Conference Weekend/ 18 Week Bumpdate

Time feels like it's FLYING BY!  I love this time of year.  It didn't take much convincing for Braedon to drive up the canyon with me over the weekend.  Nobody can deny the beauty of the Utah mountains right now!  I find myself grinning ear to ear each fall and this year is no different.  

Over the weekend Braedon and I watched conference and during the break we escaped up Big Cottonwood canyon.  We pulled over on one of my favorite walks and took a stroll around silver lake.  It smelled AMAZING and the pictures just don't do the fall colors the justice they deserve!  

My top 3 favorite conference talks were

Elder Perry: Finding Lasting Peace and Building Eternal Families

Elder Scott: Make the Exercise of Faith Your First Priority

and

Elder Bednar: Come and See

Elder Bednar's talk was addressed specifically to non-members and I especially loved this quote...

"Some of you may respond, “But I already believe in Jesus and follow His teachings,” or “I am not sure if God really exists.” Our invitations to you are not an attempt to diminish your religious tradition or life experience. Bring all that you know is true, good, and praiseworthy—and test our message. Just as Jesus beckoned two of His disciples to “come and see” (John 1:39), so we urge you to come and see if the restored gospel of Jesus Christ enlarges and enriches that which you already believe to be true."

^^ Priesthood session means a trip to Hobby Lobby and I got started on a nursery craft ^^

Last but not least, I'm 18 weeks!!  We are almost halfway people! 

Bumpdate below..

How far along: 18 weeks

Total weight gain: 3 lbs.  This question is annoying.  

Maternity clothes: Nope... however that has not stopped me from purchasing them.  I'm still fitting into my regular jeans using the infamous rubber band trick but I got my first pair of maternity jeans and can I just say AMAZING.  Also really hilarious.  

Stretch marks: Nope, not yet anyway.  

Sleep: I slept in till 10 today and didn't even stir. It was amazing.  However I'm finally starting to get a bump and can't sleep on my stomach anymore.   

Best moment of this week: Ok call me crazy, and maybe it was some "gastric movement" but I SWEAR I felt my baby move today!  It was like a little "pop-pop!".  I called Braedon right away and he couldn't answer because he was volunteering at the hospital but he texted back, "Aw the good ol 1-2 step!  That's my boy!"  It made me smile real big.  

Miss anything: Nope.  

Movement: See above haha  

Food cravings: Coconut Chobani greek yogurt.  Eat it every day.  

Anything making you queasy or sick: Only if I go too long without snacking/eating a meal! Also, I can walk by a garbage can at work and know what's in it.  It's terrifying.  And I can also tell which babies are on antibiotics because they radiate this awful antibiotic smell.... pregnancy gives you super powers.   

Have you started to show yet: Yes!  Some days more than others.    

Gender: BOY!!!! 

Belly button in or out: In

Wedding rings on or off: On

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy!  It's true what they say- the second trimester is the "honeymoon phase".  At least for me!  

Looking forward to:  Going on a baby moon!  Even though we're pretty overwhelmed with all the financing that goes into having a baby, we're excited to splurge and take one last trip as just Braedon and Stef.  I'm pretty dang spoiled!!   

A Trial of Faith

About a year ago Braedon and I were frantically trying to get ready to make it to the temple in time for a 7:00 endowment session for ward temple night.  As soon as Braedon got home from work and changed, we rushed to the car, and next thing we knew he had dropped his keys in-between the driver's seat and the center console- basically the never ending black hole.  

After we took too much time fishing out his keys, we hopped on the freeway breaking a few speed limits to only hit bumper to bumper traffic as we made it downtown.  Apparently there was a Jazz game that night.  

We quickly realized we were not going to make the 7:00 session, but wanted to go anyways and figured we'd catch the 8:00. 

We parked, walked into the temple, and as we were scanning our recommends I saw someone I knew out of the corner of my eye.  It was my Dad!  He had just finished a session and was on his way out.  

Chance meeting?  Coincidence?  Definitely not. 

At this particular point in time my parents were separated, and I think it was especially hard for my dad because he didn't have anyone at home to keep him company.  I think the Lord provided a way for this meeting to happen for a few reasons. We ended up having dinner with my dad in the temple, and I think it was nice for him to not have to eat alone that night.  

Perhaps another reason why this meeting was made to happen was so that Braedon and I could see my Dad's example of temple attendance, especially during such a hard time for our whole family.   By the way, this has a really happy ending.  My parents are actually back together, and doing great.   

As I've thought about this experience I've realized it's a pretty good depiction of following the Lord's plan.  A lot of times we are working towards a "righteous desire", in this case: going to the temple.  We hit speed bumps, roadblocks, and mishaps along the way that can feel like major setbacks, in this case: dropping our keys and getting stuck in traffic.

Sometimes when we hit these setbacks we are tempted to ask the why questions.  Why did you drop your keys when we are in such a hurry??  Why doesn't the Lord just part the traffic so we can get to the temple on time??  

What we don't realize is that if we would just have faith in the Lord's plan, the end result can be much greater than even we could imagine.  This is because the Lord sees the end from the beginning, and he also desires to bless us when we keep his commandments.  Rather than just meet our ward for temple night, we got to sit down and have dinner with my Dad in the temple, and then do a session together after.

Rather than ask those icky why questions, we can focus on the what.  What can I learn?

I started writing this post because I feel like I am going through something similar to this experience just on a larger scale right now. I'm also certain that this type of experience will probably happen more than once in my lifetime and I should probably document it so when I forget next time I'll be able to remind myself what I learned.

Being a nursing graduate in Utah is hard, especially with the saturation of nurses here.  Dang mormons.  Jk.  

I have applied for jobs, hand delivered my resume, tweaked and re-tweaked said resume, interviewed, networked, written thank you notes, and been turned down again and again.  Really it's just a miracle to even get interviewed at this point.

So, I have this "righteous desire", to work in a speciality that I love and have regularly scheduled full time hours (something my job just doesn't have right now).  I feel like I'm hitting those setbacks- getting turned down over and over- and it's easy to allow myself to feel defeated.  However, I've felt the Lord's spirit encouraging me throughout this long process, and I know that there is something wonderful waiting ahead- I just have to be patient.  I do think I'm getting a little more patient.  I check my email probably five times a day now rather than every five minutes (I'm not exaggerating when I say I used to check it every five minutes, it was slightly excessive).

What I do know is this; as long as we keep the commandments, listen to the spirit, and continually try to do our best, everything WILL work out!  

To all you new grads out there- good luck!!  May the odds be ever in your favor.  (dooo...dooo..doo...doo)

Here I am after graduation with my new pink, engraved, pediatric stethoscope that my cute husband got me.  Oblivious to the rough job search ahead.  My mom keeps reminding me that even though this first year has been hard, nursing is an amazing career life-long and this will seem like a short moment once I've landed my "dream nursing job".

I still have the same excitement to "start my nursing career", but I'm a little less naive in thinking I'd get my dream job right away.  It's not easy, but that's how you know it'll be worth it!

Aaaaand a few Pinterest quotes that have hit me hard lately.  I know I know, roll your eyes because they are pretty cheesy but it doesn't make them any less good!  

And last but not least, a few pictures (and people) that I scan always count on to make me smile....

Not only was this a happy moment, but notice my nephew Stillman in the left-hand corner.  I think he really captured the essence of this shot and I can just picture him whipping that sparkler in circles and  hear his excited "woooooooo!!!" just by looking at this picture.  

This guy.  Best part about being married?  You get to take everything on as a team.  

Ok sorry, but it made you smile right??

My F316 Girls

I figure my life long friends deserved a little shout out.  Get prepared for a novel.  Through our freshman year of college, from break-ups, to missions, to engagements, and marriages, we've been able to pick up right where we left off each time we meet up.  As we've gotten older we've discussed changing out monthly dinners from Chili's to a more "grown up" establishment, but it just doesn't feel right.  Chili's is where we all bonded for the first time! 

Evolution of the Chili's dinners.... (not all are pictured)

All grown up, married, engaged, and freshly off missions.  

Despite all the years, we can probably all agree that nothing has really changed.  

These girls are my friends for life.  I wasn't really sure where I wanted to go to college and didn't really  have a plan after high school.  My dad encouraged me to try out for the UVU dance team and I figured, why not?  I ended up making the team, and convinced Taelor to move in to an apartment with me- with six other girls that we didn't know.  All we knew was that we would be getting put with other dancers from the team...which ended up being Whitney, and Micah. 

I used to hate the term, "tender mercies", as cheesy as it may sound....this was a huge tender mercy.   

Freshman year of college was a big year of change for me.  I had to decide who I wanted to be, and I where I wanted to go.  These girls were little missionaries to me without even knowing it.  The way they lived their lives and shared their testimonies through example helped me realize that I wanted that same happiness and confidence that they had.  We might have stayed up too late, too many times making pancakes, and gone to one too many dance parties, but the standards they upheld were a constant.  

They've put up with my clumsiness and learned to embrace it....

We've danced together...

And waited in below 30 degree weather together just to watch the season premier of Twilight.  Plus Lyndsi tickled my back...

We've gone on trips together and they put up with my hangry-ness...

We learned to keep snacks on hand...

I had each and everyone of their support through getting engaged to getting married....and holler Tae is getting married this summer!!  

We've celebrated farewells, and even better, homecomings...

It's safe to say, I love these girls...

Heres to 100 more years together.  P.S. you guys will get wrinkles first.  

Enduring It Well

Recently I was browsing through Pinterest and was led to a link with a Mormon Channel series called, "Enduring It Well".  

Each episode is about 30 minutes long, perfect for a commute- also why I was seeking out something both inspiring and "page-turining" or ear turning (?) to listen to- something to help the time spent in the car go a little faster.
The episodes are all about someone who has gone through a pretty life-changing trial, and of course, endured it well.  I would recommend listening to the episode "Lessons Learned" first.  We get to hear from our incredible prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, and one of his trials, as well as little blurbs of all the other amazing people, their trial, and what they learned.

I recently listened to an episode about a teenage boy who had been given pain medication that had mistakenly not been diluted by the pharmacist.  He got 20 times the dose (similar to taking 20 Percocet), and was in a coma for 72 days from an anoxic brain injury.  Hearing the story from his parents view as well as his view was both heart-wrenching and inspiring!

Some things I have really taken to heart from these episodes...
1. Even the prophet has dark days, but choses to seek the light
(why am I wanting to use a Harry Potter quote right now?)
"Happiness can be found even in the darkest times, if one only remembers to turn on the light"
-Albus Dumbledore
p.s. the prophet has a lot of better quotes.
2. When you receive something from the holy ghost it is eternal; Heavenly Father doesn't have to remind you again and again
3. He is there.  He is always there, and he will always be there.  No matter how many times we fall.

"Only the Master knows the depths of our trials, our pain and our suffering.  He alone offers us eternal peace in times of adversity.  He alone touches our tortured souls with his comforting words, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.  Take my yolk upon you and learn of me.  For I am meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light"
-Thomas S. Monson

Another favorite..(or two)

"Shall I falter, or shall I finish?"
-Thomas S. Monson

"We truly need Him every hour, whether it be hours of sunshine or hours of rain"
-Thomas S. Monson

Anyways, just listen to it.

 

I don't know why I included this picture, other than the fact that this lady just makes me want a hug!  She's adorable and her smile is infectious.  

Sorry about those last two.  Sometimes my inner Hunger Games/ Harry Potter obsession gets a little too out of hand and I have to just let it out.  I mean, talk about inspiring right?

Hope you have an awesome week!

Weekly Planning

This post is so very "married" of me.  

At the beginning of each school semester Braedon and I usually ask for a priesthood blessing. You can read about what a priesthood blessing is here. Last semester we got council through a blessing from Braedon's dad for us to start planning together and having family "meetings".  

Ever since then we have been doing planning sessions on Sunday night of every new week.  It has strengthened our marriage, kept us on the same page, and helped us establish goals that we couldn't accomplish on our own!  I really love our planning sessions and we feel like it definitely brings us closer.  I feel like a total mom whipping out our calendar and making notes but hey, I'm not ashamed!

We pattern our planning sessions after preach my gospel with a few modifications.  You can see what preach my gospel suggests here.

We use an app called CareZone (I know, I know) and we love it. You should get it. It has a calendar, a section for "to-do's", notes, medications, you name it. Plus it links to both of our phones so if either of us makes a change we'll get an alert.  Sometimes Braedon will write something cute in the middle of the week like, "7:00 Thursday: Dancing with Stef in the kitchen" and I'll get an alert that "Braedon has made a change to the calendar".  

Here is how we do our planning...

1. Start with a prayer together: this helps us get in the right mindset and have an effective session

2. Pull up the calendar (on CareZone) and map out what you have going on that week.  We include work, school, date night, and whatever else is set in stone that we can link a day and time to.

3. Set goals for the week/ semester or however else you'd like to do it.  One of our goals this semester is less stress, more fun.  We've tried to incorporate some tasks on our "to-do" list (which will come next) that will hopefully help us fulfill these goals!  

Yes our bedtime is now 10-10:30.  Again, this is such a married post.  

4. Set your "to-do" list.  This is probably one of my favorite features because you can check it off during the week when it's done and it'll send an alert to Braedon that I "finished" the task!  One of our "to-do's" this week included making each other a playlist of new songs we both haven't heard before. We're hoping this is a good start to "less stress, more fun".  

5. Companionship Inventory.  This is such a "mission" thing, but I actually really like it and it's helped us become a stronger team and push each other to be our best. 

 Basically it goes like this; first we talk about what the other person did really well the previous week, and the things we really appreciated.  This part is easy!  Next, we talk about what improvements the other person could make for the coming week.  At first, I was so uncomfortable doing this!  Who am I to tell Braedon what he needs to improve on??  It's kind of evolved into suggestions for accomplishing goals, minimizing stress, etc. You could think of it as a very non-threatening way to address any issues you might have. 

For example, Braedon has a new business venture that he's wanting to start so I gave him suggestions on how to get it flowing.  Braedon knew I was stressed last week and gave me suggestions that he knew would help me to overcome it this week.  These are things we do during the week but for some reason at this time it feels more meaningful and sincere because the focus is just on the other person.  

6. End with a prayer.  

Prayer is probably the most important thing for us to have a successful planning session.  It sets the tone, and gets us on the same page.  I honestly look forward to this little time together each week! No matter how "married" it may seem. Hopefully some of these ideas can be helpful for you too and if you made it though this post without falling asleep I applaud you!  

Marriage Pet Peeves

Moral of the story: we're not perfect. 

Braedon's pet peeve: 

//when I forget to squeegee the shower//

(happens a lot...)

My pet peeve:

//towels thrown over the shower, unfolded//

(just one fold vertically would suffice)

But you know what?  I still love him.  A lot. 

"It is so rewarding to be married.  Marriage is wonderful.  In time you begin to think alike and have the same ideas and impressions.  You have times when you are extremely happy, times of testing, and times of trial, but the Lord guides you through all of those growth experiences together" -Elder Richard G. Scott from the General Conference talk, "The Eternal Blessings of Marriage"

One of my favorite conference talks on marriage.  Listen to it, and grab some tissues!

Click here to watch the video

Our Weekend

Since Braedon has been volunteering for the U-fit program every Friday, it kind of puts a little kink in our normal date night routine.  Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for a selfless husband who is willing to give up his Friday night, teaching sports to kids with disabilities, but I definitely miss spending the time with him!  He did a good thing and surprised me with tickets to see Thor, (I know I'm a nerd and wanted to see it so bad!).  By the way, it was awesome.  When we got home we set up our tent we won from Vivint and decided to have a campout in the basement-Murdock style.  Complete with a mattress and lots of blankets and pillows.

This tent is unreal.  I think we could fit a family of eight!  Saturday night we got to go to the LDS conference center for a musical performance.  President Monson even attended!  Everyone was chatting and when he walked in the room fell in a hush as everyone stood- it was amazing!  I have a hard time not getting choked up.  You can just feel the spirit testifying that he is our true and living prophet!  My favorite performer of the night was 11 year old Lexi Walker.  She stole the show!  Below is a video of her singing the National Anthem at the Real game.  

She is incredible right??

  

As if our weekend couldn't have been better, we had our Primary Program at church on Sunday.  Probably my favorite sacrament meeting!  All the sunbeams (the youngest children in primary) were lined up at the front of the stand to sing "Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam".  They were belting out their little hearts, and trying so hard to be reverent at the same time.  Three boys were crowded around the microphone and in between "jesus wants me for a sun....." we hear, "ugh stop pushing me!", "stop touching me!" right into the microphone! Braedon and I couldn't keep it together.  We were shaking we were laughing so hard.  The little trickster finally got in front of the microphone and made sure to finish the song with "I'll be a sunbeam for HIIIIIIMMMMM" (loud breathing).  It was so cute.   

My favorite song the Primary sang is called "A Child's Prayer"...

Heavenly Father, are you really there?

And do you hear and answer every child's prayer?

Some say that Heaven is far away...

But I feel it close around me as I pray

Heavenly Father, I remember now

Something that Jesus told disciples long ago

Suffer the children to come to me

Father in prayer I'm coming now to thee...

I sang this song with my sister and my cousins at my Aunt Carrie's funeral 15 years ago- but every time I hear it all of those feelings come rushing back! Carrie died in a car accident at a young age.  I was sobbing like a baby.  Braedon was probably a little embarrassed but gently put his arm around me, held me close, and let me get mascara all over his shirt.

Thanks for reading, 

Sweet Treats with a Sweeter Experience

Today I have a fabulous fall dessert recipe to share, one word: pumpkin. But, more importantly, I'd like to share  a sweet testimony we heard today in church that just really put things into perspective.  

A new mom had just witnessed the blessing of her precious baby girl. (I sure do love baby blessings!)  She got up to the stand, a little teary eyed, and shared a beautiful testimony.  I'll have to paraphrase her story:

"It was prescribed by our doctor to give our little girl tummy time each day.  The purpose of tummy time is to help our baby girl get stronger- she will gain better control of her head and neck muscles.  That way, when she starts rolling, she will be able to lift her head up and be able to breathe if she gets stuck on her tummy. If she can't do this on her own, there is a possibility she could suffocate. Every day I try to remember to give my daughter tummy time.  As I sit and watch her this is what I observe; at first, she's a champion.  She struggles a little but keeps fighting.  Then, her confidence slowly turns into a whimper, she cries out and I can tell that as each second passes she's getting more and more tired.  Finally, she can't take it anymore, she's in tears and has to put her head down.  This part is hard for me, as her mother, I just want to swoop in and save the day.  I can tell that as I sit by and observe, she can't see me, and she has forgotten that I've been by her side the whole time.  But, as much as I want to pick her up and soothe her cries, I know that this tummy time is important- to make her stronger.  So it is with our Heavenly Father.  When we are faced with times of adversity and trial, and we find ourselves thinking, "Why me?", "Why haven't you saved me?", "Why can't you make this easier?", we must remember two things. One, He is always there.  Two, He know's what we can handle, He has a plan, He is only making us stronger, molding us to be the greatest we can achieve."  

This perfect analogy struck me hard today. I realized that I know that our Heavenly Father loves us. I'm certain of His love for me individually.  He gives us small doses of "tummy time", only to prepare us for what is to come, so that when faced with harder trials we won't suffocate.  

On a lighter note, the long awaited for recipe! (jk).  These soft but chewy cookies will convert even the most stubborn pumpkin haters!  I found the recipe on Pinterest (of course) and made my own adjustments.  Instead of a glaze, I chose to make some homemade cream cheese frosting.  *I added to the recipe: brown sugar (can't live without it), a little more pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.  

I didn't do step by step pictures for this one.  But the final product is pictured above!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 cup vegetable oil

*3/4 cup pumpkin puree (original recipe calls for 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup powdered sugar

*1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 large eggs

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

*1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

*1/4 teaspoon ginger

*1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

*pinch of cloves

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter at room temp

1 8oz. pkcg cream cheese at room temp

powdered sugar (I do this by ear, explanation below)

optional:

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

cinnamon-to sprinkle on top after cookies are frosted 

Directions:

Preheat oven to bake at 350 degrees. Cream sugars, butter and vegetable oil (*tip: my mom always taught me that the longer you cream, the better the cookie-set your mixer on a high setting for this). Beat in eggs, pumpkin puree, and vanilla.  Mix in dry ingredients leaving flour for last. Slowly stir in flour one cup at a time (*tip: another mom trick, try not to mix the dough too much after the flour and dry ingredients have been added).  Scoop (heaping) 1 tablespoon drops of the dough onto a baking sheet.  Press each cookie down with a glass cup- about 1/2 inch thick.  Bake for 9-11 minutes.  While your cookies are baking beat together butter and cream cheese (for frosting) with a hand mixer.  Slowly mix in powdered sugar, I probably used almost a whole package.  You want your frosting to be light and hold it's shape, if you scoop it up and it droops easily you need more powdered sugar- don't be afraid to keep adding!  Once your cookies are cooled, frost them, ]sprinkle with cinnamon and serve!  I took these cookies to a Vivint (work) party and I'm pretty sure they were a hit- the plate was bare by the time we left.  I even got this compliment, "Stef, I hate pumpkin, but you're cookies were soooooo good!!"  Hope you'll give them a try!