My Sunday.

I am so grateful for the weekends. The opportunity that they bring with them to re-coop from the previous week. This past week in particular has been crazy. Work was really busy for some reason. Dave was super busy with 3 different exams he was studying for... meaning literally working from 7 am- midnight. It was strange for me because I feel so busy during the day but so lonely and bored at night. I definitely need to find some new hobbies. I did join the local book club in my ward. That should be fun and a good way to get to know other women. 

We went to the UF football game yesterday. Those games are so much fun to go to. Yet so hot and humid and loud. We really did have fun but it was a long afternoon. We went to a friends house later that night to watch the byu vs utah game. I don't really want to talk about the outcome... but we didn't get to bed until 2:30 because of it. Leo woke us up at 6:30 this morning. SIX THIRTY! That equals 4 hours of sleep. Good thing we love him. 

He would not go back to sleep. I woke up and tried to pretend to be awake and pet him while I was trying to fall back asleep at the same time. I thought to myself that there was no way I was going to make it to 9 am church. I was beat. Then I realized. No, I need to go. Just make it to sacrament. Well... as of recently I am a ward missionary. So I get to sit in on the Gospel Principles class and I really love it. So that was the perk to stay the 2nd hour once I had already made it to sacrament (even though I felt like a zombie and the building AC was broken). Relief Society was 3rd hour and really my only chance during the week to get to be around other women of all ages. The lesson was beautiful, it was about a talk from conference by Boyd K. Packer. It was about not letting other distractions take place of all the really good things in life. I loved it. 

Don't forget that after church I had a meeting with all the ward missionaries. Man, by this time I was beat. However, being new to my calling and having no idea what it even entails, I stayed. I truly am excited to be a ward missionary and make more time to bring others to the gospel. I know it is true with all my heart. 

Finally at 1 pm, I thought about going home to nap. Nope. I had scheduled visiting teaching with one of the new women I visit teach. (I was gone all Summer and left my companion alone to teach so I really was excited to get back into it). I went to visit this AMAZING women. Usually visiting teaching lasts about 15-30 minutes. We were there for almost 2 hours. Amazing thing was, I wasn't even tired. She is an incredible woman. A convert to the church about a year and a half ago. She is from Cuba and of course fed us lunch while we were there. She truly taught me more than I taught her today. She is an amazing example and I am so excited to get to know her better. 

I came home afterward to finally take my nap. (Of course Leo was awake and ready to play) I finally laid my head down and I couldn't stop thinking about what my Sunday would have been like if I didn't go to church today. What if I had slept in? Missed the sacrament. Missed the amazing lesson in Gospel Principals about eternal families. Missed the lesson in Relief Society about staying focused on the things that mean the most. And what if I missed the opportunity to meet Merecedes today. 

Let's just say this weekend wasn't really an opportunity to re-coop. It was exhausting. However, I feel so blessed. And I am so grateful for the spirit giving me a kick in the rear this morning and telling me to get to church. I truly love this gospel with all my heart. I am so thankful to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 

Who she was.

I personally think Sister Elaine S Dalton is one of the most amazing women. 

I enjoy her talks, I always want to do a woman first pump after! :)

Her talk was beautiful this past weekend. 

She talked a lot about being a daughter of God

and knowing that because of this, you are not alone. 

I am so grateful to know I am a Daughter of an Almighty God, 

who loves each and every one of us. 

You really should listen to this talk. 

Whether you are a mother, single, married, a teenager or a grandmother...

It is great advice for women of all ages. 

Do not be afraid to ask for help.

Every time Elder Holland speaks in conference, I get so excited. 

I love all the apostles but I just really love to hear him speak. 

His talk during this conference was amazing. 

It was all about faith and believing. 

I am really good at getting discouraged because I am so impatient. 

He taught me a good lesson in staying true to the integrity of my faith 

because that is how miracles can happen. 

Another thing I struggle with is trying to do everything on my own. 

I rarely share my burden's with other and I always try to keep it in. 

Warning: this is not ever the best idea. 

I loved the quote above from his talk.

I need to remember that it is okay to ask for help. 

That is what our Savior is for. 

I highly recommend you watch this talk. 

It is only 14 minutes too! :)

A Quality Marriage.

Can we just press repeat and live the weekend all over again? 

I always tell Dave that my favorite moment of the whole week is Friday at 5 pm. 

Don't get me wrong, I love my job but I love spending time with Dave the most!

This weekend was no exception. 

We had a fabulous date night at our favorite Gainesville Restaurant, Chuy's. 

We went to the local Art's Festival Saturday and got the best Mother's Day gifts!

And.. 

it was General Conference weekend!

Seriously every time the last session ends, I am so sad. I just want it to keep going!

In honor of one of my favorite weekends in the year, 

I am dedicating the blog this week to my favorite snippets of conference. 

Because boy, I sure did love it!

This was one of the BEST talks on marriage I have ever heard. 

You can watch it here. 

I am so grateful for the gift of marriage.

This talk gave me a renewed determination to serve my husband.

And to put him first always. 

Because

'A quality marriage is OUR gift to Him.'

He is not here, but is risen. {inspired}

Happy Easter everyone!

Here is what I am inspired by today...

He is Risen. 

You can learn more here. 

Five FOR Friday

Here is to five fabulous things that are happening as of late: 

1. Dave randomly just decided to celebrate for really no reason 

and take me out to dinner on WEDNESDAY night. 

We never go out mid week and it was a treat!

2. I get to go visit my family a lot sooner than expected. 

Details to come on this but it is GREAT news!

3. Dave only has FOUR weeks of school left this semester. 

Summer here we come!

Oh wait, I have a full time job. . . 

4. This article was a treat to read during all the contention 

this week about gay marriage. You should read it. 

In case you are wondering, 

I believe marriage should be between a man & a woman. 

And don't worry, the article is light hearted. 

5. It is Easter Sunday this weekend and Monday is April Fools Day.

Seriously one of my favorite holidays. 

Now I just need to think of a nice way to Fool Dave this year :)

Five rules to live by.

via

Follow these five rules and life will be good. 

I promise.

Five for Friday.

This week has been a long one. 

So I am thinking I need some positivity in this here post. 

Here are a five fabulous things that are happening as of late. 

1. Free Date night tonight. 

They are opening a new Red Robin in Gainesville 

and they are offering people free meals on the days before they open 

so they can train their waiters. 

Free is my favorite price!

2. I got a free dress. 

Eshakti is my new favorite place to shop online. 

They have adorable clothes. 

And they shipped me a new dress.. 

I can't spoil it though so just be excited for a review next week. 

3. New blog Design. 

This lady is re-designing my blog.

And I am SO THRILLED about it. 

I will give you one little secret. 

Think mountains.

4. I loved reading this article. 

Seriously, please take a minute and read it. 

Especially if you have ever been curious about what I believe in. 

It is written by a non-mormon

and he explains the basics of our beliefs incredibly well.

5. This guy is my new favorite.    

Cheers to the weekend.

Don't give up.

I was listening to Pandora today while I was making delicious cookies. 

(milk chocolate, white chocolate and walnut cookies to be exact)

And this beautiful song came on. 

It was exactly what I needed to hear. 

Sometimes trials can be really hard. 

They can be so hard that you feel defeated. 

Lately I have been going through one of those trials. 

I am trying to be brave and fight through it by doing everything in my power. 

However, sometimes I feel like calling it quits. 

It is just too hard. 

One of those times was yesterday. 

Then I have those moments of light. 

And I realize, it is all worth it. 

I realize that giving up is not an option. 

and I feel inspired. 

Inspired to keep at it. 

Inspired to do everything I can. 

Inspired to trust in my loving Heavenly Father

because He will provide. 

Remember. 

Don't give up. 

Inspired by two years

Missionary service is incredible. 

I cannot even imagine what it would be like to dedicate two years of my life like they do. 

No music. No media entertainment. No dating. No seeing family. 

All you do is strengthen your testimony and preach the gospel to those around you. 

I truly think missionaries are amazing. 

The stud in the picture above is my husband when he was a missionary. 

I am so grateful for his service as a missionary and the way it has shaped his life. 

I have had many cousins go on missions. 

I dated guys before they went on missions. 

I missed my brother like crazy while he was on his mission. 

I have written a lot of missionaries. 

I have been to a lot of missionary farewells and homecomings. 

I feed the missionaries dinner when I can. 

I love missionaries. 

I am grateful for the way they inspire me to be better. 

To be more dedicated and devoted to sharing the gospel with those around me. 

Have you ever met any missionaries?

Have you known anyone who has served a mission?

Wedding Series: Wedding!

Love is one of my favorite things. 

I enjoy reading stories about love. 

I enjoy listening to songs about love. 

I enjoy watching people fall in love. 

But most of all I enjoy talking about our love story. 

In honor of LOVE month, I want to post more about our wedding. 

I started posting about our wedding in December for our anniversary. 

You can read more about the proposal and look at our engagement photos 

but this post is dedicated to our actual wedding. 

We were married for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake City Latter-Day Saint Temple. 

It was one of the happiest days of my life. 

We were surrounded by so many people who love and care about us

and I have never felt so much LOVE at one point in my life. 

I was so giddy and happy all day long. 

It truly was the best day of my life. 

I hope you enjoy a few of my favorite pictures. 

Compliments to Duston Todd Photography

Don't forget to go check out my guest post over at  The Meaningful Pursuit today.

I am so excited to be apart of the 14 days of love....

You are unrepeatable.

via / via / via

When I was in young and naive (high school), I always felt like I wanted to be more like other people. I wanted to fit in with the cool crowd and wear the cool clothes and drive the cool car. I wanted to be from a rich family and have the coolest parents that didn't give me a curfew on the weekends. Now that I am sophisticated and mature older and married, I often think about how grateful I am that we are all different. Each of us was created to be our own individual. There is no one like us in the entire universe, what a special thing to sit and ponder. I came across the thoughts above when I was reading through my stash of quotes. I love how the three of them together sum up the importance of being yourself. Everyone around you can make their own choices and be whoever they want to be but YOU get to choose who YOU are. You get to be yourself and no one can mold you into something different.  Today I am inspired by the uniqueness of an individual. It is encouraging to know that I was divinely designed to be just the way I am. This profound knowledge inspires me to be the best SarahJane that I can be. 

Don't forget to stop by and visit this lovely lady to hear all about what inspires her this week...

Something to think about while contemplating New Year's Resolutions.

 The talk below is titled 

"Of Regrets and Resolutions"

It is written by Dieter F. Uchtdorf, a leader of the LDS church.
No matter what you believe in... I really hope you will listen to it before you make your resolutions.
He gives fabulous advice about the most important things in life.




If you don't have time to watch the whole thing...
He highlights three things that people say they regret when they look back on life.

1. They wish they spent more time with the people they loved.

He tells us we need to develop deep connections with those who mean the most to us.

2. They failed to become the person they feel they should have been.

They feel they failed to live up to their full potential. 

3. They wish they had let themselves be happier. 

 Sometimes we become so focused on the finish line that we fail to find joy in the journey

There is something in each day to embrace and cherish.. if only we will see and appreciate it. 

These are just a few little one-liners from this fabulous talk. 

I have listened to it a few times since it was given in October. 

It has really made me think about what is truly important

and it has helped me to contemplate what is important for me to accomplish in this coming year. 

More on my New Year's Resolutions soon. 

"[We must] not wait until we are ready to die before we truly learn to live."

Dieter F. Uctdorf

I am going to make this place your home.

Okay- time to get a little more personal on this blog and share with you some of my thoughts as of late. 

I get to go home and see my family in exactly 11 days. I am filled with excitement.

You see, I moved to Florida about 4 months ago. Before I moved, I lived in Utah my entire life. 

The longest I had been without seeing my parents was three weeks. Yes, THREE WEEKS!

And that was when I went to Hawaii, so I was basically just enjoying paradise the entire time. 

To say this move has been hard for me would be the understatement of the century. 

The first couple weeks here involved lots of tears- I felt like I couldn't call my parents because 

I would cry every time we talked on the phone. -- but I would call anyway. 

I am so grateful for my family's support.

After the first couple weeks, I convinced myself I had to put on a happy face. 

We are in Florida for the next five years and there really isn't anything I can do about it. 

In order to help my sweet husband enjoy his education here, I needed to enjoy it too. 

With time, it has gotten better. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely break downs that happen often. 

But I try to make myself busy to make the time go by faster. 

It is hard. Really hard. 

I miss everything about Utah. I miss my family like crazy. 

I miss my mountains. I even miss the cold weather (don't quote me on this).

 I miss having lunch with my mom multiple times a week. 

I miss going to my Dad's favorite pizza joint with him on Saturday's.

 I miss our weekly Sunday dinners with family. I miss being so close to so many different temples. 

I miss Cafe Rio. I miss running into people at the grocery store that I haven't seen forever but avoiding 

them because I don't feel like talking to anyone-- admit it, you do it too.

 I miss my girlfriends. I miss having four seasons in the year. I miss being surrounded by mormons. 

I miss being surrounded by so many people that love me. 

I miss everything. 

I hope you are currently playing the song above (if not, go click play)

 It is called "Home" by Phillip Phillips. 

I have no idea what the actual lyrics of the song mean or why he wrote it. 

BUT. This song has gotten me through my thoughts this past 4 months. 

I truly feel like it is meant for me. I feel God's divine love for me through this song. 

I know He has guided Dave and me to this point in our lives

and I know without a doubt that Florida is where we are supposed to be. 

I know with Him, I will never be alone.

 I know if this is where we are meant to be then He will make this place our Home. 

Every time I hear this song, it brings a smile to my face. 

And I suddenly realize, yet again, that everything will be okay. 

Nativity Festival

The Gainesville Stake (local group of Church members) had a fabulous Nativity festival this weekend. 

We were able to stop by last night and see all the beautiful Nativities. 

Several families in the area displayed a nativity scene and the compilation of it all was beautiful. 

Many of them were made in other countries too. 

I hope you will enjoy the photos below as much as I enjoyed being there. . . 

I am so grateful for this time of year to focus on the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. 

It can be easy to get caught up in everything going on with Christmas 

but I hope every one can remember the true reason we celebrate this wonderful holiday. 

I love my Savior and I am so thankful for his miraculous birth.

Today I am thankful... {for florida} & thanksgiving plans

Today I am thankful for Florida. 

Okay, not really the state of Florida but the opportunity to be here. 

I complain about it a lot because I really miss home

by home I mean Utah and my family. 

However, I am really grateful for the path that led us to Florida. 

I am thankful for the University seeing how incredible my sweet husband is

and offering him a fabulous place to be educated. 

I am thankful for the way we have to rely on each other so much more

now that we don't have our families a few miles away. 

It is going to be a long four years but I am thankful for this opportunity. 

And let's be real... I am thankful for the continual sunshine here too!

Thanks to everyone with your input on our Thanksgiving plans.

I found another fabulous groupon deal at a hotel in Jacksonville. 

So tomorrow morning we are headed out to the beach 

and then spending the night at a hotel.

I am so excited to take a bath at the hotel- our apt doesn't have a tub hahaha

Our sweet friends invited us to a Thanksgiving potluck meal with a bunch of people

so we will be coming back Thursday for that.

And yes, we will be sneaking in some black friday shopping too.

(one of my facebook friends posted a picture of tents lined up at the local best buy..

really? what is this world coming to? I love Black Friday but really?)

Yep, we fit everything in and it was only $70 for the hotel. 

Fabulous. 

I hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving...

if you need me, this is where I will be

Today I am thankful... {for a healthy body}

Today I am thankful for a healthy body. 

I know there are so many people in this world 

who are suffering from many different illnesses that affect their body capability. 

I truly feel so blessed to have a healthy, capable body. 

Dave and I try to be really active to stay healthy. 

don't get me wrong, we eat loads of ice cream too :)

whether it be...

rock climbing. biking. night walks. running. kayaking. hiking. 

you name it, we will try it. 

So today, I am thankful to be able to do all these enjoyable things with my healthy body. 

isn't this the best photo?? 

My sweet friend captured it for me in Horse Pens 40 

 my favorite lead climb- American Fork Canyon, Utah

 Most attractive photo ever, right?

 3 years ago my sisters and I ran a half marathon together. 

They are amazing!

 I don't kayak fierce, raging waters

but I do love to kayak on a smooth lake. 

 bouldering in Moe's valley- St. George, Utah

I think you can tell... rock climbing is our favorite :)

what are you thankful for??

ps. I am experimenting with a new design.. I need help from all you expert bloggers.
What should I change? What should I add?
honest opinions please :)