Yes, we are alive here.

So it's definitely been a long time since I've blogged. For a few reasons.

1. Because we were busy going to Timpanogos caves with our friends, the Harris'.

(ps..I still don't know how to rotate pictures on here. I suck)

 

 It totally rained on us the whole hike up to the cave and back down.

2. Because we were busy celebrating my 25th and Ry's 27th birthday! Adults!

Mindi took me to get a facial. It was glorious.

 The extravagant birthday card I made for Ry.

3. Because we were hiking some other trails this summer.

4. Because I've been working my buns off! It's nice that I get to see my friends at work, like my mama Sister Tonga and the Holtry's (who are off to their 3rd mission now!)

 5. Because I made my first quilt. Booyah. Thanks for your help Janet!

Also...

6. We've been watching BYU get their butts kicked on most Saturdays. That's never pleasant.

7. Ry keeps busy by totally dominating all of his classes. He's basically the smartest kid in all of them and he's doing awesome on all of his tests too! I'm so proud of him :)

8. I'm somewhat writing a book. Whether to try and make something happen with it or if it's just for me is yet to be decided. If you really want to know what it's about, you can message me or something. 

9. And, as usual, we keep pretty busy just being awesome together.

 

Why it's ok to break up. (Don't worry, we didn't)

The other night I had a dream. In it, I was dating a guy that I had dated when I was 18. I sat there thinking, "what the heck? why are we back together? That is the last thing in this world that I would want!" When I woke up, I looked over at my husband fast asleep and thought, "Oh thank goodness!"

And that sparked yet another reminder of how grateful I am for all of the breakups I've had with different boys over the years. That boy in the dream? Totally played me. Sadly, he was one that I was really upset about after we broke up. There are other boys that I was more upset about, others that it really didn't bother me, and a few where I mostly just thought, "oh boy, what was I ever thinking?" Some were very quickly forgotten and others took quite a long time to really get over.

Now I'm not saying that I am a superstar dater, but I have definitely had my fair share of dating experience. That doesn't mean I'm cool, it just means I have a lot of experience with things not working out. Some things I've learned through relationships are:

1) I'd rather be with someone that pays attention to me than someone who works so much they could go days without remembering to call me.

2) Any boy that tries to kiss your roommate/friend while still trying to date you is never worth giving a second chance. Trust me, it is never worth it.

3) Sometimes, it really is your own fault that things aren't working out. Either grow up where you need to, or do both of you a favor and end the relationship. There's no sense in dragging things out.
4) Spend time together doing other things besides kissing and cuddling. That will generally ruin the relationship. There's probably a ton of great reasons for you to be together, but if it's just focused on the kissin' then you'll miss out on all of the really great stuff. And it's usually too hard to go backwards in the relationship.
5)Make sure you have fun together. There's good guys, and then there's good guys that you have a hilarious time together. I vote for the second type:)

 There are a lot more lessons I have learned than these five. I'm betting that God had me learn all my lessons through dating because He's going to send me a ton of boy-crazed daughters. Yikes.Whether or not the breakup was my doing or theirs, I am grateful that those relationships ended. I don't remember who said it, but I love the quote, "The wrong one is the right one to lead you to the best one." Mostly, I'm grateful because I get to wake up next to this guy every day and think, 
"Oh thank goodness!"

Busy Life!

It has been a busy past couple of months! I've been working like crazy at the MTC, the whole schedule changed and I had to update a whoooooole lot of information. I'm not the typical girl of my technologically advanced generation...so having to update a bunch of stuff on different computer programs was quite an ordeal for me. But I am pretty impressed with how much I am learning about computers in general. There was one point when I proudly went out to the lobby and announced to the volunteers and employees that I had just given someone correct answers over the phone to fix their computer problem. It's the little things.... ;)

Ry and I moved out of the house were living in. It was a cutie little house with too many issues. It was a little sad because of the nostalgia factor, but from the second we moved into our new place we have loooved it a ton! It is really nice to live somewhere not being worried about if there will be hot water when you wake up at 5a.m., or if you'll be able to hear every word of the people's conversations that live upstairs, or if there will be ants, or more leaks, or a ton of other random stuff. The air conditioning is a huge plus too! I don't know why anybody in Utah would build a house without some type of cooling system! Anyways, we're loving our new place and our new neighbors (my friend Nicole who served in my mission is right next door)! 

 Goodbye old house! We realized the day we left that we had never taken a picture in front of it!

We also went to Missouri at the end of March. Ry's Uncle Wayne passed away after fighting cancer for around 10 years. I only got to meet him once before, but he was very kind to me and I could tell how much he loved his family. It was neat to hear so many stories about him, and I've never seen so many people come to a viewing; he was a very respected and loved man. Even though it was for a sad reason, we love getting out to Missouri to visit Ry's family. They are such great people! They make you feel so welcome and comfortable right away. And it's always fun to hear stories about Ry being a hell-raiser as a kid :)

This was the view from Aunt Tracy's porch. We sat on that porch for a majority of an entire day. It was awesome.

In April we went to Arizona to see my family. It was so great being home. I was so busy playing that I didn't snap that many pictures, but I did get some choice ones of this little girl picking her nose!

I still haven't learned how to rotate pictures on this thing.

Also got so see my grandma. She is awesome!

And one last awesome picture.....

 

"remember that gator that got your hand? well, I got his head!"

I love my husband!

Best Year Ever

 One year ago today Ryun and I went on our first date <3 When I think about it, it really seems like such a long time ago, but then I also think, "Holy cow, we are already married? And for almost three months!!? When did that happen?" I was always one of those people that vowed I would date someone for at least a year before even getting engaged. If that was how it would have happened, we would just be getting engaged now...I'm really glad we did not do it the way I had originally planned. It is funny that when you know it is right, timing doesn't seem like such a big deal. I'm glad I didn't ignore God's subtle "This is a good idea" moments when they happened, because I am so grateful for the last three months of being married to the best guy in the world! We had both dated plenty of people before we found each other, but Ryun is the only one to ever make me feel so secure in myself and a relationship. I wake up every day and am so dang excited that he is right there next to me! And I get this guy for eternity! I really am the luckiest girl in the world :) 

  

 Mexico cruise

Graduating with Ry made it such a fun experience. He met my mama this weekend too!

 Two weeks before we got engaged. We stopped at Liberty Jail on our way home from Missouri. After this road trip I knew I wanted to marry this stud.

 One of our first pictures together. Classy.

 Forever!!!!

I am so in love with this man <3

Timing and Patience

There's a lovely quote by Elder Neal A. Maxwell that says,

                                   "Faith in God includes faith in his timing."

I feel like Ry and I definitely had a reminder of that lesson over the past few days. Since we both used to work for BYU, when we graduated in December, we both had to quit our jobs since we would no longer be students. Ry was able to find a job pretty quickly, but I on the other hand...let's just say it took awhile. Over a period of two months I went on a ton of interviews and charmed the socks off people, but the only jobs I was offered were way too far of a commute without paying something that would make it worthwhile. Then I started getting offered jobs that were closer, but paid minimum wage. It was really discouraging to have spent several years and hard work to get a dang degree and then not be able to get a job anywhere. It was very easy to get discouraged. I finally accepted a full-time job that I seriously disliked, just so I could have some income while we were trying to figure things out. The kind of job where I do the exact same thing as the high school kids that work there too. It was very humbling for me (I'm kind of prideful...shh!) Ry also doesn't particularly love his job, so we were trying to find him something else as well, but we had no luck. We were also trying to figure out some more schooling things for Ryun, but it just was not working out very well because we weren't making a ton of money (who really does anyways?). 
So pretty much since we got married we have been praying and fasting like crazy to help us figure out what we needed to do and where we needed to be.
Finally, a job posted at the Missionary Training Center that I thought I would really enjoy. It seemed like a long shot since there are soo many good teachers that could apply for this position. To make a long story short:
                                                           {I got the job}
I was so excited! For many reasons, the top few being that 1)I could quit the job I really dislike. 2) I get to teach missionaries again (ok, that's more like the number one reason, but I'm just writing them as they come). 3) I almost peed my pants when they told me the pay. Seriously, we are being so blessed right now. Not only will I get to have a job that I will absolutely love, but the way it works out is that Ry will be able to do part-time work and full-time school so he can take the rest of his pre-req's for graduate school without having to worry about being the main provider for us. All of the stress and frustration of not getting a job, and it was totally worth it to be able to have this great opportunity. Seriously, so blessed. There's a ton of other reasons this will be so great for us, but I think that'll do for this blog today. 
In summation (hehe), we were lovingly reminded to put our trust in God and in His timing. I cannot tell you how many times I have already been taught this lesson. I'm grateful for a loving father in heaven who still teaches me to be better and reminds me how aware he is of me and our little family.
We're {so} happy with life.

                                                       (This is one of my favorites)

Our home

Our kitchen has half of the cupboards replaced with new ones. I took pictures of the nice ones :)

Our living room is perfect for the two of us. Most of those envelopes you see everywhere are gone now!

 

I wish I knew how to rotate these pictures... I stink at blogging, haha. I haven't lived with my hope chest since 2007. It's nice to have all that storage again!

Pretty much Ry picked out all the stuff on that shelf. He's good.

Ryun put together this shelf we got at Target. It holds everything we'd need a bookshelf for. For now :)

Ryun was really good to suggest a shelving unit. I thought we'd have enough space in the cupboards, but once we had our second reception, we realized there was no way there  would be enough room! 

So, that's our place! At least, that's most of it. It has it's little quirks and we are kind of bummed that people moved in the loft upstairs, but I love living here. Maybe because it is really cute, but I think mostly because it's ours. I looove living with Ryun! I have had many great roommates before, but I am so glad to get to be his forever <3 (cheese)  Come on over and visit us!

Katie's talk in church...oh family

So I have to give a talk in church tomorrow. The topic is "How to make our homes like the temple." Yikes. As I was preparing, I was thinking about classic stories from our childhood. I texted my mom and siblings and they sent me some more funny stories. Usually when I have to teach, it comes to me in outline form, but today was a bit different. It just started spilling out like I was writing in my journal. I know I'll put it into an outline form for church tomorrow, but I am glad I have it written like this, because I want to share it with my family. It's amazing how much I really learned as a kid about the Savior and wanting to be in the temple. Here you go family, don't get mad at me for stories that are shared about you... :) And sorry it's kind of long (again, I won't be reading this word for word or anything)

*******

I would not call myself an expert on creating a temple-like home. When I think of my home growing up and the temple, they are distinctly different places. Maybe a little background will help explain why.       

It really is miraculous that none of us died growing up. One time when I was pretty little, while our parents were gone, we were eating dinner. My older brother Brandon was in charge and my older sister Wendy told him to shut up. In response to her rudeness, Brandon threw a fork at her and it lodged in her shin, sticking straight out of her leg. That same sister hit me in the back of the head once so hard that it gave me a bloody nose.  And to continue with the cycle of abuse, my little brother Trent says that I used to chase him around the house putting boogers in his hair. Nathan pushed Brandon into the fridge once, so Brandon chased him out of the house with the broom. He ended up throwing the broom, which tripped Nathan and he face-planted into the street. Trent threw a toy gun at Travis’ forehead which he ended up needing stitches for. I have plenty more stories like this, including the oldest in the family frequently cornering a couple of us in the living room to make us box. We weren’t allowed to leave until someone was crying. Interesting how the oldest one was such an instigator… It wasn’t all murderous behavior--we did help each other sneak out of the house occasionally. And at least twice Nathan saved Trent with the Heimlich maneuver. Like I said, it was a miracle we’re all alive to tell the tales of our house.

                Then I think about the temple. I absolutely love the temple. I love the feeling of going to the temple and the safety there. I love having people call me “sister.” I don’t know why, maybe it’s still mission nostalgia, but I love it. I love how happy everyone is while they’re talking to each other and how they’re working to help it be as wonderful of an experience as possible. So how do we merge these two places into having some type of connection?

                I think a great start to having our homes be like the temple is to think about what we love about the temple and try to bring those themes into our homes. Each of us loves unique things about the temple and our homes could be more sacred if we try to bring those things in. That way, we can be making our homes like the temple in a way that matters to us. We won’t have to be comparing our sacred homes to the neighbor’s sacred home. Like I said, I love how everyone talks to each other in the temple. I have really tried to clean up my language lately. Not that I’m cursing like a sailor or anything, but I definitely say things I would be so embarrassed to be heard saying in the temple. Ps. 15:1 teaches that “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.” Many of the battles in my house growing up could have been avoided if we had given soft answers. As we have grown up and matured, that happens much more frequently and it has made such a difference in our relationships.

                Another thing I love about the temple is all the family-togetherness. Once when I was in the hallway, I overheard a conversation between two white-haired men. It went something like this,

“Hey brother! How are you?”

“Good! How are you! It’s been so long!”

“I’m great! You’ll have to wait to see my wife, she’ll be out in a minute. Aren’t wives the greatest?”

“Sure are! They keep us in line! I love my wife!”

So these two old men were in the temple catching up by talking about how awesome their wives are. In the temple we get to learn about the blessing of an eternal family, how to build our relationships, and how to make covenants that will ensure we will be together eternally. We also learn the value of children and how much God works to save His children. It would be amazing if we could let that knowledge and feelings permeate our homes. If our spouses and kids could catch us saying wonderful things about each other and how grateful we are to spend eternity with them. Especially if we apply the things we learn in the temple regarding families; if we will also work hard to save our families. Our homes could have that feeling of the promise of eternal life together.

                Those are just a couple of the things that are meaningful to me. Most importantly, I feel like the way to for sure have our homes be sacred temples is to put Christ as the foundation. In the temple we learn that it is by the authority and power of Christ that we’re able to remove Satan from our lives and receive all of the eternal ordinances and blessings God wants us to have. 2 Nephi 25:26 teaches us that “We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.” Even though my family oftentimes resembled a mixture of the Lord of the Flies and American Gladiators, this foundation in Christ was evident in my home as well. My little brother Travis was preparing for his mission and had to get his wisdom teeth removed. When he woke up from the sedation, he looked at my mom and said with tears in his eyes, “I love Jesus Christ!” He said it several times and later said that when he woke up he was just filled with so much love. I don’t know if he was having some kind of vision or something or if he was just affected by the drugs, but his mind had been so focused on the Savior and preparing to teach the Gospel that it’s no wonder that was his first response. It was also seen when my sister’s husband joined the church and they were sealed as an eternal family one year later. And the times I would catch my mom reading the Book of Mormon. Five of the kids in my family have served or is serving a mission, and it was such a great experience to be gathered as a family when each of those callings was opened. The Spirit was so strong during those experiences. Those experiences happened because we were taught who to look towards for the remission of our sins. That oldest child who instigated so much violence? He’s in a Stake Presidency now :)

Making our homes like the temple is a daunting idea. My family was pretty bad at family prayer, family scripture study and family home evening when I was younger. I think we gave up on those because it usually ended up in a bloodbath. That doesn’t mean we did not try to have the Savior in our home. My mom had our house covered in pictures related to the gospel and with scriptures framed up on the wall. Elder Wirthlin said,

“We don’t have to be fast; we simply have to be steady and move in the right direction. We have to do the best we can, one step after another…the only thing you need to worry about is striving to be the best you can be. And how do you do that? You keep your eye on the goals that matter most in life, and you move towards them step by step…That is easy enough. We don’t have to be perfect today. We don’t have to be better than someone else. All we have to do is to be the very best we can.”

It can be so easy to compare ourselves and how we’re doing with what the rest of the ward or world is doing. I love the idea that we keep our eye on the goals and move towards them. Why? Because it is worth it. Sarah DeArmon Pea Rich was an amazing pioneer, who speaking of the temple said,

“Many were the blessings we had received in the house of the Lord, which has caused us joy and comfort in the midst of all our sorrows…if it had not been for the faith and knowledge that was bestowed upon us in that temple by the influence and help of the Spirit of the Lord, our journey would have been like one taking a leap in the dark.”

She was speaking of the temple, but if we are to make our homes like the temple, we could say those same things about our home. Amidst all the craziness, I know in my home I received faith and knowledge. As I grew up and went to the temple to make covenants, I recognized that faith and knowledge that I learned at home was also in the temple. We make our homes like the temple so we want to be in each of them. The temple reminds us of our homes on earth and in heaven, and our homes on earth remind us of the covenants we make in the temple. When centered on the Savior, our homes, like the temple, become that light which keeps our journey from being a leap in the dark, and I am so grateful for the one I grew up in and the one Ryun and I are creating together.

What's in a name?

 I love this man <3

So I am not very good at coming up with titles for things, so Ryun came up with the name of our blog. Rather, he stole it from a little game my family plays. It all started when we were much younger and we would talk to my grandma. We would race to see if we could beat her at saying "I love you." It quickly became "I love you first!!" It became a family game for us to always race to say it to grandma, and eventually it just became our way of saying hello and then mostly for goodbye. Even now when I hang up the phone with my siblings it usually ends with a "love you first! bye!" When I started dating Ryun, he'd hear me say that to my family and I explained the whole thing to him. After we had been dating a little bit and not long after we said "I love you" he leaned over to me and said, "I love you first!" Heart: stolen! I knew I had found a good one! Now, it is mostly a big competition between the two of us. He loves to win this game because it usually ends up with me saying "ahh man! I love YOU first!" This is one of the reasons why I love him: he can be so goofy with me :)

I thought I'd put a nice picture of us on here too. Even though it's still goofy...

We're Married!

Congratulations to us! Well, it's been an entire three weeks and we're still loving being married :) We had such a great time at our receptions in Mesa and in Provo. It was so great to see all of our family and a ton of friends. I wish we could do that for anniversaries too, just get everyone together and party like crazy. Most importantly, we absolutely loved being sealed in the temple. We are so grateful to know that our marriage is going to last throughout eternity. I could not have imagined how happy I felt, and I know it is because we are able to be together forever. I knew I was grateful for the gospel of Christ before, but it has increased so much! We are so excited and happy to start our life together!