Charlie

     Since I haven't updated the blog in months, I figured now was the perfect time to start back up again. I was busy trying to graduate from nursing school and all, so please forgive me! (More on that later). I'm very happy to be done with school, but in other news......

WE GOT A PUPPY!!!!!!

Can you tell I'm super excited about it?! For those of you who know me even the tiniest bit, you know that I am obsessed with dogs. I don't think Robbie was fully aware of how serious this obsession was until he married me. Poor guy.

Pretty much ever since we have been married, I have begged and begged for a puppy. We live in a small apartment, so I knew my dream of owning a huge dog needed to be put on the back burner for a while. But I still had hope!! Small dogs love apartments! The only hurdle to get over was convincing him that it would work and that we would make awesome pet owners. When spring break rolled around we got a taste of this lifestyle when we had the opportunity to watch my sister and brother in laws Yorkie for nearly 2 months. We loved having Ivy, and could really see ourselves getting a small dog! (Thanks Adria and Julius for trusting us enough with Ivy girl!!)

Then one day out of the blue, Robbie said "When you graduate, we can get a dog." Hearing that, I fell in love with him all over again, and now Charlie is a part of our family! She is a Morkie (a Yorkie, Maltese mix) and we got her when she was 7 weeks old. We love having her around. She sleeps A LOT. She has a foot/toe fetish. Potty training has been hard, but she is doing great so far! I think we have finally reached longer than 24 hours since she's had an accident inside or in her bed. Progress!! She is very friendly and loves anyone who picks her up or plays with her. She has some of the sharpest puppy teeth I've ever felt! Her coat and size change every day, so we are very curious to see how she will turn out!

We are SO happy Charlie is part of our family!

Our Texas Wedding

     A few weeks ago we received a magazine in the mail called Texas Weddings 2013. I got really excited because a friend of mine happens to be the Logistics Coordinator for the Bridal Extravaganza show (who puts out the magazine). She told me to expect the magazine in the mail, and that there was a surprise in it! I couldn't believe it when I saw this...

....a 3 page spread of OUR wedding!! I was so excited, and grateful for this special opportunity! I love the article, and want to give a BIG thanks to my great friend/bridesmaid Jessica Darensbourg for writing it and planning everything. She knew our wedding would be featured in the magazine before we even got married! Props to her for keeping it a secret from me for nearly 8 months, it turned out to be a great surprise. Jess also told me the magazine would be sold in stores all over the state...I was shocked and blow away by that news! I would also like to thank the editor in chief of the magazine, and producer of the Bridal Extravaganza show, Laurette Veres for giving Jess the thumbs up to include our wedding in this issue!

Robbie and I were thrilled to be able to share pieces of our special day with many others. I plan on making some sort of collage out of the pages a long with other things from our wedding, but we'll see when I actually get around to that!

Review of 2012

2012 was a great year for Robbie and me...for obvious reasons. We got married!!!

It went by so fast and we cant believe we have already been married for nearly 7 months. (It sounds silly I know, but to us it seems like just yesterday we got engaged.)

January

We were technically engaged on December 31, 2011...but I will count that as January! We were thrilled, and set our date for June 16. I got a lot of wedding planning done this month before school started up again. 

February/March/April 

I won't bore you with wedding planning details. Thankfully I was only taking one class this semester, because I don't think I would have been able to plan a wedding at the same time. I also managed to watch all 10 seasons of Friends in about 2 months. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that, but if you're a fan of the show then you will understand why I couldn't stop!!! Robbie joined a slow pitch softball league his sister Genn started up, his younger brother Tyler also joined! If you know the Park family, then you know they are super athletic, so needless to say the 3 siblings together dominated the team. Robbie's other sister Adria even joined in on the fun for the last game! I had fun watching the season! We also made a trip to Little Rock, Arkansas for a wedding! Robbie's friend from college asked him to be a groomsmen.

May

Robbie's younger brother Tyler was called to serve a mission for our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He is currently serving in Cuernavaca, Mexico, and will be there until May 2014! We are so proud of Tyler, and we love getting emails from him each week! 

Some of the members in Mexico think he looks like Superman! Haha

June

The month I never thought would get here, finally came! We were sealed for all eternity in the Dallas Texas LDS temple. We had a ring ceremony that afternoon, followed by our reception in Keller. It was by far the happiest day of our lives and we were so happy to share it with all our family and friends! The following Monday we left for our honeymoon to Puerto Rico! Robbie planned the whole trip, and we had such a great time. 

July

As soon as we got home from Puerto Rico, we drove to Conway, Arkansas for a wedding! The following weekend, we drove north again to Fayetteville, Arkansas for another wedding! July was a crazy month, but we had lots of fun celebrating with our friends! (I also learned that not only does Robbie love to dance, but he is pretty dang good at it too! This made for a lot of laughs at the weddings)

Not quite sure what was going on here, but it was hilarious!

 

 

August

This month, we spent a lot of time going to swim at my in laws house in Keller! We spent a few days watching 4 kids while their parents were out of town. It was tough work, but we had a lot of fun getting to play "Mom and Dad" for a few days! 

 I did my best to perfect my housewife skills. I had fun trying out lots of new recipes, and I think Robbie was genuinely sad when my school started up again. (No time for cooking fancy dinners!) I began my Senior 1 semester of nursing school, which included classes like Pediatrics, OB, and Critical Care.

 This month we also got settled into our new ward! We love everyone we have met and the friendships we have formed. Robbie was called as second counselor in the Bishopric, and I was called as the Mia Maid advisor in Young Womens!

 September

This month we had fun watching our nephew Colton! He came to stay with us for two weekends. Sharing a queen size bed with a wiggly 5 year old, and Robbie who is 6'4 was quite the adventure! We watched a lot of Power Rangers and Colton thought having pizza with chocolate milk for dinner was pretty much the best night ever! 

We also bought season passes to Six Flags Over Texas! They are good through the end of 2013. I am not the biggest fan of roller coasters, but our whole family and lots of friends have them...so I caved and agreed to it! We have gone 3 or 4 times since september, so I would say they have already paid for themselves! 

October

We celebrated my 23rd birthday this month! We also made the trip to Shreveport, Louisiana to watch the Texas A&M-Louisiana Tech game. My parents met us there and we had a great time watching the amazing game. The Aggies finished with the WIN...of course! :) We had a fun time at the State Fair of Texas later that month. Fried oreos....yum!

 November

This month we celebrated Robbie's 28th birthday! We made a trip to Conway, Arkansas for the Sherwood's baby blessing. I experienced my first UCA football game, and the Bears won! (Robbie played quarterback for UCA, so it was fun getting to see the place where he used to play)

We spent our Thanksgiving in New Braunfels, TX where my grandparents live. The whole Taylor side of the family was there! We watched a lot of football and ate tons of great food. 

 

December

I finished up my Senior 1 semester, and enjoyed the nice long winter break from school. We made a trip to Houston before the Christmas holiday, and spent Christmas here in Dallas. It snowed on Christmas, so that was a first for the both of us! I had fun sending out our first Christmas card.

 This blog post was a lot longer than I had originally planned, but its hard to sum up the whole year in just a few sentences! We had a blast in 2012, and cant wait to see what 2013 has in store for us! :)

  

 

 

                                

 

A New Year...a New Blog!

     On my mental list of New Year's resolutions, starting a blog was #1. I once had a friend tell me that after every Mormon girl gets married, she does the 3 B's.

1. Blog (Start a blog ASAP)

2. Bob (Chop her hair off)

3. Baby (Gets pregnant) 

     If you are Mormon, and married, I'm sure you can attest that this joke is in fact very accurate! So in order to live up to the stereotype I have decided to start this blog. (Just in case you're wondering, I did cut 6 inches off my hair a few months into being married, but now I miss having long hair.) And no, I'm not pregnant. Hah

     I have no clue if anyone will even read this, but I have enjoyed reading other friends blogs, and would like to start documenting the memories Robbie and I have made, and will make in the future!

    

Patience

 Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success. 

(The Book of Mormon, Alma 26:27)

Patience is....clearly not fatalistic, shoulder-shrugging resignation. It is the acceptance of a divine rhythm to life; it is obedience prolonged. Patience stoutly resists pulling up the daises to see how the roots are doing.

Patience is not indifference. Actually, it means caring very much but being willing, nevertheless, to submit to the Lord and to what the scriptures call the "process of time."

Neal A. Maxwell

Patience

Robbie

Within Our Control

I hope that everyone that reads this excuses me for the time being. As of late, I have been using this blog as a way to articulate my life in a way that would be helpful for myself and those that venture online. A common theme throughout is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Many thoughts that float in my head are connected and resolved through the gospel hence you'll find threads related to those specific principles. Now onto what I intended to punch out on my keyboard.

This afternoon after church I decided to lay down and take a nap. Not a nap on the couch while watching the NFL (which I do almost every Sunday which results in no nap as I flip between channels trying to find an interesting/competitive game) but on my bed so that I would rest comfortably, but at first I didn't rest comfortably. I tossed and turned as thoughts and worries raced. This is all highly unusual because when my head hits the pillow 'lights out'. I eventually dozed off and slept well enough to dream and remember it after I awoke, which is another unusual occurrence for myself; dreaming and remembering the dream and specifically dreaming while taking a nap. So I decided to write down what I remembered while listening to Explosions in the Sky before I forgot and at the conclusion this prompting came to my mind.

When we plead with our Father in heaven for assistance, guidance, strength and even miracles He requires the heart and a willing mind (see Doctrine and Covenants 64:33-34). Therefore, when I stand in need He asks me to diligently and faithfully do and follow what He has put in my control. There are so many things out of our control that can cause us to toss and turn. The blessing of striving to do what is in our control is that it gives us confidence in Him and that all things will work out as He has repeatedly promised. 

Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise (see Hebrews 10:35-36).

And His will is that you and I do the things within our control.

"Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence" - Jeffrey R. Holland

Robbie

Feeling Stretched

Static stretching is used to stretch muscles while the body is at rest. It is composed of various techniques that gradually lengthen a muscle to an elongated position (to the point of discomfort) and hold that position. During this holding period or directly afterwards, participants may feel a mild discomfort.

The demands you and I experience during life sometime feel like static stretching. Holding various positions, tasks, activities to the point of mild discomfort. I don't feel like its necessary to go into detail where you and I might feel stretched but suffice it to say that if we're anxiously engaged we are going to be stretched.

Something that has always resonated with me while studying the scriptures is the principle that the Lord wishes to grant unto us the righteous desires of our hearts. If you're as intrigued as I am from this topic please carefully study these two addresses from some of my favorite church leaders.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell "According to the Desires of [Our] Hearts"
Elder Dallin H. Oaks "Desire"

I often wonder "with all these desires which ones are of the most importance? How do I recognize if I'm making any progress towards these endeavors? Which ones should be of the highest priority?" Then after reading a particular paragraph from the devotional "Always Remember Him", from Elder D. Todd Christofferson, I was prompted to try a new way to setting goals that isn't represented by the traditional to-do lists or bullet points.

Elder Christofferson taught that Jesus achieved perfect unity with the Father by submitting Himself, body, spirit and will to the follow because it was the Father’s will, Jesus submitted even to death, “the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father” (Mosiah 15:7). He then says, "In the same way, you and I can put Christ at the center of our lives and become one with Him as He is one with the Father (see John 17:20‐23). We could begin by stripping everything out of our lives and then putting it back together in priority order with the Savior at the center. We would first put in place the things that make it possible always to remember Him—frequent prayer, studying and pondering the scriptures, thoughtful study of apostolic teachings, weekly preparation to partake of the sacrament worthily, Sunday worship, recording and remembering what the Spirit and experience teach us about discipleship. There may be other things that will come to your mind particularly suited to you at this point in your life. Once adequate time and means for these matters, for centering our lives in Christ, have been put in place, we can begin to add other responsibilities and things of value insofar as time and resources will permit, such as education and family responsibilities."

I was awestruck after reading this and decided to throw away my goals listed in that traditional manner. I drew a circle and put Christ at the center.  Then I proceeded to put the things that draw me closer to Him. He is at the center of the diagram as He should be in our lives. He beckons us "to come unto Him", and I saw that the honest and righteous desires were close to him because they caused me to "remember Him always".  On the fringes were other responsibilities that are worthy insofar as time and resources permit.

As things in life change, I know that my diagram will adapt but always at the center will be Christ and the key principles that draw me to remembrance and unto Him. I am committed and under covenant to become His disciple. At the heart of becoming a disciple is feeling stretched, experiencing mild discomforts and going through the furnace of affliction (see 1 Nephi 20) that refines and prepares us for the greatest of all gifts He has to offer us, life eternal (see Doctrine & Covenants 14:7).

Robbie

Disclaimer: The majority of the thoughts that I attempt to articulate on this blog are not my own original ideas (not hard to believe). They come from things I have seen, read and heard that resonated with me in a unique manner.