I'm Gonna Make This Place Your Home.

Getting married is an interesting thing. All of these dreams I grew up with of things I wanted to do with my future husband aren't in the future anymore! It has been fun to see those things becoming a reality. One thing I always wanted to do was cook with my husband - real meals! Not the typical crappy college meals of quesadillas or ramen noodles. So this week, we did just that :) We made delicious sweet and sour chicken, with broccoli on the side, and homemade rolls (which I used the kitchen aid for!). So good.

Another food we made this week is no bake granola bites. They are simple and quick to make, but so good! Here is the recipe: http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2013/08/no-bake-healthy-granola-bites.html I would highly recommend trying them at least once. You can totally alter the recipe to your liking - adding coconut flakes, nuts, dried fruit, whatever you want! And it makes a great snack :)

Tuesday night we went to the temple to do sealings. I am so grateful for a temple that is so close to us, and for the power and blessings that come from attending the temple. 

Wednesday night we did a double date! Braden set up one of his coworkers with our good friend, Rachel. We were going to carve pumpkins, eat apple pie, and play games. Braden and I had gone to a pumpkin patch two weeks ago, and had a pumpkin we were going to carve. His coworker was bringing the pumpkin to carve with Rachel. I had the apple pie in the oven, and we were set to go! 

At least we thought.

The date was set to start at 7. About 6 pm, Braden looks at our pumpkin. I had cut it open the week before, and brought it to preschool so I could teach my class about the parts of a pumpkin. What we didn't realize, is that it had started growing mold after we cut it open. The outside looked fine, but the inside was green, nasty, and moldy. We knew it wouldn't exactly work for carving anymore. So with T Minus 1 hour until the date, Braden set out to get us a replacement pumpkin. He checked the tiny supermarket around the corner from us. He drove out to Springville to check Walmart. He drove around Springville, checking all the little supermarkets and such. NOBODY had pumpkins out. It was the day before Halloween. You would think there would be pumpkins everywhere! We thought about stealing a pumpkin, buying one off our neighbors, etc. But clearly those weren't great options. So Braden came home around 6:50. I set off to go pick up Rachel (she broke her foot, and can't drive for the time being). After I picked her up, we checked one more grocery store - Smiths. Thankfully, they had pumpkins! There was only a few left, and they were little itty bitty, but it worked for the date :) 

Braden only does cheesy smiles. But I love him anyways :)

Or he doesn't smile at all. Still love him :)

Another dream I was able to fulfill this week is finally decorating our own apartment! We finally got all of our pictures up on the wall, and it is starting to feel more like home :) I'll post pictures of that next week.

I finished another paint-by-number, which is one of my most favorite hobbies! I'm definitely not a talented painter without the numbers there, but I love being able to depict God's creations. And it sure makes beautiful pictures to hang on the walls. 

This one is called "Sunset Cabin"

We had the wonderful opportunity to attend a Vocal Point Concert last night. Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE LOVE live music. I feel closer to Christ when listening to music than just about any other situation. When they sang their rendition of "Come Come Ye Saints", their percussionist teared up. His face was so filled with light, I couldn't help but just cry with him. It was so beautiful, and I love how quickly the Spirit filled the room. I think it is so neat that they can share their testimonies of Christ through their music and performances. Here is the song:

Another song they sang that I just LOVED is one of their originals. It is called "Home for Me". They introduced the song by talked about how sometimes being away from our families, we feel like we get homesick. But the truth is, home is where our loved ones are - whether that be our roommates, our real families, etc. No matter where we may be, we can choose to make it our home. The song has a fantastic key change towards the end!

Braden and I talked about how moving to Provo has been a change. We both miss Rexburg, and being close to our friends and family. But this is our home now, and we are going to make the best of it! We love each other a whole heck of a lot, and that makes it home for us :)