Latest Pinterest Project

image source: pinterest.com

My version.

Closer look. My only regret is the brown paper I used. I wish I would have used a lighter brown. (Pics aren't very good because they were taken with my phone, f.y.i.)

I'd Rather be Single...

In recent years I've had some rather hurtful comments made to me such as, "When are you going to get married?" or "Marriage is great. You should try it. (naw. really?)" Here's my two cents: I'd rather be single than divorced or unhappily married. In fact, I'd rather be single for a million years than have to go through divorce or be unhappily married.

I've been thinking that a lot lately. It seems like there have been a lot of people I know (acquaintances) getting divorced lately. It makes me so sad. :( You throw kids and eternal covenants into the mix and it makes me even more sad. They are people I would have never thought would get divorced. Now, I know I cannot judge. I am not in their shoes. There are so many circumstances surrounding divorce.

But still, it makes me sad. It also makes me realize my life isn't too bad. I'll live up the single life while it's here. When/if the opportunity to get married comes, I am not going to take it lightly. I'm learning from other's lives.

Weekend in Washington

{Washington, UT that is} This weekend I headed down south with Christi and her friend, Lindsay. We left Friday evening after I got off work. Saturday morning I watched and played with the kids while Traci and Gary went for a run (and Christi and Lindsay slept in). That afternoon Christi, Lindsay and I went to IHOP. Yummy yummy. I'm not a breakfast food person (if you know me, you know I'm a picky eater), but I was able to find a few things I liked. :) We also did a little shopping. It was mostly looking around for me, I didn't end up purchasing much.

Saturday evening I took family pics for Traci and co. Some of them can be seen on my Facebook page (please like my page if you'd be so kind!). The kids did really well. We were all rewarded with Coldstone afterward.

Sunday morning we played with the kids while Traci and Gary attended the Brigham City Temple Dedication (via satellite). When they got back the rest of us went to the next session. It was really great. A very spiritual experience for me. I'm so grateful for temples!

After that we had a yummy dunch (dinner/lunch) of roast beef, veggies, rolls, mashed potatoes and yummy M&M cookies.

We then headed back home. It went by way too fast, but it was fun while it lasted!

God is the Gardner

This Mormon Message came out yesterday. It could not have come at a better time for me. I found out I didn't get the job. I was so, so, SO disappointed. I really wanted that job and felt it was perfect for me. I feel like I've been "cut down." But, God is the Gardner and knows what He wants to me to be, as hard as that is. It's a growing period. Hopefully one day I'll be able to look back on the past several months and thank God for loving me enough to hurt me.

Blessed.

I'm feeling very blessed tonight. I went to a wonderful mission farewell today (top picture- me with Kelsee (middle, the missionary)-my former roommate and Morgan (also former roommate). Yesterday I went up the canyon with Mom, Dad, and Indy. The colors at higher elevations are starting to turn and they are gorgeous (see more pics at my Facebook page). As I was photographing and admiring the spectacular colors the thought occurred to me that those beautiful colors are evidence of a loving Heavenly Father. He could have just made them black and white. But, no, every fall we have the opportunity to experience beautiful colors.

Tonight I attended a fireside given by two Deseret Book authors. One of them, Sister Freeman, is in our YSA Stake Relief Society Presidency. They spoke about various things. I was touched as Sister Belcher shared her story. She's blind. She lost her eyesight to cancer nine years ago. I can't even imagine how hard that would be. She no longer gets to experience those beautiful fall colors. I am blessed to have my eyesight.

Last night I got to have dinner with my sister, bro-in-law and cute little niece and nephew who were in town. I knew my nephew was coming to dinner so I bought some bubble gum. He LOVES it when I blow bubbles and he pops them. It's cute(and I don't care if it's kind of gross).

It's been a nice, relaxing weekend. It's reminded me that I just need to look for the little things. There are so many small blessings all around me every day.

I'm hoping and praying for a good week ahead. I still haven't heard back about my interview. Perhaps this will be the week. I know I have several people rooting for me and praying for me every day. Thank you so much. It means a lot.

Hope everyone has a good week!

The Economy of Heaven

(Image from http://www.mormonmodern.com/a-loaf-of-bread/)

The past seven months I've been in the "working world" I've learned a lot. I've learned a lot about the business world and about who I am and who I want to be. I think the most important thing I've learned is that honesty is vital. I've learned that there's a lot of dishonesty in the business world. I think some people become so desensitized that they are past the point of even realizing what they are doing is wrong.

I was placed in a situation today where I had to choose between pleasing my boss and doing what I know in my heart is honest. It was what you'd call a "moral dilemma." It didn't take me long to figure out what I was going to do though. I knew I had to do the right thing, even if it meant placing my job in jeopardy. I thought about it and talked to Mom about it on my lunch break. I came to the conclusion that in the eternal scheme of things, what matters most in the situation I was in is whether or not I was honest.

In the few moments when I was thinking about what to do, I reflected on things I've been taught and know to be right. I know that God will bless us when we do what is right. That knowledge gave me the courage to make the right choice. I realized that that is faith and I have more of it than I give myself credit for.

I am very emotional as I write this. The past few months have been very, very hard for me (blogging is kind of where I take it out and has helped me a lot, though). I don't understand why. But, I do know that God knows why. This life was never meant to be easy. We can't expect it to be cake walk when we want eternal life as a reward. The comforting thing is to know that we can have Heavenly Father's help as we face trials.

I love the quote I posted above. It kind of relates. In the end, it's not going to matter how much money I made, who of my peers I pleased the most, how I looked, etc. What will matter is how I lived my life. And, “Till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me” (Job 27:5).

A Call For Prayer

One more post tonight.

Ok, ok, I know I've been asking for prayers a lot lately. Well, truth is I've really needed them. BUT, I need your prayers now more than ever. That interview I had on Friday... yeah, that was at the Deseret Book Corporate Office. I really, really, want to work there. Right now is a crucial time because in the coming weeks the people I interviewed with will be deciding who they'll pick for the job.

The Bible dictionary states, "The object of prayer is not change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them."

So, obviously, if it is not the Lord's will then I won't get the job. But, if it is, I can secure that blessing by asking for it, along with help from others. I truly believe in the power of prayer. (Side note- I know I asked everyone to pray for me to get that job at BYU. But, I learned that it was one of those times where it wasn't the Lord's will.)

So, please, will you join me in prayer for this great cause (my happiness at work :) )? Thank you, thank you. :)

Be Still My Soul

Thought I'd post something a little more positive on here tonight. Love this renditon by David.

And... It Continues

*Warning* This is a venting post.

Honestly, this week has been the worst week of the year for me (and my family). Let's re-cap: Mom in the hospital, Dad's truck dies, Carrie gets a nasty cold, Carrie loses wallet, Carrie spills apple juice all over the floor, Carrie spills pasta all over the floor.

Those last few things just happened today. My cold has gotten worse. This afternoon I decided to make a smoothie for my Mom and I (since a smoothie would be nice on her stomach). I put the ingredients in the blender and all of the sudden apple juice is dripping everywhere. I discovered the ring on the bottom of the blender was not screwed tight enough.

Then, this afternoon I went to Wal-mart. About four hours later I realized my wallet was missing. I looked all over the house, my car, etc. I called Wal-mart to see if it was there. They said they hadn't seen it. My Mom suggested that I go over there to look for it. I admit, I thought that was silly since I just called them and they said it wasn't there. But, I went. I walked up to the service desk and told them I had just called, but I wondered if it was there by chance. At that moment the guy who was my cashier walked by (he was headed home) and told me he was so glad I came back. It was indeed there. He had given it to Dallas.

So, the girl at the desk calls Dallas to come to the front of the store. I wait. And wait. And wait. Finally, a lady comes walking towards me. I asked her if she was Dallas (you never know... it could be a girl.) She said no. I told her my wallet was missing and Dallas had it. She said, "Oh, you're the one I spoke to on the phone." She was really skeptical and seemed like she didn't even know why I was there, because she told me they didn't have my wallet. She left and several minutes later someone came out with my wallet! What an ordeal!

It was such a tender mercy that the guy who was my cashier was just getting ready to leave when I came. Also, the reason I even discovered my wallet was missing was because I was going to go to Hobby Lobby. I didn't want to because I wasn't feeling too great (due to my cold), but I decided I'd head over there anyway. I'm SO glad I decided to. Had I not, I probably wouldn't have realized my wallet was missing until I headed to work on Monday. (For the record, I didn't end up going to Hobby Lobby tonight.)

Later tonight I opened the fridge and a container of pasta noodles fell all over the floor. I went to sweep them up, but soon realized I had the dust pan backwards so the noodles weren't going in! (I admit, it was humorous. But not to me at the time.)

Boy, what a week! I'm so glad tomorrow is Sunday, the start of a new week. I'm ready to start over.

I once read something that said, "All great things are preceded by chaos." The Lord must have some great things in store for me.

P.S. If you haven't noticed, I like to write. Maybe I should write a book. Apparently I like telling stories. Hmm.

Looonnngg Week

This week was really long. I was off Monday, so I spent the whole day at the hospital with Mom. I took Tuesday off as well and also spent the day at the hospital. The rest of the week I went to work and went to the hospital in the evening.

My sleep schedule is all messed up. If you know me, you know I love (and need) my sleep! I haven't gotten much this week. I'm quite exhausted.

Today was a very good day though. Mom came home from the hospital. AND, I had an interview. Before my interview I went to grab some lunch at the City Creek food court. I sat down at an empty table. Soon after a lady came and asked if she could sit there too (it was a large table). She told me she liked to "people watch." I do too. We got talking and had a nice conversation. I told her I was about to go to an interview. As I was leaving she said, "Can I give you some advice?" Of course, I said yes. She said something to the effect of, "Go somewhere and say a little prayer. I've learned that I am not enough. I will never be good enough. I need Heavenly Father's help." It was something like that, but she said it better. It really touched me. I seriously almost started crying. It was a tender mercy to me.

My interview went well (at least I thought it did). Really, I felt at peace about it (and still do). I've accepted the fact that I can't do it on my own. All I can do is my best. I know Heavenly Father does want me to be happy with my job, and things will work out eventually (that's the hard part!). I've done my best. The rest is in God's hands. Of course, I will be bummed if I don't get it, but I'll get over it. If I don't get it, then Heavenly Father has other plans for me.

Here's to hoping for a better week next week!

ICU- We don't want to see you!

Early Sunday evening Mom's co-worker called dad and told him mom was in the ER. So, of course, we (Dad and I) rushed down there. When we got there mom was shaking and didn't look good at all- she was really pale. She said she was in a lot of pain. In fact, she said it was worse pain than delivering us kids naturally (I actually just learned last night that we were all delivered naturally- no c-sections, no epidurals.) She was in A LOT of pain. She kept asking for more pain medicine.

I called Chad to have him come give her a priesthood blessing with Dad. So, they did that. Christi got a ride down from Logan and came to the hospital as well. Buffy was there too.

The doctors did some x-rays and cat scans and finally figured out that she had a twisted intestine (in essence... they explained it all in technical terms. I still don't fully understand what was going on). The blood flow was being cut off and that's why she was in a lot of pain.

At about midnight they took her in for emergency surgery. We waited in the waiting room. I tried to sleep a bit, but the furniture there is not very comfy! At about 1:30 the surgeon came out and told us the surgery went well. However, Mom's body temeperature was lower than normal, so they kept her in the ICU.

She was in the ICU for a good portion of the day on Monday. Monday afternoon she got moved to a normal room. She'll be in the hospital recovering for the rest of the week. After that, she'll be recovering at home for at least another week.

It has been an exhausting, crazy couple of days. And, on top of everything, Dad's truck died on the freeway as he was driving home from the hospital the other night. Luckily he was able to coast to the side of the road. He had it towed home and the neighbor was able to fix it.

I tell ya, when it rains it pours! My poor Mom... had to deal with losing her Mom in June, had knee surgery a few weeks ago, and now this. And, Chad and Buffy have to "hospital hop" now. (Buffy's sister-in-law is still in the hospital... and will be for a while).

We hope things will calm down a bit! That'd be nice!

As my last post states, "This too shall pass."

"This too shall pass"

This was taken tonight after the storm. The sky looked so pretty!

This afternoon I headed to do a session at the Timpanogos temple. It was stormy (thunder, rain, etc.) outside when I entered the temple. I was surprised as the session ended and I entered the Celestial room that there was bright sunlight coming in through the windows. It's amazing how quickly the weather can change. Immediately, I had the thought something along the lines of "the storms in our lives will pass too." It was a powerful witness from the Spirit to me. Our trials won't last forever. "This too shall pass."

As I was in the temple I also thought of a quote by President Hinckley: "I am asking that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight." Love it.

Just thoughts to think about.