Thanksgiving, Harry Potter, 4 Months...

Wow I'm really awful at updating this. But like I've said before it's because nothing super important or grand happens in my life. So for Thanksgiving we went back to Rock Springs with Loren's sister. Once again I got to play with Olivia and Gracie and they were even cuter than the time before. Olivia is talking more, I have this Maggie doll I've had forever that I take everywhere with me and the girls love her. Olivia would walk around with her in her arms going Maggie doll, Maggie doll, Maggie doll over and over. She's so cute. I also think she finally learned who I was because when they'd say give Maggie a hug she'd actually come over to me. Gracie remembered me too, the first thing she said to me was can we play the rainbow game? She's just too adorable I love both of them. Sadly I didn't really get to go shopping on Black Friday. I went around 3ish with my roommate and got a few things for my family that were really good deals. Actually I'm almost completely done shopping. Oh and while we were in Rock Springs we saw Harry Potter. Yeah I was really disappointed in it. I didn't like it at all and neither did Loren. I was just waiting for it to be over and hoping I didn't fall asleep because the only theater in Rock Springs cost $9 for a ticket!!! It was ridiculous. There was also the really weird scene with Harry and Hermione naked and all up on each other that was super crazy. So other than that Thanksgiving wasn't anything too special. It was nice to not be alone and I also heard that my family decided to meet on Wednesday instead of on Thanksgiving. I don't like that, you're supposed to have you family on Thanksgiving! Booo on that.

We were only there Wednesday night, all of Thanksgiving, and then we came back to Provo Friday morning. Loren has to work everyday but Thanksgiving that week. I did a lot of sitting around, sleeping, playing on facebook, and going places with Carlene. Which brings us to yesterday. Yesterday was 4 months for Loren and I. I feel like it was just yesterday I was typing it was 3 months (in fact I think it was just 2 posts ago). I just think this is super crazy because I came out here after only dating him for 2 weeks. Honestly it probably shouldn't have worked out for us, but it did. I'm soo glad it has too. He's been so amazing I love being in Utah and having him around. This is an experience I never thought I'd have but it has been like a dream the whole time. I'm kind of at a lost for words, I don't really know what to say than what I already have. I'm so thankful everyday to have Loren in my life even when we have not as happy days. Nothing changes how I feel about him :)

We come home in 16 days! It's soo crazy but I'm excited. Also I'm almost done with my application to the LDS Business College. I think that's all for now.

Playing Catch Up...

So honestly if I had more interesting things to talk about I'd update more. But not a lot has happened. For Halloween Loren and I went up to Rock Springs, Wyoming where his sister Lindsay lives. She has 2 girls names Gracie and Olivia. They are the most precious girls ever! I absolutely fell in love with them over that weekend and it made me want kids as well. I ended up becoming Gracie's best friend. I slept in her room, and she really liked my phone so she'd come to me a lot. Oh and she also liked my Maggie doll. But there were so many cute things she said over the weekend. While we were at the Rec Center in the little lazy river I see Lindsay tell me to hold up, so I wait and she said Gracie said she wanted Maggie and Loren to take her around. So I took Gracie for pretty much the remainder of the time we were there. I didn't mind at all. She's so adorable and Lindsay is soo pregnant (she's due in January) that it didn't bother me at all. Then later on Loren and I were going to sit at the counter and let their family sit at the table for dinner and Gracie said "but I wanted to sit next to Maggie" so her and Loren switch spots. Gracie did not stop talking throughout all of the dinner. Then she hears Loren laugh here was the conversation:
Gracie: "What's that guy laughing about"
Me: "Wait what's his name?"
Gracie: "Him!"
Lindsay: "Hang on what's his name"
Gracie: "Uhhhh..."
Lindsay: "What's her name?"
Gracie: "Maggie!"
Lindsay: "What's his?"
Gracie: "Oh umm Loren..."
Hahaha I laughed so hard that night. Then we were going to put the kids in bed and Gracie goes "there's your bed Maggie" and I said "well I'm not going to bed right now". Gracie then says "oh well I'll just put my doll and blanket on the bed and go watch the Wiggles with you." I told her it was her bed time and she said she didn't want to go to bed though, and it was super cute. The morning we left as I was packing my things she was in there with me and here was another conversation:
Gracie: "Where's your ring?"
Me: "I don't have one"
Gracie: "You don't have a ring?"
Me: "Nope."
Gracie: "Do you have to go buy it?"
I once again laughed so hard, she just looked at me and started laughing too. Then Loren was scraping the ice off his car and Gracie was sitting with me and I said "Well I need to go" and Gracie said "But I wanted you to stay for a while, like Christmas" Lindsay then begins to explain it's only going to be 3 more weeks til I'm back and Gracie goes "So you're coming for Thanksgiving? I'll see you in 3 weeks". It was soo adorable. As we left Gracie gives me a hug and then she goes "But whaat am I going to do??" Then starts pouting. I just wanted to stay with her some more. Out of all of these things I think my favorite thing Gracie said all weekend was on Sunday night. Loren and I were both playing with Gracie and Loren says "Hey Gracie am I your favorite uncle?" Her response was, "Yeah, well but Maggie's my favorite Aunt!" We had to explain to her that I wasn't her Aunt, but I felt so loved that weekend by Gracie and laughed so much. I love little kids. They're the greatest! That's pretty much all the exciting things that have happened. Oh and I've also decided to apply for the LDS Business College and work on probably some Generals and see what I want from there. But yeah, I'm counting down the days til my return with Gracie. Hopefully she'll love me just as much then!

Oh and one last note I'm coming home in a month a 4 days!!

 Here's Gracie and Olivia.

 My best friend Gracie. She's a hoot!

 Loren and I after church :)

Three.

So in the past week I've realized something. I am probably one of the hardest people to deal with ever. I am very much a perfectionist. I've always been this way though. I feel like if I can make everything in my life as perfect as possible then I will make everyone happy. I know it's impossible to make everyone happy, but it honestly upsets me when someone doesn't like me. It makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong because I do everything I can to make others smile and laugh. I don't do it for me, but because I really do just care. I care about people I don't know. I don't know how to explain it really, there's this part in me that just wants to go to everyone whether I know them or not and let them know that someone loves them, to let them know that they are special. This was part of the reason I wanted to work with kids. I felt like if I could make a difference in even one child's life then I'd be happy. On the flip side I know this perfectionist view is hard to deal with for people who are close in my life. For example Loren and I have these designated dishes we use. We have matching bowls, cups, plates, and mugs. There are only 2 of each of these items, and I use them everyday if I'm eating with Loren. If I know only one of us will be eating I'll use something different. But when it's me and him I have to make sure it's all perfect. The other day I walk into his apartment and my mug had been used. Not only had it been used, whoever used it left it sitting on the couch, and they had milk in it! This really irked me because someone messed up my system, and it was just gross (oh that's another thing I have to clean the dishes right after we use them, I can't just leave them there or it bothers me and then they're not clean for the next time we use them). This really shouldn't have bothered me but I just looked at Loren and I was on the verge of tears because it bothered me that much.
There also was a time when I was cooking dinner. When I cook I have to make sure everything is perfect, and I'm paranoid that no one will like what I'm cooking. I ask about 10 times during the meal if it's ok and if they're being honest. I was making macaroni though and I went to drain the noodles and couldn't find the strainer. I decided to just put the lid over and leave a little space for water to come out, I've done this before. But on this time somehow I lost my grip and all the noodles go falling into the sink. My first instinct was to cry because I have ruined dinner. Loren walks over and says "no it's ok look they fell in the sink. We can just pick them up put them in the strainer and wash them, they'll be ok."  But I said no they're ruined I messed it all up and left the room. Loren ended up finishing the dinner and he ate the macaroni, and I ate like half a bowl because I felt so ashamed that I had messed it up. Loren kept telling me I didn't do anything wrong, but I still felt that way.
Now I say all of this because today is 3 months for Loren and I. Time is flying by so fast, but I'm so lucky to have him in my life. Like I said I know my perfectionist self is hard to deal with at times, but he sits there and says I love you just the way you are. We've talked about this a lot and he'll ask me why I feel the need to be perfect and I say that I feel that he deserves to only have perfect things. He deserves to have the best of everything. His response was "but you are already perfect, you're perfect for me and that's all that matters." I can't even begin to describe how grateful I am that Heavenly Father placed Loren into my life. It was completely unexpected and not what I was looking for (or really wanting at the time for that matter), but I know He put Loren in my life for a reason. I've never had anyone who has been more perfect for me before. Loren picks up where my flaws leave off, and he helps me to be a better person, to want to be a better person. I couldn't imagine having anyone else there to help me along. As I see what Loren and I have now and look back at past relationships, I see how wrong other guys were for me. So even though this wasn't what I was expecting or wanting, I know that God had other plans for the both of us. Loren also wasn't expecting or wanting it. He got off his mission in June and he had told himself he wasn't going to get serious with a girl until 2 years after his mission. Well he lasted about 2 months (actually less) before we were dating. We had been dating 2 weeks when I decided to come out the Utah. But for me it honestly wasn't my decision. I prayed about it so much before coming out and I know that Heavenly Father was telling me to come out here. While being out here I've had the opportunities I've never had before to be able to really take the time to focus on my relationship with God and Christ. To really build up my testimony to make it even stronger. Everyday I'm here and I see how much God has blessed me I'm that much more grateful for all He does in my life. I definitely don't think it was an accident Loren and I talked that night at the fireside this summer, or that no one was at Institute to take me home other than him the night we had our 1st date. I know Heavenly Father knows exactly who to place in your life when you need it, and Loren was exactly what I needed at this time. Everyday I get to know Loren the more my love grows. I hope it only continues to do so.

Any Dream Will Do

So my title just happens to be the song I'm listening to. It's been quite a while since I wrote. I had meant to several times but just didn't get around to it. A lot has happened since then, I went to General Conference (way way cool), attended another BYU game (they won and it was homecoming!!), got my patriarchal blessing (also cool), and went to Las Vegas (my least favorite of these events). I don't really know what to say about General Conference other than it was so incredible to be there. I never imagined I'd get to go to one in person it was so cool! And it was fun to hang out with some of Loren's family as the guys went to the Priesthood session. The next weekend I think was homecoming and that's when we went to the game. Honestly I didn't expect BYU to win because well if we're being honest they've been pretty terrible this year. But they pulled off the win so it was exciting!! I would write more about these things, but really it's been a while I can't remember a lot. So sorry. And I'm trying to make this not forever long.

So I finally got my patriarchal blessing. I go to the patriarchs house and he talks to Loren and I first, then talks to me alone. He was such a sweet guy and he asked me to tell him my testimony and when I got done he just said wow I'm so glad I got to hear that it was very impressive. He kept telling me Loren and I look like a nice good couple which made me laugh inside each time. But so he gives me my blessing and it was so awesome. I've told Loren before I hate blessing and being set apart and what not because I always shake a lot when they put their hands on me. I'm always afraid they can feel me shaking and think it's weird. With my patriarchal blessing I didn't shake at all. It was just so calm and peaceful through it all. It was all good but probably my favorite part was when it talked about motherhood :) For those who know me well know that my ultimate goal is to be a stay at home mom. I want to have lots of children and just stay with them and take care of them and make sure they're being raised in a loving environment knowing they're children of God and having a love for him. But also to know their parents love them regardless of anything. Well in my blessing it said I will be blessed with motherhood and love it. I will raise a family in the gospel and God will send me some of his strongest because he's confident in my abilities as a mother. When I heard that I wanted to cry. At first I was a little taken a back because it said I will be sent the strongest and in my opinion I think how can I do that? I don't think I'm strong enough to take them on, but all through out the blessing it kept repeating how Heavenly Father is pleased with me in my willingness to do whatever he asks of me.

I'm glad I got it at this age. I know a lot of people like to get it at a younger age, but I feel like this was the perfect timing for me. I don't think at any other age I would have really understood or appreciate it. The day before we left for Vegas I got my blessing in the mail so I could read it. (Oh yeah mom I've been meaning to read it to you, but every time I talk to you on the phone I forget). So this weekend we went to Las Vegas. Loren's cousin Matt was giving his homecoming talk. He got back a couple of weeks ago (just in time for conference actually) from El Salvador. So on Saturday we get to Vegas and walk down the strip. Now that I've done it that's all I can say is I walked down the strip. I have no desire to ever go back there though. It was pretty awful (well with the exception of some things). I liked the Coke and M&M places, and the fountains in front of the Bellagio was awesome. However it's definitely not a place to be after around 6, when it starts to get dark. I saw some things I wish I had never seen. I also think I wasn't enjoying it because I was running on 3 hours of sleep, riding in a car for 5 hours, and I felt like I was going to die. Needless to say when I got to bed that night I couldn't have been more thrilled. Best night of sleep ever!! Then the next day Matt gave his talk and he did an amazing job!! It was really one of the best talks I've ever heard. However I never imagined I'd be more thankful to be back in Utah.

Now we're back and things are getting to normal again. Oh and just throwing it out there I didn't get a job at the Marriott, bummer but my wonderful mother has been giving me some things to do for their office and has given me money for it. I'll take it for now. Alright that's all :)

Oh What A Beautiful Morning, Oh What A Beautiful Day.

So first off today is 2 months for Loren and I. Yay! Now I will continue on....

As I was at Loren's this morning I got a call. It was from an 801 number. Now I know if I see 801 it's either someone from church or a job. I've been looking for a job since I got here in August. It's almost October now and still don't have anything. Jobs are impossible to come by here it's frustrating. But it was a call for an interview at the Marriott!!! I was so excited she asked me if I could come in today at 2:15. I literally just got back from the interview. Anyway I was so excited because this is the first call back I've gotten. I went and changed and tried to look all pretty. Then I made lunch.

I was so proud of myself and felt like a good Mexican :) I made some homemade tortillas (which are Loren's favorite) and some potato, egg, cheese, and onions fried together. It was really good. Loren ate like 4 tortillas and half the mixture. Steve and I ate the other half. Loren drove me to the Marriott and kissed me on the forehead (my favorite I think they're soo cute) and told me good luck. I go in and the interview was really short. She only asked me like 3 questions and then told me what the job would require, the hours, and how much money it would be. I know she has at least one more person to interview. She told me she would probably make a decision tomorrow so I'm hoping I get the job. I've been praying everyday about this since I started. I'm so glad to finally get an interview and grateful that God is listening to my prayers. I know it's been a little frustrating to wait this long but I'm so glad He is listening to me. I know if I get this job it wasn't really my doing at all. Right before I went in for the interview I prayed that He'd give me the strength and right words to say. I honestly don't remember a lot of what I said but as I was sitting there the words were just flowing out. I'm very excited and I hope this will be my break.


Now I'm headed out to see Loren before he goes to work. I'm so very excited about today. It's been 2 months. It feels like so much longer than that but I've loved every second of it. I'm so glad God placed such a wonderful guy in my life. He has helped me out in so many ways and I couldn't be more grateful. If you had asked me 3 months ago where I'd be I would have said in Kentucky, stressed out at school, and trying to figure out what I want. I never imagined I would be here in Provo, with Loren, and searching for a job. I'm so excited for everything that has happened and couldn't be happier. Oh and to make things better General Conference is this weekend!!! I have tickets to the Saturday afternoon session. I'm super excited about this, it'll be all kinds of awesome!! Ok now that I've said how amazing Loren is and how excited I am about everything I'm for reals going to see him. Laters!!

Fun, Football, and Family History.

So before the weekend could start I went in to get my temple recommend and patriarchal blessing interview. Now I did the blessing interview in high school, I just never called to actually set it up. That was 2 years ago and I needed to redo it. When I was in there I also got a calling. However since you're not supposed to really talk about them til you're sustained I'll save that for Sunday :)

Saturday we had a ward activity and we tie dyed shirts! It was a lot of fun and I'm very proud of mine :)

Isn't it super cute? I think so!
Then Loren and I went to the BYU vs. Nevada football game. So the game itself was pretty lame. BYU lost (sad day) the band wasn't that good (Loren claims they were better when he was in it) and the cheerleaders were awful. Now you may think it's funny I include the last but about the cheerleaders but it's a real problem for me. I went to University of Kentucky for 2 years where cheerleading is serious business. The UK cheerleaders are 18 time National Champions. No other cheerleading squad even comes close to that number. They've won the title for like the past 5 years in a row. They're just incredible. So maybe I was spoiled at UK with the quality of cheerleaders but I think if you're going to be on a college cheerleading squad you should have at least more than one girl who can do a full twist, and you should be also to do more tosses than just a basket toss. Just throwing that out there. Anyway but I had a lot of fun spending time with Loren.

Finally Sunday. I actually had forgotten that they were going to sustain me until Brother Taggert gets up and says now we have some callings we need to sustain. They go through the list. Loren is sustained at the Co- Chair of the Public Relations committee (how convenient that he's getting a new computer this week right? hehe). Then he finishes his list and I hadn't been called. He said if there's anyone I've missed don't be afraid to tell me. You see the one hand in the very back go up and he looks at me and he was like Maggie what's your last name again and I said Hoffpauir and he said "Oh dang. We have called Maggie Hoffpauir to be a member of the Family History Committee. All those who can sustain...." blah blah blah you know the rest :) But everyone laughed, raise their hands, and I sit down. Later on when I was being set apart he told me thanks for reminding me I'm sorry I forgot. So yeah I'm on the family history committee. I was shocked to find out I was actually requested by the chair of the committee to be on there. I feel like I tell a lot of people who I am but they don't necessarily always remember me, but Rachel told me she had submitted my name to be on her committee. Maybe I made a better impression on her than I thought. Anyway I'm really excited about this calling. I'm already having so much fun. Not only do I get to work a ton on my family I get to help everyone else do it. In November we're doing a big temple trip and we want everyone to bring in their own names for baptisms. There's 3 in the committee and an indexer. We met yesterday and we're all really excited. I love our committee they're all awesome people and I'm so excited to start working with the ward and hopefully have everyone bring their own names!! That's all I really have for now, but I'd encourage everyone to do family history. It is so much fun and cool to see who you're related to, where they lived, and you  get a better connection to your family this way :) So there's my plug for my calling yay! Here's a picture of Loren and I from the game!

Rommate Bonding Time

So about two weeks ago my roommate finally moved in. Her name is Carlene. At first I wasn't sure how I felt about this because I was kind of enjoying a room to myself. But I'm really glad she is here. Carlene and I are a lot alike. We're both really laid back people who honestly just let things slide a lot. So for the first week it was kind of just an acquaintance thing. I would walk in say about 5 things and leave. It felt awkward, but now she's super cool. On Wednesday we went to Taco Bell then Wal Mart together. Tonight we went to Brick Oven. We've just been getting to know each other and I like her a lot. It's nice to have someone to talk to. You see all our other roommates (we're in an apartment with 6 girls) lived with each other before. I felt kind of out of place and pretty much hid. They go out almost every night together. So we've been having our own roommate bonding time. It's been good so far. She's super tall, she's 6 ft!! Of course to Loren this isn't tall because he stands at 6'7" (yes he's a foot and an inch taller than me). She's from LaGrande, Oregon and she's going to Paul Mitchell Beauty School here. This is super exciting for me (and Loren and his roommates) and have already offered to let her practice on us :) So yeah. I thought I'd just talk about her. Oh Loren also pointed out that you couldn't comment before on my page. I changed it so you are able to now. I'd like to think this is the real reason people haven't left me comments. So comment away :) Tomorrow I'm going to the BYU vs. Nevada (by the way Texas people Nevada is not pronounced the way we think). It'll be weird because this will be the first time I've gone to a game without being in the band. Hopefully that will be fun. I guess that's all now. Comments!!