Baby Bear

David sent me an instant message on gmail chat yesterday. He called me ,"baby bear". That was new... I don't know if he intended it as a hint or if that inspired his surprise treat for me, but yesterday I came home to this:

Chocolate covered cinnamon bears!

I was skeptical of these little babies at first, but boy they are soooooo yummy!

Horrible

David and I are horrible about taking pictures! I even have been carrying it in my purse thinking that would inspire me to document our life... Unfortunately, that has not been the case.

Here are a few things in the past few (or so...) months that have we managed to take pictures of.
We bought season tickets to BYU football games. WOOOOO! We had fun, even if it was a rocky season.

AND... We opened a gift from each other 2 weeks before Christmas. We knew we were flying and didn't want to figure our how to travel with our gifts from each other. I also ordered David's gift on his Amazon account, so he knew what it was. haha! David bought me boots and I got him guitar hero for the Wii. He was a bit impatient... :)

So, you see our pathetic picture taking skills. That's it. There ain't no more. Well, except for some from my class, but I probably shouldn't post pictures of the children on the internet.

School Lunch

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-BRtCGGaWmrz4-Qa-1LkXBNDHz7hUdt1MDG3DRd1kHz2gPDn4eBzoQWA8uhrtF-uEbQhz7ju96-EBRtO-Umms5er4YhLxUHAjlDuE_zPu3lE8LrX0D4vBhb-HM2OiyxA6ON1zmfuCmT4o/s1600/Turkey.jpg

So, I am really bad at meal planning and even worse at remembering to bring my lunch to school. Today I ate school lunch. I finally did it. I have always secretly kind of wanted to (just to say I've done it. You know?) This picture isn't my lunch. I didn't bring my camera to lunch. I had turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, chocolate milk :), cauliflower, broccoli, and part of the roll. The roll wasn't my favorite, but overall the school lunch wasn't as bad as it's reputation. It was also only $2.75. Not bad.

The Day My Worst Fear Came True...

I have a love and absolute fear of pressure cookers. This has been true from the time I was little.
I love pressure cookers because that meant mom was most likely making beef stroganoff, which she has perfected.
I have a fear of them because they are TERRIFYING. Every time I heard that steam releasing from that do-hickey on top, I knew it was going to explode.
If mom was using the pressure cooker, I just steared clear of the kitchen and would wait until whatever delicious masterpiece my mother was cooking was ready for consumption.
Well for Christmas 2009, Mom gave David and I a pressure cooker. AH!
I couldn't tell everyone about my fear, that would be rude. I graciously accepted and made a comment about beef stroganoff.
David's favorite food also happens to be beef stroganoff. He has a paper from like 3rd grade to prove that he didn't just say that because I said that when we were dating. Anyway, his mom makes it a little different, although still tasty. She doesn't use a pressure cooker, so we kind of adopted her way of cooking the meat and combined the two recipes to deliciousness.
One day this past year I decided to be brave and try out the pressure cooker. Mom did it all the time and never had problems. I should be fine, right?
That's what I thought...
I got the meat combination going in the pressure cooker, so far so good. I was only making a big deal out of a silly fear.
Just when I thought I was safe, I started prepping other parts of the meal.
Of course the seal breaks on the pressure cooker, a river a steam lifts the pot off of the stove to eye level and then crashes onto the floor right beside me.
I burst into tears.

Here is the broken seal. I thought we had taken a picture of the pressure cooker on the floor, but I was a little distraught and a camera probably wasn't my first thought.

So finally when I got up the courage to crush this fear, it laughed me in the face.
We finished making dinner without a pressure cooker and the beef stroganoff turned out great!

See!
I may never use a pressure cooker again... Although they are a pretty cool concept if you think about it.

The Laws are going to Law School...

...we just don't know where yet.
David has applied to six schools.

Did you notice a trend? We are hoping/planning to stay on this side of the country where our family is.
BYU is our top choice because I have a teaching license and job in Utah (income and health insurance are nice...). Plus tuition is less. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

DECEMBER

It's here! December, that is!!! Oh December, I have been waiting for you. In a few weeks it will be the joyous "Holiday Break". David and I are flying to Washington this year. David is sooooo happy to not have to drive the long, treacherous drive. I am mostly happy to visit our family. We don't get to be home as long as in years past, but it will be great anyway!

The Worth of Souls

As I have been teaching I worry about children a lot. I worry about my siblings. I worry about extended family. I worry about my friends. I worry about acquaintances. I worry about my future. I am a worrier.

I have been thinking about the choices others (and I) make quite a bit. Although I am far from perfect, I feel that I have SO many good things going for me and overall am happy with the choices I've made and the direction I am going. There are many things I would like to improve on, but that is what life is about-learning, growing, and changing. I have so many supportive people in my life and knowledge that helps me know, despite all of the worrying, that everything will be okay and that I can continue to do better and become better.

Lately I have worried a lot about women and their self-worth. As a woman I understand what it is like to constantly be at a battle with myself. I feel like one of the adversaries best tactics is to go after a woman's self worth. I love the talk Elder Holland gave to young women in General Conference 2005. In it he reminds us of some very important things.

First of all, I want you to be proud you are a woman. I want you to feel the reality of what that means, to know who you truly are. You are literally a spirit daughter of heavenly parents with a divine nature and an eternal destiny. That surpassing truth should be fixed deep in your soul and be fundamental to every decision you make as you grow into mature womanhood. There could never be a greater authentication of your dignity, your worth, your privileges, and your promise. Your Father in Heaven knows your name and knows your circumstance. He hears your prayers. He knows your hopes and dreams, including your fears and frustrations. And He knows what you can become through faith in Him. Because of this divine heritage you, along with all of your spiritual sisters and brothers, have full equality in His sight and are empowered through obedience to become a rightful heir in His eternal kingdom, an “[heir] of God, and joint-[heir] with Christ.”Seek to comprehend the significance of these doctrines.

I love this doctrine and know that it is true. No matter what you have done, what you have gone through, you are a son or daughter of God. You are of great value to Him. He knows what you can be. I am literally a spirit daughter of heavenly parents with a divine nature and an eternal destiny. I hope that this amazing truth really is at the heart of the decisions I am making.

I think if all of us really had this fixed in our soul and at the heart of our decision making, people like me would have to try harder to find things to worry about.