The World is ENDING!

Well, I figured I should write a post since the world is going to end in 8 days!! :D I think this whole Mayan calendar/ Nostradamus/ dooms day / whatever else you want to believe in, are all kind of funny to me. Don't get me wrong, I actually do believe that eventually the world as we know it today will end, but it is my belief that it will be because of the coming of the Savior. Anyway, regardless of what you believe I think we should all still be pretty hopeful.

I've done a decent amount of research on the whole 12/21/12 thing and from everything I have found is that IF something does happen it is only going to be something to move us forward, not stop us in our tracks. Just because the Mayan calendar ends does not mean its the end of the world. They where very intelligent people who aligned everything they did with the starts and since the calendar had to end somewhere why not end it on a time that is significant to them; the ushering of a new age?

I do not see any reason why people need to be frighted, no matter what they believe. Sure, it is good to save and stock up in case a situation happens where you can't go to the store, but I don't think it needs to get to the point of expecting it. Doesn't this remind you of the Cold War?

In the Cold War almost everyone was certain there would be a nuclear fallout. They believe the world would start setting off nuclear bombs and would end all life as they knew it. It went so far as to have everyday people buying bomb shelters and and stocking up food supplies to last them for months. Some researchers even say it was a merical that we never actually got to that point and in some instances was only one button push away from launching the missiles themselves. To me, these people had much more of a reason to worry. They saw that it could happen any day and began preparing, but even int hat "sure" circumstance the threat never happened. Which leads me to think that the end is not as predictable as we may wish to believe. The bible tells us it will come as a "thief in the night" implying that nobody will know, and isn't that the point? If we knew when the end was coming we would all prepare and "Change our ways", but God doesn't want deathbed repentance. He want full and true repentance.

Ultimately, I think we just need to chill and relax a little. We should be preparing for the end constantly so if the end should come sooner or later you should be the person you want to be and have prepared for the future.

Well Helloooo!

Well hello all!
  I have decided that I am going to contribute more to this blog and make more "our" blog then just "Hannah"'s blog. So basically the way it was intended to be. ;) I'll probably be changing up the layout a bit as well. i'll flair this baby up!

Anyway just wanted to say merry Christmas to all from A Pair of Penguins!

Gobble Gobble

So growing up I would usually go to a friend's house for Thanksgiving. Ron grew up that you went to Grandma and Grandpa's house for Thanksgiving. This year we went to one of my favorite places on earth: The Temperini's house. We got there around 12 and ate wonderful snacks (I am still craving Ruffles and French onion dip and wheat thins and spinach dip). Then we did a white elephant exchange. It was fun trying to figure out what I wanted to get for that. I will say for the record: I HATE SHOPPING FOR GIFTS. Period. I am getting better on finding gifts for little kids, but I am pretty insecure when it comes to getting gifts for adults. Around 2:30, with a surprise visit by the missionaries, we finally ate Thanksgiving dinner. I love simple dinners with good people. It makes me feel so happy. And then I took about an hour nap. M&D have black out shades in their room and this awesome foam top that makes their bed feel like you are in heaven. So I had no problem crashing for a while. Then I got up and ate some turkey and people came over.

We left around 8pm. What a wonderful day.
I am grateful for a lot of things, but I feel like there is a lot of gratitude that I express personally. So I am not going to post what I am grateful for just because it is Thanksgiving. I feel it cliche and you are just going to have to read other posts to find out what I am grateful for. Or talk to me and I will tell you.

Peace out.

Explanation of Absence

Everyday I have a routine: get up, go to the bathroom, eat breakfast and look at blogs.
I always want to contribute by posting my own and I would, but my life is sort of evolved into a secret that I could not reveal until yesterday.

I AM PREGNANT!!!!!!!!

Sorry that I had to wait until 11 weeks to announce it on the internet, but I wanted to make sure we have an actual living critter inside this belly that makes me sick almost everyday. I had told some close friends and family that I was expecting, but that not to count on it because I am still in my first trimester and it is the most common stage for miscarriage, particularly the first time you conceive. So I told the select people that I would have my docs. appointment on Friday, the 16th, and then I would announce it to the world via facebook.

I would like to say for the record, pregnancy has not been super hard on my. I have only thrown up once because I was brushing my teeth, had eaten too much breakfast and it the back of my throat on accident. Other than that, I have had a lot of nausea, at first in the morning and now I have a hard time digesting food in the evening and so it is more acid reflux/indigestion instead of nausea.

I did have some spotting (the common and okay kind) for about 2 weeks and I was really worried, but I know my mom had a period in the beginning when she was pregnant with me, so I am going to blame it on the shift of hormones and my body getting used to the hormones of pregnancy.

Ron has been wonderful to work hard and to let me take it easy for the last two months. When we first moved here, I had a job working for a retirement community as a caregiver. The state of Washington requires that everyone who is in the care-giving field be certified or at least enrolled in a certification class within 90 days of hiring. Well, I got hired and got into the necessary class and started working. 2 weeks into working I was going to start my class. 1 week into working I found out that I was pregnant and was fairly nauseous all that week, and I think it would have been fine to keep working. The problems arose when I started the class and worked 32 hours a week also. My schedule was get up at 4:30, get ready, get Ron up at 5:05 have him drive me to work (because we share a car) work until 1:45, run to catch the bus about .5 mile away, get on the bus, rest for about 2 hours and then catch another bus to go clear across the city to get to my class by 6 pm and stay there until 10 when Ron would pick me up and we would go home and start all over. I was already having anxiety about working and going to the class at the same time, but when I started feeling so sick I was incapacitated, that's when we (Ron and I) had a great discussion and decided that I should not work right now.
It was definitely a blow to my confidence and to some of the goals Ron and I had set to help pay down our expenses before the baby came. But having had a month to really think about it and rest and just take it easy (I have a tendency to really push hard, even too hard sometimes) I feel more and more like this is a very good thing.

The good thing has paid off when I had my first prenatal visit yesterday. I had never had a gynecological exam before and so that was my first time. I really like how the nurse-midwife explained exactly what she was going to do and then told me what she was doing while she did it. We then had an ultra-sound to make sure there was a viable fetus and it was such a fun thing to see an actual live thing in my belly. We got to see the chambers "flutter" because they are moving so fast. We got to see movement of the limbs (it looked like we were being waved to) and then we saw some bouncing going on. I had to really just relax for us to see everything, but even Ron was surprised with how excited he was by seeing the baby moving.

So there it is: My explanation of absence. I have been blessed to have this in my life at this current time. I personally known many struggling to conceive and it has been hard for me to share this news with them because I know it is sensitive information. It amazes me how much the Lord is really in charge of EVERYTHING in our lives, collectively and individually. But I also know that no blessing is forsaken, only by disobedience, and even then, we are given multiple chances.

I love life and learning and here is yet another chapter of trial to come.
 




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Written in our hearts

The General Relief Society Broadcast for my church was last Saturday, so not yesterday, but the week before. Women all over the world gather to receive guidance from our leaders on this evening. The General President, Sister Burton said something to the effect: "We must have the atonement written in our hearts". I read several blogs, most of who are women. They write there thoughts in blog format and then publish for the world to see. Often times I read their words and feel much sorrow for them. But there is something that screams in my heart: You know about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Why don't you use it?

My intent is not to come off self-righteous because I am one of those struggling with mortality. I have moments where I weep at lost dreams and ideas that will not come to pass in this mortal sphere. But there is something inside that beckons me to continue and not lose hope or trust (faith) in the promises that God has made.

So often we feel alone and sad. But just as President Eyring stated this morning in the 4th general session of conference, It is not the Lord who covered his face with the pavilion. It is us who hides ourselves from Him. My dear readers, even though there are few of you, please listen to my words: I KNOW GOD is Here with me and with you. He has not forsaken you or me. He is in ultimate control of our plans. If you feel anguish or anxiousness it is because you have thought your plan was better than his. Anguish, or more so anxiety in this context, is the result of not relinquishing our will to the father's. I have encountered many people in my little mortal experience and I have found some who's eternal progress is somewhat halted because of their inability to enact humility in their lives, repent and move on. The Lord loves us and wants us to be happy, to have joy and peace in this existence.

I know it and feel it and hope that if you have questions, "you will ask the missionaries" or leaders how you can overcome this challenge.

Life is precious, and short. Why waste it away by asking questions that don't lead to progression?

Survival of the Fitest

We have made it to Washington.

Lets just say, THIS IS THE RIGHT PLACE FOR US TO BE! Everything has fallen into place. People are so friendly. Our ward is just like our previous ward: Seasoned with the flavor of life and are so willing to help. I found a job and I start tomorrow. Ron loves his job and feels good about the direction it is going. We have a great apartment. Just the right size for just the right price. It makes me think of the apartment I lived in for a 1/3 of my mission: Fontana. Not the worst area, but not the best. Just in the middle.

I love that it is green everywhere. I love that there are still mountains around (Mt. Hood, Mt. Saint Helens is not too far away, you can see it on a clear day). I love the crisp, cool fall weather. I love that there are weirdos here.

Things I miss about Utah:
The red rock-even though I only went to Moab once, I love the red rock and I think it would look great next to the green.
MY FRIENDS- I was thinking that I should set up a skype date with my girlfriends and their kids. Because I can actually attend now (I am working swing shifts).
My family- I love being where we are now, but I miss being physically proximate to my family. I know this is going to be a lot harder to keep in touch and make the effort. I really took for granted how close they were. Now it is a 12 hour drive to get to them. Not too bad, all things considered, but still, 3.5 tanks of gas :(.


Those are just a couple of thoughts. Love to all.

So Long, Farewell

Today I was visiting some of my favorite people on earth. It was such a delightful day. Friends that I haven't seen in a really long time, and ones that I will probably not see for another long time. I must say, one in particular apologized for not keeping better contact. I told her, "But you are not the type of friend I have to talk to everyday so I can fill fulfilled." I love that about this friend. (Shawna)

There were a couple of things I was retaught today. Here they are:
1) Really this life is about rediscovering who you are (an offspring of Deity), recognizing that it is really him who gives you all that you have, that happiness is dependent upon Obedience to Truth (almost always), and that if you have the pure love of Christ in your life, you are motivated to do anything it takes to get home.
2) I have decided that there is a reason I don't have a lot of super close friends. Really when it comes down to it, I don't like negativity in my life. So if you present that to me, I don't really want to be around you. Sorry for you, but not sorry for me. I CHOOSE happiness! I CHOOSE goodness! So, sorry if you don't choose the same things, because I feel sorrow for you. Your life could be so much happier.  Light attracts light. Darkness attracts darkness. I choose light. And if you don't respond with a beacon, I usually just don't continue the association. Just saying.
3) If you don't know the whole situation, give or take a grain of salt with the situation. Don't throw down someone's experience just because it is not your own. If someone present's an idea, take it in, process it, and then place it appropriately.
and Lastly
4) If people communicate a clear signal to you that they don't know something, do not give them the service of having you pound something into their heads by repetition. This might work with a child, but adults are adults. If you have that much pride that you can't get over the fact that they didn't know something, or they didn't accept what you had to say, get the (________________) over it. There is probably a reason someone is doing what they are doing, and until you have been commanded to tell that person otherwise, leave it alone. Who are you to play the role of God to others? Seriously people, get over yourselves.

This is my last post from Utah.

I will write again when I get to Washington.