Family Goals

On Monday, we held our first Family Home Evening  as a family. Since it was the first Monday of 2013, we sat down and set family goals. We set goals such as having breakfast together and reading the scriptures, having families from the ward over for dinner, serving our neighbors and regular temple attendance and date nights. Then we divided our family goals into three categories from the LDS Church mission: proclaim the gospel, perfect the saints, and redeem the dead. We added a few more goals at that point, such as having the missionaries over for dinner and preparing family names for temple work. 

One personal goal that I set for myself was to study the new curriculum the church just set out for the youth, Come, Follow Me. This new curriculum was released last year to be used in Young Women's, Young Men's and youth Sunday School classes and I have been so excited about it since I first heard about it in General Conference. This new curriculum refocuses the classes for youth on coming unto the Savior, and it is very similar to Preach My Gospel, which is good considering the lowered age for missionaries. Sadly, when I got married, I left my calling as first counselor in the Young Women's in DC 1st ward to move to Savage Mill with my new hubby, so I am not currently teaching youth. But I wanted to study the curriculum anyways and familiarize myself with it. Maybe I'll get called to serve the youth again soon.

not from the curriculum
just WeHeartIt

I am so enjoying studying it. Last week I studied Who am I, and who can I become? This was a great lesson on the divine nature and individual worth of young women, teaching them that they are daughters of God with great potential. This week I studied Why is Jesus Christ important in my life? I felt the Spirit so strong as I spent time studying about the life and mission of my Savior and what that means in my life.  As I read both of theses lessons, one thing that I noticed is how much more interactive these lessons are. The whole curriculum is designed to help young women and young men become converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ and the more interactive lessons will definitely help foster personal conversion, in my humble opinion.

One goal that we have been doing good in as a family in our first week of both of us working is eating breakfast together. Since I have to leave the house earlier, as my schedule is less flexible than Eldon's, he cooks breakfast. We have had eggs and cereal and egg muffins. I love eating breakfast with my husband before I leave the house. It just sets a positive tone for the rest of the day.

We also have been very good at sitting down to dinner, which I cook. I enjoy cooking and experimenting in the kitchen. I enjoy the satisfaction of cooking a healthy, nutrious meal and feeling like I am taking care of my family. I felt validated when I saw this sentiment of family dinner as a way to take care of your family expressed in a book I am reading "Dinner: A Love Story: It All Begins at the Family Table". I am loving learning more about family dinner and nutritious cooking from a number of books. 

Wow, this was a long post. Thanks for reading! I should reward you with one of the cookies in my cookie jar :) Happy Sunday!!!

Shiny New Year

Wow, I only blogged 4 times in 2012. It was a busy year! A few short weeks after my last blog post of 2012, I started dating a young man I had known about a year, Eldon. We started with a walk around the lake and it just grew from there, with some of  our banner dates including a picnic under a gazebo in the rain, indoor mini-golf, going to Rehoboth Beach in DE (twice!). In September, he proposed to me and by the end of December, we were married. What a wild, wonderful ride it has been! We have been married for just over a week. And it is blissful!

Eldon and Rachel, 2012
courtesy of Eve Nicholson

Right before we got married, Eldon bought us a lovely little house. It is a three bedroom, 2 bath rancher with an open floor plan for the front area, including a living room, kitchen, and dining room. They make one big circle. We also have a enclosed porch that we call the sun room or day room and a large deck and a 1 1/2 car garage. 

So one bedroom we use, and one is a guest room, and the last bedroom, where we have set up his tinkering area ( he builds robots), I have dubbed "Spare Oom". I have a little chair in there so I can curl up and read or play on my computer while he works. 

It is absolutely wonderful to be in my own home again. My last living arrangements were not so stellar, and this is a major improvement. It is nice to have a kitchen of my own again, and a lot of space to spread out and make a home with my husband. 

We also just helped his parents get their house all clean and emptied out so they could rent their home while they move to HI for 3 years for a job. They have a large home, and it was quite the undertaking to get it all ready for renters, including painting walls and ceilings and cleaning out the garage, a lot of which we did in the week right before we got married and right after getting home from our honeymoon. We inherited quite a bit of stuff through this move, which has made setting up at home quite nice. We got beds and desks and such and Eldon had couches from friends who had moved away earlier in the year.  Our house is brimful of furniture and the garage is pretty well stocked as well. We will miss his parents, that's for sure, but are excited for them as they start out on this adventure. They flew to HI this weekend, with his youngest sister, who is also named Rachel. 

Eldon is the middle of 5 children, he has two older sisters and two younger sisters. He is quite well trained as a result ;).  We both come from large families, and think that six kids sounds like a nice number. We are waiting a little bit before starting our family, though, to give us some time to adjust to married life. 

Another thing I am so excited about right now is our new ward (church congregation determined by geographical location). I loved my last ward, and working with the young women ages 12-18 there, but this ward seems really great too. I already know a lot of faces and had a lovely time chatting after church today. Poor Eldon just waited in the corner for me, playing with his phone. He hopes to get called to a position that will require time after church so he has something to do while I visit. :)

So life is pretty great right now. Our house is need in need of some improvements, but it won't be too hard, and I like the idea of putting some love into our home. I love being married. Eldon is such a wonderful, hard-working young man, just full of initiative and spunk. He's also a wee nerdy, which I just love and find so adorable. I could not ask for a better partner to share the load with throughout this life and the next.

Weekend Grab Bag

My friend from college just posted  a de-lurk post on her blog, encouraging all to comment. I love reading her blog and keeping up  with her and her beautiful family that way. It made me think about how much I miss blogging, so maybe I will try and make it a Sunday afternoon activity so I always do it. I have lots of time most Sunday afternoons, since I am out of church by 11:30, the only advantage to a schedule that starts at 8:30.

So this weekend I went sailing with a large group of Latter-Day Saint young single adults. There were two small sailboats, each that went out twice. I went on the same one both times, and it was marvelous. I just love love love being out on the water on a sailboat. We sailed on Breton Bay in Southern MD, and the weather was marvelous. This is a yearly activity that I have been to three times, and each time I just love it so much. My mom suggested that I look into taking sailing classes, and I think I will, because I would love to know how to do it. I also think it would make a marvelous honeymoon trip. ;)

After the sailing trip, I went and saw Avengers, my second time seeing it, with my mom, as a late Mother's Day outing. I love that movie. I love the characters who make up the Avengers, I love that you never lose sight of the value of human life despite all the destruction. I love the humor in the movie. It is so good, and I highly recommend it!

I got home from the movies, to discover that I had gotten a bit sunburnt. But only a few splotches on my back and some streaky sunburning on my left arm.  I had used spray on sunscreen, and just must not have gotten it everywhere. Too funny, luckily it is not too painful.

Well that was my Saturday. Sunday I went to church and then came home to defrost my mini-fridge. The ice was so bad you could not shut the door. So I sat in front of it for about an hour with my hairdryer, and got most of the ice. It was so boring, that now I just have the door open and something to catch the water and am taking a break.

Happy Sunday, everyone!

One of Those Days

I am having a weird day, where I can't seem to stop beating myself up. For nothing.

I am just struggling to remember that I am doing a great job in my life, that I make a difference in the lives of the people I love and the people around me. I have job where I help save lives! Sure, I overslept a little this morning, but I did go to the gym and run!

I keep telling myself all this and I still feel down on myself. I'm not sure why!

Praying I can make this self-defeating feeling go away!!!!!

Nothing

I just found this great website through Rachel Olsen's blog.  It is Do Nothing for 2 Minutes and it is wonderful! As tired as I am today, doing nothing for even 2 minutes puts me at risk of falling asleep though. :) Yay for finding through a fellow Rachel.

Have a lovely evening and make time to relax to the soothing waves on the Do Nothing website.

Blogging Grab Bag

So I am just not as good at blogging as I was last year this time. I miss it a lot. I know it helped me sort things out. So tonight I am just gonna skip around in my thoughts a little.

-One thought that came to mind lately is will I know how to be in a "civilian" relationship after being in a military one? What will I do with a significant other who's always around?? LOL

-FEARLESS. Such a big word, and I've neglected it a little. I still just love it. I love especially the thought from Isaiah 12: 2 "I will trust, and not be afraid" Fearlessness is rooted in trusting God to handle it.

-PMS. I've become aware of a violent mood swing a few days before my time of the month comes. I love knowing why I'm suddenly angry or suddenly sobbing. It's healthy to be so self-aware, as my mom said.

-Spanish. I am serving in a Spanish ward (congregation) and I love it. I love learning the language a little more, and I LOVE the people. They are so wonderful. I work with the young women, and they are such beautiful girls.

Feels good to type out my thoughts again. :)

One Word 2012: Fearless

A woman of faith is fearless.- Margaret D. Nadauld (A Woman of Faith, LDS General Conference, Oct. 2002)

My word for 2012 is FEARLESS.  As Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:7  "For God hath not given us the the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind". When we have faith in God, we have nothing to fear!

My marriage was brief and rocky, and I often doubted my husband's love and his devotion to me. Then the divorce shattered my world. All this left me with a huge fear of rejection and of being unlovable. God showed me in 2011 that there is always hope. This year, I feel He wants me to learn to fly! I have nothing to fear: I am the spirit daughter of the Most High, beloved by Him!

In 2012, my focus will be strengthening my faith and trust in my Father as He shows me what it is like to be fearless again. I will fearlessly do and teach right. I will walk fearlessly into the bright future He has prepared for me. All this I do because God is for me, who then can be against me? (Romans 8:31)

Found at weheartit

Linking up with Jen at SDG.