The True Meaning of Christmas: A Babe, born in Bethlehem

It's Christmas Sunday! I'm so excited to go to church and listen to the story of Jesus' birth and life. I've been reading up on him here, and it's getting me really excited for Christmas. I love having a reason to learn and think more of my Savior. To get you in the Christmas mood, here's a quote on the true meaning of Christmas, and a short movie of the nativity. Enjoy your Sunday! 

"The Christmas season is a time to celebrate the priceless gift of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. His birth, which we commemorate during this season, is more than the symbol of a holiday. He is the Son of God, the Redeemer of all mankind, the King of kings, the Prince of Peace, and our joy and salvation. This Christmas season will have greater meaning as we seek to follow His example and live His teachings."

-found here

Pants

I'm sure by now you have heard about the renegade call for LDS women to wear pants to church this Sunday. I have read a few articles about it (go here for more context. I especially loved cJane's take on the subject) and I don't entirely know how I feel about the whole situation. This is what I do feel...

I believe that church is a time to worship God, learn more about the Gospel, and build community with fellow LDS members.

I believe that God does not care about what we wear to church as long as it is our best and we are fully clothed.

I believe that pants are not the thing that make men and women equal.

I enjoy femininity and the spirit that comes with being a woman. (edit: I'm not saying that wearing pants to church makes you less feminine. I'm just saying that I enjoy being feminine, and I also enjoy being a strong woman, and those are not mutually exclusive.)

Skirts are more comfortable than pants. Pants can be just as dressy as skirts. Neither alone will secure my place in the Celestial Kingdom.

Women and men were created to work together as partners. Men are not above women. Women are not above men. We have equally important roles, and clothing does not change that.

What do you think? Just as on my Facebook, I welcome all opinions as long as they are respectful and in a spirit of discussion, not bashing.

And whatever you do, please just don't wear these to church...or ever:

A Quote

Sunday

"The Lord knows who we really are, what we really think, what we really do, and who we really are becoming." - David A. Bednar

Eternal Things

I have been thinking a lot about eternal things lately. I am trying to study the Gospel more (read scriptures, ponder + attend the temple) and understand my eternal purpose. By trying to spend my energy caring about eternal things like family, personal progress, God and my marriage, I feel like all the little insignificant things have started to fall away. Life is hard, tedious and frustrating at times. But it is also full of joy, wonder and amazing moments. I am trying to focus on the latter. 

Speaking of Christmas (wait, what?), I am trying to make this my most spiritual Christmas yet. I do love posting holiday gift guides, but I am also planning some fun December activities for my family to build up some awesome Christmas memories. In 10 years, we will all remember how we felt instead of what we got, anyway.

Here is a great website to get you into the true spirit of Christmas! You can read the Christmas story, quotes from some very inspired men, and listen to some srsly great Christmas music.

Happy Sunday! 

Home Away From Home

It took me a long time to consider Utah home. I have been living here for over six years and still consider myself a true Californian. Once I realized that I might be spending the rest of my entire life here (ok, maybe just like four or ten more years), I figured I better start stay-cationing my new home! BTW, stay-cationing is what delusional people call vacation. I am in that category. It's a great way to feel awesome about not having any time or money to go somewhere far, far away and forget your real life for .5 seconds. Luckily, my real life is pretty great + my adventurous husband and my job allow me to see a fair share of this state. 

Rachel and I have started taking advantage of our long trips together. We have made a goal to visit every LDS temple in the state. When we have an overnight trip somewhere far away, we try to schedule a temple session if there's a temple nearby. 

I have loved the peaceful feelings the temple brings. I learn new things every time I go. It's also nice to visit somewhere that feels like home when we are three or four hours away from our real homes. It makes heaven seem so much closer, and I am always in a great mood every time I leave! It's a great time to feel close to God and ponder my purpose here on earth.

We were on our way home from Logan, so we stopped to see the new Brigham City temple. 

Rachel didn't have a skirt because this was an unplanned stop, so we tried to walk somewhere to buy her one! Brigham City may have a temple, but they are apparently not up on the skirt scene. We went to the only dece store in walking distance, and it was being renovated... and the store owner pulled skirts out of a cardboard box in this unfinished loft area. Plus the skirt didn't fit, so we pulled a Liz Lemon and shut it down. Hopefully we'll get a chance to go inside soon when we're more prepared! 

I don't have pictures, but so far we have gone to sessions at the Logan + Manti temples. 

We go to a lot of small towns. We have driven through Nevada, Arizona, and now Wyoming to get to some towns! We see a lot of old buildings on our way...

 We went to a school that was right across the street from a farm. We had some time, so I took a walk to say hi to the cows and they just stared at me.

I realize that farms and cows and being in the middle of nowhere are not new things to some people, but I still can't get used to it. I think I will always prefer cities to small town life, although it's fun to visit.

 My BFFL Jeannette is on a crusade to save the world, one folk opera at a time! Matt and I hosted a sleepover last weekend so she could have a flyer party for her upcoming show. We got up "early" on Saturday and walked around Provo posting flyers for all to see! Hopefully it worked. Matt and I walked around putting flyers on each and every door until we realized we could just post them in big complexes on the mailboxes. Sometimes being smart and lazy go very well together.

Matt hates pictures of himself. I think his biggest fear is that I will turn into one of those blogger wives who takes pictures of her food at every meal and whatnot. And to that, I say, I do what I want! 

The sleepover was a great time to catch up on old Jacob Lake stories. We may not see them a lot, but our JL people feel like family. 

Amy + Steve are having their baby girl soon! I told Amy that I am going to be the first person to hold her baby. She wasn't happy, Bob.

Game night at the Hardin house! Another home away from home. We are so lucky to have family in the same town. If only my mom could convince my dad to move up here, we would never have to leave! OK, on second thought Mom + Dad, stay there so we can go visit you! 

I may or may not be temporarily addicted to MacDo's Monopoly. I got obsessed for a minute and FOR SURE thought I was going to win a million dollars, if not, a fancy trip or some fries or something. I even got everyone on our road trip to St. George in on the game and convinced them to give me their winning pieces. The jig was up once I realized I would have to ingest the products I bought (because I cannot see food go to waste). My grandmother trained me to pour cereal, then milk, and eat what was there, then only put more milk in if I needed it, so the milk wouldn't go to waste. Morgan Spurlock has also ruined me. My Mata and Morgan Spurlock are officially the reasons why I am not a millionaire. Once I had that epiphany, the game was over. Unless anyone wants to trade... :) 

For more information on why Mormons build temples, go here, or watch this video. 

I am grateful that the most important thing about a place is that it feels like home. And I'm lucky that I have a lot of people (our friends, Matt's family, my family) and places (California, Utah, the temple) that make me feel at home! 

Adventures in Utah + What Looper Taught Me About Motherhood

Work takes me all over the state. Last year, as a new teacher living the single life, traveling was almost a welcome escape from dumb ol' Provo. It meant I had an excuse for not dating or going to activities I didn't want to go to! It was great! Now that I'm an old lady, this year at work is interesting. I feel like I am a better teacher and can handle "hard schools" better, which in turn makes my days better. But now every time I have to spend the night away from my old man, I can't wait to get home!

(It's a welcome heartache to miss a good husband.) 

This weekend, we had two events five hours across the state from each other. So Rachel went South to cover that event, and I went north. Since I was going to be alone, Matt and I decided to make a weekend of it. We stayed at a hotel the night before my event and partied it up....in Ogden. 

Ogden is a weird place, because it's only 90 minutes away from Provo, but it feels almost like a different state. It's got the ghetto of SLC, but none of the class that goes with it. Somehow (ok, after an hour on urbanspoon.com), we found an amazing (seriously, amazing) Japanese restaurant with some serious swagger and delicious, cheap food. Apparently there was a Greek festival that weekend, so the place was deserted except for a few quiet couples, which we loved. These Hardins love their privacy! 

We went and saw Looper and had a nice swim in the hotel pool, then I had to go to bed so I could present at the event the next morning. Something weirdsies happened during the movie. Read on to find out.

SPOILER and crazy transcendent tangent to follow:

Looper is a cray cray time-travel movie akin to Inception and set in the future. It was so realistic that I walked out of the theater terrified for 2044! The movie sets up different ways the characters' lives could have turned out based on the choices they made. One of the main characters is the mother of a child who we know turns out to be an evil gang lord in the future who kills maybe a bazillion people, give or take, with his telekinetic power. At one point, a character has the chance to kill the gang lord in his childhood, and prevent those bazillion deaths. The only reason he doesn't kill the gang lord is because his mother convinces him that, with a good mother, Sid can grow up to use his power for good and not evil. She can change the course of history by mothering him right. 

Emily Blunt has come a long way from The Devil Wears Prada.

Joseph Gordon-Leavitt srsly changed his face for this movie.

Sitting in that theater, during a crazy R-rated violent movie, I had a silent, introspective transcendent moment; an epiphany about the importance of motherhood.

Of course I already know and respect the role that a mother plays in her children's lives. I had a good mother and a church to give me that example. But sometimes it's nice to see that moral reinforced through a third party. As if having God, church leaders and my family teach me that isn't enough, someone in Hollywood also agrees that a mother's choices can change her kids for good! 

Something crazy happens when you get married. I feel like a dormant part of my personality has been slowly waking up from hibernation, and the hunger for motherhood is fierce after 24 years of childless winter. (WHAT?!?!? That sentence just happened.) Now that the reality of motherhood could hit at any moment, I've been pondering the timing and responsibility of rearing a tiny half-version of myself. Since I am a natural worrier, the task in its ambiguity seems daunting. I keep trying to fill out calendars (in months) in my head, wondering how I'd juggle a baby and a career, or if I'd give up one for the other, for the time being. I keep feeling guilty for wanting to move up in my field , because I feel like my eternal role is to raise children full-time. I really want to get a Masters and one day be an Education Curator at a museum. But I also desperately want to raise a family. I truly believe that being a mother is the most important thing I can do on this earth.

The day after Looper, Matt's mother invited me to watch the General Relief Society Meeting at her stake center. I really enjoy Mary, and I honestly wasn't thinking about going, so it was nice to have a few hours with her.

The first talk was my favorite. 

 The speakers were great, but I kept getting distracted by my own thoughts. I realize that I needed to be in that room to feel the added measure of the Spirit speak to me about my life. The principals they taught were true, but the Spirit was answering the questions I had been pondering for months:

Is it ok to enjoy my job and keep teaching?

Is teaching really what I was meant to do?

Should I get a Masters? 

Should I give up teaching to become a mother? When?

The answer I received didn't solve everything, but it definitely quieted my worries. 

I received a strong impression that the position I have now, teaching children art, is preparing me to be a mother to my own children one day. 

I still don't know the timing of my impending motherhood or how far I will get in my career. I still have days when I wonder why I got into teaching and if I'm really cut out for it. But I also have days that are extremely rewarding. Sometimes I want to yell at kids, other times I want to hug them for their goodness. I hate the lack of sleep, and how tired I feel at the end of a school day. But all of it is preparation for my eternal role. The hard days are always worth the good days. So whatever happens in the future, I will be more prepared for it because of this job. And that is a great answer to have.

Thank you, Looper, for advocating motherhood. And thanks to LDS Conference for letting me have a quiet moment to synthesize those thoughts.