What Can I Give Him?

"What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man
I would do my part.
Yet what can I give Him?
Give my heart."
-Christina Rossetti

I heard this poem this recently and really liked it. I think I like it so much because I can really relate. I don't have much to give this year, but I can give my heart. I can give the Lord my heart. I can let Him into my life more. It has been humbling to think of my Savior's birth, life and death-today especially- and think of my life and what I can do better. I'm just so very grateful for Him and all He has done.

Merry Christmas!

From me to you!

In Memory of Sister Applegate

I've been thinking a lot about my mission lately, especially with Christi returning home. So, emotions have been running high. Today I learned that Sister Barbara Applegate passed away (last night). I met Sister Applegate on my mission. She was an amazing lady. She was a convert of a few years and had such a strong testimony. She was so caring and loving. Even after I came home, she'd write me and call me- especially on my birthday every year. I feel really bad that I did not call her as much as I should have. I won't get the chance to talk to her again in this life. I am once again reminded of the importance of keeping in contact with those we love (and sometimes I do a horrible job at it, so I apologize to you all).

I know she is in a better place and is so much happier. God be with you 'till we meet again, Sister Applegate.

Lights at Temple Square 2011

Last night for FHE we (my ward) went to see the lights at Temple Square. I've seen them a lot this year already, having spent a lot of time in Salt Lake. They are beautiful. It was nice to enjoy them. Last year I spent a lot of time taking pictures. I've come to realize that sometimes when you're a photographer you miss out on simply enjoying the moment because you are too busy trying to get the perfect shot. So, this time I just snapped a few pictures with a point-and-shoot. Afterwards we all went out to dinner at Village Inn. We had quite a large group. It was a fun night!

Oh, also- on Saturday night I was able to go to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert! It was amazing! I got tickets from my internship. I took a friend from my ward and we had a great time!

My Christmas List

Dear Santa:

All I want for Christmas this year is a full-time job that I will enjoy (in a good environment) and will allow me to provide for myself.

Can you make it happen please?

Thanks,
Carrie

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

I'm pretty sure I post this quote every year. I know I read it every year at least. I love it. It is great advice. Those are all things that can bring more joy into my life this season.

I've been thinking lately of how important it is to take the focus off ourselves and do something for others. It's easy to get weighed down with our own problems. But, as we serve others we learn that there are always people who are worse off than we are. Probably the best Christmas gift we can give is the gift of love to others.

Job Hunting and Exhaustion

It's 8:00 and I'm lying in bed- exhausted. I refuse to go to bed this early, so I am blogging of course. I am physically and emotionally exhausted tonight. Thankfully I've been sleeping a little better lately, but I've been so stiff... probably because I am so stressed.

Tonight the paper I need to edit for the Ph.D student can wait, the homework I really need to get done for my online class can wait, the job hunt can wait, the person who called me and wants me to call them back can wait. I'm too tired to do anything. On the days I have my internship I wake up at 6:15 and get home around 6.

In other news- I applied for a job working at a place that'd be a great atmosphere... so please pray for me! I really want it! I have to take a skills test for it tomorrow. I'll be pretty disappointed if I don't get it after investing so much time into it.

Last week I got two rejections, which was tough. Hoping for a better week.

Last night as I was thinking about the job hunt, D&C 90:24 came into my mind: "Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good..." I know things will work out. They always do. I just can't seem to not be stressed. I like to plan. I hate not knowing what's next. This whole faith thing... it's hard sometimes!

I Love to Clean the Temple...

I've always felt a love and appreciation for the temple. But, today we took that to a whole new level. Our stake needed people to help clean the Mt. Timpanogos temple this morning. Since it was an odd time and I happened to be available, I went. We cleaned for 4 hours. We dusted the plants, the tops of the lockers, disinfected the benches in the locker room and... my big project was disinfecting every key in the locker room. Oh. My. I will never look at the women's locker room the same again. I had to take every key out of the lock and place it in disinfecting solution, dry it off, and put it back in. I had no idea that that happens. (But, I am glad it does!) I was exhausted! The temple really is a clean place! I now appreciate that beautiful place and the people who clean it even more so!

P.S. Apparently people clean the temple every Monday from 8am-12pm. They can always use more help. So, if you're available sometime... go!

Grammy Nomination!!!

Early on in my internship I was given an assignment by the publicist in our department. She told me the project was kind of a monotonous thing, but it was something really cool. The other intern and I were asked to e-mail all of Jenny Oaks Baker's contacts on a Grammy site. There is a site called "Grammy 365," which is kind of like Facebook for musical artists. We invited them to listen to her latest album, "Wish Upon a Star," and vote for her to receive a Grammy nomination. So, each day for several weeks the other intern and I spent quite a bit of time doing this. Our hard work paid off... she was nominated for a Grammy on Wednesday night!!! This is HUGE! A few weeks ago my boss said, "If she gets nominated it will be in large part due to what you two (pointing to me and the other intern) have done." And, when we found out about the news he said, "I hope this goes straight onto your resume." I'm thrilled! It's so neat to be part of this! Read more about it here. (P.S. Her album really is amazing!)

Glad Christmas Tidings!

This is what I found on my desk this morning. Signed by the man himself. I'll post more about this and other exciting happenings (including my involvement in a grammy nomination!!!) soon. For now I just want to say that I am truly going to miss my internship. I've loved the amazing people I've worked with and met and the amazing experiences I've had. I only have two weeks left. Sad.

Men's Hearts Shall Fail Them

As one who has recently started looking for full-time employment in this tough economy (got two rejections this week!) and with no idea of what's ahead in my life, I cannot tell you how much this means to me. Elder Nelson's words are true.

Let Him In

There's a song from the Forgotten Carols that talks about "letting Him in" our lives. I decided that this Christmas I am going to "let Him in." I know that is something we should constantly be doing, but let's be honest sometimes we're better at doing that than at other times. But, I've been reminded lately that our Savior's atonement is there for us. We need to use it. We need to "let Him in" our lives. I am going to let him take my burdens. Too much of the time I try to do it all on my own. Lately I've been caught up in that. Between my callings (I was released from two today, actually), internship, online class, editing job, searching for a "real job," trying to exercise, feeling like I have to be at every ward and social activity, and now with some health problems I've had, etc... it's just been way too much to bear on my own. Some nights when I am lying awake, I remember a small plaque my Grandma used to have (she ordered it out of one of those typical Grandma catalogs). It said something like, "When you go to sleep give your troubles to God. He'll be up all night anyway." While that doesn't always work for me, it is a comforting thought to know the Lord knows me and my troubles and can help me.

Truly the Lord is "...come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10)

This Thanksgiving

I'm kind of jealous of people who are traveling, not going to lie. Part of me wants to get away. It is kind of weird that for the first time in a long time I'm not going home, I am home already.

Even with that being said, however, I am glad I don't have to deal with the ride board. Remember last Thanksgiving? Yeah, I'm thankful to be alive.

Unrelated side note- I've been dealing with insomnia for a few weeks now and I am starting to really be exhausted and not function normally. It's really wearing on me. Prayers would really be appreciated.

Feeling Humbled

Today I was called as the RS Secretary in my ward. The whole presidency was reorganized. I was the secretary in my student ward for two semesters this past year, so I am now really wondering what I am supposed to learn from this calling. Hopefully I figure it out this time. :) They forgot to release me from my other two callings, so I currently have THREE callings. I feel bad... I don't necessarily want all three and I don't want to be the blessing hog. So, hopefully that changes soon. Once again... the Lord has a way of placing us where we need to be. I'm excited to serve in this capacity!

Thankful for my Internship!

These are most of the people I work with. Me, Nate (the other intern), Preston (Marketing Coordinator), Dave (Business manager), Heather (publicist), and Rachel (Forgotten Carols intern). We had lunch together this week.

Some days I am really in awe at the fact that I landed such an amazing internship. On Thursday I was served cheesecake by Sheri Dew at a company lunch (For the record, I don't even really like cheesecake, but I took it anyway). I'm sure she still has no idea who I am, but she's practically my idol and to be standing so close to her was a privilege.

Next week I am meeting and hanging out with David Archuleta at some CD signings.

I'm sad I only have a month left at my internship. But, I am so grateful for this amazing opportunity! The other day I was thinking about how I accepted some other internships previously. One in particular really didn't feel right and now I understand why. It wasn't the right time and it wasn't the right internship for me.

With Thanksgiving approaching, I'm thankful for such an amazing opportunity the Lord has given me.

God is Good.

The Lord never ceases to amaze me. I'm grateful for His tender mercies. I was on my way to my internship today and needed to ride TRAX instead of the express bus because I did 1/2 a day today and am doing a 1/2 day tomorrow (the express bus only comes at certain times of the day). I have only been on TRAX a few times in my life and the last time was years ago. So, I planned to get to the station early so I could figure it out. Too bad there were TWO accidents on the freeway between my house and the TRAX station. I didn't have enough time to get on TRAX and make it to work on time. I had to drive all the way into SLC. I really did not want to pay for parking. The price is a bit steep. But, I had no choice. So, I parked and got my ticket. I mentioned to my co-worker in passing that I drove and she pulled out a parking token out of her purse. She said she's had it in there for years and she's never needed to use it. I KNOW that was a tender mercy from the Lord. It saved me money that I really didn't have. I've seen a lot of tender mercies in my life lately- many that are really sacred to me. I'm coming to realize more and more that the tender mercies are always there. We just have to recognize them. God is good.

Knowledge of the Gospel

I had this thought today: "What in the world would I do without a knowledge of the Gospel?" I know I've had that thought before, but it kind of hit me today. Perhaps because yesterday in RS our lesson was on the Plan of Salvation. One sister bore testimony of how grateful she is that her ancestors who've never heard of the Gospel will have a chance to in the Spirit World.

So, what would I do without a knowledge of the Gospel? Life would be 1000x harder, that's for sure. Having the Gospel puts everything in perspective. We know that trials are part of God's plan and with His help we can overcome them. Can you imagine NOT knowing that? I don't think there'd really be a reason to live. Wow, how blessed we are to have a knowledge of the Gospel in THIS life to help us in the here and now.

Life This Week... Whoa!

Me with Mr. Michael McLean

I've had so much going on lately that I'm not even going to attempt to blog about it all, but here are some highlights from this week:

Monday was FHE. Our ward did "Where's Waldo" at the mall. It was a BLAST! I happened to be on the Bishop's team and we won! I truly love my ward. :)

Tuesday I started my job hunt when I got home from my internship. That lasted the whole night.

Wednesday was Institute. Institute is so great. This week I was sitting, enjoying the lesson and the AC came on and blew in the vent that I was sitting right above. Huge bummer. I had a freezing bum. Ha ha.

Thursday I went to Heber again for my internship. I was there to help promote The 20th Anniversary of The Forgotten Carols (see pic at top). The local grocery store has a Christmas Open House every year. The whole town comes out. I'm not kidding. It was from 3-7. I got there at 2:30 to set-up and the store was dead. At 3:00 it was packed. Shortly after 7 it was dead again. I got to hangout with Michael McLean the whole time. He was there singing and talking to people. In his words, "Where else can you go grocery shopping and be sung to?" No where. I found out he grew up in Arlington Heights, IL- my greenie area! Actually, I learned quite a bit about him. It was pretty cool.

Yesterday I went to a "Carmel Apple" Party. Some girls in my ward hosted it. We all brought our own apples and they provided the toppings. There were a ton of people there (I brought Nicole with me too).


Me with Erin and Natalie. Fun girls!

Nicole and I on 11-11-11 at 11:11 pm.

Tonight: I am staying home with the fireplace on, watching a movie, blogging and job hunting. It's so nice to have a relaxing night at home... by myself! :)

Tomorrow: I am getting another calling. The Lord is funny. I may just have to request that one or two of my callings be dropped. Three is a bit too much.

In between all of this fun stuff I've been editing papers and doing homework for my online class! Busy, busy! But life is pretty good! I'm so blessed to have so many great things going on.

I'm An Adult!

I just applied for my first "real" job. Oh my. I am scared out of my mind. It kind of hit me all of the sudden the other day that it's time to apply for jobs. What?! I'm supposed to find something I want to do for the rest of my life? I've been so transient the past few years- between my mission and coming and going from school. I guess it's time for commitment now. I'm supposed to be an adult and have a 9-5 job. So scary! Especially with the job market being the way it is. Pray for me.

Interesting Giveaway

I like freebies and giveaways. Today I saw one online that is really unique and kind of funny. You can enter to win free Robitussin if your last name sounds like a "cold and flu symptom." When I first read that I was thinking, "Oh, too bad mine doesn't sound like anything." (Not that I am dying to win free Robitussin, though.) I got to thinking about it and "Cox" could sound like "coughs." So I entered. We'll see if I win. I can imagine the people who sift through the entries are going to have a blast reading the last names. If you're interested in entering, go here.

When My Dad Gives the Dog A Bath...

Too funny.

Reasons to Smile

"When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile."

I saw that quote on a blog today and really liked it.

Yesterday was a horrible day for a hundred reasons. Thankfully today was so much better. I went to the temple and a cute old lady who worked there gave me a hug and said, "I'm not supposed to give patrons hugs, but sometimes I can't help it."

That is one of my thousands of reasons to smile.

Today I Felt Like a Missionary Again.

Today I felt like a missionary again. I loved it. One of the other interns and I went to Park City and Heber to put up flyers advertising The Forgotten Carols. It was big time deja vu for me walking the streets, cold wind blowing in my face, walking into businesses, talking to people. It was like it all came back to me and never left. It's nearly been three years since I was a full-time missionary. Days like today make it hard to believe it's been that long. Poor Rachel (the other intern)...I kept saying, "this reminds me of my mission!" It was interesting- I wanted to tell everyone about Forgotten Carols. And the Gospel. I think my mission really prepared me for a career in PR. Oh, how some days I still really miss my mission. I'm so grateful for what it has done for me in my life.

Oh, and today I found out that Culver's (a restaurant that was popular in Chicagoland and that we used to visit all the time as missionaries)is coming to American Fork!!!

P.S. Starbucks has really good Salted Carmel Hot Chocolate. Rachel and I got some. Funny thing- the girl at the counter gave me my hot chocolate and said, "Here's your Salted Carmel Mocha. Oh, I mean hot chocolate. There's no coffee in there. I promise." I guess she could totally tell we're LDS. That makes me happy.

Mom's Birthday

Mom had a big birthday over the weekend! I did my best to make it special for her. I got her a new book by Elder Oaks, "Life Lessons Learned." I also made a scrap book of "60 Things We Love About Mom/Grandma." I had all of the children and grandkids contribute to it. Saturday evening we went to Olive Garden. Traci, Gary and the kids were in town and we got to see them for a couple of hours. After dinner we went to Grandma Chadwick's for some cupcakes and ice cream. It was a fun evening!

Hilary Weeks Concert

Last Tuesday was the release of Hilary Weeks' new CD, Every Step. Coinciding with that, Shadow Mtn. Records held a CD Release Concert in Provo. Instead of going into the office that day, I helped out with concert stuff. I got to do cool things like pick-up the music video, get pizza and cookies, etc. (By the way, her new music video- which I posted last week- has been viewed over 93,000 times in less than one week! Amazing!) The concert was great. I brought Mom with me. We had a great time. We even saw Sheri there. :)

Beautiful Heartbreak

Here is a brand new music video from Hilary Weeks. It is amazing. The message is powerful. You might want to grab a tissue.

Sunday Update!

I really do love Sundays. They're great. I like blogging about them too. I didn't end up teaching R.S. after all. But, I enjoyed the lesson. Who doesn't need to hear about facing the future with faith? Such a good reminder.

My Saturday ended very late... try 12:30ish. Unfortunately, my Sunday started very early... try 4 am. I was so mad that my body just suddenly woke up at that absurd hour. I decided to be productive, I worked on the ward bulletin...which needed to be done before church. I did fall back asleep for a few hours after that, thank goodness.

The full-time missionaries spoke today in Sacrament meeting. So powerful. Of course, it made me miss my mission. But, it also reminded me of how important it is that I'm a missionary right now and for the rest of my life. I'm so grateful for missionaries and the hard work they do. Speaking of missionaries, my sister gets home from her mission in less than 60 days now!

Anyway, another great Sunday. I can't say enough about how happy I am with my life right now. I have less stress in my life. The other day I even took note of the fact that I paint my nails more often now that I'm not in school. I guess I have time for it now. :) I know I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be and doing what I'm supposed to be doing.

Rice Krispy Treat Pumpkins

I'm going to a fall-themed party tonight, so I decided to make these: (Special thanks to pinterest for the idea)

I failed to think about what happens when you melt marshmallows in the microwave, so this happened. Using the stove is a better idea!

Moral Decay

I've had more time to watch TV since I've been out of school. However, I've discovered that there's really nothing good on these days. To be honest, I'm appalled at what's on TV. I think even in our LDS society we're becoming accepting of things that aren't right. It's so easy to become enthralled with a TV show and just accept that they drop a few bad words in here and there, but overall we think it's a good show, so we ignore the bad things.

In addition to TV, what's on the radio isn't much better. I think it's so easy to become desensitized. But, honestly, if we truly listen to the lyrics, we probably won't hear good things. I've noticed that there are catchy songs, but they have "the bug in the icecream" with one or two bad words. I guess lately I've really become aware of how Satan tries to influence us. He is sneaky. His influence on the world is great. I'm really quite sick of the world accepting things that are evil to be ok. Anyway, I guess I'll be done ranting. I just want to challenge us all to see how we can improve... and notice how Satan works on us. In the coming days things aren't going to get better. We've got to stand for what's strong and true.

I hope people reading this don't mistake this for a "Holier than thou" attitude. This is simply something that's been on my mind that I wanted to share. I know I personally can do better in these areas.

Friday Night Fun

Nicole and I had a fun girls night out on Friday. First, we played a mean game of bowling at the local bowling alley. I won't mention what our scores were, but we had fun! Then, we went to Wal-mart to look at pumpkins and Halloween stuff. We finished off the evening with some ice-cream from Maggie Moo's (I know, I know... definitely not conducive to my weight loss goals...). There were only two people working there and a bunch of people in line. Also, when I was up at the register ready to check-out a lady came in and said, "Your raspberries are fermented." So, the worker girl tasted the raspberries and sure enough, they were! Good thing I didn't order anything with raspberries! But, all-in-all it was a nice night out!

P.S. Unrelated side note- I just realized that my internship ends exactly two months from today! Yikes! Then what? It's time to find a "real" job! Time is flying!

An Update on my Amazing Internship!

Today was another exciting day at the internship. I decided to get off the bus by the Church Office Building this morning and walk through temple square for a change. (I normally get off by the Social Hall building.)It was a beautiful morning. I caught the picture above with my phone. I love working across the street from the temple. This morning workers were putting up Christmas lights. They've actually been doing that since August, but today some of the lights were turned on- which was fun.

Speaking of Christmas... it's coming up! I feel like I'm prepared for it more so this year than ever before. At my internship we're busy with Forgotten Carols stuff, as well as the singing group Eclipse has a new Christmas CD coming out that we are marketing. So, Christmas has been on my mind already!

I try to remind myself often that I am very lucky to have the internship I have. I'm in a routine of things now, and it just seems so normal to me(meeting semi-famous LDS people... no big deal. I do it often Ha ha.) I know there are probably a lot of people out there who want to do what I'm doing.

This morning I got to hangout with Hilary Weeks. Pretty cool. Every time a new CD releases the artist goes around to the DB stores and gives the employees a complimentary copy of the CD. So, I went with her to the downtown store. I also got a signed CD. Her CD officially comes out in stores on the 25th. Also that day, there will be a CD release concert held at the Covey Center in Provo. For tickets visit: http://coveycenter.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=351:hilary-weeks-concert&catid=1:performance-hall&Itemid=9. I'm sure it'll be fabulous. While I'm at it, I suggest becoming a fan of the Shadow Mountain Records Facebook page. We do a lot of giveaways. :)

Anyway, life is good. I'm learning a lot and loving my time at Deseret Book!

TWO New Callings, Wonderful Sunday!

Today has been a really good Sunday. I want to share my thoughts about it here.

I got sustained in church for my two new callings- ward publicist and visiting teaching supervisor. Now, let me just say- don't pray to receive a calling unless you are prepared to receive TWO! Ha ha. Seriously, I had been wanting to serve and now I have two great opportunities. It'll be good.

I got set apart by the bishop afterward and it was amazing. There were things said that I needed to hear. Side note- my bishop is great. I just love him and his wife.

Last Friday there was a convert baptism. Today, the guy was confirmed in Sacrament Meeting. Can I just say... AMAZING?! Convert baptisms are pretty rare around here. The guy got up and bore his testimony of the truthfulness of this church. It was powerful.

I think sometimes we take this gospel for granted. I know I definitely do. But, really it is so amazing and so important. We are so blessed. I feel so blessed to have knowledge of the Gospel and the blessings that come with being a member in my life.

After church we had dinner as a family, (well the family that is around here). We reminisced a little about times growing up. It was so fun.

Great Sunday! Great way to start off my week.

Weekend in St. George

This past weekend my dad and I went to St. George to see my sister and her husband run in the St. George marathon. There were a ton of people there! More than 5,000 people ran the race! It was hard to find a spot to squeeze in to see them run to the finish line, but we managed. I must say, it was interesting seeing people towards the finish line. They had just run 26.2 miles. Insane. There were actually military people nearby to catch people as they fell. My sister said that one lady was taken out on a stretcher 1.5 miles before the finish. Now that's depressing! I've got to hand it to people who put so much time and hard work into training for a marathon. I'm sure it's no piece of cake. (Ha ha.) It was kind of inspirational, to be honest. But, it definitely confirmed to me that I don't want to run a marathon!

It was fun to spend time with my niece and nephew. They are adorable as always. Before we left for the marathon we had conference on. My niece turned off the TV and said, "That's Sunday stuff. Today is Saturday." LOL! Kids say the funniest things!

Speaking of conference, I was sad to miss the Saturday morning session- especially since President Monson announced 6 new temples! Boy, you miss one session and you feel like you've missed so much. I heard he was pretty late to conference too. Well, luckily it's available online and I've already watched it and some of the priesthood session too. I'm so grateful for modern day prophets and apostles to lead and guide us.

Anyway, it was a great weekend away! Congrats to Traci and Gary for finishing the marathon!

26 by 26

My weight: It's something I don't like to talk about, a reality I don't like to face. I've struggled with my weight my whole life. The other day I came across a picture of me right after my freshman year of high school. I had been in aerobics class everyday and lost a lot of weight. I looked good and was very healthy. Today, not so much.

So, I have a goal. I'm making it public so I can feel more accountable. The fact that I'm talking about it is a big deal, because I don't talk about it at all. My goal: Lose 26 pounds by the time I turn 26. That gives me 6 months. I definitely want to lose more, but that's a start. I don't want to disappoint others and myself, so I'm going to do my best to work hard and remind myself of my goal.

Here's to making my life better!

It's Conference Time Again?!

I'm so pumped for conference this weekend! I feel more excited for it than I've felt in a long time. I think it has something to do with the fact that I don't have to worry and stress about how I'm going to get homework done... I can just enjoy conference. Also, I'm headed to St. George to watch conference and to support my sister and bro-in-law as they run in the St. George marathon. It should be a good weekend. I'm definitely looking forward to playing with my cute niece and nephew. :)

But seriously, how does time go by so stinkin' fast? It seems like it was just the other day that I was at conference in the media room. I can hardly believe 6 months have gone by. Whoa. Time sure flies when you are busy.

Anyway, I'm grateful we have a living prophet today and apostles to lead and guide us. I can't wait to hear what they have to say to us!

More Hiking/Outdoor Fun

My friend Brandi and I.

A view of the valley. By the time we were done it was dark and looked really neat. We could even see the temple.

I had the point-and-shoot with me, so the quality wasn't that great.

Tonight for FHE we hiked up to Battlecreek Falls in Pleasant Grove. It was an easy hike- only 1.5 miles each way and not too many steep hills. I've hiked it before several years ago. By the time we got to the falls it was kind of dark. It was still pretty though.

I'm really enjoying this nice weather while it lasts. Today I drove up Provo Canyon to see the Fall colors. I wouldn't say they are at their peak yet, there's still a lot of green up there. But, they are starting to change and are pretty. I stopped at Bridal Veil Falls to take pictures. (Those will come soon.)

"It'll All Be Worth It In The End"

17 Miracles was released on DVD/Blue-ray last week. There's one line from the movie that has been running through my mind lately and that is, "It'll all be worth it in the end." The faith of the pioneers was so great. I can't even imagine the trials they had to endure.

I'm reminded of a quote by Orson F. Whitney: "No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude, and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our soul, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God."

It'll all be worth it end the end. Remember that!

Stewart Falls

I went hiking up to Stewart Falls (near Sundance in Provo Canyon) with some people from my ward yesterday. It was a lot of fun. The hike is supposed to be considered "easy," but there were definitely some rigorous uphill parts. I'm only a little sore today. :)

I didn't bring my camera because it had been rainy, so I didn't want to risk getting my camera wet. Also, I didn't want everyone to have to stop so I could take pictures. I'm a little sad about it, because it was really pretty up there. The leaves are starting to change. Oh well. A girl from my ward got the shot above.

Anyway, yay for happy times! I'm so glad I have friends in my new ward.

Photo Dump!

I was looking over some recent posts and I noticed I've been seriously lacking in posting pictures. So, here are a bunch of random ones from my phone recently.


He's so cute, isn't he? He loves this blue toy. We call it the "blue doggy," but it was actually a blue bear at one point.

All tuckered out. Using his blue toy as a pillow.

Silly girl.

Me.

This year we have about 7 lemons on our lemon tree! That's got to be record. And yes, that's a lemon. They never seem to turn yellow.

Mom, Dad, and I went to "Dickies" (a BBQ place) recently. These were actually PLASTIC! They look so real!

I've been enjoying walks/runs around my parents' house. The scenery is great. The mosquitoes and manure smell, not so much.