liebster

 

my cute baby sis awarded me the Liebster Award! i've gotten this award a few times before, but i thought it would be fun to at least answer her questions - she's got some good ones!

kayla's questions:

1. what is your greatest accomplishment in life so far?

being sealed to my husband in the temple. being raised in the LDS church, i had an understanding of the importance of the temple at an early age. so many things about the temple and what goes on inside the temple are sacred, and are not often discussed outside of the temples, so i was left to stare and wonder and anxiously wait for my turn to go inside. the night i received my endowment and went through the temple for the first time was unforgettable. devin and i do our best to go back often, but it's different from that night. i was there with devin. he had made a decision long before he met me to live a life worthy enough to take me inside one day, and i will always be so grateful for that. i had also spent my life preparing for that day, and it was so incredible to experience with devin. i fell in love with  him all over again that night. i see this as an accomplishment because it had been something i had looking forward to and worked for my entire life, and our wedding day was a huge milestone in my spiritual growth.

2. if you could change your name, what would it be?

when i was younger, my sisters and i used to fight over who got to use which name when we played Barbie's. the favorites seemed to be Kaylie and Brittney, if i remember right. i've never seriously thought about having a different name because i'm such a katie. i think my name fits me and my personality really well. i know my parents considered naming me Kamryn for awhile, and I think that would have worked too. sometimes i've wished that was my name (you know, on days when i've turned around to someone shouting "KATIE!" only to find they were talking to someone else... more than once...) - it's pretty popular, but i like it.

3. what is your favorite quote and why?

"I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you straightforwardly without complexities or pride; so I love you because I know no other way than this: where I do not exist, nor you. So close that your hand on my chest is my hand, so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep" - Pablo Neruda

I love this quote because it so perfectly says exactly how I love Devin in a way I can't.

4. if you could be someone else, who would you be?

I'm pretty happy being me! I don't think i'd trade it for anything. I think it would be really interesting to be Cooper for a day though...

5. what is the best gift you have ever received?

uh... my wedding ring! i love my ring. i love that devin picked it out 100% by himself. i had no input whatsoever. i love the diamond he chose and the changes he made to the setting. i love that he thought about it a lot and made sure it was just right. he thought of all the little things. it's absolutely perfect. best gift ever.

6. which sibling are you the closest to?

as i've gotten older, i feel like i have become closer with all of my siblings. it has been so much fun to watch kyle grow up. he is the world's best teenager. he has the biggest heart and is the greatest example of selflessness. he has been so, so much fun to have as a brother and a friend. he and devin get along so great, and i think kyle and i got closer once I gave him a brother! haha kayla and i probably fight the most, but i think it keeps us in check. she is so much more mature than i give her credit for, and she is always willing to listen and give advice. kayla is my favorite person to shop with because she is always up for it, likes all the same stores as me, and gives me honest feedback about things before i buy them. (she never lets me get any sunglasses because she things they all look horrible on me, haha). and then there's kell. i'd have to say i'm closest with her. kayla and kyle are best friends, and so are kelli and i, but the 4 of us put together have THE BEST TIME. i love my family. kelli and i were married 2 weeks apart. we are living virtually the same life, so i think we've become so close because we are on the exact same page right now. we know exactly what the other is going through. we call each other all the time, just cause and try to see each other as often as possible! kelli and her husband sean have become some of devin and i's best friends. they are amazing! i love my siblings.

7. if you could change one person's life, who would it be?

this is a hard one. i have no idea. i would love to be able to make a difference in the lives of a lot of people. i would love to rescue the next dog we get. i think it would be awesome to go on a humanitarian trip. i would even love to adopt a child! i don't think i have any one specific person in mind... i would just like to make a difference! 

8. what is the greatest thing you've learned about life so far?

can i be cliche and say that is goes on. seriously, though. i don't know how many times devin and i have encountered a problem that we've though was the end-all, and we've come away completely unscathed. as a dramatic and rebellious teenager, even 30 minutes shaved off my curfew was the end of the world, so i've definitely come a long way. i do my best to not let bad situations get the best of me. i try not to let them rub me wrong and get me worked up because being angry isn't worth it. it's a waste of time. i like to remind myself that there are people worse off than me and in worse situations, and are handling it all just fine, so i need to get over myself and move on. it helps.

9. what is your biggest pet peeve?

gah. everybody knows this about me and i hate talking about it because i feel like the prissiest jerk. i can't stand listening to people eat/chew/swallow/drink.. anything. it even bothers me if they have too much spit in their mouth when they talk. it just grosses me out and i have been known to scoot to the opposite end of the couch and even leave the room at times. i feel horrible when i act like this around devin - it's not like he's doing anything wrong! it's not like anybody is! i'm just really weird! but seriously. it's so gross. most of the time, if somebody is eating around me, i like to be eating, too. just so i can drown out the noise of them eating with my own eating (which also sometimes disgusts me.)

10. what is your dream job?

my dream job??? to be a mama. simple as that. i'm not in school right now. i don't have any intention as of right now to go back. i don't think i'm old fashioned. and i'm not just doing it because the church has said women should stay in the home if they are able to. i want to. i want to be a stay at home mom. i want to be the "room mom" for my kids in school. i want to be in a carpool rotation with other moms. i want to go to PTA meetings and little league games. i want to change diapers and wear spit up on my clothes and in my hair. i think it will be the greatest job in the world. other people are going to school for their dream jobs - mine just has different prerequisites!

11. why did you start blogging?

i feel like i just talked about this. i started this blog in 2009 while i was living in St. George and going to Dixie State College. this chapter of my life i think i'll start calling "the transition" - it was that year in St. George that i came to several realizations in my life and pretty much changed everything about it. i started the blog as an escape from the life i was living down there. i wasn't on speaking terms with any of my roommates (awkward, much?! ha!), i didn't have many (any) other friends, and I was completely consumed with school and work. i've deleted most of those posts and now my first post on here is in 2010, right before i met Devin. because this is my life now. and keeping track of everything before this is mostly a waste of time.