Microfilm Madness

Finals week! Studying, testing, worrying, blah blah blah. I decided I needed a brain break and so I thought I'd talk about some of what's been going on.

First, Carter was nominated and elected as an ASCE officer for BYU (American Society of Civil Engineers). I'm not sure what he'll do, and we don't know exactly which position will be his, but we're excited.

I think he can do anything. I also think he'll be mad I put this up....oops....

Also, Carter and I have officially begun our careers as Provo Temple Ordinance workers. For those of you who aren't familiar with LDS temples, they are very special, sacred places where worthy Latter Day Saint members go to worship. In them, we make promises to our Heavenly Father and seal our families forever. Because Carter and I live so close to the Provo Temple, we've had the opportunity to go pretty often (its a cheap date night) and every time we do, I feel an increase of peace and love from my Heavenly Father. We're very excited! Because I'm pregnant, I'll only be able to work for the next six months, but Carter plans to stick with it, if he can, until he graduates in December of '14.
Learn more about LDS temples here 

San Diego Temple

Ok, so this is probably not interesting to anyone besides my aunt and I, but I just have to share. I am NOT a family researcher. I've always struggled, and still struggle with familysearch.org and have never found myself enthralled with indexing. However, during last fall semester I decided that my attitude needed to change, so I signed up for a family history research class. Well I ended up with a professor who is more than slightly crazy about family history and was eager for us all to become pros. It seemed like everyone in my class already knew a lot, and so feeling very insignficant and unworthy, I often sat in the back and tried to disappear. For the grand finale project of the semester we had to go down to the Salt Lake City Family History Library to do some original family research from primary records (no using ancestry.com or other like websites). I was really nervous but ended up with an interesting project from my aunt. Basically I had to establish a relationship between one seemingly parentless women and what we thought might be her family. Long story short, after looking up various microfilms and going over the records I found one tiny paragraph in German that proved the relationship. THAT WAS SO EXCITING!

I think my face might have looked like this

Or this.  

  Holy moly I was so happy! Anyways, that little experience has made me really excited about family history. It's so cool to learn more about your ancestors! Plus going through microfilms is really neat---in another life I would've been some sort of history major. I love old records, and just old things in general, so playing with microfilms really fascinates me. Anyways, the point in my writing this was not to brag about my one miniscule triumph, but to remind everyone that no matter how little you know, you can contribute something to your family history. Really guys, this stuff is pretty cool.

General Conference with Friends

Last weekend Carter and I were invited to stay with some of our friends in Salt Lake City for conference weekend. We headed down on Friday afternoon and spent the evening eating Japanese food, Bear Country cookies (the BEST! Gateway Mall by Downeast) and catching up with friends. We had the opportunity to attend a session at the Salt Lake City temple with my friend Shelby, her mom Wendy, and her Grandma Cathy. That was so special and fun. I truly admire those women, and really appreciated enjoying such a neat experience with them. On Saturday morning we joined friends and family on the Conference Center sidewalks begging for tickets.  

Sign by Adam Quist, picture by Shelby Quist. Yes Shelbs I stalked and stole your pic. Sorry...not really.

  We attended the morning and afternoon sessions on Saturday, and then while the boys went to Priesthood, the rest of the girls went shopping at the City Creek Mall and I took a nap. Sitting in 4 hours of conference is just so much work...not...but oh well. After Priesthood we all went to a fancy dinner and did some hot tubbing.

On Sunday morning Carter and I watched our ADORABLE little niece Kyrie Bitnoff while her parents Gracie and Kevin went to the session. We were able to watch from the hotel room while we played with Kyrie. She is such a cutie! 

		What a doll!

 After the morning session, I felt really tired and sick so we decided to head out early and watch the afternoon session in Provo. We are so grateful for the opportunity listen to the words of living prophets. We believe that God loves his children, and has set up his church on the Earth so that we can receive the necessary ordinances that will enable us to live with Him again. The Prophets are the head leaders of the church here on the Earth and receive revelation for the church. I testify that these men are true servants of Jesus Christ. They are all humble, brilliant, good, Christ like souls who work selflessly for the kingdom. A study of any of their lives will leave one feeling amazed. It's always a joy to hear them speak, or rather to feel the Spirit that their words invite. I'm always reminded to be a little better, a little kinder, and to try a little harder. 

Gotta love President Monson's funny stories, Elder Holland's way of making you feel like you ought to get up and do something, Elder Bednar's penetrating stare, President Uchtdorf's reassurance, and President Eyering's touching testimony. All the talks were so great!

   Anyways, one of the highlights of the weekend was spending time with our friends. We stayed at the Sheraton Hotel with the Bearry Clan (consisting of the Quists, Hatchs, and usually another Bearry family and the Greenes but they weren’t there). I have never met such generous people. Every conference, the matriarch (Sister Cathy Bearry) and her husband Selby take their grandkids to SLC from California for conference. They stay in fun hotels, swim, shop, and take notes as they listen to the messages. All of the grandkids are best friends. Most of them have grown up together and have that awesome “cousin relationship” where you’re not stuck together as siblings, but able to be super goofy because your family. Shelby, my photographer friend, began inviting me to join my senior year of high school. I could go on and on about the fun I've had but that’d take forever. All I know is that if all those Bearrys don’t make it to the Celestial Kingdom, I’m not sure who will. They are so kind, welcoming, and generous. They’ve always made Carter and I feel like a part of the family. We hope to be like them someday.

Our goodbye to them was bitter sweet as it will be the last time that I will see my friend Shelby for a while. She’s always been such a good example, and a truly SELFLESS friend. She’s the type of girl who doesn’t hold grudges or act petty. She’s a genuine, fun person who doesn’t put on a show for people. When we first started hanging a lot I remember telling my mom “She’s just so…herself! She’s not dramatic at all! She’s just fun!” As I fell in love with Carter and decided to marry him, she was there every step of the way. I love this girl and am so proud of her for choosing to serve a mission. I’ll miss her a lot, but she’s going to do a lot of good. 

Shelby

Last weekend was so fun. I felt kind of bad for being so blah feeling; I wasn’t very talkative or fun, but oh well. Hopefully there will be future conference weekends with friends where instead of nausea I’ll have a cute little baby. But anyways, we’re just so blessed. Really, life is great.

Surprise!

Yep, this is no April Fools! We’re pregnant! We were very surprised but also ecstatic when we found out (a little over a month ago). I’m so grateful for our little jellybean. For various reasons I had always assumed that it would be harder for me to get pregnant, so when I found out I was, I couldn’t contain my excitement. I’ve always wanted to be a mom. I’m fairly certain that some of my happiest and most exciting childhood days were those where I’d eagerly await the arrival of a new brother or sister.  Now obviously this is real life, where parenting is nothing like waiting for a new sibling. I do recognize this---my mom had four kids after my sister and I, so I know that having little ones is rarely a picnic---but I also trust that raising a child will be the most fulfilling thing I do and so rather than feel panic, I feel at peace. Sure this came a little early (if you had asked me a year ago if I thought I’d be married and pregnant by this time, I would have laughed nervously and called my mom), but the truth is that things will work out. They always do. Yesterday, after our first appointment Carter and I felt such peace as we realized how great our lives were. All the insurance craziness is working out, I’ll still finish my Bachelors when I thought, and we’ll make it out of school without any debt despite our having a baby. Yes, life is good. Will this be hard---very. Will there need to be major adjustments in our life----ummm….duh! Are we going to be perfect parents----nope. Will we be tired, cross, and sick of diapers at times----yes. Are we scared---NO! Honestly, we know that this is right for us. We’ve felt an inner peace and know that, despite the awaiting difficulties, all will work out. The truth of the matter is that we have direct access to a loving Heavenly Father. He is the best parent, He knows how to help us. We feel that so long as we stay in tune with Him, all will work out. And such has been the case.

But…pregnancy is hard! My mom made it look easy! She was so cute with her belly and poking out belly button. I was so excited to be pregnant just like her someday. Sure she had to wear braces on her wrists, her feet, back, and joints hurt, and she always seemed tired, but I felt that this just added to the excitement. Her wrist braces were so cool---often when I’d play house with my siblings I’d stick a pillow in my shirt and put on a wrist brace. I was sure that pregnancy was going to be heaven. Well, though I’m grateful…its HARD! As my doctor put it, I’m in the “blah” stage. I love to sleep---but not in my bed because it smells funny (despite its multiple washings). In fact, everything smells. EVERYTHING! The only time I don’t feel intoxicated by smells is when I’m outside walking. Cooking, which used to be one of my favorite things to do, is now torture. I think I’ve made dinner three or four times in the past 3 weeks. Oh and did I mentions sleep? Yes I did, but let me just say again: I can sleep like no other. It’s amazing how I’ll wake up from a 12 hour “nap” and STILL feel tired. As a student who often has long days on campus, this whole feeling like a zombie thing is no bueno. Luckily I’ve found some wonderful napping spots (4^th floor library women’s lounge anyone?). I almost started crying the other day when I noticed that my favorite couch was taken—you don’t mess with a pregnant zombie’s space. It’s been hard to concentrate; homework seems impossible and I really struggle to care about tests. Luckily I’m still making OK grades, but occasionally I worry I’m not learning anything…for about 1.5 seconds until my mind skips to wondering when I can sleep again. Eating anything from home is hard, if I can even do it. I’m so lucky to not have thrown up. I really respect those women who spend three months (or more) vomiting everything, and I thank my lucky stars that I am not one of them. But I do feel SO nauseous, all the time. Whoever said that morning sickness was just in the “morning” didn’t know anything. I still don’t know if they’re “cravings” or what, but sometimes I’ll just obsess over a food and HAVE TO HAVE IT. I’ll dream about it, think about it, and walk by it in the wilk multiple times with my mouth watering until finally I buy it. The funny thing is that the only foods that I want are definitely not good foods to eat. I’ve prided myself on being a healthy eater, until I got pregnant. My goodness, salad looks gross, but that cheese burger from In N Out…YES! I haven’t had Taco Bell in years, but since being pregnant their bean burritos just smell so enticing. Carter bought me a couple after a late night shift a while ago and HOLY HEAVEN they were good. Oh and for exercising---that’s been such a challenge. A month and a half before I found out I was pregnant, I ran a half marathon on a whim and I was training to be an aerobic instructor. Not to toot my own horn, but I was in pretty darn good shape. But just in the last few weeks, I’ve been ridiculously weak. I’ll try to exercise like I used to and feel too dizzy and hurt to continue. I know that there are plenty of women who work out just fine while pregnant, but I’m not one of them, and honestly this has been hard for me. But then I remember how hard my body is already working and realize that for now I better just stick to walking. Oh and yes, I realize that my pioneer ancestors did all of this, while trekking across the plains. My own mother, mother-in-law, and grandmother did this with a house full of kids, and so honestly I just need to be quiet and have a little more gumption. But really, this is all very new, and my doctor says I have every right to feel BLAH so just whatever. I’ll have more gumption later. But, really, the moral to all of this is that I have a wonderful husband. He always makes or gets me the food I want, and he’s just so calm and good when I’ve had it. Haha the other night I broke down over bad smells and tight clothes and he just quietly soothed me, probably wondering what he got himself into. Once again, I married a winner.

 If it seemed like the majority of this post was my complaining about pregnancy discomforts I apologize. While they are…interesting, I really am SO grateful for this special blessing. Every time I look at the picture of my little jellybean I feel such peace and love. It’s crazy how I can love something so much despite my barely knowing it. Anyways…sorry about the long post :/ Feel free to send prayers our way!

Work and School

Well I've been suffering from bloggers block. On Easter I had planned to write something brilliant about our gratitude for Jesus Christ; however, after a long time of thinking nothing profound was coming to mind. I want to ponder a little more and try to gather my thoughts, but to be honest, when that "gratitude" post finally does appear it will probably be very simple (which most of the time seems to be more sincere anyways). As I'm sure you've noticed, I'm no writer. I'm not very witty, insightful, I use too many cliches, and I'm unsure of how to properly use commas and semicolons. Someday I'll learn but for now I don't really mind, so hopefully you don't!
So for today's post I thought I'd talk about our gratitude for school and work. Carter and I are both undergrads at BYU with about 1-2 years left. By going year round, I’ll be done taking classes next April and he'll finish in December of '14. Carter is studying civil engineering and I Exercise and Wellness
Carter is smart. And it’s great. He makes awesome grades, enjoys his engineering homework, and actually applies what he learns to life. As a student who struggles to remember a semester’s worth of material after the final, I find this very admirable. Often times we’ll go into some nice building and he’ll get excited, showing me cool beams and various structures. He’ll try to explain why they’re so fantastic, and while I’m interested, I don’t really understand. He is a TA for an engineering class working anywhere from12-15 hours a week and really loves the Clyde building, his “home away from home”. I love going into the lab and seeing all the students ask him for help; he really cares about their success and has said a few times how much he’d like to teach someday after he retires. Just a couple weeks ago he was offered a position as an intern at a local engineering firm. He had to adjust his schedule, but eagerly accepted the job, adding another 20 hours a week to his already busy life. As an intern he works as the “soils technician” where he uses cool equipment to test the density of soil---pretty glamorous! But really, it is cool. Anyways, I don’t know how he does it all, still finding time to take me on dates and for last minute Smith’s sushi runs. He’s a wonderful, hardworking guy.
I always chuckle when I tell people my major because I find that I get one of three reactions. People either A: ask what I plan to do with it, while silently congratulating my husband on his practical major, B: update me on how they’re doing with weight loss/maintaining a healthy lifestyle or C: sheepishly turn away with a polite “oh”, seeming to assume that I’m judging their bodies or the food they’re eating. My silent responses to the following are: to Aers: I agree and often wonder the same thing, to B-ers: Be careful about starting up that conversation because I can go on for hours and will gladly share my nonprofessional philosophys about everything and to C-ers: relax. I don’t judge and fiercely believe that pizza and dessert are necessary parts of a happy life. Someday I’ll write a lengthy post about my views on society’s messed up views of health; but today is not that day. The bottom line is that in school, my favorite subjects were always recess, lunch, PE, and health—they were the only subjects that did not stress me out. Put all of those together and you get Exercise and Wellness. I also currently work as a desk clerk for the media center in the HBL Library. It’s a great job with an easy 20 hours a week. I love to read and have enjoyed being surrounded by books. I always have at least one thing checked out and am beginning to really grasp the dewey decimal system. 
Carter and I are so blessed to be getting an education from BYU. While I often gripe about homework and threaten to drop out, I really do feel a lot of gratitude. I’ve never been one to enjoy “going to school” but there is something powerful and rewarding about figuring out the world. We are lucky to have our great jobs, and both feel that overall, life is good :)