#becauseHElives

I am just about as far from perfect as I can imagine.

I've made goals to grow in my testimony, to become better at reading scriptures or family prayer. I've wanted to start the next day with more patience with my 2 year old, and myself. I want to be the mom who teaches her babies about the gospel and God's love through everything I do. 

And yet, I keep falling short. 

I get caught up in Netflix or a book; I'll spend way too much time on social media and forget to turn off the screens for my son. I'll fall into bed knowing I should pray, but feeling so exhausted and worn down from the day that it just seems like too much. (Silly, isn't it? Since that's exactly when we need to pray most.)

The past several days there have been a handful of videos circulating on my Facebook feed. Some are simply songs, some are children's examples, and some are a testimony of Christ meant specifically for Easter. 

They have each touched my heart as I've listened to them, and felt the words resonate in my soul. 

One in particular has caught my attention, because it is so resolute in testifying of our Savior's unwavering love for each of us.
I know that's true. I know that is the reason we can make it through hard times, and that we can always have hope.

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

What #Easter is really about.
Posted by LDS Youth on Sunday, March 20, 2016

A pick me up. :)

Some of the hardest things I've ever had to get through have been in the past few years, and so it was a tender mercy that I stumbled across this talk last year when I was working at Bryce. I discovered that you can download free CES Broadcast podcasts from lds.org and so I just picked a handful and started listening to them on my way to and from work. This one has been one that I've kept and listen to every now and then still.  (Well... this one and the fireside from Elder Scott. I love him too. :) ) (click here for the text version) Lessons from Liberty Jail, by Elder Holland (no surprise there, eh?)

(Joseph Smith really is one of my heroes. Can you even imagine staying faithful through all the persecution he faced?) 

Tonight as I was driving to class and feeling super done with school and kinda bummed about not getting the second interview at Bulloch drug (and all that), I just picked a talk at random and this is the one that came up. :) Kind of perfect for basically any occasion! (Especially if you're the dramatic Anne of Green Gables type like I tend to be sometimes.)

I'm so thankful that we have the knowledge that we're never alone, no matter how frustrating or difficult the trials we're going through are. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, felt everything we feel, and he understands us. He loves us. Heavenly Father loves us. We won't ever be given a trial we can't handle, with the Lord. :)

I love the perspective of 'prison-temples' in our life. All of the situations that I've felt like were the hardest thing ever have been the best learning experiences of my life. Elder Holland said, "We are not alone in our little prisons here. When suffering, we may in fact be nearer to God than we’ve ever been in our entire lives. That knowledge can turn every such situation into a would-be temple."

Elder Holland taught three main lessons:

1. Everyone faces trying times,

2. Even the worthy will suffer,

3. Remain calm, patient, charitable and forgiving.

First of all, I just love his speaking style. :) ("My point? If you are having a bad day, you’ve got a lot of company—very, very good company. I mean, the best company that has ever lived.")

It just really helped put everything right back into perspective. :) Isn't it amazing that having the gospel makes absolutely everything do-able? The things that absolutely terrify me, or the things that 'I'm just not ready' to face, are easy when you know that there's life after this one,  that Heavenly Father loves us just like our earthly parents do (but better ;) ), and that the Atonement covers what we can't. Thank goodness for the gospel! 

Happy weekend everyone! 

Finals week for one, procrastination for the other...

I'm feeling a little done with school, mostly because my hubby and our friends are all going to be done for summer in a week and I'm still in classes until the end of June. :p I'm a jealous little green monster. Soo... that makes me the procrastinator. Ladies and gentlemen, our house has been pretty sad looking for the past week (read as two weeks...ish) and I just barely got around to cleaning it all up this morning. I then got ready, actually did my hair, and finished my report for class tonight and then... sat down to clean out my ipod memory. I ran out of videoing room last night when we babysat! That just won't do, obviously, so I went back through to delete old pictures and videos and found these gems. You're welcome. :)

Matt's swing stunts ;)

dance practice while baby sitting! Great entertainment on both ends! 

Playing outside 4.25.13

Bubbles! 

No big deal... just sand dandruff :p

Aaand dance parties galore?

Ok, if you haven't seen the ermergersh meme
things before this isn't as funny...
but for the record it's carrot cake.
Which explains the rest. ;)

I personally think he was hiding from her...
but there is no hiding from admirers! ;)
And being squished by them. :p

I know... right?

Tea party anyone? She even wore a tea party
dress for the occasion!

Woody didn't have a cute dress, but he got
to come anyway. ;)

This is the famous Alida fan. Four fingers and
fluttery eyelashes!

This one seems random in the middle of all
the others! But I thought it was a cute picture
of Kennedy's note on her door. :)

Aaand this is what happens when you blink.

This would be Robin Hood, can't you tell?

No that's not chocolate, it's mud pie.

Ok... brace yourself. This blog might suddenly be destroyed after this, but I can't resist showing you these pictures of my cute husband. :) I think he's stinkin adorable!
(Also, pretend these are better quality than my ipod taking pictures of pictures... I do what I can. :p)

... right??

This one is Grandma Benson's favorite. :) I guess she surprised
him with a camera after he got out of the bath tub. :p
She loves telling you about it because his face looks like,
"Grandma, Grandma! NoooooooOOOoooOOOO!" :) And it
cracks me right up.

I die. Every. Single. Time.

Grandma Benson and her stud of a grandson :)

He's a handsome little football player huh.

Ok. Can we talk about that fabulous hair swoop?

This is Matt's favorite toy from his child hood.
He told me he used to come home and the first
thing he'd do was get out this air plane base.

That time we faked getting a puppy? Matt
really wanted one!

Yeah... I feel like he looks a little bit goth.
He thought it'd be funny to make my key
chain into a choker chain necklace. :p

This was from our Yellowstone trip, and
Matt's roommates were T and Jackson.
And their stylish hat. :)

I enjoy giggling

Obviously i'm a real productive human being. 

But hey, I'm a smiling, giggling human being now? :p

(this one might make me a terrible person... I died laughing)

Aaand what we've learned from this post is that I'm lacking in maturity probably, my house is still messy, and I don't want to learn law again tonight. :p Happy giggles ladies and gents!

Tractor rides, and cute songs

(I need some classes on how to write intriguing titles. I hate blog titles.) This morning I noticed I had a missed call from my dad so I called him back, and the next thing I know I'm skipping the makeup and driving out to the farm so I could ride with him in the tractor. :) I kinda like that guy, ya know? Sitting in the tractor made me think back on all the other tractor adventures we've had. :p Like riding on the hood(?) of the old red one in Circleville with Erin, or in the back hoe digging the random pit (which I assume had a purpose?) in Hatch by the cabin...  A cashier in Walmart asked me if I wanted to leave Cedar City the other day, and if I could where I'd want to live (I know, it's shocking when you get conversations out of them ;) but she was quite friendly and talkative.) I've always thought it'd be so fun to go adventuring somewhere like Boston, or (now that Matt's looking at PA schools) Oregon or Texas, but I think after a couple of years I'd want to come back to our farm hobbying in Southern Utah. Probably mostly because I really like my family and I'd miss them. :p
Anyway, my point was it was really fun to talk with my cute dad and catch up on life a little bit. :) He had me follow him to the Jones' farm to drop off the cool tractor, and while I was driving 15 miles an hour on back roads (and thinking this song in my head...) I heard this song come on the radio. After listening to all the other crap music that's popular lately, with messages about cheating and drinking and divorce and basically zero morals or responsibility, I thought this song was kinda a cute tender one. :) Gave me warm fuzzies.

I love rolls! (unless they're on me...)

Hooray for lots of carbs! Right? So here's the problem with every single time I make rolls. There are at least a dozen of them, and only two of us to eat them. Which we do. In record time. ;) Either way, this is my favorite dinner roll recipe so far, right out of my trusty Chenowyth family cookbook. (Thanks Grandma! :) ) Fluffy White Rolls 2 Tbsp. yeast 1/2 C sugar 1/2 C warm water 6 C flour (I usually end up adding somewhere between 1/2-1 1/2 cups extra) 1/2 C powdered milk 2 tsp. salt 2 eggs 2 C water 1/2 C vegetable oil

(here's one of my tips for you... I ALWAYS forget that you should do wet and dry ingredients separate, and somehow something usually ends up where it shouldn't. Blame it on my ADD, baby. (reference) So, I found it helpful to mix my dry first. That way when you're ready to add in the rest of your ingredients, you can! Right that very second.) Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar. Blend flour, milk, and salt together. Make a well in the center and add yeast. Beat and add rest of ingredients.

  Let rise 1 hour. Punch down and let rise 1 hour again.I'll be honest with you... I'm about 50/50 on doing the second hour of rising. There is a little bit of a difference, but I'm impatient. My point is, if you're crunched for time, they'll still taste good. :)  (here's where I get rebellious. ;) You can roll it out and cut it into buns or triangles or really whatever suits your fancy. But my mom always pinched them into these little round balls, so that's what I do. :) It helps if you put Crisco on your hands first so you don't stick to all the dough. (anyone else thinking about The Help and Minnie's speech on Crisco? If not, go watch it!) 

 If you kind of flatten it out first and then flip it over and pinch the edges together so it's like an empty little dumpling, it's easier.

Place on a sprayed cookie sheet and let rise 30 minutes. Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes. (I'm not sure if it's just our apartment oven, or if you all should check them at 25... so you've been warned. :p)

Final step? Gorge yourself on fresh, warm, homemade rolls. Preferably smothered in raspberry jam.

"Happy Valentimes!"

Welcome to the day of love, chocolate over doses, obnoxiously priced flowers, and fun fancy dinner celebrations!

Happy Valentine's!

(or Valentimes in the words of small children?)
So... since there haven't been celebrations yet (besides me being a slightly less lazy bum, and making a hot breakfast for Matt) I don't have much to say about Valentine's. Maybe tomorrow. :p

However, I did get to baby sit this week, and this time I wrote down some of the little gems Alida says. She's such an entertaining kid!

"Baby Jesus was born when my friends were all singing songs together! And everyone was there. ... but only one donkey."

"You can come on the Ariel ride with us, is that ok? ... Maybe Matt can come too!"
(me)"Do you like Matt?"
*she nods grinning*
(me)"How come?"
"Because he's really silly and nice! And he lubs lubs lubs LUBS fireworks!"
(Truly, I have no idea where that one even came from. But apparently my husband loves fireworks?)

"Mommy's gonna know a baby- you know what his name is gon be?"
(me)"No, what is it going to be?"
"Chiiiild"
(me, trying not to laugh)"Why?"
"Because he will be a child of God!" she thinks for a minute, "Are you a child of God?
Is Matt a Child of God?"

She's been on a kick where she likes to say everyone's 'whole name'. Hers is "Anida, Marie.... WUNZABERK!" So as she was trying to say her mom's name, Harmony, it ended up being more like 'Hamerny'. :p

"Ryan's a Child of God. But he can't prayer. And he can't fold his arms. But he can close his eyes and go to sleep!"

And then later when I was trying to get her attention by saying her name she turns around, "Is that my name?"
(me) "Yes?"
"Thanks!" and then she turned back around and ignored whatever it was that I was asking her to do. :p

Oh small children. Fun stuff. :)

(Cutest thing ever, right?)

One by one...

There's a song that was playing in the car this morning (while Matt scraped off the million inches of snow ;) ) that says, "He heals one by one, loves one by one... When the crowded world around you doesn't know your name, he loves us one by one." (talking about Heavenly Father, of course) and I just had such an amazing day in church to reiterate that.
I was totally grumpy this morning, because I didn't have time to get ready all the way, and it's early and snowy and I just... was grumpy. :p There have been a few things weighing on my mind for the past week, and I'm not even kidding, every single concern was addressed by one of the talks or lessons or comments. (I mean, every single person that talked to me today had something kind and uplifting to say that I needed to hear)
Heavenly Father really does know and love us- one by one. It's incredible to me that He has a love for us not only as his children collectively, but as individuals too. Knowing that, how can you ever even want to give up? Your biggest fan created the Universe! Obviously he can help you through anything too. :)

So I came home from church wanting to write down my thoughts, but starving to death, so I postponed journal-ing and watched some Mormon Messages while I ate lunch. I found this one, that just really hit me, and fit in with everything I was thinking and feeling. :) It really puts things into a less daunting grasp of understanding.

(While, I'm not a father :p (or even a mother! Yet) I still felt like this really helped me understand my relationship with Heavenly Father better. :) )

I really do have a testimony of the gospel and how applicable it is in every single situation we encounter in life. We have so much support on earth because of the leaders in our wards, who I know are called by God, and we have so much support from our Heavenly Father and our Savior and brother Jesus Christ. There are endless resources that Heavenly Father has given us to get through our trials, and I have a testimony that if we put forth effort on our part to seek out those resources, he really will help us. Always.
I love the gospel. :)

Enjoy the cozy weather today guys, life is awesome. :)

Also, check out the 'pick me up' tab at the top of the page today too. You're all awesome. :)

Perspective

With all the election madness going on lately, there have been lots of thought barf out there on it. So here's mine. :p

[Disclaimer: I've never been very good at putting my thoughts into words that sound eloquent or make sense. Sorry if this doesn't. :p]

I've thought a lot the past few days about everything, and honestly I've been kind of disappointed with a lot of the comments made over all this. We know better.

It's ok to have opinions. It's ok to be frustrated. It's ok to be scared and unsure even. 

It's not ok to be disrespectful, and it's not ok to forget how to treat (and talk about) other people. I mean, wars have been fought over that sort of thing. 

Now. :) I realize that I don't really know anything about politics. I don't really understand everything behind the opinions. I'm a fairly naive person, actually. I know I know everything... 

But I know who I am. And I know who you are. 

(And President Obama, and everyone else in the world.)

Who ends up as the President of the United States of America doesn't change that. It doesn't change truth and it shouldn't change values. 

So. I think that we need to stay positive, and be examples. Romney brought more attention to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and people are still watching. :) (kinda like they always have. :) ) Our prophet is still our prophet, and God is still our God. :) Truth is still truth, and we still believe what we'd believe if Romney was elected. 

And it's not like we're now just mindless people subjected to everything we disagree with. We can still work hard and make a difference. (Clearly it's not just going to magically be fixed and back to 'the good ol' days' but we can make a difference.) 

I thought these different things were insightful and comforting... 

This (first presidency and quorum of the 12's reaction to the election results)

And this

Articles of Faith 11-12

11 We claim the ^aprivilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the ^bdictates of our own ^cconscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them ^dworship how, where, or what they may.

 12 We believe in being ^asubject to ^bkings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in ^cobeying, honoring, and sustaining the ^dlaw.

13 ^aWe believe in being ^bhonest, true, ^cchaste, ^dbenevolent, virtuous, and in doing ^egood to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we ^fhopeall things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to^gendure all things. If there is anything ^hvirtuous, ⁱlovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

Nothing that really matters in the end has changed. :) So let's be supportive of our President himself, keep taking advantage of missionary opportunities, and keep praying for those who lead our country. We're so blessed to have the privileged we do. At least we have the option to disagree and express our opinions. :)     And in the end we aren't going to place a whole lot of value on monetary things anyway... 

Thinking through all these scary and stressful things ahead has just made me come back each time to what really matters. 

To quote my smart (and oh so handsome ;) ) dad, The church is still true and America is still the greatest nation on earth. :) I just know we're going to be ok. And it really is better to look up, and Heavenly Father knows exactly how everything would go and His plan isn't going to fail. We know how this ends guys. :) Good always wins, and we're all cheering for good right? Right.  :) Have faith and hope and smile. We have so much to be happy for!

"I need to get validated."

Firstly, I'm not digging for compliments. (though i won't turn them away if you insist. ;) ) 
Secondly, watch this.

ps if you're a bones fan, it's kinda funny to see him in this role. but we still love the fluffy hair.

Thirdly, if you're like me and maybe sometimes need to get a more productive life you'll love this news: Psych season 6 is on Netflix! Let the banter begin. :)

And last but not least, a catch up on life. 

It hasn't changed much. :) Matt's still going to school and being an ambassador and volunteering and such. I'm still cleaning the house and making food and (as of last monday) going to classes in St. George. And by classes I mean class. Clearly one of us is more productive than the other at this point in time. ;) Lucky for me I married a good one, right? He's great in everything! (And in his spare time sometimes he watches Bones with me. What more could I have asked for? ;) )

Class is great to have as something to fill my time with, but so far is painfully easy. 

"Which fraction has the greater value between 1/3 and 1/8?" "What is .1 + .04?" "What is the most used formula in quantum physics?" (ok so not that one. I was hoping you'd read it and think, 'that's painfully easy? Shannon is practically a genius!) So awesome boredom buster, but homework takes five minutes. It should be illegal to complain about homework not taking long enough. Soon, my pretties, soon. 

Backtracking, Halloween was really fun! We went up to one of our friends' cabins at Brian Head(?). We brought up some food, then after some serious persuasion from the guys we played 'No ghosts are out tonight' (or something like that.) After driving up in the semi dark, and talking about 'how creepy would it be if something creepy just popped up in the trees' 

something like this perhaps? I'd pee my pants.

none of the girls wanted to wander around the dark cabin alone. In fact, one of us almost cried when another someone jumped down the stairs at her. ... We only survived two rounds, and then gave up and watched The Prestige. Much less murder in the woodsy. Just obsessive magician intense things.

Fast forward just a bit, Matt and I got to go to my cousin, Sarah's, endowment last last weekend. (make sense?) I loooovve going to the Manti temple! Seriously, there will always be a soft spot in my heart for Sanpete county. Always. I'm not sure why it left such a mark, but it has. I get massive warm fuzzies every time we go, so I was super excited that I got to go to Sarah's endowment and that it was in Manti! She and Dan make a super cute couple, and I'm so excited for you guys! Four days til you join the married club! :) I've had more opportunities to be in the temple with the heap side of the family so it was kind of fun to be there with the Barton side this time. :) After the session we got to go see the spiral stair cases, which are INCREDIBLE! I can't even imagine how the pioneers built things like that with the tools they had. The wood work is beautiful and there are planks that are curved to fit the spiral. So gorgeous! Anywho. It was such a fun trip, we even ate in the temple cafeteria (which I have hear about for the past two years...)

So. Now that I've rambled my quota for the day... Happy Monday ladies and gents!
Let the week begin! :)