Cousin love

Enough said.

First haircut

After posting some pictures of Luke's hair a couple weeks ago, I decided that it really was getting out of control. Babies can get away with messy hair, but his had gotten so long that it would flop over to one side, and more and more people started mistaking him for a girl. I was tired of always correcting them, and I felt bad that his hair was always in his eyes, so we decided to take him to this cute children's salon for his first haircut.

I took tons of pictures, I didn't want to miss a moment of it. Luke did so good; he loved sitting in the little car chair and playing with the cape he got to wear. We didn't want to cut his hair too short and we still wanted him to have his cute little faux hawk that we have been styling him in almost since birth. The stylist did a great job with him, and we love his new little look (she cut about two inches off in length, and he still has that much hair!)

Grandpa Clyde

Lately I have been trying to get better at working on family history. Church leaders have been encouraging members for years to do it, but have been even more adamant as of late that family history is essential. I was lucky to be able to participate in a sort of "Family History 101" class at church before Luke was born and have been trying to stick with it ever since. One of the reasons I didn't do more sooner was because it always seemed so I overwhelming. I didn't know where to start. I've learned a few things now, and while I'll admit that it's still a bit overwhelming for me, I am enjoying it.

Luke's middle name is Clyde, we named him after my dad, whose middle name is also Clyde and who was named after his grandfather, [Roy] Clyde Nuckols. When I started the class at church we were advised to pick one family member we wanted to learn more about as a starting point and then branch out from there. I decided I should know more about my great-grandfather so that I could tell Luke about him one day. 

I started by asking my dad more about Clyde. He told me stories and sent me some pictures. Since then I have been working on making Clyde's information as complete as possible (using familysearch.org), which has also included completing more of his parents and siblings information as well. It has been fun to see their pictures and imagine what their lives were like. For someone who has always enjoyed looking into the past, I'm surprised that I didn't get into family history sooner; I'm glad that I'm finally doing it now.

Why I closed my Facebook account and maybe you should too

I've been blogging a lot more lately, and I have really enjoyed it. I'm determined to really make this blog a personal history and keep it updated instead of letting it fall by the wayside like I have time and time again in the past. But, despite my determination, there is another reason I have recently become more gung-ho about blogging:  I closed my Facebook account. 

The first and most obvious reason is that I was simply spending too much time on it. Ever since I got a smart phone last year my time on Facebook increased exponentially, and then it doubled after Luke was born. It became so bad that I would go to open my phone for an entirely different purpose, but out of habit would open the Facebook app first, only to get sucked in and forget all about the real reason I had opened my phone. I found myself becoming distracted more easily, even in everyday tasks and though some might argue otherwise, I attribute it to excessive Facebook use. Facebook has taught us to share our lives in real time, so we are constantly looking for the next update, the next post, the next comment; we go a million miles a minute and as a result all have the attention span of a goldfish. I wanted to slow down and focus a little more on important things, not on what so-and-so ate, or who is stuck in traffic, or another picture of that cat...

Second, and to me more important, I didn't like the person I was when on Facebook. I started to notice that I would feel frustrated, irritated, sad, even angry at times after spending time on my account. This was often because I had a tendency to get swept up in others' (or my own) controversial posts. We live in a difficult time where there are many opinions on what is right or wrong. I tend to be an opinionated person and often shared my feelings on everything from abortion to gay marriage to vaccines to feminism and Disney princesses. Not surprisingly, other people also voiced their opinions and I soon found myself in the middle of a heated debate. The problem is, Facebook really isn't a good forum for debate. You can't express yourself clearly without writing a page-long comment, and even then readers often don't get your tone or expression. Sometimes that adds to the contention that may already be felt over some of these topics. Too often I was becoming upset because someone didn't understand what I was trying to say, or took it out of context, or became offended when that wasn't my intention. Or I would become annoyed or angry at what other people were posting, forgetting that I too may have been misunderstanding what they were trying to say. The fact is, even if I knew I was right, Facebook wasn't the right place to say so. I can more fully explain and express my opinions here on my blog, or I can just do it the good old-fashioned way and talk to people in person about my beliefs. 

So why should you consider closing your Facebook account too? I have been surprised by the reaction I have received as I have told people that I no longer have Facebook. It's almost always, "Good for you! Maybe I should close mine..." Its clear that I'm not the only one who has spent too much time on my account, or even the only one who has found it to be a more negative than positive experience. You may have the same reasons as me, or reasons of your own, but I can definitely say that I have been a happier, more productive person since I took my account down. Maybe its something worth considering.

And, while I'm on the topic, check out this video that I love:

Back to work

My first week back to work went well. It was fun to see my coworkers again and get back into the swing of things. I didn't always love my job when I worked there before, sometimes there was drama or frustrations, but after I left I was able to appreciate it more. I work with good people, the fact that they are being so flexible with me and the hours I am working really shows that.

I did have some mixed feelings about being away though. On the one hand it was nice to get out of the house. Being a stay-at-home mom can be hard if for no other reason than that you don't get a lot of adult interaction. I would try to go to activities or play groups when I could, as well as go for walks and run errands just so I wouldn't be stuck inside all day, but for the most part I just stayed home with Luke. Getting out on my own and being able to talk to other adults felt really good.

That all being said, I felt pretty sad when I left Monday morning, and even more sad on Wednesday and Thursday when I left Luke behind. Even though I have left Luke with Phil many times, something about leaving to go to work is different. The nice thing is that we know this is just temporary; I will really only be working a few more weeks and then I will be able to be home with Luke full-time again. If nothing else, this experience has made me appreciate that opportunity a little more.

Luke was a trooper and did great all week. He loves his daddy so it is great that they get to spend some extra time together. I think Phil is really enjoying it too. He will probably not have the chance to stay home like this with any of our other future kids so it makes it a little more special.

Phil has some more interviews lined up over the next few days, all of which seem pretty promising. We are excited to see what will happen in the coming weeks!

Graduation

Happy Graduation Phil! I am so proud of you and love you so much!

Luke's hair

If you haven't seen him lately, you might not realize just how out of control Luke's hair is these days. Not only is it 3-4 inches long, but it falls in any direction it chooses, and is turning into a bit of an emo shag. Here is a progression:

Birth

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

4 Months

5 Months

Needless to say, it's amazing and we love it, but I think I see a haircut in the very near future!

Throwback Thursday: St. Petersburg

One of the things I always wanted to do when I was younger was travel to another country and teach English. I had some friends who had done it and it seemed like a great way to see the world and also do some good.

Because I had earned some college credits in high school, I was able to graduate with my Associates Degree a semester early and spend 5 months in St Petersburg, Russia. I went with International Language Programs (ILP), a volunteer organization that arranged for participants to live with a host family while they taught English at a nearby school. We only taught part time and could use the rest of our free time traveling and just experiencing the culture (which was quite different). The program was really very inexpensive for the amount of time in the country and the experience taught me so much more than I ever expected at the time.

It was hard to be away from home, and I couldn't wait to get back to the United States at the end of those five months, but I was so glad I went. It really opened my eyes to a much bigger world than I had known previously. Not only did the experience help to prepare me for my mission that I would later serve in Spain, but also for life in general. I still think of my time there, the friends I made, and am grateful for how much I learned and grew with the experience. It has already been six years since I got home, but I will always have a special place for Russia in my heart.

Clean house again and a dream

The garage sale that we participated in this past weekend went pretty well; Phil and I made about $100, which is not bad considering it was all on items that we were just going to donate anyway. Its amazing what people will buy, and how much they will pay. Doing the sale made me want to look for more ways to earn money from home.

One goal I have been working on is improving my sewing so that one day I can start charging for alterations. There are a lot of businesses that I would not want to run out of my home, but sewing is something I have always really enjoyed and wouldn't mind doing as more than just a hobby. I have altered many of my own clothes, and a few for friends, but I don't feel confident enough to try to advertise for "real business".

Not many people know how to sew anymore, at least not clothing. And altering ready-to-wear clothing is a whole different game than sewing from a pattern (which I am also trying to get better at). The only way to really learn is to be taught by someone, or maybe by a lot of trial and error. I have a dream that maybe one day I can work as an apprentice of sorts in a tailor shop and learn all the tricks of the trade, and then start my own small business.

Until then, I will just have to keep selling our old stuff and sewing my own clothes.

Changes for good

I have decided to go back to my old job temporarily while Phil continues to look for work. I am grateful that my managers are being so flexible with me. At most I will work for only about two months, and only three days a week, but they don't mind. I will miss being home with Luke everyday, but I will still be home more than I am away and this will allow us to earn a little extra money to help with some expenses and student loans. Phil will be able to take care of Luke on the days that I am gone, and I will be able to pump milk at work and plan to continue breastfeeding when I am home as I have been. Hopefully it isn't too big of an adjustment for Luke. It will be great for Phil to spend some extra time with him before he starts up a job full time. I am also looking forward to seeing my old friends at work.

Phil has had several interviews and contacts line up in the past week, so we are feeling confident that something will come together soon. It may be taking a little longer than we hoped, but I feel that maybe this will give him more time to find a job that he will really enjoy. As much as I thought I would be really stressed out at this point if Phil didn't have a job, I actually feel quite calm. Everything is ok. We have everything that we need, a good home, a car that runs, food on the table. We have been able to save more money than we thought we could so we will hopefully be able to pay off our loans even more quickly than we planned. Heavenly Father has truly blessed us.

With all this in mind, I really, really loved this video that the missionaries showed us when they came over for dinner on Wednesday. Life can be scary, but it is also so good. I hope that whatever comes next, we can accept it happily and gratefully.

Throwback Thursday: Us

We met at Snow College, a small town school about two hours south of Salt Lake City, in the fall of 2007. At first, I wasn't interested. Phil was pretty quiet, but when he did talk it was usually about sports. Not that I don't like sports, but they aren't really my thing. I came to the conclusion that he was just a dumb jock and didn't think much more about it.

As time went by though, we started spending more time together as friends, and before long he asked me out on our first date (a story I will have to save for another post). The more I got to know him, the more I liked him. He wasn't any of the stereotypes I had categorized him in, but instead just a really nice, really good guy.

I actually had a goal not to date anyone that semester because I would be graduating in December 2007 and then spending the next five months in St. Petersburg, Russia. I didn't want a long distance relationship. Not only that, but I had always hoped to serve a full time mission, and didn't want anything to interfere with that goal. But, I couldn't quite bring myself to end things completely with Phil. We decided to keep in touch while I was in Russia and then see how things were when I got back.

It was hard. I missed him so much, and I knew that I wanted us to be together.

After Russia I moved back up to Utah, to be close to Phil and to work and look into continuing school at the University of Utah. But my desire to serve a mission was still strong. Sometimes I tried to ignore it, sometimes I just put it off, thinking I would deal with it when I actually turned 21 (the age requirement at the time for young women to serve), sometimes I though, I knew that it was what I was going to do and I just needed to accept it.

After dating for another 4 months, Phil got more serious and one night brought up our future and marriage. In that moment I knew that as much as I wanted to be with him, I needed to serve the Lord. The very next day I started the paperwork and by the middle of November 2008 I had received an assignment to serve in Spain.

It was painful to leave Phil. My heart ached for him. I thought of him every day that I was in Spain, but I never once regretted my decision. I knew it was the right thing to do, for both of us. One of Phil's best qualities is his loyalty. I knew that he truly cared about me, but I also knew that if he met someone else while I was gone, it wouldn't just be some floozy thing. He wouldn't play around, he would be serious and it would be right. Knowing that made it only sweeter when I came home and he still wanted to be with me.

We didn't waste any time. We were married 3 months after I returned home from Spain, and have never looked back. All the time we had to spend apart has only made our time together sweeter. How lucky I am to be part of us.