Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Return to Blogging?
I am considering a return to blogging. Not sure if I will get any in, but I want to journal a little bit about our last year or so in Houston. We'll see if I get anything done--ever. All my pictures on my camera are blurry (it is an old camera).
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
MLK, Service, Inspiration
Yesterday I had the opportunity to go to a lunch held at University of Houston commemorating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The theme was, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'"
There were speakers and round table discussions about this topic of service in the community. However, I couldn't help but remember this speech they played. This competition was about a week ago and below is the winning student. He is in 4th grade. Please watch, listen, and learn from this young man. Although your circumstances may be very different to this child, try to apply what he is saying to your own life.
1. Kendall and I drive through the 3rd Ward (a geographic district, not church congregation) in Houston twice a day. It is an unfortunate situation, to say the least, full of poverty, crime, and hopelessness. For this young man to be in that situation and have this attitude is amazing. I am truly inspired by his desire to rise up and make a change. If he can do it, why can't we?
2. "Stop blaming your circumstances on your parents, your situation, and your background. Your circumstance does not make you." Just because life is inevitably hard and discouraging at times, we still need to become better people. We need to change and grow and develop Christlike attributes. We can always become better people. We can always live by faith.
3. "My dream is that our young ladies would aspire to be women of virtue, treasured wives and adored mothers." How can we teach this principle to the young women of today? Women of virtue, treasured wives, and adored mothers are much more powerful than women who do not respect themselves. It reminds me of when I heard Guardians of Virtue at a Young Women General Meeting in March 2011. Also, some of these (click on link to see I Believe video) young women show more courage that many women I know today. They know that life is hard and that there will be trials, but that we don't need to be afraid. They know that we can move past our trials to change the world, that the temple gives you peace, power and prepares you for life, that we choose to reach to the Savior and that he will never let us walk alone. We need to learn this for ourselves and be able to move forward in our lives, relying on the Savior to lift us up.
4. "As difficult and as painful as it is, we must walk on in the days ahead, with the audacious faith in the future." Elder M. Russell Ballard said, "There is one simple daily practice that can make a difference for every member of the Church, [...] That simple practice is: In your morning prayer each new day, ask Heavenly Father to guide you to recognize an opportunity to serve one of His precious children. Then go throughout the day with your heart full of faith and love, looking for someone to help. Stay focused, [...] If you do this, your spiritual sensitivities will be enlarged and you will discover opportunities to serve that you never before realized were possible." (Be Anxiously Engaged) We change our future.
This gave me hope for a better world.
There were speakers and round table discussions about this topic of service in the community. However, I couldn't help but remember this speech they played. This competition was about a week ago and below is the winning student. He is in 4th grade. Please watch, listen, and learn from this young man. Although your circumstances may be very different to this child, try to apply what he is saying to your own life.
1. Kendall and I drive through the 3rd Ward (a geographic district, not church congregation) in Houston twice a day. It is an unfortunate situation, to say the least, full of poverty, crime, and hopelessness. For this young man to be in that situation and have this attitude is amazing. I am truly inspired by his desire to rise up and make a change. If he can do it, why can't we?
2. "Stop blaming your circumstances on your parents, your situation, and your background. Your circumstance does not make you." Just because life is inevitably hard and discouraging at times, we still need to become better people. We need to change and grow and develop Christlike attributes. We can always become better people. We can always live by faith.
3. "My dream is that our young ladies would aspire to be women of virtue, treasured wives and adored mothers." How can we teach this principle to the young women of today? Women of virtue, treasured wives, and adored mothers are much more powerful than women who do not respect themselves. It reminds me of when I heard Guardians of Virtue at a Young Women General Meeting in March 2011. Also, some of these (click on link to see I Believe video) young women show more courage that many women I know today. They know that life is hard and that there will be trials, but that we don't need to be afraid. They know that we can move past our trials to change the world, that the temple gives you peace, power and prepares you for life, that we choose to reach to the Savior and that he will never let us walk alone. We need to learn this for ourselves and be able to move forward in our lives, relying on the Savior to lift us up.
4. "As difficult and as painful as it is, we must walk on in the days ahead, with the audacious faith in the future." Elder M. Russell Ballard said, "There is one simple daily practice that can make a difference for every member of the Church, [...] That simple practice is: In your morning prayer each new day, ask Heavenly Father to guide you to recognize an opportunity to serve one of His precious children. Then go throughout the day with your heart full of faith and love, looking for someone to help. Stay focused, [...] If you do this, your spiritual sensitivities will be enlarged and you will discover opportunities to serve that you never before realized were possible." (Be Anxiously Engaged) We change our future.
This gave me hope for a better world.
Friday, August 10, 2012
One Year in Houston
You thought all the time away might have warranted some big event happening in our life, right? WRONG. HA. It was just regular life.
This past weekend (now a few weekends ago) was our one year mark in Houston. We celebrated by a trip to the beach. I can't believe it has been a year. On some days it seems like yesterday; on others it seems like we have lived here for years.
I don't know if I've posted our daily routine at any point, but it is quite comical so I will give you a rundown of our current life. Its not every day you hear about (or care to hear about) the inner workings of a family.
6:30am - Kendall's alarm goes off. He wakes up and does stuff that I don't know because I sleep. Yesterday or today he accidentally snoozed the alarm instead of turning it off and I didn't even notice.
6:49am - I hear the bathroom door open and roll over.
6:55am - Kendall comes in and sits on the bed next to me and checks his vitals on his iPod. He used to do it in the front room, but it has evolved to the bed. Sometimes we mention what needs to get done that day, and most others I roll over again.
7:10am - Kendall goes to the closet and I roll over. He makes his way to the front room or kitchen and does stuff.
7:21am - I swing my legs off the bed and try to pick my head up. Then I walk to the bathroom then to the closet. [Note: If I take a morning shower, this happens at 7:01am.] I hear Kendall in the kitchen making lunches. If it is a good day one or the both of us will make the bed.
7:30am - We brush our teeth.
7:33am - Due to the fact that I don't give myself enough time to think about what I'm doing in the morning, I gather all the stuff I might need for the day and take it with me to work. This includes the phone charger, sunglasses, keys, purse with all the contents, a fleece hooded jacket, and any misc. stuff I might need.
7:37am - Get in the car, put on sunglasses, and drive to school.
7:59am-8:01am - Arrive at school. Kendall gets out of the car before I park. I park below the hotel and go up to work. [On a pretty consistent basis I get the comment, "you look tired" from students. I've started to say, "if I look tired every day, maybe it is just how I look." Although, I'm sure my 15 minute morning prep doesn't help with looking awake. The sadder part is, every day I push the getting out of bed later and later; 7:21am is about the latest I can get up without begin late to work. I am NOT not a morning person, I'm sleep and warm bed person. I hate getting out of bed!]
12:00pm - Kendall or I walk to the other's place of study/work for lunch. Kendall (and friends depending on the time of year) usually walk over to the Hilton to get out of the Optometry building. In the fall and spring we ate outside, but for the summer we eat in my office. We eat the small wonderful lunch that Kendall prepares daily. It usually includes a type of fruit, a carrot, pretzels (sometimes other crackers), string cheese, and a granola bar. To be honest, my granola bar is gone by 9am. Kendall takes such good care of me. I'm not sure what I would do without him. I'm sure I wouldn't make my own lunch. So I would starve or go broke because I would buy food every day. He is a dream and I couldn't ask for better!
1:00pm - Back to work/school.
4:55pm - Kendall (and carpool) arrives at the hotel and we meet at the elevator by 5:00pm. Then we drive home!
5:20pm/5:30pm - Arrive home. The evening consists of making dinner and doing the dishes together. We try to switch off with each of the duties. I usually do the dishes while he is making dinner or while my pizza dough is rising. If I make dinner, its a toss up. Sometimes it looks like a bomb went off in the kitchen/house, but I do a whirlwind cleanup depending on my mood. While cooking dinner we usually watch world news, local news, and the big bang theory. Then we have varied activities in the evening 7pm-11pm; more times than not it is more TV or meetings.
Our favorite places to eat out right now are Chipotle and Chick-fil-A. I have been also enjoying the black bean burger with avocados and bacon at Smash Burger.
That is our life in a nutshell.
This past weekend (now a few weekends ago) was our one year mark in Houston. We celebrated by a trip to the beach. I can't believe it has been a year. On some days it seems like yesterday; on others it seems like we have lived here for years.
I don't know if I've posted our daily routine at any point, but it is quite comical so I will give you a rundown of our current life. Its not every day you hear about (or care to hear about) the inner workings of a family.
6:30am - Kendall's alarm goes off. He wakes up and does stuff that I don't know because I sleep. Yesterday or today he accidentally snoozed the alarm instead of turning it off and I didn't even notice.
6:49am - I hear the bathroom door open and roll over.
6:55am - Kendall comes in and sits on the bed next to me and checks his vitals on his iPod. He used to do it in the front room, but it has evolved to the bed. Sometimes we mention what needs to get done that day, and most others I roll over again.
7:10am - Kendall goes to the closet and I roll over. He makes his way to the front room or kitchen and does stuff.
7:21am - I swing my legs off the bed and try to pick my head up. Then I walk to the bathroom then to the closet. [Note: If I take a morning shower, this happens at 7:01am.] I hear Kendall in the kitchen making lunches. If it is a good day one or the both of us will make the bed.
7:30am - We brush our teeth.
7:33am - Due to the fact that I don't give myself enough time to think about what I'm doing in the morning, I gather all the stuff I might need for the day and take it with me to work. This includes the phone charger, sunglasses, keys, purse with all the contents, a fleece hooded jacket, and any misc. stuff I might need.
7:37am - Get in the car, put on sunglasses, and drive to school.
7:59am-8:01am - Arrive at school. Kendall gets out of the car before I park. I park below the hotel and go up to work. [On a pretty consistent basis I get the comment, "you look tired" from students. I've started to say, "if I look tired every day, maybe it is just how I look." Although, I'm sure my 15 minute morning prep doesn't help with looking awake. The sadder part is, every day I push the getting out of bed later and later; 7:21am is about the latest I can get up without begin late to work. I am NOT not a morning person, I'm sleep and warm bed person. I hate getting out of bed!]
12:00pm - Kendall or I walk to the other's place of study/work for lunch. Kendall (and friends depending on the time of year) usually walk over to the Hilton to get out of the Optometry building. In the fall and spring we ate outside, but for the summer we eat in my office. We eat the small wonderful lunch that Kendall prepares daily. It usually includes a type of fruit, a carrot, pretzels (sometimes other crackers), string cheese, and a granola bar. To be honest, my granola bar is gone by 9am. Kendall takes such good care of me. I'm not sure what I would do without him. I'm sure I wouldn't make my own lunch. So I would starve or go broke because I would buy food every day. He is a dream and I couldn't ask for better!
1:00pm - Back to work/school.
4:55pm - Kendall (and carpool) arrives at the hotel and we meet at the elevator by 5:00pm. Then we drive home!
5:20pm/5:30pm - Arrive home. The evening consists of making dinner and doing the dishes together. We try to switch off with each of the duties. I usually do the dishes while he is making dinner or while my pizza dough is rising. If I make dinner, its a toss up. Sometimes it looks like a bomb went off in the kitchen/house, but I do a whirlwind cleanup depending on my mood. While cooking dinner we usually watch world news, local news, and the big bang theory. Then we have varied activities in the evening 7pm-11pm; more times than not it is more TV or meetings.
Our favorite places to eat out right now are Chipotle and Chick-fil-A. I have been also enjoying the black bean burger with avocados and bacon at Smash Burger.
That is our life in a nutshell.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Eye Exam
Last Saturday (a few Saturday's ago now) Kendall had open lab at school. I decided it was high time I get a "real" eye exam. I have had basic procedures done before (at home), but this was the real thing. I wasn't expecting it to be too exciting, but it was actually really fun! This Brian Regan video illustrates my experience perfectly. I realized that working with patients is much more difficult that you would think.
Kendall made sure to point out that my eyes are not perfect even though I currently do not have a need for correction. Optometry school was a great decision for us. Kendall loves it!
Kendall made sure to point out that my eyes are not perfect even though I currently do not have a need for correction. Optometry school was a great decision for us. Kendall loves it!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Elder Foell: Here's lookin at you kid.
Weird. My brother, Riley Foell, entered the MTC today. I am not sure why but I have had so many emotions lately. I have experienced many missionary farewells: best friends, acquaintances, ward members, just friends, cousins, brother in-law, etc. This one is different.
I didn't get to be there for opening the call (besides keeping the phone a few inches from my half asleep ear at 1am).
I didn't get to go to the temple, the farewell talk, or the open house.
I didn't get to see him get set apart or take him to the airport.
I didn't get to take him into the MTC even though for three years I lived across the street.
I didn't get to do all of the things that "initiate" a missionary.
But I did get to be there for the first 17 years of his life. I did get to wrestle with him, talk with him, laugh with him, etc. Most of my fondest memories of him include his hilarious laugh.
I did get to drive to TX with him this summer.
I got to be his big sister. I got to care about him and worry about him. I got to give him advice even when he didn't want any. [AND I will continue to do that for the rest of his life-he better believe it.] I got to give him a hard time about girls and grades. I was able to be an example for him. I spent time with people who were a good example to him. I was able to provide some sort of role models for him even if they didn't seem like it at the time. I also have a wonderful husband who is a great example to him as well.
I have been a part of his life even if it wasn't this big missionary part.
I love my brother so much. I love the gospel of Jesus Christ so much. I know that the gospel can change people's lives and I am so grateful that my brother gets to be a part of changing people's lives. I hope he knows that he can do anything with the help of our Savior Jesus Christ.
I hope he knows what a blessing it is to bear the burden of being an example. As the oldest sibling I feel that every day of my life. He is the oldest brother. He is also an example. I hope he knows that by being the oldest/first/example he receives more blessings of strength and power from Heavenly Father.
I hope he knows that the closer he draws to Jesus Christ, the more love, peace, comfort, and power he will feel in everything he does. I am so grateful for all the knowledge I have gained about the plan of happiness and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Here are some pictures of us for good measure. These are the only ones I could find on my computer.
These thoughts are not exactly streamlined (and the tenses don't agree at all), but they are some of the things I have been thinking and feeling today. I just want to make myself feel better for not being more involved in his life for the past year. It is hard when you are hundreds/thousands of miles away. I will probably write more in my journal, but I wanted to share something publicly even if it isn't too coherent.
Side Note: I started to read Hunger Games AGAIN! It feels great.
Back to your lives citizens. :)
I didn't get to be there for opening the call (besides keeping the phone a few inches from my half asleep ear at 1am).
I didn't get to go to the temple, the farewell talk, or the open house.
I didn't get to see him get set apart or take him to the airport.
I didn't get to take him into the MTC even though for three years I lived across the street.
I didn't get to do all of the things that "initiate" a missionary.
But I did get to be there for the first 17 years of his life. I did get to wrestle with him, talk with him, laugh with him, etc. Most of my fondest memories of him include his hilarious laugh.
I did get to drive to TX with him this summer.
I got to be his big sister. I got to care about him and worry about him. I got to give him advice even when he didn't want any. [AND I will continue to do that for the rest of his life-he better believe it.] I got to give him a hard time about girls and grades. I was able to be an example for him. I spent time with people who were a good example to him. I was able to provide some sort of role models for him even if they didn't seem like it at the time. I also have a wonderful husband who is a great example to him as well.
I have been a part of his life even if it wasn't this big missionary part.
I love my brother so much. I love the gospel of Jesus Christ so much. I know that the gospel can change people's lives and I am so grateful that my brother gets to be a part of changing people's lives. I hope he knows that he can do anything with the help of our Savior Jesus Christ.
I hope he knows what a blessing it is to bear the burden of being an example. As the oldest sibling I feel that every day of my life. He is the oldest brother. He is also an example. I hope he knows that by being the oldest/first/example he receives more blessings of strength and power from Heavenly Father.
I hope he knows that the closer he draws to Jesus Christ, the more love, peace, comfort, and power he will feel in everything he does. I am so grateful for all the knowledge I have gained about the plan of happiness and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Here are some pictures of us for good measure. These are the only ones I could find on my computer.
These thoughts are not exactly streamlined (and the tenses don't agree at all), but they are some of the things I have been thinking and feeling today. I just want to make myself feel better for not being more involved in his life for the past year. It is hard when you are hundreds/thousands of miles away. I will probably write more in my journal, but I wanted to share something publicly even if it isn't too coherent.
Side Note: I started to read Hunger Games AGAIN! It feels great.
Back to your lives citizens. :)
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Work/School/Houston Update
I suppose since it has been a little while I should post how things are going. Seems like we have lived her forever. We are back into the school/work routine. K: wake-up, shower, get ready, sit around, make lunch, pack backpack, check email, etc. H: wake-up 30 min later, put clothes on, wipe make-up off and on face, try to pull hair back so it doesn't look like I just woke up, walk out the door at 7:30a. After a full day of work/school we get home around 5:30p. What are we going to have tonight? I planned this, this, and that, but it doesn't sound good or sound easy enough to make right now. What else do we have? Nothing. (This goes on for 20 minutes.) How about breakfast burritos? Okay. I'll make the inside. Okay. I'll grate the cheese and heat up the tortillas. Thanks K, I really needed this. What do you want to watch? I'm sure something is on. Sure enough something is on. Around 9:30p K gets out school stuff to look over for the next day. I write in my journal and get the bed ready to sleep in. We have glass of water, read scriptures, and pass out. Repeat.
Our days seem like they run together. Some nights we see friends or go grocery shopping. This is the gist though. The weekends are pretty exciting considering we don't do any of these things. There is usually a football game to watch, people to see, church, etc.
This last week ALL the churches in the Houston area decided to do a fast for rain. It was very cool to think how unified so many people and religions could be because of the need for moisture. Also, the Saints with Unified Voices (?, Gladys Knight Choir) were doing performances in the area. They came to our ward for Sacrament Meeting. It was awesome. I always talk about how hymns in Sacrament Meeting are so powerful. Well, with an extra 200 people it was awesome.
Houston hasn't pulled through with much rain (at least in our area), but this weekend it is supposed to be in the upper 80s which is AMAZING! The lows are in the 50s and 60s which I am very happy about. I think it was actually cooler outside than inside this morning. Tomorrow I'm going to try to open the windows at night. The hard thing is when you go to bed it is still too hot to open the windows.
Our days seem like they run together. Some nights we see friends or go grocery shopping. This is the gist though. The weekends are pretty exciting considering we don't do any of these things. There is usually a football game to watch, people to see, church, etc.
This last week ALL the churches in the Houston area decided to do a fast for rain. It was very cool to think how unified so many people and religions could be because of the need for moisture. Also, the Saints with Unified Voices (?, Gladys Knight Choir) were doing performances in the area. They came to our ward for Sacrament Meeting. It was awesome. I always talk about how hymns in Sacrament Meeting are so powerful. Well, with an extra 200 people it was awesome.
Houston hasn't pulled through with much rain (at least in our area), but this weekend it is supposed to be in the upper 80s which is AMAZING! The lows are in the 50s and 60s which I am very happy about. I think it was actually cooler outside than inside this morning. Tomorrow I'm going to try to open the windows at night. The hard thing is when you go to bed it is still too hot to open the windows.
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