Making it FOREVER!

On April 19th, at 9:30 in the morning, Kenny and I finally made it forever in the House of the Lord. What a perfect moment that was. There were tears of pure joy and relief to know that we now have a forever family. :] I feel very blessed to have Kenny as my eternal companion. I am also grateful for all the love and support of our family and friends who were there to share that special day with us. Like I said, it was a perfect moment.

A Perfect Saturday

Today we were reminded of how much our Heavenly Father is aware of us and our needs right now. It all started with a trip to the distribution center this morning to purchase some temple clothes. There was a kind older woman who worked with us to get the clothes we need. While helping us pick out our temple clothes, she would ask us questions about our selves and "our story" and you could just see her light up as she got to know us a little better. She commented a few times how she felt "goosebumps" as we told her our story. When we were going to pay for the clothes, she offered to pay for a few things because out of the kindness of her heart she wanted to do something nice for us. She kept saying that she knew we were young, married, and on a budget, and we were doing the right things with our life to go to the temple and be sealed. She shared with us a little about herself and how she was not a member when she married her husband & how wonderful that day was when she got sealed to her husband. Meeting this kind woman was a tender mercy. It reminded us again that the Lord is pleased with us and our decisions for our life together. This woman's simple & kind act made quite the impression on me. I am so grateful for her and her kind words.

Once we had our temple clothes we traveled to the Mount Timpanogos Temple to do an Endowment session. It was a spiritual feast, to say the least. I love going to the temple with Kenny. The moments we share in the temple talking about all that we have learned or felt truly bring us closer together. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful husband who loves the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Heavenly Father blessed me with an amazing husband who can be a spiritual giant in our home. Kenny's testimony helps to remind me, time and time again, of the love Heavenly Father & our Savior has for me.

Those feelings of love and acceptance from Heavenly Father today were much needed and provide so much comfort - of course, just when I need it most. Heavenly Father is aware of us, He knows us personally, He knows our needs, and He knows how to give us what wee need when we need it.

Today was a perfect Saturday.

Going to the TEMPLE!

(Thank you Keri girl for the pictures!)

March 27, 2012 - One year exactly from the day Kenny got confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we went to the temple to receive our Endowments. Oh happy day! We have been talking about this day for what feels like forever. It was special for Kenny and I to share this moment together. After leaving the temple, Kenny and I discussed how grateful we are for temples, the sacred truths taught within their walls, and for a loving Heavenly Father who knows exactly what we need to return back to Him. We also felt blessed to be surrounded by such great family and friends supporting us & our decision to be there. Needless to say, it was a GREAT day!

The next big date in our future is April 19th - the day we make our marriage and our family FOREVER.  And that is going to be another BIG, GREAT, & WONDERFUL day for us!

A Christmas FHE

Tonight for FHE we listened to one of the talks from the Christmas Devotional that was broadcast last night (which we unfortunately missed) & then afterwards we made our gingerbread house (which you can see above - Kenny did a great job). We decided on listening to President Erying's talk for our lesson- which is exactly what I need to hear tonight, I loved it. It was a great talk about the Savior, about light, and about angels. It reminded me of the scripture, John 8:12, "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." I was reminded that with the Savior I never walk alone, I always have His light to guide my path. What a comfort that is, & what a gift the Savior is unto us! I am grateful for the Christmas season because it allows me to spend more time pondering the Saviors life, the magnificent gift He is to us, and the many blessings we enjoy because He lived and died for us. This time of year truly is special & there is a special spirit in our home as we spend more time this Christmas season thinking and talking about the Savior. I want the spirit to Christmas to last all throughout the year, because I hope that I never forget these precious truths.


I love Christmas! :] 

"It's begining to look a lot like Christmas!"

It is officially Christmas in the Norton household! Well, actually, it was officially the Christmas season in our house on November 25th - the day after Thanksgiving. What can I say?! I am just really excited for Christmas this year. {remember this post} The reason why Christmas began so early (besides because of my excitement), was because we hit the Black Friday sales for Christmas decorations. Before I started getting excited about Christmas, I wasn't sure if we were even going to decorate this year (with the pending move and all)....but once I started getting excited it was all downhill from there. We stocked up on decorations for very reasonable prices and the next thing you know, our whole house is decorated & ready for the holidays!

One of the things that I am most excited about this year (in regards to our decorations) is our Christmas tree. I grew up with fake Christmas trees, while Mr. Norton, on the other hand, grew up with real Christmas trees! It was not hard to convince me that we should get a real tree this year. (Although I may be regretting that decision when we are packing and there are still pine needles on the floor) The smell of the fresh Christmas tree when you walk in the door & seeing those pretty lights lit up at night make it all worth it for now!

To get in the Christmas spirit we have already added a Christmas music station to Pandora, we watched "Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer" & we even bought a gingerbread house to decorate. Tonight we plan on watching "Santa Clause is 'Comen to Town" & reading about The Christmas Story in the scriptures. (PS. Can I just say that I love the new Christmas website that the church has?!)

As I have thought about how different this Christmas season is going to be from all the others of my 22 years of life, I hope that this year I can make it different because I spend more time pondering the true gift of Christmas - our Savior, our friend - Jesus Christ. It fills my heart with so much joy as I think about how He truly was a gift - the most wonderful gift. It is my hope that this Christmas Mr. Norton and I spend more time talking about the Savior than about Christmas gifts & holiday parties. Because I know that if we do, we will be blessed with a very special Christmas spirit in our home that will make everything that much more enjoyable.