Happy Thanksgiving!

I love Thanksgiving. I always feel bad for it, though. It seems to always get plowed over by Christmas. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Christmas too, but now that I have a wedding anniverary around Thanksgiving, I feel like I need to stand up for it. I absolutely love this holiday: family, friends, food, and football. What else can you ask for? :)

Now, to play a little catch up. Last week was SO fun, but tiring. It seems as though my entire social life was crammed into one week this semester. But, I'm not complaining! :)

Last Wednesday I had a last minute chance to join Al and Kittye, two of my old roomates, to go see Sarah Bareilles. My sister Heather came too. :) I saw her in Provo my freshmen year, so it was fun to see her again! WOW - such a talented performer. She is so much better live than recorded. I strongly suggest checking out her live videos and youtube.

Sorry about my awkward body position, but we were in a crammed concert. :)

Then, Thursday night we went to the midnight showing of HP. Duh. Overall, I thought it was a pretty good movie, the best so far, but Alex wasn't that big of a fan. Oh well. Read the books, they are loads better.

Alex was Dean Thomas (hence the sweatband) and I was Ginny. We were from book 6. :)

The whole crew!

Then, Saturday we went to BYU's Romeo and Juliet. That was fun. Alex actually stayed awake for the whole thing! I love my cultured husband. :)

Then, we picked up some funky bug. All day Sunday we were both sick. Which isn't as fun as it sounds, no one else if there to make soup for you. We've still been feeling a little funky this week, but we can't really miss work or school. We got feeling better just in time for the BLIZZARD OF 2010!

Oh wait. Let down. but, I'm not complaining! I got to leave work at 3 on Tuesday and didn't have to go in at all today (Wednesday) so I'm a happy camper. :)

We're excited for Thanksgiving tomorrow and being able to see so much family. Erica and Andrew are in town, it's been fun seeing them!

Last November, 2009 :)

After Thanksgiving is our first anniversary (what?!) and then back into the swing of things. Next week is show week for my last show in Divine Comedy. Mixed emotions, and I'm sure I'll write a touchy emotional blog post about it is to come. My mom and brother are coming into town and staying with us, so we're whippin' the house into shape. Just need to fix up the guest room a little. I'll worry about that after I get some turkey. :)

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm grateful for each of you for reading this blog, and for being a part of our lives. I will always be grateful for an anniversary around Thanksgiving, because it will always remind me to be grateful for my best friend Alex.
But, who couldn't be gratedul for someone like him?

Watch this video. I can't get the embed to work :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi0tqhedHIU&feature=&p=4E784EC0770935C0&index=0&playnext=1

Happy Thanksgiving! Travel safe! :)

Love,

Nat

Patience

I love President Uchtdorf. I must admit I have an apostle-crush on him (sorry, honey). The thing that hits me when I hear him speak is that English is his second language. In fact, he struggled with it for many years. And now, he uses beautiful metaphors and words to express what he is saying. What a great example of patience and hard work.


This is something I need to work on. But, let's face it, who doesn't? I watched this video and thought, of course, why wouldn't you wait 15 minutes for another marshmallow? But, how many times have I wanted to jump ahead, or to just get things done without really enjoying them? How many times do we as adults forget the bigger picture?


Today it seems like we live in such an instant world. If we don't know something, we google it and we instantly know. We want and think we deserve to cut corners and waiting in lines. We ( okay I) over schedule ourselves so that we don't have time to be patient.


Without going into too much detail, I've reached a point in my life where I don't really know what I'm doing. I know my eternal purpose, but my everyday purpose seems to get forgotten with the to-do lists and homework assignments. I've felt a little disconnected. I keep on letting myself think "someday I'll be able to do _______". I wish I would be patient enough to find joy in the journey. 


"Stresses in our lives come regardless of our circumstances. We must deal with them the best we can. But we should not let them get in the way of what is most important—and what is most important almost always involves the people around us." - President Monson


Ain't that the truth. I'm going to try and be better at that. :)

Fun Fall Weekend

Forgive me about how awful the blog looks right now -- workin on it. It'll probably take a while, I kind of hate computers. :)

So, I kind of fail at taking pictures. I meant to take lots of pictures this weekend of our various adventures. Fail.


BUT, this weekend was very fun. Friday after work we went to Garrett's soccer game, which was really fun. We could only stay for the first half, but it was fun seeing Jess, Morgan, and Garrett :)
 
Then we headed up to Sundance Canyon for our Divine Comedy retreat. Basically, once a semester we go to a huge mansion, buy half of Costco, and stay up until 4 am talking. Total heaven. This time around, there were quite a few more married couples, so it was fun making some married friends. :)
 
Then, Saturday morning we headed up to Alpine to meet up with Alex's family. We stopped for a Crown burger (duh) and  went to a session in the Salt Lake Temple, and it was so amazing. We both had never done a session in that temple, so it was a great experience. What a sacrifice the pioneers made for that building! Of course, all temple are amazingly beautiful, but the detail in every room took my breathe away. Now, on to Manti!
 



Stolen picture :)

After that, we stopped by and visiting Grandma and Grandpa Thomas for a few minutes, and went back to watch the football game (oofta) and eat pizza (hooray!).

Sunday was a completely relaxing day of church and home/visiting teaching.

Now, to just survive until the next weekend. :)

Hope you're all doing well (Melanie and maybe Keri who read this :) )!

Love!

Nat

Lots of Mud.

So, this weekend was the best one we've had in a while. It wasn't productive at all, but it was still wonderful. Here's why:

Friday we had a ward activity. We are on the Activities Committee in our new ward, so it was really fun! We were in charge of some Minute to Win It games, which was a blast. I have picture, but my computer is being silly.

Saturday we woke up bright and early to make our way over to Midway -- such a pretty drive! We'll need to drive the Alpine loop this weekend, I think. We went with Mal, Whit and Matt, and got all registered.

The Dirty Dash was a 10K - nearly killed me - but it was such a blast. We basically just played in the mud for a while, then ran, then played in more mud. The final leg to the finish line was a HUGE mud pit that you had to basically swim through. Thus, this was the result:

So. Much. Fun. We'll be back next year, as long as I don't have a big bump in my belly :)

Now, it's back to the crazy week. Next week is our first Divine Comedy show, so next week will be even crazier, but you should come! We're doing an Inception parody, and it should be pretty good. :)

And, of course, my favorite thing on Saturday was the RS Broadcast. I am always amazed how things seem to hit me so specifically. I can not WAIT until General Conference. What a blessing to have living prophets to talk to us about what we need to do to be happy and to be with out families forever. I had the chance to watch it with my mother-in-law. It was so fun! I am grateful to be a part of the gospel, and especially a part of Relief Society.

 Halloween is so close! :) Fall is one of my favorite seasons -- it reminds me of getting married, football season, apple cider, Thanksgiving feasts, and that Christmas is coming :)

Love you all!

xoxo

Nat

Update

Look how cute Alex is in his new blog. Alex is a missionary all the way. I love how mindful he is of the gospel all of the time. It's pretty obvious why I love him :)


Before I get started, here's a really great zucchini bread recipe I used the other day. Yum.

Zucchini Bread

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup grated unpeeled zucchini ( I just chopped some up and put it in the blender)
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips ( if you want. By why wouldn't you want?)
• 
  
• In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour,  salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon; gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in the zucchini and chocolate chips.
• 
  
• Spoon into a greased 8-in. x 4-in. x 2-in. loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

• 
  

Things have been getting busy around here. I'll start from recently, and make my way backwards :)


Last night was opening night for Tuesday's with Morrie. Matt from DC is in it and is FANTASTIC. I've been assigned to work as a Stage Hang/Assistant Stage Manager for the show, so I've been going to rehearsals for a while now. Opening night went well, and now I have shows for the next little while. See ya in a month, honey :(.

My dad came is for a short visit this past weekend, to help move my grandparents move back to SLC. He flew in Friday night. We saw him Saturday for lunch - the morning was filled with Alpine Days festivities. Of course, I left my camera, but Alex and Tim ran in the 5k, and then we went to the Fireman's breakfast as per tradition. I'll get pics from Jodie later. I saw Julie B. Beck and got totally star struck. (Alex's) Mom offered to introduce me, but I was too nervous! I just love her! :)


Anywho, my dad came into town to help my grandparents move back to SLC. They are back where the used to live -- in the prophet's ward right by Temple Square! Alex was such a trooper and helped lift heavy things, while I put things away. Cousin Cody was with the men, too, and it was so fun to see him. When we weren't moving boxes and hanging up artwork, we got to spend some time with Dad. He even stayed with us one night, which was so fun. :) I am so grateful for the Dad that I have. He is such an amazing man, and I love getting to see him when he visits! We also visited Trissy and Sam, two of my favorite people. It was a great weekend! I only took one picture while Dad was here. He left all too soon, catching a flight back Sunday so he could be at work on Monday. Seriously, what an amazing man!

When Dad was here, we walked around temple square, went to 

Music and the Spoken Word, and explored around 

downtown for a while. It was so fun!

Brigham Young's grave in downtown SLC.

Speaking of Trissy and Sam, here's an old video on my camera of Neve/Nora playing ring around the rosy. Too cute!

I've been gearing up for my new job! We had teacher training all last week. I will still be working as a secretary on campus, and taking a full load of classes, and doing Divine Comedy one more semester. It will be so fun, and so exhausting. :) But, I feel very blessed to be able to do everything.


 TOMORROW if meet the teacher day! I must say, I'm a little nervous! I'll let you know how it goes. I'm so excited to meet these little one that I'll be able to teach. I'll have 12 3 year olds. Keep me in your prayers! ;)


Alex starts school next week too, and he's already getting into the zone. Because I've had rehearsals/performances so often lately, he's been going to the library and reading his textbooks he'll be using this Fall. What a guy. :) He really is the best.


Two weekend ago was the DC Alumni Show. Man, was that fun! TONS of my dearest friends from my first year in DC came back, and we did a bunch of my favorites. As always, it was crazy preparing for it. Some cast members didn't get there until about 12 on Saturday, and we had two shows at 7 and 9. We totally sold out -- we had to turn people away! Whit did an amazing, amazing job of putting the whole thing together. Since it sold out, it got HOT in that auditorium. August show + 400 people per show + us dancing around in hot costumes = gross. It really was such a fun show, though. We got to spend some quality time with everyone the next day on Sunday, and that was wonderful.

Marriott School Musical. I bet it's really hard to tell who is what character. ;) 

High School Musical finale dance! :)

 I think we cracked everytime. Someday, Brian, someday...

...and then the camera died. So we didn't get any Latter-day Miserable pictures. I'll get the group picture from Jodie soon, too! :)




And of course, I've still been working at the good ol' Math Department. We're gearing up for Fall to start, so it's been really busy. I've been writing this blog post here and there for a while whenever I've had some free time at work. 


Alex is still working at the Dental Lab and still loves it. We're both excited for school to start, but sad to see the summer end. It's been such a fun, relaxed summer just enjoying each other. Highlights for me have been evening bike rides followed by popsicles. And, of course, NC. Only two more years until the next one...


Now you're updated! Hope all is well -- and good luck with the start of school, everyone!


Love you all,


Natalex

Alright folks, I have ONE final Monday morning, a performance, and then it's SUMMER! WOOHOO! Of course, summer means working nearly full time in an office all day, but still, no more homework, and nothing to do after work but spend time with Alex. :)

Here's the latest with us!

Erica and Andrew are moving! This news is so great for them, but very sad for us :(

Lots of family time :)

Hiking and cook outs up in the canyon (my favorite :) )

Alex has been training for a triatholon, and I'm very proud of him! And of myself for training for a 5k. :) He's been running to UVU and the biking to work in American Fork -- talk about manly ;) He's such a great example!

Just read this and really loved the message:

Canaries with Gray on Their Wings

By President Thomas S. Monson

 

Nearly 60 years ago, while I was serving as a young bishop, Kathleen McKee, a widow in my ward, passed away. Among her things were three pet canaries. Two, with perfect yellow coloring, were to be given to her friends. The third, Billie, had yellow coloring marred by gray on his wings. Sister McKee had written in a note to me: “Will you and your family make a home for him? He isn’t the prettiest, but his song is the best."

Sister McKee was much like her yellow canary with gray on its wings. She was not blessed with beauty, gifted with poise, or honored by posterity. Yet her song helped others to more willingly bear their burdens and more ably shoulder their tasks.

The world is filled with yellow canaries with gray on their wings. The pity is that so precious few have learned to sing. Some are young people who don’t know who they are, what they can be or even want to be; all they want is to be somebody. Others are stooped with age, burdened with care, or filled with doubt—living lives far below the level of their capabilities.


To live greatly, we must develop the capacity to face trouble with courage, disappointment with cheerfulness, and triumph with humility. You ask, “How might we achieve these goals?” I answer, “By gaining a true perspective of who we really are!” We are sons and daughters of a living God, in whose image we have been created. Think of that: created in the image of God. We cannot sincerely hold this conviction without experiencing a profound new sense of strength and power.
In our world, moral character ofttimes seems secondary to beauty or charm. But from long ago the Lord’s counsel to Samuel the prophet echoes: “The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).


When the Savior sought a man of faith, He did not select him from the throng of the self-righteous who were found regularly in the synagogue. Rather, He called him from among the fishermen of Capernaum. Doubting, unschooled, impetuous Simon became Peter, Apostle of faith. A yellow canary with gray on his wings qualified for the Master’s full confidence and abiding love.

When the Savior chose a missionary of zeal and power, He found him not among His advocates but amidst His adversaries. Saul the persecutor became Paul the proselytizer.
The Redeemer chose imperfect people to teach the way to perfection. He did so then. He does so now—even yellow canaries with gray on their wings. He calls you and me to serve Him here below. Our commitment must be total. And in our struggle, should we stumble, let us plead: “Lead us, oh lead us, great Molder of men, out of the darkness to strive once again.”
My prayer is that we will follow the example of the Man of Galilee, who could be found mingling with the poor, the downtrodden, the oppressed, and the afflicted. May a true song come from our hearts as we do so.



Happy Sabbath!

What I've Learned This Year

Hello all! My junior year in college is coming to a close, and what a year it's been! I just had our end-of-the-year banquet with Divine Comedy at Tucano's -- yummmmm.

It was so fun spending time with my friends, who I don't really see anymore. And as Whit was being adorable as usual and handing out awards for everyone it hit me how incredibly blessed I am, and how much I have changed in the past year. I've learned a few things...

1. I don't know much. And the more I learn, the more I just realize there's more to learn. I don't know anything in comparison to our Father in Heaven, and I've got eternity to make up the difference!

2. I am surrounded by wonderful people. The past few months I've had times where I feel very alone -- especially when Alex is off studying all night. At the time I've felt sad -- I'm a people person, and I always wanted to invite people over -- but what a blessing to have some time to myself! This is probably the only time in my life when I CAN have some alone time. I've been able to study the scriptures more, figure out what I want to do with my future, and the BIGGEST blessing of all is that I have Alex to spend my future with.

3. I've learned so much about the Atonement -- how to use it. I don't think we can ever fully understand the Atonement, but I am so grateful for it. I don't see how any marriage without a firm belief in the Atonement, forgiveness, and repentance could ever work.

4. I've learned that you don't need to serve a full time mission to be a good member of the Church. I always believed that about other people, but not about myself. I always thought that I am so indebted to Heavenly Father that the least I can do it dedicate 1.5 years to him. I've learned that dedicating your average, everyday activities to him is hard, but equally as important as serving a full time mission. I can be a missionary for the rest of my life without having served as a single, full time sister missionary like I was always planning on, and embracing that has helped me so much this year. That being said, if you feel like a mission is for you GO. If you're not sure, PREPARE to be a missionary -- because you will be a missionary for the rest of your life!

5. Being in charge can be hard, but it's so rewarding.  I've had the chance to be one of the co-leaders in Divine Comedy this year. There were some really hard weeks *cough, Harry Potter cough*, and some really, really great ones. I saw new cast members become comfortable in the group, I saw learning, growth, creativity, and I got to help others reach that. What a rewarding thing! And sometimes, what a stressful thing! It was a fun taste of motherhood to come. :)

 

6. LOST will never answer my questions... but I will always keep coming back for more!

7. The temple is the most peaceful, happy place on earth. All of my self-esteem issues, negative thoughts, just leave my mind for a couple hours. I wish I could live there ( and plan on it for the later years of my life ).

8. We should be happy wherever we are in life, but we almost NEVER are. I was looking forward to this season of Divine Comedy to end, and now it has. It's just done. And now I'm feeling sad about it! I only have 1 more year left of college. How scary is that! College is such a WONDERFUL blessing, and I'll probably have to go back and read this post next year when I'm eye ball deep in papers, because it's so hard to appreciate where you are, at this moment. But college is an experience I will never experience again, and I should appreciate every late night cram session!

9. Laughing makes everything better.

10. I love Alex!

Happy Spring time, everyone!

He lives!

Happy Easter time everyone! I just want everyone to know how grateful I am for Jesus Christ. I know without a doubt in my heart that I could not do everything I do, and I could not be everything I am and can be without His help, His love, and His Atonement. There seems to be a lot of unrest in the world; countries hate each other, people are fighting, they are confused -- and they don't know why they are on this Earth.

I want everyone who reads this to know that Jesus Christ loves you, He thinks everyone is beautiful and perfect and worth the agonizing sacrifice he suffered, even though we all know we do not deserve it. He suffered, bled, and died for us, for each of us, for me and all of my many, many mistakes. He makes everything in my life possible. He makes everything in the life to come possible.

I love Him! There have been so many times in my life when I feel alone, and helpless, and have literally felt Him give me a hug. He is my Comforter, and my Redeemer. He suffered for us, He died voluntarily for us, and He was resurrected so that we could become resurrected also. I am so grateful for the temple, and how present Christ's spirit is every time I go. I await anxiously the day when He returns to rule the earth, with my family around me. His Atonement makes even the possibility that I can be with my family and serving in the Millenium possible -- and for that I am more grateful than words can say. Christ is my best friend, He knows all of my weaknesses and my strengths, and He is willing to help me, and ALL of us, along the path to eternal life.

I know He is the son of God. I know that He was Resurrected! What good news! He died, He suffered, but He won! I hope this Easter season we can think about Christ, and refocus our lives to mirror Christ's life. I am so grateful for His example to me. I am grateful for the perfect Plan of Salvation, and the role of the Atonement in it. My Grandma Monk, who I don't really remember but can't wait to get to know :) , died on a Easter Sunday. What a great reminder of the amazing Plan of Salvation. I will get to be with her some day, and serve along side her because of Christ! I love Easter, and I love this gospel and I love all of you!! :)

Love you guys,

Natalie

Hey everybody!

Hey everybody!
Welcome to our blog. Alex and I (Natalie) are engaged! To be married! So, in true BYU fashion, we decided to start a blog.
Today was my first day of being an EFY counselor. For those of you who don’t know, EFY stands for Especially for Youth. It’s like a big LDS summer camp. It goes Monday through Saturday morning, filled with dances, Big Booty, bad cafeteria food, awkward flirting, and awesome church classes throughout the day. This is my first experience with EFY, I never went in my 14-18 year old days. I’ve been a counselor all summer for BYU Sports and Dance Camps, so I decided to do an EFY session to spice things up. It’s definitely been a learning experience already. EFY this session I’m working is having all of its major meetings in a tent! We are dwelling in a tent! How awesome is that! So, today in my khaki pants and obnoxiously green polo, I walked all over campus, dwelt in a tent, and taught an awesome group of 10 15 years old devotionals throughout the day. I love that EFY is more spiritual, and that I’ll hopefully be able to help the youth come unto Christ.

Last night I was really nervous, but today went well. I’m just taking it one hour at a time. It’s been nice to not think about wedding/Divine Comedy stuff, as much as I love both of those things, and just focus on “What scripture could I use to answer that question?” etc. EFY is crazy busy, each activity is blocked out in ten minute parts. It’s very, very structured, and I tend to do better with a little more freedom, but I’m excited to get better at more structure.
Thanks for visiting our blog, sorry we don’t know what we’re doing. We’re not really bloggers, so be patient with us. Love you guys!
-Natalie