2013 Goals - 1st Quarter Update

It's time for my first goal update of the year.  Sadly this one is going to be short and pretty depressing.  I'm not going to make excuses for not getting much done in these first few months, but just going to document why not much was accomplished for the sake of keeping a record.  

I made these goals last September, so a couple months before I got pregnant.  This pregnancy has been similar (as far as symptoms go) to my first, but worse times four or five.  In the mornings when I feel ok, Emerson has required most, if not all, of my time (he used to play well on his own, but has been in a phase where he has required more attention).  When he goes down for a nap is about when the nausea or bloating/cramping kicks in.  And it stays until well after I go to sleep (I wake at 1 or 2 in the morning still nauseated).  Luckily, I've had my mom in the mornings and even more helpers in the afternoons, but even still, my motivation has been at the bottom of a deep pit.  Also, we have been living with family since before the year started.  While we are enormously grateful for the hospitality and generosity in letting us crash their home (in all the meanings of the word 'crash'), a few of my goals are ones I just want to do in my own space (hello-potty-mess-all-over-Nana's-house and I'm-pretty-sure-no-one-wants-to-hear-my-violin-screeching).  Anyway, those are the main reasons I have been so slacker-ish, but I have high hopes for the future.

Now, a reminder of the goals:

1. Read the 5 books listed:

a. Approaching Zion
 b. Jesus the Christ 
c. 3 classic novels - I started The Scarlet Letter a couple months back on a night when I wasn't able to sleep, but I haven't gone back to it and don't think I even made it through the introduction.  
2. Write a monthly poem.  Zilch. Nada. Zip. 
3. Potty train Emerson.  Emerson is pretty close to being ready and I think he'd do really well with this any time, but I'm waiting until we get settled into our home before we tackle this (he'll be going through other major changes anyway (big kid bed, banishing the pacifier, new nursery class) so a few more months won't hurt anyone).  Besides, I think my Mom will thank me for not potty-training a child at her house, too :) Right?
4. Index 1000 names.  So far, I've only indexed 153 records, so 847 to go.  Target rate: 4/day.
5. Start violin lessons.  Waiting for the financial dust to settle what with buying a home and car and having a baby.
6. Memorize "The Living Christ."  This goal may be one that I have to nix.  My pregnancy brain barely lets me remember the details of the last conversation I had, so memorizing a major document may have been a little lofty.  
7. Begin a new language: ASL.  I'm hoping to pick up a book or something from the library to at least get me started.  I don't really know how to get this ball rolling (without spending bucko bucks) so...suggestions? 
8. Bake bread weekly.  I've made bread all of 4 times.  All of them turned out well, but this may be another goal I won't be picking up speed on because I plan on using my oven practically never during the heat of the summer.  Plan for an ice age at my house, folks.  
9. Memorize 20 scriptures.  So far, I've memorized 1 (Alma 26:12) and re-memorized 2 (2 Nephi 25:26 and Moroni 10:4-5) from my childhood.  I plan on memorizing more from books other than the Book of Mormon, but the 1st was one I ran across in my daily study and the other 2 I wanted to make sure were still solid in my mind, so I'll be more diversified the next go around.

Anyway, my morning sickness seems to be waning bit by bit (knock on wood) and we'll be moving into our own space in just a few weeks, so like I said earlier, I have high hopes for the future.  

Highlights from General Conference

I haven't ever been very good at publicly sharing my spiritual thoughts or beliefs, but I have some friends and family members who are great examples of this and I want to be more like them.  They are more brave than I.  So periodically, in order to help myself be "not ashamed," I'm going to try to post something requiring more spiritual thought than just pictures or our latest adventure/update.

To start off, I'd like to list some highlights of the church's general conference held this last weekend. It was fantastic and inspiring as usual.  If you have an extra 10 hours laying around, I suggest just watching it all yourself.  If you only have 30 minutes, I suggest this and especially this (a favorite for sure).

And if you're like me and spare time seems nonexistent, then blaze through this short and sweet list I've compiled of things that spoke to me and struck me this time around:

• "I renew the call for a return to virtue. Virtue is the strength and power of daughters of God. What would the world be like if virtue—a pattern of thought and behavior based on high moral standards, including chastity—were reinstated in our society as a most highly prized value? … Would media ennoble and enable rather than objectify and degrade God’s precious daughters? If all humanity really understood the importance of the statement “We are daughters of our Heavenly Father,” how would women be regarded and treated?" - Elaine S. Dalton.  I hope that I am able to teach my children their divine nature, that of a son or daughter of God.  I believe knowing this truth could perhaps make all the difference in someone's life.
• "As disciples of Jesus Christ, we ought to do all we can to redeem others from suffering and burdens.  Even so, our greatest redemptive service will be to lead them to Christ. Without His redemption from death and from sin, we have only a gospel of social justice. ... Ultimate redemption is in Jesus Christ and in Him alone." - D. Todd Christofferson.
• "Tolerance is a virtue, but like all virtues, when exaggerated, it transforms itself into a vice. We need to be careful of the “tolerance trap” so that we are not swallowed up in it. The permissiveness afforded by the weakening of the laws of the land to tolerate legalized acts of immorality does not reduce the serious spiritual consequence that is the result of the violation of God’s law of chastity." - Boyd K. Packer.  I think this is something the world could use right now.  The laws of the land may change, but that doesn't mean that God's laws change.  In a secular and hardened world, we need reminded that we must stand for truth.  
• "Each of us must stay in condition to respond to inspiration and the promptings of the Holy Ghost. The Lord has a way of pouring pure intelligence into our minds to prompt us, to guide us, to teach us, and to warn us. Each son or daughter of God can know the things they need to know instantly. Learn to receive and act on inspiration and revelation." - Boyd K. Packer.  I loved how he said we should stay in condition to receive revelation.  What a novel idea that we have to keep our spirit healthy in order to expect spiritual help when needed!
• "Satan would rather you define yourself by your sins, than by your divine potential. Don't listen to him." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf.  The adversary is real.  And he knows our weaknesses.  However, "Satan is no match for the Savior." (Richard G. Scott)  I hope I remember this when I am in need of some strength in remembering my divine nature. 

Sheesh.  I could go on forever with all the fantastic words that were spoken over the weekend.  Not only were they inspiring, but they were also pure truth given by God's servants.  I know President Monson is a prophet who leads and guides Christ's true church on the earth today.  I know Christ came to earth to atone for us and allow us to return to live with our Heavenly Father, who loves us, His children.  What a great blessing it is for me to have this gospel in my life.  

I'll soon be back with more posts and updates explaining our absence on the blog as of late.   Look forward to tummy pictures, hairy face pictures, and a 1st quarter goal update.

More Good News

Good News

We have so much good news to share.  Where to begin?  How about I start at the very beginning?

When we moved from Biloxi, we had plans to move to Washington since we accepted a job there.  We were excited, ready for another adventure in a different part of the nation.  Everything was good to go, including the licensure process and moving arrangements.  We told people where we were headed.

Then after we got back to Utah, a friend approached Will and offered him a job just around the corner.  We practically didn't even consider it since our plans were made, but then we started feeling uncomfortable and decided to ask the Lord what He thought.  His plans were different than ours.  So after a few long weeks of praying, fasting, thinking, and praying some more, we made the hard decision to switch our plans and stay in Utah.  

Don't get me wrong; we are thrilled to be near family and friends.  But it definitely wasn't the easiest choice to make, for many reasons I don't have time to explain. We are confident in our decision and hope that we will look back on this experience and understand why it had to be.

So good news: WE ARE STAYING IN UTAH!

During this same time, Will was studying for his board exam, AKA "The Exam of Life or Death."  He spent 2+ months studying for it putting in just as many hours as a full time job would require.  For those who don't know, this test is only offered five times each year, so if one doesn't pass, one waits a few months to do it again.  Also, it costs $500.  Each time.  And it takes five grueling hours to take.  It's no easy peasy test.  Another kicker is that, without passing the exam, one cannot get licensed and practice.  Lots of professions have exams similar to or even worse than this, and the one for physical therapy is no exception from being emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually draining.  #killmenowandmakeitquick

After much more praying, fasting, studying (on Will's part), and praying some more from both sides of our families, we are happy and relieved to report Will passed the exam.

So more good news:  WILL PASSED THE LICENSURE EXAM!

In sum, the past couple months have been incredibly hard, but also incredibly rewarding, and we wouldn't change anything about them, especially the part where Will passed his test.

He is currently working in American Fork and liking the job.  We are looking for a home to buy and are slowly getting settled into our new life of being a non-student, and are quickly getting settled into our new life of money-making :)

I could go on and on about all our good news, but it's late so I'll be back soon to share some more.

2013 Goals

It's time to reveal my goals for the new year.  And I am so excited to share them with you.  But first, I need to wrap up last year's goals.  One more update for the records :) 

1. Get prego. I wish I could report that this goal was met, but I can't.  Sorry.
2. Update personal history. In a stroke of good luck, I found my personal history a couple months ago when I was packing/cleaning and getting ready to move back to Utah.  So I've been able to work on this but, obviously, it'll never be finished so this is one of those goals that will continue through life.
3. Food storage. I quote from last quarter's update: "This one never ends, and we're still working on it."
4. Compile Emerson's 1st year. I have finally decided that I'll make a really great photo book of Emerson's first year (and I'll probably do this for other children as well) and then get a nice case so I can have a place to put additional mementos like his first haircut snippings, hospital bracelets, etc.  I'll work on it and then wait until I get a coupon to have it printed.
5. Read the 4 books listed: 
1. The King's Cavalier 
2. The Name of the Rose
3. Approaching Zion - this one made it onto 2013 goals because I didn't even get started on it.  
4. Increase in Learning: Spiritual patterns for obtaining your own answers - I didn't finish this one either.  I could list excuses why I didn't read it, but that's lame, so take my word for it that I'll finish it eventually.  
6. 72 hour kits. Done!
7. Blog weekly. Done!
8. Workout 3 times/week for 20 min. I could have done a LOT better with this goal.  I also could have done a LOT worse, so while I didn't actually complete the full goal, I give myself a 50%.  I guess in school, that's still failing, so better luck to me next year.  
9. Go to the temple. Done!
10. Finish Ensign conference issues. Done!

Ok, now on to new and exciting things: 2013 goals!

1. Read the 5 books listed:
a. Approaching Zion (this is a carryover from last year)
b. Jesus the Christ (so is this one)
c. 3 classic novels (I haven't picked the three novels yet.  I'll pick them as the mood strikes.)
2. Write a monthly poem.  I don't really know where this one will take me, but I like the idea of writing poetry so I thought I'd try it out and see what happens.  My grammie was very good with the written word and I always admired that in her.  It's something I think is going away as time goes on.  I may or may not post my poems on the blog.  We'll see.
3. Potty train Emerson.  I really can't wait to be done with this but we're nowhere close right now so it'll be a while before this goal gets addressed/crossed off.
4. Index 1000 names.  I got into indexing when I took a family history class at BYU.  I loved indexing (it was kind of addicting) and want to get back into it.  For those who may not know, indexing names is a method of getting written files and documents into a digital format.  Anyone can sign up here and all you do is look at a census record or parrish registers or death certificates and just copy the information into a form that will save it digitally.  It's fun and easy and helps those who are working on their genealogy.
5. Start violin lessons.  Will gave me a violin a few years ago because I had expressed interest in learning, but then we became more broke with grad school and baby and blah blah blah.  So now that we are actually earning an income, I'd like to find a teacher and pay for some lessons.  
6. Memorize "The Living Christ."  I've memorized and re-memorized "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" a few times (and love it more each time), so I think it's time I work on "The Living Christ" now.  
7. Begin a new language: ASL.  I like the idea of being bilingual, and after learning a few primary songs in sign language from a few different wards, I've discovered that I love signing.  I just need to learn how to do it.  So I don't really know how I'll go about accomplishing this one, but I'll find a way and start the journey to bilingual-hood.
8. Bake bread weekly.  This goal comes from wanting to enhance my bread-making skills to the point where I know how the ingredients will interact without having to copy a recipe exactly.  Maybe I'll even try making some of my own recipes.  Who knows?  But I want to perfect my breads because, while they usually turn out edible, most of the time there is something minorly wrong (too dense, thick hard crust, etc) and I don't like that. 
9. Memorize 20 scriptures.  This one stems from the idea that, when needed, I will be able to pull scriptures from my memory bank and use them for my aid in whatever situation I may need.  I don't have them picked yet and will choose them as I run across them in my reading.

Ok, that's it for the year.  I am still continuing some of my goals from last year (the ones that are lifelong goals and I just needed a jump start), and I can't wait to get going on these ones.  Who else has their goals picked?  Let's hear them.  Share!

Christmas Celebrations

We celebrated Christmas twice this year - once with each side of the family.  I have a bunch of photos so just enjoy a big slew of pictures, most of which are of Emerson.

We gave the grandparents a small book that contained a bunch of photos from our year in Mississippi.  I made a copy for Emerson, too, because he loved watching me make it.  We only got pictures of Pops and Gigi opening theirs, but it was a hit all around.  You can see it here if you like. 

The "Best Toy of the Day" goes to Buzz Lightyear.  I had the darndest time trying to get a photo of Emerson and Buzz that wasn't blurry.  

For the celebration with Nana and Poobah, I stopped taking pictures of Christmas about 10 minutes in for some reason, so I only have a few to share. 

The "Best Toy of the Day" was definitely the basketball hoop.  Emerson had so much fun playing with his 'oop' all day long.

This one kills me.  See those eyes?  They seem to be saying, "Open this box now and nobody will get hurt."

Christmas was great this year, and not because of all the gifts.  We loved giving and we loved receiving, but we especially loved spending time with our family.  What a marvelous holiday season we had!

{merry christmas}

I found a great deal on Christmas cards this year so we ordered some for the first time.  I love how they turned out and wish I had all the money in the world to buy lots of cute things from Paper Coterie on a regular basis.  #lovepapercoterie

Front:

Back:

Slip cover:

We hope all had a marvelous Christmas filled with family, love, and spirit.  

Merry Christmas.

Trust me, I'm a doctor

So Will graduated.  10 days ago.  And I'm only now getting around to blogging about it.  Does the 250GB XBox360 Kinect graduation gift make up for it, honey?  Oh, good.

Will is officially a doctor now and we are beyond proud of him.  This is a huge accomplishment that he completed through much hard and honest work.  He had the help of others, most importantly the Lord, but his efforts were grand as well.  

And now for a bunch of pictures of that fun/busy/stressful/exciting day. (Note: I edited the photos and was having fun with lots of different techniques so there isn't much congruency.  My dear sweet sister, Mariah, was the mastermind behind the camera.  I take no credit for the photos.  And Santa, next year I want a boss camera since my old junk one is getting closer and closer to death by the second.)

This is my family sans Jenna (who wasn't able to make it) and my dad (who came later for the ceremony).  Mariah, the one behind the camera (in all except this photo), is on the far right in that cute cream number.

Chris, Donny, Stewart, and Will became good friends towards the beginning of the program. They made lots of crazy and fun memories along the way.  We hope to keep in touch with them over the years.

Richard Nielson is the president of Rocky Mountain University and is such a great guy.  The first time we went to visit the school, he was there to greet us and remembered Will's name and face just from the photo in his application folder.  We congratulate Pres. Nielson on his great achievement (17 years in the making) of getting this program through its inaugural class.

Emerson was a little trooper throughout the whole day.  The ceremony was right during his nap which meant that his patience was greatly appreciated.  He was a champ.

Our great moms helped in so many ways in the journey through grad school.  I love this photo of the women in Will's life.

My sisters were great helpers while Emerson made it through the ceremony.  Mattea was sweet enough to monitor him while he braved the window sills. #mylittledaredevil

Our dads also played a major role in Will's success.  Their love and advice helped more than just a few times.

I love this photo of Alyssa helping Emerson watch Will line up to be hooded.  #tendermoments

  
Check out these mad photography skills.  Thanks a millionbajillion to Mariah for all the photos, but especially for this one that's extra neato.

The class took an oath that they would be fantastic therapists for the rest of their lives.  Or something like that.  (I may have to find it online and actually read it since I was out refilling someone's sippy cup while they did this part.)

Officially, he is now Dr. William C. Sykes, PT, DPT.

And no major accomplishment like this is complete without a good heel click :)

Congratulations!  In the past 2.5 years, you made it through 8 semesters of grueling studies and work.  You had faith in a program that wouldn't be accredited until your graduation. You found a way to get funding despite federal aid not being available for the first year.  You started raising your first little boy.  You worked, and worked, and worked some more.  And most importantly, you put your family first the entire time.  Your family thanks you for all you have done.  We love you and are so, so proud.