Weekend Wrap-Up

I have been working a ton lately. Double shifts and overtime can have their plus sides before the holidays with the extra cash they bring in, but it gets pretty hard when personal time for myself and time with friends and family and fiancee becomes so limited. This weekend I was blessed to have friday AND saturday off from work. What a party! Better believe I crammed a lot into those two days. Two Christmas movies, two temple trips, two potential apartment tours, two hours of engagement pictures, mattress shopping, doctors appointment, wedding cake meeting, lots of driving, and one giant tree covered in Christmas lights. Tis definitely the season for wedding planning and Christmas joy!

The Tree of Life in Draper was super close to one of the basement apartments we were checking out on Friday night. We made a quick detour to check it out, and we are glad we did! So pretty! 

♥

Saturday morning we woke up at Matt's parents' house in Ogden and immediately launched into engagement picture prep. Thank goodness for patient men who put up with women who obsess over an abundance of outfit changes and lip gloss and ironed shirts and earring decisions and lip gloss checks. We won't have any of the pictures from our AWESOME photographer Jenifer Allen for about another week, but Matt's mom snagged some (okay, more like 200+) candids on her iphone as she followed us around for the morning. Some are just too great not to share.

Who would you guess got sick of this whole posing for pictures business first? It wasn't me... even though my face tells a different story haha.

Attention: in case you're in need of some motivation to come to our wedding:

Story time:

Our plan for yesterday was to leave Ogden and return to Provo for the Christmas Market on center street. The day ended up being a bit more busy and tiring than we were expecting, so we just decided we might as well stay another night at his family's house. After some naps and recuperation, we spent the remainder of our evening inside the Ogden temple with Matt's parents doing proxy sealings. What a special blessing it was to be in the same place that we ourselves will be married in just 10 short weeks! We even took a peek into our reserved sealing room. Guys, it is SO. BEAUTIFUL.

But thats not the story, THIS is the story:

This morning, when it was still dark outside and too early for anyone without an alarm to be conscious, I jolted awake as the words "OH MY GOSH I HAVE TO WORK TODAY" sputtered out of my mouth. Over the fun chaos of the past two days I had completely forgotten that I was in charge of running the admissions office at work on this particular Sunday. Still groggy and confused and completely panic stricken, I sent a text to Matt who was sleeping a few doors down in his own bedroom, and I was just so hoping my message would wake him up. Within minutes he knocked on my door, fully dressed, and said "lets go!" I didn't have my scrubs or my papers or anything I needed for work, which meant driving home to Provo and then back out to Murray in a matter of just a couple of hours. 

Through all of this mumbo jumbo, not one harsh word came out of Matt's mouth. Not one question or sound of exasperation or even a silly tease. I felt so stupid for having such a huge brain lapse, but Matt thought of nothing except helping me get to where I needed to go. He quickly gathered our belongings from all over the house and loaded the car while I got dressed and brushed my teeth. His reaction to my mistake almost left me in tears - the happy kind. I could do nothing but throw my arms around him and thank him for being so nice to me.

Our day ended up being full of blessings despite the rocky start! I recognized the miracle that it was that I had woken up early realizing I had to work, when I easily could have slept late and never remembered about work... until I got a text from my boss or something. Also Matty had happened to wake up just moments before I sent him my panicky text. On our car ride home, we were able to enjoy a spectacular sunrise. We also shared an awesome spiritual learning experience as we read from the scriptures to recenter ourselves and kick off the Sabbath day right. Because I was assigned to work in the office and not on the floor today, I had a few extra hours to get to work than usual - and then it ended up being the easiest day ever as there were no discharges or admits in the facility. Matt was able to go to church and bear his testimony in our ward, and I sat among my patients and their families at work as the sacrament was administered (perks of working in Utah). Tonight we reunited and were blessed once again with more time together as we listened to the Christmas Devotional given by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 

My heart is full of love and gratitude as I climb into bed tonight. After weekends like this, I am reminded that God has his hand in my life. He is aware of me always. He never ceases to bless me! During this time of year, it is so easy to get caught up in the happy havoc of Christmas. Through it all, may we remember that the Savior is the real reason for the season. He is the Gift!

Want To See Some White Dresses?

I was never one of those little girls who dreamed of her perfect wedding day. Instead I was a girl who thought a lot more about who my future husband even was and when (actually, I worried more about the if) i'd get to meet him and all about the eternal marriage that we'd share. I mean obviously I knew planning a wedding would be involved somewhere along the line, but I was always much more excited about being in love and starting a family and getting to be a wife! Needless to say, I didn't think about or know what I wanted for colors. Or cakes. Or centerpieces. Or flowers. OR A DRESS.

I've been blessed to wear a few special pretty white dresses in my life. Starting with my baby blessing dress, then my baptism dress, and most recently my temple dress. Now newly engaged, one of the biggest wedding planning checklist items for me was to find a wedding dress. 

Wanna know what sucks about wedding dress shopping? You only get to keep one! I tried on so many gorgeous dresses (ummm yeah and some not so gorgeous haha) and I only get to show one of them off to the world! Well, I say no way to that... I want to show you more! :) So here you have it. A bunch of pictures of me in fun fluffy white wedding dresses.

Now before I make anyone too nervous, i'm not too crazy... I have indeed finally said yes to the dress, but THE dress is not pictured here. That one i'm going to make you wait for :)

Now I invite you to enjoy the myriad of crazy facial expressions this girl makes while being photographed in these once-in-a-lifetime kind of dresses.

(turns out I got me some curves. who knew?!)

(for a while I thought this was the dream dress after seeing my friend Kara try it on last winter. Then I put it on and all I thought was nope nope nope.)

(this one was almost a winner. it was a close 2nd place)

(the mamma pulls good faces too)

I'm so thankful for my ladies who helped me with this step of wedding planning! My mom of course, my bestie since birth Rachel, my Bachelorette crew, and my future MIL Karen who ended up being the one with me when the final decision was made! I love you all!

 

Wait i'm not done. One last thing.

Imagine you walk into a wedding dress shop, and the girl who walks toward you to help you out for your appointment that day is your ex-boyfriend's wife. And there's this brief flash of recognition in both of your guys' eyes. And you can tell she knows who you are, and you know who she is. But you both quickly recover and neither of you say anything or acknowledge the gigantic elephant dancing in circles while juggling flaming coconuts in the middle of the room.

My friends, this happened to me. Totally not making it up.

#bestawkwardmomentever

Thank goodness for laughter, because thats seriously all I could think to do. 

Life is grand!

An Engaging Story

Okay folks, its time for an ... MY engagement story! Well, both of us were involved of course, so really its OUR engagement story :) And may I just say, it is such a happy one! 

About eight months ago, I started dating my home teacher (that is a funny story, and i'll tell it to you sometime... but for now i'm too excited about focusing more on the present day). Not too far into our dating relationship, Matt and I were sitting in his kitchen doing homework, and he just looked up across the table from me with a smile on his face and asked me to marry him. Being the jokester that he is, I knew it was all just good teasing fun. Nevertheless, my jaw dropped and I scolded him, telling him he wasn't even allowed to jokingly say things like that. I don't think he cared. He kept asking me anyway. On a pretty regular basis over the next weeks and months I heard the words "wanna get married?" spout from his mouth. Every time it happened I just pushed his face away and told him to cut it out. One time he joked that someday we'd tell our kids that he asked me to marry him every day until finally I said yes. Yeah yeah yeah, was all I thought at the time. What I didn't know then was that relatively soon, I really would be answering with a big YES to his repeated question!

A few weeks ago, I had a trip planned to go home to Seattle for a weekend. Matt had school and work, so I would be making the trip home by myself. However, I felt sure that by the time I boarded the plane I would have a ring on my finger to show off to friends and family at home. I couldn't believe it hadn't happened by the time I left. Little did I know that by the time I boarded my return flight to Utah, I would no longer have a naked little ring finger.

Guys, he did so good. SO GOOD!!

My mom and I had been out shopping on Friday afternoon (the day after I arrived) and when we walked in the door at home, my mind immediately registered that Matt's and my song was playing in the living room. Me being my bossy little self demanded for dad to tell me why he was randomly playing "our song." 

And then I noticed a big bouquet of beautiful flowers on the table.

And then I saw a video camera in the corner and was confused.

AND THEN MATT'S FACE AND BODY AND CLOTHES AND EVERY SINGLE PART OF HIM THAT I JUST LOVE SO MUCH WALKED AROUND THE CORNER IN MY LIVING ROOM AND KNELT DOWN IN FRONT OF ME.

And then I heard that question that i'd heard so many times before:

"Jannette, will you marry me?"

But this time it was different. It wasn't a joke! It wasn't immediately brushed off. It wasn't causal. AND it wasn't empty handed ;-) The man was on one knee, in my house in Washington, asking me to be his wife forever and ever.

Dude, I SAID YES... after some gasping and kissing and hugging of course.

Mom in the background totally just makes this great.

I love this man. I get to spend my eternity with him! 

We are being sealed on Saturday February 14, 2015 in the Ogden, Utah temple. 

More details to come! :)

Self-Interview

So I had a big interview today. 

I wasn't applying for any kind of prestigious new school or job position.

It wasn't conducted across the desk from someone trying to get a good feel for my qualifications.

I wasn't dressed nice and I didn't get nervous sweaty hands.

I think I was chewing gum and probably didn't have any shoes on.

In fact, there was no verbal communication.

But I really DID have a big interview today.

It was with myself.

This morning I was challenged by an Apostle of God, M. Russell Ballard, to do just this. In a regional conference held at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah, he challenged thousands of young adults - men and women, single and married, parents or not - to conduct an interview with themselves. Despite busy schedules filled with jobs and school and family obligations, he encouraged us to find a quiet and private place to take time to meditate, ponder, and reflect on our own lives. 

He suggested a few questions we may want to consider asking ourselves during this interview. Some tie in closely to questions that might be asked in an official job interview setting: What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? What are your goals to become better? Others are more reflective, more spiritual, and take deeper thought: Where am I in my life? How can I become the powerfully spiritual individual I have the capability of becoming? Are there changes that I need to make in order to feel closer to God? Am I anchored to things of real importance and do I have my life built upon a solid foundation?

One of my favorite qualities to discover in other people that I greatly admire is self-awareness. And i'll be honest, I don't find that self-awareness is one of my own personal strengths. I have realized that the people who are the most genuine and real are the people who know themselves. They actually understand themselves. Without being possessed by feelings of selfishness or pride, they have a knowledge of who they are as a child of Heavenly Father, as a human being on this earth, and as a contribution to society. I want to be that way, which is why I found Elder Ballard's challenge to conduct a self-interview so powerful. 

As this day comes to a close, my heart is feeling very full.  It has just been one of those days where my cup runneth over. I feel so blessed by so many different people and things. Nothing spectacularly amazing happened today, but I can't help but recognize the big and little blessings surrounding me that bring my so much joy. Every morning I wake up in a beautiful apartment that shelters me and makes me feel happy. I have delicious food in my fridge to keep my body healthy and strong. Also I currently have candy corn :) Matty supports my decision to wear heels even though it makes me crazy tall, and then he helps me walk in them without falling on my face when I later realize what a silly decision I have made. I live in a place that allows me to be regularly instructed by prophets of God. I had a Sunday off of work, which allowed for church attendance and a glorious hour-long nap on the couch curled up in a warm blanket. Fall leaves and colors are everywhere and I love it! I have parents who like to reconnect with me on a regular basis, and we have the wonderful technology that allows us to do so! Matt made a delicious dinner tonight, sharing with me and giving me a day off cooking. I was able to talk and catch up for hours with some of my favorite girls on the face of this planet while eating delicious chex mix and pumpkin chocolate chip bread. I am in love with (and loved by) a wonderful man who leaves the best notes ever on my pillow for me to find before bed. Can you begin to see why my heart is so full?

As I went through today having so many great experiences, I used those times in addition to my quiet private reflection time to conduct my self-interview. What are my intentions with myself? Where am I going? Who am I becoming? What parts of my life can I tweak in order to become a better person, a better daughter, a better sister, a better nurse, a better friend? I may not always be the most self-aware, but I do know this: I am a daughter of a Heavenly Father who loves me and I love Him. I have a Savior who sacrificed his life for me. I am part of an eternal family, and I want to do everything I can to reach God's kingdom where I can be with them forever. I know the gospel taught within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true and living gospel. I am so grateful to be able to know all of those things.

As this week goes on, my self-interview will continue. 

At any time I can choose shut down my constantly playing Pandora stations and instead take a few minutes to reflect. And always, always, I can turn to Heavenly Father in prayer and ask for his help in  coming to understand myself better and having the strength and awareness to make any changes that need to be made. I know that as I strengthen myself through self-interviews, I will better prepare myself for the day when I meet my maker and am interviewed by Him before entering His kingdom. Believe me, thats something I want to be ready for.

Whether you were in attendance today at the Marriott Center or not, even whether you are LDS or not, I would challenge you all to take a few minutes, even just 15 short little minutes, to power down the electronics, set homework aside for a brief little while, send the kids out to play, do whatever you need to to conduct a self-interview.

Do you know who you are?

I Love This Birthday Boy!

23 things to know and love about Matthew Keith Barnes on his big boy 23rd birthday:

#1

He's a kid at heart. He loves to have fun and goof around!

#2

He is a student at Utah Valley University. He is a Psychology major/business minor, and he's got big plans for his future. He has absolute potential to be successful with whatever path he pursues.

#3

He's a great dancer! I can't always keep up, but I do my best. Dancing in the kitchen before or after dinner is a pretty regular activity for us.

#4

He is willing to learn new skills, and he picks things up quickly... Even if some of the things freak him out haha. Here he is learning how to cut, skin, and cook a freshly caught catfish. 

#5

He loves any and all things German. Two years home off of his mission to Berlin, he is blessed with a job that allows him to keep up his language and interact with other German friends daily. The language, the culture, and the FOOD, he loves it all! 

#6 

He likes having his feetsies rubbed.

#7

The man loves children. ESPECIALLY this little one he is holding here, my niece Amelia.

#8

HE RUNS!!! Well, he does now :) One of the first things we did as a couple was run 18 miles together... before that day he'd never run more than 8 miles at one time in his life. So pretty much he's crazy. Since then we have run a half marathon together, and we plan to do more races in the future, including a full marathon!

#9

He rocks a beard better than most. And its a ginger beard! I like it. A lot. I want him to have it. Always.

#10

He's a handyman. He is good at fixing things, taking things apart and putting them back together, etc. He uses his skills to help others. He doesn't even think twice about taking the time to help someone out. The first time we met was the day I moved into his apartment complex, and he was quickly by my side helping me unload my carload of stuff into the apartment. 

#11

He's all about dat bow-tie life.

#12

He is a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He loves the gospel. He has a strong testimony. He is a worthy Priesthood holder. He patterns his life after the life of the Savior.

 

#13

He can play the piano. And I don't just mean he can sit down and play whatever music is set before him (which he can). He can actually sit down and play something new and original on the spot. Something beautiful and harmonious and wonderful. It is an incredible skill that never ceases to blow my mind.

#14

He is a family man and a mamma's boy :) He has been blessed with an incredible family full of love, acceptance, fun, and joy! Being in their home is always a blessing for both of us, and we are grateful to be able to visit West Haven frequently to reconnect with them (his mom and his brother on a mission missing from this picture).

Reading his mom his favorite childhood book on Mother's Day :) He treats her with tremendous respect and love. Atta boy!

#15

He is so weird, and I love it. He doesn't really care what others think about him. He is true to himself at all times. Aaaaand sometimes that means pulling out walrus fry-face at In-N'-Out.

#16

He introduced me to The Strike. And then he took me to see them live... twice! Definitely a new favorite for me. Hoping to see them make it big in the next couple years.

#17

He's got a cute booty :)

#18

He's way too nice to me. He rubs my sore muscles after long training runs or hard work days.

#19

He's a great cook! Thankfully... goodness knows i've got a lot to learn in that department.

#20

He is spontaneous. He goes along with crazy dumb things like whipped cream fights at FHE that totally ruin clothes with the disgusting smell that can't even be washed out.

#21

He is one of the most patient men I know. He tolerates my grumpy days. He knows when to poke fun and when to cut back on the teasing. He waits for me to stop being dumb and be myself again. And he never holds those girlish mood swings against me.

 #22

He's cheesy. I'm cheesy. It works well for us :-)

 #23

He's mine! LUCKY ME!