My Mister and Me

Today my brain has felt like a huge, jumbled, emotional mess (probably almost that time of the month ;). I finally decided to take a walk outside this evening to try and think through everything going through my mind today. While on my walk I listened to a new Hilary Week's album I bought on iTunes this morning (Love Your Life). (My cousin texted me and told me about a song she thought I'd like and I ended up just buying the whole album because they were all great, I HIGHLY recommend it.) Every song that I listened to I felt like I got the same message pounded into my head and heart. Have faith, trust in the Lord and everything will work out in the right time. Life is hard sometimes and I get so focused on what's not happening that I lose sight and don't recognize or appreciate the blessings right in front of my eyes. Things are going to work out. They might not work out the way I'm picturing in my head but that's ok. I just have to trust in the Lord and ...

We decided yesterday afternoon to make a trip over to Wyoming. Katherine is due in a week so I'm going to head over to see them in a few days to help out until miss baby girl decides to arrive. Kevin is going to stay in Laramie while I'm with the Hansen's and come over to see the baby once she's born, then we'll head back to Laramie for a few days before we head back to Iowa.  We left around 6:30 this morning (of course picked up some McGriddles before we headed out, OH MY GOODNESS MY FAVORITE BREAKFAST EVER!) We pulled into Laramie right around 5:20 this afternoon. Road trips with Kevin are always so fun. Driving through Nebraska is one of my least favorite things to do EVER but driving with Kevin makes it a bit more bearable. :)  We love getting to spend time with family. Tonight we got to sit down with Dad Fox while he showed us all the pictures from his John Muir Trail Hike (200+miles in 17 days) last month. So many beautiful pictures and so man...

Tonight Kevin and I were able to go up to the St. Paul Temple. It was so wonderful to be able to have that time with Kevin. I love the peace and love I always feel when being in the temple. I always leave feeling refreshed and ready to handle whatever life brings. We ran into Kevin's cousin's wife while we were there. It was so fun getting to see and chat with her for a little bit. It was a lovely evening spent in the temple. I'm grateful for the guidance I felt and the answers I was able to see more clearly. I know the Lord loves me and I know we are blessed when we are obedient and try our best to follow the promptings we receive. The drive up to the temple was GORGEOUS. There were groups of trees with red, green, orange, and yellow leaves. SO PRETTY. I can't get over how much I love all the fall colors everywhere. I thought I loved them in the west but my goodness the midwest is making me fall in love all over again with the fall season! It rained the whole way u...

I'm grateful for Sundays. They give me a chance to recharge and be ready for the stress and excitement of a new week. I got called to be the young women's secretary a few weeks ago and was worried at first at how I would be. It has been fun so far. It feels a little funny to be in there, I still feel young and like it was yesterday that I was in there myself! :) I'm still figuring out my role exactly but I love the ladies I work with and the girls have been sweet. I was able to teach today and was surprised that I wasn't a nervous wreck until right before I went up to teach. I think teaching in primary helped ease my teaching nerves just a bit. Teaching in primary also taught me how much I can learn from studying a lesson and sharing it with others. I think the lesson went ok. I got asked to teach last minute so I didn't have a lot of time to prepare but I think it went well for the amount of time I put into preparing. This month was on Christlike Attributes and...

I've had a sore throat the past couple days and finally last night I asked Kevin to stop by the store on his way back from Basketball at the church to pick up some cough drops. He got home with the cough drops and told us the cool story of how he got them. He went to the store and realized he didn't have his wallet but decided to go up to the cashier to ask if they accepted apple pay (because he had his phone with him). When he got up to the cashier with the cough drops they had no idea what apple pay was so he thanked them, said he'd go home and get his wallet and turned around to go put the drops back. The lady behind him stopped him and said not to worry about that and that she would pay for them. I couldn't believe it! Such a kind thing to do to a random stranger at the store. Kevin thanked her and allowed her to buy them for him. I'm so thankful for that lady's thoughtfulness. Earlier in the evening when I had texted Kevin asking him to go to the store ...

Today was a good day.  While being in Iowa I've been able to step outside my comfort zone and go out with the sister missionaries quite a few times. When we first got here and they asked me to go I was TERRIFIED. After going once though and seeing how its not really scary, I've learned to love it and I love the sisters! It has been fun to get to know each set of sister missionaries and I have gained new friends because of it. :) This morning I was able to go out with them for a lesson and even though the lesson ended up falling through it was still super fun to get to visit with them for a few minutes afterwards. They are both so sweet. Sister Bracken (on the right) has been in Mason City for 4 transfers and this is Sister Clay's second transfer here. They are dear friends and I love getting to hang out with them!  I took the picture below and sent it to their moms. :)  Anna and I both had boots and scarves on today so I made her go outside with me and take ...

I have LOVED getting to be in Iowa for fall. The trees in Anna and Andrew's neighborhood are BEAUTIFUL. Kevin and I took a little walk yesterday to take some pictures of the reds, greens, and yellow leaves covering the trees around our block.    I JUST CAN'T HANDLE ALL THE BEAUTIFUL COLORS!! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ The weather was colder last week and it teased me and my excitement for fall clothes. I'm so excited for scarf and sweater weather! Its warmed up a bit more this week (UGH humidity is so lovely :P) but its been fun to still be able to go on walks and to the park with the kids before it gets too cold outside. Kevin has been taking Jackson for walks. Jackson rides his little bike and Kevin will usually push the jogging stroller behind him to give him some support when needed. :) Its the cutest thing to watch little Jackson walking/riding his way down the sidewalk. Today we went on a little walk to west park with Jackson and Kiera. I always love wat...