Growing up Gilbert

We made it to Grenada! Which is a surprise- I can't believe I survived a 20 hour day traveling alone with Arya. It was a challenge! But we're here in paradise, finally! It's definitely different, I've never lived outside of Douglas (except for living a bit in Valdosta) so it's a big change. But it's a fantastic life experience and I can definitely get used to being this close to the beach. Now, if I could only get the grocery stores to promise fully stocked shelves of Flaming Hot Cheetoes... The transportation here is interesting, to say the least. We don't have a car (which I don't mind one bit) so we walk or take busses everywhere. They drive on the left side of the road here. It takes a lot of getting used to, but I'm starting to adjust to the feeling. However, there are no road rules here! No speed limits, no car seats, no pedestrian right of way rules. It's a free for all! Honking is the language of the road here. People honk to say ...

I've neglected my blog a bit! We move d back to our hometown near our friends and family, so there hasn't been much of a need to keep everyone updated. But, that's soon to change! We have a really exciting announcement (for those wh o haven't heard). Ryan was accepted into medical school! I'm beyond proud and we're both inc redibly excited. Ryan has been working towards this for awhile, we're happy that things ha ve worked out the way we've been planning. One of the really neat aspects of this is that we're moving to the Caribbean! Th e island is named Grenada, and it's gorgeous. We're excited to be moving on and forward with this part of our lives. We just wish we could take everyone with us!! By the way, who wants to come pack up my entire house and find a place to store all of our things? And maybe clean everything for us? ;) Yesterday was my 24th birthday. It was great! We went to Celebration, Florida to stay with some friends. We de...

I've been debating on whether or not to say something about a disturbing issue I've seen lately in reference to the political world. It's come to the point where I feel like it would be wrong for me not to say something. So, here it goes. Basing your vote only on someones religion is wrong. A friend called me today to say that she heard a poll on the radio that found a disturbing number of Republicans refused to vote for Mitt Romney SOLEY because he's a Mormon. Wow. I am astounded. Let me make something clear, I would be just as appalled if I heard that people refused to vote for a candidate just because they were Jewish or Catholic (which unfortunately, has already happened) etc.... Does the candidate care about our beautiful country and will they protect it at all costs? Are their values those that you can agree with? Are their policies those that you think are best for our Nation? I understand that some people want to look at someones religion when they decide whethe...

I saw someone post today that most of the people who were harmed in the earthquake in Japan would go to "hell" for eternity just because they had never heard the gospel. This breaks my heart to the core. No one will ever be punished because they didn't know the fullness of the gospel. No one will be ever be rejected from heaven because they just weren't at the right place at the right time, or because they couldn't understand it. Our God is just, and we will all be given an equal chance to hear and accept the beautiful reality of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Never loose hope that those who left this earth without knowing Christ will be with us in eternity. They will be given their chance. "The Lord has made it known that his mercy extends to the uttermost bounds and that every soul is entitled to hear the gospel plan, either in this life or in the spirit world. All who hear and believe, repenting and recieving the gospel in it's fullness, whether living or...

I have a problem. I sleep with the T.V. on. No, that’s not my problem. The problem is that my husband HATES it. So, being the fantastically loving wife that I am, I’ve been working on weaning myself off lately. I’ve found a good substitute: the IPOD. I started off listening to Harry Potter, but after the 21st time through all the books, I started to wonder if I should try something new. So, for the past 2 nights, I’ve been listening to Elder Holland. I can’t say that there is anything in this world that compares to falling asleep to the sound of an apostle’s voice (Sorry, Jim Dale). Last night, I heard a talk, and immediately wanted to share my thoughts and feelings on it. Elder Holland’s talk was on the tongue, and learning to tame it. My heart was touched. I couldn’t sleep. I kept listening to what he said, too riveted to close my eyes. I kept thinking about our society, and how we’ve developed into a world that, instead of speaking kind and uplifting words about others, we do all th...

Gavin is here!!! Yeah! Here are some pictures of the wonderful arrival!

I have to say, out of all the incredible things I love about our Church, there is one thing I've always been really impressed with. The Prophets, Apostles, and members of the church are always so quick to recognize the importance of women. I can't tell you how many times I've been uplifted because of the things our leaders have said about our potential and significance as women. As I've become a mother, I've found that to be just as true. I've had a bit of a difficult time since having Arya. Being a stay at home mom is hard. Yes, it's sometimes hard to do the things a mom has to do, but that's not what I mean when I say being a stay at home mom is hard. What's really difficult is looking at the rest of the world, the accomplishments of everyone out there, and thinking "What am I really doing?". Sometimes, it does get to me that my friends have all graduated. That they have careers, money, leisure time. Sometimes I think "Should that be...