Turn of events...

I realize I am officially the world’s worst blogger, but for some reason I was randomly reminded today that I actually have a blog and decided that I should write. 
 

Quick update on my life since the last time I wrote.  In June my family went to Hawaii, and had a blast. I was offered a job at Dixie State College in July and decided I should probably move to St. George if I was going to actually work there.

But before the move I went to Lake Powell with my family. We had a blast and not to mention while we were there Luke proposed. Luckily the diamond ring was fake because I lost it in the bottom of the lake. Whoops! But we are getting married on October 20, 2012 and that day could not come any sooner I swear.

So I am living in St. George now, planning this wedding. I have a cute little apartment that Luke and I will live in after we get married. Life is good. And can I just say I love getting to see Luke every day. I do not know for the life of me why we ever did long distance dating. Somehow we have survived though.

But I don’t like my blog being all about me. Here are some things I have learned as of late:

· Just elope; it’s so much easier than planning a wedding.

· With increased vision comes increased motivation.

· There are some really dumb people that go to college.

· If you wash your car, it’s almost a guarantee that it will rain.

· Buying a 3.5 pound bag of Swedish fish at Costco, is definitely a bad idea!

· The humor section on Pinterest can entertain you for hours.

· I am kind of a big deal.

I know I am full of wisdom and have learned so much in the past 8 months…. OK so maybe these things aren’t necessarily raising my IQ but they have been life changing life lessons. I now will know better in the future. 

  

(and I hope to put up pictures soon.)

Fashion Fades, Only Style Remains

Three months have passed since my last post and in a way it blows my mind that so much time has passed. But my life in a nut shell: I am currently substitute teaching and also working for my older sister doing her advertising and such for her business, It's a Piece of Cake! I'm loving both jobs and loving getting to spend lots of time with the fam here in Vegas.

A cake my sister just made! She is amazing!

 And did I mention I've been playing a lot. Probably a bit too much... Whoops. You only live once right?

Christmas, New Year's,and other pointless holidays, like Groundhog's Day, have come and gone, and they all were great. And Scott is finally home. It has been nice having him around. My parents don't worry about me as much anymore. It really is fantastic.... And that is the not so exciting update on my life.



At the dunes having a good time!

As for things that have been on my mind as of the last three months, well lots, but the thing on my mind today that deems itself to be blog worthy is a quote that I heard a while back by Oscar Wilde. It came to mind today as I observed all the different styles of clothing girls were wearing at church. He said, "Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months!



Our little family welcoming Scott home from Russia at the airport!

That just makes me laugh cause it is so true. Especially nowadays since fashion trends are just repeating what my parents wore.... Crazy. I don't know what's cool these days nor do I try to keep up, but I do enjoy a good laugh from the plethora of styles expressed by people. You never know what people might be wearing. It's great! I guess how we dress is a way of expression, but if it were up to me.... No one would wear shoes and we would dress for comfort.... But hey that's just me. Just a bit of the random on my mind today.



Stay classy my friends!

Attitude of Gratitude

So this past week I had the lovely opportunity to travel to the beautiful town of Parowan, Utah for Thanksgiving with my parents and sisters.  I went boarding, hung out with friends, and had a good time.  It was a typical Thanksgiving feast, and of course we were laughing before the prayer even began, nothing too out of the ordinary.  Except maybe the fact that Tay wrecked her car on some black ice and took out a tree and lost some essential parts to her car.  I wrecked the four wheeler, and dad rolled his jeep.  

Oh and I got a good fortune in my fortune cookie for once.  But rather than that, it was a pretty normal week.  No one was injured too badly, except maybe some vehicles, and through all of that I guess I really have been thinking a lot about gratitude.

A sister at church today said, "Grateful People are Happy People."  I really started thinking about how true that statement is.  I am the most happy, when I am grateful for my blessings.  It was just a profound statement I guess. 

 But I also loved a saying I came across the other day that said, "What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?"  I found that like a day or two before Thanksgiving. Let's just say it gave me the motivation I needed to re evaluate how my prayers had been going and make the resolution to be more thankful.


And one last thing I heard today at church really struck a chord with me.  A counselor in our Bishopric was telling a story about a bus driver he had become acquainted with.  He asked the bus driver one day, How are you doing today?"  And the bus driver said, "I am too blessed to be stressed, and too anointed to be disappointed!" 


I loved that. What that bus driver said I feel like has changed my life today.  I am truly so blessed with so many blessings.  When I have an attitude of gratitude I don't have any reason to stress or get worked up.  I truly have seen over the past week that I am a happier person when I am grateful.

(OK, So I am still waiting for this to come true.)

Happiness Happens.....

I haven't posted in a long time, and its definitely not because I am too busy.  Mostly it is because I forgot for a short while that I had a blog.  Whoops! And then today I randomly remembered, or maybe I was tired of looking for jobs and working on my resume so I looked for any distraction and my blog came to my mind.  Eh, it is what it is.

So my thought today comes from a scripture in Mormon 9:14.  The last part of this verse stuck out to me.  It says, "...he that is happy shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy shall be unhappy still."

(Don't these little penguins look oh so happy, I love it.)

I've been pondering on this, and today it dawned on me that if we cannot figure out how to get happy in this life, then we are not going to be happy in the next.  I think about being happy a lot, because I see so many unhappy people.  I know it's hard times, and the world sucks sometimes, but there is so much to be happy about.

I feel I am relatively happy and I attribute my happiness to the single fact that I know God loves me, and I know for a fact He did not send me, or anyone else for that matter, here to earth to be miserable.  He just would not do that.

 I had this epiphany today when I started getting a bit frustrated and cranky.  I guess I just realized that no matter what happens, if we want to be eternally happy, we had better get happy now.  Plus there is always something to be happy about! 

For example like the fact that Elder Beckwith comes home in 52 days, I am excited to say the least!

Glass Half Full

I read signs a lot while I am driving.  It's rather annoying actually.  But I passed a sign the other day that said, "It's a glass half full kinda day."

I read that and smiled and thought, ya it is.  The sun was shining, I just finished watching conference, which was amazing by the way, and was driving in my new car.  It really was a good day. 

Each day has the potential to be great.  I mean shoot yesterday morning I went out running, and it started pouring rain, and I got soaked.  What a bummer, I was wet, but hey I got to end my run early.  (Maybe I am just lazy).  Still haven't found a job, haven't really looked too hard either, but hey my dad takes me out to lunch just about every day.  I mean really does life get any better than that? 

I've just decided each day is a glass half full kinda day, it's all about how ya look at it. 

(Random picture of Scott, but hey he looks like he's having a glass half full kinda day!)

Charity Never Faileth

So I have been home from Philly for three weeks now.  I am officially a returned missionary and it is the weirdest thing! But I am home with my family, it feels good, and I am glad to be here, even if I still miss Philly a lot. 

I learned over my mission that charity and love truly are the greatest Christ like attributes we can obtain in this life.  I learned on my mission how important it is that we love people regardless of who they are, what their background is, or where they are at in life.  I now understand that if we love people as the Savior does, then we will find joy in our own lives. 

Moron 7:46 says, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth.  Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail."

I love being home.  I loved my mission.  I love everyone I have met, and I am making it a point to love every person that I meet from here on out, because I truly know that without charity and love, I will fail. 

 

Going Home...

 In Mark chapter 5 the story is told of Christ casting out a legion of devils that were in a bunch of swine. There were a lot of people who witnessed this and after they witnessed the miracle, Christ said unto the people, "Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee" (Mark 5:19).

I was pondering on this story and how Christ always invites us to share with others the miracles and the great things that He is constantly doing for each and every one of us.  I have been reflecting a lot lately on this, because in a few days I will be returning home to my friends and my family.  I wonder what it will be like to no longer be a full time missionary.  It is almost hard to remember what it is like to not be a missionary.  I find myself wondering and worrying about what I will talk with people about, what will I do, etc. 

 But when I read this account I realized that I love what the counsel the Savior gives.  I realized that I am going to do exactly as the Savior asks.  I cannot wait to go home and tell everyone I know how many miracles I have witnessed as a missionary.  How many amazing people I have met, and how many lives I have seen changed for the better because of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

I know that Jesus Christ lives and that He has been a part my mission here in Philadelphia, and that He always has and always will be watching over me.  I will continue to look for the miracles in my life, and cannot wait to see how the Lord will continue to bless me.