There's No "I" in Team

We were put on this earth to find a team mate and go through this crazy game of life together. To make it through we must work together. Sometimes this is easier said than done. We must constantly be striving to become equal partners as husbands and wives. So what does that mean? I wash a dish, you wash a dish? As nice as that sounds it's not quite what the Lord has in mind.

The world sees equal as sameness. That if we aren't doing the exact same jobs then we aren't equal. We see this a lot through with the group "Ordain Women". They think that because they don't have the priesthood they don't have the same value as men. This is false and they don't understand their important role as women. In an article written by Linda & Richard Eyre about women and the priesthood they say about equality, 

"True equality comes only when we realize that two very different things can be precisely equal in importance, in beauty and in ultimate potential." 

The Proclamation says that the men are to provide, preside, and protect and that the women are to nurture. We have very different jobs and very different responsibilities so how are we to be equals in our marriages? I think this is the key to having equality in marriage. We need to look at different roles in our marriages and really appreciate the job that our spouse does. By showing that we truly are grateful for our spouse and their roles will create equality in a marriage. We both bring different things to a marriage and neither one is of greater value than the other. 

Christ shows the ultimate form of equality and love. He is our superior but he gave the ultimate sacrifice so we can someday become his equal; to gain all the power that he has.  We should be constantly trying to build up our spouse to be our equals not our inferiors. As we work together our lives will be blessed and we will be happier. Thinking more of our spouse and less of ourselves will cause for happy eternal families. 

The Family

So this semester I'm taking a class called The Family, its all about the Proclamation to the family and how to apply it to our lives now. We are supposed to do a project to share some of things we learn so I will be sharing some of those things on our blog. First, read through the Proclamation so you can refresh your mind on these eternal truths. 

This past week we have talked about marriage being ordained of God and how to build successful and happy marriages. A lot of the things I'm going to touch on come from a talk given by President Kimball called "Oneness in Marriage". I loved this talk and really think it has great insights. 

People too often think that you find prince charming and live happily ever after. This is the dream right? In a talk given by Spencer W. Kimball he said, 

"We have come to realize that the mere performance of a ceremony does not bring happiness and a successful marriage. Happiness does not come by pressing a button, as does the electric light; happiness is a state of mind and comes from within. It must be earned"

So i know what your thinking, that doesn't sound very enjoyable. He later goes on to say,"While marriage is difficult, and discordant and frustrated marriages are common, yet real, lasting happiness is possible, and marriage can be more an exultant ecstasy than the human mind can conceive."

Getting married and gaining eternal life with our families should be the main goal while on this earth. Family is at the center of God's plan. It's why we were put on this earth and how we can return back to his presence. Elder Bednar has said, "Righteous marriage is a commandment and an essential step in the process of creating a loving family relationship that can be perpetuated beyond the grave". 

We came to this earth to gain our bodies and strive to return back to him. This can only be accomplished through marriage. 

So now I want to discuss ways to better our marriage. Ways to make our marriages happier. I think President Kimball said two very important things to remember when talking about becoming "Happier"

"Some think of happiness as a glamorous life of ease, luxury, and constant thrills; but true marriage is based on a happiness which is more than that, one which comes from giving, serving, sharing, sacrificing, and selflessness."

"it is certain that almost any good man and any good woman can have happiness and a successful marriage if both are willing to pay the price."

Remembering these statements is critical in understanding how to become happier. We must be willing to do our part to better the marriage. President Kimball gave these 4 steps that are key to successful marriages. 

1. There must be a proper approach towards the marriage 

This is something that is critical to do before you get married. You must both seek counsel from the Lord. Pray often to know what you should do. I know that this was a great source of comfort for both me and Nick when we were thinking about getting married. We both knew the importance of counseling with the Lord and we knew that he would guide us correctly. 

2. There must be complete unselfishness. 

I think people know this to an extent. We know that it's no longer about just me, but do you really show that? Do you put your spouses needs over your own? Do you put the needs of your family over your own? You must eliminate the "I" and "my" and switch them for "we" and "our"

3. There must be a continued courting and expressions of affection and kindness. 

President Kimball says in his talk that relationships are like flowers that you must always be giving them water to survive. Our relationships are constantly in need of nourishment. By doing this we keep our love alive. President Kimball said, "Certainly the foods most vital for love are consideration, kindness, thoughtfulness, concern, expressions of affection, embraces of appreciation, admiration, pride, companionship, confidence, faith, partnership, equality, and interdependence"  I think this step is often forgotten once couples are married. You must keep dating each other to make your marriage work. Compliment each other, leave love notes, surprise each other,  go on dates, go to the temple together, show that you care, and tell them that you love them everyday. 

4. You must be striving to live the commandments completely. 

By striving to keep the commandments you and your spouse will be blessed. As you come closer to Christ, you will become closer to each other. Living the gospel standards creates the ultimate happiness. Having a righteous family that will be together forever will create an everlasting happiness. 

 I know marriage can be hard and that we will always have trials but if we work together and use these tools we will have successful, happy, loving marriages. 

Tank

We had talked about getting a puppy a couple of times but a couple weeks ago we talked about it and decided that it was time. We were looking around and decided we either wanted a chocolate lab or a black lab and we found some chocolates but they were all out of males and then we found these black ones. We met the guy in Malad and pick one out. This is Tank

 We absolutely love him and it's so fun having a puppy around. We are now those people who have a million pictures of our dog and always talk about him. Pushing it I know but hes just so fun. We are trying to teach him lots of tricks but he sometimes struggles with the learning.

On the way home

Having a bath in the sink. He seriously loved this and would just lay down.

 

Sleeping with his Monkey he loves to lay against things.

His other duck toy. He's already learning how to hunt sorta 

Riding in the back of the pickup. 

Nick took him for a motorcycle ride and he wasn't even scared he just laid on Nick's arm.
 

While he is still this little he sleeps in a cage inside and then will eventually just sleep outside. So every once in a while he will cry and whine and we have to take him outside to potty. So one night I had taken him out around 2 then went back to sleep and woke up around 8 and was shocked that he still hadn't woken up yet so I went to check on him and this is what I find. I apparently left the gate open and he had gotten out and found his new favorite spot to sleep. I thought it was pretty funny.

 

Well now we are those people that have a blog post about their dog. Real cool haha sorry that we have gone there, hopefully we grow out of it. But he's very cute to look at! 

Moving, school, and an update!

We have now settled into our new house I thought I should probably update the blog. We moved back to Idaho for school. We only go two days a week so we are living in Aberdeen and drive up. It has been so fun to be close to family.  School has been going okay but we really enjoy our days off! Nicks has also been working for my dad on his days off and I'm so grateful that he's such a hard worker. We are loving life!

Made some homemade bread.

My Handsome Hubby doing the dishes.

First day of School

Doing some yard work.

 

 

 This is what some of our nights look like. :)