Week Twelve.

I was really surprised by the divorce rate happening at BYU-Idaho. It's shocking to think that marriage is falling apart even within the church. Divorce is an emotionally exhausting experience. I feel bad for any couple that has to go through that event in their lives. Divorce is hard on the whole family. Children adjust to a divorce better if the parents decide to remain cordial to one another. Divorce is happening more and more in this world. I'm getting married this week and I will always strive to keep the love alive with my spouse. I will be selfless. I will always try my best to put him first. I will always strive to be the best person that I can be. I know that forgiveness and repentance will need to be apart of my life even more when I am married. Feelings get hurt easily, but through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can learn to forgive and forget and move on. It may take time sometimes, but I know that it will be worth it. It will be worth it if I work for it. Nothing comes easy. It's by hard work that great things happen.

Week Eleven.

The purpose of parenting is to raise children in love, righteousness, and truth. Parents are rising children of God. Parents and children are affected by parenting. Depending on how the parent raises the child, the child can be affected forever. Parents have and leave a lasting impression. I think to better understand God, we become parents. I definitely think that God is an authoritative parent. He is active in the raising of the child. I think that authoritative parent is the best parent to be. They demand and they respond. There is just the right amount of love within an authoritative parent. Just how Heavenly Father expects a lot out of us, he loves us just the same when we fail. God sent his Son so that we could have the atonement and become perfected through Christ. As a parent we need to be willing to give second chances, but also teach our children right from wrong. Being a parent is a huge responsibility but I think there will be so much happiness from being a parent and raising children.

Week Ten.

I really liked learning about "One for the Money" this week. I am really going to try and apply those principles into my life. I will be getting married in three weeks and I know we will be using this handbook a ton in our home. Right after we get married, we are going to start a budget to see how much we will be spending each month. Both of us are working and going to school full time and I know money will be tight. But what a blessing we have to have this manual! I know that by paying our tithing first that we will be blessed. I always pay my tithing and I know that my fiance does at well. I know that we both have a testimony of it and we will be able to blessed from it in our married life. I also want to use the debt eliminator. I've been blessed to stay out of debt, but I know that my fiance has some student loans. I hope that we will be able to apply what I learned in class and start using it in our home.

Week Nine.

I'm so excited to use the council method in my life. I really do think that it will be such a blessing. I'm excited to be able to have family councils and even spouse council in my life. I honestly know that it will help my family in so many ways. I think it is so important that family councils start with a prayer. What a great opportunity to invite the spirit to be with you. I also love that within the council method that every person gets a say in the matter. I think it's so important for each family member to be able to have a voice and an opinion on the matter. Each person needs the opportunity to speak. I also love that after everyone discusses the matter that another prayers should be given. So that we can now speak with our Heavenly Father and ask for his approval. I know that the council method is from God and that this is how he would want things done within our families and the church.

Week Eight.

Crisis will always occur. There will be moments in our lives when tragic moments will happen. It is what we do with these events that makes the difference. In a family setting, the family can either rely on each other or be pulled apart. I would hope that in my family when sometimes tragic happens, that my family will be able to pull together and become closer. I hope that we will be able to show our love for one another in troubling times. I hope that we will be able to call upon God for his help, assistance, and patience in our trials. I know that it is through our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ that we will be able to get through anything. We will not be handed anything we can't handle. I think a lot of our situations depends on our attitudes. Sometimes we just need to see things as a blessing instead of a curse.

Week Seven.

Infidelity is such a huge problem these days. I've seen it occur in my family, my fiance's family, friends' parents, people in my ward. It's become a problem within and out of the church. Because my finance' and I have both witnessed infidelity within our families, we have talked a lot about loyalty to one another. We have talked about facebook and texting other people. We have made a promise that we will never say anything ill about one another to friends or family. We will confide in each other, and not family or best friends. We both have made promises to be faithful forever. We have promised to never cross any boundaries. I especially feel that facebook can be a huge hang up for couples. Rob and I have talked about facebook and what type of influence it will have on our relationship. We have set guidelines and rules to follow. I've heard and seen so many families be town apart because of facebook. What a silly little thing to get hung up on. Because Rob and I have set these rules, I know it will bless our relationship.

Week Six.

I really enjoyed class this week. We talked about the adjustments that marriage entail. I am engaged now, and I will be getting married April 7th. Marriage is going to be a HUGE adjustment. In class we talked about what those adjustments might be. Some of those were: going grocery shopping for two, waking up to someone next to you, dealing with in laws, being with someone all the time. But something that I realized is, if I prepare now for those adjustments, it won't be as big as a shocker hopefully. Right now, my fiance' and myself go grocery shopping together,we make and eat lunch and dinner together everyday, we read our scriptures together daily. We're really trying to transfer into marriage as easy as possible by developing habits now, instead of later. Of course there are so many new things I will be exposed to when I get married and I can't even imagine what all of those things will be and I won't be able to prepare for all of them, but by doing little things now that will prepare me for marriage, I can be ahead of the game. I'm so grateful for a a fiance' who wants to practice principles that will pass over into marriage.

Week Five.

This weeks topic was  "hanging out." In this generation, no one is going on dates. Everyone just "hangs out." In class we talked about what a date really is. A date should involve the three p's: paired off, planed, and paid for. Paired off means, two people, male and female, going on a date together. Instead of going on individual dates, everyone is going on group dates. This is not what we have been asked to do. Yes, group dates are really fun but we need to be going on single dates to find the qualities we like in others, what we don't like, and maybe even finding the person we're going to marry. Planned is the next p in the sequence of dating. The date needs to be planned. The boy needs to figure out what the two of you are going to do, then inform the girl what the plans for the evening are, and let her know how to dress. One of the things I hated when I was going on dates was when a guy would ask me out and then ask me what I wanted to do. He should have been prepared and should have planned something in advance. The last p is paid for. One of my biggest pet peeves is when a guy expects you to pay. Hello! It's a date. You pay sir, you asked me.

Week Four.

This week in class we talked about gender roles and same-sex attraction. A typical male role is to be protective, physically strong, task oriented, a problem solver, aggressive, and spacial oriented. Female gender roles can be described as sensitive, emotional, relationship oriented, having verbal skills, and being detail oriented. These roles are just  a "typical" definition for a woman or man.We were asked to watch this video prior to class. It was all about the differences between men and women and their sex differences. Throughout the video, the subject of women being able to be just like men kept being brought up. I do not think that one sex is better than another. I believe that we were all created equal and that God made us into men and women for a reason. I believe that we have divine callings. I believe that a man is to be provide, preside, and protect. He is to be a worthy priesthood holder and care for his family. I believe that a woman is called to be a mother. She is to bare and raise children in truth, righteousness, faith, and love. I believe that a woman has a divine nature and that she has the ability to care for children above a man. We were born with these talents. We were born to be the way we are. Heavenly Father made us for a reason. Male and female differences have ALWAYS existed and should continue to ALWAYS exist.

Week Three.

This week in class we talked about social classes. We watched the video above. It's called Tammy's Story. This video really touched me. If we are talking in social class lingo, it's about a "below average" family. Tammy is a mother who is just trying to make a life for her children. She walks ten miles to work. She is doing the best she can. But one of her children in particular doesn't appreciate his mothers efforts at all. He thinks he is better than his family. In my life I have always tried to appreciate my parents. They do so much for me and I know it has to be hard to be a parent. It's not an easy job. My parents were not perfect, but they tried their best and that is all I could ever ask for. They tried their best to support me and to provide for me. Best of all; they loved me. They loved me with an undying love and for that, I can't express how much gratitude I have for them. Although we all live in different so called "social classes" it really doesn't matter what family you come from, love can be an amazing power for all.

Week Two.

I really enjoyed class this week. We learned about the family as a psychological system. The systems that stood out to me where exchange and symbolic interaction. Exchange is kind of a "give and take" system. For example, lets use a husband and wife. One night the husband washes the dishes. In his mind he is thinking, "since I'm washing the dishes now, she should wash them tomorrow." But when tomorrow comes, the dishes are still in the sink and the husband could be upset. He could be thinking, "I did the dishes yesterday! It is HER turn.We should be taking turns doing things." Now, this isn't a bad way of doing things, but I think it can be harmful. I know that sometimes we do do things so that we can get something in return. But in my life, I really want to work on doing things for my husband because I WANT to. Not because I want something in return, but because I know that it is the right thing to do. I want to learn how to do things for him and not expect anything in return. Symbolic theory also stood out to me. I think everyone is affected by this theory. Symbolic theory is where we are shaped by interaction. Each person will feel something from interaction between people. Tone of phrases, forms of touch, and different cultures are all forms of symbolic theories. The way people talk to one another will have a symbolic meaning. For example again, a husband and wife are talking to each other and then the wife uses a tone that the husband doesn't like. The situation is affected by that tone. The husband begins to feel hard feelings because of her tone. Exchange and symbolic interaction are huge parts of the psychological system.

Week One.

What I learned this week was about the different forms of research. Those different forms are: quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. There are different ways to find information. These include: interviews, case studies, observation, and there are other ways to find research. In class we discussed that questions should  be important, intriguing, and beautiful. I think in a family, we should perform research within the unit. We should be asking each other questions and learning about one another. Parents should be teaching their children the gospel  and having one on one interviews with their children to know what is going on in their lives. Parents should be asking questions, observing, and interviewing which are forms of research.