What I Should Be Doing

This week has been kind of lame. It's been very overwhelming at work, and I swear I've never ever done so much paperwork ever. Satan is working pretty hard on Dalin and I both this week. I seriously want to punch him so hard but that's impossible so instead (and what I should be doing) I'll read my scriptures, vent in my journal and on my blog, and basically just remember that the greatest thing is coming up this weekend--GENERAL CONFERENCE! I am so excited (and relieved) that it is finally here. Plus, baby girl has been kicking all day and we have a prenatal appointment tomorrow morning to look forward to. I'll probably blog about it later. 

Anyhow, after work today, I decided I needed to do something special for Dalin. I was having a horrible day yesterday and he knew it, so he texted me and said, "I just got a surprise for you!" That definitely made me feel better. It is supposed to arrive tomorrow so I still have no idea what it is. But the anticipation is half the fun. 

So back to today--I drove to campus and put together a little gift for my sweet (and oh-so-thoughtful) husband to return the favor. I ended up getting some awesome-looking faded red shorts with a belt, some dark chocolate orange and raspberry sticks (and the girl even put them in a cute bag with a gold bow), and a little card with Tinkerbell which, I have to say, is very cute. On the front it reads: "My happy little thought?" And inside it says: "Never, never letting you go." That actually is my happy thought ironically enough, so I had to buy the card even though usually I prefer to make my own. I brought my things up to Customer Service where a nice girl helped me out by wrapping everything in cute mint green paper. 

After meeting up with Dalin, I asked him to stop at the Creamery so that I could get a few things to make dinner. I have never ever made Beef Stroganoff before, but my Dad used to make it a lot and my whole family loves it, so I figured Dalin would too. I wasn't sure if he had ever had it before and I didn't want to tell him what I was making. 

With my mom's help over the phone, I got the ingredients and as soon as we got home, I began to make it following a Betty Crocker recipe. More specifically, this one: http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/classic-beef-stroganoff/c17a904f-a8f6-48ae-bedb-5b301a8ea317 (but I cut all the amounts in half since it's just Dalin and I. Well, all of the amounts except the noodles). It was not as hard as I had expected thankfully. I realized I did not have Worcestershire sauce but luckily, my awesome ward has this Facebook group called "BYU 4th Ward Moms and Moms to Be" that we post on whenever we need some kind of service or when we have something good to give away. I think all wards should have it, really... But anyhow, I posted that I needed a teaspoon of the sauce and one wonderful sister brought some right over to me within five minutes. Seriously, my ward is the best. 

The stroganoff turned out really well. Much better than I'd expected for my first time. Dalin asked, "Dear, are you making Beef Stroganoff?" I said maybe. He said, "Dear, that is my favorite dish! My mom used to make that all the time." Well, I hadn't known that but I was really glad it was something he liked. Even better, he had two humongous helpings of it, making me feel like it must be pretty good  to be worthy of seconds. 

My plate of Beef Stroganoff

One happy husband (he's so, so cute!)

In all, today was a huge improvement from the rest of the week. Tomorrow may be hard, but then comes the weekend and General Conference. I think I can tough it out ;)

If you've been having a hard week and think you can't tough it out, here's a little encouragement from Elder Holland. I love this video. It's worth taking five minutes to watch!

General Conference

Today was the most wonderful day.

Dalin and I awoke at 9:57 and turned on our TV to watch the first session of General Conference.
For those of you who may not know, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds a General Conference twice a year (October and April) and broadcasts it across the world so that all members of the Church can view and participate. During Conference, we have the most special opportunity to listen to an inspired modern-day prophet who is led by the voice of the Lord. We also listen to his wonderful councilors, who advise us on things that we can do in our lives to find more happiness.

Our beloved prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, addressed the Saints first yesterday. He told us that he has seen that maturity of the missionaries from other countries where the serving age is 18 years old. He went on to announce that he would like to give all worthy, mature, and ready young men the same opportunity to serve at the age of 18. He went on to address the sisters in the Church, and added that all worthy, prepared young women may now serve a mission at the age of 19.

This is remarkable revelation for us as members of the Church. All young men are strongly encouraged to serve a two-year LDS mission. Since the Church was restored, the age for men has been 19, and 21 has been the age for women who desired to serve a mission. This revelation is therefore life changing. There will be hundreds, if not thousands, more missionaries going into the world to teach the gospel of Christ as a result. I also think that there will be many more marriages at a younger age in the Church. This will result in a tremendous burst of growing LDS families.

So after watching the first session from home, we hurriedly got dressed up for the second session. We met up with Dalin's sister, Shaina, and with her boyfriend, Layton. Together (and with Shaina and Layton's friend, Kyle) we all drove to Salt Lake and got in the unfathomably long line at the Conference Center. Shaina and I retrieved tickets from our gorgeous cousin, Taylor Moore, and rejoined the men in line. The second session of Conference was wonderful as always. Here are a few things that stood out to me:

Elder Lee Tom Perry spoke about families, parenthood, and marriage. He said that five things we can do to strengthen our families now is to:

1. Pray together as a family
2. Hold FHE (Family Home Evening) and eat family dinners together
3. Communicate with children's leaders (learn each child's needs and work to strengthen them)
4. Share testimony often
5. Set clear, simple family rules; give an allowance for performing chores as a way to teach budgeting and paying tithing at a young age

Elder Melvin Russell Ballard (whom I have met!) related the members of the Church to bees. Our small acts of compassion may seem insignificant, yet our efforts combined can result in a tremendous change. Each bee only contributes 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in its entire life. How small this effort seems, and yet we know that this bee is crucial in its role in the hive. Elder Ballard suggests that each day in our personal morning prayer, we ask Heavenly Father to find an opportunity to serve others. Then, we should go about our day with our hearts open, seeking opportunities to serve. We can be an answer to someone else's prayer. We should be able to answer in the affirmative when we ask, "Have I done any good in the world today?"

Elder Dallin Harris Oaks spoke mostly of children and marriage. He encouraged us to guard marriage and hold it sacred in our hearts. He stated that the very prevalent and far too frequent immediate separation of marriages--without attempted resolution--is an evil in the world. He conveyed the importance of having children and raising them well mentally, spiritually, and physically. He also shared some startling statistics about how many children live in today's world. The facts are astounding.

Right after Saturday's conference :)

Such a funny picture--that couple was great.

Dalin, Shaina & Layton, Kyle, and me (Olivia)

As the second session of conference concluded, Dalin and I made our way back to Shaina, Layton, and Kyle and hurried through temple square (where I was forced to take all action shots, not having time to stop) and back to the car. We drove to Lehi, where we met one of the most wonderful families (Layton's). They invited us into their home (they have ten wonderful children and four grandchildren) and fed us. While Dalin went to the Priesthood session of conference with Layton and his brothers, Shaina and I talked to Layton's mother and met his sisters. I really had a great time and it was so nice to be in a home again.

They sent us away with some DELICIOUS honey dew melon and rhubarb from their garden. They truly blessed our lives last night.

The most adorable family...and a good example of the reason I want lots of boys and a big family.

I love General Conference! So excited for Sunday!
:)

If you do not know what General Conference is, and are curious, feel free to ask me!

how "we" came to be

olivia's version.
as mentioned before, dalin served his mission in san diego, california (spanish-speaking). he returned in february 2011. across the continental united states, all the way to the east coast, (specifically in new hampshire), marisa johnson received a call to the same mission......


over the weekend of general conference, on saturday, april 2nd, my roommates and i were in salt lake city, hoping to make it into a few sessions. while there, i met up with some members of my old ward family. included was my best friend, sarah ayer, and another friend from our home ward, marisa johnson. the three of us had lunch together during which, sarah and i questioned marisa about her mission. as marisa was talking, she grew suddenly excited and blurted out, "i know this missionary who would be perfect for you!" she was speaking to me. as she was bouncing in her chair looking through her phone for pictures of this missionary, i thought little of it. i would never meet him probably anyway. she told me that he was calm but funny--his sense of humor was more dry wit, and you had to listen for it. "isn't he cute??" marisa demanded, showing me a tiny picture of the former elder gunnell on her cellphone (marisa and dalin had come home from their missions at the same time). it was difficult to tell on her phone, but he looked tall and handsome from what i could see. "yea, he is," i agreed. growing excited, marisa announced she was texting dalin right then to tell him about me. shortly after that, i forgot about the occurrence, convinced that the most that would come of it was a meaningless facebook friendship where one says hello once, an awkward conversation ensues, and then the two never speak again. little did i know.


on sunday, april 3rd, (the very next day i might point out) i received a text from marisa saying "i told dalin to friend-request you! say yes!" and then i soon did receive a friend request from dalin gunnell. i accepted it, kind of curious, and soon after got a message on facebook chat reading: so, we have a friend in common... i replied immediately, mentioning marisa. he then said, yep, so, i've never really just talked to someone on facebook that i've never met...do you know how this is supposed to go?


two and a half months later, i certainly do know now how this is "supposed to go." after talking well past midnight every night for the first week, (and beginning to text, skype, and call one another well before that week ended) it became evident that we were clearly very interested in one another. and i felt incredibly good about dalin...even though in the first week, he did manage to insult me, saying i was prideful and flirtatious. i, in return, told him that he was the prideful one, and also cocky. (brief pride and prejudice moment there). i also sarcastically told him that i hated him one day, to which he replied: really? i kinda like you:). that, and after receiving ELEVEN PAGES of messages between april 6 and april 9th (completely from dalin...that is twenty messages per page!!!), caused me to become increasingly interested in this man. we continued to talk by various means every day...for the majority of the day.


because spring break was coming up at byu-idaho, and because i have no family out here, i was planning to hang around my apartment alone for the next ten days (my roommates had all left for the break already). instead, i received an invite from dalin to come stay with him and his family in boise. and feeling good about the idea, i accepted. monday morning, i was rushing around packing a backpack of clothes, doing laundry, and cleaning the apartment. dalin and his 19-year old sister cassie arrived around noon. when i heard the doorbell ring, my face got really red and i had to calm myself down before i could get the door. i was so nervous about this first meeting. i said a brief prayer, and then answered it. cassie was the first one i saw, and she smiled and said hello, but i was just looking for dalin. he gave me the cutest smile that made me so happy and i noticed that his eyes were so blue. then i moved forward to hug him. he was so tall. and i loved that. on the ride to boise, dalin insisted that i sit in the front with his sister and got the door for me (a very charming habit of his). he sat directly behind me and the drive back (for them) began. i rested for much of the car-ride, wondering how this week was going to go. dalin, i realized, was leaning forward and his hands were resting on my seat. i was curled up in the passenger seat and was turned toward the window. his hand was clenched on the seat and i moved my fingers toward him and daringly touched his hand wondering what i was thinking. immediately he adjusted and held my hand. and he continued to for the remainder of the multi-hour drive. 


the rest of that week was bliss. i met each member of dalin's family and also his grandmother when we visited her house. i really enjoyed being with dalin's family. i met a few members of his extended family as well and loved them. we had a dtr (determine the relationship) that thursday in his parents' mini van in their garage. i will never forget it because while we were talking, some guy walked in to the dark garage and looked inside the van in which we were sitting. it scared me so bad, but dalin calmly got out of the van and watched as the guy turned and walked back toward his car (with his three friends waiting on the lawn) and drove off. good thing dalin is brave. after deciding that i would, in fact, like to enter into a relationship with dalin (i had never been in an official relationship before), the remainder of the week got, if possible, even better. we spent more time with his wonderful family and went to his singles' ward together that sunday. i loved going to church with him. and sitting on his grandma's porch swing together. i did not want that week to end.


from then, things have only gotten better. he has visited me in rexburg, and i have visited him in provo. his family has also visited me in rexburg and been so kind to me, taking me out to lunch and bringing me groceries. on saturday, may 28th, i was in provo with dalin and we decided to go for a walk/hike through provo canyon and bring a lunch. suspicious. we saw three snakes (i screamed all three times) and walked a ways by the river there, across a bridge, through some trees, and across a dried up river bed. climbing over rocks, we approached the rock cliff to see where the falling water was leaking into. we climbed up to a cut-out in the cliff and there, dalin knelt down, said a number of sweet things, then asked me to marry him. naturally, i said yes, with the biggest smile on my face. he put a beautiful band on my finger, then we climbed down, called our moms, and returned to the park area to eat our lunch overlooking the waterfall. after, we skipped rocks in the river under the bridge. it was a very happy day. and it felt amazing to be engaged to the most wonderful man that i have ever met.


before i met dalin, i had all kinds of guidelines for myself. i wouldn't get married until i was at least 22 years old (that way i'd be graduated), i'd date the guy for a year, i wouldn't say i love you until we were engaged or married....all of that went out the window when i met dalin. i had even considered serving a mission before i met him. but it was just right. he was just right. and i knew i would have to do things in the Lord's timing. i began praying about him right from the start. and i never felt any bad feelings. only confirmation that he would be good (if not perfect) for me. he makes me desire to be a better person and when i think of him i have more Christ-like thoughts and behavior. at the temple during my weekly trip, i began praying extra earnestly to know if dalin and i were right for one another. and each time, i felt firmly that the answer was a resounding yes. i am so thankful that we managed to find each other in this life and that our time together will extend beyond the grave, which is why i am marrying him in the temple in the first place--so that we can be sealed together for time and all eternity. and so that when we have a family, they can be a part of that celestial marriage. i am so thankful for these blessings Heavenly Father has created for us on this earth.