Eternal Families

Wow. I know there is so much for me to catch up on but today I just want to write about my family.

I am beyond overwhelmed with emotion due to the recent events in our country and world. I understand that there have been deaths, especially murders, throughout history and it really should not impact me this much to hear of killings. Or should it?

I feel sorry for the people in this life that do not feel emotion. Those who are so cold and immune to the highly contagious feeling that is love. I realize that some people are unfortunately without the ability to love and feel the way that I take advantage of everyday. But it pains me to know that there are people who have felt that love and have been hardened to it. I hope that for their sake, the people around them who love them and know them, and even those who don't, will reach out to them. "Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." While the contributor of this quote may be ambiguous, the words are not.

Often times I notice myself avoiding people who frighten or intimidate me. No, not scary people, but those who put me out of my comfort zone. Sometimes those people are the closest ones to me, even in my family. It can be easy to isolate myself emotionally when I am isolated physically (Rexburg, Idaho... it may not be an island in the middle of the ocean, but it certainly is out here on its own). I know that I am capable of being an incredible friend, daughter, sister, and mom. Why is it so hard to consistently be one?

After the shooting in the Colorado theater, the Clackamas Mall, and now the shooting at the elementary school I feel as though I've had a change in heart. I've done some really stupid things in my life. I've hurt almost everyone that I most care about. I've lost friends and family (not necessarily by death but by fallings out) whom I care about dearly. I desperately want to become a better person. But I know that it is one thing to say it and an entirely other thing to do it.

Becoming a Latter-day Saint makes me feel like that better person. I know that in the relationships that I have gained since then I have been a better friend and person in this world. I fear, however, that I have lost track of those in the past. I hurt a LOT of them during that summer and as a consequence ruined several friendships. On the other hand, I have gained incredible knowledge for myself and for my family. I know that my family can be together forever. I know that each and every family can be together forever. To those families who have lost love ones, I know that you will see them again. I love each member of my crazy family and know that for me to go where I want in life and after this life I need to be forgiving. It may be selfish, but for me to be forgiven I need to forgive others. It is more healing to me than it is to them.

My life may not be going as I had imagined it ten years ago (Although back then, I was playing MASH to determine my fate ;)). The great thing about that, though, is that I am happier than I could ever have imagined. I have an incredible husband who loves and takes care of me. I have a beautiful and wonderful daughter. I am surrounded by loving people and friends. I have a mom and dad who love me despite all of my mistakes. I have been taken in by my husband's family and loved and accepted.

I want to be the best person I can be. It hurts that it takes painful events like the ones that have happened this year to kick my butt into gear, but here I go.

I hope with all of my heart that my friends and family know that I have changed, but I still love them. I am still Amanda (AJ). I love soccer. I adore food. I still could watch Gilmore Girls a thousand times and not be sick of it. I have a different perspective on life, but I haven't forgotten about those I've hurt. I can't change those things but I can only hope to be a better person. I hope I can be forgiven for the things that I have done.

I pray that we might all work a little harder to help others around us a little more. One simple deed a day can make all the difference in someone's life.

Merry Christmas!

Well today is both Daniel's birthday (and my brother's birthday) and Father's Day! Last night we had some friends over to celebrate and eat lots of junk! This morning we had hashbrowns, eggs, english muffins, and bacon with a glass of orange juice and it was sure delicious! Of course, Daniel is one of the most difficult people to shop for because the only things he wants are either movies or more expensive things that he is picky about (and I certainly don't want to screw up!) so I just got him movies which seems terribly lame.

Being that it is Father's Day and, well, he is a soon(ish)-to-be-dad, I decided to get him a couple of cute little things.

YES! We are expecting a sweet little girl at the very end of October/ beginning of November and we couldn't be more excited. Daniel really wanted a little girl and he is more than thrilled (and seemingly getting a little impatient). We have names in mind, but nothing is decided, and we probably will not share the final decision is until the little one is born! I am now 20 weeks (halfway) through this pregnancy. It has been hard to keep quiet, but considering previous experience, we decided that it was best. I started to feel her move around 16-17 weeks and am now constantly feeling her. We went to our anatomy scan (where they make sure everything is okay and generally when parents find out the gender) and while she was quiet at first, a few pokes and prods and she was moving around like crazy. I am sure she will be a hyper daddy's girl, and most certainly a little princess. These are two onesies that I got for Father's Day, and the latest ultrasound picture:

"My Daddy's Wrapped 'round my little finger!"

"It's not easy being a Princess!"

My belly has begun to pop out, but it still mostly looks like I've just gained quite a few pounds (and I've only gained 5!) but I am still happy about it.

School has been great but really difficult. I've planned out the rest of my schooling so that I will still graduate with a bachelor's in English. The weather has been so nice that it is difficult to focus, but I still love the learning.

Bill Cosby came to BYU-I a week ago Friday and Dan and I went to watch! We had a great time and it was fun to do something so "big" in Rexburg.

At the Cosby Show!

The Man Himself!

Well, that is basically all of the new information for this post. We are planning our trip to the Grand Canyon after school gets out, and then on up to Oregon for the remainder of August, which should be really great :)

It's Spring!

It is finally spring! It has been so nice outside and I was finally able to plant my garden!
I've got lettuce, cucumber, tomato, zucchini, strawberries, onions, and chili peppers.

My garden!

My sister-in-law and her two kids came to visit Idaho on my birthday, along with Dan's mom and I was able to see all of them. It was so much fun and we had some reeeaaally yummy treats.

I have been really into fruity treats (num-nums as I used to call them):

 Sherbet Ice Cream

Apple Cobbler with Oatmeal Streusel (missing some bites) 

 Strawberry Pizza (One my grandma used to make for me)

Dan is playing soccer this semester and is playing at goalkeeper (I think our kids are doomed to that position)! He had a great game and made a few awesome saves, although I don't know how my parents avoided pulling their hairs out while watching... It's so stressful!

 Drinking Some Water

For cinco de mayo we had some people over for a party! It was a lot of fun and we had individual nachos, taquitos, margaritas, chips and salsa and queso, etc. It was delicious!

As usual, I bought way too much ice and margarita mix and have been making strawberry margaritas very often and they are so tasty!

Dan and I went to go see Avengers (finally) the other night and it was so good! I was amazed and absolutely loved it.

Not too much else going on. Only 2 months until the end of the semester, and then Dan and I are taking a trip to Washington D.C./ Philadelphia to see some U.S. history and just to take a little vacation to ourselves! We are really excited and I lovvve planning trips!

This weekend is Memorial Day weekend and we are going out with some friends and then a big ole bbq with our friends on Monday. (Plus lots of homework, studying, and writing in between.) It'll be a great weekend!

Spring Break

Well, finals went pretty well! I ended up with all A's except in one class.
Our friends Matt and April left so we had dinner (and breakfast) with them before they left! Luckily we will see them again in August/September :)

Thursday night we went to our friend's surprise birthday party in Porter Park. We had a great time with them the last night before we left for Oregon.

Here we are at Porter Park for the surprise!

That night we left for Blackfoot, Idaho to stay with Dan's grandparents for the night. His Grandma is an absolute sweetheart and had food for us at almost midnight and gathered some stuff up for us to take with us for the trip!

On Friday we left for the long trip at 5 a.m.! We made it to Oregon by about 4 p.m. but man was it a long drive. That night my dad took us out to eat at a wonderful place called Portofino where Dan had duck (and so did my dad), and I had a delicious homemade pasta with homemade sausage.

 

We finally made it into Oregon! Woohoo!

 

Saturday night Dan met my brother Patrick for the first time. They are both huge history nerds, and love card games, and games like Risk and Axis and Allies and so it actually went really well! My dad made chicken cordon bleu... he sure knows how to cook!

Easter Sunday we had Eggs Benedict at my dad's and then went down to Albany for church with Dan's brother and sister-in-law. They took us in for a couple of days at there house and we had so much fun! Their son, Luke, did an Easter Egg Hunt:

Here he is showing me all of the eggs he collected!
We went to a couple parks and Dan and his brother seemed to have fun playing around...

 Luke decided to take a little nap under the cart when we went to Costco:

 Luke and Mom at the park :)

We stopped by Dan's grandparents to say hello where they gave us some great sandwiches on homemade bread... mmm!

After that, we headed back to Lake Oswego to see my dad again. We went out to Olive Garden with him and my friend Brenna. The next day I spent some time with her again, and then that night we made dinner for my dad! It was so fun!

On Friday Daniel and I went to the Portland Temple. This was my first time in there and it was so memorable! I ended up getting really nauseous and close to passing out (from a lack of food.. I eat a lot:)) but it was so great and absolutely beautiful.
Here is the view from I-5:

 I got lucky and beat my dad at Scrabble with an 84 point word... lucky!

 The bridge out to my mom's house... so beautiful!

 Portland view from the freeway

 So green and tree-y

The street I live on... I forgot how beautiful Oregon is... especially on Sunny days in the spring!

Dan also took me shopping at the Woodburn Outlet mall where I got a new "little black dress" (that he picked out, including accessories!) and new running shoes and shirt with socks! I feel so spoiled and I LOVE the outfits :)

Overall it was an awesome trip to Oregon but now we are back in school and Rexburg has actually been pretty sunny and nice. I started a garden... well the seeds are planted in a starter thing and I bought some wood and soil to build a box garden (or whatever it is they call those things). We'll see how it turns out!

We can't wait to go back to Oregon in August, but for now Rexburg is treating us well and we are busy with classes.

Ta Ta For Now (Tigger anyone?) Random, okay, bye!

April Fools Weekend

To my friends and family back home, here is a picture of our home here in Rexburg... when it's all covered in snow! (One of the few times it snowed here):

 For St. Patrick's Day we had a few people over and they all brought green desserts... yum!

This past weekend Daniel and I travelled down to Tooele, Utah to visit his family! We met up with his mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, and his brother's family. It was so much fun. We watched General Conference and went down to the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City to watch one session.

Daniel's nieces and nephews absolutely love him... especially his niece Riley who was treated like a little princess by him.

You could say he is pretty popular ;)

This week we have been finishing up finals. I have just one more paper to write and then home free! Instead, I am updating this blog.

Tomorrow night we leave for Blackfoot and then on to Oregon on Friday! I can't wait to go see my parents and beautiful Oregon, although it's a shame to leave this amazingly beautiful weather in Rexburg!!

I'm excited to go to beautiful Portland!

This is the bridge that my mom lives about a block away from!

And the sweet pups at my mom's:

Well, until after Oregon, that's it!

My First Post (creative title, I know)

Well, I enjoy reading other people's blogs so I thought I would write my own. Maybe this will be like my "journal" so that I can keep track of what has happened and when!

Anyone who reads this will know that my husband and I eloped to Manzanita Beach. Here we are:

It was a rash decision but I absolutely love being married to this sweet guy!

I was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in August of 2010:

These are the missionaries who taught me!

My husband and I were Sealed (married in the Temple) to each other in August of 2011:

This is Dan's family with us at our Sealing at the Manti Temple in Manti, Utah. It was so beautiful!

A few days later we went to the doctor because I was about half way through my first pregnancy! We were going in to find out the gender of the baby. Unfortunately, the doctors found that our baby had Turner's Syndrome and missing vital organs which meant that she wouldn't live. It was absolutely devastating news, but I was reminded by my sister-in-law that we had been Sealed just a few days before the news. We knew that we would see her again but it was so comforting to know that we were Sealed as a family for eternity just a few days before.

So we went to the hospital and we were able to take home a nice keepsake of some things from our baby (including foot and hand prints :))

A couple months later, in November, my mom (aka my best friend) took me to Disneyland! It was strange to be away from Daniel for a week, but it was so great to spend time with my mom! We had a blast :)

We were some of the few brave people to go on Splash Mountain... we must be Oregonians!

I love my mom!

 Mom's favorite ride... and who can blame her? Neverland anyone?

 Brave pic #2: Big River Run? Absolutely!

A few months later in January, we finally got back into school! We were starting at BYU-Idaho, and I have to admit I was nervous. Not only was I finally getting back into classes, but I was starting at a new school that is a private, religious school. While some things seemed a bit strange at first, I was so excited to be learning and growing.

Now we are at the end of the semester already and I just can't believe it! My life is so different now than I had imagined it would be just a few years ago. I am happier than I have ever been and so thankful for my husband and loving family and friends who have taken me in and loved me through everything!

Dan and I are excited to be going back to Oregon for Spring Break to visit friends and family and also just to be in Oregon. We are such Oregonians at heart that it will be nice to be back in the rainy green state! This upcoming weekend we are going down to General Conference (which is basically a meeting where the Prophet and Apostles, and some others, talk to the entire church, plus we get to hear from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir!). I can't wait to see Dan's family and enjoy a weekend out of Rexburg.
Here is us at last year's General Conference in April:

My life has been a roller coaster but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I started in little Lake Oswego, Oregon, moved to Corvallis, OR for school and soccer, found faith, got married, moved to Kansas then Idaho, and all along the way my friends and family have stood along with me.

 My best friend, Jenna and me. Go Pacers!

We're good at smiling at the same time...


 My soccer girls :) Senior Night of our high school soccer careers!

 Go Beavers!!

Entering Kansas...

 One of my favorite pics of Dan :) In Kansas on a beautiful lake!

Yeah.. this is Kansas.. not what I expected. The Wizard of Oz misled me for too long!

How can I not put up this picture of my dad and my husband?

And finally to Idaho... at the potato museum... slightly stereotypical but sooo good!

This was a much longer post than I had anticipated and a little mushy for my liking, but that's a sum of my life up until this point!