I'm Actually Going to Graduate!

Yes, everyone. That is correct. I am finally going to graduate from college! I feel like I have been in school forever, but really, I've only completed 10 semesters so far. By the time I graduate from BYU-Idaho, I will have completed 11. But! That includes a changing of my major and transferring from BYU Provo to BYU-Idaho.

So, in order to graduate next semester, I either needed to enroll in the Senior Research Seminar class (you have to conduct a research study with a group and write a 20 page paper at the end discussing your findings) or get an internship. For a  while I was actively pursuing an internship through getting a job on campus. But, it didn't feel like it was the right thing to do. Panic started to overwhelm me, so I prayed, and felt like I should just wait. I am not a person that can just "wait". I have to have a plan, I have to know what I'm doing, and it has to be a plan that maps out my future. I'm a planner. But, I felt like my impression to wait was the right thing to do, so that's what I decided to do.

I waited. And I waited. And I waited some more, and no opportunities were coming my way. I was slowly but surely consigning myself to the fact that I was going to have to take the research seminar class, making my final semester of school absolutely insane. But, if it was what I was going to have to do, it was what I would do. I am ridiculously determined to do whatever it takes to graduate.

The week after I decided I would just have to take the stupid class, my professor for Health and Fitness Appraisal and Prescription emailed us and mentioned that there would be an opportunity for an on-campus internship for the Fall. The next day in class he had more details, I expressed my interest, learned more about it, and ta-da: I have an internship for next semester!

I am going to be a Wellness Coach in the Biggest Winner program here on campus!

I am SO excited about this, it makes me look a little insane.

The internship requires me to work 20-25 hours a week. I will be working directly with a personal trainer to help our team of eight contestants find success through their workout, nutrition, and behavior adaptation plans. As the Wellness Coach, I am in charge of their nutrition, meal planning, behavior adaptations, lifestyle changes, and just overall wellness during the program. I will conduct their initial and final assessments, have 1-on-1 nutrition counseling sessions with my clients, conduct bi-weekly weigh-ins, and attend every workout! There are team challenges throughout the semester, group workouts every day, and a banquet and closing ceremonies at the end of the program.

I cannot wait to get started! I already have so many fun ideas for my team members, lessons I want to teach, and activities I want to do with them!

I feel so blessed to have this internship fall in my lap at the perfect time. The university usually requires on-campus internships to be during your off-track, at least 40 hours, and the intern cannot be taking any courses through the school. But the rules have changed, just for this internship. It doesn't have to be 40 hours, it can be taken during the student's on-track, and they can be enrolled in up to 10 credits. It is absolutely perfect for my schedule next semester, and it is exactly what I am passionate about and want to do. I have no doubt in my mind that I felt prompted to wait so that I could have the experience of participating in this program. I AM SO EXCITED.

P.S. This is the awesome gym facility that we get to work in. And this is only the cardio half of it! There is a really well equipped weight lifting section as well. Again. So excited.

Reece: Nine Months

Reece is nine months old.
Nine.
Months.
Old.

This is crazy. I can't believe I have a nine month old! She's the best baby ever. I know I say that in every month-post, but seriously. Best baby ever.

This month she has:

1. Sprouted two little teeth on the bottom! They have recently grown to the point where she notices them, and so she can't stop running her tongue over them. 
2. Started blowing raspberries back and forth with me. She thinks it's hilarious.
3. Turned into a crawling professional. She is stinkin' fast and determined to get where she wants to go.
4. Started cruising around the furniture! She gets more confident walking along the couch every day, and it makes me wonder when she's going to start walking.
5. Stood on her own for a few seconds. There have been a couple of times where she has let go of either me or Derek, stands there on her own for a few seconds, realizes what she's doing, and wiggles and falls. 
6. Started pulling all of the movies off the bookshelf in the front room. It's getting to the point where I'm going to have to clear that shelf. 
7. Been soothing herself at nighttime. We've been working on this for a while, and now, she'll fuss for a couple of minutes after we lay her down, but then fall asleep and sleep through the night. It's been a beautiful thing.

She loves to look at books, be outside, give kisses, eat, pull the books/movies off the bookshelf, and "swim"! We went to the lake yesterday, and she was a little fish! Kicking her legs and splashing with her arms. She LOVES the water.

Reece is the sweetest little thing. She smiles so big when Derek comes home from school or work, and starts to cry if he goes to set his backpack down before he comes over to give her a kiss. She always is good for a snuggle and kiss when I'm having a hard day. 

We love you Reece Averie!

The Things We Say and Do

As I was procrastinating the studying I desperately needed to do last night, I stumbled upon an article that one of my friends had shared on Facebook. This is one of those rare moments when I'm glad that I procrastinated, because if I hadn't, I probably wouldn't have seen this article last night. And last night was the perfect time for me to read this.

The article is called "When Your Mother Says She's Fat" on the website Role Reboot. The author, Kasey Edwards, is writing a letter to her mother about the first time she can remember her mother calling herself fat and how that impacted the way she saw her mother and herself for the rest of her life. Edwards then goes on to say that she doesn't want this same thing to happen to her daughter, so she is going to try and teach her by example and through what she says that a woman's power does not lie solely in her physical beauty.

After reading that article last night, I was excited. Excited because I had more reason and motivation to keep my goal of not saying negative things about myself in front of Reece. As a mother to a beautiful little girl, I want to be the best that I can be so that I can set a good example for her. Growing up, I was always concerned with my body image. The first time I remember being self-conscious about the way I looked was in 6th grade. It was the end of the school year, and as one of the top students in the grade, I got to be in the dunk tank. For that activity I, obviously, had to be in a swimming suit. I remember feeling scared to unwrap my towel from around my waist, knowing that everyone would be looking at me as I climbed into the tank. I also remember seeing other girls that were "skinny" and feeling like if only I could look like them, I wouldn't be so scared. Ever since then, my ideas about how I look have been incredibly negative.

This only continued to get worse as I went into junior high and high school. My self-talk about my body image was always things like, "Ugh, I feel so fat," or "I wish I could have a different body." My freshman year of college, I lost ten pounds. The next year, I lost five more. I was feeling so good about the way I looked. But even then, I would look in the mirror and see "flaws."

I don't want Reece to have these negative thoughts. And I can do my best to make sure that she doesn't by being an example through the things I say and do. I want to show her that her worth is far more than her physical beauty.

I'm in school right now, taking 16 credits, and my life is crazy busy. I don't have much time to sit and play with my daughter, and when we were first getting started with the semester I felt horrible about it. (Still kind of do, sometimes.) But then I was talking with one of my wonderful sister-in-laws one night, and she put it this way: "You're not sacrificing time with her for no reason. You are setting a good example for her. You're showing her the value and importance of an education." As a mother, I know some of the things that I need to do to make sure my daughter will always see beauty in herself, and that starts with never saying things like, "Ugh, I feel so fat" or "I wish I could have a different body," in front of her.

To read Sister Dalton's full talk, click on
the picture above.

In this last General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Sister Elaine S. Dalton,
the former Young Women's General President, gave a talk entitled, "We Are Daughters of Our Heavenly Father." Sister Dalton talks about how we can instill in our daughters the values and virtues that they will need to survive in the world today. She says:

"So how do a mother and a father instill in their daughter the ennobling and eternal truth that she is a daughter of God? How do we help her step out of the world and step into the kingdom of God?

"In a morally desensitizing world, young women need women and men to “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places.” Never before has this been more important than now. Young women need mothers and mentors who exemplify virtuous womanhood. Mothers, your relationship with your daughter is of paramount importance, and so is your example. How you love and honor her father, his priesthood, and his divine role will be reflected and perhaps amplified in your daughter’s attitudes and behavior.

"What is that part we must all “act well”? The family proclamation is clear:

"'By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. …"

I am grateful for a husband that I know will always love and support me, and work equally with me in loving and raising our children. I know that as we do our best to teach Reece that she is a precious daughter of our Heavenly Father that it will be the first step to giving her the key to reaching her divine potential. Not just in physical beauty, but in all other aspects as well.

I am nowhere near perfect in trying to keep my thoughts about myself positive. But now that I am a mother, I am more determined than ever to give Reece the opportunity to grow up in a home where she always feels loved, beautiful, and like the daughter of God that she is. 

This post has been kind of all over the place. But, my main thought is just that our families, our children especially, should always know how much we love them. They should always be confident in saying that they know that they are children of Heavenly Father. As parents, we need to teach them that. It is through the things we say and do that our children learn from us. Our families are eternal, and if we can keep that in mind, then it makes it a little easier to keep our perspective. 

"Give your child a compliment and a hug; say, 'I love you' more; always express your thanks. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a [child] to be loved." 

-President Thomas S. Monson