2009 in Photos

If you are one of my regular blog readers, then most if this is not new to you. But, I thought it'd be fun to take a look at my year- visually. Of course, this doesn't encompass everything from the year, but it's a glace at things I've done. I take a lot of pictures, and obviously, I document each month (not really on purpose). So, enjoy! It's been a fun year with lots of family and friends!


JANUARY: Returned home from my mission.


FEBRUARY: Visited Rexburg (pictured above), applied to BYU-I, got accepted. Visited family in AZ for the first time. Loved the warm weather.


MARCH: Reunited with MTC Comps. Moved to Rexburg! (there was still snow there, of course).


APRIL: Turned 23; had a party.

MAY: Attended Kelley and Bryan's reception in Utah.

JUNE: Visited the Sand dunes.



JULY: Continued to enjoyed the Idaho summer, while attending school. Visited Monkey Rock with friends (not pictured). Also went to Las Vegas for a mission reunion.



AUGUST: Enjoyed a short break from school. Flew out to Connecticut to visit family. Also, went to the Ocquirrh Mtn. Temple open house.


SEPTEMBER: Started Fall semester at BYU-I and became a photographer for the school newspaper. Also, was present for my friend's engagement.


OCTOBER: General Conference. Mission Reunion. (Me pictured with an MTC comp).

NOVEMBER: Thanksgiving at home and more time in Rexburg (pictured here)


DECEMBER: Finished up my 2nd semester at BYU-I (me pictured here with a friend). Tried not to freeze to death in frigid cold temperatures. Spent fun times with family... my first Christmas at home since 2006.

What a fun year! So long 2009! Can't wait to see what 2010 has in store for me! :)

Merry Christmas!

(I realize it says I posted this on the 24th. That is when I started it. I finished it on the 25th though)

Relaxing on Christmas day!


We took family pictures the other night. That was fun! Here's the whole crew. We have a growing family!

Merry Christmas! This has been a wonderful one for me. Very busy, but great. This year, instead of giving eachother gifts, our family did a sub-for-santa. We divided everything up and each of us shopped for a different person. I had an 11-year-old girl. It was a bit challenging- I don't normally shop for that age, so I had to really figure out what an 11-year-old would like. But, it was really fun shopping for someone else. (I wish I had more money so I could shop for a lot of other people.) It was fun. Once everyone had the gifts, we all wrapped them up. Then, last night we set them on their doorstep. It filled the whole doorstep. It was great!

The dad of the family we did it for just lost his temporary job last week. They have six kids. We hid in some bushes as they came out. It was great. I felt so good. I really don't need anything for Christmas, but they did. Really bad. I'm glad they can have a great Christmas. This, for sure, tops all of my Christmases in the past.

Also fun for me this year was being able to be "Santa's helper." I've been gone on my mission the past two Christmases and now there are grandkids who are older who enjoy Christmas. My 5-year-old nephew was especially excited. It was fun to see everyone open their presents this morning.

What a busy month this has been for me! I realize it's so important to take a step back and soak everything in. It's sometimes hard to do, especially when you are really busy. But, it's so important. Christ should be at the center of our lives. It is His birth we are celebrating. There's a lot of symbolism in the gifts we give, etc.

I hope we will all remember our Savior and what He has done for us the whole year. Merry Christmas! Lots of love from me to you!

Done!

Well, I am probably one of the last BYU-Idahoites to finish their finals this semester. I had an online class and our deadline wasn't until today. I finally finished this afternoon. It's nice to be done for a couple of weeks... I start up two more online classes in January. (I must clarify. I have recently had a large amount of people assume that I am graduating soon for some reason. Maybe cause I'm getting "older." But, I still have about a year and a half of school left-- atleast.)

Funny thing- my worst grade this semester will be in my Old Testament class. I am getting a C. I couldn't be happier about that though. It was a REALLY hard class. Our grade was based off of quizzes every class period and a mid-term and final project. The quizzes were very hard. I always did the reading, but sometimes it was up to 6 chapters. I can't remember everything I read. So, when our teacher would ask random quiz questions, I had a hard time.

Anyway, I'm back in Utah now. My stuff is in boxes in my room. I've got to fix that soon as Traci, Gary and the kids will be here soon and will be staying in my room. Ryan, Aubrey and the kids get in tomorrow night. I am really excited. The kids are so fun to play with. I just love them sooooo much! I'm lucky I can spend time with them and don't have a job yet (even though I need one and I'm looking).

Tomorrow's adventure.... dun dun.... the real Singles' Ward. (As opposed to the student ward). Definitely should be interesting.

In the Christmas Spirit!

This cookie accidently turned out to have a sad face.

We have had a lot of snow up here. Look closely to see if you can spot the road and the temple!

Today has been a really good Sunday. Before church my roommates and I did "Christmas." We exchanged gifts with eachother.

Then we had church. It was really good. One speaker in Sacrament meeting talked about "The gifts the Lord has given us this year." I thought about that in my own life. I truly have been blessed by Him this year. In many ways it's been a hard year, but there are always blessings as well. I thought about just the fact that he has led me to where I need to be this whole year. I know I write about that all the time, but it is true. Just recently, I saw an ad for a job opening as a counter clerk at a drycleaner's here in Rexburg. As many of you know, I worked doing the same thing in Provo for a year and a half. So, I got kind of excited. I mean, I have "experience" doing this, so they'd probably hire me, right? I fixed up my resume and all, and I could hardly sleep the night before I was going to drop it off. All the while, however, I had these thoughts and feelings in the back of my mind that this was not right. I wondered if it was just me doubting myself. So, the next morning I woke up early. Since I have no car, I had to walk to the place. But, I could not find it. I searched and searched. I can't explain it, but I pretty much just knew this was not right. I have received the confirmation that I am supposed to move home and that's what I'm supposed to do.

I cannot tell you how many times I start going for something that would seem like a good thing for me in my life, and I want it really bad, but it turns out that's not what the Lord has in store.

In Relief Society we talked about the martyrdom of the prophet Joseph Smith. Towards the end of the lesson the teacher started talking about his mission in life. She then talked about ours- how we can discover it, etc. My patriarchal blessing actually spells mine out for me pretty clearly. But, the thing is, it is not currently happening in my life and it's something I really can't control too much. I got thinking though, and I thought about what I can do. I can prepare for what is to come in my life. This is something I am going to explore a bit more. I heard a quote by a general authority that I really liked. It says, "When the day of performance arrives, the day of preparation has passed." I guess I should feel blessed that my life mission is not unfolding just yet. I have more time to get ready.

After church we made sugar cookies as a Relief Society presidency. It was really fun. We then caroled and delivered them to the sisters in our society. I was really wanting to do something like this and am glad the thought popped in my head last week(even though it meant sacrificing a much needed sunday afternoon nap).

I then went to a "hot cocoa" party at a friend's place. It was nice to have something social going on. We then went caroling with some people from her ward. We went to some elderly people's homes. It was great.

So, anyway, I love doing "Christmasy" things. It's just really hard with school and all, but I'm glad I've been able to do a bit this season.

Latest Update

Wow, funny how I am posting more during finals than I normally do. (I think part of it has to do with the fact that I've been a home body this week- being sick and it being so darn cold that I don't want to go anywhere I don't have to)

I feel like I should become a meterologist or something- I am always checking the weather. In fact, today, as I was contemplating the coldness of Rexburg, Idaho, I had the thought, "I wonder why it is so cold (scientifically) in this small little town." Maybe one day I will research that on my own. For now I'm sticking with my major.

When I went to class today it was -13 degrees F. It is currently -8, but feels like -19, according to weather.com. Boy, I am glad to be getting out of this next week. Although, it's supposed to warm up to the 30s here next week. And, sadly, it's not like Utah is much warmer. It's 2 degrees in Lehi right now.

Side note- I have learned some tricks for dealing with the cold weather. First, keep your head down. When it's in the negatives, it hurts to breathe. It hurts even more if you have your head up and the cold air is hitting your face. I usually look down and breathe into my scarf. I, of course, occasionally glance up. Let's face it, we all know I'm accident prone, so that'd be bad. Looking down also allows you to see where you are stepping. With the icy sidewalks, it's a plus. Also, I've been taking longer routes to class that allow me to take quick breaks in buildings on campus. I walk through buildings to get to class, even if it is out of my way. That way I'm not in the cold for a long chunk of time. Oh, funny thing- I walked outside today and within a minute I noticed my hair was white. It was frozen! I had blown it dry, but apparently there was still moisture in it.

So, I'm not liking this weather. But, I AM liking iTunes free holiday music sampler. Check it out. Good stuff.

Also, I am liking the fact that I am completely done with two of my classes now. Now I've just got to tackle a little more reading for next week, an exam, portfolio, and two more papers.

Another thing I'm liking- I think I know where I am going to live up here summer semester. A lovely friend invited me to live with her. I love the apartments and I think she's great, so it'll be fun!

And, best news of all, there's a really good chance that the WHOLE family will be together for Christmas this year! I can't wait to be with all my nieces and nephews under one roof!

Finally, I am MUCH better. Not really sick anymore. Thanks for the prayers and concern.

God's Love

I have a testimony of the Lord's love for each of us. I just wanted to share some thoughts.

As many know, I've been sick the past couple of days. It's cold and it's finals time. I have a lot to do. On top of the final projects, etc, I am moving next week and I have white glove cleaning checks. Overwhelmed is an understatement. I am finally starting to physically feel better tonight. I went to my room and was contemplating some things. Some things occurred tonight that left me feeling off a bit- I can't really explain it. Before I could wallow in self-pity too long a knock came at the door. It was three wonderful friends who came to carol to me. I cannot express how much this simple thing means to me. It is THREE degrees outside. They came out of their way to sing to me. (They all live on opposite ends of campus). The Lord truly is mindful of us. He loves us. He loves me. Of that I am eternally thankful for.

What's Wrong with This?

Current Temperatures: (as of 6:22 pm.)
Rexburg, Idaho: 12 degrees F, feels like -1 F
Anchorage, Alaska: 18 degrees F, feels like 18 F.

Tomorrow's Forecast:
Rexburg, Idaho: High of 13 degrees F, low of -9 degrees F.
Anchorage, Alaska: High of 31 degrees F. Low of 28 degrees F.

Just My Luck!

Last night, all of the sudden I started to feel horrible. My stomach ached. Out of no where, things started coming out of my body on both ends (I'm sure you wanted to know that, right?) I was up all night.

I slept most of today. I just woke up and saw that it was dark outside and thought that it was tomorrow already. Funny when that happens.

I just hope I am better ASAP. This is the last full week of classes. I have so much to do- which includes writing three papers.

I'm not sure what I have. I don't have a fever at all, so it's weird. I got the H1N1 shot on Saturday, but I don't think throwing up is one of the side effects. I also got the regular flu shot a couple of months ago.

I guess I've jinxed myself. Saturday night I was telling my roommates how blessed I've been healthwise this semester. Summer semester I got sick at the beginning, middle and end of the semester. I wouldn't be surprised if I actually made myself sick this time too. Ever since I've been back from the break I've been stressed and haven't been able to sleep very much. No fun.

Please keep me in your prayers. Thank you!

This Christmas

"This Christmas, mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Write a letter. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in word and deed. Keep a promise. Forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Apologize. Try to understand. Examine your demands on others. Think first of someone else. Be kind. Be gentle. Laugh a little more. Express your gratitude. Welcome a stranger. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your love and then speak it again." -Howard W. Hunter, “The Gifts of Christmas,” Ensign, Dec 2002, 16