Living Loving Larsen

One of the greatest gifts I have ever been given was the temple. With all of our traveling this year Eric and I have been able to visit 13 temples so far. It has been such a blessing knowing that we are sealed for all eternity. I was 19 when my family was sealed so I remembered it very well and that made me even more excited to be sealed to Eric.

I am grateful for learning my own sense of style over the years. Like most girls in high school and even into college I was always trying to find which style I like most. After my mission especially I started to realize the style I really like. I am more classic and conservative with a slight trendy air to it. I love to shop at J. Crew, New York and Company and similar places. I also grateful to be moving past that phase of not a teenager but not an adult yet. I am an adult now.

When my parents came for Thanksgiving we did Christmas with them. Last year when the Nook came out I really wanted one. Since Eric and I didn't have the money to buy one I kind of forgot about it. My parents completely surprised me and got me a Nook for Christmas. I have always love reading and now that I have a Nook that downloads books it is too fabulous. I am excited to have a Nook for vacations especially. Packing more books than clothes has always been a hassle. 

Ever since Eric and I got married every time we have done our budget we should never have enough money. Yet each month and year we manage to make it. I firmly believe that tithing is one of the main reasons we are able to make if financially. It has been a little weird this year not paying tithing but I am grateful for the law and that it is still there. 

Pretty much every program we have visited has loved Eric. This coming year there is a shortage of 70 residency spots and so knowing that multiple programs have really like Eric and want him to come back is a wonderful thing. We don't find out until January where we will go for residency but I am confident that he will find a program where he will shine.

Modern medicine is a great thing. Last Monday I had to go to the ER because of a ruptured ovarian cyst. When I think about how far medicine has come I am so grateful to live now and not in the past. The doctor was able to do a few tests, figure out was wrong and give me the medication to make sure I was comfortable. Eric thinks I am a bit of a druggie after being so happy on pain killers but after that much pain anyone would be. There were no leaches or bleeding or any other medieval practice in sight. 

One of the greatest gifts has been really good friends. This picture was taken last spring and none of us live in the same state anymore but friendship never really leaves. As Eric and I have moved around this last year I have really started to appreciate good friends, whether old or new. Even though we have only been here in Tn for a few months I am already dreading leaving next month. Those of you still in DSM I will be there for the month of February and can't wait to see you all.

At the time it didn't seem like a big deal to go straight through from high school to college and finish my degree in four years but now knowing how life can be I am glad that is an opportunity I took when I did. It took a while to adjust to college after going to small high school but it was a good experience. Because I had the degree I was able to get my job at the library which was a perfect job for me right after school and after my mission. Plus until Eric graduates from med school in May I am the only one with a degree :)

There have been so many times when I thought I knew what I wanted but Heavenly Father knew what was better for me. The list can go on and on but a few of the bigger ones are the timing of my mission, meeting Eric when I did, not having children when we thought we should. I am so happy (most of the time) that Heavenly Father knows better than I do what I need. It is truly a great present to have a Heavenly Father who takes care of me.

On Monday I had an ovarian cyst rupture and I thought the pain was going to kill me. Eric was snowed in from a snow storm and so he was home. That was a blessing since I am not what I would have done had he been at work. With the weather we weren't sure if it was worth getting to a hospital. To help make the decision we called Eric's sister who is a nurse, my doctor, and a nurse at a hospital. Everyone we talked to said to get to the hospital. We finally headed out at about nine and made it after some work at digging the car out. At the ER the doctor we saw is actually in the ward. In the end some pain pills and time took care of it. I am glad things worked out the way they needed to and there isn't anything permanently wrong.

One of the greatest gifts I have ever been given is the love of a child.  Eric and I haven't had any of our children but we have been lucky enough to be loved by three great nephews and a sweet niece. There are two more bambinos on the way and we are excited to get to know them also.

Since we moved here to Tennessee we have been asked to substitute in nursery a few times. I love the innocence of children and how quickly they give their love to anyone who will love them. We have a great time helping and playing with the kids.

When Eric and I got engaged I had never met his family. I had chatted with his younger sister Amanda and emailed his mom. I will admit I was nervous to meet his family for the first time. There was nothing to be nervous about. They welcomed me with open arms and loved me from day one. It is such a gift that not only did I get Eric when we got married but I also gained a whole awesome family. This spring Eric and I are going to live in Utah for a couple of months and I am really excited to be able to spend a lot of time with his family. Since Eric and I got married we haven't been able to spend a lot of time with his family so the few months in Utah will be a great present.

One of the greatest gifts I have ever been given is my family (don't worry Larsen clan your day is tomorrow). In the past 6 years we have more than doubled adding to the joy. Growing up I never had to worry about being loved or taken care of or having a friend. With the three of us we never knew who was going to gang up on who but that was part of the fun. From the time Eric and I were married until we left last June all of my family lived in Des Moines. We were able to get to know each other all over again as adults and in couples. Family is a fabulous gift.

With living far away from family the gift of technology is great. Eric and I can keep in touch with family and friends with the push of a button. When my parents were in town we were talking about how technology has changed since my parents were in their 20's. At that moment Eric sent me a text telling me about his morning and my dad mentioned how that proved his point. It is a great gift to be able to stay connected through cell phones and the internet.

Even though I am not a huge fan of extreme cold I am grateful for the beauty of all the different seasons. Right now there is about six inches of snow outside our window and it hasn't stopped. When we moved here to Tennessee it was still green and we got to see the fall colors and now the snow. We will leave before spring but I am glad we got see so many seasons here in the mountains.


Last May Eric and I were able to go to Hawaii and we loved it but I wonder if I wouldn't be a little saddened by the lack of weather changes. There is beauty in all seasons.

(Side note-Yes I am very aware that I missed a few days for all of my avid readers but I still have my list and hope to catch up. Sorry to keep you in suspense.)

One thing I have been blessed with is the ability to remember lots of random tidbits. I love trivia games for this purpose. I am very grateful that learning doesn't have to stop once school is done. Since graduating college I have attempted to learn Korean, served a mission (which teaches you a ton), learned more about being a wife, gotten craftier, and also worked on getting better on crocheting. I am sure I have learned more but those are the things that come to mind right now. There also lots of other lessons that aren't learned in school at all. Being able to learn through out life is a great blessing.

Though I don't always use it to my full advantage I am very grateful that I can pray at any time. I have said lots of prayers in places and situations that aren't traditional. One of the ones I really remember is on my mission I prayed through many a meal. I never knew I could eat, pay attention to Korean and pray all at the same time.


Like so many people I pray so much harder when things are going bad but I try and do better. It is a great comfort to know that I can talk to Heavenly Father anytime I need to and that He will answer my prayers.

With moving around a lot almost everything has been in limbo. One of the few things that hasn't is church. Everywhere we have gone there has been a ward there to welcome us in and to provide the support and friendship we need. With being in Tennessee for over 2 months already we are really starting to feel like a part of the Johnson City ward. We ended up not having our records transferred but we have been asked to speak in sacrament meeting, help in nursery, and sub for a Sunday School class. But more than that the members have been very welcoming. I feel like I have made some really good friends here and that I am welcomed when I attend meetings.

This last Sunday we had quite a bit of snow and we weren't sure if we should venture out to church. I will admit in the past I would have used it as an excuse to stay home but this time I really wanted to go to church and attend all three meetings. I know some of it is the friendships I have here but it is also that I feel very nourished and that I am able to contribute also.

My mission was one of the most unexpected experiences of my life. When I was 21 I prayed about going on a mission and it wasn't the right time. Later after I graduated college I was working to get into grad school and had things all lined up when I felt the Spirit prompting me to go on a mission. I wrestled with it for a week because, to be honest, I didn't want to go. I felt like I had given Heavenly Father His chance to send me when I was 21 and now I was almost 23. Once I decided to go I felt such a great peace that it was almost palpable.

I learned a lot as all missionaries do. While I was in South Korea I was diagnosed with clinical depression. It did cause a lot of problems on my mission but I was glad that I knew going into marriage that I would be dealing with this trial. I got to see a part of the world and live in a culture that I never would have learned about. I learned a lot of lessons but as per the previous post there are still a lot of lessons I need to learn.

After Eric and I had been married for about five months we both needed a new car. We knew we couldn't afford two cars so we opted to buy one newer car that would last for sure through the extensive travels of fourth year. Eric's one condition was that is wasn't white...we bought a white car. I am drawn to them. I have never owned a car that wasn't white.

One of the biggest ways this car has been a blessing for me is with being newly married with two cars Eric and I weren't always coordinating our schedules very well. When we were forced to go down to one car it helped us to really work on becoming one.

This little car has been through a lot since we got it: we have put over 30,000 miles on it, taken out a deer and had it carry around all of our needed possessions for a year. I am grateful that with all the craziness that fourth year brings we haven't had to worry that our car would be dependable.

Back in June I had the chance to become a Mary Kay Consultant. This has been a huge blessing in my life for the past 6 months. Even though it is a business and I am making money that was not the main reason I decided to sign up. I realized that having my own MK business would allow me to learn and grow. One of my biggest faults is procrastinating. With not having any real commitments I was not getting anything done. Mary Kay gave me something to do each day the helped me to grow and give me something to do.

Even since I came home from my mission I felt there were lessons I hadn't learned. A lot of things I felt I didn't do as well on I can work now through Mary Kay: I need to get out and talk to people and share what I know, get a commitment from people and really focus on doing what is truly important and not just doing busy work. Plus with MK I get to have lots of fun girls' nights and play with make-up for a living. I also win lots of prizes. Just last Thursday I won a really pretty tennis bracelet.

It is amazing to me how I can read the scriptures so many times and still learn so much from them every time. I reread my Book of Mormon and I see verses I marked before and they mean almost nothing to me this time but other verses are untouched that mean so much to me this time. I am reading a book called "The Power of Positive Thinking" and the author mentions a lot of verses from the Bible about faith and belief. There is a reason that the scriptures are still being read and loved.

When I was in seminary studying the Book of Mormon I knew that there was no way Joseph Smith could have written this book. Through the years if ever my testimony wavered and I doubted I always came back to the Book of Mormon. I knew without a doubt that the words of that book were true, which always lead me back and regrew my testimony.

This year we weren't going to have any Christmas decorations and it made me really sad. My mom said when they came for Thanksgiving they would get us a tree but we ended up not needing her to because....our landlord has boxes and boxes of decorations that she no longer uses that she allowed us to use. Now our house is full of Christmas cheer and I only had to spend the $4 for glitter and spray paint. I am so grateful for the small blessings that make life more joyful. In the long run not having Christmas decorations isn't a big deal but I love it when things like this happen and I am reminded of how much Heavenly Father loves me.

A lot of friends blogged everyday for November focusing on what they were thankful for. I decided since I missed the boat for November I thought I would blog everyday in December about the best presents I have ever gotten.

One of the greatest gifts I ever got was Eric. When I came home from my mission I had decided to pursue my Master's Degree and not worry about meeting anyone. Living in Iowa I didn't think dating was going to be possible. My first time attending FHE in the Des Moines Stake I met Eric and six months later we were married.

One of the things I love about Eric is how well he understands me. He knew before we got married that I was suffering/dealing with depression and he didn't let that stop him. He married me and has shown his love for me everyday since.

I am so grateful for me eternal companion and all that he does for me everyday. I could go on for pages and pages about how great Eric is but nobody else really wants to read all of that so I will stop now.

Eric was able to get the Wednesday before Thanksgiving off so we headed down to Asheville, NC to see the National Gingerbread Competition. We stopped on the way at a scenic look out. It wasn't as pretty without the leaves but still fun to stop.
The resort was gorgeous. There were a ton of people there but it was fun to stop by.
One of my favorite houses was this one. If you look closely you can see that it is the house from "UP". It was really cute.










A whole ballroom was full of gingerbread houses of all levels skill. I was amazed at what people can do with gingerbread and frosting.

 The Tuesday night before Thanksgiving we decided to head up to Bristol to see the Motor Speedway's Christmas display. On the way Eric took us to a BBQ restaurant. It was built in the 1940's and has been the same ever since. You get massive amounts of food. My favorite part was the fries but that is true almost where ever we go.
 I am a "sucker" for these face cut out boards. I am so lucky that I have a husband who is a dork with me. In the center of the track there was a Santa's Village all set up. You could ride rides, drink hot chocolate, roast marshmallows and see Santa. To get into the village you had to drive on the track. That was really cool. There was music playing and there were lights in the stand that were synchronized to the music. It was really cool. This was all after driving through a 2 mile light display that puts Jolly Holiday Lights to shame if you are from the Des Moines area.