public recipe!

Chicken Noodle Stew

2 chicken breasts

½ onion

1-2 cloves garlic

1 TBSP butter

½ celery stalk

2 carrots

2 potatoes

~4 cups chicken broth (or water)

1 cup milk

½ bag noodles

thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper, chicken or beef bouillon

Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. Chop onion and garlic. Sauté chicken, onion, garlic, and butter in pot until onion becomes clear and chicken is cooked thoroughly. Add chopped celery, carrots, and potatoes. Fill pot until food is covered by broth and milk. Add seasonings. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, add noodles and boil for ten minutes. Remove from heat and adjust seasons as desired.

Fun tip! This freezes! I used an idea from Pintrest and froze the soup in a muffin tin for a while. I then transferred them to ziplock bags and put three to four "soup muffins" into each bag. I gave some away tonight to a woman who is pregnant and due next month, so she'll not have to worry about a few meals. 

I think that's my favorite part of my food hobby--sharing it with others. While I love eating what I make, having others enjoy it is where the thrill comes from. Stephen is good at complementing me. Sometimes, he's so good, I worry he's faking it. But when I ask him if he would want me to make it again, he doesn't hesitate--that's my trick into figuring out if he really likes it.

I've been working on perfecting my Mexican Crock Pot meal, and as soon as I get it down to where I can actually record a recipe, I'll share that here too. That meal, I'm more proud of, because it makes a looot of food for really cheap, and it's versatile. Some days, I'll use it in burritos. I've made enchiladas with it too. I love it as a base for a salad. Stephen likes it as a thick dip with tortilla chips. I'm sure I could come up with more ways to eat it. And that's good, because I have two dozen cans of each ingredient as a result of my case lot sale stockpile, so we'll be eating Mexican Crock Pot for a while.

I'm going to keep this post mostly about food because our lives are pretty standard outside of that. I am applying for apartment manager positions again in hopes of working after I graduate. I had a phone interview today for a complex that's really close to campus, nicely modeled, and rents to married couples, so my tenants wouldn't be crazy single people who like to climb onto roofs or rappel out windows or brawl in their kitchen over who does the dishes (at least, I hope not (and yes I've heard of all those scenarios--I witnessed the rappelling myself)). So if you want to keep your fingers crossed for me and maybe say a prayer or two, I would appreciate all positive vibes to get this job.

Well, Stephen wants to go to bed since he has to wake up at six tomorrow for work. The brownies turned out well--Stephen couldn't tell I used applesauce, so it was a success. He's really cute when he's sitting on the chair across from me and works on his computer--especially when he doesn't know I'm looking at him. He's tugging on his ear right now. Or maybe he's checking the hair cut I gave him for FHE tonight. I may or may not have trimmed a little too high around his right ear. If you see him and notice, please don't comment. Stephen also blinks a lot. And he scrunches up his face randomly. And drinks a lot of water. 

Yeah, I love him. 

School, Sleep, and Sweetheart Stephen

School has started. Not only does this mean papers, reading, quizzes and tests, it means a regular schedule, something I'm enjoying. I have a good semester lined up for me. Knock on wood, but I think I like all of my classes. There always seems to be at least one class that I have to just endure, but this semester, I think I'll actually enjoy every one. I'm taking a Western history class that isn't super exciting, but it's also relatively easy. I'm really learning a lot from my Church history course. I love my creative non-fiction writing class and am excited to practice my personal essay skills. For my capstone class, we are studying Hollywood's romantic comedies from the 1930's and 1940's; basically, I watch old movies for credit. My anthropology of American culture is amazing--no tests or quizzes, just class discussions for the whole semester and a final paper. So overall, I'm looking forward to my final semester.

Stephen is taking a lot of computer classes, a family finance class, and Book of Mormon. He has a lot of reading, but I really don't understand most of it. You'll have to ask him more about school.

School is the only new thing in our lives. I was doing really well at keeping the apartment clean until our dishwasher broke (the piles of dishes are waiting for the repair man to come). But I've stayed on top of laundry, so that's a plus. But with my semester as calm as it is, I'm finding I have enough time to keep on top of everything and still relax at points. Believe it or not, I'm actually ahead in my homework! I've decided that since this is my last shot at being a good student, I would put in extra effort to getting things done a head of time. I'm lucky that the workload has been lighter so far, because I'm sure it'll pick up soon.

I tried asking Stephen what I should write about. He said everything. Thanks, honey.

I will tell a bit about the date Stephen took me on just before school started. To preface, he and I have been talking about going to Ikea since we were dating. We thought wandering around looking at the furniture would be fun (and by we I mean me with Stephen humoring me). We talked about doing it several times, but something always came up. Finally, our plans came together well enough and after attending the Jordan River temple, we went to Ikea. There's something fun about shopping in our Sunday best. We wandered around the store, making comments on different decor and designs. I was relieved to find out we have a similar taste in interior design. Also, I was very proud of Stephen for coming up with honest opinions of things. He is really great at shrugging his shoulders when it comes to preferences. This can be really helpful when I simply want him to agree with me, or frustrating when I'm actually trying to get his opinion.

We stayed in the store until it closed and then decided to get some food before driving back to Provo. Stephen took me to Sonic for a burger. To add background to this, a few nights before our date, I had a dream where I ordered a burger but never got my order. I woke up with an overwhelming craving for one that lasted all day, almost to the point where Stephen offered to pick up some fast food on his way home from work. I told him it was silly to not eat the food I had purchased already and made dinner, disregarding my craving. On our date, Stephen was very good about making sure I had my burger. It's the little things that matter, after all. More so, I was impressed he remembered and complied to my dream-craving. Stephen must be practicing for pregnancy-Jane (No, I'm not pregnant, don't get any ideas).

On a less awkwardly-adorable note, I've been struggling sleeping again lately. No spasms this time, but instead, I've been having nightmares. They're always about different things (like not getting the burger I ordered), so it's not like I'm having a reoccurring fear or anything. Sometimes I die. Sometimes Stephen dies. Sometimes Stephen kills me. Car crashes. Family drama. Bad guys chasing me. Bad guys robbing me. Falling off of buildings and cliffs. Wars. A bunch of different things happen. I've basically have had at least one nightmare every night for the past two weeks. Some nights, I'll have three or four, waking up every few hours crying or yelling or panting. I have very vivid dreams, so it takes me a minute after waking up to discern between reality and nightmare. Stephen has been very good at waking up with me and holding me until I can calm down enough to go back to sleep.

This has been causing me to be extremely tired throughout the day. I feel bad for Stephen, who is also loosing sleep. I'm trying all the tips I can find on the internet and avoiding all the potential causes, but nightmares are something that's hard to avoid or fix, especially when it's not being caused by something specific. Yesterday, I was so sleep deprived and emotional, I was scared to fall asleep. Writing it out, I sound a lot like a three-year-old. Stephen gave me a blessing and tried to comfort me as best he could, but he eventually fell asleep. 

I laid awake for a few hours, thinking about everything and nothing. Around 2:00, Stephen woke up and prayed with me again. I finally dozed off around 3:00. But only getting a few hours of sleep has kept me yawning all day today. If anyone has any extra tips on how to avoid nightmares, let me know. I would take sleeping pills, but in the past, when I do and I have a nightmare, I'm stuck in my nightmare and have a hard time waking up out of it and discerning dream and reality. I've sniffed lavender and stretched and wrote my feelings and showered before bed and avoid certain foods and all that jazz. But really, I'm sleeping like a baby lately--waking up every few hours upset. Stephen jokes I'm practicing for parenthood (again--not pregnant). During the day, I'm fine, just tired.

Well, that's probably more of an update than you wanted to know. Our lives aren't very unusual right now, and because of that, they're not very exciting. But I would rather have uneventful than dramatic.

Recap

I know, I know. I've slacked off. Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up. In my defense, the semester ended, we spent half of our Christmas break in Idaho, and I've spent all week deep cleaning. In other words--I've been busy. Sometimes I'm so busy living life, it's hard to write about it. But as a quick recap of the past month, life has been good.

School ended! Hurrah! Except we start another semester on Monday. This break has been really nice though. And well timed. I got sick near the end of finals week. I felt bad for being sick at my in-laws house, but they reassured me they would rather have me there and be sick than not come at all. It was helpful that I could just rest and not worry about much when I felt congested. But it passed quickly, and I felt pretty much fine by Christmas.

I posted a poem on Christmas about Christmas, and that also seems to sum up the morning nicely. Stephen and I helped Bruce and Teresa Santa prep on Christmas Eve. It was a special moment to look at the tree with all the presents under it and cuddle with my husband and chat with my in-laws. That moment felt the most like Christmas to me. Though there were plenty of other Christmas-ish moments. I really enjoyed learning about the Rollins traditions. Some of them, I would love to implement in my future family. It was a little sad to be away from my family, but I called them on Christmas day and was able to talk with Deborah too. We also skyped Matthew, and I felt really proud when I surprised him and the rest of the family by introducing myself in Japanese (middle-school anime actually came in handy!).

While in Idaho, we saw Frozen (the music is great and I may or may not have been listening to the soundtrack for hours a day). I also shot a gun for the first time in my life. The adults went shooting and both me and my mother-in-law had never shot a gun before. After watching her first shot and the after effects on her shoulder, I became more hesitant, but used a less-powerful gun instead. I actually hit my target a few times I think (a trashcan in an open field). Bruce than taught me about a handgun and I was able to make two shots with it. My second try, I was within an inch of the bulls-eye. We also played a lot of board games as a family, and by a lot, I mean A LOT! Some games I liked better than others, but mostly, it's fun to have that bonding experience.

Stephen had work this past week, so after coming home from Idaho, I've spent most of my time either cleaning or sleeping. I've taken advantage of the luxury of not having a schedule that requires me to wake up at a certain time. But when I am up, I've been cleaning. I finally organized the bedroom, something that hasn't quite happened since we moved in. My closet looks so much better now, and I ended up donating a huge pile of random things to DI. Stephen has been enjoying his evenings off by drawing and programming. I'm so proud of his efforts, even if I can't fully appreciate all the code he works on.

Stephen has been absolutely wonderful to me this past month. We've shared a lot of personal moments together that have drawn us closer as a couple. We listened to a series of talks on our drive to and from Idaho about marriage. There were a lot of helpful tidbits that we've implemented already. I feel like I understand Stephen better, and he understands me better too. I know we're both going to spend our lives learning more and more about each other. I feel like we have a really good foundation and we are able to work through things together and end up loving each other more because of our differences. He's the best.

Some favorite moments from the past few weeks: Stephen and I were sitting on the couch together. He had taught me a new online game (Kingdom of Loathing) and returned to his programming. After fifteen minutes or so, I had a question about the game and asked him, "What happens when you die?" He, no longer thinking about the game, rolled his eyes and looked at me and said, "You've got to be more specific." I laughed so hard for a while until I finally calmed down enough to explain. I know it doesn't sound nearly as funny now, but it's one of those you-had-to-be-there moments. 

Another special moment was yesterday when I was having a harder day. Stephen came home from work and hugged me for a few minutes. I then went to the kitchen to finish dinner and he started playing music on his phone from our wedding. He held me in the kitchen and started dancing with me. I remember telling him when we were dating that something I wanted in a husband was someone who would dance with me, even if he wasn't good. Stephen has never particularly enjoyed dancing, but he's always willing to dance with me. Yesterday, it was so special. He didn't say anything, just rocked me side to side as the gravy simmered. I'm so blessed to have him.

For instance, right now, he's encouraging me to continue blogging as he vacuums the living room. He's so supportive of me. I'm excited for our next semester. We both have some good classes coming up, and I'll be graduating in April, so that's motivation to work hard and get through this semester. Stephen is going to continue working ten-hour days twice a week and I'll be manning the fort here at home.  It's a strange phenomenon that no matter how much I clean, there is always more to clean. And I don't even have children yet! Mothers, I'm sorry! Dirt collects no matter how many people live in a house. One of my New Year resolutions is to spend more time cleaning each day in order to not have to spend so much time on my weekends making up for my lack of attention.

Well, enough talk of cleaning--I need to get to work! Dishes need to be unloaded and laundry needs to be folded. Then my husband is taking me out on a date! Man, am I spoiled!

'Twas the Morning of Christmas

'Twas the morning of Christmas, and all through the house

Young boys were excited--they woke me and my spouse.

"It's Christmas!" They shouted as they barged in our room.

7 AM seemed to have come all too soon.

The Children then gathered around their church shoes,

A tradition their French heritage taught them to use.

Inside these "stockings" Santa left a chocolate orange

(Why'd he choose that fruit? Nothing rhymes with orange.)

The presents were soon opened, each one by one,

So that way the whole family could share in the fun.

Now Bruce, now Teresa, now Scott and Heidi

On, Nicholas, on, Jason, slow down Brandon and Mikey!

Mom got new dishware, dad got a model set

Each was excited to see what they would get

Heidi and Scott received a blanket and a game

They were sure glad that Santa's sled came.

Stephen and Jane thanked Mom and Dad

for the new scriptures which made them all glad.

Nicholas's mission inspired his scriptures and tie,

While Jason was happy with video games to try.

Michael and Brandon became more eager with each round:

Lego's, cars, swords, and stuffed animals abound

Baby toys for Jacob were such a big hit!

The rocking-horse-dragon was a perfect fit.

All had their presents and were easily pleased--

Christmas morning went off with success and much ease.

The family gathered for their traditional breakfast treat.

Whether "Monkey Bread" or "Bubble Loaf", all were happy to eat.

Children flew to their games and sprang to their toys 

The Rollins' house was full of happy girls and boys

Though the suspense may be through, I still wish to say,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-day!"

Thanksgiving, Birthday, and Snow Storm

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!