The Vanderhorst Family

The Vanderhorst Family

Sunday, May 13, 2012

My Thoughts on Mother's Day

A few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to go on a cruise with our friends, Rick and Marnae. We ported out of LA, where Grant's grandma lives (aka Oma). We went to Oma's ward that Sunday, and in Relief Society we were talking about raising children and how we can do that righteously. Maybe I misinterpreted what those women in the lesson were trying to say, but from what Marnae and I gathered, the general consensus seemed to be focus on "We aren't exposing our children to enough when their at home, and because of that they go crazy when they leave the house and finally are exposed." Marnae made the very perceptive comment that there is a difference between exposing our children and preparing our children. I strongly feel that as parents, we do not need to expose our children to a little bit of poison for them to know that it will kill them. Likewise, we do not need to expose our children to a little bit of temptation for them to know it will kill them spiritually. The world will expose our children to enough already. They don't need to move out to know the trashiness that is out in the world. Our job is not to expose them, our job is to prepare them spiritually. It is a sacrifice and a struggle, and requires consistent effort and lots of guidance from prayer, but I know that as we pray with our families, read our scriptures together as a family, and show our children that our marriages are important to us, then they will learn how to rely on the spirit, and not their parents. Obviously our children and loved ones still have their free agency, but it is possible to make our homes a safety from the world.
President Hinckley stated "I charge you to stand tall and be strong in defense of those great virtues which have been the backbone of our social progress. When you (meaning women of the church) are united, your power is limitless. You can accomplish anything you wish to accomplish. And oh, how very, very great is the need for you in a world of crumbling values where the adversary seems so very much to be in control." I feel like so often, many of us get discouraged living in such an increasingly wicked world. Sometimes we feel that it is almost impossible to raise a righteous family without our children falling under the influences of the world. However, if we read in 1 Nephi 3:7, we know that the Lord will not command us to do anything save He provides a way for us to accomplish the thing that he has commanded of us. Raising righteous children is possible.
What about those of us who don't have children yet? What if we're never able to have children during this life-time? I submit to you the example of my Aunt Kathy. She never had any children, but she blessed the lives of all those around her. She was an accomplished gospel scholar and wonderful medical doctor, and shared her knowledge and wealth with all those around her. She loved seeing people do good things with their lives, and supported those causes. I know she helped pay for my brothers' missions, she was a wonderful missionary (even when she got home from her mission to Italy), and she blessed the lives of all her family members. Just like her, we can still have an influence for good in the world and still be a mother to our loved ones. I leave you with these 2 quotes about motherhood. I'm grateful for my mom, for my mother-in-law for raising a righteous son of God for me to marry, and to my sister-in-laws, aunts, and grandmas for their examples.


“In the soft and gentle arms of a mother’s love, children can come to know the voice of the Lord.”--Dawn J. Young (Ensign, November 1983)

“No nobler work in this world can be performed by any mother than to rear and love the children with whom God has blessed her.” --David O. McKay

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Cruise aka sssshhhhhowtime!

We booked a 4-day cruise to Catilina Island, CA and Ensenada, Mexico with our friends Rick and Marnae about 9 months ago. It didn't seem like this day would EVER come, but if finally did! I'll just give you a day by day re-cap since it all basically felt like one day :)

Saturday: We drove down to LA and later that night went to Gondola's pizza (Grant's family grew up on that restaurant--seriously the best pizza I've ever had!) and also to Marshall's (kind of like Ross, but way better. Grant doesn't clothes shop very much. When he does, most times it's when we visit his grandma (Oma) and we go to Marshall's). 

Sunday: We went to church with Oma, which, I will say was quite the experience. We'll just leave it at that :) We then went down to the beach and walked around for a bit.


Monday: We slept in a little bit, and got ready to board our ship, which left port at 5:30 that night. We boarded the ship about 1 pm, leaving us time to eat lunch (the food was amazing!), unpack, and also meet some of the seagulls that would be mooching off of the passengers this cruise. The seagulls at least waited until the passengers were gone, leaving remainder food on the table, then they went after it! We decided to try and lure the seagulls in by placing food a little far away from us so they knew it was ok it eat. And boy they were not afraid of humans at all!



Tuesday: This was our stop at Catilina Island, CA or Avalon, CA. It was so pretty there! The island is 22 miles long and 8 miles wide, so nothing too big. We loved looking at all of the buildings--the houses are really colorful and it actually reminded me of a couple towns in England (just the layout of the whole thing--the houses are very close together). Since everything there was so expensive we just took a hike around part of the island and then rented some paddle boats. The water was too cold to get in, but it was still a fun adventure.


I love this picture (above) because you can see the main building on the island, and our cruise ship in the background. Really pretty!



Grant getting in touch with his manhood :)

On Wednesday we were in Ensenada, Mexico! We were going to go snorkeling, but alas, the water was too cold again! Oh well! We decided to go on a tour that involved horseback riding along the coast of the beach (very romantic haha) and then go down to something called the blow-hole (a bunch of water comes shooting out of a narrow part of some rock--nothing man-made). Afterwards we looked around at the shops and had fun bartering with some of the shop owners. Grant got a cool backpack and I got some earrings and a dress. Fun day!




This pony was insane! It kept biting my horse in the butt, so finally my horse kicked it haha! That was an adventure, especially when I'm riding the horse!
Grant and I at the blow-hole. So pretty!
Oh ya, down at the blowhole some random guy serenaded us. He had a terrible voice and used the same melody over and over, but at least he has a cool looking guitar!

Those are the shops behind us--it's insane to walk through there! Everyone is trying to get you to buy their stuff and will NOT leave you alone haha.
This flag weights 509 pounds! It's huge! The tour guide said it takes 23 military guys to take it down.
You don't realize how big the cruise ship is until you get off and look at it. HUGE!

Thursday: We were at sea all day--nothing too exciting. It was fun to just relax and play games with Rick and Marnae.

Friday: We were back in LA and de-boarded the ship. 

I totally recommend cruises! Some of my favorite things about the cruise was the food and the entertainment! They had some pretty fun game shows to play, and also some very good family friendly comedians. The food was great! Pretty sure I gained 7-8 pounds...in one week. But don't worry, I'll get it off ASAP! The next big thing on our checklist is the move! Pictures of the new apartment to come!

Graduation

It finally came! After 4 years of college it finally finally came! I just want to recap my college experience.

Freshman Year: I came to BYU June 2008. I came declared as a Math Education major and I'm proud to say I never changed my major. For Summer term and lived in Heleman Halls, Hinckley Hall to be specific. Summer term was probably my favorite term EVER! I met a lot of different people, classes were a breeze, and every night consisted of either ultimate frisbee or ultimate spoons. Fall and Winter semester I lived in Taylor Hall. Those were some hard semesters as I tried to get GE's out of the way (not as easy as it sounds) and also beginning the classes for my major (hello Emily and Cebre!). Some of my favorite memories from Freshman year come from hanging out with my brother, Stephen, and his roommates. After 10 months of living in dorms, I was ready to be done! The summer after Freshman Year I went back home to Colorado to work and be with family. That summer was just my parents and I. They became my best friends and I loved spending so much time with them.

Sophomore Year: I met a few of my very closest friends my Sophomore year (namely Julie and Nikki) because they were my roommates. I lived in The Riviera with my good friend, Andrea, and I continued to take hard math classes while also enjoying my education classes. The second semester of Sophomore year, a ravishingly handsome, intelligent, smart, kind, spiritual boy named Grant Rowe Vanderhorst moved into my ward. We became really close friends, began dating, and the summer after Sophomore year he proposed to me <3 I will love him forever and I'm so lucky to be his wife. He is amazing in every way.

Junior Year: The first semester of Junior year I got married to my best friend, and the second semester we both continued going to school and adjusting to being married, living on our own, attending a non-singles ward, etc. The summer after Junior Year I worked in Provo while Grant worked and went to school.

Senior Year: First semester was my last semester on campus taking classes, and second semester was my student teaching at Lone Peak High School, where I will be working next year. I'm so excited for that opportunity!

A lot of things can change in 4 years, but my life has changed for the better and I'm so grateful for the new opportunities in front of me. I'm grateful for my education at BYU and the doors of opportunities it gives me. Here's to the future! Thank you to my wonderful parents who have encouraged me throughout my education and always been supportive. Thank you to my wonderful peers for letting me learn from you. Thanks to my friends who were always so encouraging, and especially thank you to my wonderful husband, Grant, who has supported me in every way and he helps me reach my full potential. Most importantly, I'm thankful for my Heavenly Father who is always by my side and pushing in the right direction. He truly has a plan for each of us, and how I'm so grateful for it because His vision for me is much greater than my vision for myself.