Week 1

So technically it's not really the first week of the year, but I figured I'd start somewhere right? My reasoning for starting back up is probably because I want something to look back on; something to read and make me think "I'm so Grateful we got through that time in our lives".

Let me start this post out by catching everyone up on what's going on with the Weights in Wyoming. We currently live in Wyoming because my husband's job brought us here after he graduated from USU. Well, after being at that job for about 2 years and some odd months, he decided he needed a change so he went "Job Huntin'". His job hunt led him to a job in Idaho which meant new opportunities, new friends, new house, yada, yada, yada. The decision wasn't exactly made in haste, but there was one thing we hadn't really looked closely enough at that made this job move a bit stressful ~We didn't think about what we'd do with our home here in Wyoming ~ let's just say the housing market isn't exactly booming right now in Wyoming, and we quickly realized that we wouldn't be able to afford to pay the mortgage (while we waited it for it to sell) AND rent in Idaho Falls. There are other issues which I won't go in to but needless to say, we decided to stay here in Wyoming while Aaron rented a room with co-workers, til at least the end of the school year. Aaron would commute back and forth every weekend and we continued to discuss what to do with our house here in Wyoming. This all started at the end of October 2011.

Fast forward to December and things started falling apart in Idaho. The "Hunt" was on again for another job (you see what I mean now, when I say I want to be able to read this in a year and actually LAUGH about it) and thanks to Aaron's awesome resume and great feedback from his mentors and others, he was quickly offered another job within a week of searching. The new job will be taking us to Elko, Nevada.

Fast forward to today, January 14th 2012...nothing is quite set in stone yet except for his start date being January 30th. We are still here in Wyoming, waiting to hear back from his current job. They pay relocation and also for a "house hunting" trip so we are hoping to schedule that within the week. We have yet to take the kids out there to see the town and hope that the transition is smooth. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to whatever new adventures 2012 will bring and hope that things start to settle a little bit...but I shouldn't expect too much right? It is, after all, ONLY the beginning of the year. :D

Stay tuned....(as always though, I won't promise anything)

What If....

What if I tried to do ONE post a week?......I wonder if I could do it....

Today in Stake Conference the visiting Area Authority, Elder Crittenden, shared an excerpt from Sister Okasaki's book, Lighten up. I had never read or heard quotes from this book before, but when I heard this excerpt shared today, I thought I might share with the rest of you. I'm sure not all of you will read it as I have friends and family both Christian and non-Christian, God-fearing and Atheist, but for those of you who do take the time to read it, I hope it touches you as deeply as it touched me.

"We know that on some level Jesus experienced the totality of mortal existence in Gethsemane. It's our faith that he experienced everything- absolutely everything. Sometimes we don't think through the implications of that belief. We talk in great generalities about the sins of all humankind, about the suffering of the entire human family. But we do not experience pain in generalities. We experience it individually. That mean Jesus know what it felt like when your mother died of cancer- how it was for your mother, how it still is for you. He knows what it felt like to lose the student body election. He knows that moment when the brakes locked, and the car started to skid. He experienced the slave ship sailing from Ghana toward Virgina. He experienced napalm in Vietnam. He knows about drug addiction and alcoholism. There is nothing you have experienced as a woman that he dose not also know and recognize. On a profound level, he understands about pregnancy and giving birth. He knows about PMS and cramps and menopause. He understands about rape and infertility and abortion. His last recorded word to his disciples were, "And, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." (Matthew 28:20) What does that mean? It means he understands your mother-pain when your five-year-old leaves for kindergarten, when a bully picks on your fifth-grader, when your daughter calls to say that the new baby has Downs syndrome. He knows your mother-rage when a trusted babysitter sexually abuses your two-year-old, when someone gives your thirteen-year-old drugs, when someone seduces your seventeen-year-old. He knows the pain you live with when you come home to a quiet apartment where the only children who ever come are visitors, when your fiftieth wedding anniversary rolls around and your husband has been dead for two years. He knows all of that. He's been there. He's been lower than that.

The door to him is always open, but the door to you can be closed and stay closed - if you choose to close it. If there is one great constant in the universe, it is the unfailing love of the Savior, the other great constant is his unfailing respect for human agency. He will not override your will, even for your own good. He will not compel you to accept his help. He will not force you to accept his companionship. He leaves you free to choose. I beg you to open the door and let him out of that room. Give him your whole heart, all the pieces, and let him heal you. He promises, "And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all of your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13.) With all our hearts. That means we don't have pieces of our hearts that he doesn't touch or that aren't relevant to him. He's not waiting for us to be perfect. You know that people who live in a certain latitude and experience long winter nights can become depressed and even suicidal, because something in our bodies requires whole spectrum light for a certain numbers of hours a day. Our spiritual requirement for light is just as desperate and as deep as our physical need for light. Jesus is the light of the world. We know that the world is a dark place sometimes, but we need not walk in darkness. The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, and the people who walk in darkness can have a bright companion. We need him, and he is ready to come to us, if we'll open the door and let him in."

5 Random Things

In my BlogStalking adventures today, I came across a Blogger that listed 512 Random Things about herself. It inspired me to do my own version of Random things....if only to get something New posted up on "dis here" Blog!! :D So here we go (by the way, I'm not doing 512, I'm only doing 5...I'm "underambitious" that way)~

5 Random Facts About Ardis Kanani Cardejon Weight

1. I have TWO middle names. As I signed my Marriage Certificate, my mom stood beside me and convinced (or coerced...depending on the day....hahahaha) me that I should keep my maiden name as part of my name. I don't like hyphenated names so I made my maiden name one of my middle names.

2. My dad will eat ANYTHING! What that has to do with me you say? Well, he got me hooked on Tuna & Honey on toast Sandwiches! Don't hate on it until you try it! The people who have, have thanked me for it ; D! (p.s. make sure you make a tuna salad spread...just plain ol' tuna outta the can with Honey WON'T work! Tuna mixed with mayo, salt, and pepper on one side, and honey slathered on the other ~ Mmmmm, Mmmmm GOOD!)

3. I served an LDS mission in Sendai, Japan{ *moment of Silence for the great people of that region who are still suffering the aftermath of the Earthquake and Tsunami in March*} but I had high hopes that I would get sent to Venezuela. I loved EVERY MINUTE of my mission in Sendai, Japan and learned that Heavenly Father truly does know Best!

4. I took Piano lessons from age 13 or 14, to age 18 ~ if you asked me to play today, I'd ask you to play the bottom line since I only remember how to read and play the top. In truth, this fact is so Random, I often forget it exists. My poor Mom paid $20 a month for her daughter to NOT be able to play the piano for her *SOB*!!

and last and MOST Random...

5. I am totally ADDICTED to, not only Facebook, BUT also to watching make-up/fashion gurus on YouTube! Pathetic I know, and not something you'd think just by looking at me (I'm not the most FASHIONABLE gal around, but I try a lot more since watching the videos), but I absolutely enjoy watching em! It's BAD...no seriously~my YouTube Subcription box is totally FULL! A few of my favorites are annershine,BEAUTYQQ,emilynoel83,MichellePhan,kandeejohnson,wendyslookbook, & lisaeldridgedotcom, just to name a few!

AnyHOO, I hope you enjoyed this Random Post about Random things about Random Ol' Me...if you're currently going through a "Blog Posting Brain Fart" then go ahead and Tag yourself in this! I'd love to learn some Random things about you all!!

sidenote: I thought a TOTALLY RANDOM photo of me would be appropriate for this post! :D

I Love My Mom because {Day 3}...

If ever there was a time when my mom felt like I wasn't listening to her counsel, she made sure to repeat her counsel during Family Prayer ~ {the same thing applied to the rest of my siblings} ~ "Please bless Ardis, that she'll make righteous decisions 'cause she sure is being a hellion right now"..I kid of course, but you all know what I mean...well, at least those of you who knew me in my High School years. I love my Mom because she knew that if I didn't listen to her, God would listen to her pleas and help her steer me aright!

I Love my Mom because {Day 2}...

One thing my mom did that I look back at and think "Thank goodness she did that!" is feeding the missionaries. I know ~ such a simple thing, and not anything that really portrays her love for her children, BUT if you think about it, it really shows her children how to serve and love others. What loving Mother doesn't want to teach her child that? Growing up, we ALWAYS had the missionaries over for dinner. We didn't have much, but we always offered our best and made them feel like family. When I grew up, my mom said to me "I like to feed the missionaries because I hope that if you guys ever decide to serve a mission for the church, I hope there is a Mom who cares enough to make sure you guys are fed!" You never really think about those kinds of things until you are a mother yourself, OR when you observe mothers who have children out on their missions...how much they worry for their child and pray that they are being taken care of. I'm glad that my mom was able to be the answer to some mother's prayer.

I Love My Mom because...

I probably should've started these at the beginning of the week but I didn't so there ~ Better Now then Never eh? :D AnyhOO, I wanted to share some stories I remember about my Mom and why I love her, so here's one for today ~

When I was 11, my mom decided that we (my sister and I) should play club volleyball, which was great because it taught me sportsmanship and kept me active. It also taught me that I am NOT very athletic at all and I probably should've signed up for sewing classes or something. :D There was one practice that was particularly hard for me, not just physically, but also mentally. The coach kept yelling and going on and on about how I needed to move my lazy butt (not just at me of course, but when you're 11, that's what you assume). I finally decided that I was done! I proceeded to tell my mom about how I felt in the car ride home and she seemed to be okay with it and said, "Well, it's your decision", but she also seemed really sad about it. The next day my mom sat me down and said, "Ardis, today I heard something on the radio that I thought would be really good for you to listen to. I went to the radio station and got a copy of the tape for you." (I wonder if my mom still has it or if she even knows where it is?) It was a guy talking about NOT giving up, about how things can and WILL get hard but to not give up and to keep trying. After listening to that tape, I decided to stick it out. Not because of what the guy on the tape had said but because I felt in that moment that my mom believed in me. I'm sure she knew that I didn't have the natural born skill of a star volleyball player, BUT she also knew that I needed to try Hard Things and to follow through and Finish what I started (oh how I wish that attitude had stuck with me through college!!). I went on to play high school volleyball and sucked really, REALLY bad (I only played my Freshman year) ~ I was the sub to the Sub for goodness sake....seriously pathetic!! It's alright though because I have a fond memory that comes from my days with volleyball~ I will always remember listening to the tape with my mom and thinking "Wow, she went to the RADIO STATION for me?", but more importantly, that she Believed in Me!