CHOP

I had this crazy impulse to cut off ten inches of my hair and donate it to Locks of Love... Tyler didn't think I would chop it off so he was pretty surprised when I walked through the door! I even got some highlights in my hair because why not? I pretty much loving not spending an hour drying my hair/figuring out what to do with it. But hopefully someone else will get to love my hair just like I do; while I wait for the rest of it to grow back.

happy happy happy

Here's some happy moments in the past few days I don't want to forget:

    Watching the Christmas Devotional with my in-laws and drinking hot cider in 

this little mug I wanted to steal.

Tyler shooting a dove in the backyard after I told him to think of what he wanted for dinner.

This picture of the Oakland temple my brother sent me and his sweet email.

Being silly with Becca. 

Realizing I have no more homework for the rest of the year and being excited to see my cohort. 

Going on my run and wishing the sun could always be setting and that the lights could stay up all year. 

My obsessions with the two palm tree in front of my parents house. 

Watching my little brother wrestle and being SO proud.

THIS. 

heavenly peace

This past February to August I was a caregiver to the sweetest girl named Grace, and she has cerebral palsy. She is definitely one of the brightest and bravest 12-year olds I know and I was so sad when I had to leave that job. Grace also has a beautiful voice along with her older sisters and they all sing in EVMCO. I remember taking her to choir practice and I've never heard children sing that before. Sadly I missed that concert but I managed to get tickets to their Christmas concert in the very middle back row. Tyler thought it was the best view in the theater and I couldn't agree more. 

I can't even describe how amazing it was. I actually cried while they sang Silent Night and Allelujah. I'm a lover of music and it's moments like those that I live for. It brought me back to being in an orchestra and how it felt to be apart of something so inspiring to me. That I could make beautiful music with the violas and the cellos and the bass and how perfectly it all sounded together. But what made me cry was the beauty of what that music was about. I felt the love of Christ so strong and my testimony grew a little because I knew that there were heavenly choirs singing when he was born and I was given a taste of what it must have sounded like. 

One of my favorite songs was The Holly and The Ivy which I had never heard of and it dates back 1000 years. The director talked about the true doctrine of the song and how perfectly it tells the story.  

The holly and the ivy,

When they are both full grown

Of all the trees that are in the wood

The holly bears the crown

O the rising of the sun

And the running of the deer

The playing of the merry organ

Sweet singing of the choir

The holly bears a blossom

As white as lily flower

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ

To be our sweet Saviour

O the rising of the sun

And the running of the deer

The playing of the merry organ

Sweet singing of the choir

The holly bears a berry

As red as any blood

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ

To do poor sinners good

O the rising of the sun

And the running of the deer

The playing of the merry organ

Sweet singing of the choir

The holly bears a prickle

As sharp as any thorn;

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ

On Christmas Day in the morn.

O the rising of the sun

And the running of the deer

The playing of the merry organ

Sweet singing of the choir

The holly bears a bark

As bitter as any gall;

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ

For to redeem us all.

O the rising of the sun

And the running of the deer

The playing of the merry organ

Sweet singing of the choir

The holly and the ivy

Now both are full well grown,

Of all the trees that are in the wood,

The holly bears the crown.

O the rising of the sun

And the running of the deer

The playing of the merry organ

Sweet singing of the choir

Another favorite was Alleluia by Eric Whitacre. It was literally nine minutes of "alleluia" but it was by far the prettiest piece of the night. 

I of course got to see Grace and her family and they were all smiles. I missed them so much! Grace made me laugh because she just kept saying how tired she but she looked cute as ever! Her and her family are the nicest people you will ever meet and I wish I knew more families like that.

The funny thing is I don't think Tyler was as excited to go to the performance as I was and I kind of dragged him to it. He was not expecting to love it as much as he did and told me it was the best concert he had ever been to (apparently he's been to a lot of plays and I didn't know that). I am so grateful I married someone with an appreciation for the art of music otherwise I don't know what I would do. 

The title of the concert was called Heavenly Peace and the director said that they take the name very seriously. He said that it sends a message to not only the performers but to us. I thought about the meaning of that phrase and about the birth of Christ and what better way to describe it all than Heavenly Peace. Lately I've been so aware of all the evil and wickedness in the world and I know that it will always be there. But even in these times we can on this Earth find Heavenly Peace because of Him. 

hello december

December is here and I could not be more excited for this Christmas season! I could just feel that Christmasy vibe so strong today. The whole day at work I had "This Christmas" playing in my head and I loved having all my neighbors lights brighten up my run when it started to get dark.
Last year was crazy since my grandmother had passed away a few months before, my brother had just left on his mission and we were still living with my parents. I feel like this is our first real Christmas and I've always loved the thought of starting new traditions with my family. So I thought buying a fresh fir tree on the first on December was a pretty good idea!
While I want to do it all: decorate my whole little house, make gingerbread cookies, buy the best presents, make beautiful holiday paintings, and lots of other fun wintery things, I was reminded of something super important by the prophet, President Thomas S. Monson that I happened to see on Facebook: 
"Overdoing it is especially common this time of the year for many of us. The causes for this might include too many Christmas activities to attend, too much to eat, too much money spent, too many expectations, and too much tension. Often our efforts at Christmastime result in our feeling stressed out, wrung out, and worn out during a time we should feel the simple joys of commemorating the birth of our Savior.
Finding the real joy of Christmas comes not in the hurrying and the scurrying to get more done, nor is it found in the purchasing of gifts. We find real joy when we make the Savior the focus of the season."
I can always count on prophets and apostles to put things into perspective. As I was on my run I remembered that the symbolism of all those pretty lights represent the light of Christ. It is such a beautiful reminder of the gift we were all given; a Savior. Hopefully I will continue to remember that important symbol each time I see my little Christmas tree twinkling with its colorful lights or all those houses I pass by. 

full of food and gratitude

Well my three Thanksgiving meals were a success and I managed to eat full portions without getting sick. Seriously though I've never eaten that much food in my life! But besides being stuffed with homemade deliciousness all day my heart was full too. I got to to see the things I was grateful for most. My family. 

There was this moment late last night at my Abuelas house and Tyler and I went outside to sit by the fire to just talk alone for a few minutes. I turned around to look back into the house through the dining room window and there was my Abuela, aunts, uncles, and parents playing a game. Everyone was smiling and laughing and I was so thankful to be able to take a step back to take it all in. To feel how happy this moment was and how much Heavenly Father has blessed my whole life. It really was a happy Thanksgiving. 

goodbye mel

Yesterday was a very sad day at the Farr house. We lost our pet chameleon from some sort of sickness she caught. We had her for a long while and took good care of her which admittedly was a lot of work. But out of nowhere she just stopped eating and we did all we could to help her eat her crickets. She started doing better last week but I think it was just too much for her. Seriously it was the saddest thing to watch and I even considered taking her to a vet to put her to sleep but I tried to make her comfortable and give her some water to drink before she passed. Some may read this and think, "she's not a dog. She's a lizard." While this is true, I am a sensitive human being and get attached to everyone; animals included. I cared for this animal everyday and always had a genuine concern for her reptile happiness. I was texting Nellie and she said, " I bet she's in chameleon heaven." which was the best piece of comfort ever. Tears were shed and I think we might only have plants for a while because they won't break my heart. 

On a happier note tomorrow is Thanksgiving and what a wonderful time to enjoy the company of family and be grateful! With all my family living here in AZ I've grown up having two Thanksgivings and now that I'm married I have three! I don't know how we manage to make it work but I know it's a blessing to have so many loved ones to be with from different families and cultures. On the other hand it is rough keeping up with all that turkey and side dishes. I've been working out hardcore the past few days to physically prepare!

When I think of being grateful I always think of President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk called "Grateful in any Circumstance": 

"Perhaps focusing on what we are grateful for is the wrong approach. It is difficult to develop a spirit of gratitude if our thankfulness is only proportional to the number of blessings we can count. True, it is important to frequently “count our blessings”--and anyone who has tried this knows there are many--but I don’t believe the Lord expects us to be less thankful in times of trial than in times of abundance and ease. 

In fact, most of the scriptural references do not speak of gratitude for things but rather suggest an overall spirit or attitude of gratitude.It is easy to be grateful for things when life seems to be going our way. But what then of those times when what we wish for seems to be far out of reach?

Could I suggest that we see gratitude as a disposition, a way of life that stands independent of our current situation? In other words, I’m suggesting that instead of being thankful for things, we focus on being thankful in our circumstances--whatever they may be." 

babies and homecomings

The past few days have literally been about babies and homecomings. 

On 11.19. 14 little Roman was born. His awesome mom is my cousin and best friend since forever. I just wish I could be up in Utah to see them! There were so many complications during the birth, but I guess he was really meant to be here with such a loving family. Thankfully I'll get to see Nellie, Justin, and Roman for Christmas! 

The next day 11.20.14  another sweet boy, Shane, was born and he is my first nephew! Kristen went into the hospital as scheduled and it was so exciting to get that text that said he was born! Tyler and I were able to go the hospital on Saturday and sit and talk to Mike and Kristin, while I just held Shane. Babies are just so perfect I could just stare at them all day. 

When we saw pictures of Shane, Tyler thought he had a ninja turtle shaped head so of course we bought a newborn ninja turtle onesie for him. Tyler cracks me up! Mike and Kristin just laughed and said, "he's so big it might not even fit him!" 

You gotta love chunky babes right? 

The thought of starting a family seems daunting and scary but so beautiful at the same time. I'm so grateful for the miracles I'll be able to be apart of someday. And honestly, I feel so lucky to have two brave women to look up to and give me advice when I'm in their shoes. 

As for the homecomings, I had a really good friend come home from Washington DC after serving an LDS mission for a year and a half and I got to listen to her speak. She had that sister missionary glow and I loved hearing about her experiences. I really missed her and am happy that she's stuck here for the holidays! After her talk, Tyler and I sped back to our ward to accept callings and be sustained (he's a ward missionary and I'm a primary teacher!) and then we raced to the singles ward to hear two more sister missionaries speak. One came home from serving in Spain and the other in El Salvador. There's seriously nothing better to hear during church meetings than conversion stories. 

We came back to our ward to teach our Sunday school class for the last time. The funny thing is that we only teach two girls but I absolutely love watching Tyler teach them and give them a hard time. It's the cutest thing and ill miss that the most. I really enjoyed having the same calling as my husband especially right after we got married, but I'm sure my new calling will be tons of fun and Tyler seems like the perfect fit for his calling too. Change is good! 

Also, not related to babies and homecomings, I was driving down the road and a quote from a friend came to mind. 

keep your face toward the sunshine

Yesterday I had my Practicum evaluation at the elementary school I've been at for 45 hours. It was so much better than I had anticipated and the positive feedback I received was such a boost of confidence! I've contemplated being a teacher A LOT and sometimes I feel like I would get so overwhelmed with the work and responsibility that comes with it. Other times I just think there's no better goal I can have than to help children. But as I sat down with my instructor after my evaluation of my lesson and she gave me her thoughts my doubts were gone and I know I was where I was supposed to be. 

Later that day I had a less than pleasant discussion with Tyler and it turned into tears and frustration. I so badly want my marriage to be perfect and sometimes I have to swallow my pride and realize that's pretty impossible right now since we are two incredibly flawed people. But I constantly have to remind myself that the love we have for each other and for our Heavenly Father trumps all that. So like always we apologized and had a bonding moment. We both agreed to do better next time. We could easily just agree to disagree, not talk for the rest of the day and let those bitter feelings linger but we worked it out instead.

Like everyone I have struggles. Hard ones and not so hard ones. But I feel like it's harder when you have all these little struggles because they start to add up and turn in to stress and overwhelming emotions. At the same time things are so great! Finding a balance seems nearly impossible at times but I've learned you have to just enjoy the happy parts and push through the darker parts. 

trying this blog thing out

Here I am giving this blog thing a try. I'm about as beginner as they come but I love to write, paint, read, explore, and share. 

I might share a funny story from a classroom I'm in since I'm an NAU student studying education. Or maybe I'll show you some pretty watercolor paintings I wish I had more time for since I kind of own and etsy store.  Or post pretty pictures from a while ago at my wedding, yummy foods, or my crazy family. 

Either way I want to share meaningful bits from my life since facebook and Instagram get to be slightly annoying and overwhelming. (Or a lot annoying). 

Lots of love, 

Liv