Thankful Thursday!

I think I've missed a couple of weeks now, woops! 

I'm thankful for the example that little children are to us adults. Mosiah 3:19 comes to mind, 

"For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."

Groups of families take turns cleaning our church building and it was the Sims family turn a couple of weeks ago...when I meant to post this...well, R was still out of town so I went alone. Some group members come early and leave a note regarding what they've done and then there are those in the group who never show up. Well, let me just tell you that I HATE trash (it stinks.) and I hate cleaning bathrooms (especially public ones; too many unidentified fluid stains to clean up - yuck). I was ill because guess what I was about to do?! Help clean men&women bathrooms, collect trash, and then wash windows. Lucky for me, the gentleman in our group who is always there brought his little angel granddaughter who ended up being just the lesson I needed to be reminded of.  She was SO eager to help clean, even when she was face level with the urinal.  That's the kind of attitude I should have when I'm given the opportunity to clean the place where I get to go and learn about the gospel every single week. 

Kids are often the first to love and first to forgive. What a great example they are of our savior, Jesus Christ.

Take 2, Away Rotations -- A [long] double whammy

I accidentally posted this early while I was starting to write it a couple of weeks ago. (hit publish instead of save!)

 NOW it's had more added and it's official....

July was not forgotten...

I just waited until August to combine the two in order to avoid posting on this public blog 

that my heart has been away for the past 

t.w.o. m.o.n.t.h.s. (68 days to be exact)

Yep, it was awful.  

R was away doing externships for school while I was here bringing home the bacon. 

I don't think we realized how difficult it would be to be away from each other until it happened. 

It might not seem like a big deal but it was a humbling experience that I know has made me even more grateful to have him.

Two weeks into it was the Sims annual beach time in PCB.

I wished so badly that R would be there but in my mind there was no way.

He was so sad he wouldn't be there because he looks forward to it every year.

& as far as I knew, he had to be at the hospital that weekend

..and when I called him on my drive to PCB,

he had "just gotten home and was about to cook the chicken he thawed."

I arrived at PCB and when I got upstairs P said 'well, since we don't know where everybody's sleeping just put your stuff in that room' ....I walk in there to put down my stuff down and from the darkness I hear "heeyyyyyyyeyyeyey!!!!!" coming from my HUSBAND!

I was in shock. & cried.

I was so happy that trickster R surprised the heck out of me.

He said he couldn't hold in his excitement when I walked in there.

A couple of weeks later I got to surprise R! Haha!

The evening before, I was at publix while on the phone with R.

 I said I had to pick up ice-cream for my (made up) dinner plans with a family in the ward.

I went all out - even 20 minutes before I arrived to surprise him I texted him saying I had a headache and that I was right about my guess that we'd be having lasagna.

R threw a wrench in my plan when at 10pm the night before he mentioned his dinner plans at his cousin J's house. I got up with cousin J's wife, R and she helped a cousin out big time.

The new plan was for me to show up there (which would be even more surprising!)

and she made sure J was outside and she was busy when I knocked on the door so she could ask R to get the door.

He was in shock. We had a spontaneous little getaway the next day; it was perfect.

Two and a half weeks later we saw each other again.

R's Granny G passed away, peacefully.

It was sad but it's a comfort to know where she is.

The hardest things were seeing my MIL cry knowing that breaks R's heart.

& when MIL whispered in my ear "she loved you so much and was so happy R got you"

I realized how much death brings family/friends together and gives people an opportunity to serve others.

There were so many people who brought food or helped with the lunch after the funeral, etc. It was so nice.

We ended up seeing each other a lot more than we thought we would

(we thought we'd see each other zero)

but it's just not the same as being HOME together. 

The hardest thing about seeing each other was knowing we had to say goodbye AGAIN.

Talking on the phone with about a week left, R said, "I cannot wait for Friday. It's going to be like heaven." It was the best feeling to see him and know we didn't have to say goodbye again.

The day R finished his rotation, I rode down to Ma & Dad's house with Gma&Gpa H.

then rode back home with R after we spent a few days with the family :)

The weekend was amazing

(although we could have done without the ticket for turning right on red! nothing some farm fresh boiled peanuts couldn't cure.) 

Other July/August events worth noting: KA came to visit me!!! Gma & Gpa H's 60th wedding anniversary!!!, the Jones' came through town to share their art project at a local art gallery (www.sunrisegoal.org), and R's Gold Humanism Honor Society pinning ceremony.

Thoughts while being alone: 

• I am so grateful it wasn't longer. Military spouses are strong!!!
• Even though we haven't even been married a year yet, it's easy to get into a routine. I was reminded of what a blessing it is to come home to him every day and to get to serve each other throughout the week. 
• It is really easy to come home and eat cereal for dinner when there is no one else to cook for. This is likely what made me feel sick sometimes. 
• You can really psych yourself out when you're home alone. When you're in the shower and can't remember if you locked the door and then start thinking you might be hearing something in your living room. Yep. 
• I need to be more social.
• Cell phone service in our apartment it TERRIBLE. This made our phone calls very difficult sometimes. 
• I am sooo sooo glad I never endured a relationship heartbreak. You know, where you are completely in love with the person and then you break up.....because for at least the first week of R being gone, I cried every night just because I wished he was there...but I knew he was coming back..so it wasn't a permanent change...I imagine a heart break would feel terrible. 
• I get a whole lot of cleaning/organizing accomplished when I'm home alone.
• What huge sacrifices R is making for us and our future. Being away from home and working LONG hours. It's the worst to get "home" and not even have time to unwind before having to shower and get in bed to do it all over again. 
• I appreciate him so much. 
• We should never be apart that long again. ever. 

Thoughts on away rotations for medical student spouse: 

• they open doors to potential residency programs
• it gives a tiny little taste of what to expect during residency since they get to work directly with them
• it helps with getting letters of recommendation which they will need when applying to residency!!! [p.s. save money because all the applications through ERAS can get pricey]
• think about away rotations and moving costs when you decide how much loan money to accept for the semester!
• they will not get much sleep...and they miss you too...so don't be hard on them when the only time you talk some days is on their drive home. 
• they will be back. Don't forget the away rotations are temporary. 

Before R left, he got a blessing from our home teacher.

It was undoubtedly inspired and exactly what each of us needed to hear. It gave us strength and reassurance. I know it strengthened my testimony and helped me feel our Savior's love.

 A sweet promise that 'angels would take care of his angel while he was away' came in the form of occasions to see family, friends visiting, and friends needing a place to stay while coming through town.

I have never has so many plans packed into two months as these two and what a blessing that was from Heavenly Father.

I am so grateful for the priesthood and the worthy men who exercise it to bless others.

Life lesson of July/August: our eternal marriage brings and will continue to bring so many "supernal joys of life." 

Things we're looking forward to in September: being together! not traveling (our gas expenses have been out of control). R finally gets to enjoy the professional massage he got for his bday!

Thankful Thursday!

Throw Back Thursday is pretty popular these days but I'm going to TRY (forgive me if I forget a time or two....or ten) and do a Thankful Thursday to remind myself of things my life is blessed with. To kick off my thankful Thursdays..........

I am thankful that...

...I GET TO SEE MY HUSBAND TOMORROW!!!

Maybe they will typically be a little more in depth but for now, that's pretty much all I can think about.

15-16/30: If you were an animal, what would you be and why?

15.

Welllllllll, it depends...

a giraffe...to see what the world looks like on their level & because I think they are beautiful.

an elephant...it's one of my&R's favorite animals. & they do cute things like stick their faces in the mud when they're mad...

a bear...because R sometimes calls me mama bear...plus, he is mi oso ("my bear" in spanish)..so if he's a bear, I'm a bear ;)

16: what are your 5 greatest accomplishments?

1) being worthy for our temple marriage/my relationship with R

2) my education/graduating with no debt b/c of scholarships and working

3) Disney internship

4) knowing when to speak up and when it is better to be kind than to prove I'm right.

5) volunteering with Relay for Life for 8 years and on the University Relay for Life executive committee for 2

The Big Picture

I was going to title this thoughts on death but...that might have been awful. Plus, it also includes thoughts on life. 

One of my closest friends' grandfather passed away over the weekend and it made me realize it's been since 2009 that I lost someone close to me. I can get pretty emotional on the topic so I figured the more I remind myself and read up on why death is an essential part of this life, the better off I'll be...eventually. 

[I rediscovered two great talks by internationally renowned cardiothoracic surgeon and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Russell M. Nelson. See here and here.] 

"Each organ of your body is a wondrous gift from God. Each eye has an auto-focusing lens. Nerves and muscles control two eyes to make a single three-dimensional image. The eyes are connected to the brain, which records the sights seen. Your heart is an incredible pump. It has four delicate valves that...open and close more than 100,000 times a day—36 million times a year...The body heals its cuts, bruises, and broken bones. (Be we reminded that a perfect body is not required to achieve one’s divine destiny. In fact, some of the sweetest spirits are housed in frail or imperfect bodies. Great spiritual strength is often developed by people with physical challenges, precisely because they are so challenged.) 

If the body’s capacity for normal function, defense, repair, regulation, and regeneration were to prevail without limit, life here would continue in perpetuity. Yes, we would be stranded here on earth! Mercifully for us, our Creator provided for aging and other processes that would ultimately result in our physical death. 

Returning from earth to life in our heavenly home requires passage through—and not around—the doors of death. We were born to die, and we die to live. (2 Cor. 6:9.) Moreover, we can’t fully appreciate joyful reunions later without tearful separations now. The only way to take sorrow out of death is to take love out of life. {how terrible would that be?! I love love!} 

Think of the alternative. If all sixty-nine billion people who have ever lived on earth were still here, imagine the traffic jam!{Rick would be beyond ill about that jam}

Meanwhile, we who tarry here have a few precious moments remaining “to prepare to meet God.”(Alma 34:32.)"

Life does not begin with birth, nor does it end with death. It's not so much of a goodbye; it's more of a see ya later/until we meet again! woop.  

On a semi-related note...

Sometimes I find myself having a temporary lapse of judgement and getting so caught up in a job title that I start to wish I had chosen a different major (even though I LOVED mine! & had I not chosen the major I did, I wouldn't have had a great internship which influenced me in more ways than I feel like typing, I would not have met one of my now best friends, AND I would not have been around to date R! [hello, we got married! Whoa, can't imagine if that timing was off and I was living my life without him -- so at the end of the day, I remember why I'm SO happy about that choice), I get so caught up in wanting new clothes to dress stylishly that I seem ungrateful for all that I have, and in pinning ideas for our future children's clothes, rooms and birthday parties so I can be THAT mom that I lose time where I could be doing more important things. & I know R can get so stressed about the thought of future residency programs that he gets overwhelmed with what he is doing in that moment.  All the while forgetting, momentarily, that those things are not at all a method of valuing individual worth. There is so much more to each soul on this earth than those temporary things. Individual worth comes from the fact that we have divine potential; we are children of God. 'With the help of the scriptures, words of the prophets, and personal revelation, we gradually come to an awareness of our true nature and destiny.'  "The attributes by which we shall be judged one day are all spiritual. These include love, virtue, integrity, compassion, and service to others." 

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with pursuing a good job/title, nice clothes, preparing to be THAT mom, or hoping for a spot in a notable residency program. Nothing wrong at all, actually. It's just that "occasionally we [at least I] need to step back from the details of our lives and reacquaint ourselves with the big picture." To be reminded of what is truly important in this life and refocus on an eternal perspective. I recognize that our marriage in the temple is my most valuable accomplishment. It will have an everlasting effect on generations to come. The joy that comes and will come because of it is irreplaceable.

& since the title of this post is "The Big Picture".....and since I love pictures..I find it appropriate to post a big picture. So here is one from my biggest accomplishment :)