Baby Hungry?

As we were driving to and from our Thanksgiving dinners the other day, Trevor turned to me and said: "Angie, I can't wait until we're not the newlyweds anymore." I knew exactly what he meant.

Thanksgiving brought almost the entire Young family together this year! It was so fun to see everyone again after the wedding- we had one other time during the summer for the annual Young camping trip but other than that it's hard to get everyone together at once. My mother in law loves a full table and I love hanging out with all of Trevor's cousins. I consider myself lucky to have such fun in-laws.

But having the whole family together also means that the newlyweds get questions like: "So, when are you guys going to have babies??" and "Oh Trevor you're so cute with the kids!" or "Angie you're going to make such a great mom!"

And it gets me thinking... I really am excited to have kids! And Trevor really is going to be the best daddy in the world. And to be honest, I think it's actually pretty fun when people tease us about having kids, because it is going to happen someday. SOMEDAY :)

But... I am 20 years old. I just applied for my masters program at the U. I haven't had even a year with my husband yet. And I haven't seen enough of the world yet!

So, am I baby hungry? Maybe sometimes. I think my Mom and Trevor's Mom are both a little more grand baby-hungry at this point :)

Instead, for now I think I'll do things like this:

 So that we can get ready for this:

 And hang out with them:

And keep missing them:

And get ready to cuddle her:

  

So no babies for us for awhile, but Trevor and I are happy becoming Auntie Angie and Uncle Trevor again for you sisters who are interested ;) We can't wait to meet baby Jaro!

(Oh, and even though we probably won't stop being the newlyweds on the Welch side for awhile, Jessica you are welcome to take our spot on the Young's!)

I Guess I'm a Holiday Person

I always knew I loved holidays. The smell of fall leaves, wood crackling in fires, and holiday treats baking in the oven always got me feeling jittery with excitement. There's a feeling that comes when family is gathered together- to tell old stories, laugh, talk, and eat yummy food- that cannot be reciprocated.

But I got even more excited this year when the reality hit me that it is my time to start traditions for my OWN family. To get started on making holiday decorations that would last me hopefully past this first part of my marriage and until we have kids. Who knew that buying a Christmas tree, making wreaths for my door, and baking yummy treats to send to neighbors would be so fun??

When my mother was first married, she made all the ornaments for her Christmas tree out of salt dough. To this day, we have those ornaments and I remember ooing and aahing at them when I was a kid thinking of how cool it was that my mom made them. I really hope that someday my kids will get the same kind of feeling when they pull out my homemade decorations each season to scatter around our home. The thought makes me so excited!

To start, I am SO excited for Halloween! When October hit, I found myself browsing the internet for fun ideas to decorate my home. There were so many fun things out there, but I decided to share a few that I've done.

Shrunken Apple Heads:

Get the instructions from Martha Stewart Halloween here.

This was kind of an on-the-whim idea, but I was SO happy with how they turned out! I was browsing the web and came across Martha Stewart Halloween ideas where I found these creepy apple heads. I think it'd be fund to make a bunch some year and put them in a vase for a Halloween centerpiece.
Tips in case you're interested in making them: Get the really big Granny Smith apples. The bigger the better. They're pretty tough and easier to carve than other apples. They'll also hold their form better while drying. Also, if you want to make these in time for the holiday, it's best to start at least two weeks before. They take about that long to shrink to their smallest size.

Halloween Wreath:

I couldn't find the link for this one, but it's SUPER easy and self-explanatory.

I LOVE my wreath! And I can't even tell you how easy it was. The main problems I ran in to, was that wreath forms are ridiculously expensive. Like. Insanely. So I just got a straw form for like 3 or 4 dollars and kept the plastic on it. Other than that, the only other thing was that wrapping it became a little tedious. It took me about 1 1/2 conference sessions to finish but I bet I could have done it faster if I wasn't distracted.

All you'll need is black and orange yarn, a wreath form, and paper bag (cut to printer paper size to print the letters on) and some twine. And voila! You've got a cute decoration to hang on your door :)

"Been Booed" Treat:

 There's been a Halloween trend going around our neighborhood called "We've Been Booed!'. It's a fun tradition where one neighbor makes a treat and door bell-ditches another neighbor with this attached:

Once you've "Been BOO-ed", you have to boo someone else! So naturally, after Trevor and I came home to some yummy caramel candy pop chips on our doorstep, I got thinking of something fun I could do in return. My mom had a Frankenstein sugar cookie cutter so I decided to make these yummy cookies for my family and friends. Each one is different and they were so much fun to make!

I am so so ready for the holidays to come! Happy Halloween everyone!

The Married Life

I'm married! Yes blogger world I took the plunge and am fully immersed in while life is like as a non-dependent person sharing a life with someone totally new. Needless to say, I love it. I love the new things I learn every day, I love mowing MY lawn, I love making dinner for my husband, and I love having someone to be with at the end of every day. SO much has happened in these past 4 months. My life has completely changed for the better and I'm even more excited about our future now that the wedding day is just a happy day to look back on rather than a day I still need to plan.

While I could spend a billion hours trying to write out everything that's happened over the past little while, I think I'll just list some of the major things and let the pictures do most of the talking :)

First off, I've learned a lot of things being married:
#1. I can cook... given these conditions:

• I go to the store at least once for an ingredient I don't already have
• I use just about every dish in my cupboards 
• I call my Mom, just to make sure I'm making it right
• We have a few or 10 friends over to help us eat whatever I make- I'd like to thank my mother for teaching me how to feed an army :) 

This WAS a gorgeous s'mores cake Trevor and I made for one of his work parties. They had a contest to see who could make the best dessert and when Trevor heard there would be prizes, we were all in! All in that is, except for the part when we decided to start making a cake that normally takes about 4 hours to make, 2 hours before the party started. This death-by-deliciousness cake had somewhere around 8 layers to it: 2 layers of brownie sheets, 2 layers of chocolate chip cookie sheets, marshmallow cream layers, and 2 layers of New York cheesecake...We finished JUST in time, but Trevor wouldn't let me take a picture of it- "We don't have enough time! You can take one when we get there!" Before judging, I added up the numbers and it turns out Trevor and I spent about $45.00 on this cake (for all the supplies), the prize better be good. In fact, Trevor's work has been known to give out some pretty awesome prizes like iPads, cameras, televisions... We were confident that we would be going home with a new iPad at least! When it came time to announce the winners, 3rd place was announced to have won $15.00. Wait. What?? Daaaaaang. In the end, Trevor and I went home with 2nd place and $30 in our pocket. We were beat out by a delicious strawberry trifle who only won $15 more than us. We got home, cake gone, $15 less than we started the day off with, and only this picture to show for it. It made for a good laugh and definitely a good story :)

#2. I HATE moving. What. A. Pain. Only 3 weeks into marriage and Trevor and I were out of this itty bitty apartment and into a better place. TOTALLY worth the move, but we couldn't believe how much stuff we already had... It's crazy how it all builds up. A special thanks to all our friends and family who helped! *Thanks guys!!

Cleaning out our kitchen :) Glad we got to experience this place for a little while.

#3. We're weirdos. I knew we were before we got married, but little did I know what marriage would do to us. I love it :)

Soo mostly I'm the weirdo. But it's good to know that someone will love me no matter how ugly you can make your face look!

#4. You can still have friends and be married. Hooly man I don't know what I would do without these girls.

#5. (And most important thing I've learned) I married the right guy. And boy is he talented. I love discovering all the different things he can do each day like the random things he knows how to fix, how he knows how to get different places...

He is an AWESOME D.J. He can make any group of people get up and dance anywhere from a group of high school robotics nerds to a sophisticated wedding party. I love that about him

 He paints my nails :) Just discovered this one the other day!

He's awesome with kids! Our primary kids think he's the greatest person alive. Not to mention our nieces and nephews love him to death. He's going to make an awesome daddy someday.

Trevor with our new baby nephew Adam!

He surprises me on my birthday with a hot air balloon ride! Can you say, EPIC?? Amazingest things ever in the whole world. I'm telling you, marry a man who will help you knock something like this off your bucket list. So awesome- and who better to share it with than your very best friend!

This man is a STUDD. He makes me fall more and more in love with him each day. I can't even help it.

Who said married life wasn't fun? It's been the best time of my life :) Can't wait to post more about our fun summer adventures!

All the Pennnies

If I had a penny for every little moment Trevor made me fall more and more in love with him... I think I'd be pretty rich.

Like a penny for last night when he brushed away my stringy running-hair to tell me I was a princess. 

Like for the look on his face when he saw my wedding dress for the first time.

Or for last night in my dream when he saved me from and beat off an angry mob.

Or for every kiss on the cheek he gives for no reason other than to make me feel so loved.

It gives another meaning to the phrase, "he makes me feel like a million bucks." 

Because really, if I had a love-penny for every one of those little moments, I'd probably be a millionaire! 

Or I'd at least have a few extra dollars in my pocket :)

Keeping an Eternal Perspective

Over the past month I've had the very humbling opportunity of experiencing many faith-building experiences.

A few weeks ago, my beautiful grandmother Beverly Welch passed away after facing a long battle with her weakening body. How very sad it was to see her go. I was blessed to have spent time with her on her very last day- cuddling up next to her and huddling round as Julie read her stories, playing hymns on the piano for her to hear, and looking in to her eyes that remained just as loving and full of faith as my earliest memory has of her.

Her funeral gave me the opportunity to reflect on our earthly lives- about our chance to learn and to grow and to become closer and closer to our Father in Heaven as we always try to do what is right. My grandmother was an angel on earth. Her happiness and testimony was so contagious that you couldn't help but smile when you were around her.

Not two weeks after grandmother passed, her sister Dianne followed. While the sorrow following both of their passing may have seemed hard to handle in the beginning, it was soon met with comfort in the knowledge that we will see both of them again. I feel so blessed to have the knowledge of life after death, of eternity and my personal eternal potential which is given directly from God.

This is Grandma on her wedding day. Isn't she beautiful? Her sister Dianne stands on her right. So grateful for them and the wonderful example they left for us.

 About a year ago, my dad was called to be the bishop of my family ward. It was interesting to see him change and take on yet another major role. One of the craziest things about it was that not only was he taking on a whole ward, but he was also taking on the pressure of being bishop to an apostle! Elder Neil A. Anderson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles lives just up the street from me.

When Trevor and I decided to get married, we thought it would be really cool if Elder Anderson could perform the sealing for us. So we called his office and were very disappointed to hear that he would be out of town on our wedding day. Bum-mer. Not too long after that though, his secretary called back and told us that Elder Anderson felt so bad he couldn't be there, so he wanted to know if Trevor and I would come in and meet with him sometime before the big day! Of course we said yes and about a month later we found ourselves walking down the halls of that big building and being escorted into his office.

What an amazing experience it was to sit and talk with him. The spirit seemed to sing from that room and his eyes were so full of light and knowledge- it was amazing. He offered us some very good advice and gave us some important principles that Trevor and I are going to instill in our lives as we prepare for marriage. I was grateful to hear the words of comfort Elder Anderson gave to Trevor concerning his mother. He was so sincere and so very loving in the things he had to say.

It was such a blessing to have that experience. It is something that Trevor and I will cherish throughout our entire lives.

Among all of these experiences, I was most grateful for the opportunity I had to see Trevor practice his priesthood and offer me a priesthood blessing. Feeling very overwhelmed and overcome by worry in the many difficulties that come from school, work, and preparing for marriage, I went to Trevor and asked if he could give me a blessing. Without hesitation, he replied simply "of course."

The comfort that came through his words is indescribable. My testimony of the priesthood was strengthened tenfold from the spirit I felt and the promptings I was able to receive through that blessing. I am so grateful to have him. I am so grateful to know that I will have a worthy priesthood holder with me throughout my life. I was lucky to have grown up in a home where my father could give me that and it feels so good to know that my children will have that opportunity as well.  If I can offer up any advice to someone looking to marry in the future, it would be that they should not settle for anything less. It is truly amazing what the power of priesthood can do.

Life is hard. I am learning that more and more every day. But hard doesn't have to mean unhappy or scary, it just means new and exciting! And the more you look at things in an eternal light, the easier it is to make the small steps that lead up to big decisions. I am so grateful for my sweet family, for a fiance that I love more than anything in the world, and most importantly for the the knowledge I have of the gospel and the comfort that it brings.