Bond with Friends

Dual meaning with this title this week, we went and saw the new James Bond movie with our friends and also I just felt extra grateful for good friends this past week. Both longtime time friends and new friends. I had several good conversations over text, FaceTime and in person with friends from Utah and here in Pittsburgh and am just so grateful that we have the opportunity to build relationships in this life. I say all the time that this whole adjusting to life across the country would be an entirely different experience if we didn’t have our Carnegie Crew to rally around and experience it with. It’s been amazing to watch in the past two months how much we’ve gotten to know each other and the things we’ve experienced together:

• Ohio trip
• Sunday dinners
  
• Ice cream runs
• Weekend dates
• Sick parents
• Pregnancy (not me one of our friends is pregnant and due in May:)
  
• Birthday drop offs
• Study groups
• New York road trip
• Game nights
• Long chats 
• Conference weekend 
• Broken shower
• Church drama 

 

 

We’ve already been through a lot together and I’m just so grateful that we aren’t alone in life. I know there are many that feel they are alone and that breaks my heart. I challenge whoever reads this to search for the friends in your life and count your blessings for each one and then search for someone who may not have friends and find some way you can reach out and be a friend to them.

And if you’re someone reading this that’s feeling lonely and friendless the same challenge goes for you, examine your life and find the friends you do have and reach out to someone who may not have many friends. And pray that people will be placed in your path to be your friends.

One of my favorite quotes has been running through my mind a lot this week, “God does notice us and He watches over us. But it is usually through another person that He meets our needs.” Spencer W. Kimball

I have seen it again and again in my own life that people often come into my life and become an answer to my prayers and reveal to me God’s goodness through their words, actions and friendship. And I can only hope that through my own friendships I can help others feel God’s love.

But back to the James Bond movie… Jaden was so excited counting down the days til the movie premiered. We actually went to the movie in theaters which I don’t remember the last time I saw a movie in the actual theater but it was really fun to go back and Taylor and Keile made sure to get tickets in the theater with the reclining seats which made it even better. I won’t say anything to spoil the movie other than we laughed, I cried and some people walked out of the theater. I’ve never seen that happen before, we all loved the movie but clearly others did not. James Bond movies may be known for being full of action, car chases and women but if you scrape that all away it’s really just a fight between good and evil and doing anything to protect the people you care about. And I think that’s what resonates the most with people whether or not they realize or admit it. But if you ask Jaden he really does have a man crush on Daniel Craig and he’ll forever be his favorite Bond.

 

Really am just grateful for bonds with friends and hope we can be like James Bond and fight for good against evil and do everything we can to protect the people we care about.  

Peaches

• One on one phone call with Bridge on Monday, way better than group calls
• Texting friends from high school, roommates, long time friends
• FaceTiming Sam and Ken and meeting baby Macky
• FaceTiming Landon with Jade and hearing about his life updates 
• If you know Jaden you know he is singing and/or whistling pretty much whenever he's not talking or sleeping... he will randomly decide on an artist or song that is his favorite to sing throughout the week it can be something he hears on a commercial (two weeks ago it was Walker Hayes' Fancy Like, I literally couldn't get it out of my head for like three days) this week was Celine Dion's It's All Coming Back to Me Now. He literally said "This is my new jam, I could listen to it at the gym and get so pumped up." I died laughing. He's the best, definitely the most entertaining coworker I've ever had. I'll be real sad the day he gets an office job and leaves me alone to work during the day, I've loved having him home all the time throughout quarantine and out here doing school full time
• Grateful for work friends, I really do work for and with some of the greatest people
  
• James Bond dinner and movie date with friends
•  Found a cute old fashioned candy shop while walking around after dinner before the movie
• Made an awesome Saturday breakfast, I was in charge of waffles Jaden did everything else, my favorite thing was the cinnamon sugar bananas he put on top of the waffles
• Decided to try to grow my own cilantro not sure why I’m attempting this since my indoor palm appears to be dying on me
• Chatting with the cashier lady at Walmart and explaining to her what a tomatillo was
  
• Sunday dinners with friends
• Learned how to change my windshield wiper blades and did it all by myself, probably not that impressive but I was proud I bought the right sizes and installed them without any help other than google ;)
• People out here are so nice and friendly m I swear anywhere I go the workers are as good to you as Chick Fil A workers. Guy at the car wash was so nice and offered me a refund on the actual wash so I could just use the vacuums when I told him I was really just getting a wash to use the vacuums at the end. At the end of the day I still needed to wash my car but still… So nice!
• Marc E. Bassy’s new album
• Saw a house with purple trim and thought of mom
• Being able to submit a project at work and strike it off the to do list. I love lists and love completing them even more
• Feeling blessed to have truly incredible in-laws that feel more like a second set of parents than in-laws
• When friends have birthdays and we can trash their porch, Amanda's birthday was this past week, the other pic was from Keile's birthday a few weeks ago
  
• Great British Baking show is back! But I've been spoiled by binge watching and have a hard time only watching one episode and waiting til the next week to watch the next one
• Still finding notes in random places from when Mom helped us move in
  
• Relief society presidency very much on the same page of helping versus enabling when it comes to ministering
• FaceTiming nieces and nephew
• Mom comes into town this week (my phone is freaking with almost as much excitement as I am and has been notifying me all week that "Mom's coming" which is what I put in my calendar haha!
• Mom sending a Darth Vader gif that said "Prepare for my arrival." Jaden and I both got a kick out of that
  
• Putting together an itinerary of things to do when mom flies in for her birthday
• Getting ready for her birthday party
  
• Our laundry quarter pumpkin. Girl at the bank this week gave me two rolls of quarters (usually they'll only give you one per day) real peach that one

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pits

• My whole routine of getting up early and working out before work absolutely flew out the window this past week
• My indoor palm really needs some TLC, good thing mom is coming  
• Feeling conflicted about how to respond to a ministering request
  
• Jenna and Zach started having green water come out of their shower, the joys of ancient apartments
• Feeling overwhelmed by things I need to be better at throughout the week that I need to just do and not let distractions get in the way and suck my time away
  
• Hearing people be very angry and misunderstand gospel doctrines and church leadership. Breaks my heart

Lessons Learned

• Relationships bring true joy to your life
• Fighting for good and protecting people you care about is what resonates deep with people
• It’s worth it to reach out
• You don’t have to walk through life alone
• Heavenly Father meets our needs through people
• Ministering gives us the opportunity to be the Lord’s hands and do his work
• How to change my windshield wipers
• Isaiah 5:20 “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”
• Sometimes I let my phone and distractions get in the way of spiritually uplifting experiences