The Joy This Sentence Gives...

I know that my Redeemer lives.

I cannot think of a more powerful statement. He lives.

One of my favorite parts of the song is "He lives to silence all my fears. He lives to wipe away my tears. He lives to calm my troubled heart. He lives all blessings to impart."

The Atonement of Jesus encompasses so much more than simply a triumph over sin and death. Jesus suffered EVERY pain, EVERY affliction, EVERY sickness, EVERY sorrow, EVERY heartache. He did this so He can know how to wipe away our tears, calm our troubled hearts, and heal us. (See Alma 7) He literally knows what each of us is going through because he has BEEN THERE.

I know that through The Atonement we can all be made whole. I know that Jesus lives and that he is our "kind, wise, Heavenly Friend" that truly will love us forever, no matter what.

I'm so grateful for my Savior and for the knowledge I have of His restored church. I'm so grateful that through The Atonement I can be with my family and with God forever. There is no greater blessing and it is all made possible through Christ. There are no words to describe how much love I have in my heart and the gratitude I feel.

I know that my Redeemer lives!

A Week with Daren

Being away from family is hard, but we sure do LOVE it when family comes to visit us. Thanks Daren for spending the week with us! We had a BLAST!

During the week, we all had to work (including Daren) so Landon and I went to work every day and Daren worked from home. I felt so bad leaving him at our apartment alone all day, but both Landon and I are using all our time off for Christmas. It stinks being responsible :)

At night we tried to live it up though...

• We went flying and Daren even FLEW the airplane from take off to landing...and everything in between!
• We went to Portland.
• We ate out a lot (including our fave, Red Lobster...twice!)
• We went to the airshow.
• We played games.
• We visited extended family in Washington and hung out around the campfire.
• We watched movies.
• We chatted.
• We star gazed.
• We ate lots of ice cream.

It was very laid back, but so much fun!

We love having you here Daren! Can't wait until Thanksgiving! :)

Every Day

Every single day this boy makes my day.



On awful days, he still manages to make me smile and laugh and forget all about my worries.



With one little look from him my frown turns into a beaming smile. With one kiss my tears go away and are replaced with butterflies in my tummy. With one piece of encouragement I completely forget why I was even worried in the first place. With one compliment of him telling me I’m beautiful, I go from feeling frumpy to feeling pretty. With one daisy that he picked just for me, I feel so special and loved.



He’s my rock. He’s my sunshine. He’s my love.

And I’m so lucky he’s mine forever.

Airshow

Complete with jets, aerobatics, and lots and lots of cool airplanes.

My little pilot was in heaven... of course!

Landon's dad Daren came with us too and we're so happy to have him here with us for a week!

We feel SO bad about the weather though... Pretty much every day we brag to our family in Texas how MILD it is in Oregon because it's scorching down there and only mid-70's here... well of course the day of the airshow had to be in the 90's! I don't know what happened to our mild weather but I kept teasing Daren that he brought the heat with him! We pretty much were dying sitting all day in the scorching sun... and my poor skin hasn't had much sun this summer so of course I'm now lobster red.

pretty picture eh? Can you see my blisters?!

It was worth it though. This was my first airshow and Landon promised that next time we go... he's going to be in it!

I don't even doubt it for one second :)

...that boy was born to fly!

Dear Future Children,

Ever since I was little I have been writing you letters. Some included self-portraits, some included random facts about me, some talked about my crush at the time or things that bugged me.... but ALL of them included me telling you how much I love you.

I don't know you yet, but I just have this feeling that I'm going to be head-over-heals crazy about you. I hope you know that your mom is always on your side. I'm your friend and I'll always be there for you, standing up for you and loving you no matter what. It makes me cry just thinking about how much LOVE I have for you and you're not even here yet.

I can't wait to hold you in my arms and kiss your chubby little cheeks. I can't wait to see your eyes wide with wonder as your learn about the world around you. I can't wait to hear you giggle for the first time. I can't wait for you to say "momma." Most of all, I just can't wait to love you with every ounce of my being. You are going to be so loved.

This is my first letter where I'm actually going to tell you about your dad! It's so weird because all of those other letters I couldn't tell you about how cool your dad was because I didn't really know :) Well let me just say, you are pretty dang lucky! You should hear the way he talks about you. He likes to pretend he isn't a mushy-gushy sap... but he is going to be wrapped around your little finger. He already wants the very best for you. He is working so hard for our family so he can give you the very best.

From the first night I talked with him, I knew he was going to be a good dad. He told me how he coached swimming at his neighborhood pool. I saw that he loved kids and loved teaching them. I remember introducing him to your cousins for the first time…and man, he was a HIT (and still is!). The first thing they say when we walk in the door is “LANDON!” …not “Hannah!” He is going to play with you and wrestle you and be silly with you. He is going to be involved in your lives and be your friend, just like me.


He wants you to have fun things, but at the same time he isn’t going to spoil you. You may not see this as a blessing… but it is! He wants you to grow into responsible adults who know how to work and are grateful for what they have. He also wants to teach you… not simply discipline you. He has high hopes that teaching you right from the start will establish boundaries and respect so we won’t have to constantly be correcting you. He has amazing beliefs and attitudes about parenting… ones that I learned through my schooling but he already knows. Okay, enough about the boring “parenting stuff” because he’s going to be SO much more than a good “authoritative” parent… he’s DANG cool and knows so much about EVERYTHING!

He’s athletic (swimming, snowboarding, water polo, basketball!), a math-whiz, musical, a handy-man, a pilot, an engineer, you name it and he’ll be able to do it. I hope he passes on some of these talents to you, but I know he’s going to be teaching you everything he knows. He is so patient and a great teacher. Also, the fact that he’s a pilot is going to be great for you because it means we’re going to be a travelling family. We’re going to see the world together and have so many adventures.

But this isn’t even the best part about your dad either. The best part of all is his heart. It is so big and so loving and his family is FIRST. He is completely devoted to his family. I’ve never seen someone who is so close to their mom, dad, and brothers… and now me! He is so passionate about his family… he realizes how sacred and eternal families are. There’s nothing that would ever come in the way of his love and commitment to YOU and to ME. We’re so lucky to have him!

I hope you know how loved you are. By me, by your dad, by your grandparents, by your aunts and uncles and cousins… but mostly by your Heavenly Father. You are one of his precious children and he loves you more than you know. He wants to be close to you. Say your prayers. Let Him into your life. He will guide and protect you throughout your life. When life is hard and unfair, turn to Him. Of course, you can always talk to me and your dad too… but Heavenly Father knows you best and he also knows how to help you and comfort you.

I want you to know that I daydream about you every day. I wonder what you will look like, what you’ll like to do, if you’ll be silly, if you’ll be more like me or like your dad. Right now your dad and I are taking time to develop our marriage and build a strong foundation so that when you enter our lives, you have a safe and stable place to call home. We’re saving up every penny, paying off our student loans, and looking forward to the day when we have you in our arms. I don’t think we’re going to be able to stop kissing you and telling you how loved you are. I can’t wait for that day. I know it’ll be the happiest day of our life—tied with the day we were sealed in the temple.

I can’t emphasize this enough… you are LOVED!

xoxoxo Momma

P.S. Remember this post about me being baby hungry and then this post about me not being baby hungry at all? Haha I think right about now I'm back to the starving feeling :)

In the Clouds

Landon has been working on his instrument rating this past month. You may be wondering, what on earth is an instrument rating?

Well, I don't know much about it but pretty much it will certify Landon to fly even if it is completely cloudy and he can't see a thing. It's pretty legit.

Pretty much there are these little thingy majigs in the airplane called instruments that Landon uses to tell him his heading, if the plane is turning, etc. (so technical, I know. Honestly, I have NO idea what I'm talking about haha). ANYWAY, so Landon calls up ATC (the same place that directs the pilots flying your Detla/Southwest/Jetblue/ETC. airplne...I told ya, this is pretty legit stuff) and they say things like "Seven four niner niner Charlie (the name of the plane is 7499C) climb and maintain altitude 6,000 and report when stable then maintain heading of 20.8" whatever the heck that means...

me chilling in the back

Landon and is instructor Corinne up front

It was actually an EERIE feeling flying through the clouds. I've never done it before and it kinda creeped me out... I just had to trust Landon, his instructor, and the ATC people because they obviously knew what they were doing...

the only thing you can see is WHITE (and gray I guess)

When we popped out of the clouds it was a beautiful sunny day and I loved the contrast of the blue sky with the blanket of white.

We popped out of the clouds at Astoria for a "missed approach" (simulating what it would be like if the clouds were too low to see the runway at a certain altitude) and flew over the ocean. It was GORGEOUS.

I love flying in Oregon & Washington because the views are unreal!

When you get above the clouds you can see the tips of all the volcanoes. This is Mt. Ranier. SO pretty!!!

It's pretty unbelievable that we can start in Hillsboro, go through some clouds, pop out of the clouds, and land over 150 miles away... without being able to see a thing!

I must admit that it's pretty amazing to see Landon doing it all! He's just so passionate about it and I absolutely LOVE seeing him in his element. He's my pilot...

...and a DANG cute one!

Choices

"Life is meant to be enjoyed, not simply endured." --Joseph Smith

You want to be happy? CHOOSE to be happy.

You want to have a crappy day? CHOOSE to have a crappy day.

You want to be scared? CHOOSE to be scared.

You want to be madly & deeply in love with your husband/wife? CHOOSE to be madly & deeply in love.

You want to be mad at someone? CHOOSE to be mad at someone.

You want to be forgiving and patient? CHOOSE to be forgiving and patient.

Life is all about CHOICES. Having a good life is simply that simple.

I think the Book of Mormon puts what I'm trying to say into PERFECT words (2nd Nephi 2: 26-27)

26 And the ^aMessiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may^bredeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are ^credeemed from the fall they have become ^dfree forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the ^elaw at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.

27 Wherefore, men are ^afree according to the ^bflesh; and ^callthings are ^dgiven them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to ^echoose ^fliberty and eternal ^glife, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be ^hmiserable like unto himself.

Why wouldn't we use our agency, our precious gift from Heavenly Father, to choose a GOOD life?

If you don't believe me... try it one day. Wake up in the morning and say to yourself "this is going to be a great day!" Smile, fake your way through it if you need to... and you'll find that you have a great day.

You ruin dinner? Choose not to be frustrated...choose to laugh. You were bored at work? Choose to be thankful you even have a job. Someone says something mean, choose not to become offended.

There's no reason NOT to be happy. This life is a precious and wonderful gift from our Heavenly Father and I know SO many of my days have been wasted because I simply CHOSE not to have a good day.

Choose to act instead of being acted upon. Choose JOY.

I sometimes get worried that people may think my life is perfect because for the most part my blog is happy and always saying that life is good...but the truth is, NO ONE has a perfect life. But we can CHOOSE to view it in a positive light and count our blessings!

I do not have a perfect marriage, but we are are madly in love with each other and we are striving to make our marriage better every single day. I have a job, but is it my dream job?...nope, but it's a great job and I am so thankful to even have one! I am a college grad...but do I have THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of student loans?...yep! I do live in a really wonderful place I like to refer to as paradise...but I basically have no family or friends. Do you see how I could turn all of these situations that I find myself in into either a miserable life or a happy life? Why not CHOOSE to be happy!!

We are meant to have trials and struggles because Heavenly Father is refining us and making us stronger. How boring would life be if it was perfect? But I really try to focus on the GOOD things in my life that make it SEEM perfect to me... instead of focusing on the NOT SO GOOD things that could make my life SEEM awful to me. It's all about the way I CHOOSE to view my life. And guess what? I'm choosing to view my life as imperfectly PERFECT. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm going to be better tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a great day. I hope yours will be too <3

Life is GOOD.

P.S. President Monson also has a really great talk about this topic. Read it here.

Frazzled!

I’m so sick of being that girl… you know the one frantically running around like a chicken with her head cut off…

I’m not late. Ever. In fact, not only am I always on time… but I’m always at least 10 minutes EARLY.

There were three times last week where I was late. And it wasn’t just being late to a party or to church or to work… these were things that you really don’t want to be late for…

Toni’s rehearsal dinner, Toni’s wedding, and my flight back to Oregon

Yeah… I have to document my experiences of being late because it’s just kinda ridiculous!

1. Toni’s Rehearsal Dinner

The dinner started at 6:30. We left my house at 6:25. Dinner was in downtown Salt Lake. We were cut off on our way to the freeway and then the guy messed with us for about 5 minutes (slamming on his breaks, not letting us pass him, trying to get over and he would get right over and slam on his breaks) He thought he was really funny… yeah NOT funny. Toni tried to hold off the dinner from starting as long as possible, but at 6:50 she didn’t have a choice and we still weren’t there. About five minutes later, Jenna and I walked in and the whole room burst into applause. I almost jumped under a table and hid. I've never been more embarrassed in my life!!!!

2. Toni’s Wedding

We left with PLENTY of time to get to the temple (again downtown) but hit traffic. We were supposed to be at the temple at 8:50 but we were just getting to parking at that time. It took 20 minutes to find a spot. Now it’s 9:10 and the wedding starts in 10 minutes… we booked it to the temple and sat down right as the sealing started. 30 seconds later and we wouldn’t have made it to the wedding. Worst feeling EVER.

3. My flight

They say you’re supposed to get to the airport about 60-90 minutes before your flight. Mine was scheduled to leave at 9:50 which means I should have been there at 8:30 ish… I didn’t leave for the airport until 8:50… (I was at Mary’s baby shower and everyone convinced me it would be okay to stay later). Normally it wouldn’t be too big of a deal getting to the airport 40 minutes before a flight… unless the lines for security take 20 minutes… So now it’s 9:30… 20 minutes until my flight. I check the departure board and my gate is B22… which is pretty much the furthest possible corner of the airport. By the time I get there the guy tells me my flight is at C13… it’s now 10 minutes until my flight. Not only am I at the wrong gate… I’m at the completely OPPOSITE end of the airport. I asked the guy to call and tell them I was on my way… he told me he’d call but they wouldn’t wait. So I booked it to C13 and honestly thought I was going to pass out… well there was no one at the counter… it was 9:47… I went to another counter and begged him to call my plane and let me on… it was a miracle but he scanned my ticket, unlocked the door, and then a stewardess met me and told me to just leave my bag with her and run… I couldn’t believe I made it. Everyone glared at me as I huffed and puffed my way to my seat.

Now I know why I always like to be at least 10 minutes EARLY… you just never know what’s going to happen… ugghh! I hate being late and I hate being FRAZZLED!

Visiting Utah

Last week I went to Utah to visit. I never ever thought I would be a “visitor” to Utah... but it's just not my "home" anymore. So weird!

Anyway, I had a BLAST seeing my cute family and friends. Some highlights of the trip were:

Toni’s wedding! & spending time with my besties

Another one of my besties is MARRIED and to her high school sweetheart! It’s so funny… but all three of my best friends have married their high school sweetheart… I’m a little out of the loop there because I married my college sweetheart :)

Anyway, her wedding was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. The temple sealing just made me bawl the whole time. The spirit was SO strong and I loved seeing Toni & Braxton beaming at each other across the alter. I feel so close to Heavenly Father at the temple. It’s amazing.

waiting for Mr. and Mrs. Peterson to come out of the temple

aren't they cute?!

Later that day there was a ring ceremony (where we got to walk down the aisle) and right after there was a beautiful reception complete with a delicious meal, live music, and amazing decorations & detail!

I couldn't be happier for Toni! Being married ROCKS! :)

Spending time with family

I have missed my family so much. For the first month in Oregon I cried at least once a day. Now it’s a little less frequent, but my heart still hurts when I think about it.

Friday night we had CAFÉ RIO which I have been craving SO bad and watched a movie.

Saturday the whole fam came over for little Zack’s birthday and we ate pizza and hung out. I have missed big family get-togethers! It's just way too quiet in Oregon :)

Later that night, my parents took me to an outdoor concert in Park City called “Broadway Rocks.” It was SO much fun!

this could've been a really cute picture... bahaha do you see what I see??

Sunday was church, delicious curry dinner, and Mary’s baby shower.

Poor Mary is on bedrest and has been for a few months! she had to stay laying down the whole time :(

I can't wait to meet that baby!!! Another niece! :)

I love my family & friends and the only thing Oregon is missing is them! I had so much fun visiting Utah!!!!

P.S. I forgot to mention how much I loved spending time with these two:

They cuddled with me every night (I let them sleep in my bed) and they wouldn't let me out of their sight. I think they've missed me as much as I've missed them! They're too cute!!!

Bangs

In between Toni's temple wedding and ring ceremony I got my haircut (totally on a whim!)

Here's my hair in the morning at the temple:

And here's my hair now:

I've never had straight across bangs and I still don't know how I feel about them on me... But change is always fun and I was getting sick of my blah hair :)

Stay tuned for a whole blog post about Toni & Braxton's wedding yesterday. It was amazing!