Happy New Year!

Well, now that I am a college graduate (booyah!), I have more time during the day to do things like, blog!  So here I am, blogging about the holidays.  A little late, but better that than never, right?

Stephanie and Jeremy Dowse (my sister and brother-in-law) came up to spend New Years with us in Logan, and it was so much fun!  We had a delicious dinner of little barbecue smokeys, pineapple, rolls, gingerbread cookies, and lots and LOTS of candy!  It was great.  We played Clue, and Dance Central for the Kinect, and watched old home videos of me and Steph as little kids, and had a total blast!

When midnight came around, we made New Years Hats and ran around outside banging pots and pans.  I swear we were the only ones in the whole neighborhood celebrating New Year's;  the whole place was totally dark and silent!  So we made even more noise, to make up the difference :)  Here's some pictures of our extravaganza!

We brought in the new year by going around in a circle and naming a memory from 2011, something we learned, and a New Year's Resolution.  We drank Martinelli's to each person's answer :)  It was a lot of fun!  My previous post, 2011 in Review , lists all of my favorite memories of 2011, and I have blogged throughout the year (namely in these 4: Walk By Faith , Love Yourself , Of Things That Matter Most , and Priorities ) about different things I have learned.  If I were to try and sum up those things I've learned into a brief statement, I would say:

We were not sent here to Earth to be perfect, nor to have perfect lives.  We were sent here to learn, prioritize, and walk by faith.  Life does not always go as planned, because we need opportunities to strengthen relationships with those we love, and to turn to God.  Heavenly Father loves us, and only He knows the true path to lead us back to Him.  It is by patience with ourselves, love towards others, and faith in Him that we can find that path and be happy.

2011 was overall a pretty tough year, but I learned so many things that I never would have otherwise, and for that, I am grateful.  Here's to new goals, new resolutions, new achievements, new starts, and wonderful friends and family.  I am so blessed.  Happy New Year everybody.  Welcome, 2012 :)

2011 in Review

JANUARY

- We started the New Year off on a warm beach in the beautiful, sunny Nicaragua!!!

FEBRUARY

- Skipped out on our night Natural Disasters class to celebrate Valentine's Day! (And almost burned down Aggie Village with our too-big-for-the-tiny-oven heart shaped pizza, then crashed a single people's dance!)

MARCH

- Brock played in a band at a Mardi Gras party at Iron Gate Grill!

- Two words:  Mustache March.

APRIL

- I had a month of awesome girl's nights!
           - Carleigh's Bachelorette Party
           - Priesthood Session = Girls night out at Chili's
           - Farewell to my Relief Society Presidency!

- We bought licenses and started to go fishing!

MAY


- I quit the Housing Office and got a job teaching private voice & piano lessons.

- We moved out of Aggie Village into a house!

- Went on a Road Trip over our Anniversary to California for Chad & Laura's wedding!

JUNE


- I took a girls road trip to Colorado!

- Said Bye to Heather for her mission, and welcomed Cam to Logan!

- Started a garden!

JULY


- Family reunions!  Snowbird & Bear Lake

- Hiking, Hangin' out with Friends, Campfires, & Fireworks

AUGUST


- Camping Trip with the Fongs!

- Happy Birthday to us!!!

SEPTEMBER


- I started Student Teaching and Brock switched his Career Path to Physical Therapy!
- TRUE AGGIE NIGHT!  We kissed on the A, then crowd-surfed off of it!
- Aggie Games and seeing the leaves change in the mountains
- Friday Night Lights... :-)

OCTOBER


- Oliver Crow.  Scare is his middle name.

- Charlie's Birthday Bash!

- Date nights and Halloween Celebrations!  Simon the Pumpkin, the Logan Pumpkin Walk, and... Scooby Dooby Doo, Where are you??

NOVEMBER


- We became Aunt and Uncle to Benjamin Bradley Schow!!!
- I finished up my student teaching with two awesome choir concerts
- Spent a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with the Thompsons :)

DECEMBER


- Aubrey graduated from Utah State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education!  HOORAY!
- We had a mini Brock & Aubrey early Christmas in Logan, then spent a wonderful week in Parker, Colorado to celebrate the holidays :)
- Eleanor Snowsevelt.  Her husband, Franklin D., was built two years ago :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Walk By Faith

"To find one's own personal relationship with Heavenly Father, to never doubt that he guides the details of our lives, to be able in life's conflict to say, 'Thy will be done,' is the attaining of the ability to walk by faith.  This ability is something that each soul must find in his own way through the creative living - out of any and all trying experiences that may come along."

                                    - Sister Stella Oaks (Mother of Dallin H. Oaks)


This quote is very comforting to me today as I cope with a very recent trial in my life.  I was 12 weeks pregnant with our first child.  Last night I began feeling some severe pain and, well I won't share the details, but after meeting with the Doctor this morning we learned that we are no longer going to have a baby this summer...

I had a good meltdown, lots of tears last night and this morning.  Brock was able to give me a blessing last night that filled us both with an overwhelming feeling of peace.  I know without a doubt that my Father in Heaven is looking out for us and he knows what is best.  For whatever reason, this is an experience that needed to happen in our lives in order to strengthen our faith.  I am positive that it will serve as a strength to me later in my life.  It is definitely painful, but we have felt much strength from our loving and supportive family.  I know that there are thousands of families in the world who have gone through this painful experience, and my heart goes out to all of them.

We would greatly appreciate any prayers in our behalf, and we want to thank everyone who has shown so much kindness and love to us both during pregnancy and now as we struggle through this new turn in our lives.  I have confidence that we will eventually be blessed with children, and that this is just a trial along the way to help us "attain the ability to walk by faith."

Truth.

This weekend was LDS General Conference.  We had two days chucked full of amazing servants of the Lord telling us what we can do to improve our lives.  My highlights:

- Social Media?!  A theme throughout all of the talks!  We have these amazing tools for connecting and reaching out to people; it's easier than it's ever been.  Twitter, Facebook, Texting, Email, Video Chat, Mormon.org, LinkedIn, Google Plus, Blogs...  We should use them to spread the amazing joy of the Gospel to others.  Service and missionary work has never been so convenient!  Yay for the church being up with the times in technology!

- Stand constant and fearless.  I noticed a huge theme about the growing chasm between the standards of the world and the standards of the Lord.  We cannot stay in luke-warm water, in between the good and the bad.  We must make a decision to stand for what is right and resist the temptations that surround us.  Then we must have the courage and charity to share our knowledge and happiness with others.

- Families are Forever.  I have always loved the emphasis our church places on the family, and it was definitely reiterated in conference this weekend.  We must make our family a top priority, and cut out other things in our lives that get in the way of that priority.

- Busy does not equal productive.  This talk was very special to me because this is what I have been striving to embrace for the past year.  It has been my goal to change my life so that I prioritize what is most important, and cut out the unnecessary extra responsibilities that always creep up.  We should allow ourselves enough time to be well rested, enjoy family bonding time, grow closer to the Savior, and listen to spiritual promptings.  Sometimes we may have to cut out other responsibilities to make room for that, but I know from personal recent experience that it is so very worth it.


Those are the main things I took from conference.  Wasn't it wonderful?  Feel free to leave comments of your highlights of General Conference, I'd love to hear!  I am so very grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  I know that Thomas S. Monson is a true prophet of God and receives modern revelation to guide us and help us in our every day lives.  I know that Jesus Christ lives, and that he personally knows and loves each one of us.  I am grateful to have the scriptures as such a wonderful tool to invite the spirit and peace into my life at any given moment.  I love the power of music and the wonderful spirit that hymns bring as we praise the Lord through song.  I am so grateful that I get to be with my husband, Brock, for eternity and for this wonderful church that supports us on our journey.  My name is Aubrey, and I'm blessed to be a Mormon!

September 11th

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?

Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,

O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?

And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,

Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,

What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,

As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?

Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,

In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:

'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore

That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,

A home and a country should leave us no more!

Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.

No refuge could save the hireling and slave

From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:

And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand

Between their loved home and the war's desolation!

Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land

Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,

And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."

And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

My name is Aubrey, I live in Logan, Utah, and I remember. I remember September 11th, 2001.  And I am proud and grateful to be a citizen of the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Love Yourself.

Here's a perspective to consider, and some quick words of wisdom to ponder on.

We all work so hard to love others; to have compassion on them; to forgive them.  Why?  Because they are all children of God and have their own challenges and deserve to be respected and loved.  That compassion and charity is a great thing to strive for.  Now, have you ever turned that around to yourself?  You are a child of God.  You have trials and challenges every day, and you are not perfect.  Do you respect and love yourself?  Do you forgive yourself when you make mistakes?  Do you look past your flaws, your extra few pounds, your occasional mood swings, your dirty dishes in the sink, your less-than-perfect grades, your split ends in your hair that you just keep putting in a bun, your freezer/box dinners that you didn't have time to make fancy, your impossibly high-set expectations of yourself that you just don't fulfill....  Do you look past all that and see the beautiful person inside that is just trying to do the best he/she can?  You deserve to be happy.  You deserve to slow down and enjoy the blessings of life.  You are NOT expected to be perfect.  Sit down and relax, and remember what's most important to you.  Just as you constantly strive to love your neighbor, love yourself.  Exactly the way you are!

Happy Sunday!

Missionaries

So, Brock and I have a lot of close family and friends that are out serving LDS missions right now.  I just spent all morning writing to them, and I got to thinking.  I was telling my little brother that I am so happy for him that he's out serving, and that my whole life I always wanted to be a missionary, but that the Lord had a different plan for me that was just as wonderful....  his name is Brock :-)

And I kind of feel like I got to serve my own mission, here in Logan.  Right when I turned 21, the standard age for a Sister Missionary, I got called as the Relief Society President in my ward.  I served in that calling for 9 months, until Brock and I felt that it was the right time to move into a new place.  I learned so much from that calling, and I am so grateful that I had that opportunity!  And now I have a calling in the Primary, with the music, and with Activity Days!  And I feel like this is the second part of my mission.  I am a firm believer in the organization of Activity Days.  One of my best friends in the world joined the church because of that organization, back when we were really young.  I had her over to play, and Activity Days started so I invited her to join.  It turns out that we learned to sing a song in Sacrament at that activity.  So I invited my friend to come to that as well, since she had learned the song.  It was that moment that led her to continue coming to church, and eventually getting baptized.  Now she is married in the temple and has a beautiful family.  She inspires me every day!

And I feel so blessed to now have that opportunity again, to influence the lives of these young girls in Activity Days!  I know that it is where I am supposed to be right now, and I am so grateful for the opportunities I have been given to serve.  And I am so grateful for all of the people out there who are serving full time missions, who inspire me every day and remind me what's most important.

We don't have to be out in a foreign land, set apart as full time missionaries, wearing the badge, to be missionaries and do the wonderful work of the Lord.  As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we covenant every week to take that name upon us.  We are wearing the badge, and it's important to remember that and to be an example of the believers.  Every day we can find ways to serve others and bring people closer to Christ.  And maybe one day, Brock and I can serve a full time mission together... but until then, here's to member missionary work!  :-)