2015: Surprises for Readers!

Happy New Year's Eve!

Typically, before New Year's, I'm several weeks in advance creating resolutions, eager to start the new year, and ready to start fresh. This year was a little different for me. I've done a lot of thinking about what I've learned from the past, what I'm working on now in myself, and what type of person I want to become. It wasn't until last night that I sat down after a lot of thinking that I wrote down this upcoming year's resolutions.

I feel like this year had a lot for me to learn, and a lot for me to grow from. 2014 was anything but easy, but looking back, it was TOTALLY worthwhile.

At the beginning of the year, I was still enrolled in and attending BYU-Idaho, and studying Elementary Education. I had some really great friends, but I also had a lot of eye opening experiences. I learned a lot from my friends and from school, but I think the most learning I had to do was from the Lord.

At the beginning of this year I took a class on phonetics (hearing different sounds and letters, and learning a new phonetic alphabet), and I absolutely loved it. I simply thought this was what all education majors did in school, and was happy thinking that I would continue as a teacher.

What really turned my life upside-down (in a good way), and made me really turn to the Lord, was when my professor told me she was impressed with my test scores, and that she could see me really succeeding in a profession that dealt mostly with sounds and speech. She asked if I had ever considered majoring in Speech Pathology, something I had never even heard about. After a few days of conversing with her, realizing that I'd have to switch schools since BYU-Idaho didn't offer the major, and it would be a complete major change, I went completely to the Lord and relied solely on faith.

I didn't know the major. I didn't know what schools offered the major, or where I'd have to pick up and move to in order to pursue it. But after a lot of thinking, praying, and looking at my different options, I trusted the Lord's answer of leaving BYU-Idaho and attending Utah State University.

Best decision I've ever made in my life.

But you all know that from Facebook, or simply from talking to me. I'll stop boring you now, and move on to the point of this post.

Simply stated, 2014 was a great year. I wouldn't want to relive it, but I really needed this year. It's taught me so much about true friends, the very real message of hope and love from the Lord, and how in order to grow, we have to stretch. The stretching process can be a little bit painful, but the Lord is right by our side, helping us see the true potential we have through a new learning and trusting process.

So this year, I've made several resolutions. I can tell that this year is going to be one of growing, of learning, and of coming closer to the Lord. This year is going to be a year for figuring out who I really am, and who I want to be. No more coasting through life.

Here's the surprise part, that's hopefully hooked you into reading this blog post...

One of my resolutions is to study something, or think about something each week. After my thinking on it, I'll write about it at the end of the week, AND, not only do you get the present of my writing, but I'm going to make a free printable each week about the topic I was studying or working on. Anything from a spiritual insight or an inspiring quote made into a printable/poster/picture to something like budget sheets or recipe cards. Something that I can give to YOU. Maybe if they're really good, I'll pin them on Pinterest. If you like them, please share them with those you know, tell me what you'd like to see or have a handout of, and I'll do my best to help you out this year. You've all done so much for me, now it's my turn to do something for you.

Let's make 2015 a great year.

I hope you look forward to seeing what this new year brings. I know I'm excited to see the learning and growth I go through.

Happy New Year's!

Live. Love. Laugh. Grow.

What is this thing we call life?

What is this thing we call life?

Think about it.

When we're young, we think about, dream about, and can't wait until we're "grown-up" and we can be an adult. We eagerly wait until we go to school, make a change in the world, and see what the future holds.

As I've been out on my own for the past few years, I've realized that life is what we make of it. Life isn't just handed to us, and amazing things happen. We are all given life, and we all eventually die, and leave this place we call home.

What do you want your life to be made up of when you're gone? What do you want people to remember you by? What change do you want to make in the world?

Perhaps you want to be the person who finds a cure for cancer. Maybe you want to climb all the tallest mountains in every country. Suppose you want to start up a fund for many charities, donation centers, or help out the sick and needy wherever you go.

I admire all the people who have that as their righteous desire and goal. That takes a lot of hard work, effort, and motivation for the right reasons.

I've been trying to think about what my life was going to consist of. If one day, many, many years from now, someone was reading my eulogy, what would be in it? What would people be remembering me for?

Because now, and right now for most people around my age, we're on a threshold for the rest of our lives. Whatever decisions we make in these next moments, these next few years, is going to largely determine which way our life is going to be pointed. It's a little intimidating (to say the least), but I also think it's really exciting.

What is my life going to be made of? What is your life going to consist of?

I came to realize what I wanted to be remembered for, and what would have the most meaning to me, as well as my Heavenly Father when I return to Him one day.

I want to be remembered for being kind and gentle to everyone around me.
I want to be remembered for being a strong member in my church, and that I would do anything and give anything in order to make it back to my Heavenly Father one day.
I want to be remembered for the type of family I have one day. For the kids I have, for how I teach them, and for the type of husband I marry.
I want to be remembered as a good example of how living the gospel can really make you completely happy, and that when you have the light of Christ within you, you can overcome anything.

I could go on, but I feel like everyone's list is personal to them. These are just a few things that I've thought of about how I want my life to be lived and fulfilled. Everyone will have a different list. I just hope we all are active participants in our lives, not just sitting on the fence and watching our life continue as years tick by.

I know that Heavenly Father knows us, individually, and that He made our lives. He made us. He made opportunities for us that could otherwise be unobtainable if created by man alone. I know He wants us to do great things with our lives. God created them, and I want to show Him I loved my life, I loved the chances I had to grow into a better person, to have learning opportunities, and for blessing me with such great family and close friends.

God will not leave you alone, and He eagerly waits to see you again. How happy we will be when we get to see His smiling face and show Him what we did to help others around us, what we worked on and learned in this mortal life, and how we made the best of the life He gave us.

That's what really matters.

Life is a beautiful thing, and I'm so glad we can be such an example for good throughout it.

Live. Love. Laugh. Grow.

Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep

You ever have those days that turn out completely different than what you had expected and planned for? 

Yeah, me neither. 

Totally kidding, I know it happens all the time. 

Yesterday though was a pretty good wake-up call. 

I had planned to go to classes, and then since registration for next semester is coming up in about two weeks, I had signed up for an appointment with my advisor to go over classes that I needed to be taking in the spring. 

Thank goodness I did. As we were going along, talking about my credits, what classes I needed to take, etc, she noticed that I only had 56 credits, listing me technically as a sophomore. No thanks, I don't want to do an extra year. I am a junior, not a sophomore. After this semester, I should have over 75 credits that I've done, not 56. 

We dove into the problem and found that BYU-Idaho hadn't sent over my transcript correctly. It could have been a problem on my end, it could have been them, but we don't really know what happened. By some miracle I was still allowed into this major at a junior classification level, but without fixing this transfer process, I would not be able to continue my education next semester, at least in this major. 

With that little freak out being taken care of, hopefully finished by the end of this week, I then was just having a hard day on top of everything else. Classes were hard for me to focus in, and all my assignments seemed to conveniently pile up on the same day. 

Last night was hard, just thinking about all the things that seemed to be going wrong. Then, the worst thing happened. I started doubting myself. "Maybe I wasn't supposed to come to USU", "Why am I even in this major?", "Why am I living in Logan?", "Why am I doing a hard major?", etc etc etc.

It all started to pile up on me and, obviously, started making things worse. But then, randomly, two things popped into my mind. The first was part of the song in Bing Crosby's play, White Christmas, that I played in the pit for during high school. 

The other thing that popped in my head was a set of scriptures. It was weird that this passage of scripture came to me--I haven't read this section in a while. It's in Ecclesiastes 3: 1-11. It talks about how there is a season for everything, a time for every purpose, and that God is behind all the timing of everything.

This brought peace to my heart, knowing that I AM supposed to be here. Just because we are following the impressions of the Spirit and acting on them doesn't mean that the path will be easy or free from trials. Trials are there to help us realize how blessed we are and how dependent we are on the Lord. This past week has made me realize how much the Lord really is in the details of our lives. Nothing I do is because I wanted it that way. I do it, sometimes thinking I was the one who made the decision, and I did. But the Lord was 100% behind me, encouraging me, and supporting me through everything. 

I guess the lesson to learn from this rambling post, is to trust in the Lord and His timing. It may not make sense to us at the present moment, but He can see everything, He is all-knowing, and He knows what is best for us. Sure, we all have our agency. But trusting in Him and going on the path He wants us on is the best guide we could ever have in this life. 

It's just been this past week that makes me realize that really, we receive certain blessings at certain points in our life. Points we reach that have stretched us, made us gone without, made us rely on Him and develops our faith in Him. 

Instead of worrying about why you are where you are in life, why you aren't married, why you're at a certain school, why your close friends are far away, etc, thank Heavenly Father for all your blessings, and realize that He is preparing you, building you up, and getting you ready for what He has in store for you. Everyone has a different story. Just because your story isn't like everyone else's doesn't mean it is wrong. 

In fact, that makes it even more beautiful.

Live. Love. Laugh. Grow.

Hope Smiles Brightly Before You

Recently, it seems like all I've heard is C.S. Lewis quotes or excerpts from his writings, and I fall in love with them more and more each time I hear them. Just like the above quote, we cannot see the sun, but by the sun everything in our world is illuminated so that we can see. I love that our physical sun can so easily be compared to the Son of God, our brother, Jesus Christ. We cannot see Christ here in mortality, but because of His example, His love, and His gospel, we can see things important to our life here on mortality that are also important for our post-mortal life.

We were sent here to show our Heavenly Father that we love Him and would try our hardest to return to live with Him again one day. The only way possible for this true act of love for our Heavenly Father would require us to leave Him for a short while by receiving a mortal body that was imperfect and susceptible to temptation and pain. We knew it wouldn't be easy, but we must have known how incredibly worth it coming to Earth would be if we were willing to leave our heavenly family, fully knowing that we could easily fall off of the path and not make it back one day. But how great would God's joy be, as well as ours, when we one day are able to stand with Him again, knowing and recognizing Him as our literal Father, and showing Him that we truly did keep all His commandments and walk in the ways He taught us from the very beginning because we wanted to live with Him. Not because we were forced to--we all have our own agency--but because there was something in our spirit that helped motivate us to keep pushing forward to reach that great eternal reward of living with our Heavenly Father again one day. 

I can't wait for the day where I can meet my Heavenly Father, and tell Him how much I love Him and how much I had missed Him. Even though the trials and judgments we face every day for our religion, our beliefs, or other things can sometimes be overwhelming or seem impossible to overcome, I know that if we continue in faith and perseverance, we can one day stand proudly before Him, and know without a doubt that we tried our hardest, and He will be able to tell that we loved Him and we loved the gospel by how we lived our life. 

Live. Love. Laugh. Grow.

Bus Stop Mishap

It all started with a hypothetical idea.

Hillary and I were studying, and as it came to be dinner time, Hillary comes up with a great idea. "Hey, we should go get Five Guys for dinner!" Totally needing a break, and seeing as how I don't think I've ever really eaten there before, I agreed.

However, neither of us have cars. Neither of us were with roommates who had cars and were available.

So. We decide to take the city bus. It would be good to figure out at sometime, right? Well, that's just the beginning of the story...

After about 20 minutes of looking at a tiny iPod screen to figure out where the bus stops were, we had a few minutes to get to the bus stop from Hillary's apartment. We ran there, thinking it was funny that we had to run and hurry to go buy burgers. How much more American can we get? Maybe if we were wearing a Hawaiian shirt, socks with sandals, and had American flags waving in each hand, that could count.

Anyways, we got on the bus, and were so proud of ourselves for figuring this out. We made it to the bus transit station, where we had to switch buses. Now we were really confused. We thought we knew which stop we had to get off at, but turns out...we didn't. When the bus stopped across the street from Five Guys, we were so happy that we got on the right bus that we didn't pull the string to tell the driver we needed to stop. Two people got on, and we walked up to the door to get off, but the doors shut on us. Little Miss Cranky Bus Driver told us that we didn't pull the cord and didn't know that we needed to get off, and next time we needed to pull it to get off. Sheesh. Let's just say Hillary and I knew at that point in time that neither of us desire to be a bus driver later in life.

We crossed the street, got our food, and then quickly realized that we needed to leave to get to the bus stop in time.

This is where it gets funny and embarrassing and even a little scary at the same time.

We left to where we thought the bus stop was, and were even 10 minutes early, just to make sure we wouldn't miss it. (The buses were stopping after this last pick-up/drop-off so if we missed it...we missed it.) We stood by this sketchy bench by an auto-part shop, and a guy told us that no bus was coming to that stop. No buses had come for several weeks. Panicked, now with only a few minutes to spare, we awkwardly ran to the stoplight to cross the street--with brown paper bags filled with greasy fries, fry sauce and hamburgers in one hand and cold drinks in the other.

As we approached the stoplight, we could have crossed, but there were only about 8 seconds or so left on the crosswalk. We probably could have made it if we ran, but I hate rushing across crosswalks. I told Hillary we'd just wait for the next light, and play it safe. BAD IDEA. As we were sitting there, waiting for the light to turn, OUR BUS CAME THROUGH THE INTERSECTION. There it went. Our ride. Flew past our station because we weren't at the stop on the other side of the street.

Hillary and I stared at each other, nervously laughing, and worried about how we'd get home, where we'd eat our food, and whether or not we'd make it through the night.

We crossed the street, and realized our next best bet would be to find another bus stop nearby. We frantically pulled out the bus map that we thankfully grabbed in one of the buses. We laughed, and almost cried, trying to figure out where we needed to go. Pretty dang sure cars that passed us thought we were drunk. Just imagine this scenario--two girls, out on the streets, carrying brown paper bags with them, and laughing at night time, staring at a map...yeah, pretty sketch.

We found a bus stop a few blocks away, and stopped there. By then our drinks were gone, and we were pretty worried. It was dark outside, and we didn't know where we were. Thanks bus map. We didn't see the times listed for this particular stop and were worried that we either missed the bus or it was like the last stop and a bus hadn't come there for a few weeks.

Hillary eventually called a guy in her ward to come rescue us, but it was a little awkward. She hardly knew him, and this was kind of a big favor. A few minutes later, after we had given extremely confusing directions, he was on his way to get us.

In this time, however, the bus that we had found the stop for came crawling by. We saw it in the distance and panicked. "No, no, no, no. Matt's on his way. Just keep walking so that the bus doesn't think it has to stop for us." We awkwardly walked around, and the bus passed. Oh, did I mention we're pretty much creeping around on a middle school campus at this bus stop? Yeah. I was worried we'd be pinned by a police officer either for trespassing on school property, looking like we were drunks or some scum of the street. Thankfully that didn't happen. But as we continued to wait for Matt to come pick us up, THE SAME BUS CIRCLED AROUND AND PASSED US AGAIN. Awkwardly seeing it again, we started walking down the sidewalk, hoping that the bus wouldn't stop and ask if we needed a ride.

Thankfully, Matt pulls up a few moments later, and we get in the car. He dropped us off at the apartment, and was extremely nice.

Hillary and I went up to her dorm and ate our now cold fries and soggy burgers. Yum...

However crazy this night was, it has definitely been one of the most memorable and fun filled nights I've had, especially since being up here.

Thank you, Hillary, for making me laugh and going on extremely random adventures with me. It makes for some great memories!

Live. Love. Laugh. Grow.

A Change of Heart

Let me start this post out with a story:

This semester at school, I've decided to try to be more social and outgoing. Not only is this a good goal in and of itself, but honestly, how am I ever going to meet a guy when my classes are all mostly girls? I just want to make friends, meet guys, and have a fun college social life, you know?

So with that background, yesterday I hiked up the hill to campus by myself to go to the Institute opening social. As I stood in the mass of people, I felt really alone. I knew no one, I didn't come with anyone, and everyone was already forming groups of familiar friends. I started talking to a girl in line in front of me, and we hit it off really well. After we had gotten our food, we went and sat down by a guy that was sitting by himself. We introduced ourselves, and they immediately hit it off. I would try to pitch in a conversation topic, or say something, and they'd acknowledge me, but then go off on stories from their mission that were similar, or mission companion stories, and what not. They were laughing and intently staring in each other's eyes, and whatever else they were doing. The rest of the evening, those two stuck together, and I felt so incredibly alone. I wished that I could just find someone familiar and have someone to talk to.

Long story short, I saw a few people from my ward, who welcomed me into their group of friends, we danced together, went and got Jamba Juice together, and then went and played some card games back at their apartment together.

What was the point of that story? Well, it's made me really think about relationships. Not just the general sense of having a boyfriend, but what needs to happen with me before that can even happen.

I realized that I needed to stop being worried about where a guy was for me, and start working on developing the most important relationship I'll ever have in this life: a relationship with God.

Not like I've been having a spiritual low lately, but I've just felt like I have a lot of growing to do. I'm also really good at comparing myself to my current state, and where I want to be, and that can sometimes be a little disheartening, you know?

So, instead of being mopey about it, I did something about it.

I woke up this morning, and immediately put together a system of journaling, note-taking, whatever you want to call it. I'm calling it my "Coming Closer to Christ" notebook. I hope to take a certain topic every day, read a talk, watch a Mormon Messages video, read related scriptures, or do something along those lines to help inspire me, teach me more deeply about the gospel, and develop a strong, unbreakable, and everlasting relationship with my Heavenly Father.

Today, for example, I used LDS.org, and searched for topics on God the Father. It was incredible!

In fact, I read a talk that was pretty life-changing for me. I view so many things differently now just reading it. I realize how important life is--Satan is pretty great at distracting me from what is important, or just making me justify not reading my scriptures, or not praying on my knees. And as small or simple as those things seem, they're so critically important for feeling the Spirit in my life.

The talk is called "Knowing God", and was given by Elder Bernard Brockbank found in the 1972 July Ensign. It was really amazing. If I were you, I'd give it a read.

"Knowing God"

There are many great parts of that talk, but one part that really stuck out to me as I'm starting this journey with God was, "The Lord has indicated that the gates of hell cannot prevail against revelation from him to any one of his children who desires to know the living God and to know the living Christ."

Also, as a side note, I wouldn't want to start a relationship or especially get married before I develop this relationship and make it the strongest part of my life. Believing in God and knowing, really truly knowing God are two very different things. I've believed in Him, and now is my time to get to know Him. A relationship should start between two people who are completely devoted to God. I hope my husband, wherever he is, is always looking to God, until God tells him to look up and see me.

The best marriages are built on two people who were first devoted to God and their relationship with Him, and then work with each other on achieving celestial marriage. And I want nothing less.

Wherever we all are on this journey--and we're all at different places--I hope we find Christ and realize the beauty that He can put in our lives by simply finding Him and wanting to know Him.

Live. Love. Laugh. Grow.

And so it begins. . .

I'm here! I'm in Logan, in my new apartment, with my new roommates, and about to start a new school year.

It's been one crazy whirlwind of a summer, but it's probably been the greatest summer of my life! I have made so many new friendships this summer by working at Aspen Grove, and I'm already loving my roommates here in Logan. They are all so nice, all LDS, and are so uplifting to everyone.

Church here was amazing today. Since USU is not a church run/based school, you don't have to go to church in order to continue going to school. So the kids at church are the kids who really want to be there, who really have a testimony of our Savior, and who understand the importance and significance of renewing our baptismal covenants by partaking of the sacrament each week and learning more about the gospel through the rest of the meetings. All the people I met were extremely nice, outgoing, and there are lots of really cute guys in my new ward. Just sayin'.

Overall, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm really excited to be living here, and to be attending Utah State. Even after just one day of living here, I'm in love with this town and this school already. I hope I never have to leave Utah State until I graduate.

So here's to a new school semester that starts tomorrow. I know it will bring so many exciting things, and lots of new experiences and friendships.

Live. Love. Laugh. Grow.

Good Things to Come

Like my recent blog posts can tell you, I'm very excited to start attending Utah State this fall. I'm excited for so many new things--I'm going to have a new adventure now. It's been a really great change, but, definitely one that is a little scary and unknown to me. I won't know who I'm living with, I don't know campus, I don't know what makes USU so great yet. I've left everything in Rexburg behind, and trusting Heavenly Father with where I am going and what I am doing. 

But that is what makes this process, this change, and this next step in life so exciting. Because it really is unknown. I don't know what my major will be like. I don't know any of my professors. I don't know who I'm living with, how to navigate my way around a much bigger campus, and much more. 

Am I scared? Yes. 

Am I excited? Definitely. 

I know this is the next step I need to take, and next week I'll be moving down and starting this new chapter of my life. 

Wherever you are in your life, whatever you are doing, and wherever you are going, place your trust in the Lord, and especially in His timing. It all will work out when you are doing what you need to be doing, going where you need to be going, and being who you are supposed to be. Your answer may not come when you want it, how you want it, or when you think it's convenient, but it will come, and it comes in the way that it needs to. 

Below, I've found a few quotes/pictures (thanks to Pinterest) that really relate to me, and can relate to many people who are going through change or are finding a new path ahead of them.

Live. Love. Laugh. Grow.

My Summer Recap

Now that my summer is almost at an end, I just have to say how amazing it was! Definitely one of the best summers of my life, if not the very best!

Here's just a recap of what happened this summer. For me, summer break was from mid-April through about the second week of August...I'm just on a headstart writing this now!

• I graduated with my Associate's degree in April from BYU-Idaho, and transferred to Utah State University, changing my major from Elementary Education to Communicative Disorders & Deaf Education.
• I got a job as a chef at a BYU Alumni camp above the Sundance Resort, Aspen Grove, located at the base of Mount Timpanogos. The head chef is hilarious and easy going, and my fellow chef friends are all so much fun to work with! 
• My best friend moved up and got a job up at Aspen Grove and now I get to spend a lot of time with her before we go back to school soon. 
• We got to take family pictures, which I'm super excited to see how they turned out. We only take family pictures every 5 or so years, and I can't wait to see how they all look! 
• My church calling is the ward choir pianist, which, besides Primary pianist, is my dream calling. I've loved it so far! 
• I get to go see my family in Canada soon, and I can't wait! The week my family is in Canada is the best week of every year! 
• I have a job interview for a possible job during my last two years of school, which would be really exciting! I'll keep you posted on how that goes. . .
• I start USU on August 25!!!!! I can't tell you how excited I am for that day!!! Each day that passes makes me even more excited to attend there and just start my classes in my major, meet new people, and start the college life again after summer break! This is going to sound geeky, but I got my textbooks, and I am so excited to start doing homework and learning about these new things!!
• Three of my close friends got married this summer (or are getting married between now and mid-August). 
• One of my best friends from high school returned from his mission from South Africa, and a group of our friends was able to get together and have a fun game night to celebrate his return!
• This week, my job is celebrating "Christmas in July", and so we've had a work Christmas party, gift exchanges, Christmas music, and even a Christmas tree in our apartment/dorm! It's been so much fun!

Overall, this summer has been extremely different and not what I would have ever planned to have happen, but has been so much better than I would have ever anticipated! Trusting the Lord in the details of everything has definitely turned out to be better than I could imagine.

Live. Love. Laugh. Grow.

Looking Up

I read a blog post this morning about not being a "Plan B" type of girl. At first, I didn't think I'd really enjoy it. I thought it was going to be one of those "be happy you're single", "guys are dumb for not picking you first", kind of posts. But I was really wrong. It turned out to be one of the most empowering reads I've had in a while, and I think I happened to stumble across it at just the right time. 

Here's the link to the blog post I read:

(http://ashhkay.wordpress.com/2013/09/24/youre-not-a-plan-b-kind-of-girl/)

Recently, I've had several close friends and acquaintances get engaged, married, or announce that they're having a baby. This stage of life is a little weird. And by weird, I mean unknown, and really foreign feeling. Growing up, you and your friends are all doing the same things at the same time. You know what is coming up next and exactly when it's coming (or even just a rough ball park estimate). You know when high school graduation is, when the ACT is, and even when and where you're going to school or on a mission. 

But then you get out to university, and suddenly everything is different. People are at different stages of life. Some people just got out of high school. Some have been married for 20 years and have kids as old as you. Some people are engaged, some people are newly married, and some people are figuring out how to start a family. 

But if you're like me, and in the majority of people at this stage of life, you're still single and figuring out how to live life on your own. Hey, don't get me wrong--this isn't going to be some sappy post about me complaining why I haven't been married yet. 

In fact, it's just the opposite. 

The other day, I was telling my coworkers about bridal showers, receptions, baby showers, etc, that were happening this summer for several of my friends, and how excited I was for each one of them. One of my coworkers looked at me and said, "With all your friends getting married and having kids, how does that make you feel?" Typed out, that looks like it was a mean statement towards me, but she asked it in a very sincere way. It really made me stop and think for a moment, to which I responded, "You know, it makes me see how happy they are that they waited for the right person to step into their lives. None of them settled for any less than they deserve, and that makes me want to wait until I've found someone that I don't have to settle for. It doesn't make me want to be in a rush to get married--in fact, it makes me want to wait and see who God places in my life for a reason."

During all of this thinking life over and what not, I've realized something really important. Well, several things actually. And it all came to me as I was reading my scriptures this morning. (Mosiah 23-24 in the LDS Book of Mormon)

God is in every detail of our lives. He is timing everything to how we need it, when we need it, and we will be in the places where we'll need it most. He gives us burdens, trials, and times where if we show Him we rely completely on Him, He will bless us tremendously. It's not always in the ways that we think we'll be blessed, but it's always exactly what we need at that specific time. We need to lift our voices in praise to Him, and pray to Him always. One verse that really stuck out to me (Mosiah 24:12) says that God hears us when we voice our prayers, but he really listens to the prayers in our hearts. He listens to both equally, but he feels the sincerity of when we really feel something and pray about it, if that makes sense. God knows what is important to us. He doesn't ignore us. If it feels like He is ignoring you, it may be that the timing is just not right yet. It could also be that He has blessed you in other ways, but you are so focused on receiving a certain blessing that you ignore the rest that He has given you.

Be thankful for everything you have, for it was given to you from God. Every trial, every blessing, every "coincidence" that happens in your life is given to you for a reason. God is shaping you into who you need to become.

And don't complain or be upset that you haven't gotten exactly what you've wished for. My heavens, if I complained that BYU-Idaho shut down Interior Design and went somewhere else to study it, I wouldn't be where I am today. And the life that Heavenly Father has given me from that first trial on my path is even more beautiful that I would have ever imagined. It's much different than I ever would have pictured, but much more what He needs me to do, and what I'm willing to go and do. 

Be the best you that you can be, and things will work out as they need to. 

Live. Love. Laugh. Grow.

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.

Class of 2014!

I could never have imagined or pictured my life turning out the way it is right now. However, I couldn't imagine it being any better or more exciting than it is right now.

If you asked me, even just a month ago, if I would ever consider getting an Associate's degree, transferring schools, or switching majors, I probably would have laughed at your crazy idea!

I graduate from BYU-Idaho this Friday, April 11th! I also get to move back home on that day, and I am extremely excited to see my family again, as well as meeting my department advisor at USU later that afternoon. It will be one crazy, busy, and long day, but it will be very exciting!

Although I am a little sad to leave behind the wonderful friends I've made here at school, I'm very excited to see where this new adventure takes me!

(Shout out to Katie, Lacie, and Mishayla for being my sanity and for being such wonderful friends and study group throughout this past semester in our Teacher Literacy class!)

And yes, thank you to my "older brothers" who watched Doctor Who with me, made dinner for me, ate my desserts, let me be the girl that could sit by them through church, made me laugh, and of course, for their support and teasing, as older brothers often do to little sisters. I will never forget you guys, and how great you were to let me be your friend for these past two semesters!

The adventure continues...

Live. Love. Laugh. Grow.

Go Aggies!

The title of this post is what I might find myself saying this fall. Sporting events, school events, etc, etc, etc. 

Why you might ask? That's because I found out today that....(drum roll)....

I GOT ACCEPTED TO UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY!!!!!

Now, several people have asked why I'm making the switch or leaving BYU-Idaho. Besides me just being excited and telling people this in more detail, that is the point of this blog post. So read on! 

Right now, I am currently an Elementary Education major at Brigham Young University-Idaho. I am currently a fourth semester student, finishing my sophomore year here. It was only this year that I really started taking the majority of my education classes. I loved being an education major, but something felt like it was missing. Like I was on the right path, but not on the right path, if that makes sense. I knew I was where I needed to be, but I didn't know why. 

BYU-Idaho has been an awesome place, don't get me wrong. But education classes are not...challenging or difficult. They're extremely time-consuming classes, but at the end of the day I don't feel educationally stretched or intellectually challenged. 

I didn't think this semester was going to bring about any changes or anything important, but boy was I wrong!

I am currently taking a Literacy class for my major, where we are learning how to break down the English language, sounds, and know how to put all of that together to be able to correctly assess children's reading levels and capabilities. There are lots of little rules, little sounds you have to be able to differentiate between and hear, as well as several other things. We have several department tests in that class, to make sure we are doing well in the class and the major. I thought the tests were rather easy--I found myself getting 97%-100% on each of the tests, and I flew through them. (Was that even a test?!) 

One day I stayed after class to ask my teacher a question about an assignment. After we talked about the question, she asked if I could stay for a few minutes after she had finished talking to the other students who were waiting with a few questions. I agreed, and sat down in a desk near the front of the room, just waiting for her to finish answering questions. About 10 minutes later, she sat down next to me and told me that I was performing extremely well on these department tests consistently. She then asked me if I had ever considered a career in Speech-Language Pathology. I told her that I had never really heard of that, except for Speech Therapists, and that the idea of being one had truthfully never crossed my mind. 

She then told me that I was exhibiting all the traits/qualities that Speech Pathologists need to have to be great at their job, and that I was at the perfect time in my schooling to transfer to a school that had a major to help me become a Speech Pathologist. She also happened to be an Education Advisor, so she helped me see if my classes would transfer, and how all of this would go down, if I decided to do it. 

I slept on it, talked to my parents about it, and things just worked out incredibly smoothly and extremely quicker than expected. A week ago I applied to school, today I got accepted, we found an apartment for me to live in this fall, I'm talking with academic advisers about classes, and I don't remember the last time I've felt this excited or sure that I'm doing what I need to do.

So, the plan as of right now is to get my Associate's Degree from BYU-Idaho next week (April 11, 2014). Then I will be transferring to USU this fall semester to study Communicative Disorders/Deaf Education, which is the prerequisite to the Master's Degree of Speech Pathology. I hope to get a Master's Degree in Speech-Language Pathology immediately following getting my Bachelor's degree, especially seeing as how I can't really do anything with that degree, but move on to getting a Master's degree. 

Here's to the next 4 years of schooling! 2 more in undergraduate, 2 more in graduate! 

And.....

GO AGGIES!!!!

Live. Love. Laugh. Grow.

For I Have Learned

Remember my last post? The one where I said we need to be happy in the moment? To "stop seeking the storms and more fully enjoy the sunlight?"

It's funny how life can quickly flip flop on you, almost like a test, just to see if you really were paying attention.

The closest thing I can think of is when you're in a car with someone and they yell, "Brake test!", quickly slamming on the brakes, making sure you have your seat belt on. Yes, you're tucked in and protected by that seat belt, but you're kind of thrown about, making you realize how grateful you are for the boundaries you have, the testimony you have, and the security of the gospel wrapped around you.

That probably makes it sound like this week was the worst week of my life. It really wasn't, but it definitely wasn't as great as last week. It's hard to have weeks where you feel on top of Cloud 9, having assignments turned in early, and having spare time, feeling the Spirit every second of every day, and having things go just your way to then turn to the next week, struggling to just get by every day without feeling like you're up to your nose in homework, feeling behind, or just struggling to get everything done that you need to.

For whatever reason, today was just a hard day. Perhaps it was just a Monday. Perhaps it's just the cabin fever going on. Perhaps it was because it was so nice outside last week, and then snowed and was extremely cold and windy today. I don't know.

However, I somehow pulled the good from it. It was exhausting, but I wasn't overwhelmed, I wasn't beaten up over it, and I managed to end the day with a smile. It may or may not have been forced, but it was a smile!

It helped when I turned my phone on this morning, waking up to my scripture app, saying, "...for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." (Philippians 4:11)

Often, I'll find myself wishing I was a few steps ahead, or just knowing what comes next in the picture of my life. All my life I've had something I could control just ahead of me. High school turned into college, I picked my degree, and had a plan for four years, etc. But now, looking ahead, there's unlimited possibilities, and a lot of them are things that I don't really control. Things such as student teaching placements, marriage, etc.

However, there are two things that I've learned that I can somewhat control in my life:

1. I know that even more than teaching in Elementary schools, I want to further my education and get a Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology. I don't know which school I'd go through to get that, but a few have caught particular attention of mine: Boston University, BYU Provo, and Idaho State University, as well as Utah State University. I'd love to help kids in schools, patients in nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, hospitals, etc, be able to get their ability of speech back. Plus, I'd have to learn sign language, which is something I've always wanted to learn how to do!

2. To be content and happy with my life right now, I can take control of the situations I'm in, make the most of them, and just realize the beauty in every day that is given to me. I'm really good at the "I'll be happy when..." trap, but that's something I'm trying to change. I want to look back at where I am in a few years with a smile on my face, remembering how much I enjoyed my time by myself, where I learned and grew the most, and pursued an education, rather than dreaming and putting together unrealistic or premature expectations of my future, wasting time on things that I could otherwise be doing something beneficial, etc.

Things will happen when and where they are supposed to happen, if we are living to our best potential and living according to Heavenly Father's will. He has a greater plan than we do, but we still have to take action on our lives. That's what agency was given to us for.

I hope you join me on this journey of being content with where we are right now. Don't wish for things you can't control--or at least, don't be dwelling on them. Live the life you can control, and Heavenly Father will step in and fill in the blanks of the life you can't control. Life the life Heavenly Father would be proud of, and live the life that you would be proud of.

Live. Love. Laugh. Grow.

Today was meant for ME

Have you ever woken up and just known it was going to be a long and really hard day?

Yeah, that was this morning for me. Maybe it was just the effects of Daylight Savings, but I haven't been able to sleep that well lately. It all caught up to me last night, but it effected my outlook on today.

I woke up, hurried and finished my homework, got dressed in 10 minutes and somehow pulled myself out the door in time for my first class. I started the morning with a pretty negative attitude, but I kept saying this silent little prayer that I would know that everything would be okay--that my classes would go well, that I would learn what I needed to, and that I would end on a better note than I started, even though it felt like an impossible feat.

For my first class, there was a girl I sit by that gave the devotional before class. She gave a talk on agency and accountability, and it was from the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet, something that I haven't picked up since my years of being in Young Women's back home. She read one simple quote, "Next to the bestowal of life itself, the right to direct your life is one of God's greatest gifts to you."

That hit me. Made me realize that it was my choice to have a negative attitude that morning. The only person responsible for how you feel and react to things is yourself. I started thinking about if I was leading the type of life that Heavenly Father would want me to lead, and started to become happier. I'm getting an education, I have an internship in place over the summer that will help me in my major and understanding kids and their developmental stages, and will give me new opportunities, and I am striving to do what Heavenly Father wants me to do, as well as being where He wants me to be.

I told this girl after class that I really enjoyed her thought, something I rarely ever do. I'm really quite shy at giving compliments or telling someone something that's on my mind. I think a lot of things like that, but I rarely voice them. She smiled, and told me she felt like she needed to speak on that today, and I told her it was probably for me. I just needed to reopen my eyes to that great gift of life and agency that Heavenly Father has given us.

We ended up talking for a while as I walked to my next class, and we talked about a lot of great things--spiritually, academically, and just in general.

As we were finishing talking and I was about to walk into my classroom, a girl that I have never met or seen before stood by me, like she was waiting to tell me something. As I turned to her, she grabbed my arm, smiled and said, "I just wanted to let you know that your glasses are so adorable! You look so cute in them!"

I stood there speechless, and just smiled at her, half-laughed out of surprise and thanked her for that. It was such a simple gesture, but it meant so much to me today. I don't know if it was coincidence or not, but maybe she was prompted by the Spirit to say something and cheer me up a little bit.

I sat through my next few classes (even had a teacher extend a date on a project that most of the class, including me, hadn't known about), and tried to just keep a positive attitude. As I left class, a random girl walked by me on the sidewalk, and complimented me on my glasses as well, telling me that they were "super cute". I haven't had people compliment my glasses that much in one day before! I walked the rest of the way to devotional by myself, just smiling, knowing that Heavenly Father was sending these little messages to me to help me feel better about myself and today in general. The sun shining and birds singing definitely made it better too!

I walked into the I-Center (where we have devotionals) and sat down by myself, getting my journal out and just pouring out gratitude for today. I then said a little prayer of thanks, and to have devotional say at least something that was meant for me.

However, not one thing was said that was meant for me. Instead, the ENTIRE devotional was meant for me. It was such an incredible experience. Two of my favorite hymns were sung, "There is Sunshine in my Soul", as well as "I Know That My Redeemer Lives".

Lately, I haven't necessarily felt sad or anything, but it just has felt like something has been missing. Looking back, I know it's a difference of how much time I spend online on Pinterest, Facebook, or even just on things that are distracting me from what's really important. There's a lot of interesting information out there, but information that I could save for later, or at least not binge on instead of reading scriptures, listening to General Conference talks, or reading church publications. I had a week where I completely cut out (or extremely limited myself) social media and instead filled that time with listening to talks from General Conference as I did my homework.

Let me just say, that was an incredible experience, and I don't know why I really stopped doing it the next week. The only excuse I have is that I kept finding excuses like, "I don't have enough time", or "I've listened to so many lately, I'll just take a break for a little bit." Don't do that! I should have connected my positive experience with my striving for the Spirit, but instead I just took a "break" that led to me not feeling as happy or complete, or even just capable of doing what I had been able to just a week ago.

Brother Stoddard gave the devotional talk today, and it was about "Living in the Manner after Happiness". He talked about how in many instances, adversity doesn't always come from being disobedient to the commandments, and don't have to do with sin at all. Some adversity comes from our weaknesses, other's choices, and the simple fact that we live in a Telestial Kingdom--it's never going to be easy!

We will always have adversity, but it is up to us to decide how to handle the life we have been given. The three tips he gave were to have:

1) Faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, knowing that they have been through exactly what we are going through right now, and the situations we are in are for the molding and shaping of our spiritual benefit,

2) Keep an eternal perspective, and as my piano teacher once said, "Begin with the end in mind."

3) Take action, don't be acted upon. Show Heavenly Father you want the best for your life, and are willing to do anything to follow Him.

I won't jot down all the notes I took, but I'm glad I forgot my devotional notebook and had to bring my regular school spiral bound notebook today--I filled up 5 pages worth of notes!

Long story short, if you're still reading this, know that Heavenly Father really does know what you are going through, what you need to be able to get through it, and knows you CAN get through it. You will not be put through any situation He knows you can't get through! Adversity is there for us to be tested, but will be a blessing in disguise for us, if we handle it well. Through our adversities, we gain testimonies, compassion, and advice for others who land in adversity as well.

Don't fall into the "I'll be happy when ____" trap. Be happy with where you are right now! Make the best out of every situation!

And know that if you look for the good in every situation, Heavenly Father will help send blessings to help you realize that the situation isn't as bad as we make it out to be.

I know He did that for me today.

Today was meant for me. And I am so thankful!

Live. Love. Laugh. Grow.

A Few Reflections

February has taught me a lot of lessons. And since it is nearing the end of the last day of the month, I figured I should write down what February has taught me.

School is what you make of it. If you think it's hard, it's going to be hard. If you think it's amazing, it's going to be amazing. If you think it's easy and achievable, it will be. I've come to realize that if I put my mind to something and completely put my whole heart and soul into it, it will work out. This has proven to be true in my science classes and my literacy classes this year for my Education classes. I'm still working on math..that nut will be a little harder to crack! That doesn't mean that if you think all your classes are easy that you don't have to do any work, but that means that you have the confidence that you'll know the material when you study it, and tests and homework assignments will come more easily to you.

Be a friend and missionary to everyone you meet. Yes, everyone. I don't want to go anywhere or leave an impression on anyone that I am unsociable or even unfriendly. I'd rather have someone think I'm too happy or too nice! I'm not saying that I think people find me unfriendly or anything, but it's just something I've recently made a goal of in my life. Always live your life so that others are finding you in the service of others and with a smile on your face. 

Be willing to be the listener instead of the talker. I've usually liked being the talker in my family, my friend group, and with people I'm around. I was always more comfortable talking instead of listening--I like receiving advice, but have never been very good at giving it. This month I tried being a listener to people instead of wanting to barge in and constantly just talk so that I felt comfortable in my environment. I know that sounds weird--but it's true! Being a listener was actually an amazing experience for me. I had many friendships strengthen because I was willing to listen, more opportunities to share what I thought of situations or even my testimony of things, and was able to see people as real people instead of objects that could just sit and listen to my stories. Listen to people around you--sometimes they need a willing person to sit and listen to them and help them out. It's been a really great learning and friendship building experience so far!

Stand for what you believe. This has been a huge thing for me lately. Without going into too many details, I have felt very alone up here at school. I'm thankful for good friends who keep the commandments and help buoy me up and help me feel closer to God, and I hope I help them as well. Living on your own is much different than living with family. You're in charge of your life--at least for the most part! You have to come to see what your foundation is built on. Individually, you, yes YOU, have to make a conscious decision! When you choose the decision that will ultimately make you the happiest, or back to our Heavenly Father, it is the most empowering feeling, and temptation doesn't even sound appealing. You crave spiritual food and getting to know yourself more.

Determine what is really important in your life! What do you really want to do with the one life you are given here on Earth? I saw a quote the other day from a LDS article (I don't remember it), but it really hit me for whatever reason. I can't remember exactly how it goes, but it basically states that we need to determine what we find important in this life and what we do in it. When we get back to Heavenly Father, what will we tell Him? That we were serving others around us, getting an education, and working on coming closer to Him? Or will we simply state that we watched a lot of movies or got a high score on a video game? What really matters to you? That made my mind kind of snap into a different mode of thinking. Don't just live day to day! Live with a purpose!

Live. Love. Laugh. Grow.

My Life Goals

Yes, this is kind of a random post. But, I feel like I haven't posted anything in forever. And, I have to do this for my Family History Class. I mean, I get to do this for my class. 

Although I didn't think I'd enjoy typing this all out and sharing it on a blog, I really have come to see what I want to do with my life, what my goals really are, and how it has shaped me, and continues to shape me, into who I am today and will be in the future. 

I hope you enjoy these goals, think of some yourself, and create some goals if you don't have any right now!

• Graduate from BYU-Idaho in or before April 2016. 
• Become an Elementary School teacher.
• Possibly go on to Grad School (BYU?) where I would study to become a Speech Pathologist for Elementary Schools.
• Get married in the temple.
• Have some blue-eyed, curly-haired kids. Okay, so I don't know what they'll all look like. But I hope at least one of my kids has my blue eyes and curly hair!
• Join the Utah Symphony, Bells on Temple Square, or the Orchestra at Temple Square. (My absolute dream would include being part of Michael Buble's Orchestra or a Movie Score Orchestra, but I don't know how that would ever happen!)
• Create custom wedding invitations and paper products. I would love to create wedding invitations for someone, table cards, typography for cards/envelopes/etc, to create a theme for a wedding. If the whole wedding line doesn't work out, I'd love to still create custom wedding invitations, birthday cards, stationary, graduation announcements, etc. 
• Being a stay-at-home mom that can work from home if needed.
• Travel to Italy, Scotland, England, or Ireland one day. Or even just ride an airplane!
• Own a home of my own.
• Learn about Interior Design (my original major choice here at school) and possibly (?) freelance.
• Learn the harp, flute, or cello. Or all three!
• Learn another language, at least a little bit. Preferably Italian.
• Finally finish reading the Harry Potter series! 

Those are the goals I can think of off the top of my head as of the moment. Make some life goals for yourself! See what you really want from your life. :-) Writing it out helps, I promise!

Live. Love. Laugh. Grow.

Pitching Our Tents Towards the Temple

This semester, I'm taking a Family History class. I honestly picked it because I found it slightly interesting, but mostly because I thought it sounded easy, and the rest of my classes had a pretty heavy workload. However, as the semester has rolled on by, I've realized how much I really do love Family History, and how very important it is for the work to be done. I don't think I'll ever be one of those "Family History Junkies" where that's all I do with my life, but I just find it neat to see my ancestors, what they did with their lives, and know that I was related to them.

However, as great as all this is, we've started talking about the temple in our class, and I have been absolutely glued to my seat every single class we have each week. I am so enamored with the temple, and I can't wait until it's my turn to go inside one day for my own. I've been thinking a lot about how everything we do here in life, and especially with family history as I'm finding out, points to the temple, leads us to the temple, and guides us to the temple.

I've watched so many videos this past week or so for my class on "Pitching Our Tents Towards the Temple". Many have brought tears to my eyes as I watch, just because I feel the Spirit so strongly, telling me that these buildings are eternally significant. They aren't just there for fun, for a beautiful architecturally different building, or a good place to go take pictures, but they're there for families. They're there for us.

I have started working on cutting out distractions from my life (limiting my time on Facebook, Pinterest, watching movies, etc) and replacing that time with watching General Conference talks. It has brought such an amazing feeling, and even a power, into my life, that I can assume only comes from living closer to the Spirit and striving towards making going through the temple your priority.

I also thought of the song that we would sing so often in Primary, "I Love to See the Temple", but the lyrics have never hit me so hard, or rang as true to me as they have this past week. Those lyrics are beautiful, especially for those who are making preparations to go through the temple one day. I'm so glad they taught us those songs in Primary, but I'm even more grateful for them now, because of the wonderful meaning and spirit it brings when I think about them.

"I love to see the temple,
I'm going there someday,
to feel the Holy Spirit,
to listen and to pray.
For the temple is a house of God,
a place of love and beauty.
I'll prepare myself while I am young.
This is my sacred duty."

"I love to see the temple,
I'll go inside someday,
I'll covenant with my Father,
I'll promise to obey.
For the temple is a holy place
where we are sealed together.
As a child of God, I've learned this truth:
A family is forever."

When Opportunity Knocks...

First off, before I start this post, I want to thank all my readers who have been visiting my blog! After my last post, my pageviews jumped up almost by 500. It's been unreal! So thank you for helping my viewing numbers go up, but most importantly, I thank you for taking time out of your day to read a little about my life.

So as the title of this post goes. . .opportunity has been surrounding me so much lately! It's been really great, but it's also been extremely stressful. With great choices comes great responsibilities.

Am I right or am I right?

The first opportunity that came knocking was for me to design a program for BYU Management Society. At first I didn't think it was that big of a deal; I was contacting some local about what the program should look like, where it would be held, etc. Then out of the blue, I was told I was the sole designer for the program as well as that Sheri Dew would be the person highlighted and awarded that night.

SHERI DEW?! You mean the President of Deseret Book? You mean I'm the only designer for this huge event?

Not only that, but I was then told that Jenny Oaks Baker, who happens to be my violin music inspiration, was going to be performing there at the program that night as well, and I got to highlight her in the program.

And just so they made sure I was passing out from all the crazy things I was getting to do, they told me I'd have the opportunity to meet up to seven of the 12 apostles.

I worked for about 2-3 months on this program, but mostly within the span of a few weeks, when we finally got information, pictures, sponsors, etc. It took a LOT of hard work, patience, communication with businesses, administrators, and printers, and I even missed four classes before it was due because of last minute changes businesses wanted in the program with their logo, write-ups, etc.

Finally, when everything was done, the midnight oil had long burned out several hours previous, and all the people that I was emailing back and forth the night (or rather, the morning) before it was due were content with what we had, how it would be printed, etc, it was sent off to the printer, where mass printing would be happening the next morning.

I hopped on the shuttle from Rexburg to Provo the next morning, very excited to meet these people and see my program in the hands of business owners, CEO's, Sheri Dew, Jenny Oaks Baker, and the apostles. I finally got to Provo with 10 minutes to spare, found my parents and quickly changed into my outfit in a restroom before going out and meeting the guests.

It was a pretty fancy Gala. Pretty much everything you'd imagine. People carrying platters of appetizers, "Would you care for some?", fancy music going on in the background, food laid out everywhere, people talking in suits and nice dresses, signing in as a guest of Sebo Marketing, having my coat numbered and hung up on a rack...it was pretty nice!

I got to meet Sheri Dew and shake her hand, as well as get a picture with her!

Here it is!


(Me, Sheri Dew, my mom, my dad)

Anyways, I didn't get to meet the apostles, but I saw Russell M. Nelson, David A. Bednar, and Dallin H. Oaks there. There might have been more, but there were long lines to meet them, and I was unable to go say hello and actually meet them.

Last item of business, and another great opportunity that is starting to knock is. . . .drum roll. . .

An internship this summer!

It randomly came in an email to me, and it would be a perfect opportunity! I get to help test kids in elementary schools during the summer to see if they are able to test out of their grades, and if not, I help remediate them, I get to learn the newest technology behind teaching, and I get to travel to many schools around Utah, which would be great to make connections before student teaching in two years.

Guess what the best part is though? It's a paid internship. Like, a great hourly waged internship at almost full-time hours each week.

I don't know if I've been accepted or considered yet, like I said, I just got the email tonight and have responded.

But, when opportunity knocks,

open the door and see what possibilities await.

Live. Love. Laugh. Grow.