Day #44: And they all lived happily ever after... One day.

Sometimes, life is hard.
Sometimes it's just medium hard... but other times, it's real hard.
Like REAL hard.

And I've definitely learned that no one is exempt from it.
At some point, we all have to pass through the allies of loneliness, despair, heartache, and the other millions of unpleasant emotions that are a part of human experience.

Why?
Wouldn't it just be easier to be happy all of the time?
Wouldn't it just be better if we all fell in love with someone, could completely trust one another, rely on each other, love Heavenly Father unfailingly, and live happily ever after?

Would it be nice? Probs.
Would it be better? I doubt it.  No it wouldn't.

The valleys of life are not fun.  They hurt. Lots.
But we learn from them.
Through them we have the opportunity to become even more.
We are given a gift: the gift of becoming more like our Savior.
I'm not going to feign a cheery attitude about these incredibly difficult moments of our lives by saying that growth is a sweet experience... but I will say that it is definitely worth it.

"The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. these persons have an appreciation,a sensitivity, an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen." ~Elisabeth Kubler Ross

Who am I to tell my Father in Heaven where He needs me or what will be best for me?
I have seen too many times in my life how the most painful experiences have brought the greatest of blessings.  I have learned time and time again that when we push forward in faith in the path that the Lord has laid before us, never ceasing to trust in Him, He can do so much more with our lives than we ever could on our own.

Each time, I become a little more refined, a little more purified, and a little closer to my Heavenly Father.
We're becoming pretty good friends by now.

I could put a million and a half applicable quotes to take up the rest of my blog post, but I think I'll just leave you with a few final thoughts.
First of all, everyone should read this talk RIGHT. NOW.
Your Happily Ever After by President Uchtdorf

Second of all, this scripture:
"O Lord, I have ^atrusted in thee, and I will ^btrust in thee forever. I will not put my ^ctrust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his ^dtrust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.

 Yea, I know that God will give ^aliberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ^bask ^cnot amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the^drock of my ^erighteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen." (2 Nephi 4:34-35)

Last of all, I just want to bear my testimony:

I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for us.  If he cared enough to be involved in the fine details of making sure I was blessed enough to meet the wonderful people that have influenced my life, I know that he will continue to guide my path and footsteps as I continually push forward in faith.  I know that He hears and answers my prayers.  Everyone's prayers.  He loves so much for us to turn to Him, and by so doing, I know that we are blessed with peace and comfort.  I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.  He died so that we might return to Him, and He lives to succor my soul bring peace to my heart.  He is a real person. He is not a character from a story.  He has suffered our pains and is here for us every step of the way. I am grateful for every opportunity that has been presented for me to grow closer to Him, to become more like Him.  I am grateful for the love He has extended to me: for the opportunity to experience that love in a very real way for other people.  I know that the Holy Ghost acts as God's messenger and brings this love and peace into our hearts.  I know that they are real beings that help me every single day.  For that I am eternally grateful.  Of these things I testify in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Day #43: Religious, Southern, Trailer-born, Middle-Child Finds Joy, Confidence, and Love.

A TRAILER PARK -- 
My dad always says, "You can take the people out of the trailer, but you can't take the trailer out of the people."  I was born while my dad was finishing school at BYU in what was then the BYU married student trailer park at Wyview.  During this time, my dad was going to school and working while my mom stayed at home with my older sister and I.  My parents had to sacrifice so much to make this possible, but their example and the way that they raised us through this time has shaped who I am today.  First of all, this has impacted how I view the important things in life.  Because of my parents example, I find it so important to put the important things in life first: God, family, and people being at the top of the list.  Although we didn't have much during this time, my sister and I wanted for nothing.  We were children who knew laughter, dancing, music, and great joy!  Again, this trailer park instilled in us the knowledge that material goods are not the key to happiness, but rather righteousness, laughter, and family.




$10,000+ DOLLARS --

I worked very hard while I was growing up even though I did not have a steady job with a set income.  I babysat a lot and mowed my lawn on occasion, but mostly, I worked hard at school.  My mom told me that if I worked at it, I would be able to get scholarships and school would be my job.  While school and education in and of itself was always important to me, I always had another secret dream that motivated my desire to succeed: to travel and study abroad.  However, such a goal would cost a great price.  As I came to school, I continued to work towards my goal and was extremely blessed to be able to go to the BYU Jerusalem center over this past summer and had enough financial support to be able to accomplish this goal.  This experience and the Holy Land changed my life.  Through the people I met, the experiences that I had, and the places I visited, I learned more about myself and about life.  I gained a love for a people I had never met before and developed a desire to serve and connect to more peoples of the world who have different cultures than my own.  Most importantly, this experience strengthened my testimony, which is at the heart of who I am.  This wonderful place is where my Savior lived, taught, walked, died, and arose.  I came to know Him, and I am continually trying to put Him, His Father, and their gospel at the center of my life.  This experience definitely helped me continue on this path. The $10,000+, though a large chunk of money, got me on a life shaping adventure that I will forever be grateful for, and is representative of my belief in hard work, blessings, my Savior, and the confidence that I gained from this experience.




A PAIR OF JEANS --

In between my freshman and sophomore years of high school, my family moved from Georgia to Utah.  This move across the country rocked my world; it was culture shock.  The weekend after we moved was youth conference.  Because we had to wear long pants, and all of our pants were in boxes, we almost did not get to go.  However, our young women's leader stopped by our house and told us that she was going to take us to the D.I. to buy some jeans so that we would be able to attend this youth conference. While we were at this conference, we met a girl named Jillian who was moving to Indiana.  Jillian introduced me to a girl that would be going to my high school named Kirsten.  Kirsten ended up introducing me to people who would change my life forever.  The friends that she introduced me to taught me so much about what it means to love.  They taught me what it meant to have good fun and gave me the opportunity to practice being an example and to practice uplifting and loving.  These people shaped the way that I look at people and my desire for close friendships.  I will forever be grateful for the leader who saw fit to take me to buy a pair of jeans.  These jeans are symbolic of Heavenly Father's hand in my life and how I believe that He has blessed me with the experiences in life that I need when I need them.

Day #42: Jerucrew!!!!!

Here's a couple of pictures just so you can at least begin to put a few faces with a few names! (:
Also, my computer is in a weird Hebrew mode.... so I'm feeling a little confused about some of the weird punctuation.... but oh well.... love you lots! hope this keeps you happy!!!!!!

 This is me at the Dome of the Rock!!!!!!! I get to looks at it everyday.... just not this close.

 On the way up to the Pergamum Acropolis in Turkey! Kimmy, Cameron, and Paul Bradshaw(Nathan's cousin

 Some of the boys: from left to right: Taylor, Scott, Paul, Mike, Stephen, and Dallin is at the top of the little pyramid

 Roomi Date in the city!!!! from left to right: Vic, Corny, Sammie! k

 Just some of the awesome members of the Schade bus nbd (you'll read about this event in this weeks coming installment (;

McKay, Me, and Dallin (from left to right

Day #41: Tart and Tangy.

"Life.

Life is like a lime.

Ooo, it's tart and tangy.

Sweet, oh so sublime.

Quiet.

Speechless like a mime.

Bold and noisy like a crime.

So don't you dare waste my time,

'Cause life can stop...

On a dime."

~Walt Disney's An Extremely Goofy Movie

This poem has a lot of truth in it.

And it's always stuck with me.

Partially because this girl is just AWESOME.

Srsly though. Check her out.

Day #40: January.

So today, I started thinking of all the reasons I have to hate January:
1) I have to walk through temperatures that range from -4 to 14 degrees at 7:45 in the morning to go to class.
2) Inversion. Makes Utah County to where it has the worst air quality in the nation (that is NOT an exaggeration. it's a fact.). Makes it to where I can't see my beautiful mountains even though they are only two feet away from me (that IS an exaggeration).  Makes it that much colder.
3) I can't play outside. Well I could I suppose... but I run the risk of getting frostbite or slipping on the black ice that is everywhere and becoming permanently paralyzed... which frankly would be no bueno.
4) Trying to learn a new schedule.
5) Having to leave my family after an amazing break.
6) Having to find a new place to live next year.
7) Having to pay money.
8) Having to apply to my program.


But then, as I have found is typical in my life, as soon as I started coming up with the reasons I should be miserable, I knew I was having a rotten attitude and that I really have a whole awful lot to be thankful for.  Heavenly Father has been SO good to me, and sometimes I get so caught up in the mundane (like anyone I think) that I fail to keep in the forefront of my mind the truly remarkable and incredible aspects of my life that I fail to recognize.

Hence a list of just a few reasons that I have to love January... most of which occurred just within this past week:
1) My family comes and visits me. My dad came all the way to provo to give me a blessing.  My mom came and took me shopping last Monday and out to eat and we had SO much fun! I love my mom a million red icees.
2) I have the most amazing roommates.  Seriously.  They are so amazing and I love living with them.  They are some of my really good friends and I love how much time I've had recently to spend with them: talking, watching movies, laughing, eating, painting toes, going to volleyball games, etc. etc.
3) I have the best friends from home.  The angels came and we went on an adventure. During break Bekah and I did so much together! Spencalicious came and took me to dinner!
4) Travis (the 7th brother) made Rosie and I dinner on Saturday! And played cards with us.
5) Ritchard, Ashtyn, and I made civil rights cookies! (Nikki Manaj (spelling?) took best of show)
6) I get to study something that I am SO passionate about! I love what I am going into and I am learning so much about life, how to be a better teacher, and how to be a better mom!
7) I get to walk through the cold in warm clothes to go to the preschool where I get to see the loving smiles and learn from the mouths of precious children and an amazing mentor!
8) I have the chance to listen to the Spirit and find out what I need to be doing next year.
9) I have the opportunity and the resources to be able to fulfill a dream and go to Jerusalem.  It may be a lot of money, and some extra work, but in a way, this is one of the things that I have worked for my whole life... and I am so blessed to actually see it be fulfilled.
10) I see people I know on campus and I have friends in classes and on the way to and from class that I get to talk to!
11) The frozen snow and ice is sparkly!!!
12) I could go on... but I won't.

Sometimes, it is the times that you shouldn't be able to see happiness, the times when it is hardest to muster up the strength to smile.... in these times when you turn to the Lord in prayer and with a thankful heart, you are most blessed.  If you allow yourself to open your eyes to the incredible blessings that our Father nearly SURROUNDS you with, you will grow closer to Him AND be happier.  I know that because I have seen it in my own life.

Forum today was really incredible. One of the things he talked about was going about life as a quest, with our eyes wide open to the wonder and beauty all around us; becoming passionate and purposeful in our daily learning and reaching out to others. (i'll add a link to it when it comes out, because it really was pretty phenomenal)

I challenge each of you to go about life looking for ways that the Lord has blessed you each day.
Find His hand in your life....
And pretty soon, you'll be hard-pressed to find a place where His hand is not in your life.

And that is why the good outweighs the bad for the month of January.
And why all I can say at this point is:

I LOVE JANUARY!!!!!! <3

Day #39: Happy MLKJ Day!!!

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Dr. King was an amazing man.
Really.

I just read a book called "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry." (it was phenomenal btw. if you've never read it i strongly recommend it). Anywho, it's about a black family in the 1930s and it was really eye-opening to me.

I can't even imagine living with that kind of constant fear.
The fear of someone burning your house down.
The fear of someone coming in to lynch your daddy in the middle of the night.
Of a white man pushing you off the sidewalk to make way for his own daughter.
The fear of someone just wanting to take away your land.

And if you stood up to it for someone else, the fear that they'd do the exact same thing to you.

That is why Dr. King is an amazing man.
As well as all of those people who were courageous enough to fight for equality.
And not just during Dr. Kind's era either, but the founding fathers, those who have stood up for themselves in religious equality, women's rights, and racial equality.

That is what today is about.

Today is about equality and all of those men and women from our country who have dared to stand up for what they believe in, which was right, no matter who or what stood in the way.

And I am so grateful for all of those people.

Happy day (:

Day #38: The King.

Today is The King's birthday.
THE King's birthday.
Elvis Presley.

My obsession with Elvis started when I was in a musical with all Elvis music.
And then extended as my grandparents took me to Pigeon Forge Tennessee the summer after.
It might have even started in my childhood with my parents Elvis cds and listening to the soothing and powerful "American Trilogy" at Stone Mountain as the generals rode through the battle. (which, if you haven't heard that song and want to know what the South sounds like... that's pretty much it.... i LOVE that song)
And I haven't looked back.
I have seen 3 Elvis impersonators, own 41 Elvis songs, have 2 Elvis lunchboxes, a pack of Elvis playing cards, and a blue suede shoes Elvis ornament.

I guess you could say I just like Elvis.

So happy birthday Elvis!!!! Thank you for keeping me entertained.
And thank you to my grandparents who helped to kindle my love of Elvis.

Also, my grandpa and I used to imitate this video.... and we think we're pretty funny when we do that (: Enjoy.

Also shout out to my friend Cody who's birthday is also today. (: