Rejoining the World of Blogging

It has been a very long time since I have blogged, which is a shame because this past year has been quite the eventful one. I'm not even sure where to start to catch up on things. There have been a lot of ups and a few downs, but things have been good, for the most part.

So here's a brief catch-up on the goings-on of the Conelly household over the past nine months or so:

• We bought a house, obviously, and have spent a good amount of time decorating and doing minor DIY projects, mostly in the kitchen and dining room. Our current project is updating our framed photos (since our current ones are all engagement/wedding photos) and redoing the collage wall in the living room. I'm hoping to do a post with pictures of some of the little things we've done that I think look really nice.
• Andrew lost his job. Which was a very stressful time for a little while. But we have been blessed with how good my job is, and we have been fine financially. That means that once Andrew finds a new job, we'll be able to save most of his income, which will hopefully get us to our goals faster. 
• We went to Disneyland. This may seem a little frivolous after losing one income, but it had been half paid for before Andrew lost his job, and we had cash and gift cards we had been saving for the trip. The only thing we had to pay for out of pocket was the hotel, which made it feel like a very inexpensive vacation. And it was so much fun to be in Disneyland for Christmas. It's just so pretty. We had such a good time. 

• We adopted a kitty! Andrew and I had no idea we could be crazy cat people, but Bagheera has transformed us. This adorable little fuzzball has completely stolen our hearts and we love her to death. Bagheera is a really fun and rather affectionate cat, and she is spoiled rotten. But I think she deserves it after living in a shelter for six months and being burdened with the name Pink. But we saved her from both, and now she answers to Bagheera just fine. Well, when she wants to, anyway. We're even half considering getting an actual kitten at some point in the future so Bagheera has someone to keep her company, but we'll see.

• We celebrated a fun, quiet Christmas with just the two of us, and it was so relaxing and nice. We didn't have anything big under the tree, but that didn't matter; it was nice to be home together. New Year's was also low-key; I don't even think I made it to midnight. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep on the couch.
• I got a pretty awesome raise at work, which is such a blessing, especially considering it came completely out of the blue. I'm so incredibly grateful for my job and for the company I work for. My bosses care about me and want me to stay and be happy here, and the executives are all so careful in making sure their employees are taken care of. I am incredibly fortunate that I have followed my career opportunities to be where I am today.
• Andrew and I celebrated our second anniversary in the glorious Wizarding World of Harry Potter! We had been talking about this since last year, but when Andrew lost his job, we didn't think we would be able to make it work. But when we looked at our finances, the money was available, so we just went. And it was amazing. Seriously. The expansion with Diagon Alley and the Hogwarts Express is pretty incredible, and I loved every second of being there and feeling like witches and wizards really do exist. I geeked out hardcore and enjoyed myself thoroughly. This trip was only a couple of weeks ago, so I'm hoping to write up a more detailed post once Andrew edits the pictures he took.

And that brings us to the present, which isn't terribly exciting at the moment. Andrew has a couple of solid leads on jobs, so we're hoping and praying that one of them comes through for us. And if it doesn't, he'll keep trekking and keep looking, and we know that he'll find something eventually. We don't have any fun trips planned, so there isn't much to look forward to in that respect. But that's okay. I'm sure we will find fun things to do, and hopefully I will be able to stay up on blogging in the future.

Because of Him

Easter has passed, which means I'm a little late in posting this. But it's never a bad time to think about the sacrifice my Savior made for me and for all of us. Easter is a time to remember Christ and the incomprehensible gift of the Atonement and the subsequent Resurrection. I've been thinking a lot about this scripture lately:

11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled with saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death with bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me. (Alma 7: 11–13)

My savior suffered for me. He suffered my pains and my afflictions, my temptations and my sicknesses. He took my sins upon me so that I can repent and return to Him one day. And He broke the bands of death by rising again. He lives. And because of Him, I can live again too. He made it possible for me to live eternally with my family, despite the mistakes I will inevitably make. Because of Him, there is always the possibility of a fresh start. Because of Him, I can become whole again.

I cannot even begin to express just how much comfort the Atonement gives me. My Heavenly Father did not send me on this earth to fail, so He sent His Son to give me a way to succeed. Heavenly Father wants me to return to Him, and His Son made that possible. Because of that gift, I can become clean again and again. I can start every day as a new day. Because of Him, I can have peace.

Merry Christmas!

Because I'm lazy and we've already mailed out wedding invitations and thank-you cards this year, I'm skipping out on sending Christmas cards. Besides, we don't have any adorable kids, and no one wants a boring picture of just the two of us. So instead, I figured I'd post a summary of 2013 instead.

This has been quite the busy year, to say the least. The biggest event was the wedding, obviously. On February 19, I became Lindy Conelly, and I haven't regretted it for a single second. These past 10 months have been wonderful. Andrew and I have learned so much about each other, and I continue to love him more and more every day. He's amazing, and I couldn't ask for a better husband.

The other major events of 2013 include a brand-new job for me and a subsequent move to Salt Lake for the two of us. It couldn't have worked out better. Andrew was already working in Midvale, so when I got a job in Cottonwood Heights, it only made sense for us to move. The bad part was that it was my second move in five months and Andrew's third move in a year. Our families would be content if they never had to help us move ever again, I'm sure.

Andrew and I have also gone on two vacations this year, both of which were fantastic and left me with the travel bug. The first, of course, was our honeymoon to Maui. It was absolutely gorgeous and I am determined that we will go back one day, hopefully sooner rather than later. I loved every second of it. The second vacation was our spur-of-the-moment birthday trip to Orlando for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We were only there for two days, but we had so much fun! I can't think of a better way to celebrate turning 26. I'm so glad we could go and just have a weekend of fun.

The rest of the year has been spent working, going to football games, watching movies, going to family get-togethers, and relaxing on the couch in front of the TV. I feel like most of the exciting things from this year happened the first half of the year, but we've been spending our time setting up our apartment the way we want it to be and simply figuring out how to live together. I think we've done a pretty good job of it so far. Andrew and I are both so excited about our first Christmas together as a married couple. It will be so fun to combine our family traditions and maybe add some new ones.

I would have to say that 2013 has been an amazing year. I'm not sure how 2014 could hope to beat it, but I'm excited to see it try.

Merry Christmas from the Conellys!

Christmastime Is Here

I love Christmas. And not just the holiday itself—the entire month of December. I love the decorations, the lights, and the look of the presents under the tree. I love listening to Christmas music and singing Christmas hymns at church. I love the work parties and the family parties. I love the spirit of giving and the service opportunities that pop up everywhere. Most of all, I love the Spirit of Christ that permeates so much of the season. Despite the cold temperatures, I associate warmth with the Christmas season, and I attribute that mostly to the spirit of the season.

I have to admit, though, that when I first started thinking about what Andrew and I would do for Christmas this year, I wasn't sure how much fun it would be. I thought gift giving would be a bit of a let down what with setting a budget and knowing pretty much what we were getting each other. I thought only having the two of us would minimize the magic some.

And then we spent the weekend after Thanksgiving shopping for Christmas decorations. We bought a 7.5-foot tree. We bought lots of ornaments. We bought lights. I bought yarn to make some Christmas projects. And as I put the decorations up and Andrew and I talked about our family traditions and new traditions we want to start, I realized that the spirit of the season isn't dependent on how many people you're sharing it with. It isn't dependent on how many surprises are under the tree. It's about being with people you love and remembering why we celebrate the holiday. This is Christ's season, and I get to spend it with the man I love, the man I have made an eternity-long commitment to.

So now when I get home from work and see this

And this

I get excited. We may not have the nicest decorations, or even a lot of decorations, but what we do have brings the spirit of Christmas into our home every day. I love this time of year, and I can't wait to start my own traditions with Andrew that our kids will talk about with their spouses one day.

And to conclude this post, I list five of my very most favorite Christmas songs:

1. "I Pray on Christmas" – When My Heart Finds Christmas by Harry Connick, Jr.
2. "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" – A Family Christmas by the Piano Guys
3. "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" – Home For Christmas by *NSYNC
4. "Stille Nacht" – Christmas by Mannheim Steamroller
5. "I Wonder As I Wander" – Kurt Bestor Christmas by Kurt Bestor

Easter

Easter was the first major holiday after Andrew and I were married, so I asked him if he wanted to do anything special. His answer was no. Which, incidentally, was okay by me. I'm glad we're not trying to hold each other to a standard of buying gifts for every little holiday—I would quickly run out of things to buy.

But the one thing I did want to do was color Easter eggs. Because I love coloring eggs, and I love eating them once they're colored. Boiled eggs are my favorite.

Andrew picked out a tie-dye kit because he thought it looked cooler than the other ones.

 But when we attempted the tie-dye according to the directions on the kit, this is what the eggs looked like:

Not exactly awesome. So we reverted back to the proven process of egg dying.

On Easter Sunday, we headed up to my grandparents' for the annual Brown family Easter egg hunt. Grandma and Grandpa Brown have the perfect yard for hiding eggs. There are trees and bushes and bird houses and yard decorations. I always loved doing Easter egg hunts there. (And the fact that Grandma always puts money in some of the eggs doesn't hurt either.)

It was fun to spend time with family and eat food and chat. It was also fun to help the little ones find the eggs. I'm so grateful for my family and for how close I am to all of them. I am also so grateful for the resurrection of my Savior, which means that we will all be resurrected and have the opportunity to live with our families for eternity. Because that, after all, is what Easter is all about.