Come Come Ye Saints

Well boys and girls, it's been a bit since my last post. i've been EXTREMELY busy so far this year! And we are only 9 days into it! wow crazy crazy crazy!!! today marks another week that Riley has been gone, which means 1 WEEK LESS!!! i don't know if i'm allowed to put actual numbers on here for weeks and such, but i'm not going to... sorry!

So, it's Sunday early afternoon, i just got back from 3 awesome hours of church. As i was sitting in Sacrament meeting, i was catching up on my Book of Mormon reading (my new years resolution is to finish the book of Mormon start to finish before Riley gets back, i figured thats about 3-ish pages a day to finish with PLENTY of time!) HOWEVER, with how busy i've been, i'll be the first to admit i am FAR from perfect, i usually write Riley's letters right before bed, and THEN read my scriptures and fall asleep... but lately it's all i can do to jot down a quick letter... which last night i TOTALLY fell asleep in the middle of writing. you can actually WATCH me fall asleep in the letters, haha random pen marks, jibberish, and words that get bigger and bigger and bigger haha probably just my tired self trying to be done so i can go to sleep.

back to my original point, i was sitting and catching up on my weeks reading, cause i need to be done with page 28 by tonight, and i was only on page 19... i know i know, slacker. BUT I'M TRYING!!! so i was reading and thinking about how i turned out the way i did. i mean i come from a family of 7- Dad, Mom, Sister, me, Brother, other Brother, and other Sister... and after my Dad kind of fell away from the church, pretty much all my sibblings did too... and here i am getting up EARLY on a Sunday to do my hair because i find going to church with gross un-done hair to be disrespectful to the Lord's house... i mean seriously, i am turning into a religious nut. haha but the further down that path i go, the happier i become... and i am SOOO happy that i have a husband who feels the same way. i was thinking today, about HOW we are going to go about raising our family (when the time is right)... i have ALL these thoughts and goals about how i WANT to teach them, and things i have witnessed in other families, and i know i probably sound like a broken record... but i absolutely HATE when people give the whole "oh you won't be like that when you have kids" or "oh you will be lucky to put a bra ON when you have kids" and "you may SAY you want to feed your kids healthy, but it's just not practical when you ACTUALLY have them".... i am NOT naive, i DO understand that things will be different when i "ACTUALLY" have kids... however, you don't KNOW what i'll be like.... nobody does... i know SOOOOO many amazing families in the church  who have raised their children in the same way Riley and I hope to. i mean look at my best friend Lauren's family... i actually credit her family ALOT for helping me stay so "church-oriented) i spent HUNDREDS of weeks at her families house, and every night before dinner, after the prayer, Papa-Francis would read a chapter from the book of mormon, and they would discuss... dinner was at 6 every night, and you had to eat your salad first, THEN you could eat the main course, and if ANY of you know the AMAZING Jonell, she is the most nutrition-conscious mother in the whole world. they ate from all the food groups, but ate meat sparingly, she makes everything from scratch! her own whip cream( dairy free), sour cream, cream of chicken soup... all HEALTHY! and she would take our favorite meals from local restaurants and clone them... and then tweak it to a healthy alternative.

She also had her house SOO organized, all the kids, all 7(at the time, there are more now) knew what chores they had to do daily, as well as to practice the Harp, Piano, or whatever instrument THEY played. i mean Lauren and i TOTALLY complained at times about having to sweep the kitchen before we could head out after Acting Up, but the house ran SMOOTHLY. it was a house i LOVED to spend time in. it was in no means PERFECT, but i don't know how to explain it... OH YES I DO!!! ok so i have this wall vinyl above my sliding door in back, it reads "HOME is everything that makes us feel Beautiful and Safe and Loved" now Riley HATES that quote... as he says... and keep in mind i'm totally doing my "Riley has such a deep voice and sounds like he's better than everyone i---impression" ( love you Rye) but he says "IT MAKES NO SENSE, HOW CAN A HOUSE MAKE YOU FEEL BEAUTIFUL????? thats gaaaaaaaaaaaay" hahaha but that is the feeling her house gave...

that house was honestly my 2nd home, her parents would chat with me, even if Lauren wasn't home, and give advice. her Dad made sure to let me know that if i ever needed a blessing i shouldn't hesitate to ask. It's been years since those "good ol' days" but as i think of how i want my family to BE, thats kind of the vision i have.... it's not too extreme... i don't think... and you can feel free to tell me that it's not reasonable, or that when i actually have kids, my priorities will be completely different. but i feel as women in the church, we focus ALOT on STRIVING for that kind of household... we understand that every family is going to be different, but we also understand that with the principles of the church, it is most definitely achievable.

I may not be a Mother right now... and who knows, i may never get the opportunity to be one. But i have this mental-notebook that i keep all sorts of "parenting gems" tucked away, for the right day. and i know Riley has done the same thing, so when we do have kids (if God allows us to be parents one day) you all better watch out... the Gardiner House will be a force to be reckoned with.

oh, and i was absolutely going to leave off on that note, however i forgot to mention that starting NEXT SUNDAY, i am going to strive, to keep the sabbath day as holy as possible.. it's not like i go out swearing and drinking right now, i just feel like that is an area i need to work on.. at church our lesson was about keeping the sabbath holy, AND HOLY COW!!! all those girls seem to have it all put together, i mean they don't do laundry or dishes, and some prepare meals for the oven on saturday, so they don't really have to cook... WOW.... i am FAAR from that.... and i'm NOT starting this today, because i absolutely HAVE to get dishes done, and the floor swept.... but i'm listening to MOTAB, so that makes it all ok... right?!?!?!?!