Wonderfulness.

We just got back from our California trip yesterday. It was delightful. We feel so refreshed and ready to get back to work.


Our open house was beautiful. My sister did an incredible job with the decorations, food, and everything. She really is amazing! It felt like an old-fashioned garden party, and was more magical than I ever could have dreamed of. Thank you to all of you who helped out and came by to share your love and support! It was a wonderful day and we are still in awe of all the love that was showered upon us. Thank you! (You can see more gorgeous photos here.)

My uncle built this sweet archway

Sneaking away to a secluded table on one of the decks

Everybody loves Wibby!

All the children wanted to dance with us. It was so sweet!

In other good news, I got accepted for a very special internship! This summer, I will be writing blog posts for BYU Women's Services and Resources! My posts will appear each Friday. I am thrilled and honored to have this opportunity to use my talents to make a difference. 

And now, two of my new favorite videos to brighten your day. The first is the trailer for the new Winnie the Pooh movie. I am so excited! Pooh is a big part of my childhood. I'm glad he lives on. 

This video is a gorgeous song by Peter Breinholt and John Schmidt. My husband introduced it to me as we were making the long drive to San Diego. Listening to it while watching the sun set behind the beautiful Utah mountains was a very special experience. 

Enjoy your weekend and the beautiful spring weather!

Life is good. 

A Season of Joy

On my wedding day - pure joy.

I feel that God has given me this time in my life as a season of joy and rest. I still have challenges - including 10-page papers and trying keeping the dishes clean while working 4 nights a week - but I also have deeper joy and satisfaction than ever before.

Marriage is so wonderful. I love living with my best friend, sharing my meals and my messes and my laundry with him. I love reading the scriptures with him each night, praying with him multiple times each day, and seeing his sweet face when I wake up each morning. He makes me laugh, serves me, and tells me that he loves me every single day. He is so good at serving me and lifting me up when I fall. He allows me to be my best self. Marrying Brandon is the best decision I ever made.

Marriage has also helped me to refocus on what truly matters most. When you form an eternal family, you realize that so many things are temporary and worthless. We live a slower, simpler life these days, putting our efforts into strengthening our relationships with each other, our families, and our God. We have learned to value people over possessions, and have discovered that, as Ben Behunin put it, "Joy, in all its glory, can only be obtained through unselfishness."

by artist Ben Behunin

And while, of course, I have been abundantly blessed, I believe that this truth is the key to my happiness. I found that the more I serve my husband, the more I serve in the temple, and the more I forget myself in working to center my life on Christ, the more joy I have. And let me tell you, it has been glorious indeed.

I wish that everyone could find the happiness that I have - but that is not up to me. You each have to find it for yourselves. I would recommend that you start by reading some of the talks from this past weekend's General Conference, picking up a copy of Remembering Isaac (a book that changed my heart and my life), and then getting to work! There are so many in this world who need your goodness, your talents, and your love. You cannot imagine the blessings that God has waiting for you.

What I've Learned in my Two Weeks of Being Married

 

Since I am now so wise in the ways of matrimony, I decided to bless you all with my wisdom.

(Please tell me that you caught the sarcasm in that).

But seriously, there are a couple things I wish someone would've told me when I was engaged, and I'm hoping my experience can help some of you out there. 

1. If possible, make sure you have about a week for a honeymoon. 2 1/2 days is NOT enough. 

2. Your wedding day is very exhausting. Unless you are superwoman, you should schedule some time for a nap in between the wedding and the reception, or even hold the reception the night before the wedding. We arrived at the temple at 9 am and didn't leave until about 3:30 pm. By the end of the day, we were wiped out.

3. You may be called upon to give a little speech at your wedding luncheon, so be prepared. I had no notice and gave a short, flimsy, sniffley, sorry little tribute to my wonderful husband that certainly did not do him justice. If you prepare some eloquent words in advance, your guests will not leave wondering how you ever graduated from high school with such poor rhetoric.

4. I highly recommend the Premarital Health Class at the BYU health center. It taught me everything I needed to know in an uplifting, non-intimidating way. It prepared us to talk about intimacy and helped me overcome my fears and anxieties. It's just one more reason why I love BYU soooooo much. 

5. Make sure you get pictures of the guests in candid moments. The day goes by so quickly, and it's so sweet to look through our pictures and see the little moments we didn't catch. I love seeing photos of our family and friends showing such love and devotion for each other and feeling the overwhelming love of that day all over again.

6. It's very likely that you will receive 3 or more crock pots as wedding presents, even if you do create a registry. Be prepared to return them/regift them/sell them on ebay.

6 1/2.  If you like camping and the outdoors, you should register at REI. You won't regret it.

7. From the beginning, make family prayer and scripture study a habit. It helps unite you as a couple with each other and the Lord. I think this quote says it best:

“I know of no other practice that will have so salutary an effect upon your lives as will the practice of kneeling together in prayer....The little storms that seem to afflict every marriage become of small consequence while kneeling before the Lord and addressing him as a suppliant son and daughter. Your daily conversations with him will bring peace into your hearts and a joy into your lives that can come from no other source. Your companionship will sweeten through the years. Your love will strengthen. Your appreciation one for another will grow.Your children will be blessed with a sense of security that comes of living in a home where dwells the Spirit of God. They will know and love parents who respect one another, and a spirit of respect will grow in their own hearts. They will experience the security of kind words quietly spoken. They will be sheltered by a father and mother who, living honestly with God, live honestly with one another and with their fellowmen. They will mature with a sense of appreciation, having heard their parents in prayer express gratitude for blessings great and small. They will grow with faith in the living God.” -President Gordon B. Hinckley, "Cornerstones of a Happy Home" 

8. Be patient with yourselves in the first couple weeks of marriage. It's tiring to adjust to a new way of life (not to mention sleeping with someone else in your bed). Don't try to take on too much. Make sure to put each other first. The piles of boxes can wait; your spouse really is more important than unpacking.

9. Focus the day on the temple. It is really the highlight of your wedding day, and in many ways the highlight of your lives. Commit to return often so you can learn. It's impossible to soak it all in at once, and even sweeter with the experience time and repetition gives you.

10. Marriage really is so wonderful. It's beautiful to be so united with your best friend and sweetheart, and to work with them towards building an eternal family. If you work at it, your love will grow stronger every day, and you will find the greatest joy you can experience in this life. 

 

"Marriage can be more an exultant ecstasy than the human mind can conceive. This is within the reach of every couple, every person." -President Spencer W. Kimball  

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single BYU co-ed on her way to possession of a BFA, must be in want of a husband.

Well, after lots of fasting and praying and pondering and phone calls to my mom, I am engaged! I am marrying Brandon Moon in the Salt Lake Temple on February 18th.

Brandon and I met in our FHE group during the summer term. We became friends and started hanging out more and more until he asked me on a date to fly kites with him at the park. (How cute is that?!) The next day he held my hand, and we've been inseparable ever since.


Brandon is amazing. He is calm and steady, which helps me so much when I start to get overwhelmed and stressed out. He understands the introverted, homebody side of me and encourages me to slow down and simplify my life. He is incredibly loving and takes such good care of me. He has a burning desire to serve the Lord, to raise a righteous family, and just to do what is right. He reminds me so much of my sweet father. He is reserved and quiet when you first meet him, but once you get him talking you discover his tender heart, his great sense of humor, his integrity and then you realize - he is a treasure. He loves me and honors me even though I am crazy and sometimes ridiculous. He always sees the best in me. His gifts fill my gaps, and he is the perfect match for me. I am the luckiest girl in the world. :] 


Remember how nervous I was to return to Provo in the summer? If I had not come back, I never would have met Brandon. 


I have learned so much from this experience already. It has not been an easy decision; my choice will hurt many good people (including a certain missionary in Ukraine). But as I have counseled with the Lord, I have come to know with every bone in my body and every fiber of my being that this is right. His sweet peace guides me, sustains me, and fills me with indescribable joy. From this experience, I have learned that everything will work out just how God wants it to. We just need to be willing to listen and act on the promptings He gives us. 


Thank you for your love and support throughout this journey. I look forward to sharing my many new adventures with you. If you want to know more about Brandon, you can blog-stalk him here. We will probably not be combining blogs because I want this one to tell my story - but rest assured that you will hear a lot about him and I will post lots of beautiful wedding pictures :]


Happy Holidays to you all!

PS- Brandon just wrote his own blogpost on the subject, and it's the sweetest thing I've ever read. If you need any more reasons to love him, read it!