About 2 years ago, I thought I had a 5 year plan.  But let me tell you, I was wrong. A lot of things happened that threw me off track. The guy I was dating ended up not being who I thought he was. I went back and forth with some choices I had to make in my program here at BYU, which led me to be in school longer than I had hoped. I had been applying to job after job, and didn't get any of them. I even really thought I was going to get an internship that I really wanted, and that didn't end up happening. Basically, everything I had planned on didn't happen. I was getting frustrated. I thought I was doing everything right, but nothing was going as I wanted it to, or as I thought at the time, needed it to.

Lesson learned: My time is different than the Lord's time. He really tested my patience, for the record. 

2 years later, I can see why everything happened the way it did. I know I was supposed to meet Jeff. I found a job that is way better than all of the other jobs I had been applying for. My timing in school has worked out great with other things going on in my life. I couldn't have asked for things to go any better. 

But...

None of this was my doing. It is so hard when you are going through a rough patch in life, or things are going the way you wanted them to, to see that God has a better plan for you - a much bigger one that really is the best way for things to go. When I thought that things needed to go a certain way, I was so off base. I wanted things to go a certain way. But my life would work out fine even if they didn't go that way, because I should have had faith that the Lord would send me on the right path.

Why is this important? Life is crazy, fun, dumb sometimes, exciting, wonderful, etc., and it gets so crazy that we forget we are such a tiny part in this huge plan. There is a talk by Elder Richard G. Scott, "Trust In the Lord," that I love and captures my imperfect thoughts perfectly and I encourage you to read it. At all times, we need to know that God has something planned for us, and when we go through rough times and things don't go as we had hoped, we need to pray and rely on him for help and guidance through difficult times. 

I am so grateful that I have a knowledge of how Heavenly Father has a plan for us. It took reflecting to realize that everything I went through happened for a reason. Today, I know I am exactly where I am supposed to be, about to be married for eternity and progressing towards being a teacher. What I thought was supposed to happen just wasn't the way it was supposed to go, and I can see that now.

love, SK

Wedding planning goes in phases. Some weeks it is really fun, and others it is really stressful. For the most part, I have loved planning my wedding. People told me it was going to be terrible, but I really have enjoyed it quite a bit. You only get married once, you should make a party out of it, right? So after I realized all the mixed feelings that were dancing around in my head while the planning was happening, I started jotting down every little thought I had about the wedding planning. This is that list of thoughts, or at least most of them. 

Is it April Already? -- Does that seriously matter? -- Let's Elope. -- I just want it to be perfect. -- That's not even close to what I wanted. -- It's going to be so much fun! -- Wait is this even going to be fun? -- I hope I don't forget anything. -- This is kinda fun. -- How much money is left in my bank account? -- Did we forget to invite anyone? -- Is the food going to taste good? -- How should we arrange the decorations? -- This is seriously too many options! -- What am I getting myself into? -- I love my family. -- Is my boss going to hate me for taking so much time off of work? -- How the heck am I going to get my crazy hair look normal for a whole day? -- How much money am I really willing to spend on this? -- I think I've annoyed my in-laws... -- Holy crap I'm getting married! --  Do people even look at our registry? (This was thought after spending 4 hours in Bed Bath & Beyond) -- Eww, are we as clingy as that engaged couple? -- Yes, I'm excited, stop asking me that, it's making me anxious. -- I'm so over running errands. -- I'm bored, what can I do for my wedding? -- How awkward is it to have everyone staring at me for an entire day? -- Is this lipstick too dark? -- Is Jeff actually going to show up? -- Wow it is so soon! -- Oh my gosh this month is going by so slow. -- I don't have time to do all these things! -- Is it possible to duplicate yourself to run errands? -- Baby photos are the bestest/most hilarious thing ever. -- I'm going to have to wake up like 5 hours before my wedding to make myself look at least presentable. -- It's all coming together, finally! -- Too many people are asking me questions at the same time. -- Woohoo! -- I can't wait to get married! -- How am I going to deal with being responsible for a husband? -- Oh dear, it's April.

Speaking of baby photos, here's a fun one of me, hiding in a closet which apparently I did a lot

love, SK



p.s. A year ago from this weekend, I realized that I loved Jeffrey. Writing this blog post, it has been fun to reflect on the past year and see the journey we have been on to get us to this point, 3 weeks from getting married! Who would have guessed that I would be getting married exactly a year from the month that I fell in love! :)

Over and over again, people tell you how much they love you. You don't realize how true that is until tables turn and all the sudden all the attention is on you. In this case, the attention has been mostly celebrations, and as I sat the past two weekend at Bridal Showers thrown in my honor, I realized how blessed I am. I have friends and family who are eager to help me celebrate becoming a Mrs. I even have strangers who have already expressed their love for me, just because they have known Jeff for so long and love him as well. I was nothing but grateful for all the people who put so much time into making my showers the best time ever and showing me so much love.

Last Saturday was my first shower. It was out in Salt Lake and put on by some of Stephanie's (Jeff's mom) friends from church. I had met some of the ladies before, but for the most part, I met a handful of new incredible women who immediately welcomed me to the Witt family and showed me so much love, even though we had just met. They made desserts based off of my favorite things and it was the best (But also really hard because I'm trying to cut out sugar until after the wedding - I definitely cheated so that I could eat the Oreo balls and chocolate covered strawberries). Luckily, Jeff was there to remind me of everyone's names and introduce me to people.

The second shower, which was this Saturday, was here in Provo. It was put on by 2 of my bridesmaids - Hadley (my cute cousin) and Madison (my best friend). Both of these gorgeous girls are pictured below. They had my favorite snacks and desserts (including my most favorite trifle ever), We played some games and ate food and I even left with a jar of fantastic date ideas that I can't wait to do with Jeff as Mr and Mrs :) I definitely was spoiled by two of my favorite girls and had such a fun time seeing so many friends and family members (many who drove for hours and some even came in from different states).



One thing I like about bridal showers is that it brings everyone together. While I have to admit that it was a tad overwhelming making sure I had a chance to talk to everyone that came and trying to catch up with everyone's life, I was thankful for this occasion that gave everyone an excuse to come together for a couple hours so that we have the chance to visit amidst our very hectic schedules.


Really, I am so grateful for all the gifts and words of love from all my family and friends who sacrifice time to come celebrate my upcoming wedding. I can easily see how many people care about me and are excited for Jeff and I to start a new adventure together. I'm nothing but grateful and truly blessed. 

love, SK

J

Meet Jeffrey Evan Witt. This handsome man, come April 23, will be my HUSBAND!

Jeff and I met in September of 2014. My sister Jessica was currently dating (and is now married) to Cameron. One day I decided to go with Jessica to Cameron's apartment to hang out. When I went over there, I met Jeff, the best friend/roommate. Jessica and Cameron both knew Jeff from their freshman year of college and were good friends. When I first met Jeff during that first week of school, I thought he was a nice guy, but I wasn't wanting to date him. I would go over often, and we would hang out, but solely as friends.

Then one day in the beginning of January, we decided to go to Costco together. Spending this time with him one-on-one made me realize that he was a total catch. He was attractive, he was funny, he was a gentleman, but he was interested in another girl (or so I thought). While driving to Costco he discussed how he was pursuing another girl in his ward. So I tried to shove my sparked feelings away. But they wouldn't go away! January came and Jess and Cam got engaged. I was asked to be the maid of honor, and Jeff was asked to be the best man. Naturally, this meant we were going to spend a bit of time together planning things for the event. So for about a month we were way flirty, and eventually Jeff made the moves! 

February came and he finally asked me out on a date. For Valentine's day, he was a total sweetheart and brought me flowers for Valentine's Day. I was FREAKING OUT! With a couple dates in between, we went on a snowboarding date later that month and he called me his girlfriend, and I got so freaked out and said something along the lines of I move slow, I'm not ready for that, blah blah. But I quickly realized that I was totally ready for it. We began going on dates every week, hanging out several times during the week, and became un-separable.

In April, I fell in love with him. It was as simple as that - I was head over heals in love and wanted to be with him for as long as he would have me. But I had to wait a few months for him to finally tell me he loved me so I could let him know I felt the same way.

Over the summer we had to handle long distance. I was in California working and he was in Utah, working and recovering from a major jaw surgery. But the distance made it ever so clear that he was the one I wanted to be with.

December 4, 2015 he proposed. If you want to read how that happened, you can read all about it here.

We will be getting married April 23, 2016 in Newport Beach, California (which we are very excited for and wish it was April already!). And now that it is March, I can officially say we are getting married NEXT MONTH!

I can't wait to spend the rest of forever with this incredible man.

Tears come to my eyes as I write this post. They are tears of gratitude for the year I have had. Exactly one year ago from yesterday, I went through the the Temple for the first time (If you would like to read my post on that, click here). At that time, I knew that it would be a blessing in my life, but as I reflect upon the past year, I see now that I was blessed in ways I couldn't have possibly imagined. The Temple continues, to this day, to give me such a great happiness that I only wish for everyone. I wish every person could be as blessed and as happy as I am today, because of the choice I made one year ago.

While the list of things this past year has held for me is short to an outsider, I reflect with confidence that these things are real blessings and each memory is packed with meaning. This list, to me, is significant. As a quick summary of important things that stand out to me, within the past year I have:

Yes you read that right, the Jensen family trip required surviving. We googled a number of things that would have been helpful to know before we came to the beautiful French Polynesian Islands, as well as came up with things people should know.

These were all the things we googled:

Some other Thoughts on Tahiti:

The "Chicken Supreme" is in fact nothing supreme, but the size of a hot dog.

The Sun is at its strongest there, and Nate and I got FRIED. Despite trying to stay in the shade and apply loads of sunscreen, this did nothing because the sun won that fight. And its humid. My hair was double the size that it normally is, approaching afro.

The fish are beautiful, and when we would climb into the water off the porch of our cabana, there would often be stingrays swimming around with us. (The first picture in this post was from a snorkeling trip)

The little airplanes that you island hop in fit about 20 people and make you thing you are going to die if a slight breeze decides to blow.

Dear Boat Driver, did you know your boat will go faster than 5mph?

Even if you don't want to swim with sharks, you probably will. We were snorkeling and all of the sudden we looked over and a huge shark was right there next to us.

Bug spray is a must. You think you can hide from the mosquitos, but you can't. Take my word for it.

This week we had a challenge against Tahiti, and let me tell you, TAHITI WON. But we had the best time there and it really was so amazing.