NOTE TO SELF:

Make Adam learn how to do this.....




♥ theMRS.

---

Happy Halloween

hope your Halloween is AMAZING! 

Out little pumpkin's didn't hold up so well this year. 

But they will look super spooky when the kids come by tonight!

Next year a spooky dinner & costumes.

♥ theMRS.

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i Survived

 Global Convention. 

It was a long week. Months of planning. Lots of hours. 

TONS....like tens of thousands of people. 

Lines. Excitement. Chaos. fun.

here are a few snippets. 

Now its time to rest. Recover and get ready for the next week!

♥ theMRS.

---

Smile.

This picture gave me a much needed smile, in the middle of a CRAZY week.

Luckily Mal caught this little gem & shared it with the world. 

♥ theMRS.

---

Busiest week ever

Living with a boy IX

RESPECT the leftovers...

OR don't, but I may have to kill you.  

I don't know how many times I have brought something home.

Put it in the fridge. 

Been excited to eat it [for lunch/dinner/the next day]

then I open the fridge and....

ITS GONE. 

Eaten, 

missing. 

IT DRIVES ME CRAZY.... & theMR. doesn't understand, he never has any leftovers.

♥ theMRS. 

---

a very Haunted Halloween

In our quest for the perfect Halloween we had to celebrate in Style. 

This weekend My parents invited us to the HAUNTED FOREST in American fork!  We've been going as a family for the last few years. It is a fun tradition that I hope keeps going. My parents Friend Robert has been running the Haunted Forest since he was as student at BYU. Each year it gets better and better, they change things, the add things, they take things away. Just enough so you keep going back. 

We started with major traffic. 

Long waits. 

and then ended up at Kyoto in Provo. Maegan & Erica had never been before. IT was fun to be with first timers. They get so excited about the fire, the food throwing and just all the pageantry of it all. I forget how much I LOVE eating at a hibachi grill. SOOOOO good and fun. 

NOTE TO SELF: go back soon

 

After an awesome dinner we waited for Morgan's friend Issac to join us. Then we headed to American fork. Just like we have the past few years, we missed the exit! hee hee....another Halloween tradition, maybe one we could avoid in the future. 

When we got there I was so Excited. I LOVE being scared...well scared in a controlled environment. So we got in line, talked with Robert and were on our way in. The creepiest part is the little psycho manner you have to walk through first. I think its the dark. The closed doors. NOT KNOWING WHAT WAS ON THE OTHER SIDE of those doors.....soooo creepy. 

 Maegan has such a good scream and is animated most of the monsters flock to her. Ha ha ha ha ha ha.  My Mom got her picture with the fake Johnny Deep. My MOM LOVES her some Johnny Deep. Morgan turned into a photo bomber!

The Haunted forest was GREAT this year. I screamed. I jumped. We ran. The best part, my honey held my hand the whole time...which I LOVE. He guided me and protected me. It was awesome. The best part of the whole forest was the slide at the end. TOTALLY WORTH IT!

I am loving this Halloween season.

It was so nice to have a NIGHT, and entire night with my sweetie. 

No work. 

No iPhone.

No worrying about stuff coming up at work. 

Just us. Laughing our butts off. Spending time with the family. Enjoying. It was awesome.

♥ theMRS.

---

Pumpkin FEST 2011

LAST year theMR. and I made grand plans to carve pumpkins. 

WE even bought one. 

Then we were moving into out little basement. 

I was starting work in the States again. We were adjusting to life in America. Life together. and the pumpkin....it rolled around in the back of my dad's truck for about a month. Then it was nasty and rotten and we tossed it. 

So this year we decided we were ALL IN for Halloween.

We headed to Smith's....picked up some pumpkins and a TON of mountain dew. We started carving late at night. Well Adam started carving late at night. I was watching Bridesmaids. I really thought he was just going to plan out his pumpkin. Then he dug right in and started taking the top off. 

For no reason it bothered me. I guess because I had this idea in my mind of us carving our pumpkins together. All romantic hand in hand or something stupid like that. But as I have learned most of the ideas I have in my head, turn out nothing like that in real life. I don't know when or how or IF I WILL get used to this. Its like the disappointment of my crazy [ideas/expectations] and reality.

Adam appeased me and put off actually carving his pumpkin until the next day when I was ready. So the next night the fun really began. Adam meticulously spent hours planning out his pumpkin. Me I just started chopping away. I've always been kind of a rough cutter when it comes to pumpkins.

I broke one of the mini pumpkin knives. Just bent it, then it fell apart. I'm not a delicate person.....So Adam refused to share the rest of the pumpkin carving kit with me. I can't blame him, HE HAD WORK TO DO. 

By the time I finished, Adam had only started. So I cheered him on. 

They turned out perfect.

Mine is Tiny and crazy looking. 

Adam's is about 4times the size and has lots of fine details. 

We may just be turning into a Halloween family!

♥ theMRS.

---

Lately, at night I am super unproductive.

I can't really figure out why. 

I have things to do. 

Stuff I could be working on. OK not really.  I guess tonight I could have walked to the gym, instead I just walked. I live in a really cool old neighborhood. I LOVE the houses around us. I want one. They are old. full of character. intricate. small. full of life. This is one of my favorites. It has a giant statue of Jesus Christ that is lite up at night. Its so peaceful. So pretty. I love my neighborhood. So sometimes, I walk at night.

I could have washed the dishes....wait they were done when I came home. There was some work work to be done, but lets be honest: IT CAN WAIT. Really it can. The sky won't fall if my convention stuff waits 8 hours to be perfect. Despite how much it feels like it will, it wont. 

So tonight was a leisurely evening. I cooked dinner. talked to Adam while he was home on his dinner break. Tried on my new clothes- decided which were keeps. caught up on all my favorite blogs. Watched a few episodes of Breaking Bad. Searched for puppies online <----THAT is addictive. I really want a dog. I know, its terrible timing. And we living in a rental with no yard, so I only looked at little dogs. Little dogs make for tiny little puppies. THEN I Looked at pictures from our  last year together.

It was relaxing. 

Then I thought

I should probably get a hobby

♥ theMRS.

---

conversations.

♥ theMRS.

---

Look who came to DINNER

A few weekends back my little Morgitu came to town! It was Conference weekend and the BYU v. USU game. So Morgs came down to Celebrate in style. WE got to spend time with her that Thursday! We all went to our favorite Thai food place in Orem. It was DELICIOUS....yummmmm.

Morgan talked all about school and what was going on and how much fun she was having. It made me miss school a little. OK a lot, but then she started talking about her papers and test and I didn't miss school so much anymore.

I found THIS little beauty as my screen saver....a keeper huh?

Adam still had translations to complete that night. I tried to stay up as long as I could. Around 1am I went to Smith's to pick up his favorite Juice. I think its like brain food or somethings. I am sure it was a major contributor to Adam's AWESOME translations. 

The next day I worked and then {RUSHED} home to put on some AGGIE gear! I let morgan know I was on my way with this pretty face.

IT was a LOT of fun to be back in the BYU stadium. The USU students were a riot to sit with. I cheered for them, I cheered for BYU- I sang the fight song. It was a lot of fun. 

Michael & Jessica and their girls left at Half time, so Dad and Tyler inherited their 50 yard line seats! They LOVED it. 

Here are some of us in the student Section. I waited to post hoping some of Brooke's pictures would end up on Facebook. Adam was working late so he couldn't make it!

 

In the End BYU pulled it out! it was a great game. Close the entire time. TONS of BYU fans took off with about 10 minutes to go. SO LAME...got to beat that post game traffic! I bet they were sad they left! 

 

Morgan joked about how MAD the Aggies are that BYU changed to their shade of blue. I think its kind of fun. Its like an extra little sister bond. 

So fun to spend time with Morgs. With the Family. And experiencing life in Provo.

♥ theMRS.

---

Accidental date night.

Aren't they the best?

♥ theMRS.

---

Ordinary?

Or extraordinary.... 

Up to you to decide. 

As work gets more hectic and crazy and frustrating and fun, I've gotten a little too wrapped . IT happens. Work seems to take over. You get busy. You stop to forget to look around. 

So I took a minute this last week, to just look around and see the beauty that is my ordinary every day life. 

♥ theMRS.

---

Tourist in our home town

Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to live in UTAH.

It is a beautiful place to live.

Lots of nature to explore.

BEAUTIFUL winding canyons

Full rivers.

Lakes.

Amazing sunsets.

Mountians.

Seasons.

There are so many things I love about living here.

This last week we took advantage of one of those opportunities. theMR. and I headed up to Sundance to meet Dareth & Jesse for a full moon lift ride.

We had this entire little plan. A pick-nick and such. How life usually goes- things did not work as planned. BUT they did work out! Dareth and Jesse got there before we did, so they jumped in line. When Adan & I joined them with the season passes we were almost to the front of the line. 

It was a beautiful and fun ride to the top of the mountain and back. 

Fun to enjoy the beautiful outdoors. 

Catch up with friends. 

& enjoy the world around us.

Utah you can get a bad warp, but we love living here.

♥ theMRS.

---

Just a little family secret

Milk toast....its kind of like the greatest food ever created. 

HANDS DOWN. 

It's a comfort food for our family.

Growing up my mom would make us Milk Toast when we would be up late working on a school project, or when we were up late talking. 

I remember once my mom made milk toast when just me and her. For some reason I think she was sewing teddy bears...Random, I know. But I love milk toast. 

Its depression food- like from the great depression. My Grandpa Peralta made milk toast for my mom. It was comfort food from his childhood, comfort food for my mom, now for me and some day for my children.

So Sunday we were up late trying to call Ethiopia and it was a bad network day. Adam was in bed calling over and over and over again. Its probably the most frustrating feeling in the world. It makes you secretly believe that maybe your family is ignoring you, when really its just the network sucks. Maybe its rain. Maybe someone important is in town. Maybe its just bad timing. 

But to call the calling card, enter the pin number, then enter the Ethiopian phone number just to do it all over again...its sooooo annoying. 

So Adam was frustrated, we were hungry and had only a few key ingredients in the house. 

I offered up Milk toast. 

Which theMR. had no idea what it was. 

So I just cooked up a batch & he LOVED It. 

Which made my mom happy. It's official, he can be part of the family.

 

Want to try it?

SUPER easy....

Milk Toast

• Warm butter on a skillet
• rip up pieces of bread- any bread will do. Even stale bread.
• Toast them up
• Serve in a bowl with WARM Milk and a little sugar.

ENJOY!

BE Warned...its DELICIOUS

What are your comfort foods?

♥ theMRS.

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Lessons From Our First Year: Principle V. Preference

I remember sitting in my MFHD classes listening to interesting lessons on life, marriage and children. Soaking it all in thinking ONE DAY I will use this with clients. I dreamed of being a LCSW or an MFT. I wanted to save the world, one family at a time.

Then I graduated.

Worked in social service.

got burned out.

was single for what seemed like at the time F-O-R-E-V-E-R

After dinner on our 1 Year Anniversary 10/5/11

Then I ended up married.

In a relationship with cultural differences and a rich ethnic heritage.

Who would have thought that the marriage I would help, was my own? I certainly didn't think it would be. 

So once we were married and getting settled living together, many of the things I learned in school started coming back to me. In small snippets. Ideas, theories, papers written, interviews conducted, a jumbled mess of information. 

That's the thing about school, information without practical application  is really not worth much. 

& since I didn't spend my college years married, or follow up my schooling with a Masters degree with practicum; this whole first year started feeling a little bit like an experiment. I guess that is really what marriage is. An experiment in living with another person. In Melding your lives. In compromise. Lessons to be learned. 

One of the lessons I have learned, and I am getting close to mastering is- Distinguishing the difference between principles & preferences.

WHAT does that mean?

prin·ci·ple

noun /ˈprinsəpəl/ 
principles, plural

A fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning
• - the basic principles of Christianity
A rule or belief governing one's personal behavior
• - struggling to be true to their own principles
• - she resigned over a matter of principle
Morally correct behavior and attitudes
• - a man of principle

After spending the first 27 years of my life figuring out what my exact and specific preferences in life are, they SOMETIMES can feel like principles. 

so I sometimes can get upset about the wrong types of things.

I can ONLY SLEEP in a freezing cold bedroom. I figured that the REST of the world felt that way too...then I found out that ummmmm they don't?

WHAT some people don't like sleeping in a walk in freezer?

WHO are these people...that is just morally wrong....

Or so I thought. and then I remembered the difference between preference and principles. 

Was sleeping in a cold bedroom foundation for a system of belief or behavior?

NO

Was it what I preferred?

YES

So is it really worth a fight?

Nope...move on, find common ground. 

So I put the fan on my side of the bed, stacked the blanket on his half and moved on.

There have been other things that have come up where I remember this little lesson: 

• How to fold bath towels
• What time WE should go to bed
• What is an appropriate sleep in time on weekends
• How much time we should spend with [Friends/family]

I'm not going to pretend I am perfect, that I never get upset about matters of preference.... I do. I am a little bit crazy and all girl, so there are times I pick fights over something silly for no reason. 

I am however getting better at it. 

Reigning in the crazy just a little bit at a time. 

Trying to remember; DOES IT REALLY MATTER?

Luckily we have eased right into marriage. Our first year has been a natural transition into living together. Remembering not to worry or fuss over matters of preference has made it easier. 

It will also mean when the time comes to take issue over a matter of Principle, Adam will know how serious I take it. He won't chalk it up to another one of my hissy fits. We both wont be worn out from fighting about nothing.

& when that time comes, I hope we will be closer to perfecting our Honest communication strategies. 

So that those conversations can be conducted in a spirit of love and understanding. 

Until then I will continue to crack the window open when Adam isn't looking so our room stays nice and cold through the winter. 

♥ theMRS.

---

8 Steps to the perfect STAY-cation*

* staycation or stacation  (steɪˈkeɪʃən)

— n
	informal  a holiday in which leisure activities are pursued while staying at one's own home

 

I wanted to do a little something to spice things up for our one year anniversary. People keep telling me the first year of marriage is the hardest & so far we have been really blessed.

So I planned a mini STAY-cation for the two of us.

1. Clean up your main living areas- That means HIDE IT ALL, EVERYTHING you can from sight. The beauty of a hotel room is that its clean and new and fresh! The best part, you don’t have to do Anything to keep it that way. So HIDE all your junk, or better yet throw it out.  


2. Change your Bedding/sheets- MIX things up in the bedroom. When theMR. And I were married we purchased two bedroom sets. I changed out the heavy dark colored one for the light white airy feeling bedroom stuff. That way when the time came to use the bedroom it would feel exotic and luxurious.


3. Ambiance- We would have loved a little beach get away and actually missed out on a trip to Kauai In march…sad day. So I decided this would be our beach stay-cation. That included a DVD of beach sounds/underwater scenes, candles, and a little décor- think Dollar store, but not totally tacky. Umbrellas for the drinks, a few hula skirts which came in handy and a fan to keep air moving like an ocean breeze. Buy an appropriate air freshener, and body oils. Nothing says beach like a coconut lotion! Lather that on relax with a fan on and you can almost believe you are there.


4. Order in our/go out or pre-plan you food- I planned to make Hawaiian Chunky Monkey pancakes for breakfast, had juice and fresh fruit on hand and we planned to eat out for lunch at a local Hawaiian restaurant and dinner where we had our wedding reception. We ended up relaxing through lunch while watching the Lion King, and having dinner in SLC at our new Favorite Ethiopian Restaurant. NOT EXACTLY as planned, but it was still low hassle The fresh cut fruit, juices and snacks made it feel vacationy.


5. Go Media FREE- It’s hard. You will want to tweet, facebook, post on your blog or even turn on that TV. DON’T. Just relax…watch an appropriate themed movie or pick up a book and call it a day. 


6.  Indluge, just a little- We picked up 4 decadent cupcakes to share. We ate out cake topper a while back....we should have waited, but we didn't get ANY cake on our wedding day...ok just the sliver you shove in each others mouths. So for our anniversary we bought a marble cupcake: chocolate and Vanilla. Then we giggled....
• Next time we are rocking the local maddage therapy school for a couples massage. 
• Think about getting a mani/pedi or scalp massage.


7.  BE a tourist in your town- Visit a local attraction, museum or point of interest in your own home town. We planned to go to the shooting range and shoot hand guns. We didnt really make it out of the house, but next time we will for sure!


8. TOTALLY buy in- You have to both buy into the Stay-cation or it won’t work. If that means skipping work for a day, bailing on your standing basketball night or taking the weekend off from your phone, DO it. It is worth the mini investment to have a day or two to enjoy with your honey. 

It made for the perfect little anniversary celebration.

I think we will be planning a few more little staycations in the next year. There are so many things we want to do around town, but never seem to have time. 

Happy Staycationing!

♥ the MRS.

---

weekend snippets.

I was {BORED} on friday. So I sent Adam, a sad photo so he would feel guilty for being at work. Then I downloaded Connect 4 on my phone and went hog wild. It was well worth the $.99 that I paid. Even better when theMR. got home at 1am with a shake & a snuggle.

Saturday we SLEPT in. Like late. It was AWESOME. That is one thing I like about cold weather, is sleeping under a blanket. Then we headed out for breakfast/lunch at Denny's. I dont dare call it brunch when you are only at Denny's. That would cheapen it right?

&we treated Vinny to a new battery and window whippers. He needed them. The guy at Master Muffler showed Adam how to install the new car battery. He is interested in learning more about cars, anyone need an apprentice?

I am home alone again tonight. 

I should clean.....

and do laundry. 

Who knows what I will really do!

♥ theMRS.

---

I love this face

And the boy attached to it. 

&the silly faces he makes.

♥ theMRS.

---

Dear Future Children,

One year ago today I married your dad. 

I never really wrote about what our wedding day was like. It all kind of ended up a blur. Adam and I and Ashebir were with my family up in the Heber house.

Lindsey and I rolled my hair in curlers the night before so that it would be especially perfect on our wedding day. We woke up early and I did  my hair. Brookey helped me do my make up and we headed up to the Provo Temple. 

I don't remember what car we were in, or who we were with. Except I think your dad and I rode with Mumsie. When she dropped us off at the temple all the flowers in the front of the temple had been ripped out & there was a giant tractor* right smack dab in the font of the Temple. 

I remember being so clam. 

Oh well

Your dad and I giggled a little and walked into the temple hand in hand. 

We checked in,

Then we got to talk to the marriage records people. They checked our UT Marriage license, our temple recommends and got us ready to go. 

Then we separated. Me and Mumsie went to get ready in the bride room, while Dad with Papa and Ashebir to dress. 

After we were ready to be sealed, we got to wait together in the temple. We met with Brother Vincent who talked to us a little about the importance of being sealed in the temple. Then we were left alone until our friends and family arrived. 

Your dad was nervous. I could sense it. He was trying to be brave for me. I know he was a little bit scared and alone. It must have been hard for him to be away from all his friends and family. 

I was calm. 

And happy. 

And surrounded by people I loved. 

&then we were married. 

And it all happened so fast. 

It was amazing and beautiful and awesome. 

So when Mumsie walked up with my flowers that didn't bloom and looked like cabbage, I didn't care. I was married!!! TO your DAD. 

&we were in this together. 

Its been one heck of a year and I can't imagine having been through it with anyone besides him. He is my best friend. The calm to my storm. The sanity to the crazy that is your mom. 

He sees the best in me, better then I can ever see in myself. 

&he makes me laugh.

I have never felt so loved in my life. 

I am pretty lucky.

The best thing about it all, THIS is just the beginning. 

Can't wait for you to join us on this adventure!

♥ theMRS. 

*Luckily Rachael Hicks had the Tractor moved! That way it wouldn't ruin our pictures!

---

glimpses

Today I am crying for almost no reason.

WHAT is wrong with me?

I'm sitting alone in my house. Recovering from a long day and a migraine.

Watching NCIS with the fan on high. Reflecting on the weekend. 

Grateful to a husband who has dedicated so much time to translate the talks of the LDS General Conference into Amharic. 

Proud to hear his voice on the live streaming audio. 

Amazed at how many people it takes behind the scenes to make conference happy. 

Humbled by how much I have to learn. My need to grow and change and improve. 

Sad that We are no longer in Ethiopia serving. 

Reminded of the work we do here, and the impact it has all over the world. 

Reflecting on the last year. 

AT THIS TIME, we were pretty sure we would be living in the US. MOstly sure. Trying to decide. I had accepted a Job. 

We were a few days out from being married. 

we WERE FREAKING OUT.

Trying to decide how to balance our lives. Our families that lived across the world from each other. The Opportunities of both countries, the rewards, the chances for service and growth. 

It made getting married all the more stressful. 

Then we attended the temple for the first time. 

And were able to attend General Conference. 

& it didn't seem to matter any more. 

We would be ok.

No matter where we decided to start our life together. 

It is crazy to me now to look back on the last year and see the tender mercies of our Heavenly Father. 

How He has guided and directed our life here. 

The little things. 

The reminders of why we are here. 

The sustaining power we have felt this last year as we battled [immigration/cultural adjustments/doubt] together. 

The blessings we have received from being full tithe payers.

Now a year later, time has gone by so fast. 

wE've battled immigration, cultural adjustments, waiting for paperwork that never seems to come. Health problems & changing ideas. 

We have made friends.

lost friends. 

been hermits. Learned to drive. & learned to fight. 

and even though life is challenging. 

& sometimes frustrating. 

It is also beautiful

and perfect.

I am grateful for a husband who helps sustain me. 

♥ theMRS.

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