FOOD

What foods do you like? What foods do you dislike? Did you have any food or medical allergies? Were there two or three dishes your mother or father made that were especially memorable?

I'm pretty excited to answer these questions. Food is one of my very favorite topics, just check my Pinterest boards. Lots of food pins. 

I honestly like just about any food; Asian, BBQ, salads, pasta - you name it, I will most likely eat it. Lately I've really been loving Asian food, especially Thai curry. We got some on Monday night to celebrate Cameron's graduation and that was some of the best food I've had in a long time. I also love pizza, but not just your run-of-the-mill pepperoni or sausage or whatever. My mom and I make this pesto/grape pizza that is to die for. I would literally have dreams about it when I was in college. Ethan and I also perfected the art of BBQ chicken pizza in Hawaii; every time we had someone over for dinner, it was bbq pizza or honey-lime enchiladas.

The list of foods I dislike is pretty short. I'm not a huge fan of mustard or dill pickles, I hate tofu and ever since BYU Hawaii's cafeteria I just cannot do jambalaya. I just can't. Other than that I will try pretty much anything you put in front of me, as long as it's not a bug. 

As far as I know, I don't have any food allergies. If I eat too much dairy or if I have eggs too early in the morning I'll get sick, but I'm not actually allergic to them. 

My mom is a fantastic cook, so it's hard to choose just two or three things out of the hundreds of yummy things we've made. We always try new recipes together; in fact, tomorrow we're trying a spicy honey chicken salad, hopefully it's as delicious as it sounds. The two things I can think off the top of my head that stand out are wontons and yummy potatoes. We don't make either of them more than once a year, but maybe that's what makes them so special. 

Dad doesn't cook as much as mom does, but there are two foods that always make me think of him: tuna casserole and waffles. Whenever mom is gone, Dad makes tuna casserole. Probably because it's easy and fast, and I'm not going to lie, sometimes I do really enjoy it. But when Sadie was little, it was her favorite food, and so she would beg Dad all the time to make it. I always thought that was pretty funny. Waffles remind me of Dad because that's his other go-to meal, but also because it's something that both of us really like that mom doesn't. I love when Dad makes waffles, but for some reason, Mom doesn't really care for them. Sometimes Dad makes them special with chocolate chips, and those are the best. I love chocolate chip waffles with just a little drizzle of maple syrup... mmm, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. 

My Testimony

Was religion an important part of your family life? If so, what religion did your family practice, and what did it mean to you? Is it still an important part of your life today? 

This is a question I feel like I could probably talk about all day long. All my life, I have been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are more commonly known as Mormons, probably because of the Book of Mormon. We believe that after all the original apostles Christ appointed were either killed or died, the fullness of the Gospel was lost from the earth. There were little truths here and there, but there were many parts of the truth that were lost. This was called the Apostasy. Because God loves his children and wants everyone to return to Him again, He restored the Gospel to a young man named Joseph Smith. Joseph saw God the Father and Jesus Christ, who spoke to him and restored many important truths to the earth. Joseph was also given a set of scriptures called the Book of Mormon. Just as God gave his word to people in ancient Israel, he also spoke to prophets in the ancient Americas. The Book of Mormon is the word of God to those prophets, and was translated by the power of God through Joseph Smith. 

I know that this church is the true church, and I know that God loves all of his children dearly and is reaching out to all of them, inviting everyone to return with Him again. I know that as I have lived the commandments and teachings of modern prophets, my life has been blessed and I have found happiness even in the worst of times. Without Christ's Atonement, I would have no hope; but through his atonement, I am filled with joy and peace. I am so grateful to have been born into a home where the gospel was taught every single day, both by word and actions. And if I accomplish nothing else in this life, I hope my children will always know that God loves them and that there is a way back to him again.