It's a Wonderful Life

How do I even wrap up this entire week? What an absolutely amazing week it was! I couldn't have been happier to be reunited with not just my immediate family again, but some of my extended family that I haven't seen for 2 or more years now. Can I just start off with saying how incredibly blessed I am? I recognize it for sure, but I love it when Heavenly Father shows me blatantly and clearly that that is truly the case.

I still had school Monday and Tuesday, as well as work on Monday so it was a little rough trying to keep everything going while my brain kept trying to switch to vacation mode. I had a major project due for my Comm class on Monday, and a speech that I had to give in my last class on Tues, so I knew I couldn't afford to slack at all. It was a little interesting and I wanted nothing more than to just get out of there, but I survived and did it to the best of my ability. And ironically enough, those two stressful days will save me a lot of stress in the next three weeks while the semester is wrapping up, so there's one more thing to be grateful for. Here's to hoping I can just take the next three weeks and only focus on finals so I can do really well in my classes....pray for me.

Tuesday after my last class and packing I hitched a ride with Angela (we'll call her my cousin). We traveled down to American Fork to meet up with my aunt and uncle so I could spend the night there. We had a little car trouble near North Ogden, but fixed it all up and were back on our way. I spent the night at Alan and Annette's just filling them in on life (per usual for every college kid that visits relatives, right? It's like the ultimate interrogation. Especially about your love life...don't even get me started on that one), it was nice. I love being with them and around my cousins...it's nice to make up for lost time.

We slept in Wednesday morning and then headed out to St. George where we spent the rest of our weekend. I was able to finish the 5 page essay I had to write for my online class so I was beyond happy to get that our of the way! I slept most of the way between texting my mom and our pit stop for food. We made it to Grandma's house after 3:30 and spent the next few hours visiting with Kirt and Amberly's family and also waiting for my family to arrive. I had some special one on one time with Grandma that I am really grateful for. Being the oldest grandkid of 21 doesn't usually come with much time like that. We were sitting in the kitchen just talking when I mentioned something about how my family should be there by now and just as I looked out the window, they pulled up. What a wonderful reunion! It seems so incredibly crazy to me that out of the entirety of 2014 I have now been with my family all of about 4 weeks! 4/52 weeks! Isn't that insane?! It was great for both Mom and I to not feel the weight of that though. Thanks to skyping and factiming once a week, as well as talking on the phone every day we've been able to make up a lot of lost ground.

Thursday through Saturday were pretty much a blur. We were in a frenzied sense of chaos, but it was oh so fun! We didn't have Matt's and Shiree's families there the entire week and we were also missing Kirt's family all of Thurs and almost all of Friday, but Grandma's house was still a rocking place to be. Thanksgiving itself, was a wonderful day, and I was able to help a lot in the kitchen this year, which I loved! Jess, Jocelyn, and I made Turkey looking cinnamon rolls for breakfast and then I spent the next part of the late morning/early afternoon preparing potatoes, pies, etc. etc. And then we ate a glorious meal and shared one thing that we were grateful for, it was all just wonderful.

We spent the majority of the rest of the day sleeping. For the first time since school started I took a nap at least once every day this last week and it was awesome!! 

Friday was spent taking family pictures and going to the temple with my parents. Both were such wonderful memories and I'm so incredibly grateful for the time we spent celebrating our family and also bringing other families together through the wonderful sealing power of the priesthood through temple ordinances. I love the temple and my family. 

Yesterday was filled with celebrating life. We threw Grandma a surprise birthday party since she just turned 70 a couple weeks ago. My job was to get her out of the house so we went and got pedicures which we both had to laugh at since we barely wear anything without socks anymore. But we had a wonderful time just talking and bonding. Then came the moment of truth whether or not we could pull off the biggest surprise yet. (Disclaimer: Grandma is such a rebel!) Despite several missed instructions and Grandma's unwillingness to listen to me, we pulled it off! She was surprised and felt so incredibly loved! Plus it was one of the most attended birthday parties I've ever been to... Just goes to show how many people's lives she's had an impact on. She's such a great example! 

As of right now I am heading back to Rexburg to finish my last two and a half weeks of school, but I can't help but reflect on all of the many blessings that Heavenly Father has downpoured upon me. I am so grateful for all of them. Even the blessings that come through trials and lessons I have to learn. I am beyond grateful for the gift of life I have been given. And as the beautiful musical we saw last night said, "It's a Wonderful Life!"

Savor Every Moment

Well I can happily say that was started as an extremely stressful week has ended quite nicely. And I am so beyond thrilled that I have to just push through two more days of school and one day of work and then I am free! Monday was a rough day as I took into account all my schooling, work, dating, etc., and it was really weighing down on me. But with the help of my mom, my roommates, my friends, and most importantly my Heavenly Father, I made it through...maybe by the skin of my teeth, but it happened. And the week went by relatively quickly too, which is way nice!

As far as the weekly highlights go, I'll pick maybe three or four from these last two weeks and go with that. So here it goes:

1. I skipped class!
Whoo! Haha, but seriously it was extremely needed. After my stress fest on Monday I realized that I needed to catch up on my life. So I skipped my first two classes and just got work done. We also had clean checks so I took the time to work on my homework, clean and actually get ready. It was a great morning and I felt so much better afterward. I went to my last class and then headed to work. Sometimes you just need those kind of catch up days. I felt like a college dropout though. Hence the picture. Haha :)

2. Dating!
Ahh, so this has been interesting. There's a guy that asked me out a week ago and he's got me a little smitten. It's been fun getting back into the dating scene, and getting to know him. I can't and won't divulge any details at this point until things progress or don't, but here's to hoping he likes me too.

3. Temple sessions!
These last two weeks my roommate and I have been able to attend the temple on Saturday and it has been such a blessing! I love the temple and the feeling of being home when I am there. I love going and feeling like Heavenly Father and Christ are welcoming me home. Ahh, it's so hard to explain how big of a blessing it is in my life, but I always feel like I can take on the world when I leave. This week especially was just incredible and I was in the best mood the whole day because of it. If you're not regularly attending the temple, I encourage you to prioritize it.

I was reading a talk during the sacrament today called "Savor Every Moment of Life" and I can't remember who it's by at the moment, but there was a part that really struck me. I was thinking about how sometimes we get into ruts of thinking, "Oh, my life would be so much better if 'this' had happened/was happening/would happen..." or "Well if we were dating" or "if I was married...", and the list can go on and on, but as I was reading and pondering this talk, I realized that I had picked it because of it's title for a reason. Anyone who knows me knows that sometimes I have a hard time calming myself down or not thinking about every possible detail concerning something. This was brought to a minimal while I was on my mission for some reason, but it's slowly starting to creep on me again since I've been back and I hate it. The title "Savor Every Moment of Life" stood out to me because I realized that Heavenly Father was telling me just to relax, trust in Him, and learn to be happy and content in my circumstances, whatever they may be.

There's a quote from this article that I would specifically like to share (although I recommend reading the entire talk). To give a little background (if I remember right), there's a couple who are attending some kind of fireside and what not, and the Hollands are speaking. Elder Holland is speaking and the man that was narrating said, "[I laughed to myself] at their amusing counsel to not 'march to an arbitrary drummer who seems to be beating a frenzied cadence to the passing years' and to trust in the timing of the Lord. But tears came to my eyes as I heard, 'Life ought to be enjoyed at every stage of our experience and should not be hurried and wrenched and truncated and torn to fit an unnatural schedule which you have predetermined but which may not be the Lord's personal plan for you at all,' and 'Don't wait to live...We of all people ought to savor every moment.'" I thought that was absolutely beautiful and I am so grateful to have learned a powerful lesson from the Lord. That no matter where I am, what I am doing, or where I am going, if I trust in Him and seek to follow His guidance and counsel in my life than I can truly learn to savor every moment of my life, whatever it may be, instead of waiting for other things to happen for my life to be "better".

It Will All Work Out

Happy Veteran's Day!

Oh the joys of college life. So many weird and interesting experiences. So many memories. And so many times when you want to hit your head against the wall...it's healthy thing, I promise. It puts my brain back in its place. This last week was crazy which I guess is my new normal, so what else do you expect?

In case any of you are wondering, one of the most entertaining things in the world is watching videos of people after they get their wisdom teeth taken out... I'm telling y'all, it'll make your day! 

Anyway, I like the whole highlight thing so we'll do that again. Here's the top three of my week: 

1. Working overnight

So N & E (I decided it would would be better not to expose the entire names of my boss's family anymore so the letters will suffice with a brief description) who are the dad and then the 10 year old daughter went to India this last week for 10 days and since they were gone C asked me stay a few days with them until her mom got there. So Monday through Wednesday night I was able to stay at the house and help them out a little more with the nightly routine. B was so cute with me and reminded me so much of Sierra and has multiple times since they're the same age. Everytime she went to leave to go dance or anywhere she would hurry and say "love you!" before running out the door.  I flippin love that little girl and she really knows how to win my heart! So grateful for the tender mercies Mom referred to when we were talking about how blessed I am to have that job and be so close to them, especially B since I can't be home right now. 

2. Les Miserables 

I finally saw Les Mis! I know, small accomplishment, but now I finally understand what everyone is talking about! Haha We're reading the abridged  version for my humanities class and before I read it I kinda wanted to have a good background/idea about what the story was actually about before just diving right in. 

And the verdict is (drum roll please!)...

 I LOVED IT!  

I absolutely loved it! I thought it was incredible and totally. Totally worth the watch in case you're wondering! 

3. I Cover

Saturday night my roommates Amanda and Kylie came with me to I Cover on campus. It was a big concert almost like battle of the battles between and it lasted 3 hours! Plus there was a dance afterward! We were a little late, but it was alright because we were there a long time!  Then we stayed at the dance until about 1030 before heading home. It was way fun and I absolutely loved spending time with some of my roomies. And I can't forget that I loved the fact that I got to hear a super attractive male accapella group 😍 definitely on my top ten favorite things list. 

I also was thinking a lot about my favorite scripture in Proverbs 3:5-6 which talks about trusting in the Lord. It dawned on me as I was thinking about this though how often Heavenly Father has blessed me in my life when I've trusted in Him. Reviewing the choices that I've made in my life and how much the Lord has guided me and helped me. I also had a huge realization that there is nothing in my life that I should worry about because if I trust in Him and keep all of His commandments then everything will work out. It will always work out. So stop worrying, don't fret, trust in God and it will all work out.

Highlights :)

Here we are again! Here's the wrap up of the past couple weeks. I can't believe it's already Sunday again though, like for real! Only 7 more Fridays til Christmas, guys. We can do it!


So that I don't write a novel in one blog post we'll do some HIGHLIGHTS! Ready? :)

#1 The Piano Guys
Last Saturday I had the amazing opportunity to see The Piano Guys in concert. I went by myself cause no one else wanted to pay for the tickets, but honestly I'm kind of glad I did. Being there by myself allowed me to completely focus on the emotional roller coaster the show put me through. Haha I mean I know that sounds a little pathetic, but I have seriously never been so moved before by a concert. I laughed, I cried, and I felt the spirit. It was so entertaining and I absolutely loved Jon and Steven's banter back and forth, especially since Steven plays the cello, not a piano. Overall, I am so grateful for the chance to go and I love that I had such a wonderful experience. Definitely in the top 5 of awesome stuff this semester!

#2 Yellowstone Trip
On Monday I went to Yellowstone for the first time in my entire life. I've heard people talk about it my entire life, but I've never really been interested in going. Thankfully, for my comm class we had the privilege of going this last week, and let me just say it was absolutely beautiful! We left at 7 a.m. from the school and by the time we arrived in West Yellowstone around 8:30 it was clear to all of us it was going to be a winter wonderland kinda day. The snow had fallen the night before and left a white glistening glow. It was almost as if none of us really wanted to walk anywhere where the majestic picture perfect winter land would be devastated in any way.

The morning was a little rough since we didn't know whether we were going to be able to get into the park or not, but around 11:30 they finally informed us that the southeastern part of the park would be opened after all. We were excited to finally see what we had gone all the way up there for. It took time and various stops, but I became more enthralled and genuinely enchanted each step of the way. It was absolutely beautiful and I am so glad I was able to go.