Hey-o!
Lani here. I was just ruminating on the concept behind blogging. I think it, like many scientific concepts, is a great theory, but more difficult to observe in practice. A major hurdle seems to be continuity and picture storage on the blogger program. So I've reverted to words for now as a medium of expression.
Chad and I are great. The Fourth of July was great. We went rockclimbing in the morning, then had a brunch with friends. We planned a little picnic at the lake before the orchestra concert/fireworks show, and about 25 of our friends came, including the families we home and visit teach. It was so fun. I love being in small towns on Independence day, but if I can’t do that, then musical fireworks at the lake in Austin will do.
We went to Lake Jackson (where Chad’s parents live) last weekend; it was the first time we had been in about 6 months. We met up with some friends at the beach and they were nice enough to share their catamaran sailboat with us, so Chad and I took a windy, wave-breaking-on-us ride in the ocean. We also played Ryan and James at Wii golf. James will likely be taller than Chad, and Ryan is using hair gel these days (and it looks pretty good).
I am feeling very lucky with my new-found freedom of not being in school. I just can’t believe that I ONLY have to work 40 hours a week! I’m still quite in the habit of bringing my work home with me, likely a throwback to the homework days, and still feel weird when people ask me what I do. I usually say “oh I am in...I mean, just finished school! Yahoo!” Then I start dancing around the room uncontrollably, which, now that I think about it, is a weird thing to do in Sunday School.
I’ve been thinking of the very best ways to spend my time, and instantly thought of President Uchtdorf’s past, oh, I don’t know, seven talks. He really emphasizes how we spend our time. The more I think about it, we (collectively, as an American society) have more time than any other group of people in any location at any time in history. If I want to learn something, I don’t have to search through seven books to find it. If I want to wash my car, I don’t have to pull out a hose and scrub for an hour. If I want to visit someone, I don’t have to travel for months to see them.
So I’ve decided (well, I decided it long ago), that I’m going to spend my life building relationships, serving others, having REAL experiences. And yes, I’ve been trying to do these things all along, but now, I feel like I can (and should) readjust my focus. I’ve always felt like I should do family history work, so now I’m actually doing it! I’ve always made Visiting Teaching a priority, and now I’m building on that habit! I’ve always tried to exercise and eat right, and now I can work and improve on those goals as well! I’ve applied to volunteer at the hospital; I’m playing pick-up games of volleyball; I’m learning a new language with a lesson each day. I can spend time building good habits and establishing priorities so that things that matter most are taken care of, and things that don’t matter fall away and don’t clutter up my life.
Speaking of relationships, Chad and I just celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary! I simultaneously don’t know where the time has gone, and also have so many memories that I cherish and keep with me I don’t know how we’ve only been married that short.:)
I obviously have lots of things still to work on in our marriage, but I have learned a few things:
- I’ve learned that having the spirit in our home is the most important thing we can do to build our relationships.
- I’ve learned that Chad and I generally relax differently, and I’ve learned that different doesn’t mean bad or good.
- I’ve learned that Chad needs to have some time to himself each day, as do I.
- I’ve learned that we love entertaining people and having people in our home, but we both know to limit that time so that our friends and acquaintances don’t come between our just-us-time.
- I’ve learned that Chad values my service, especially to him, and serving him is one of the major ways to show love for him (not just from me, but from everyone).
- I’ve learned that being honest is the best policy, and that Chad really does want my opinion on stuff, even if he doesn’t take it.
- I’ve learned that I usually want Chad’s opinion on stuff, and if I don’t, I shouldn’t ask for it (insert shopping story here).
- I’ve learned that I sometimes substitute weird things into recipes and they don’t work and dinner is gross and we go out for tacos at the taco joint down the road. I’ve learned that Chad doesn’t substitute stuff in recipes, and dinner is good, and we don’t go out for tacos at the taco joint down the road (bottom line, we occasionally eat tacos, which is important).
- I’ve learned that Chad doesn’t like wearing red, and I like wearing heels.
- I’ve learned that being part of a pair is great, because if one of you forgets someone’s name (or occupation, or dog’s name, or car they drive, or hometown), the other one of you generally remembers, and it’s like having two brains instead of one.
- I’ve learned that both Chad and I have a reservoir of stories about life that usually come out at the end of a long drive, when we have to keep each other awake and stay on the lookout for deer and other objects in the road, like turtles (insert story of Lani hitting a turtle here (and still feeling sorry for it)).
- I’ve learned that Chad is really good with Book of Mormon people and their names, but doesn’t like the Bible name Melita (the old word for Malta). (In case we ever have a girl, that name has already been nixed).
- And most importantly, I’ve learned that Chad is a caring, loving, brilliant, ambitious, hilarious person I love with all my heart.
Sorry, that was probably wayyyyyy too much, but hopefully it gives you a little glimpse into our little lives right now. This got way too long, so I’ll have to save the fun stories about my birthday for the next letter.
Leilani
