You Had a Birthday, Shout Hooray!

Monday was Eldon's birthday. I remembered this as soon as I got out of the shower and went into the spare oom where I keep stuff for wrapping presents and got a bag and tissue paper. I took it into our bedroom, counting on the fact that Eldon was still asleep, and crouched down next to my side of the bed and pulled out his present from under the bed where I had been keeping it. I got it out of the carboard shipping box and put it in the bag and placed it on the bed and woke Eldon up "Happy Birthday!" I got him a Tardis mug where when you put hot liquid in the mug, the Tardis (from Dr. Who!) moves from one side of the mug to the other. Eldon said he'd never gotten a birthday gift at 5:45 before :) 

After work, I came home and I made homemade pizza and homemade cake. We had pizza and then watched some Dr. Who before frosting and eating the cake. :) I think he had a very good birthday. He got calls from lots of family members, too, some right at the same time as others. He really enjoyed talking to his family.

Other than that, it's been a pretty quiet, normal week. Work, Eldon working on his computer and the house, buying more LED lightbulbs. He asked me yesterday if I ever imagined as a little girl that my future husband would get so excited over lightbulbs. I confess, I did not. I baked cookies this week, made dinner. Yesterday it felt like I was using every cooking dish in the kitchen. We visited the temple and did sealings on Tuesday (performed the sealing ordinances for couples and parents and children, so that families can be together forever, just like ours, if they accept the ordinances.) That was really pleasant.

This week: my birthday!

Pure White

So this work week was already short due to the holiday and then Thursday morning we woke up to snow on the ground. I gave myself a few hour delay going into work so the roads wouldn't be so hard to drive on. The next day it snowed in the afternoon and our boss closed the office early.  Thank you, snow, for a short, short work week. Just like Lorelai Gilmore, I felt like the snow was a present just for me. 

Also this week I had a mini existential crisis. I was pondering what books I would want to put in the guest room, and telling the hubby that I wouldn't want any books that might embarrass me, and he asked if I should even have those books at all. It was a very good question. So  I went through and cleaned out my bookshelf a bit. Now, I am a reader, and I love books. I love words. So parting with my books was hard, and there was sighing and moaning and even some tears. And I wondered, shouldn't doing the right thing feel better? Eldon pointed out, it could just be the grieving process. I left a few books in a maybe pile and left the project for the night. 

I came back the next morning and made decisions on my maybe pile. I was able to confidently put books in a give away pile with much less mourning. Now: to make cuts in my T.V. show viewing habits to match my cuts in books. 

I actually began this process of weeding through my media intake last March when I gave a lesson on defending the family at a Thursday night activity for my Young Women. The impetus came from a paragraph in the New Era article I was teaching from:  "Much in the media today does not support God’s definition of marriage and families. It might endorse or glorify alternatives to wholesome family life that are contrary to God’s plan. The counsel in For the Strength of Youth can apply to teachings about the family: 'Satan uses media to deceive you by making what is wrong and evil look normal, humorous, or exciting. He tries to mislead you into thinking that breaking God’s commandments is acceptable and has no negative consequences for you or others. … Have the courage to walk out of a movie, change your music, or turn off a computer, television, or mobile device if what you see or hear drives away the Spirit' ([2011], 11).

When you choose media that support the principles of an eternal family, it will be easier to strengthen the family and also prepare for a future temple marriage." (Be A Defender of the Family, New Era, March 2012)

This crisis just seemed to be a continuation of that earlier weeding out. Another quote that is helping me in all of this is one from a LDS general conference talk that we discussed in Relief Society (women's organization and class) today at church. Elder Robert D Hales taught: "As Christians today, we have the opportunity to act straightway, immediately, and decisively, just as Peter and Andrew did: 'they forsook their nets, and followed him.'² We too are called upon to leave our nets, to reject worldly habits, customs, and traditions." (Being a More Christian Christian, Robert D. Hales, General Conference Oct. 2012) I want to give up my worldly habits, including viewing and reading habits, that might detract from the Spirit and draw me away from my Father in Heaven and my Savior. So I will continue to review what I read and watch and choose to get rid of what is not good for me.

Stargazing Dates and Toy Story Marathons

I like the rhythm Eldon and I are getting into.We have early morning breakfast on weekdays before I leave for work and slow mornings on the weekends with lots of time to slow down and enjoy being married. Most evenings I cook dinner, which I enjoy thoroughly, and we have quiet evenings spent side by side.


We try to do something date-like once a week and go out once a month. This week we stargazed on our deck under blankets on Friday night. I was feeling kind of grumpy but felt much better after the stargazing. Then we began our weekend-long marathon of Toy Story movies. We watched Toy Story Friday, Toy Story 2 last night and tonight we'll most likely continue on to Toy Story 3.. "You are a child's plaything!" "You are a sad, strange little man." :D I love Disney and Pixar.

Found at WeHeartIt

So it's now Monday morning. Eldon and I are both home due to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. After church yesterday, we went and spent the evening with my cousin and her kids. It was very pleasant. We got home late and went straight to bed. Then this morning Eldon brought me breakfast in bed :) And then we finished watching Toy Story 3, which we had started watching before church. And now a day of work on and around the house.


Life is so good right now. I just feel so content. I love being married to this wonderful man. My favorite quality is that he is always pointing me back to my Savior. Who could ask for any better?

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!!!!!