can't hold it in any longer!!

i am going to be a FIRST GRADE TEACHER next year!! 

i just got the call, and i am literally bursting at the seams. 

this has been amazing year, and i cannot believe i am being blessed with...

 my dream job!!!

more about me...

so i realized, because of a question asked on formspring {thank you} that i have told you all a lot about my life, but little about me!

here is a quick run down...if it sparks more questions in your mind, go ahead and ask will ya! :)

• i was born in california.
• my family moved to washington when i was 2.
• i have 3 older brothers (twins 5 years older than me, and the other brother is two years older than me. we look nothing alike. trust me... or just look below.

• i love my mom, and we have always been very close. i tell her everything.
• i obviously have a dad too, of who(m?) i love dearly as well. i was a daddy's girl growing up. i think that happens when you are the only girl.
• my parents announced their divorce when i was going into my senior year in high school.
• i have now inherited a step-mom and two step-siblings...only i don't like the whole "step" title. 

And for some randoms:

• i refused to wear pants when i was younger. my family had to trick me into grandmother-made jumpers by calling them "bubbles".

{sweet "bubble" huh?!}

• disneyland is one of my absolute favorite places on earth.
• i have a very rational fear of spiders of any size.
• i have a very irrational fear of anyone who looks like Carrot Top...especially of course, Carrot Top himself. 
• i am obsessed with desserts, chocolate and sugar. yummm. 

{some things never change}

• i love the beach, car trips, and any vacation.
• i love to dance {grew up dancing, which evolved into cheerleading, which i did through freshmen year in college}
• i like to take pictures.
• i hate to read.

{some things definitely change!}

• my favorite color has always been purple... i lied. there was a 2 week {literally} period when my favorite color was blue. {i was 7, i wanted to be the same as my best friend. didn't last long. purple rocks}
• i am a hopeless romantic
• i married my first love. 
• i love life... and all of its ups and downs.

i hope that tells you a little more about me. now i want to know more about you! so answer this one:

do you have any irrational fears...that are, of course, rational to you?!

confession of a convert.

i had just finished dinner with the husbands family when my phone rang. i answered the phone to hear a lot of commotion and my brother saying, "hi, i have a really random question"...not thinking much of the situation i said "okkkk...."

this is what he said, "is it true mormons have to give 10% of their income to temple?"

OK... random is right, that really came out of left field! my brother is a self-proclaimed atheist so i am wondering at this point, which of his friends brought that up, and what else are they talking about?!

i answered his question, "well, we do pay a tithing of 10% of our income, but it doesn't just go to the temples. there are many other things the money goes to. it is also a choice to pay tithing, no one can make you do anything, we all can choose to pay or not, that is between us and the Lord."

he just couldn't seem to get over this fact...asking me how they monitor if we really pay 10%, if they check our pay checks and what they do if we don't pay the money...after explaining that it is all based on honesty he seemed to understand. i related tithing to the offerings made in the episcopal church we grew up in, this helped tithing make much more sense to him.

we finished our conversation with me reminding him that if he ever reads or hears something weird about the church to make sure he asks me before believing what he hears and he said "i know, i figured i would call you and brett because you are the the ones i trust about this stuff"

i am so happy that my brother was able to call me and ask for the truth about something one of his friends was just throwing around in a conversation.

it also made me a little sick to my stomach to think that my brother and his friends were talking about the church, when none of them are members. i know what a lot of people think about the church, and it isn't all good.

so here is the confession: it sucks to know that my family hears a lot of garbage and false truths about the church, and most likely believes it...it sucks to know that my family talks about me behind my back.

{my brother and i on top of tiger mountain}

change.

some things need to change...

you know when you are listening to the radio and you keep hearing songs that make you think, "i swear that song was written for me!" or "that is exactly how i feel!"... well that has been happening to me a little too much lately.

i keep hearing songs which make me think that i need to work on this or that. i think it is the holy ghost trying to get me to hear what it has to say...because i am not doing a very good job listening these days.

ugh. i hate the ruts we put ourselves in!

but like i said some things are going to change starting now.

why is it that when i ask the husband to do something for me, could be as simple as getting me a glass of water, he does it, willingly...but when he asks me to do the same for him i have the worst attitude like it's a pain in the you know what?!

my life got so stressful and so overwhleming that i lost sense of what is really important...and that is not me... its those around me.

my goal, and please, feel free to hold me accoutable {message me, email me, formspring me, etc}, is to be as selfless as i can be.

its not my time anymore, its time for everyone else... especially the handsome husband i have who is sitting right next to me, oblivious i am writing this all about him! :)

{it's time for your babes}

inspirational.

i wanted to share a video that the husband made...

he has a video production company and makes boring (but really good) business videos for his job.

however, in his spare time he comes up with videos like this one... i think he has a gift, but then again, i might be a little biased...

enjoy! :)

new camera.

i am so excited about my new camera!

new camera= more pictures on the blog. i have gotten a lot of requests for more pictures...i haven't heard anything the other way, and if you enjoy just the writing, please, let me know! i would love any and all opinions of you readers out there. ;)

anyway, like i said in my birthday blog post, the husband killed me (almost) by buying me my dream camera. now i just like to snap shots of whatever is around me. i thought i w

ould share a few pictures that i have taken...just for fun! :)

{my cute nephew looking for bugs on his finger}

{admiring natures beauty}

{gotta love a man in uniform...and yes that is my man!}

;]

going to a wedding.

i am going to a wedding today.

the husband has been asked if he would video/photograph the wedding as the wedding is a good friend's. the guy has never shot a wedding before, is very nervous, and has been watching video tutorials for about a week straight to get some new shot ideas and camera adjustments. (i know he will do an amazing job. the man pours his heart and soul into ever project he does).

anyway, going to a wedding obviously makes me reflect on my own wedding. but mostly, because the wedding we are going to is not an LDS wedding, it makes me reflect upon the temple. it is a reminder to me how special my wedding day was...

when the husband and i were sealed, it was indescribable. the spirit inside the temple was so strong that day that i knew i was where i needed to be. i knew i had made the right, although insanely tough, decision to be married away from my family (who are not LDS) and be married/sealed in the temple. the temple is a remarkable place. i wish i could relive my wedding day over and over.

the husband and i coming out of the temple. you can read more about my wedding day here.

"psh, dumb kids. i never was a kid, really."

what is it with some people?

i just left my end of the school year celebration with my first graders...the one where i promised i would wait to cry until i got home...felt tears forming, but bit my lip as hard as i could and held it back! success. (how awkward would it be to break into the ugly cry with all the parents there?!)

i am going to miss this group of first graders SO much! :( i had the best time student teaching. it has been an unforgettable experience.

but it has made me think about something.

it is obvious by my career path that i love children. what i don't get is how there are so many people in this world that don't like kids, that have that "i never was a kid attitude" and no patience. who do you think are you?!

i understand those who don't want to be a teacher, but how can you look at a child and not smile. they are so full of love and innocence.

the other day a woman walking out of a parking lot into a crosswalk got extremely mad at a young boy, no older than 6, for being "in her way" when she was definitely the one who did not have the "right of way" as she walked directly into his path without looking.

it made me sad that she was so upset at such a young child, when it was not even his fault. ok, ok... maybe she was having a bad day...but still, he's just a kid!

the Savior taught us to be as little children. to be meek, humble, full of love, innocence and to be mold-able. if we can always keep this in mind, not only will we be more understanding, but we will be able to find true happiness in life.

look to the children in your life as examples of who you should be.

confessions of a convert.

it is never fun to be made fun of. i thought that bullying and being picked on ended in high school... boy was i wrong.

being a member of the church can be really hard sometimes. to be blunt, when you are baptized you are giving yourself a label. to those people who don't know anything about the church, that label can be a very negative one.

the other day i went to a small gathering (5 people total) with teachers from the school that i am interning at. the host was very excited to be serving margaritas... and eager to pass them out.

at this point, i don't think any of the other teachers knew that i was mormon, just that i didn't drink coffee...not drinking alcohol at this party would be a definite give away...(who on earth doesn't drink coffee or alcohol besides a mormon?! come on people, i mean seriously?!)

i obviously said "no thank you" to the margarita, as did one other woman...but OF COURSE i was the one that was singled out for it...

it was clear at this point that one teacher knew exactly "what i was" and she was not a fan.

little jabs about not drinking and being immature started to come out.

at one point she even went into the kitchen to get a re-fill, i glanced into the kitchen to see what was going on and she said "oh, kristen is watching, better be careful!"

i was hurt, mad, embarrassed, and did not want to be at the party any longer.

i never ever said anything about drinking being bad... i never said they shouldn't drink. i wasn't the only one not drinking, so why do she find the need to make fun of me?!

so here's the confession...sometimes being a member of the LDS church is hard, especially being in a crowd of non-members. you might get set apart by others for negative reasons, put down, made fun of, and sometimes laughed at...

i found it hard to handle, and i left in tears.

the husband tells me it will get better. he says that growing up in the church you hear that stuff all the time and grow a thick skin.

my skin is getting thicker each day. i am proud to be who i am. i am proud to be a member of the LDS church. i am proud of each and every decision i make.

it just sucks that at 24 years old i still have to deal with stupid bullies.

ugh.