God Bless America

I don't know these people, but I feel like this is a fantastic idea and feel like we should all unite and do this. It takes so little effort.

"DAY OF FASTING AND PRAYER FOR AMERICA

My wife and I are firmly convinced that our elected politicians are incapable of representing the will of the American people and incapable of adhering to the Constitution of the United States of America which they took a solemn oath to uphold and defend.

We are among the millions of U.S. Citizens who are at our wits end sending e-mails, faxes, telephoning, meeting with elected officials, demonstrating, rallying and hoping that those representatives will do the will of the people. They have failed. Have we, as well?

The United States of America is a choice land, a nation that was founded by our forefathers who were divinely inspired by God the Father Almighty.

This choice nation has been the defender of freedom throughout its relatively short history. We have led in the fight for freedom against many tyrants and dictators who have plundered and pilfered their citizens and have subjected them to great sufferings through blood and horror.

The people of those nations who suffered such great injustice knew that they could always depend upon the goodness, power and righteousness of the United States of America to extract them from their plights, and it was done many times over. It was not done without expense -- the expense of the blood and sacrifice of the members of our armed forces and the suffering of their families.

As the year 2009 soon comes to a close, we the citizens of the United States of America find ourselves facing many of the challenges those nations suffered at the hands of their political leaders. We are being attacked from within!

Who do we turn to? To which great nation can we turn to help us keep and maintain our freedom? We do not have the same hope of those nations to whom we were benefactors.

We MUST turn to our Savior. If we are a righteous people, we will be deserving of, and receive of His blessings as He has promised. He suffered and died for us; He atoned for our sins --each of us, individually.

We know that, as a nation, we can once again be the choicest of lands. However, we cannot achieve that blessing without our willingness to please our Lord and Savior.

We are asking that all who read this message, who have faith in Christ, designate Sunday, December 6, 2009 as a day of fasting and prayer for America.

You do not have to march on the nation's Capitol or attend a tea-bag rally. From the comfort of your home, you can get on bended knee, and with broken heart and contrite spirit, petition the Lord to bless this nation generously according to His will. Then keep the fast for that day. Make that Christlike commitment to our Heavenly Father. He will listen, He will answer. That has been promised.

"And whatsoever ye shall ask the father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you." (3 Nephi 18-20) "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." (Matthew 21:22)

Joe and Janice Hagen, St. George, UT."

10 Reasons Why Today is a Good Day

1. We're OUTTA HERE!

2. Family

3. Turkey. . . oh Turkey.

4. No work for a WEEK. HALLELUJAH!

5. Family

6. Turkey

7. Pumpkin Pie

8. Skiing

9. Stuffing

10. FAMILY!

We're so excited for our week off to play and laugh and eat and eat and see lots and lots of family! Goodbye Rexburg, Hello Ellensburg and Pasco!!

"Love, it seems like only yesterday, you were just a child at play. . ."

Anyone who can name that song and what movie it is on will get 10 points. :) I'll give ya a hint. It's a Disney animated movie. I almost made that too easy. Oh well! Good luck!

So, Dallin and I decided on Sunday that we wanted to take a drive up to Mesa Falls. It's about 45 minutes from here and is where he proposed to me last fall. September 20, to be exact. It was really neat to go back up there, just me and him, and think about that day. It was such an exciting day. A day that will forever be burned into my memory. I remember thinking that I was the luckiest girl in the world that day. I still think I am the luckiest girl in the world today. And I am pretty sure I will always feel that way.

Here is my favorite picture of us on the day we got engaged.

Do we look different now? I kind of feel like we do. Not REALLY different, just. . . a little different, I guess. :) (Wow Ash, way to stun em with your eloquence!) Needless to say, I feel a lot different, on the inside, from that day. I have learned a lot. I have faced a lot. And I have grown a lot. We're coming up on our first year of marriage, and I have to admit, it's been a pretty dang good ride. We've had our moments that were hard, most definitely, but it has been such an awesome experience that I would not trade for anything.

Now, here are our pictures from this trip. We didn't have anyone there to take pictures of us this time, except each other, so we just worked with it. :)









This next picture was from last year at the lower falls, and when we were there Sunday, there were guys who were kayaking off of that! It was insane! We watched two guys go down the falls and, thankfully, resurface a couple seconds later. It was totally insane. I have made little markers to show you how/where they went down the falls. Just click on the image and it will enlarge, then you can see everything better.


Pretty crazy, eh? We thought so!

Things I've Learned About Me. . .

. . . In the past 22 years of my life. Two days ago, I turned 22. For some reason, that little fact is exceedingly weird to me. I don't know why. I just don't feel 22. 22 is supposed to be a mature age, right? Not so. At least in my case. Maybe when I am 30? Maybe. I'll let you know in 8 years. Anyhow, although I don't feel oh so mature, like I thought I might when I turned 22, I do feel that I have learned a few valuable lessons in my life. Some of them very recently.

1. Life is fun. There are twists and turns and craziness and days where I want to pull my hair out, but it's exciting. You just gotta roll with the punches.

2. Life is also just life. Things happen. Circumstances come about and it can be hard, but you live and you learn and you rely on the Lord. You REALLY rely on the Lord. And He helps you. Every time. Thank goodness.

3. Baking/cooking may be my calling in life. Just ask Dallin. I LOVE to be in the kitchen creating, discovering, trying out new recipes. I get so much satisfaction out of hearing a compliment on my cooking/baking. Makes my day!!

4. Having said that, I am such a meat and potatoes kinda girl. I was born to eat meat. I believe it is safe to say that I will never be a vegetarian. Ever.

5. I love my rose colored glasses. Things may not be ideal in the world, but I will always look at it with my rose colored glasses. I am my Father's daughter. I am an optimist.

6. I'll always be a kid at heart. I love the excitement of Christmas and Santa Claus, I love Halloween and costumes and dress up and Disney Movies. I love make believe and the endless possibilities that a child's perspective holds.

7. I was born to be a mother. I have a mothering instinct for just about anyone I meet. Which probably explains why I love to cook so much. I relate cooking to mothering and showing love to those I care most about. I love children. I cannot wait for little ones to be running around our home.

8. I am the most independent dependent person you will ever meet. Oxy-moron? Yes. I can be stubbornly independent and do things on my own, but when it comes right down to it, at the end of the day, I love that I have my husband to protect and love me. He will always be the one who I am completely and hopelessly dependent on. And I am 100% ok with that. :)

9. I am totally and completely in love with my husband. He is amazing. He spoils me and loves me and would do anything for me. And I feel the same way about him. I will spoil him and love him and do anything and EVERYTHING for him and be 100% happy about it. He's my help meet, my azer cnegdo(Hebrew, I'll explain it later), my corresponding opposite. And I love him.

10. Family is all that really matters in life. That little tid bit didn't hit me fully until I went through the temple for the first time. I walked into the celestial room, and every single member of my immediate family was there, radiant and beautiful. I was overwhelmed by the sight and by the feelings that coursed through my body. I had never felt so loved and so whole in my entire life. And then I turned and looked at my husband-to-be and REALLY felt loved and whole. After that moment, I knew that family (and those amazing friends who pretty much are family) was all that mattered in life. Loving and serving and doing all that we can to return to live with them in the here-after. That's what it's all about.

So, that's what I've learned, in a nutshell. There's more, obviously, but those are the things that really stick out to me. I am so grateful for all that I have been given. For my amazing family, for Dallin's amazing family, for Dallin, for the Church. I am so blessed. And so, so lucky.

Here are a few pictures of the cake and me with the cake and me with my husband and the cake. Please, enjoy. :)



The side view


Top view (yes, it was devilishly delicious.) Ooohh, say that five times fast!


The Birthday girl with her birthday cake


Showin off the birthday cake!


Aawww, ain't we cute?? :)

P.S. for those of you who want this recipe, hop on over to this lovely lady's blog! It's delicious. And super healthy. . . hah! SIKE! :)

Just One of Those Days

Have you ever just had "one of those days"? Where not everything is going wrong, but it most certainly is not all going right? Where you kind of feel like you're in a funk? Nod with me if you have. That was today.

I woke up with a little more of a sniffle than usual and that annoying sore throat. You know the kind where it's not enough to really hurt, just to bug the heck outta ya? And then once you get some food down into your stomach you feel better? Well, for some reason lately, in the mornings, I am never hungry! In fact, my stomach almost feels nauseous if I DO eat anything. (Nope, not pregnant, promise.) Anyway, so to remedy my annoying sore throat, I tried to eat something. Only to feel even more crappy than I had originally. Yes. Today was starting wonderfully. Then, I took my shower, and got dressed. I was running a tiny bit behind, so I grabbed the skirt I wanted and thought, "sweet, it's not even wrinkled, doesn't need to be ironed!" and went about hair and make-up.

I got to the store at 9:31, so I was only a minute late, opened her up and started on all the daily "opening the store" chores. As I walked to the front to unlock the door, I saw myself in the large front mirror and realized that my skirt, which I had previously thought didn't need to be ironed, really DID need to be ironed. Thank goodness we have a steamer in the shop, huh? This is where you all groan, knowing something really bad is going to happen, right? Right. So, being impatient and not really having any other options, I started steaming/ironing my skirt. While it was still on my body. Now, I am also the kind of impatient person that will, on rare occasions, iron a little wrinkle on a shirt, while on my body, but I try to be careful. Knowing the heat that little steamer produced, I tried to be quick about the steam going on to my skirt. Well. . . I wasn't fast enough. All the sudden, my thigh was searing hot and I ripped the steamer away and threw it back on the ironing board, while muttering under my breath, "MAN that HURT!" And it did. But it got worse. It was giving me enough pain that I decided I needed to go into the bathroom and check it out. (I was wearing really thick brown tights, hence the need to go to a bathroom to check 'er out.) As I pulled down my tights, about 4 inches above my knee, it looked like I had gotten sunburned. "Ok", I thought, "not as bad as I had anticipated!" I went about my day not thinking too much of it.

MEANWHILE. . . my sinuses started filling with lots of delightful fluid. I felt like sneezing was my new calling in life. Seriously. It was wonderful. If you enjoy sneezing more than breathing. But, I kept at it, thinking, "this too shall pass. . . right? Please? PLEASE?" With intermittent thoughts like, "swine flu. . . crap." After lunch, I decided I needed to check on my little sun burn again, but this time I got a sweet surprise! A BLISTER!!! YAY! Only about the size of a dime. No big, right? Wrong. Blisters like to get bigger. By the end of the day, it was roughly the size of a quarter. And puffy and puss-y. Sorry for that visual. You'll get to see a picture in a little bit. Except it just popped, dang it. Oh well, you still get a picture.

So, now I can feel my heartbeat in my jaw, in true sinus infection fashion and my nose is dripping like a faucet. Oh, and my eyes are puffy and red. I love being sick! Upside: I made myself a little chicken noodle soup and a pepperjack grilled cheese sandwich for dinner. I know. Super healthy. But it was comfort food and I was in need of comfort food. Needless to say, the day at the shop was uneventful as far as customers went, for which I was supremely grateful. So, it's just been one of those days. Not the worst day of my life by any means, but definitely not the best either. Because, lets face it, who likes quarter sized blisters on their thigh?



Isn't it lovely??

"It's Saturday, Can You Feel the Thrill of It. . .

. . .Saturday! Never get my fill of it! Time to play, on the best day all week looooonnnggg!!"

So, when I was in 5th grade, we did a wonderful little play called, "It's Saturday". That was the title song of the whole play and I still have it run through my head every now and again. I really do love Saturdays though. Especially when I don't have to work, because that means I have one full day to just do what I want to do. And this Saturday, that meant three loads of laundry, baking bread, making cookies, and finalizing a talk and a lesson for tomorrow. Busy, busy day. But so wonderful! It was beautiful out today too. It was between 65-70 degrees and sunny with blue sky. Just my kinda day. I had the windows open all day and anytime I went outside, I would come back in greeted by the smell of freshly baked bread and cookies. Talk about a weight gainer there! I think just by inhaling I put on a few pounds. That and eating half the cookie dough raw before I even baked it. . . Ok, not half. Just a few snatches here and there. But still. . .

So, if any of you follow my wonderful cousin, Emily's blog, you might have this recipe for bread, but if not, you need to get it. It is the best homemade wheat bread I have ever had. Dallin loves it. We are spoiled now and rarely eat anything but this. Store bought bread just doesn't cut it anymore. So, it may require a little more time, but it saves money, since I get most my ingredients in bulk, and it's more healthy. (No stinkin high fructose corn syrup!) Anyway, if you want this AMAZING recipe, then click HERE! Happy Baking!

Oh, and one last thought. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CORY!!! 29 years young. Hope your day was all you ever dreamed of and more. :)


(Ain't he just a handsome fella?! Well, just a handsome couple, if I do say so myself!)

Heaven. . . In a cup

Have you noticed how at about this time of year, everyone starts busting out their pumpkin and eggnog flavored what-nots? I have. And I love it. I am a HUGE fan of pumpkin pie (or pumpkin pie flavored anything). It is one of my favorite desserts ever. So, it would definitely make sense that everytime I see that Arctic Circle has their over the rim pumpkin pie milkshake back in season that I about faint from excitement, right? Right!



I kid you not, this heavenly treat tastes like cold pumpkin pie with an ice-creamy flavor that is to die for. I decided tonight was the night to indulge in this yummy amazingness and I was not disappointed. If there is an Arctic Circle near you, go get one! At least one time this season, 'cause I promise you it is sooo worth it! And tomorrow I will do extra cardio to make up for the wonderful caloric intake. Yay for Above-The-Rim Pumpkin Pie Milkshakes at Arctic Circle!!