Women's Conference

I got to go women's conference yesterday at BYU for the first time ever! It was incredible! I honestly couldn't believe how many women could be in one place at a time. They were seriously everywhere!



I took this picture at the opening session of the conference. Sitting up on the top I was just in awe at how full the Marriot Center really was. ALL Women!!! Can you believe it!? So I had to take a picture to prove it :)

It was so great to see and listen to the women of our church rejoice in the gospel of Jesus Christ and in His love for us. I am so grateful that I got to be a part of it. I was also so grateful to listen to Sister Julie B. Beck, the women's leader of our church talk about how important we are, as women, to the world. She spoke about Rebecca in the Old Testament, and how pivotal her life was for the House of Israel. She had no idea how vast and immense her posterity would be, and she had no idea that her life, as a woman of God, would influence women around the world thousands of years later. But her devotion and faithfulness was strong and true throughout her life and the influence of a mother's devotion to God really did bless the world for generations to come, and still blesses the world today.

Sister Beck then spoke about how each woman is just as important as Rebecca was to her future generations, because we all have power and influence on our immediate families, and our future generations depend on our faithfulness.

I loved that, and it just made me realize how truly important each woman really is in the life of their family. I love being woman!!! I have so much to work on, but I truly hope that I can live my life faithfully, as Rebecca did, so that my children and grandchildren for generations to come will have a knowledge of and love for their Christ and Savior and this wonderful gospel.

These last pictures are of the service project we attended after our classes. We got to make Christmas stockings for the darling children at Primary Children's hospital, and other children in hospitals around the world. We had to learn how to sew around them and everything! I was pretty proud of myself and my stocking! It was really a great thing to learn how to make. I'd love to make them with the kids in Africa or something. THAT would be awesome!!!





It was so much fun being able to do this with my mom and sister, Aimee. We had such a great time together, and I'm so grateful we were able spend that day together before Spencer and I leave for the summer!

THE LAST AIRBENDER

Call us nerdy and pathetic, but all because of this cartoon, we have been waiting for The Last Airbender Movie to come out for over a year!



We were introduced to this cartoon tv series last year while we were dating and it didn't take long for us to become completely obsessed. Most people think about a cartoon series and don't want much to do with it. But we have yet to find someone who has given it a chance and not loved it! The greatest surprise was my little brothers - teenagers - who at least as obsessed as we are with Avatar, The Last Airbender. We love it! And we are all so excited for the movie to come out except for one small reason...

The first showing of the movie will be on July 2nd and we're not even going to be here to see it! Don't worry, I'm not complaining or anything about going to Africa for the Summer - but if there was one real big downer for us, it is this movie.

Yes, we know we will be able to see it when we get back, and who knows, if it's big enough it may come to Accra before we leave - but we just found out that it's going to be in 3D and I wish more than anything that we could go to the opening night like little groupies and see the very first showing of it. Because chances are, if we have to wait until we get home to see it, it won't be in 3D anymore - and who knows if Accra has a 3D theater. We'll just have to see.

I guess that's what we get for looking for an adventure this summer :)

Enjoy the trailer! (I may be biased, but it's AMAZING!)

These Are A Few Of Our Favorite Things.... Unfortunately!

Have you ever felt like the only things you want and crave are the only things you're completely unable to have? I feel like this is my life lately. You see, my family is playing a game called "Biggest Loser" before our big trip to Can Cun. The winner of this game receives 50 big ones! While in the big scheme of things, $50 isn't all that much, but with a summer like ours and all the money we will be spending, who wouldn't want to have some extra money?
So unfortunately, lifestyle changes need to be made if enough weight is going to be lost to win this competition. (My family is ridiculously competitive)
In light of this, Spencer and I made some goals:
Of course, you have to exercise - Go to the gym 3 times a week, at least!
And our eating habits - Smaller portions, no eating after 8pm, less fatty foods and the worst one of all... SUGAR/DESSERT ONLY 1 DAY A WEEK!
Now, the first goals we made are completely doable and even common sense. But the last two, while they should be reasonable, are killing us! Want a list of our favorite things in this world...? Here it is:
#1 -













This BBQ Chicken Pizza, (crust recipe compliments of Alicia), is amazing! I wish I could make it every single day... No Joke! It's pretty much ridiculous how excited I was when I took my first bite of that pizza. There's something about making food that is completely exquisite that makes me want to make it over and over again. But then I have to look at the top of that pizza and see all luscious mozzarella cheese that oozes off of it, and I have to remind myself how NOT healthy that is for you, and how that is NOT going easy on the fatty foods :(
So my luscious pizza... FAREWELL!

#2 -












Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies
While the cookies in this pictures look a little overdone, just thinking about warm cookies and milk right now makes my mouth water. I know I'm probably torturing myself with this... but really! Who doesn't LOVE chocolate chip cookies!? Cookies in general make Spencer go absolutely crazy. The cookie monster seriously has nothing on him! He will literally eat dozens of cookies in one sitting if he has enough milk with him. And his favorite cookies, by far, are... You guessed it! Chocolate Chip Cookies!
But once again... this scrumptious treat violates the biggest loser code. TOO MUCH SUGAR! RATS!

#3 -







Now this Australian cookie maybe could go in the above category, except for one small dilemma. That picture right there is our freezer right now (but our freezer is worse): Stocked full of Tim Tams! With our leftover Target gift cards from the wedding, we bought all the Tim Tams we could. You see, Tim Tams are a seasonal item (or at least they have been in the past) and we wanted to make sure that we didn't run out of them. We just couldn't bare the thought of going all summer and fall without our Tim Tam Slams, where you bite a hole on each side of the cookie and drink hot chocolate through it until the cookies melts to pieces. AMAZING! Seriously, it's one of the greatest treats/activities in the world - not to mention the fact that Spencer introduced it to me on our first date. (insert oohs and ahhs here)
So, with packs upon packs of Tim Tams staring us in the face day after day, this has definitely made our list of vilinous foods on our road to make millions (or 50 bucks).

And last but not least (for now), the final contestant on Our Favorite Things That Torture Us During Biggest Loser...

I Scream, You Scream - That's right... The two of us are definitely screaming for:

ICE CREAM!!!
When biggest loser started, with what space hadn't been taken up by Tim Tams in our freezer, ice cream was taking up the rest (Okay, so we're really not pathetic fat people that can't possibly live without our fatty foods. We do actually have frozen meats, vegetables and fruits that also take up space in our freezer - I'm just exaggerating a little.) But what else can I say, when we're trying to stay away from these things, we somehow want them 10 times more. Weird how that works huh?
Anyway - Few things in this world remind me more of Spencer than Ice Cream (hence our blog background) and Cookies. His two most favorite things in the entire world, other than me of course! :)
When Spencer was a freshman and he lived next door to me - he would literally go through 1/2 a gallon of ice cream a week.
While he's not so bad anymore and has mastered a little self control - since we've been married, I don't think our freezer has EVER lacked at least one carton. And with Spencer's birthday on the very weekend that we started Bigget Loser, we had stocked up on ice cream and have been staring at the leftovers ever since. Definitely killer!
And all this wouldn't be quite so bad if we weren't moving out of our apartment the day BEFORE Biggest Loser ends. Which means all of this wonderful junk food that's been stored up by us will go to waste if we can't eat it! Which we CAN'T! AHHH!!! But we're slowly finding ways - because even more than we would like to win that $50 - we really don't like wasting food. Especially food that we love OH SO MUCH!
So wish us luck, and keep praying that our endurance holds out just a little bit longer. We'd really like a shot at winning!

KILLER FAITH!

So my initial plan for this blog is to write about our adventures and all the fun things Spencer and I get to do. So with that in mind, I never really intended to post a bunch of thoughts about my religion. But I just came from a religion class that Spencer and I attend once a week, and I would feel completely ungrateful if I didn't write down a few of my thoughts before they run away with me. Please forgive me for my lack eloquency, but I hope this portrays some of my thoughts and feelings as I actually see them.

Here goes... !

So the man who teaches the class is absolutely incredible! His insights and the way he brings the spirit into the classroom every week leaves me completely in awe at the end of every class. Tonight we talked a lot about the protestant reformation and the many inspired people who paved the way for the reformation and eventually the restoration of our church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). We read journal entries and quotes from many of those people and tried to understand their motivations for going against the papal authority and truly risking and sacrificing their lives for the things they believed.

What amazing faith these men had! It causes much inward reflection, wondering whether I would be willing to give everything I have for my beliefs. I have never been faced with a life and death situation that hangs on the balance of my beliefs. I'd like to think that I'd be brave enough and have the integrity to stick to what I KNOW to be true, but I don't KNOW what'd I'd end up doing. I don't KNOW a lot of things. But the ONE thing I know for certain in this life is that the gospel of Jesus Christ, as restored by the Prophet Joseph Smith, IS Jesus Christ's church.

If someone asked me how or why I know it's true, I don't know that I could ever give them a direct answer. I know it with every fiber of my being. I know it when I pray and have feel of the Lord's presence. I knew it every time I saw the light in the eyes of one of my amazing Estonian friends study the Book of Mormon for the first time and feel of it's power. I know it when I read the word of God, whether it be the Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon and also the words of our modern prophets and apostles.

It was once said that THE BEST WAY TO LEARN ABOUT A RELIGION AND WHAT THEY BELIEVE IS BY STUDYING THE WORDS AND TEACHINGS OF THEIR LEADERS. I completely, 100% believe in that saying.

We just had the general conference of our church, where our prophet and the church leadership spoke. The spirit I felt when listening to their declarations of belief and their words of caution and guidance was incredible. If anyone here is actually reading this post and happened to miss these amazing talks, or honestly has no idea what I'm talking about, check it out! Here's the link where you can watch conference, listen or read each talk individual... I promise it'll be worth your while! http://lds.org/conference/sessions/display/0,5239,23-1-1207,00.html

I feel so blessed and lucky to have this gospel in my life. It is the most prized possession I will ever have, because through it, I KNOW that Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer, and I KNOW that this is HIS gospel. So, just as those amazing men literally gave their lives for what they knew to be true, I will give my life (most likely in more of a metaphorical way) for what I know to be true. It is truly THAT important to me, and even though I have my flaws and weaknesses, I want to do ALL I can to make my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ proud of me.

He Lives: Testimonies of Jesus Christ

This post is actually a continuation of the post above it, but I thought I'd post this one first so that it hopefully all flows together. I'm still working on this blog thing, and maybe someday I'll get it right :)

This video, for me, is really touching. I am grateful for the leaders of our church who teach and testify of Jesus Christ. I KNOW, also, that Christ lives and loves us.

If you have the time, please take the 2 minutes you need to watch this. Thank you!

My motivation

I have never done a blog before and I'm not exactly sure how this is going to go. I can't figure out how to design it and make it cute like everyone else does, but I've never really been much of a creative person, so I guess what I've got here is gonna have to do.

I've also always been rambler when it comes to writing things down. I write a whole lot of nothing most of the time... another reason I've never done a blog. BUT I now have a really good reason for setting and keeping this up here.

We are going to have some CRAZY adventures this Summer, and I'm horrible at writing regularly, so I figured that creating this blog will be the best way to keep everyone updated.

Now you wonder... What are they going to be doing this Summer that merits the title of CRAZY adventures? Well let me break it down for you...

I graduate from Utah State on Saturday, May 8th (insert cheers and shouts of joy here)! On Monday, May 10th my husband and I fly with my family to CanCun Mexico, where we will spend a week on the beach at an ALL-INCLUSIVE resort. Basically, it's going to be a week of sheer relaxation and enjoyment, with lots and lots of FOOD! Who could ask for anything more!?

We fly home from Mexico and arrive in Salt Lake on the evening of the May 17th, THEN only 15 hours later we hop back on a plane headed to ACCRA, GHANA where we will catch a ride about an hour and a half to 2 hours north to a little town called ABOMOSU, and it will be in this little town that we live until AUGUST 5th!!!Accra is located on the Southern edge of Ghana, right on the coast, and Abomosu is somewhere north of that... If you were to draw a line in between Konongo and Koforidua, you would find Abomosu right in between the two and right below Nikawkaw :)

So, I'm sure you're all wondering what could possibly give us the drive to head to Africa for the better part of the summer... especially knowing how much we are going to miss out on. My brother Josh is leaving on an LDS Mission to Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico on July 21st. This will be 2 out of 2 brothers who have left on their missions while I've been out of the country. I MUST be a horrible sister! My husband, Spencer's sister is getting married in August while we're still gone, and one of his best friends is getting marred at the end of May. I guess I never realized how much you can miss in only a few months... but it's becoming apparent quickly.

But back to the reason for going to Africa. Spencer got an internship there with a program in the school of business at Utah State University, where we attend school, called SEED. Small Enterprise Education and Development, I think :) It's going to be an amazing experience!

So Spencer and this other kid, Joey (who is also bringing his wife!), will $2,000 given to them, to go around the town and figure out what kind of business opportunities there are in the region, find people who have the ambition and work ethic to run the business, give them a micro loan to help them start their business and educate these people as to how a business should be run, and what they need to do to be successful and provide for themselves and their families.

What a adventure that will be, and such great experience for them too! I am so proud to have a husband who is so amazing and driven to go out and find these kinds of amazing opportunities. He's absolutely incredible!

As for me... I am just kind of the tag-along in this operation. Luckily Joey's wife, Emily, will be there, which I am so grateful for! But it turns out that there are some schools there in the town where we will be able to help out. We also learned this week that we will be staying with a family there who are members of our church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... aka, The Mormons). WOW! What an amazing blessing that will be! I honestly believe that God has had a major hand in us going to Ghana. We are supposed to be there for a reason, and I can not wait to get submerged in their culture and get to know the amazing people there. I can't help but think about how I'm going to learn to love these people so much, and only staying and a half months is going to be WAY too short of a time.

The only motivation I will have for leaving Ghana will be the next two and half weeks after that, when we leave from Ghana and head directly to HELSINKI, FINLAND and take a ferry across the Gulf of Finland to the Promised Land of ESTONIA!!!! It makes me cry just thinking about it!!!

This wonderful land is where I spent a year and a half of my life serving the Lord on a mission for my church. It was honestly the best thing I could have ever chosen to do. The things I learned in Estonia, from those wonderful people and from those I served with, is irreplaceable. As much as I'd like to say that I love every minute of being, I definitely can't. But I wouldn't trade a single one of those minutes for anything else. I am so grateful for all the time I spent there, serving and teaching and most of all, learning. I wouldn't be where I am today or who I am without my wonderful Estonia and the opportunties that the Lord gave me to learn and grow while I was there. Those people changed my life, and the opportunity I have to go back there and visit those that I love for the first time since I came home in December of 2008, is an opportunity I will never take for granted. The excitement inside me, just thinking about being back in that place, really does bring me to tears. I honestly can't wait!

And my trip there will end our Summer with a bang. We will have to head back to the States on August 23rd, where Spencer will be starting his last 2 semesters of school at Utah State on the August 30th.

What a breakdown of our summer! I can't wait for it to all start, and even now, I NEVER want it to end!