Family Time

I know I just wrote about Mother's Day and my mom, but I would feel bad if I didn't write about how awesome the rest of my family was. :)

On Mother's Day weekend, I was lucky enough to have work off so that I could come and spend time with my family. While I was at home, I asked to have pictures taken with my brothers, my mom, my dad, and yes, my little puppy (who is pretty much like my little sister at this point...). I'm really glad I did, and I can't stop laughing at some of them.

Since I had a whole post about my mom, she won't really be mentioned in this one, even though she's pretty much awesome. I'll still give her photo credit. :)

Alright, now about my dad! Honestly, my dad is one of my biggest role models, and I hope to find a man one day who is as good as him--even though right now that seems pretty much impossible. He's perfect in every single way, and I've looked up to him (both literally and figuratively) since day 1.

I love that he's completely honest in every single thing, and he's taught me that being honest may not be easy or will make you wealthy, but it is always completely worth it. I also love that he's kind and gentle, but also loves going out and playing or watching competitive sports. He's pretty balanced that way. Also, another thing that I've always admired about him, is that he never ever swears. At least I've never heard him say anything bad, let alone anything even close to a swear word. He doesn't tell inappropriate jokes, he's never mean, and he always has something good to say about people. He never talks bad about anyone behind their back.

My dad is an incredible guy, and I'm so grateful that I was lucky enough to have him as my dad here on Earth. Thanks for all you do, dad. I love you lots. :)

(Yes, I'm on my tippy-toes, and my dad is squatting down. We had a series of photos where I got taller and he got shorter--this is the only one that's not blurry!)

Now about my brothers. Man alive, I love them so much. They make me completely happy! We've always been pretty good friends with each other, but for whatever reason, this past year or so, we've really been each other's best friends and we do everything together. I'd rather hang out with my brothers than with friends most of the time! We play games together, we go on drives together, we have movie marathons together, and lately, we just talk together, which is a first for all three of us. I hope they realize that having an older sister is pretty much the best thing ever, because, well, it is. Especially since they have me as their sister. :)

But seriously, they're hilarious, they are both extremely nice, and I am so glad I get to call them mine! I couldn't have asked for better siblings. I won the lottery! :)

Alright, last but definitely not least, my puppy! Lucky came into our lives about 7 months ago as a little Jack Russell Terrier puppy. She was just over a month old or so...if I'm remembering things correctly. :) She's grown up a lot since then and has gotten bigger, but she's also showed us how to open our hearts even more. She's pretty funny, and she has her own personality, which, according to my parents is a LOT like mine. Kind of stubborn, but funny, and she loves people. She's extremely smart, very playful, and loves to be snuggled up next to someone whenever she gets the chance. She loves riding in the car, chasing frisbees, watching the field outside the window, laying anywhere that has a heat vent and a welcome mat, and laying in the sunny spots in the carpet while she takes her series of morning naps.

When I'm home, Lucky loves sitting with me, or having me hold her like a baby. She loves getting her belly rubbed, sitting on people's feet, and licking your nose if you let her. She'll sleep by me all night, and if she's awake before me, she'll brush my face with her paw until I wake up, and then she will lick my face and wag her tail until I sit up, and then she'll lay down in my lap.

This little puppy has my heart, and I'm so glad we got her. I'm thankful for the joy she brings all of us, and the patience she has taught us too. :)

Well, there you have it! My awesome family. :)

Live. Love. Laugh. Grow.

Happy (Belated) Mother's Day!

It feels like forever since I've posted something! But now I finally have my laptop up here at work, so although the wifi is a little sketchy at best, I'm hoping to write some more posts as the summer goes on.

I know I'm super late on writing this, but it needs to be said.

My mom is one heck of an awesome woman.

I've had random people I meet say they know my mother, and all they have to say (and go on and on and on about) is how nice she is, how loving she is, and how great of a person she is. I'm glad I have such a person to follow and try to model my life after, even though they're pretty big shoes to fill.

I'm grateful that my mom didn't have to work when I was growing up, and that even though she could have done well for herself and we could have had a lot more, she valued being a stay-at-home mom over everything and anything else. The well-being of her kids was more important than a glamorous home, ritzy vacations, or spoiling us. I always could count on coming home to a mom who wanted to hear about my day, or would teach me how to draw and color, play the piano, or make jam from the berries my brother and I would pick together in the backyard. I didn't realize how much work and effort (and sacrifice) it takes to be a mom, and my mom went above and beyond what she had to do.

My mom does everything out of love. Every single thing. Now that I'm at the stage of life where friends are getting married and having children, I can start to see how much work and effort goes into mothering, and how exhausting it must be. However, because of my mother's example and hard work, I can see that a good mother can be the change of good in the world we need today.

I hope one day when I am married and have kids of my own, that I can look at my mother's example and raise them the way she raised my brothers and I. I know it hasn't been easy, and her job is still far from over, but I appreciate and admire everything she has done not only for me, but for people around her that she serves and wants to get to know better.

Thank you mom, for being the kind of mother I've needed and for being such a great example to those around you. You truly are amazing, and I love you a lot. :)

Happy (Belated) Mother's Day, Mom.

New Beginnings!

As a lot of you know, my life path suddenly changed direction about a month ago. Now that the whirlwind of changing schools, majors, graduating, completely changing jobs, moving out for work, and finding housing in the fall has kind of died down, I can now say I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! All that hard work, and decision making has paid off so well!

Although I NEVER would have seen my life path going this way, I know, now having been on this new path for a little bit, that it is absolutely and completely what I need to be doing and headed towards right now in my life. I could never have asked for anything better or more fun and rewarding!

I am now an Alumni of BYU-Idaho with my AS degree in General Science!

I quit working at Dairy Keen, and it was actually really hard to leave, but I was offered a job as a chef in a kitchen up at the Aspen Grove Family Camp (right above the Sundance resort), and it has been so much fun! It's definitely like a little culinary school for me--haha! I even get a little black chef's hat, smock (that white chef coat), and an apron. This weekend we cooked for a Youth Conference for about 350 people, and then we fed the staff. Let's just say, that's a LOT of food! It's really fun being under that kind of time crunch, and putting out food that looks and tastes super good! My bishop is my supervisor, and we have had a lot of fun! We (along with the four other chefs right now) keep it pretty light-hearted, and we crank some good tunes up while we work. Dancing, singing loud, and having fun is pretty much the heart of our work days. Although I either work at 6:30 am or 11:45 am, I get off by about 7:00 at the latest every day, and that leaves lots of time to hang out with the friends I'm making up there, go hiking in the dark (not a good idea...), or just sit outside and read.

So, what am I trying to say? Although sometimes moving forward in the dark is hard and scary, not knowing what comes next, when you fully put your faith in the Lord and trust that He has the best intent for you, it will ALWAYS work out, even better than you could have ever imagined it being.

Live. Love. Laugh. Grow.