I'm Back!

Hello everyone! Just wanted to let you know that I created a new blog yesterday and even posted something too. I am not going to be using this blog anymore, but I'll see you in my new blog! Love you all!

abbisthoughts.blogspot.com

Great Quote

"The most important knowledge you can acquire, and the area of learning that will keep everything else in focus for you and bring you true happiness and joy, will be your solid anchor of assurance that you are a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ."
-M. Russell Ballard

I love this quote. It has helped me keep perspective throughout my college career as I've been tempted to stress about tests and grades. I think it will continue to help me throughout the rest of my life, too. Nothing is as important as following the Lord Jesus Christ.

Old Car:

New Car:

My Job

Hello again! Thanks so much for your kind comments! I just wanted to give everyone an update about my job. I am going to be working at a school for children with autism in Salt Lake. I am so excited about this! I will be working in a preschool classroom. Before I applied I went and observed a classroom and I felt so much excitement thinking about being in there interacting with those kids! The student to teacher ratio is absolutely amazing--it was 2 to 1 when I was observing, and they said they try to keep it at about that. Isn't that phenomenal. I am so excited. My position is an "autism aide" and I will be working with kids, helping them reach specific goals they have, like learning their numbers, matching verbs to pictures of those verbs, and other broad goals like increasing their attention span and decreasing negative behaviors and such. So exciting!! Okay, so I know that may not sound all that exciting to you guys, but it really is for me. And hopefully I will be able to maintain my excitement over it as I am working there. :)

The only drawback to this job is that it's part-time. I'll be working in two two-week summer programs in July and August for 25 hours a week, and then once the regular school year begins in August I'll be working 31 hours a week. They open up the full-time positions to part-time faculty before they open these positions to the public, and so the part-time faculty almost always fill these positions before they would be open to applications from outsiders such as myself. So hopefully a full-time position will open up very soon after I start working there and I will get promoted to full-time. Everyone, keep your fingers crossed.

I'm Still Here

I'm still alive! I'm sorry I haven't blogged or commented on anyone's blog for a long time! I have been incredibly busy, and it is unbelievable that it's been two and half weeks since I blogged about Tevas. Time is going by so fast. I have so much to do, and it doesn't look like that's going to change before the wedding, so I may not blog very much until July. But here are some updates on my life:

1. I sold the Blazer. It was so stressful because I do not like selling things, haggling about prices, or letting go of so many memories and good times I had in that Blazer. But it was for the best, because now:
2. I have a new car that can get me to NSL and back! Chad was so good to do all the talking for me in the buying process, and then I just had to write the check. Thank you, Chad, for helping me find, drive to, decide on, and haggle the price of the car!! It is a beautiful 2001 black Honda Civic that I absolutely love. And it's nice to no longer have to harass Adam every day about when I can use the Passport.
3. I got a job! Well, actually, I haven't actually accepted it yet, but I've been offered a job and I'm going to accept it and I'll let you know the details later.
4. I took my last two midterms of my undergraduate career. Now it's just a couple projects and two finals to go!
5. My four lovely future sisters-in-law put on an AMAZING bridal shower for me last Saturday and so much family was there to support me! Thanks, everyone, you're the best!
6. I have my appointments set up for my temple recommend interview, and Chad and I have met with both of our bishops.
7. Chad and I got our marriage license this morning!
8. Chad and I went to his Residency Awards Banquet last Friday and I had such a good time. It was held at the magnificent Grand America Hotel, and I loved the beauty of it all. But most of all it was good to spend time with Chad and be able to meet and observe some of the people he works with.
9. I have my veil and jewelry all set for my wedding day, and now I just need to get shoes!
10. All the invitations are sent out, thanks to my mom! My mom is so incredibly amazing it's unreal. I am the luckiest girl in the world to have her as my mom.

Tevas

I love my mush Teva flip-flops. They are so comfortable, I wear them almost every day. Thanks to Chad's family for introducing them to me! If anyone is looking for comfy flip-flops for the summertime, these are the way to go.

Springtime

I love this time of year! I love how when I wake up, even if I wake up early, it is already light outside and in my bedroom. I love how I don't have to wake up super early to go running, because I can run later in the morning or in the evening and it won't be too hot. I love how I can hear birds chirping from my window and see pictures of frogs, turtles, and birds on my sisters' and mom's blogs! I love how the BYU campus isn't as busy during spring term. And I love how green everything is!!

May 15 is a good day

Three Happy Thoughts of the Day:
The musical numbers of BYU devotionals give me the opportunity to enjoy a great musical performance for free every week!

I love how the scriptures teach us to not esteem any person above another (Mosiah 23:7). What a novel idea for this world.
I have the best fiance in the world. Go to weddingchannel.com and type in Abbi Pyne in the top right corner and look what he made for me!

Positive Mental Attitude

On Sunday I got to spend a lovely day with Chad, Adam, Dale, Crystal, their super cute kids, Neal, Carol, Grandma Martin, and Chad's aunt, uncle, and cousins. It was a great time. We all went to church together and then hung out at Chad's aunt and uncle's house and had a delicious Mother's Day meal. Happy Late Mother's Day to all you wonderful mothers out there! You are the best thing this world has.

I really liked Dale and Crystal's ward, because they didn't have any women speak in sacrament meeting on Mother's Day. Last year Jessi had to speak on Mother's Day and this year Carrie spoke on Mother's Day, and I just don't think that's right to make women work on the one day they should have off!

But anyhow, their bishop spoke and I wanted to share with you something he said. He said that we need to work on having positive mental attitudes and replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts. He said that when you feel the temptation to mentally complain or feel sorry for yourself, you need to make yourself think of at least three things good about your day or life. Isn't that a great idea? I really need to do that! And then in Relieif Society a sister shared an idea to keep a grateful journal and every night add to it a few things for which you are grateful. I like that idea, too! Would you mind if I used my blog as my grateful-for journal?

Here are a few of the things I am grateful for:

The canned nuts I bought at the grocery store the last time I was there! I love canned nuts, they are so yummy!
The fact that I look forward to going to each of my classes this term--I really enjoy what I'm learning and the assignments I get to complete, and I like the teaching styles of my teachers. I love being a student and will really miss it after I graduate!!
The opportunity I have to move my body--to dance, run, play tennis, drive, hike, clean. I think it would be very hard to be paralyzed.

What are a few of the things you are grateful for?

Go Jazz!

I have become quite the Jazz fan over the last couple weeks. I love the NBA playoffs, they are so fun! It has been so exciting to watch the last few Jazz games against the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors. A lot of the games have been so close, and last night's game even went into overtime! And they won! I really like the Jazz team. I love how they work together as a team, how they get defensive and offensive rebounds, how they hustle to steal the ball and get the ball down the court, how a lot of their good players play from the bench, and how they pull through during the last minutes of the game to secure the win. I hope they can pull off the wins in the next two games at Golden State's home court this Friday and Sunday! Go Jazz!

No More Pile-Up

I am trying really hard to be positive about life, because I have SO many things to be SO happy about. Namely, all the wonderful things associated with getting to marry Chad C*. But sometimes I have a hard time being positive during the week, because I want so badly to be near him and I can't be. I hate being separated from him and not being able to see him everyday, and only being able to talk to him for about a half hour or so a day. I cannot wait to be married to him and be able to come home to him and have him come home to me. I cannot wait for the day when I don't have to think, "Just four more days and I can be with him again." In six and a half weeks that day will be here! But six and a half weeks feels like forever.

Which is why it's really funny that yesterday I started stressing out over all the things I need to get done during those six weeks. You'd think that if I thought six weeks was forever, I wouldn't stress over what I needed to do in them, because I would feel that I have so much time to get them done! But instead of taking one thing at a time, I started thinking about all there is to be done and how I don't want to do them, I just want to be married and have them over with. They were all flying around in my head and the result was a feeling of pile-up.

So I decided in order to calm myself down, I should numerate the things I need to do and then prioritize them. Here is the list, and I'll prioritize them day by day during the next six weeks:

Buy a car (get a loan)
Apply for jobs (in the hopes that I can start a good job in July)
Complete the readings for Psych 350
Write the papers for Psych 350
Complete the readings for HFL 260
Do the homework assignments for HFL 260
Go running or play tennis five times a week
Shop for:
-A sign-in book
-A wedding cake
-An outfit for my luncheon
-A temple dress and slip
-A veil
-White shoes
-Hair decorations for the wedding
-Jewelry for the wedding
-A ring for Chad
Sell my desktop
Write in my journal about the last four and a half months…
Copy my blog entries since January into my journal
Copy my emails since September into my journal
Organize my pictures from Romania
Organize all my stuff so moving to Chad’s will be easier
Read The Holy Temple
Read Between Husband and Wife
Add to my Labels list as people send me their addresses
Go to the temple once a week
Get a bishop and stake president interview for my temple reccomend
Go to the other three temple prep classes

So now that I have everything written down, I can take one thing at a time and not be overwhelmed. I need to set my life in order. This way, instead of the letting the feeling of missing Chad keep me from feeling motivated to accomplish these things, I should use my focused plan of attack to accomplish these things help me cope with the feeling of missing Chad. This is definitely something my mom has taught me--take one thing at a time, and life will feel much easier than if you think about everything you need to do all at once.

And in closing, I want to say that I feel like the luckiest girl in the world because Chad is my fiance. He is so good to me and he gives me every reason in the world to be happy. He is so patient with me and he treats me with so much kindness. I cannot believe how blessed I am to have him in my life. I love him so much and I admire him so much, for the work he does but especially for the person he is. I hope that I can endeavor to deserve him, and that I can make him feel as happy as he makes me.

Learning to Love

I am majoring in Marriage, Family, and Human Development at BYU. But being the slightly prideful person I am, I have avoided taking any classes on marriage during my college career. Funny, huh, given the name of my major. I wanted to give others the impression that I was an ambitious, academic-oriented student--not just a girl looking for her so-called "Mrs degree"--and so I chose to take the classes offered in the major that focused on human development rather than marriage or parenting. But last semester I caved in and took a class called Forming Marital Relationships from Dean Busby. I am so glad I swallowed my pride, because that class was so amazing. And as a little plug for my major, it is a rigorous research-based major heavy in reading and writing. I hope that over time the stereotype of the MFHD major as a girl who doesn't care much about school or career plans and just wants to get through school with an easy major will subside.

Okay, so on to the real reason I'm writing this entry. I wanted to share with you something that Dr. Busby shared with me about love in marriage. He spent the last few lectures of the class just going over some things that he has learned over the years of his own marriage, including more religious lessons. He shared with us the experience he had a few years ago of almost seeing his wife die and then spending weeks and weeks with her in an ICU, and since then helping her regain her physical and mental abilities. It was heart-wrenching to hear how painful this experience has been for him, but it was also beautiful to hear how much he learned through it. It was especially heart-wrenching because he had referred to his wife in illustrating certain concepts throughout the whole semester, and we had never known this had happened.

One of the many things that he said during this lecture was that this experience has taught him that learning to love is learning to die beautifully. He repeated this phrase a few times and talked about why he felt this way. My initial reaction was that love isn't about dying, it's about living. Because of this, I have thought a lot since then about what he said, and the more I think about it, the more I agree with him. And here's why:

Learning to love a person is learning to love their whole person--their eternal being, not just their mortal person. Since one of the big hindrances of love is fear, the fear of aging and death and loss keeps us from loving fully. And so the more we are able to accept the fact that aging and death and loss is just a part of one's eternal journey, the more we are able to love a person without the burden of fear of loss.

Learning to love a person is learning to make sacrifices for them--letting parts of you die that hinder you from loving them completely. Like Lamoni's father said, we should be willing to "give away all [our] sins" to be able to love others more purely. This means we have to let the not-so-great parts of us die, including our "pet sins." And I think marriage takes a lot of other sacrifices as well, that take giving up things that aren't necessarily sins but just neutral things that aren't the best for your relationship.

Learning to love a person is learning to serve them all your life, even to the point that you wear out your body in doing so. It says in the scriptures that "greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13). I think this could also apply for all the husbands and wives in the world who work so hard for their families that they wear their bodies out in doing so.

Learning to love a spouse is learning to grow old with them. I think the more experience we have with our spouses, the more we love them. And I think that's what growing old does for us. I think it's unfortunate that our culture is so fixated on youth, because there are so many great things about getting old, but since our culture focuses on fleating temporal things, we don't recognize, appreciate, or value them as much.

Learning to love is learning to die beautifully. And because of the Atonement, we can die beautifully with the assurance that we will be delivered from that death and raised up to glory. Learning to love is learning to have faith in the Atonement and the eternities, letting go of our selfishness and living our lives for others. It is losing our lives for the sake of another's. (Matt. 16:25) And in this way we will find the kind of love the whole world is searching and longing for.

Old Friends

One of my favorite parts of the wedding planning has been reconnecting with old friends. After making the list of who I wanted to send wedding invitations to, I've emailed dozens of people to see how they're doing and to ask for their addresses. I'm so glad I've had an excuse to email old friends and teachers, because it's been so great to hear back from them. It's been exciting to hear where people are, the great things they are up to, and how they are still the same wonderful people they were the last time I talked to them. I have had such wonderful friends, and I really appreciate all the kindness they are giving me now in being excited for my upcoming wedding. Thank goodness for good friends!

Two Months Away

Chad and I are getting married two months from today! Last week I had a few hard days, thinking that two months was way too long to wait and that I didn't want to be in Provo anymore, I just wanted to be with Chad. Instead of being excited for the wedding, I was dreading the two months before the wedding. I also was feeling some anxiety towards going through the temple, which was especially hard because I have always been so excited to go to the temple and I wasn't sure why I was starting to feel those feelings. I think the reason why is because I was focusing on all the comments I was receiving that it's going to be strange and overwhelming and that I will not ever be really prepared for it. Instead of thinking about why I'm going to the temple, I was focusing on the unknown "what"s of the temple, and that was making me feel stupid and anxious.

But I got to visit Chad yesterday (thanks for the ride, Mary!), and after talking with him I've decided that both of those bad attitudes have got to go! I am now going to be excited for the next two months! They will be great. I get to take two really fun classes at BYU, continue to plan the fun stuff of the wedding, enjoy my last two months as a BYU coed (any great ideas of what I should change my blog name to after I'm not a BYU coed anymore?), take a temple prep class, and make the most of living in this beautiful valley in the shadow of Y Mount and Mt. Timpanogos. Life is good! I also am going to continue to prepare to enter the temple, but not with an attitude of uneasiness, but with an attitude of excitement that I get to go to the temple as a guest of the Lord, to learn more about His ways, to worship Him more fully, and to make sacred covenants with Him. I expect I won't understand most of what's going on the first time I go through the temple, but that's okay! I've got lots of time for that! For now I will just try to enjoy what I do have.

3 Down, 3 to Go

I have three classes done for winter semester! Woohoo!! I turned in a big research paper for one of my classes yesterday and I took two MFHD finals, one yesterday and one today. That feels good. I also am done with my dance class, because I am using my Medals Exam score for my final score. I am so happy my Medals Exams went so well, because it was the last time I danced at BYU. I got the best scores I have ever gotten! The judge must have loved my dancing, because I was told I even got the highest score in my class! Which was totally unexpected! I am so happy, because I love dance so much and it feels good to receive positive feedback from a professional. My teacher hasn't given me quite as high of scores, which makes me think grading in dance is kind of biased. But I am glad the judge who scored my last Medals Exams was biased on my side! :) I am done with dance at BYU now, which makes me kind of sad, because I love ballroom dancing so much. But I look forward to the day when Chad and I can take dance lessons together! :)

"Eat Your Vegetables"

I am a believer in vegetables. But I don't always act on that belief. It's so much easier to go about my day without eating vegetables. Preparing and eating vegetables takes effort, and I've found that if I don't prioritize vegetables into my day, I just don't eat them. It's the same with exercise. I'm a believer, but I don't always prioritize that belief. But I think that when I have an attitude of, "Vegetables are so yummy and make me feel good! I love vegetables!" it's easier for me to implement them into my diet. And it's the same with exercise. If I have an attitude of, "I love exercise! It makes me feel so happy!" it's a lot easier to get my rear in gear. And there are really so many options for vegetables and exercise, it shouldn't be that hard! So, I'm going to list some vegetables and exercise that make me happy, and hopefully I'll act on them more!


Vegetables
Cooked spinach
Spinach salad
Green beans
Carrots
Peas
Edemame (thanks, Jess, for this recommendation! They are so yummy!)
Mixed veggies
Asparagus
Romaine lettuce salad
Broccoli
Bell peppers
Celery


Exercise
Running
Playing Tennis
Dancing
Walking
Hiking

Happy Birthday Dad!!

Today is my dad's birthday! I am so happy that we get to celebrate my dad today. I want to tell everyone some of the reasons why I think I have the best dad in the whole world:

He is one of the most unassuming, humble, kind, and friendly people I know.

He is a really hard worker and never complains.

He is a thinker. He reads a lot and likes to learn from other people's experiences.

He is very committed to the gospel and always follows through with his calling and family responsibilities. He lives his testimony and does not compromise his beliefs.

He is courageous and bold. He knows who he is and he is not afraid to be who he is.

He leads through love, not through fear. He sees the value and worth in the people he leads.

He is so funny! He is good at seeing the humor in things and always makes me laugh.
He does really thoughtful things like rubs your shoulders or puts a blanket on you when you're laying down on the couch.

He is true and honest. His compliments mean a lot.

He is very giving, but does not give ostentatiously or with the intent to be recognized for what he is doing.

He gives great advice! He is super good at helping people think through their options and make wise decisions.

Thanks Dad for being so wonderful! I hope this day is a fantastic one for you!

P.S. The picture's of my dad and me in Florence.

Happy Words

I love words! Words are powerful. Here are some of my favorite happy words:

Smile
Dance
Hug

Hope
Dream
Imagine

Forgive
Encourage
Celebrate

Faith
Patience
Gratitude

Family
Friends
Flowers

Love
Sing
Laugh

Monday Musings

It's such a beautiful warm day today. All these wonderful memories of last spring/summer terms have been coming back to me today and I am so happy it's spring time again. I love BYU so much. It is such a beautiful campus and I have so many happy memories here. I have had so many good times with different classmates, teachers, friends, roommates, and ward members. Even as I remember the less happy memories of the disappointments, discouragements, and depressed days I have had here, I just love this place all the more for what I've learned from those times. On days like today it is so easy to rewrite history as better and happier than it really was, and to think all the hard times were so worth it! But I know the happiness I feel today is real, and I am so grateful for it.

I applied for graduation today and so it's official! I think that's another reason I feel so positively towards BYU today. I've been reflecting on the last four years here, and I just feel so much joy for everything I've experienced here. The religion classes, MFHD classes, dance classes, English classes, TA and research positions, ward activities, and all the other blood, sweat, tears, laughter, and triumph that go along with those things have been so enriching. I am going to miss BYU a lot when I leave it in June! But I'm going on to even happier places, so I don't need to be sad.

Speaking of happier places, the wedding plans are coming along nicely! I bought a dress, so that's a wonderful feeling! We found a bridesmaid outfit, so that's a wonderful feeling! I just have to say I remember not quite understanding what the term "social resources" meant the first time I heard it. Well, now I can say I TOTALLY know what it means! Chad and I have the best social resources in planning this wedding. It has been so much easier with all my mom's help. Thank you, Mom, for everything you do! You're the best! Thank you to everyone else who has offered help as well. I owe you all big time.

I'm getting married!

And this is who I'm getting married to! Isn't he cute?!

This is us on one of our easier hikes the day we got engaged.

This is the view from another easy hike we did that day. The view is amazing!

And here's the view from the top of Angel's Landing. I took this shortly after Chad proposed. This view is absolutely breathtaking.

This is the view I was looking out on when Chad said my name and I turned around to see him on his knee!

It was really really windy up there!

This is the last part of the hike--we were on the far side of the peak when he proposed. I'm so brave!

The last week and a half has been packed with wedding plans. We already have the temple booked, the places for the reception and luncheon booked, a photographer hired, a date set to take our engagement pictures, our registry list completed at two different stores, and I've made some good progress in wedding dress shopping. And Chad's address list for invitations is almost complete! We've met with someone about food, cake, flowers, and decorations at the reception place. And we are making a lot of progress when it comes to bridesmaids dresses. Not to mention I already have my ring! :)

In the midst of all this planning, I have felt tempted to stress over the little things. Over how things will look, how things will turn out, all there is to be done! I have to continually remind myself that these things are not what is important, and that Heavenly Father will help everything important fall into place. Because some things will inevitably go wrong during the wedding celebrations, but if we stay close to the Lord, nothing eternally significant will go wrong.

Tonight I especially felt the need to stop and ponder about why I'm doing all this. Why all the fuss over this wedding? What is the purpose behind all of it--the flowers, the dresses, the cake? As I did, my thoughts turned to marriage, and the transcendent beauty of it. All this planning is to celebrate the coming together of two individuals, the coming together of two families, the creation of a new family. It is not a show. It is simply a celebration. And stress really spoils the purpose of celebration, so I'm going to try really hard to not stress! I'm going to try to enjoy it and carry the spirit of excitement and delight inherent in such a happy time.

As I was thinking about marriage, and about how excited I am to be married to Chad, I decided to jot my feelings out into a poem, and I thought I'd share it with you.

Into Forever

I’m marrying a lifetime of new music
Music that I can dance to, worship with, and listen to in the backdrop of my dreams.
And there will also be forlorn music, music that I will cry to, but grow by as well.
Glorious music I’ve never heard before.

I’m marrying a lifetime of security.
Security in a beautiful home with a trustworthy husband.
And we’ll grow a garden in the backyard and make bread in the kitchen.
And at the end of the day, we’ll have someone to come home to who cares.

I’m marrying a lifetime of risk.
Untold adventures to places I’ve never been before.
Like the Grand Canyon, South America, maybe even Asia!
And someday…parenthood.

I’m marrying a lifetime of lessons.
Lessons on who I am, and who God intends me to be.
I’ll learn more about how the world works, and what the human experience is about.
And hopefully I will learn well the lessons on how I can enrich both.

I’m marrying a boundless family.
A family that is eternal in size and time and scope.
A family that stretches out in all directions
And influences the destiny of the universe.

I’m marrying a man.
But not just the man I see today, but the man he will be in the eternities.
He will be my friend, my lover, my partner, my confidant, my to-have-and-to-hold
Into forever.

I share this with you as a declaration of the purpose behind all these wedding plans. Hopefully by sharing this I will be more empowered to live it! Wish me luck!