It's Been A Year

A year ago Tyler and I got married. Our wedding day dawned snowy and freezing, but I couldn’t have been more thrilled. I had been praying for snow to make the pictures absolutely gorgeous, and they were (although it did make it so that a few of our family members couldn’t make the trip. Sorry). The night before our wedding I was in Kamas. I went to a dear friend’s wedding reception, and then spent the night hours talking to some of my dear friends in a bachelorette party of sorts. Really it was just a gathering of Hailey, Merilee, Hannah, and I, and we just talked. It was a lovely way to spend my last night as a single lady. It didn’t feel real that I would be getting married the next day.

After about five hours of sleep (maybe…), I was ready to get the show on the road. I woke up early to put together a Christmas present for Tyler; I couldn’t sleep anyway. Still it didn’t feel real. I couldn’t believe that I was really about to marry Tyler forever. I didn’t have regrets or feel nervous. I was just kind of passive. We got to the church in American Fork where the luncheon was, and I said hello to family and close friends, but it was sort of a dream. Then I saw Tyler. It was the longest we had gone being apart from each other in a month, and suddenly, I was filled with so much love and joy. He kissed me, and I knew that I would never look back and feel regret.

I remember that we were late to the temple, but we got there before our escorts. I remember feeling so happy and peaceful, and I remember how whole I felt when the ceremony was over, and Tyler and I were bound together. I remember getting dressed in a little more than ten minutes, and the ordinance workers were amazed. Everyone told me they loved my dress, and I got to tell them that it had belonged to my grandmother, and she had worn it forty-four years and two days earlier. I could list a million silly details of what I remember, but I mostly just remember the wholeness that I felt with Tyler.

Now a year has passed, and I still feel a wholeness and oneness with Tyler. I know him even better now, and we’ve become even closer. As much as I loved Tyler on our wedding day, I love him even more now. I know his heart, and he knows mine. There are so many days when I feel overwhelmed by the blessings in my life. Being married to Tyler is my greatest gift. I’m so grateful for his partnership and love. The last year has brought happiness and laughter as well as sadness and tears. We've faced disappointment and discouragement. We bought a motorcycle. We've taught primary. We've eaten delicious food, attended funerals, and watched lots of movies. I'm a better person because of all of these things, but especially because I got to experience them with Tyler.

Give Thanks

The missionaries joined us too.

Whew! I am behind on this blogging thing. I just thought I’d share a little about Thanksgiving. We spent Thanksgiving in Kamas this year, and it was wonderful. The food was amazing; it always is when Dianne is at the helm. ;) Plus, I was able to spend time with my cute siblings and veg a little bit. We had the whole week off of school, so Tyler and I didn’t have any class which was nice, but we both worked the beginning of the week. Unfortunately, bills do not pay themselves.

The most fun part of Thanksgiving was just spending time with family. We busted out Harry Potter Clue, and it was a blast. The month of November was pretty emotionally taxing, especially since we said goodbye to Great, but there is still such a feeling of joy when you get to spend time with the people you love. :)

My cousin, Ashlee Smoot, was diagnosed with colon cancer a little while ago, so we got #teamashlee shirts to support her. You can read more about her story here. She is an amazing woman. We’re praying and cheering for her.

We made gingerbread houses at my Grandma Goates’s house, and it was fun. It’s always been one of my favorite traditions. We also slid off the road on our way up to the house. That was an adventure as well. I’m grateful everyone is okay, and the car seems to be running just fine.

After gingerbread houses, Tyler and I took Molly, Lily, and Jonny home with us for a sleepover. It was fun to have them with us, and I especially loved having them in our primary class. The kids get really excited about visitors.

Molly was awake; Lily and Jonny were not.

We met back up with my parents at Temple Square to hear Hailey and Riley sing with the Tapestry. They did an awesome job.

This Thanksgiving I’m most grateful for my wonderful husband and everything I’ve learned after being married for almost a year. I’m also grateful for the gospel, school, a good job, Winco, and bobby pins (among other things).

Be Thou Humble In Thy Calling

Tyler and I are primary teachers. We teach the CTR 4 class, and that means that on Sundays we get to play with four and five-year-olds instead of going to Sunday School and Relief Society and Elders Quorum. Tyler thinks it’s a great gig. I do too, but some weeks I miss Relief Society. When we were first called to be primary teachers, I was excited, and then we taught our first lesson, and I was freaking out. We got home from church after our first week as primary teachers, and I was a basket-case. I told Tyler that there was no way I could be a primary teacher. I’m not fun enough. I’m not creative enough. I’m not patient enough. Basically, I’m not enough.

Tyler assured me that we would figure it out and get into the swing of things, but I was doubtful. How could I really be a good primary teacher when Tyler and I both were in school full time and working part time? When would I be able to prepare the lessons? How was I going to not lose my mind in a room full of eight energetic four-year-olds? I took a step back and figured we would do the best we could and hopefully the kids would enjoy it and sometimes remember something spiritual. I was amazed when I was set apart. The man performing the blessing blessed me that I would be able to manage my time well and even have extra time for my hobbies. He also blessed me to be inspired to know what specific things the children in our classes needed. I felt peaceful after that, if still a little overwhelmed. Then I came to the conclusion that I wouldn’t have been called if I couldn’t do it, so I got to work.

I called my mom after that first week and she gave me a “bag of tricks.” It’s this magic bag full of primary bingo cards, bean bags, wands, puzzles, a matching game and all other things that make four-year-olds’ worlds go round. I went back to church, and things went a little better, but we had a major reverence problem. I could not figure out how to teach little kids to sit still and listen. It was easy in class because I could let them stand up and twirl around or hop on one leg for a minute, but they couldn’t listen during sharing time at all. I pondered and prayed and came to the conclusion that we would do the best we could, and we would make reverence books during class. We worked on a page a week, and then I took them home and laminated them and put them together.

It was a project inspired by a reverence book I had made to help me be reverent during the sacrament when I was in primary. They had words to our favorite primary songs and pictures of my favorite temples and of Jesus and of my family. It worked for me, so I figured I would give it a try with our class. The kids loved them almost as much as they loved using glue sticks to make them. Slowly, the kids in our class began to be more reverent. I don’t know if it can be traced back to the reverence books, but I was grateful for the improvement.

Last Sunday, the sacrament meeting talks were about humility. They were fantastic, and I found myself nodding along with everything they said. Then one of the speakers read the words of the hymn Be Thou Humble. It’s one of my favorite hymns. I’ve always loved it, but it had been a long time since I listened to the words of the second verse. It says:

“Be thou humble in thy calling, and the Lord thy God shall teach thee

To serve his children gladly with a pure and gentle love.

Be thou humble in thy longing, and the Lord thy God shall take thee,

Shall take thee home at last to ever dwell with him above.”

I was so moved. I know that we are all God’s children, but I had literally been teaching children about Jesus and about the gospel. I realized that I had been blessed “to serve his children gladly with a pure and gentle love.” I didn’t start out feeling that way, but over the course of the last eight months, I have truly learned to love those crazy, wonderful children in a new and special way, the way that God loves them.

I gave the kids the books they had made. The excitement in their eyes was amazing. Several of the children told me that they loved me and gave me perfect hugs that only children can give. I was so humbled by the love that I have come to feel for each child. So often I have had glimpses of the love Heavenly Father has for these sweet children in our class. I am in awe of the strong personalities that they have that will help them stand up for what’s right as they continue to grow and learn. I feel so blessed to be their teacher.