Giving Thanks!

Oh there are so many things I am thankful for! However, I think they all involve thanking my Heavenly Father. First, I am thankful to Him for my family. My family is amazing and I feel so privileged to be apart of them. I love spending time with them and talking to them because they remind me of who I am and who I want to be. They drive me to be the best I can be. The know me better than anyone else. We have shared many of the memories and experiences that life holds. I know that I can turn to any one of them at any time and find exactly what I need at that time. Second, I am thankful to my Heavenly Father for my friends. I know the people we surround ourselves with are the people that will influence us the most. W. Clement Stone said, "Be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them". I can attest to this truth through my own experience. I know that I am who I am because of the friends that surround me. I will be forever indebted to their great influence of my life. The push me to be my very best through their example and expectations for me. I know that they all have my best interest in mind and will always do anything to help me succeed. I have needed different people at different times in my life. I know that some of the most influential people in my life may not have been influential at all had they entered my life at a different time. I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for helping the right people be in my life at the right times. Third, I am thankful to be living in this day and age when we have prophets and apostles to lead and guide us. I am so thankful for the love they show towards us as they teach us the things we need to know in order to return to live with our Heavenly Father once again. I am thankful for the example they set. I strive to follow their guidance daily because I see their good works and know they are men of God. I am am thankful that we get to read and study their words along with ancient scripture. All these resources provide me with the information I need to have eternal life. Fourth, I am eternally grateful for temple work and service. I am thankful that we get to serve others as the Savior served. I am thankful that we have the opportunity to for His example and do for others what they cannot do for themselves. I am thankful for the serenity and comfort that the temple provides. I know that as I am worthy to enter His house, I am closer to becoming like Him. Fifth, I am thankful for the Holy Ghost. It truly is a gift from God that guides us through life. He helps us to know the things that we should do in order to return to our Father in Heaven. I know as we listen and follow his guidance that our faith will become strong and immovable. I know that we grow to be more like our Heavenly Father as we listen to the holy ghost. Sixth, I am thankful for the opportunity that we have to communicate with our Father in Heaven daily through prayer. This has been a great blessing in my life as I have need His guidance and His guidance only. I know that I need to become better about utilizing this great blessing in my life. I know that as I have a prayer in my heart as I go throughout my day, that I will be able to withstand any temptation. I know that the Lord is always by my side. It is my choice to communicate with Him and to receive His guidance. Last, I am thankful for the atonement and the repentance process. I am thankful for the opportunity to be tried and tested in this life and prove myself before the Lord. I thankful for the trials I have been given and the mistakes I have made. I am thankful for them because of the lessons I have learned at the feet of the master. I am thankful for the love He has shown towards me as He has forgiven me time and time again. But this is how I have learned and grown. Therefore, even though it has often been painful and I am felt ashamed, I am thankful for the trials that have been but a small moment and have refined me to be more like my Savior.
These are the things I am most thankful for in my life.
On the more simple side of things, I am thankful for snow! I am thankful for this wonderful time in my life! I am thankful for music! I am thankful for food, especially thanksgiving food! And warm blankets. And socks. And movies. And hot chocolate. And games. And flowers. And lemons. And chap-stick. And hot showers. And love sacs. And that I can run. And for fireplaces. And for good books. And for snowflake making. And baking. And laughing. And cuddling. And the beach. And a soft bed. And many other things but I have decided to cut off the list for both your sake and mine! :)

A New Goal

So in Relief Society today we talked about President Monson's talk from October Conference entitled "What Have I Done for Someone Today?". I have decided that I do not do enough small acts of service on a day to day basis. I feel like I do plenty of stuff on the big side of service, but not enough of the personal level, which is equally important. So I have a new goal. I am going to do one act of service for someone in need everyday. I plan to pray in the morning to be guided in this and then reflect later in the day. I small acts of service are a great way to become more Christ-like and come to know Him, which was the other part of our lesson today. I think the best way to become Christ-like and come to know and love Him is to emulate Him and follow His example. He was constantly serving those in need, and He searched for the one, even when it wasn't convenient. I want to follow His example and serve those in need. I think as I serve others I will come closer to Christ and this practice will improve my life in countless ways.

Happy Day! All Is Well!

I love how the Lord speaks to us in common, yet unexpected ways. I was driving today while listening to a cd of hymns that I made about 8 months ago. But today after all the times I have listened to this cd and this song throughout my life, it touched my heart. It was "Come, Come Ye Saints". I have listened and sung this song countless times, but one line really hit me today. It was the first line of the fourth verse that says, "And should we die before our journey is through, Happy Day! All is Well!". As I heard that line I thought, do I feel that way? Do I feel that if I were to die right now, before my journey is through, that all is well? I am not sure if I feel that way, which scared me. I thought of the Saints crossing the plains while singing this song and all that they were enduring. I was jealous that they felt that way. I am not sure I could stand before my Savior today and say all is well with me. I still have so many weaknesses and habits I need to change in my life. I need to be a lot better about so many things. I think mainly I suffer from sins of omission. I need to better myself in all the areas I feel inadequate, to make sure that if I am called before my journey is through that I can say, "Happy Day! All is Well!".

Love Is All There Is

Love is one of the most mysterious of feelings. You cannot understand it or describe it, until you have felt it. It is not something you can plan on or decide to create, it just happens. The hardest things in life involve love. Love brings the most extreme feelings of joy and sorrow. And the longer you live, the more you come to realize the love is all there is.

In honor of Valentine's Day I thought I would share some of my favorite quotes on love:

"Love is what you go through together."

"I don't pretend to know what love is for everyone, but I can tell you what it is for me; love is knowing all about someone, and still wanting to be with them more than any other person, love is trusting them enough to tell them everything about yourself, including the things you might be ashamed of, love is feeling comfortable and safe with someone, but still getting weak knees when they walk into a room and smile at you."

"You can close your eyes to the things you do not want to see, but you cannot close your heart to the things you do not want to feel."

"If you love someone, let them go. If they return, they were always yours. If they don't they never were."

"One of the hardest things is watching the one you love, love someone else."

"Trying to make someone fall in love with you is just as pointless as trying to control who you fall in love with."

Christmas Time 2009!

I think Christmas is pretty much everyone's favorite holiday. I used to want to meet someone who had a different favorite holiday, like Halloween or Easter, just for the sake of some variety. But over the years I have come to realize that there is a reason that Christmas is the favorite holiday. Once you get past the excitement of gifts and good food, you see that there is more to Christmas than any other holiday. It is a time that families come together to celebrate a greater cause than any other, the birth of our Savior. You to spend time together and enjoy each other's company, which as you get older and move away from home, this time becomes precious because it is rare. I think another large part of the joy of Christmas is celebrating someone else's life, someone else's perfection, someone else's impact your own life and the lives of others. Another huge part is that Christmas is a big deal. People all over the world celebrate Christmas. Most people don't have to work, go to school, or do anything they don't want to. It is a widely observed holiday that has been celebrated for centuries. These elements help make this time of year have a certain spirit about it that cannot be replicated. The Christmas carols, decorations, stories, and treats all contribute. It is all very special and it is these extra things that make Christmas everyone's favorite holiday, including mine. And this year's Christmas has been absolutely fabulous for all the above reasons!

Home Sweet Home

So I am home now and Abby came home with me. It has been so much fun so far! We have had a GNI (Girl's Night In) and I have shown her around Monroe. It was weird going around Monroe and showing her all the places that I used to go all the time, but haven't been there for so long. And it just made me realize what a good childhood I had and as much as I hated growing up here, I actually love it here because it is my home. And I want to be able to come home to it. I also just love my little sisters! They are all so fun! And so cute! We just have such good times and I am so glad they are related to me and not going anywhere! :) It is always great to come home and remember where you come from and spend time with people who love you and will always be there for you. Family time is just the best!

Summer Coming to an End

I can not believe the summer is almost over! It seriously feels like it just started but it also feels like so much has happened! And that is probably because a lot has happened! It has been such a good summer! I have loved so many things about it! Also I have grown so much spiritually and learned so much about myself. I feel like the times that you do completely random, different things you have experiences that make you grow in areas that you didn't even know you could grow. And to change in ways you never knew you wanted to change. These adventures are what make you who you are. And make you different from everyone else. No one person will ever experience the exact same things you will. Life is just great like that. But it is awesome because you do usually have friends that experience things with you and the ones that experience these things with you are the ones that know you the best. That is how they become your best friend because not only do they understand you, they understand why you are the way you are. And this summer those friends have been Jon and Abby. They have been there for it all. And it has been amazing. Here are some of my favorite pictures that will give just a small glance at our summer.

Update of My Life

Well I just finished another semester at BYU.  People always told me that college went fast.  And now I know first hand that it does! I just can't believe that a whole semester has  gone by again. And now I have gone home, seen my family for about 5 days, and am off to Disney World for a Summer Internship.  And I must say it was one of my hardest decisions yet to come here and leave my family for most of the summer.  But after a few days, I realize that it was a good choice.  And I am going to be happy here.  I have made friends and I am excited about my job here.  I am doing quick food and beverage service in the West Stands of the Magic Kingdom.  I think I will really enjoy it.  Also I think if anything this experience will just give me more experience in the working world.  I mean it is a long time to work and there will be hard days, but I will have to keep working.  Also already it is so different from BYU and I think it will also help me to realize how lucky I am for being able to go to BYU. I mean I always loved it but now this will just make me love it more!  And appreciate it more.  Anyways but we went to a dance the second night we got here and here are a few pictures :)

Love at Home

I love coming home.  Especially after being gone for so long; time makes everything sweeter. All the smells, the pictures around the house, and the family phrases that I used to think were normal and everyday things I now treasure and love to be around. I love just being around my family.  I love to hear them all say the little things that they always have said. I never realized how much I loved those little things until I didn't hear them everyday.  It is also hard to realize that they have new parts of their life that I don't know about. Maybe it is self-centered but I hate to know that their lives go on without me here.  It is so hard to know that they are growing and learning without me here to witness it all.  But it is okay, they are all growing up to be such wonderful people.  For family home evening we had a testimony meeting.  It was so great to hear the testimonies of each of my siblings.  It just made me realize how blessed I am to be raised in the gospel with a family that is so amazing and strong.  I am so thankful that families can be together forever.  I just love it all so much! I especially love coming home because all the love felt in our home rejuvenates me and makes me prepared to go back out on my own again.  I love how every time I come home I grow and become a better person just from the examples of my younger siblings.  I learn something new from each one of them. My parents have done such a good job! I love coming home for all the fun games that we play.  I love coming home for all the fun activities we do as a family.  I love coming home for the relaxation time we have.  Basically I just love coming home!

Bitter-Sweet

So I just hate bitter-sweet things.  I am about to go home which I am super excited about it!  I cannot wait to see my family and just be home with no worries!  Plus some of my cousins are coming into town which just makes it even better!  All of this is way sweet!  But then there is the bitter part.  Why does there always have to be a bitter part?  So while I am at home I am missing so many great things! For example, our stake ice skating activity, Mr. BYU competition, and the Utah vs. BYU game!  All these things are going to be awesome and I am greatly missing out!  It seems like this always happens in life.  I guess it is just important that you always make the decision so that the sweet outweighs the bitter.  Which in this case the sweet does outweigh the bitter, but it sure doesn't make the bitter any sweeter!