Playing Catch Up For 2013!

Alrighty....2013. Here we go. I'll start with January!

Josh and I spent New Year's Eve with our good friends, Curtis and Ashley. We always love spending time with them, especially since it doesn't happen too much these days because of busy schedules! We got a babysitter for the kids so we could "party" all night long, but really we got home at 1 : 15 AM! haha! We played card/board games all night with yummy snacks and "Mormon champagne," also known as, "sparkling cider!" Tasty! I honestly barely even remember January! The year has flown by and I can't believe it's almost April! This is nuts!

I DO remember that on January 4th, Josh and I were able to go to the temple and do sealings and initiatory. It was amazing. Being able to look into Josh's eyes and know that we were becoming closer together as an eternal couple and also doing temple work for other couples who have passed on. It's an amazing feeling knowing that couples are being reunited and sealed for eternity because of the 30 minutes we took to do sealings. I can say the same thing for initatory! I. LOVE. THE. TEMPLE. It's the most amazing place on this earth. Can't we just live there? hehe :)

After the temple, Josh dropped me off at my friend, Megan's. We had a CHOCOLAT GIRL'S NIGHT! That's right! We had every chocolate treat on the planet while we watched, excuse me, I meant "drooled" over Johnny Depp in Chocolat! Ohhh, yes! That night was supposed to be like any other girl's night, but it was different from the rest. Now, it was already special to me because it was the one year anniversary of me meeting my new Canadian friends! But, the night turned out to be special for another reason, as well. As we sat around and talked to each other, we started to open up about our deepest feelings, fears, hopes, joys, faults, mistakes, etc. We talked about the REAL FACTS when it comes to being a Mormon mother and wife. After all of us cried like little babies all night long, we finally went home around 5am. Yes, 5 o'clock in the morning! This is what I got out of that night:

LIFE IS HARD. WE ARE NOT PERFECT. WE MAKE MISTAKES. BEING A MOTHER IS THE MOST DIFFICULT JOB ON THE PLANET. ALL MOTHERS HAVE MOMENTS OF WEAKNESS, STRUGGLE, FEAR, AND DISAPPOINTMENT. I AM NOT ALONE. I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO FEELS LIKE A FAILURE. I AM DOING MY BEST. I AM DOING JUST FINE. STOP BEING SO HARD ON YOURSELF.

On to February-

Oh, my! Well, my husband decided to abandon me for 3 weeks to go play with guns. While that is somewhat true, here's the real story. Josh works for CBSA (Canada Border Services Agency) and they are now all required to take a firearms training so they can carry a gun at work. He left February 3rd and came back on February 23rd. :( Yeah, it was brutal, but the outcome after the three weeks was great for our marriage! Josh missed Valentine's Day, so I made him a little dinner in the middle of our kitchen before he left!

On the topic of our marriage, I put 21 envelopes in Josh's bag before he left. I told him that he needed to open one envelope every morning he was at training in Montreal. Each envelope had a specific date written on it and inside was a little note telling him what I love about him. At first, I thought, "How the heck am I going to come up with 21 things I love about him?!" At the time we had been fighting often and just had hit a major road block in our marriage due to stress, etc. I started with the first note and then the second. After about 5 or so, the reasons I love him starting flowing like crazy! Once I finished with the 21 notes, I wished I had MORE days to write him notes! I had been focusing so strongly on all the negative things he does or doesn't do and couldn't see why I truly love him! If you ever have a hard time with your hubby, I suggest doing something similar to this! It was an amazing result! Josh showed more love to me through words while he was gone than he had for months. He finally felt that I loved him and he was ready to return that love! How nice, eh? Now, as far as being at home alone with the kids for 3 weeks with no break? I literally started to lose my mind and wanted to run away in order to get a moment of silence and relaxation from my kiddos! You can ask my friends! I was DONE by February 23rd. THEN Josh got home and had ONE DAY OFF and had to go back to work for 4 days and didn't get home until 10pm every night! I was devastated when I found out that was his schedule!

Luckily, on March 1st, we went on a much needed date! I planned a temple date with Josh to start off the "date night." It was my first time doing a session at the temple since my endowment session back in November 2012! I was sooo nervous, so the temple workers took good care of me. Remember how I said I was nervous? Well, when I got to the chapel to wait for Josh, we were asked to be the witness couple! I was quite hesitant to say yes, but how could you say no, right? haha. It turned out to be an amazing experience! I now feel more comforted and ready to go back again soon! Heavenly Father was definitely looking out for me that day and helped me exactly how I needed to be helped!

After leaving Cardston, we drove to Lethbridge. Josh thought we were just dropping the kids off with his mom for a typical date night of dinner and a movie, but I had another plan! We started out with dinner at Pizza Hut. Odd choice, I know, but I wanted pizza and salad so badly, so it was a perfect place! We went to go see "Snitch" at the theater after dinner. Once the movie was over, I drove to the other side of town while Josh tried to figure out where the heck I was taking him! I surprised Josh with a snazzy Jacuzzi Suite at a local hotel! I was spoiled with a free room from a friend who's family owns the hotel. She even decorated the room with rose petals and had sparkling cider chilled for us when we got into the room! It was an amazing night! We decided that we will save our pennies and get a hotel once a month to give ourselves some quality time alone! Each night we get a hotel room, we will start the day off with a temple trip! Isn't that the best kind of date anyway? :)

Time for March! Well, umm...let's see. Oh! I ran/jogged/briskly walked my first 6K on March 9th! It was my first race EVER! It's called, "Moonlight Run" in Lethbridge! I finished in 1:04 which is super slow, but hey, I finished! I'm working on training for more races right now! I went on a jog yesterday and went 3.36 miles! I even went on a little walk with Josh after the kids were in bed! I'd say 4 miles in one day isn't bad! My next planned race is in June. I can choose between a 5K or 10K, but I think I'll try the 10K! The big race I'm looking forward to this year is the Goose Creek Run in Oakley on July 20th! It's a race that most of my family members have been a part of over the years. My cousins are insanely talented runners! I....am not. I'm not sure why I didn't get that trait! I was robbed! Despite my lack of running skills, I'm going to do it! It's a huge goal and I'm going to achieve it!

Oh! I almost forgot to mention my trip to Great Falls, Montana with my girl friends! It was my first "friend road trip!" I had so much fun! (see photo above-I was so excited to see Tapatio flavored chips!) It's always fun laughing so hard you almost pee your pants! We went down on Sunday night, stayed overnight in a hotel (that was crazy!) and then shopped like mad women on Monday! I was so happy with my purchases! I can't wait for the next trip!

So, even though this year has already FLOWN BY, I'm ready for the summer! I HATE THE COLD WEATHER HERE! I can't wait for beautiful green colors and warm sunshine! Yayy! I also won't be pregnant this summer which is FANTASTIC! I was so hot last summer, I wanted to die! I can't believe that March is almost over! My mom and Kirby are coming here for Easter! YAYYYYYY! Etni requested that they be here for Easter and they said, "Yes!" I'll let ya know how March turns out!

**Last time I posted on my blog, I said that I was going to update often and that obviously didn't happen. So, this time I won't say a thing and see what happens! :)