Marriage requires sacrifice and sharing

This week’s study about divorce has helped me learn more in-depth about the importance of having a strong marriage. Elder Oaks said that, “A good marriage does not require a perfect man or a perfect woman. It only requires a man and a woman committed to strive together toward perfection.” I love how he spoke about how most of the time, the remedy is not divorce but repentance. I have seen in my own personal life how important it is to let go of all pride and selfishness in a marriage. Sometimes, we may think that divorce is the answer to having peace and harmony in your life, but most of the time, that is not the case. 

Divorce creates long term heartache for many people surrounding you, especially your children. Elder Oaks urged us to think of the children. In the NBC video segment we watched, we learn that many children think that it is their fault that their parents got divorced, which can create long term effects for the children in their future. I know that in a marriage, there are three people involved: the husband, the wife, and the Lord. As a missionary serving in Uruguay, my companion and I taught newly baptized converts of the church. They were a strong family with a strong testimony in the gospel. One evening, as we went to visit them in their home, they told us that they were not getting along, that there was conflict in the home, and they were contemplating divorce. Our hearts were broken. That was the last thing that we wanted to happen. My companion and I taught about the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ to heal and mend broken and angry hearts. We invited this sweet couple to join hands, kneel together, and pray for help. A few days later, they came to us and told us that a miracle had happened. They kept them commitment with us to pray with one another and their hearts were healed. It was amazing to see the love that they had for one another in their hearts. We all learned that evening that marriage requires sacrifice and sharing. It requires work, love, and patience. 

I know that by having a strong marriage focused on the Lord and founded upon the teachings of the gospel, we will be blessed beyond measure. I conclude with what the Apostle Paul said. He said, “All things work together for good to them that love God.” (Romans 8:28) 

Date Nights

 

Killin' bugs

Summer is in full swing here in Texas. It's hot and humid. That's a good thing, you know. The hotter and more humid it is, the more bugs that appear. 

This is my bug killer and model :: 

The hat protects that cute face and fair skin of his from the hot sun.

I think he's pretty cute in his bug guy get-up. 

I sure love my bug killer. He's such a hard worker. He knocks on hundreds of doors everyday and talks to lots of people and he still manages to make it fun. This past week, we were working in Sugarland, Texas. In Sugarland, there are either two types of people : Chinese or Indian (from India). One of Grant's many talents is he can pick up accents really quick. As he's talking to someone with a different accent, it sticks, and starts talking like them. I love it. I love watching him work and interact with different people. 

My favorite is when the southern drawl happens. He calls me his "Baby Girl."

I love when he sales, he sounds so knowledgeable on the different types of bugs, when he really has no idea. That's what makes a great salesman. ;)

The best is when we come in contact with a latino. This happened yesterday. We began speaking with a spanish person, and it was clear that they didn't speak english. We instantly told them that we knew spanish and begin speaking with them in spanish! Two blonde kids speaking spanish must be pretty shocking!

Our adventures continue!

We have been so blessed. Grant and I often feel like we are standing in a bathtub and the blessings are just pouring over our head like water! Before we were married, Grant was still working at Wells Fargo and I had just gotten a job at a dental office. As we were talking about our goals for the future, we felt that there were more opportunities for us to take, we just didn't know what the opportunities were.

A few weeks before our wedding, we began praying for guidance for the future for the correct path to take. We fasted with faith praying for more guidance. That night, as we broke our fast, our answer came sooner than expected. We had a Coon family potluck and my cousin Johnny presented us a job in Texas working for a pest control company called Ecoshield. It was amazing how fast our answer to prayer and fast came. After more praying we decided to take the job offer. 

And...here we are!

After 2 months of being married, we are now living in Houston, Texas!!!! We are here just for the summer, but just after 2 days of being here, we have already fallen in love with this place.

Grant loves...

*the fact that you can make conversation with anyone and everyone about anything and everything!

(ex. We were waiting in line at the busy Walmart for so long when finally it was our turn to check out. A sweet southern black lady was helping us check out. We began to make conversation with her and said something like this...

Us: "Man, is Walmart always this busy?"

Southern Bell: "Did the game get cancelled? We'll see ya next time honies."

we laughed.

Katie loves....

*the architecture of the buildings and homes 

*the cleanliness

*how there are different churches on every corner

*the friendly people

*the green grass and gorgeous trees

*our new home and neighbors

*I even love the humidity

 Both Grant and I had spiritual experiences today in our new ward. We felt such a calm that this is where we needed to be and that there are so many opportunities to serve here. Everyone was so kind and so friendly. There was such a nice spirit and we felt at such peace. We are so thankful to Heavenly Father for leading us by the hand and for this wonderful job opportunity. I personally am so excited to learn and grow as a couple. He is my everything.

I was asking my sweetheart today what change he has seen since being married. His response was priceless. It went something like this, "Life is simple. It's you and me. There is simplicity in Christ. There's a little bit of family, a little bit of work. A little bit of play, and a whole lot of love." He couldn't be more right.

So today, we are taking a nap while hearing the rain pour down outside, eating some good home cooked burritos, and enjoying a few kisses in the rain. Until next time!

Saturday night pizza!

Paleo Pizza 

2 Eggs

2 C Flour

3 Tbs Olive Oil

1/4 tsp Baking soda

1 tsp Garlic Powder

I have been on quite the Pinterest kick lately! My lucky husband get to be my ginnea pig for a whole bunch of new recipes. I'd say that 90% of them are winners! I just love cooking for my husband. Our Saturday night date consisted of making our own homemade pizza! We found this recipe on Pinterest and we loaded it on top with lots of veggies. When we went grocery shopping earlier in the day, Grant picked out a spicy jalepeno sausage that was S-P-I-C-Y! Unlike me, he LOVES was spicy food. I sprinkled a little feta cheese on a little part of the pizza and it was so tasty. 

While our pizza was baking in the oven, I changed from chef to cosmetologist. He sure is brave considering I have never cut anyone's hair before. Good thing is that men's hair grows back so fast. I accidentally cut to much on one side of his head this time, but it turned out so good! He now has a new hair style that I love!

We then turned off all the lights except for one candle and enjoyed eating our homemade pizza with my freshly cut hair hubby. He is a babe.

"The Newlyweds"

The first Sunday after being married, we walked into our new church building, and instantly the members knew we were just married. It must of been by the way we sat so close to one another, or by the way Grant kissed my cheek every 2 minutes, or because our clothes always seem to match. I think all of those little hints gave it away that we were indeed the newliest newlyweds. After introducing ourselves in Sunday school, that nickname stuck...."The Newlyweds." Now, that is what we are known by. Everytime we walked into church, all of the elderly women would ooh and ahh. (They love Grant because he is so friendly to them and always greets them.) Even when we spoke in church separate weeks, the brother in the bishopbric commented on how "Brother Boyd would have to wait one more week to sit with his wife, and he can't live without her." All the attention is quite funny. 

Because the name has stuck, this little blog will now be called, "The Newlyweds." But even when we have 6 kids and have been married quite some time, this blog will still be titled "The Newlyweds" because our newlywed love will never die. I still hope when we're older, Grant will sit so close to me that their will be no space between us. I hope that he will still kiss me every 2 minutes and I know we will still coordinate our clothing. 

So, welcome to our Newlywed adventures!

Star Gazing + Camping = Success

My Mr. Boyd is the most spontaneous man I have ever met, and I love it! Tuesday night, we each came home from our days activities. We were chilling in the living room and we had a great idea to grab a blanket, drive to Freestone park, and go star gazing. As we were walking out of our front door to the car, Grant looked at the stars, and then at me and said, "Babe! Let's go camping!" I said ok and we were off camping. We stopped by the Boyds to grab a 2 man tent and some sleeping bags and we headed on our adventure. After a few attempts to find a good spot, we finally found the perfect one in Usery Pass...there was not a soul in sight, only creeping things, but that didn't bother us. Lucky for me, I have an eagle scout of a husband who took care of everything!

***All pictures are taken by our fabulous new purchase :: the selfie stick!****

Our air mattress didn't blow up, so we spent the night cozy on the desert ground. My personal favorite part was cuddling up to my man underneath the candlelit of the starry sky and letting him showing me all of the constellations. Grant's favorite part was waking up with a rock in his back. ;) haha. But he loved watching for shooting stars as well. 

We woke up at 5:30am just as the sun was rising. We couldn't wait to get in the shower to wash the old camping smell from the sleepbags off of us. I'm sure those sleeping bags have accompanied many of those Boyd brothers on their campouts. ;) I sure do love my fun, spontaneous man!