Pathway

A few weeks after I turned 30, I was crying to Greg one night about how I'm 30 and haven't done much of anything with my life. He suggested looking into the Pathway program the church is running in partnership with BYU-Idaho. I had heard of it briefly when the pathway missionaries came to do a 5th Sunday lesson a while ago, but let's be honest, I have a hard time staying awake and paying attention during those meetings.

For the next few weeks I did a little research on what the Pathway program was and how it might be beneficial. I figured, if anything, it will give me something to do. So I signed up. It will only cost me a little over $200/semester this first year, then that same low price will carry over if I decide to continue through BYU-I. Not too shabby, right?

Some of the requirements for Pathway are to attend an institute class, take 1 online class per semester, and attend a weekly gathering with other Pathway students in my area to further discuss what we went over in our online classes. I was a little worried about that part, but it's actually turned out okay.

Institute started a couple of weeks before the actual Pathway class started as it is on the USU schedule. The Sunday before we were asked to meet with the Pathway Missionaries over my class, just as a quick get-to-know you. Greg and I headed over to the tabernacle where we met with Elder & Sister Nye. They are a sweet couple, and I'm excited to have them as our missionaries.

After meeting with them, Greg and I went up on campus where the Logan Institute building is, so we could get a feel of where to go. We get free parking in the terrace, so that's nice, except for the fact that parking terraces frighten me.I always feel like there is a murderer lurking in them.

The institute building is not only huge, but mega confusing. there are so many random floors, and different ways of getting to different sections of the building. I'm pretty sure I would still get lost if I weren't following people from institute to my gathering. It's so weird.

Greg has been going with me to my Thursday gatherings so that I don't have to try to mess with the tickets. It's been nice to have him go with me.

I am taking a Book of Mormon institute class this semester. It's been really good so far. We were originally supposed to have one teacher, then she got sick and was replaced temporarily by another guy who was absolutely awesome. Then they got a new teacher for my last class. He is supposed to be our regular teacher going forward. He's a younger guy, who is easy to get off topic, but is pretty good still. It will be interesting to go through the next few weeks with him. I really have enjoyed learning more about the Book of Mormon and getting different insights.

Right after institute I head to my Pathway Gathering. There are maybe 20 of us in the class. It's been an interesting experience, but i have really enjoyed it. Each week we have a new lesson for our online class, then when we go to the Gathering, there is a lead student who leads discussion on what we learned that week. We are usually broken up into groups where we can discuss different topics. Normally I would hate those things, but it's actually been really neat. My group has people from all over Cache Valley, Preston, and Tremonton, and we're all at different stages in our lives. It's been a great experience so far. I much prefer the gatherings to the online busy work.

 As I mentioned previously, each week there is a lead student to lead the discussion. We were all supposed to sign up for a week, and so I signed up...for the very first one. It was the week Greg was in Long Beach, so it was probably not the wisest of ideas, but it was good to get it over with. My topic was the BYU-I Learning Model and the Honor Code. There is a lesson schedule one can follow, which made it really nice. Teaching and being in front of people doesn't really intimidate me any more, so I think it surprised them how calm I was. It was a really great experience to listen as the other groups discussed the different steps of the Learning Model. We didn't get to the Honor Code part due to time constraints, but it's okay. It was really awesome.

It has been a really neat experience so far, and I'm looking forward to continuing with it and see what more I can learn.

For more information on what Pathway is, visit the church's website: https://pathway.lds.org/

Kennan's Farewell

I keep saying that I'll do a better job of keeping up with this, but I am not so awesome at this. But here we go, throwing it back a few months to when I last saw my baby brother.

August 8 was the Scleroderma run (which I PROMISE) to post about eventually, but it was a great start to fun weekend spent with family. After the run was over, I headed back to Cokeville with my parents & Kennan. The rest of the family slowly trickled in. Brady & Ashbee were there, Kandyce & Clay and their kids, and McKenzie & Kyler. Extended family also stopped by, Laurel & her boys and Kathy and Heather. Laurel's boys spent their time out on the 4-wheeler, while the rest of everyone just kind of did their own things.

I watched Myka chew on toys.

 

Then I went outside and played with Liam and the kittens.

Then Papa & Liam played golf. Papa would hit the ball, and Liam would go get it. Pretty sure dad got the better end of the deal here.

My cousin Tyson (who is my age and used to live with us...also I haven't seen him since he got married) came out to the house with his wife and their 4 boys. Liam loved it. He loves having friends to play with.

We were playing at the play set, and Tyson's oldest boy went on the monkey bars. Liam thought that would be fun, so he climbed up the ladder and wanted to try. I was the only one out there. That would have been an epic disaster. Luckily I talked him down and told him to bring his dad to help. He kept saying, "You can help me." Sorry buddy. Wish I could.

We also got to celebrate Liam's 3rd birthday with everyone there. He's just the cutest. Not gonna lie, he may be my favorite (though I think I say that about all my nieces and nephews.) I just love that little guy.

Here are a few shots I took outside my parents house. It's so beautiful out there.

That night Trevor came out to visit for a little. We all just sat around talking. It was fun having him there. He was always in our lives, and he and Brady were the best of friends. Kandyce was at the sink, and Trev taps Brady on the shoulder telling him to squeeze the sprayer thing, then Trev turned on the water and sprayed Kandyce. We all got a good laugh at that, then Ashbee decided it would be funny to put a hair time on it so whoever the next person who turned on the water would be sprayed.

Luckily I got video.

Good times.

The next morning we went to church where Kennan spoke. It was good to hear him and be with lots of family.

Me and Liam before going to church.

Ashbee, Kenz, Trev & Brady singing...and yes Clay got after me for taking this picture during church.

After sacrament meeting I headed home with Clay & Kandyce to wait for church to get out before going back in town to the park where we would be having a luncheon with family. If you can believe it, I only took this one picture. I had fun playing on the playground with Liam and Ryan (Tyson's kid, who is my favorite!), and Jordan (Tyson's other kid). Fun times & cute kids.

I didn't even get a picture of Kennan & I before I left, so I stole these pictures from home. I still can't believe my baby brother is all grown up, on his own in a new state & bigger city. He'll do great though.

The kid on the left is how I still picture him.

A couple of weeks after Kennan left, I was helping a kid at work and I was talking to him about how he was up here for school and this was his first semester and he had just gotten home from his mission. He said, "Orlando, Florida." And I said, "No way! That's where my brother is." It was fun to talk to him for a minute about his mission. Small, crazy world.

September Ramblings

September has also just flown by. I've been meaning to blog at least once a week so you don't get bombarded with random pictures and my nonsense thoughts, but that obviously hasn't happened. I feel like I really haven't done a whole lot this month. It's just the same things day after day.

I didn't have work on September 1. We slept in, then ate breakfast, went to Greg's room at the middle school to drop some stuff off, went to Hastings, then we had shrimp tacos for dinner (my new fave!), then we went for a little drive from our house to 10th west, to Arctic Circle where we got huckleberry shakes for the second time this year. So delicious! I love days off!

Of course, we had to go back to work the next day. Back to the daily grind and being an adult.

I am in charge of creating the monthly Relief Society newsletter, which is fine with me since I really enjoy doing stuff like that. I started out creating the regular boring newsletters, but it wasn't doing it for me, so I decided to open photoshop, pinterest, and create something awesome. It took me all dang day, but it turned out super cute.

September 8th was a wonderful day. I woke up to read that One Direction is releasing another album soon, and they were offering one of their songs for free that day only! Of course I had to get it, and I absolutely loved it, I think it's definitely one of my favorite. Take a listen here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L2AaRJrV0E

Since creating that newsletter, my creative juices have started flowing again. I have been meaning to download a trial version of Adobe Illustrator for a while now, so I finally decided to do it. Holy cow, I had no idea what I was doing. I took a class about 7 years ago, but I remember very little of it. I have been slowly learning and teaching myself how to use it and I've had a lot of fun with it. I'm excited to get back into designing, and hope to be able to open an Etsy shop soon.

(By the way, I'm more than willing to create a few free Christmas cards for anyone interested. I'll design it to your liking, and send you the digital file.)

For our September Relief Society Activity, we had a service auction. We got the idea {here}, and it turned out really great. We had a lot of awesome donations, and had a great time bidding against each other and having a good ol' time. This calling can be quite challenging because we never know what to expect when we plan activities. We never know how many will show up, or if they'll even have fun. My board leader is amazing though, and always comes up with the funnest ideas. Please support your RS leaders in the activities. I know that it can seem like just one more thing to do, but the activities board puts a lot of effort into planning and carrying out these activities. Plus, it's a whole lot more fun when more people show up.

My mom and dad were in town Saturday the 13th, and texted me to go to lunch with them. It's always good to see them, and they surprised me with this Samsung Neo 2 watch. Greg and I had talked about getting something like that after my {latest incident}, but figured we would wait until Christmas or until we upgraded our phones, so this was a fun surprise. I can call people and text, plus it tracks my steps, heart rate, and sleeping. It's pretty sweet. It makes me feel better about being alone, just in case I happen to leave my phone in a place I can't reach. Thanks parents!

Last Sunday the Relief Society Presidency were asked to speak on the Relief Society. We were asked the Thursday before, so we really didn't have much time to prepare, but I think it went okay. I wasn't really nervous, though I was sweating something awful. But no one fell asleep during my talk (that I could see), so that's always great. I haven't spoken in church for over 10 years, so it was a fun experience.

I did get to go on a fun trip this last week, which I will post about real soon. I think this is enough for one post!

28 by 29 | Conference Talks 1

11 // Read a General Conference talk each week

Part of my goal for the 28 by 29 project is to improve myself mentally, physically, and spiritually. One way I'd like to do the last one is to read a General Conference talk each week. I can get the last 87 Conference issues of the Ensign on my phone and kindle, so it's easy access. I didn't want to be too particular on what I read, I just wanted it to be kind of random, so I use random.org to choose the issue, then the talk. Since technically my 28 by 29 started on a Wednesday, I'm going to use Sunday as my day to read the talks, and post my thoughts on Monday.

The talk I chose this week is from April 2011, by Larry M. Gibson, called, "Sacred Keys of the Aaronic Priesthood."

He speaks about the responsibility of holding the Aaronic Priesthood keys, and how he worked with a young Deacon president to learn his responsibilities. He has this young man go to the scriptures to find the answer, and then to pray about what he needs to do. One part I really liked was when Elder Gibson says, "Go to the scriptures and discover for ourselves what our duties are." I think can apply to both men and women in any callings we have. Yes, the priesthood responsibilities are more spelled out, but in any calling, if we have questions, if we turn to the Lord with real intent, we will learn what our duties are.

It goes on to explain that one of the responsibilities is to invite all to come unto Christ, and one way to do such is to serve others. I love that he quote President Monson saying, "The priesthood is not really so much a gift as it is a commission to serve, a privilege to lift, and an opportunity to bless the lives of others." As there is so much controversy as to whether or not women should have the priesthood, I think the quote speaks quite directly to women, as we are known to be more charitable, and to serve. We don't need to hold the priesthood to serve others, but we can use the blessings of the priesthood to serve.

Elder Gibson goes on to say, "Service is the very foundation of the priesthood—service to others as exemplified by the Savior." Without service, including service of women, the priesthood would not function the way our Heavenly Father intended it to.

When I first chose this talk, I thought, "Oh great. A talk about the priesthood. How will this apply to me?" But as I read through, yes it was more intended for men, but I was able to see and notice how the priesthood blesses me in my life, and how I, as a woman, can use the blessings of the priesthood, service being one of them!

Inspiration | 2.10.14

This quote comes from {this talk} by President Uchtdorf. I can totally relate to many of the things he said. Especially as of late. I have noticed that my health is not where it should be (more so than normal), and it makes me super tired after work which then makes me 'too tired' to do my Visiting Teaching or other church related things. I also just want to sit around instead of do things with my husband. I had a talk with my boss and he told me, "I don't want you to get so worn out here at work that you can't enjoy the rest of the day." It really got me thinking about what it important, and what matters most. Because of that I made the decision to not work quite as much. It's only an hour less each day, but I feel like I'm more able to do things that I previously neglected (scripture study, housework, etc.) I also have more energy after work to do other things as well. and enjoy time with my husband.

Sometimes it's hard to give up what you're used to, or even what you enjoy doing, but if it's causing problems or stress in other areas of your life, it really is time to re-evaluate on what matter most.

Inspiration | 02.03.14

Well, I gave my lesson yesterday. I think it went well. I gave it on trials & adversity. I think it was more for me than for anyone else. But this line stuck out to me. It's just a simple question, and one that could be asked for a number of things. As I've had a rough couple of weeks, I just need this good reminder to motivate me to keep going, and to finish strong.

Inspiration | 01.27.14

Like last week, I found this wonderful quote while searching through various General Conference talks. This one comes from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk called, "The Infinite Power of Hope"

Before I first started letting people in my ward know about the scleroderma diagnosis (or really that anything was wrong) I had a man and his wife who were sitting behind Greg and I in church mention that I didn't seem like myself. At this time I was super emotional, so I started crying as SI told them about the diagnosis. The sister came over and crouched down in front of me, and held my hand as I told them what was going on. This sister also happens to suffer from an auto-immune disease. They both told me they would pray for me. A few days later I received this gift from this wonderful couple.

The little balloon says hope. As I've been trying to come up with topics for my lesson on Sunday, hope keeps coming to mind. I love how President Uchtdorf phrases this. We need hope to get us through trials, and to have that little glimmer of hope that better things are to come. Read the talk. It's fantastic.

What are your thoughts on this quote? What does hope mean to you? How does having hope help you through your tough times?

Inspiration | 01.20.14

 

The past few weeks I have been  struggling to come up with a lesson topic. Being in the Relief Society presidency, I get to teach the first Sunday lesson in February. It's so interesting to me how last time I was teaching, I knew exactly what I wanted to teach. I felt good about it as I was preparing, and I felt good as I was delivering it. I knew that the Spirit was guiding me. This time, however, I am really struggling to come up with a topic. I've got about five that I could do, but I don't get the "this is it" feeling from any one specific. As I've prayed about it over the last few weeks, I decided yesterday in church that I would just start going through old  conference talks and see if anything jumps out. The good thing about that is there are a lot of great talks that I've been able to read, the bad thing, nothing jumps out still, so I guess I'll keep going. Not that that's a bad thing. Anytime you have the opportunity to read the words of our prophet and apostles is on that you should take. I have found some great thoughts, and this is one that I wanted to share. It comes from President Thomas S. Monson's talk called, "I Will Not Fail Thee, Nor Forsake Thee."

When I heard this talk, I just knew that it was a direct message from the Lord, for me. As I have experienced many trials over the last few years, I know that it is only to help me learn, grow, and become stronger. I also love how it doesn't say "the trials through which we MIGHT pass," but rather "through which we MUST pass." We are going to have trials, it's part of why we're here on earth. It's part of our learning process. We can do it. We have a Heavenly Father who is there to comfort and guide us through the trials. They are necessary for us to be able to return to Him someday.

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

It's been quite the month here at the Aullman household. We go years without changes, then all of a sudden, quite a few all at once.

We had Greg get a 'real' job (which doesn't change much except now we'll earn a second income. YAY!) I do have to say that we've been very blessed to be able to go a year on a small single income. (I only averaged about 30-35 hours a week) but we had many blessings in disguise that helped us make it through. So what if we had to go without a few luxuries for a year. Guess what? We survived!

Second change - Last Saturday we decided to upgrade our phones and join the world of Smartphones. Now, we did this for a couple of reasons. One, we were both due for an upgrade (Greg still had a flip phone...that's how behind in the times HE was). Second, we needed to upgrade our plan anyway. The plan we were on had me a 500 non-Verizon texts, and Greg at 50. He kept going over, and since the only plans you can get now days are data plans, we decided to just go for it. We spent about 2 hours deciding what to do, and ended up going to Best Buy where the phones were cheaper, and the insurance plans were better. I got the Samsung Galaxy S3, and Greg got the S4. It's taken some time to get used to, but we both really love them. I'm excited about it...and luckily I can pick up some Wi-fi at work if I really feel the need to get on the internet.

Third change - I've been in the Young Womens presidency for nearly 5 years now. 2.5 under Melanie as president, and the last 2.5 under Farina. It has been a great experience for me, and I've really enjoyed it. A couple of Tuesdays ago, Greg got a call from the ward executive secretary asking Greg and I to meet with Bishop that evening. We tried to guess what it might be. We knew Greg wasn't being released, so we narrowed it down to it being about me. I joked saying maybe I was going to be called to be the Relief Society president. Well, imagine my actual shock and surprise when I was called to be the Second Counselor in the Relief Society presidency. My jaw literally dropped. Apparently everyone else was a little shocked as well. But I have to say I'm quite excited about it. Extremely nervous as well. It's only been about five years since I was last in relief society. But it will be good to get to know the other women in our ward. I feel like I only know a select few (ie, the ones that have served in YW). So it will be a good change. I guess this is what I get for not doing my visiting teaching or going to any enrichment activities. I guess that better change. <--yet another="" change="" p="">
I think that's about all for now. Luckily these have been good changes...

Regrets?

Do you have any regrets today?

Today, today? Not really. Maybe not listening to conference as well as I should have. I can't do more than one thing at once, but I also start to drift off if I just sit there, so I tried to do mindless stuff. But I love conference. I wish we had it more often. It's always such a wonderful feeling to be able to listen to the words of the Prophet and Apostles. I love hearing their stories, and most of all, their testimonies. What great examples they are, and the advice they give is amazing. I'm grateful to be a part of this Gospel, and to have a testimony of my Savior, Jesus Christ. I know God lives, and He loves ME. He knows what I'm going through, what I'm struggling with, the pains that I have, and he still loves me, and is there for me. I know that Christ suffered and died for me, so that I can repent and strive to become perfect every day, so I can live with Him and my family forever. I can't imagine what it would be like to not have that knowledge. I vote we have conference next week too! (Or like once a month! ;)

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Also, I'm debating making my daily blog private....so if you want to continue to read this randomness, comment here with your email so I can invite you. I'll keep my regular blog, but it won't be nearly as exciting as my daily blog! (C'mon, you know you want to continue to see my obsession with 1D!)

What Are You Thankful For?

Day 7

-- Late church = sleeping in

-- Fasting + lack of appetite anyway = a number on the scale I haven't seen in a while (also LESS than the weight on my driver's license! Woot!)

-- Patriarchal Blessings

-- A yummy Sunday dinner - roast, mashed potatoes, mushrooms...

-- The ability to walk around the block

-- Fall weather

-- A husband who likes to experiment with desserts