Yesterday taught me about my Savior's love, and how the gospel really works.
I started off having a really bad morning, to spare you the silly details just little things that happened were getting to me and those little things led me to be late to work which I hate because then the day starts off on the wrong foot. Well, the school day went very well all things considered- I had an awesome day. However, there were others having a less then awesome day.
During the beginning of 6th period the principal got on to make an announcement. He proceeded to talk about some bullying issues that were going on in the school and how they were completely inappropriate and "unspartan-like." The things he was talking about were mostly just small junior high pranks, sticking notes on each other, teasing in the halls, etc. I am not trying to diminish how much those things can emotionally hurt someone, and how damaging they can be but I'm just trying to express that they weren't huge acts. Well, my 6th period is an auditioned women's choir full of the most up-standing young ladies you will ever meet. I could tell that these incidents had nothing to do with them based on the shocked expressions in their faces during the announcements. To share an example about their character, it was just earlier in the week that I had told them, "Ladies, the principal is coming in to do my formal observation tomorrow-if you could be the most awesome students tomorrow I would appreciate it." Now, they are awesome students all the time, they just love to talk to one another which can be detrimental to learning. But, come the next day when the principal came in they were ANGELS. I could not have dreamed of better students. These young ladies truly care for those around them.
Since I knew their character, when the principal asked us to discuss these things further with our students I decided to go a different direction. When I think of bullies, I think of the root of the problem-they've probably had bad experiences that make them project onto other students. I talked to my girls (I call them that because I really do care for these, and all my students) about looking out for those who can't always look out for themselves. I encouraged them to seek out the bullies and instead of ridiculing them for their hateful acts, to try to befriend them and maybe find out why they do the things they do. Now, some Junior High school-ers are just mean, it's true. But, others come from broken homes, and bad situations which is what fuels their bad behavior. I also asked them to look out for those that are being bullied, who may not know there is something taped to their back, or that may not be able to stand up for themselves.
This bulling situation was the first thing in the day that helped me to understand the Savior's principle of Mercy vs. Justice. The Savior understands us as whole beings, and understands why we may act the way we do. We can't always comprehend each other and find the empathy and understanding for those who are the causers of pain. At least in my life, they cause pain because they've felt it. In the wise words of Kid President, "don't be a bully- it just makes more bullies."
Now, to give some credit back to the students-the majority of them really look out for each other. One student in-particular comes to mind. I'll call him Mike. Mike has a tendency to act out in my class sometimes. He does things to be funny that he doesn't always realize are hurtful. I've had to pull him aside on a few occasions and help him realize some of his jokes could hurt those around him. Well, Mike's locker is also very close to where I stand in the halls between classes to make sure no trouble is happening. There was one day that I watched him stop after closing his locker to walk away because a girl with a locker next to his had had her locker shelf fall down, leaving all her things strewn about in a very busy hallway. He turned around and helped her retrieve all her things, which really impressed me. At our school, we have what they call a "caught in the act" award. Students who are seen doing a good deed are written a slip to be entered in a drawing to win a jamba juice. I immediately returned to my classroom and wrote one out for him. I began to understand this student better, that he always means well although it doesn't appear that way.
This leads me back to my second experience that taught me the principle of Mercy vs. Justice. On my way home yesterday, I was in a major car accident-car totaled (not that it took much to total our old 1999 chevy cavalier with 180,000+ miles on it). I was driving on I-15, in a 75 mph speed zone. I was in the left lane, about to pass a semi when the wind blew and pushed me left (the car is very light, it gets 38 mpg so it doesn't take much to push it), away from the semi. Most people have probably experienced the changes in wind and pressure when you drive near a semi. Well, I tried to correct by steering right slightly, and the wind pressure from the semi sucked me in causing me to swerve tremendously and nick the front step of the semi sending my car swerving left, I tried to correct slightly right, got sucked back in, and the semi tire ran over my right tail light sending me off in the the median, into a ditch, spinning 3/4 of the way around where my car started then heading towards south bound traffic, backwards. The bumper slammed into the guard rail where the car then came to a stop in the ditch of the median. I was so focused on trying to re-gain control of the car that I had not realized I had hit the semi at all. The semi pulled off the road about 1/4 of a mile up and the two gentleman from the semi came running to see if I was okay. I immediately called Jeff, who didn't answer because he was in class. I then called 9-1-1 to report the accident. I called Jeff again, he answered and was on his way. I walked away with literally just a bump on my head from hitting the head rest when I hit the guard rail and high blood pressure-I'll tell this story to lighten the mood a bit.
I stayed after school because there was a district health screening that I attended. They measured my body fat percentage, cholesterol, glucose, and blood pressure all of which were in normal ranges. Well, when I went to the doctor that evening after the accident they took my blood pressure again. I had gone from a normal range, skipped the in the middle range, and gone straight to high blood pressure range-I guess a car accident will due that to you (stress causes a raise in blood pressure).
Back to the accident-emotionally, I was much more hurt then physically. Watching as your car goes out of control on a busy 75 mph highway then spinning off and thinking you're heading into the opposite side of traffic (not realizing in my state that the guard rail was there) where you would be t-boned on the driver's side is enough to shake you quite a bit. I held it together pretty well until Jeff got there, then knowing I was safe in the arms of my husband I lost it. I will spare you the details of the police report paperwork and all of that and skip to the point. How the heck did this teach me mercy vs. justice? Well, after having this crazy experience that had me very shaken, when I was technically doing everything correctly (not on my phone, maybe going 2 miles over the speed limit, both hands on the wheel), I then had the police officer come and issue me a warning and tell me I was at fault, because I did not maintain my lane which is what caused the accident. The semi had some damage, but he drove away afterward, my car was totaled, and I was emotionally scarred. By the law's terms, I was at fault. Now, I won't make a judgement on what should have or shouldn't have been done in this case, because the officer did what he needed to to fulfill his job and the justice of the law. Then this morning I had to get up and relive the whole thing dealing with insurances, knowing that it was technically my fault. That being said, it made me think of my Savior. Our Savior knows us best, he knows I was trying my best to be a safe driver, and that circumstances out of my control occurred. The law must fulfill justice, but our Savior is a merciful being. I walked away relatively unscathed. Some may think, maybe because I didn't pray this morning is why I got in this accident. I think, because I prayed that morning is why I survived the accident with just a bump on my head and sore neck (and of course high blood pressure :D). The Savior has set up, "guard rails" in our life-we think we may never need to use them-but they serve a definite purpose. Living by the commandments, however much we may or may not understand them, protects us daily. Those mistakes that may occur that we don't know are mistakes, or that we unkowningly make, the Savior is merciful enough to forgive us for them. I love the gospel of Jesus Christ, and I know my Savior lives. I'm grateful to have walked away from that situation and live to share my testimony of it.
Friday, November 15, 2013
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Date Night is Cheaper than Divorce
This week was a little less eventful then last week, but there was no Holiday this week. I like to blame it on that. The good news is, I'm posting again less then a week later-baby steps!
Here is a picture that's late-here are my coworkers and myself on Halloween as the 3 little pigs and the big bad wolf-we won 2nd place!
Last Sunday was Taco Day at Jill's house-which means I ate a whole days worth of food in guacamole and chips alone-and then ate dinner. :D Needless to say, I ate way to much.
Since I ate too much on Monday I was inspired to finally start running again on Tuesday. We ran the Top of Utah Half at the end of August and I was good to keep running for a few weeks after that then ended up taking a month or so off. To add some interest here's a picture from that race even though it wasn't this week:
So, on Monday I hit the gym again and was surprised how easily I fell back into running. Hopefully I'll continue to keep up with that too (especially since Jeff wants to run a 10k turkey trot again-gotta get back in good running shape).
Tuesday through Thursday were relatively uneventful, just school for Jeff, work for me, wake up and do it again.
On Friday it was kind of a crazy day at school. The students were just all over the place and I had to send a student to the administration. All week had gone without glitch for the most part and Friday went haywire. Since I had a bad day, Jeff let me pick where we went to dinner-what a good husband I have. It was a hard choice when I could pick anything I wanted and I picked Center Street Grill (a burger place) if that says anything about me. I had a big fat juicy hamburger and fries and Jeff had a Philly Cheesesteak. YUM! I love to be eat out and try new places but it's expensive and not so good for you. The good news is I also love to be in shape-the challenge is finding the joy in both when a appropriate to find balance in life. Right now, its' working out-at least I think so. Afterwards we went to the USU vs. USC basketball game. Our good friends Lindsay and Kevin had won tickets online, so we had legitimate seats instead of student seats-not that there was that big of a difference. But, we had an awesome time. It was good to be back in the Spectrum with friends for Aggie Basketball. I will admit, sometimes I'm slightly embarrassed by the lengths that the fans go to (sometimes its an inappropriate level). Oh well.
On a side note-ever since Jeff and I got married we've tried to make date night a priority. We even built it into our budget even though we don't have a lot (we had even less when we first got married but still put it in our budget then too). I had a church leader and friend always say to me, "paying a babysitter is much cheaper than a divorce"-as far as I'm concerned the same goes for dates since we don't have kids yet. During the week we often get caught up in our own stresses and don't have much time for each other so we have agreed it's incredibly important to have one night for us a week-we may have to decrease the amount of date nights as our lives progress, but there will always be a consistent date night because it keeps our relationship healthy, strong, and growing.
Back from my rant-Friday after the game we got in the car and drove down to West Jordan. We have been trying to make an effort to come down to see Jeff's family more often even if it's not for a long period of time. It just so happened to be sleepover night for two (Kaitlynn and Brightyn) of our nieces at Grandma and Grandpa's house so we got up this morning to play with them. I'm always so shocked at how much they know, and how much they've learned since the last time we've been down. Then a third niece (Kami), came over and we took the three of them down to the park that's in Grandma's neighborhood. Throughout the weekend we should be able to see everyone before we head back which is quite a feat.
I'm so grateful for my loving husband, for my immediate family, and for the awesome family I married into.
Here is a picture that's late-here are my coworkers and myself on Halloween as the 3 little pigs and the big bad wolf-we won 2nd place!
Since I ate too much on Monday I was inspired to finally start running again on Tuesday. We ran the Top of Utah Half at the end of August and I was good to keep running for a few weeks after that then ended up taking a month or so off. To add some interest here's a picture from that race even though it wasn't this week:
So, on Monday I hit the gym again and was surprised how easily I fell back into running. Hopefully I'll continue to keep up with that too (especially since Jeff wants to run a 10k turkey trot again-gotta get back in good running shape).
Tuesday through Thursday were relatively uneventful, just school for Jeff, work for me, wake up and do it again.
On Friday it was kind of a crazy day at school. The students were just all over the place and I had to send a student to the administration. All week had gone without glitch for the most part and Friday went haywire. Since I had a bad day, Jeff let me pick where we went to dinner-what a good husband I have. It was a hard choice when I could pick anything I wanted and I picked Center Street Grill (a burger place) if that says anything about me. I had a big fat juicy hamburger and fries and Jeff had a Philly Cheesesteak. YUM! I love to be eat out and try new places but it's expensive and not so good for you. The good news is I also love to be in shape-the challenge is finding the joy in both when a appropriate to find balance in life. Right now, its' working out-at least I think so. Afterwards we went to the USU vs. USC basketball game. Our good friends Lindsay and Kevin had won tickets online, so we had legitimate seats instead of student seats-not that there was that big of a difference. But, we had an awesome time. It was good to be back in the Spectrum with friends for Aggie Basketball. I will admit, sometimes I'm slightly embarrassed by the lengths that the fans go to (sometimes its an inappropriate level). Oh well.
On a side note-ever since Jeff and I got married we've tried to make date night a priority. We even built it into our budget even though we don't have a lot (we had even less when we first got married but still put it in our budget then too). I had a church leader and friend always say to me, "paying a babysitter is much cheaper than a divorce"-as far as I'm concerned the same goes for dates since we don't have kids yet. During the week we often get caught up in our own stresses and don't have much time for each other so we have agreed it's incredibly important to have one night for us a week-we may have to decrease the amount of date nights as our lives progress, but there will always be a consistent date night because it keeps our relationship healthy, strong, and growing.
Back from my rant-Friday after the game we got in the car and drove down to West Jordan. We have been trying to make an effort to come down to see Jeff's family more often even if it's not for a long period of time. It just so happened to be sleepover night for two (Kaitlynn and Brightyn) of our nieces at Grandma and Grandpa's house so we got up this morning to play with them. I'm always so shocked at how much they know, and how much they've learned since the last time we've been down. Then a third niece (Kami), came over and we took the three of them down to the park that's in Grandma's neighborhood. Throughout the weekend we should be able to see everyone before we head back which is quite a feat.
I'm so grateful for my loving husband, for my immediate family, and for the awesome family I married into.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
On the Blogging Wagon Again
So, my last post was like 2 years ago and I want to get back on the blogging wagon. A lot has happened in the past 2 years so I won't try to catch you up at this point. My hope is that I post once a week from now on, and if I can't do that at least twice a month. This isn't for your sake, but for my own so if you find my posts boring, simply don't read them. :D I just figure blogging will be an awesome way to look back on memories, and to keep family and friends that are far away updated on what's up!
So, let's take this one week at a time. This past week was Halloween! On Tuesday we carved pumpkins. Jeff HATES to take the guts out of the pumpkin but feels somewhat guilty when I do it for him. But, he loves to actually carve the pumpkin since he has such a creative artsy side (which many people probably don't know-he's an excellent draw-er). So, while he was working on homework in the other room I did it for him before he even knew the difference. :D He didn't go quite as crazy as last year when he carved the skull candy logo just because he had so little time to do it-stupid school. My pumpkin was Frankenstein and Jeff's was a minion from Despicable Me
On Wednesday (the day before Halloween) Jeff and I went to a ward Halloween party. Unfortunately we didn't have an awesome couple costume because we have both been so busy but we did dress up! Jeff had to come straight from a class trip to tour a business, so he was a western gunslinger (because it was easy to add accessories and make work with what he was already wearing). I was Ms. Piggy. It would have been cute if Jeff was Kermit the Frog (said in Kermit voice) but painting himself green to visit a business probably wouldn't have gone over well....
On Halloween day, I dressed up with my department at school. We were the 3 little pigs and the big bad wolf. Each department dresses up together then the pick a winner for the contest of best costumes. For instance, math was "pieces of pie" English was Duck Dynasty, Gym was the Flintstones, etc. Our costume of the 3 little pigs and the big bad wolf came in 2nd-picture to come hopefully. Supposedly I'll end up with a prize for winning second place as well. Woot! We also had a teacher pot luck at school that day and almost everyone brought dessert so I ate a LOT of junk!
That evening I came hope from school and started to get ready for trick-or-treaters. Before this year we lived in secluded upstairs apartment that you didn't even know was there unless you had specific instructions to get there so no one ever came trick or treating. This year I was excited at the possibility we might get some people to come. I bought candy a few days before and I tried to make our house look as inviting as possible. I lit up the pumpkins, turned on the porch lights, opened the blinds to our front window, and had the Halloween lights on inside. We probably got like 10-15 trick or treaters total but I was just happy to have some! Our cute neighbor that I teach in nursery at church (Calvin Robison) came trick or treating at our door that night. As soon as I opened the door he walked right in like it was home. We have had him over while his parents needed to do things, and I'm his nursery teacher so I mean he gets to play-so he was ready! It was super cute!
On Friday, I was repulsed by anything sweet. I had eaten so many desserts the day before that I didn't even want to eat my PBJ at lunch the next day because it sounded too sweet. I have been trying to avoid eating a lot of sweets to stay healthy then I went overboard and my body was not having anymore. I think I've finally recovered now.
On Saturday we had a baptism in our ward-which is rare since we live in a "married student ward" and it was awesome! I got to sing for the baptism and sang, "If the Savior Stood Beside Me" which is a cute primary hymn that was published in the Friend. Problem was, the spirit was so strong I started to shake mid-song because I was starting to cry. Crying and singing don't go well together. But it really was a great spiritual experience.
Saturday afternoon we went to the aggie football game and we crushed Hawaii. Admitedly, the picture I will post isn't actually from the game yesterday but from a game a few weeks ago. I think it's still appropriate to post...right? That's the advantage of having not posted in a while I guess.
Saturday night was stake conference which was an awesome experience too! Anyways, that's all this week...until next week (hopefully if I can keep my act together).
So, let's take this one week at a time. This past week was Halloween! On Tuesday we carved pumpkins. Jeff HATES to take the guts out of the pumpkin but feels somewhat guilty when I do it for him. But, he loves to actually carve the pumpkin since he has such a creative artsy side (which many people probably don't know-he's an excellent draw-er). So, while he was working on homework in the other room I did it for him before he even knew the difference. :D He didn't go quite as crazy as last year when he carved the skull candy logo just because he had so little time to do it-stupid school. My pumpkin was Frankenstein and Jeff's was a minion from Despicable Me
On Wednesday (the day before Halloween) Jeff and I went to a ward Halloween party. Unfortunately we didn't have an awesome couple costume because we have both been so busy but we did dress up! Jeff had to come straight from a class trip to tour a business, so he was a western gunslinger (because it was easy to add accessories and make work with what he was already wearing). I was Ms. Piggy. It would have been cute if Jeff was Kermit the Frog (said in Kermit voice) but painting himself green to visit a business probably wouldn't have gone over well....
That evening I came hope from school and started to get ready for trick-or-treaters. Before this year we lived in secluded upstairs apartment that you didn't even know was there unless you had specific instructions to get there so no one ever came trick or treating. This year I was excited at the possibility we might get some people to come. I bought candy a few days before and I tried to make our house look as inviting as possible. I lit up the pumpkins, turned on the porch lights, opened the blinds to our front window, and had the Halloween lights on inside. We probably got like 10-15 trick or treaters total but I was just happy to have some! Our cute neighbor that I teach in nursery at church (Calvin Robison) came trick or treating at our door that night. As soon as I opened the door he walked right in like it was home. We have had him over while his parents needed to do things, and I'm his nursery teacher so I mean he gets to play-so he was ready! It was super cute!
On Friday, I was repulsed by anything sweet. I had eaten so many desserts the day before that I didn't even want to eat my PBJ at lunch the next day because it sounded too sweet. I have been trying to avoid eating a lot of sweets to stay healthy then I went overboard and my body was not having anymore. I think I've finally recovered now.
On Saturday we had a baptism in our ward-which is rare since we live in a "married student ward" and it was awesome! I got to sing for the baptism and sang, "If the Savior Stood Beside Me" which is a cute primary hymn that was published in the Friend. Problem was, the spirit was so strong I started to shake mid-song because I was starting to cry. Crying and singing don't go well together. But it really was a great spiritual experience.
Saturday afternoon we went to the aggie football game and we crushed Hawaii. Admitedly, the picture I will post isn't actually from the game yesterday but from a game a few weeks ago. I think it's still appropriate to post...right? That's the advantage of having not posted in a while I guess.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
The Semester to End All Semesters
The semester is finally drawing to a close. I took my last undergraduate final yesterday so I'm finished but Jeff has finals through Thursday...2 more after the one he's currently taking now.
We have been very busy this semester, so busy that I haven't posted since the first week of school. Along with being very busy, we have been very blessed. We have been blessed in more ways then we probably realize. This semester was taxing-emotionally, physically, and mentally.
Jeff has worked 2 jobs this semester. He started off working at the USU bookstore and Elements restaurant and a few weeks ago he quit the bookstore because he got an accounting job with the college of engineering on campus! What a great resume builder! He also took 2 accounting classes, calculus, and an economics class. He was a trooper the whole semester. As for me...I just went to school. Now now, I did take 19 credits of upper level courses, including putting on a Senior recital, and passed the Music content praxis! As long as I pass all of my classes this semester (which I'm not too worried about...) I am all set to Student Teach in the spring at Mountain Crest High School.
I will begin my student teaching each morning at 6:45 in Hyrum (a 15 minute drive from Logan). Scrapping the car at 6:15 every morning is going to get old fast in the long Logan winter. However, I chose this student teaching because it has a 0 period (a period of class before the official school day begins). Since I will be student teaching the 0 period I will get to leave class early. I scheduled it this way because the Utah State University Chamber Singers have been invited to an international festival in China this coming May! Utah State has been very helpful in trying to raise funds so this trip is a manageable price for all of us. There were only 5 choirs from the WORLD invited to the festival only 3 of which came from the United States-and Yale has dropped out already. It will be quite the opportunity to participate in and I am very excited for it. That did mean I had to go get my name changed with Social Security though. I had to get a new SS card, so i can get a new license, so I can get a passport! So, it is official, I'm Chelsea Andrus Curtis now. Hopefully I'll be able to find a job to work with my schedule in the spring to help cover the costs of the China trip. Depending on funds and assistant-ships I may be starting graduate school here at Utah State in the fall in Choral conducting. The program is being instated this fall so the timing is working out perfectly if everything else works out....
As for Jeff next semester he will keep plugging through his accounting program with his 2 current jobs. He's taken a little bit easier class load though and has a very ambitious plan to get up with me before 6 am every morning to go to the gym.
As for now Jeff is trying to make it through finals week alive and I'm gearing us up for our trip to Virginia next week. Being able to go back and be with my family for a few weeks will be the best reward I could ask for after this semester, and in reality, this college career! I love and miss my family everyday and I'm so grateful for their constant support. My In-laws have been a fabulous support to Jeff and I too. They have been so good to come to all my performances and always help me feel of their love. I'm glad to know I have a second family so close when mine is so far away.
As for the senior recital, it went better then I could have imagined. My biggest problem is always me getting in the way of myself, and that night, I just sang and had fun and it couldn't have been a better experience. I'm grateful for all those who came out to support, and for those who couldn't make it I have it recorded if you'd like to see it.
I'm also grateful for my great ward. I'm really starting to get to know so great people and families and it's been really fun! I love to watch all the 6-12 month old kids in church....although it makes it harder to stay focused on what's being taught. :D
Speaking of babies- I'm very excited that Kami will be joining us this week. My sister in-law is being induced on Friday and I'm very excited to be an aunt x3! It's a very exciting time of year for Jeff and I with Christmas, and the semester ending, and a new niece!
I'm going to try to be much better about updating the blog next semester. Hopefully things will be a little less crazy. But, if I could sum up the semester this is what I would say:
We worked hard, we prayed harder, and we were VERY blessed.
With Love,
The Curtis Family
We have been very busy this semester, so busy that I haven't posted since the first week of school. Along with being very busy, we have been very blessed. We have been blessed in more ways then we probably realize. This semester was taxing-emotionally, physically, and mentally.
Jeff has worked 2 jobs this semester. He started off working at the USU bookstore and Elements restaurant and a few weeks ago he quit the bookstore because he got an accounting job with the college of engineering on campus! What a great resume builder! He also took 2 accounting classes, calculus, and an economics class. He was a trooper the whole semester. As for me...I just went to school. Now now, I did take 19 credits of upper level courses, including putting on a Senior recital, and passed the Music content praxis! As long as I pass all of my classes this semester (which I'm not too worried about...) I am all set to Student Teach in the spring at Mountain Crest High School.
I will begin my student teaching each morning at 6:45 in Hyrum (a 15 minute drive from Logan). Scrapping the car at 6:15 every morning is going to get old fast in the long Logan winter. However, I chose this student teaching because it has a 0 period (a period of class before the official school day begins). Since I will be student teaching the 0 period I will get to leave class early. I scheduled it this way because the Utah State University Chamber Singers have been invited to an international festival in China this coming May! Utah State has been very helpful in trying to raise funds so this trip is a manageable price for all of us. There were only 5 choirs from the WORLD invited to the festival only 3 of which came from the United States-and Yale has dropped out already. It will be quite the opportunity to participate in and I am very excited for it. That did mean I had to go get my name changed with Social Security though. I had to get a new SS card, so i can get a new license, so I can get a passport! So, it is official, I'm Chelsea Andrus Curtis now. Hopefully I'll be able to find a job to work with my schedule in the spring to help cover the costs of the China trip. Depending on funds and assistant-ships I may be starting graduate school here at Utah State in the fall in Choral conducting. The program is being instated this fall so the timing is working out perfectly if everything else works out....
As for Jeff next semester he will keep plugging through his accounting program with his 2 current jobs. He's taken a little bit easier class load though and has a very ambitious plan to get up with me before 6 am every morning to go to the gym.
As for now Jeff is trying to make it through finals week alive and I'm gearing us up for our trip to Virginia next week. Being able to go back and be with my family for a few weeks will be the best reward I could ask for after this semester, and in reality, this college career! I love and miss my family everyday and I'm so grateful for their constant support. My In-laws have been a fabulous support to Jeff and I too. They have been so good to come to all my performances and always help me feel of their love. I'm glad to know I have a second family so close when mine is so far away.
As for the senior recital, it went better then I could have imagined. My biggest problem is always me getting in the way of myself, and that night, I just sang and had fun and it couldn't have been a better experience. I'm grateful for all those who came out to support, and for those who couldn't make it I have it recorded if you'd like to see it.
I'm also grateful for my great ward. I'm really starting to get to know so great people and families and it's been really fun! I love to watch all the 6-12 month old kids in church....although it makes it harder to stay focused on what's being taught. :D
Speaking of babies- I'm very excited that Kami will be joining us this week. My sister in-law is being induced on Friday and I'm very excited to be an aunt x3! It's a very exciting time of year for Jeff and I with Christmas, and the semester ending, and a new niece!
I'm going to try to be much better about updating the blog next semester. Hopefully things will be a little less crazy. But, if I could sum up the semester this is what I would say:
We worked hard, we prayed harder, and we were VERY blessed.
With Love,
The Curtis Family
Sunday, September 4, 2011
The First Week of School Fever
And Thus begins happily ever after. Jeff and I landed safely in Utah on August 24th to begin the mayhem. We slept at his parents’ house that night then in the morning, loaded up the car and headed to Logan-and boy was it loaded! Something like 6 suitcases? Who knows? Jeff had come to the apartment and gotten all the furniture moved in, etc and some of his stuff put away but Thursday was a LONG day of unpacking. We got mostly everything that we had there put away and my parents helped get the rest of it there. After a long day we had no choice to call it quits and go to bed. We had to go to bed bath and beyond to buy a fan first though cause we have no AC in our apartment. Thank you all those who gave us BB&B gift cards! You saved our lives that night!
The next morning we drove back down to West Jordan for the open house. We spent all day setting up and preparing and Jeff’s family was AMAZING. Everyone came out to help put things together and it turned out beautiful. I wish I could have had my reception in DC come together like that without having to do anything but show up. A BIG HUGE thanks to Jeff’s family for doing all that for us.
My parents and younger brother Trevor came out for the open house and it was a great turnout! I got to see some of my extended family that I hadn’t seen in a while and got to meet a lot of the people Jeff had told me about from his past (not that I could remember all of them…). My parents also got to see their old college roommates, etc that came. I was a little disappointed that some people didn’t make it out but you can’t win them all! A big thanks to those who did take the time to come out and see us though! We love you all!
Well, after we went to sleep that night Jeff woke up in the middle of the night and started crawling around. I didn’t know what the heck he was doing but apparently he wasn’t feeling well. We got him some medicine and he finally made it back to sleep. He hardly made it through opening presents the next morning though. After spending some of our target gift cards on presents we hadn’t received that we needed (pots and pans, a vacuum,etc) we headed back up to Logan once again. We got there and once again unpacked. Ha.
After all the packing Jeff crashed hard core. In the middle night, Jeff woke up again and this time he had a fever of 104! It took major work to get his fever down. We hung out at home all day Sunday until we took him to Instacare that night. Come to find out he had some sort of bacterial infection in his throat. Yikes! So, Jeff didn’t go to school the first day because he was practically on his death bed! Day 2 he was well enough to go though.
While all of this was going on I had developed a sharp pain in my ear and jaw so I went to the USU doctor on Monday. Apparently, with all my traveling, my ear still hadn’t popped! The doctor gave me some over the counter suggestions and just told me to try and pop my ear. He said if it wasn’t better in 2-3 days to come back. Well, sure enough on Friday I was back at the doctor. Apparently since my ear didn’t pop the fluid was stuck behind my eardrum and it was turning into an ear infection-so I had to go on antibiotics too!
Well, now it seems as if everything has gotten itself cleared up medically, just have to finish up all our meds. So, we started our marriage with a shake (the earthquake on our honeymoon that forced us to come home early) and a bang (all our illnesses)! Sure, it wasn’t the ideal way to start married life, but that’s the thing-it’s life not a fairytale! Through sickness and health we’ve got each other and that’s what really matters. Let me tell you, neither one of us wanted to go through that first week of school alone, especially not with everything that happened to us. It stinks that it happened that way, but I’m glad I had my love and support, my husband to get me through it and I think he would say the same.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Wedding Day
Wedding Day 8/19/11 (recorded 8/24/11)
The day started way too early on August 19th, 2011. I woke up at 5:30 after getting to bed past midnight the night before. I got in the shower and tried to relax which kind of worked, but not really let’s be honest. I then got out around 6:00 and had to get my hair dry before Jen arrived to do my hair at 6:30. I then realized my good blow dryer was in Utah….so I pulled out a very crappy blow dryer from my early high school days (it was probably 7 or more years old…) and went to town. After about 10 minutes and very little progress I went to get a box fan to put in front of myself. So, for the next 20 minutes I stood in front of the fan, blow dryer in hand trying to tame my mane of hair. It got dry about 2 minutes before Jen got there so all was well. Jen then did a beautiful Job on my hair and my stomach wouldn’t stop making noises the whole time. I didn’t feel nervous though, just excited. I then did my make up, grabbed my stuff, and my mom and I proceeded to the temple.
We left 2 hours before we needed to be there and didn’t hit any traffic so we were there VERY early. Jeff and his family did the same. Jeff and I did see each other though contrary to tradition before we were married because we had to be together to check in at the front desk of the temple and make sure they had our marriage license…we didn’t exactly think that one all the way through when we thought we could keep that tradition. It’s not important.
After all the little things were taken care of I went up to the Bride’s room with my mom where she helped me get dressed for the ceremony. I wore my wedding dress in the temple and I was able to tie a hankie my mom had given me into the sash of my dress. It’s a family tradition. My mom carried a hankie from my Grandma the day she was married as well. It was great to have that memory of her so close to me as I was married.
Jeff and I were then taken to the celestial room to be together-and it was a bit of a wait. That’s okay though, I enjoyed the wait. We then went to the sealing room where we were married for time and all eternity with our close family and friends there to witness it.
The people at the sealing were:
My parents, Jeff’s parents, Brooke, Scott, Casie & Joseph Wilcox, Fayone & Steve Gabrielson, Bro & Sis Sweeney (our marriage prep teachers), Grandma Giles, Grandma Andrus, Brian & Jill Andrus
After the sealing my mom helped me finish getting ready with my veil and other accessories. I met Jeff and we exited the temple. It was a glorious morning and we then proceeded to take a MILLION pictures. It was really great to have Deborah there as our photographer because she has such a good eye and was so willing to take the pictures that we wanted. After all the pictures and getting all hot and sweaty in the sun (it’s better then getting rained on!) Jeff and I left to go check into our hotel. After that we found some food at the house and headed for the Stonehouse (reception hall).
The Young Women and some other sisters from the ward had set up the stonehouse and it was absolutely beautiful. The cake decorator refused to let Brooke take the cake in her small car so he ended up delivering it. Other then that, the night was perfect. I couldn’t have asked for more. We talked, we laughed, we danced, and cried. It was a dream. My dad told me as we were dancing, “This has been one of the best days of my life.” I would have to say it was the same for me. Jeff drove off in the stick shift and we pulled off into a parking lot and switched drivers. It was, my fairy tale wedding day and I’m so grateful for everyone who made it that way.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Events Surrounding the Wedding
Wedding Festivities 8/24/11
Jeff and I are sitting on a plane right now, headed back to Utah as I write this and he looked at me and said, “where do you start? “ That really is the question….I guess we’ll start with the day Jeff’s parents arrived to town.
They arrived the evening of Tuesday August 16th just after dinnertime. They came over to the Andrus home to eat and we all sat around and talked for a few hours. Nothing too exciting happened on Tuesday night. We all attempted to go to bed early that night because of the early morning we had the next day for my endowment appointment. We weren’t very successful however because Grandma Giles also arrived Tuesday night and we wanted to stay up to visit with her. I think we probably made it to bed around midnight that night.
We all awoke early the next day to leave for the temple so I could receive my endowment. That’s a whole other journal entry. After the temple, we all went to lunch at Olive Garden and had quite the interesting server there. The first thing we noticed was how sweaty he was and hoped it didn’t get into our food. But, we had a great time visiting with each other and eating.
Next began the errand-running, pick up the tux, etc. etc. After all that, the girls went to get their nails done and My dad and Jeff met Jeff’s family in DC for a tour of the monuments.
I then again attempted to get a good nights rest but with no luck. My mom and I left early Thursday morning to pick up the flowers. That’s where the day from satan’s crib began. We got to the flower shop and the man rustled through papers telling me he had no order or flowers for me. After calling upstairs, and a couple different places he finally found my order and we got the flowers. For that 15 minutes, I thought I was going to have a heart attack I was so stressed. That was only the beginning. The man who we picked up the flowers from said they needed to sit in water for 2 hours before being un-packaged. So, we took them home to get them soaking.
This put us back 30 minutes later then planned but that didn’t seem to be a big deal at the time. The boys were going to go out to the batting cages and golfing while we did flowers- until we found out Brooke’s car wouldn’t start. So the boys had to delay their trip to help Brooke and we had to start the flowers without her (she was the one who knew how to do them the best). So we pressed forward, the blind leading the blind.
After beginning the flowers, things started coming along okay. I then found out Brooke’s car had to go to the shop so she couldn’t pick up any of the things she had volunteered to pick up that day. She was supposed to get the Stonehouse (reception hall) key and the rental linens. So, another thing was added to my own list of things to do. We got done with all the boutonnieres, corsages, and bouquets and then Brooke and Deborah finally arrived. I pulled the bridesmaids flowers out to work on them and my creative juices were fried. Luckily Deborah (being a photographer having been to a bunch of weddings) came up with very cute corsages with the daisies we had left.
After that I had to run to get the rental linens with Jill and Mom went to get the stonehouse and mechanical closet (for the church, for the rehearsal dinner) keys and went to Sams club to get some things for the reception. Well, when she got home she discovered her wallet was missing-another thing to add to to the mishaps list. Well, she ended up finding it in a crevice of the car so that worked out okay.
We all then ran to the church to set up for the rehearsal dinner, which went very smoothly: many hands make light work. We got back to the house just in time for a shower and to intercept Casie and Joseph before we returned to the church. We got back to the church and everyone was STARVING. Well, after the catering was 10 minutes late I made a phone call to Boston Market. They had NO ORDER for us. So, luckily they pulled it together. We placed an order then and there on the phone and yy mom and Grandma Giles went to pick it up. The food was 45 minutes late. I will say, it was probably much more appreciated by the time it got there. It was delicious, and everything else with the dinner went quite well-we just didn’t have food for a long while….
We packed up everything when we were through and tried to load the cars in the pouring rain. We ran out of room for people but luckily Julia showed up to pick up her bridesmaids attire right as we were leaving. After a rushed goodbye with Jeff (we thought we wouldn’t see each other again until the celestial room) Trevor and I got in the car and headed home with Julia.
I stayed up way too late that night because I hadn’t packed for the honeymoon yet and I was still worried about everything for the reception. After about 4-5 hours of sleep the wedding day began….
Jeff at the rehearsal dinner...
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