Tender Mercies

 Merry Christmas!! At the beginning of the 2015 Christmas Season, I was sitting in my bed late one evening when a knock was heard at the door. Confused as to who would come by at 9:30 PM, we checked to see who it was, only to find on our doorstep a mini Christmas tree, cookies, and ornaments.  This small Christ-like gesture was a perfect reminder to me of the true meaning of Christmas--that of love for our neighbors. It also came at the perfect time, a reminder to me that I am looked out for and loved by my Savior. Little did they know we were not going to have a tree this year if it weren't for them! I wish I could tell whoever it was "Thank you," but since it was anonymous, this will have to suffice.  Christmas is also a time to spend with those we love best...friends, families, and/or our furry friends. It is also to celebrate the birth of our Savior. This past week I was blessed to be able to spend it with my family in Arizona. I wish you all a very M...

This was my first Thanksgiving that I hosted, which meant that I cooked the turkey. It kind of seems like a promotion in the kitchen or something. I've only cooked one other turkey in my entire life and that was only for my husband and I so the stakes were not high. This year, however, we invited friends over, so the stakes were a teensy bit higher, though not really because they are practically like family. Most Thanksgivings include lots of travel, cooking, family, noise, and commotion, and near accidents as well as love, laughter, and memories. We just were not feeling up to that this year, so we opted out of traveling and crowds and stayed home, sharing dinner with some close friends. Except for the near accident part. Everything was going well with the turkey. It was dressed and seasoned and in the roasting pan. After it had only been in the oven for 2 minutes we started to see smoke and then the three smoke alarms in our apartment started to go off, including the main ala...

This guy. I sure love him. Yesterday we celebrated 4 years of marriage by eating waffles for breakfast and then heading out on a lovely 6 mile hike at Clinton Lake. Surprisingly, this was the first hike we have gone on together since moving to Kansas...our bodies sure felt amazing as we walked in the fresh air outside. We ended it with some dancing in our living room to our songs and then a new recipe--Beef Biryani--for dinner. This year's song is Change Your Mind  by Sister Hazel. Marshall and I have both made some pretty big changes, for the better, in our individual lives this year and Change Your Mind  seemed to highlight these changes. The biggest change has been from me increasing my weight by 27% and regaining my fertility. It was so hard, but he stayed by my side and never let me give up. Through it all, I would often comment on how I wanted to be something else or be different, afraid that the changes weren't going to be good. While I do know tha...

This past Thursday, my heart was ripped out for the second time in 6 months . I felt betrayed. Alone. Emotionally drained. Afraid for "next time."  I felt like a failure, incapable of doing what my body was made to do. But then, after all of these emotions gushed out of me, I felt a peace sweep over me, unlike anything I had ever felt before. It was as if I knew  everything would be okay for me in the long run. Not like that is the answer I wanted in the heat of the moment, but it was still a comforting feeling that I wished I could bottle up for when my emotions went awry again.  I found out I was pregnant on October 26th. I knew I was pregnant even before I got two pink lines, so was elated when I finally got the positive result. I didn't tell any of my family, just two of my best friends. It was going to be my parents' Christmas present because I was going to be around 13 weeks by then, perfect timing.  The day after my positive test, I went in and g...

Last night I taught my first "unofficial" official yoga class! On Sunday I was asked if I would be willing to do a class for the 16-18 year old girls at church on Wednesday. Although I said yes right away, I was immediately nervous because I hadn't ever taught a class before. I wondered what I would teach, how I would fill up the time, if they would like it, and whether it would be too easy/hard. So many questions filled my mind, but I knew I had to do it, and I was excited nonetheless.  The day before the class, I put together an intermediate flow. I didn't want to make it too simple and slow because I was teaching teenagers and I know that I would have wanted a fast-paced class when I was that age. Here is what we did: Focus for the Class: Energize and Trust Begin in Sukhasana with right leg crossed in front Close eyes and take hands palms down to the knees.  Bring awareness to the breath  Place right hand on naval and left hand on collar bone Breath...

Happy Halloween! What did you guys do to celebrate? Among our festivities of the day, we stopped by the meat shop and picked up our half cow that we ordered back in February from  M & J Ranch  .  Fitting that their initials are our initials...I guess it was meant to be.  We loved the ranch from the moment we met Joyce and her husband at their gorgeous ranch home just outside of Lawrence. They are so family-oriented, have good values, and love what they do. Marshall and I like to eat food from people who grow/raise their food with love and pride because it tastes better and makes our bodies feel better and more energetic. We're also so excited to have 100% grass fed beef in our freezer that was purchased at an excellent price of $4.95/lb after including the sales tax and processing fees. There is no way you'd be able to buy 100% grass fed beef steaks, briskets, or let alone ground beef for that price.  We really didn't know what we were getting o...

Kansas Bucket List 2015-2019 When we moved to Alaska in 2011, we heard so many people tell us what we had to do/see before we left the state. So we made a simple chart of 10 items we wanted to do. Some of them were extravagant (like taking a cruise to Hawaii) while others were pretty doable like see a glacier. The funny thing is that we did end up going to Hawaii while in Alaska, albeit on a plane. See? Writing down your hopes and dreams does  help!  When we moved to Kansas, we didn't really have many people telling us of the great and wonderful things we needed to do/see while living here. However, we know there has got to be some great sights and heartland stuff to see...so here is our attempt in making Kansas more interesting than Alaska. I don't know if we will succeed, but at least we can leave here knowing we saw lots of cool "Kansas things." No regrets people.  Many of these ideas came from  Kansastravel.org , a great site that has attractio...

Guys, I found a dress! Last week I talked about not having a dress for the formal because I had grown out of the one I was planning on wearing...but the next day I went on a 3 hour shopping trip and found one that worked and was comfortable. It was a pretty awesome deal.  This was my 4th military ball I have been to, and it was my most favorite one to date. The event was held at Abe & Jake's Landing   in Lawrence, a beautiful venue for a formal event. The food was decent, but most of all, the keynote speaker was actually interesting and engaging . He was a retired Navy Captain, and had all of the students and staff laughing, cheering, and participating in his speech. We all left with a renewed sense of camaraderie, morale, and pride for our Country.  I met Marshall's classmates and really enjoyed the evening with them. They were all excited to meet "Adams's wife," and they said I lived up to their expectations. phew! :) It was the mos...

For the past month, I have been thinking about how to cultivate self-love. I think it is an important topic that many can relate to. Throughout this post I am going to highlight some tips that have worked for me to cultivate my personal self-love.  Back in September, my husband and I went to the Kansas City Temple for a date night and I asked Marshall to take some pictures for me. I didn't know that would mean a whole bunch of candid shots :-). I suppose I don't mind much, since they do a pretty nice job of capturing the mood I was in. I hope you enjoy the pictures and tips. 1. Name your inner "mean" voice. It's that voice that tells you you're ugly, fat, not good enough, (fill in the blank), even when they are obvious lies. This voice gets much of its motivation from negative media. I named mine Bertha . Isn't that an awesome name? The fun part about naming the mean voice is that it often makes you laugh when you say it because it i...