The First Christmas

This is a poem I wrote when I was about twelve years old. Every year at Christmas I stop and think about how amazing it would have been to be there. I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

First Christmas I wish I was standing there on that first Christmas night. That I could see the star so bright. The star that led the Wiseman there. And here the special Christmas prayer. Listen to the angels sing. Glory to the new born king. Fell the love that Mary felt. See the place where the shepherds knelt. Feel Josephs loving hands. Be a part of the angelic bands. I wish I was standing there on that first Christmas night. See baby Jesus, feel his loving light.

Weather the Storm.....

Life has a way of piling things on top of you all at once until you are buried so deep you don't think you will ever get out. And sometimes your afraid if one more thing gets thrown on the pile you are going to break. But have you ever realized, that one thing that gets thrown on the top always seems to set the pile off balance and before you know it the pile has toppled and you're out from under it. Granted, you are left surrounded by a huge mess, but you aren't buried anymore. That is how my life has felt the last little while. During the summer everything was awesome. I had found new independence in an apartment of my own, with the best roommate! I was dating the most miraculous guy, my family and I had some pretty great times, the weather was wonderful, work was going well and I worked with some pretty awesome people. I was getting ready to start my first semester of College(FINALLY!) and I was sooo ready for that! I had the greatest friends, and I didn't know if life could get any better. Then slowly one by one things started to change. College started which was bitter sweet. I am truly thankful for my opportunity to begin my advanced education but it has been a bit overwhelming. My computer has been having issues so I've spent a lot of time at my brothers, or at the library working on assignments. I got to kiss my naps after work goodbye because I knew I probably wouldn't make it to class on time if I let myself lay down for a nap(and I proved myself right a few times.....) and, I stressed myself out wayyy too much about things that turned out to be pretty dumb. However, I gained some pretty great new friends through my classes. And I figured out what I need to do to better structure my time(granted I didn't actually figure this out until like, last week!) Now I'm to the very last week-- FINALS! I am proud to say I made it through my first semester, even though sometimes it felt like all the odds were against me. My wonderful little apartment is still wonderful. But it has been a bit of a challenge for me to keep on top of everything. Work, classes, homework, sleep, housework.... there are not enough hours in the day!!! My sweet roommate has been so patient with me throughout it all. She gentely reminds me when it's my turn to do the dishes and I haven't done them. She reminds me of little things I need to do to help myself when she notices me starting to stress. and she just loves me despite everything. I am so thankful for her and the blessing she has been in my life. As in the lives of most young adults, break ups happen. and they SUCK! It's hard to lose someone you care so much about. And the lessons that come along with it are hard ones to learn. I have found so many things I need to work on in my life to help me be prepared for the young man that I will marry. I have also discovered some important qualities and attributes I want in my future husband. I know dating is designed to help us prepare for our future, I just wish sometimes it didn't have to refine is in quite such a hard way. When school started back up some of my friends went elsewhere for school, and others our schedules just don't mesh well so it has been sad to not see them as much. However, I am so grateful for my friends. With the loss of time with some of them, I have gained time spent with a few. Heidi Thorne and Beka Glenn and I have spent quite a bit of time together the last few months and I don't know what I would do without our girls nights. I have also had some pretty great 'picnics' with Lexi Nielsen, and those always leave me feeling so..... rejuvenated. Sometimes my times with my girls were the only thing keeping me going that week. I have so many other remarkable friends that check in on me, remind me how loved I am, and just remind me of what I want to be like. I am so truly blessed to have such great friends!! As life got busier, family time got reduced. I miss my little munchkins, but I am looking forward to more time over Christmas break to see them. Along with family time disappearing, so did a bunch of other things: money, sleep, time, cleanliness of my car, my backpack, my room, and my apartment in general(again, my sweet Roommate is so patient with me!) Work has got stressful because it's holidays. Yet at the same time hours are being cut which is ALSO stressful. and then of course the weather-- I don't know about you but I HATE it when the case of the blues sets in along with the winter weather. It has been so neat to see so much wildlife in my yard, but there's just something about this time of year I'm not a fan of.... All and all, These last few months for me have been pretty interesting(to say the least). It seemed like my life was a snowball that had been pushed down the hill and there was NO stopping it! But I think it's starting to melt. It's still rolling for sure, but instead of continuously growing bigger, it's just kinda staying the same size. I have come to realize how TRULY blessed I am to live the life I have. Life has not been a tea-party that's for sure, but I know it could have been a lot worse. There are so many people out there who wish my problems were the biggest problems they had. Some people are dealing with the loss of loved ones, terminal illnesses, unemployment, homelessness, and the list goes on. In the big picture of things, I have a pretty good life. It isn't always easy and I wish I could change it, but I am thankful for the blessings the Lord has given to me and the help he has provided for me. I have learned in these last few months that sometimes you have to reach your breaking point before you are ready for the Lord to reach down, take you by the hand, and take control. He is always there to help, but sometimes you just aren't ready for it quite yet. Sometimes, you have to ask for help. Sometimes you just haven't quite learned what it is you are suppose to learn yet, and sometimes the Lord truly has been helping you along and you were just too stubborn to recognize it.

So, to let everyone in on a little secret I have figured out: Remember, THE LORD LOVES YOU, your family loves you, Your friends love you, I LOVE YOU, and people you don't know are watching and admiring you. YOU ARE NEVER ALONE! And when you feel like you are just remember, the Lord is there. He is carrying you through whatever it is you are going through, even if you don't recognize it at the time. Every day you have something to be thankful for. Some days you may just have to try a little harder to find it. The Lord wants to answer our prayers, but sometimes the answer we are looking for is not the one we are ready to receive. And sometimes, we're just going to have to weather the storm. After all, isn't that how you learn to appreciate the sunshine?!

I LOVE this song! It truly reminds me of how I have been feeling recently. I hope you enjoy it as well.

Welcome to December.....

Well, It's DECEMBER! Know what that means? cummear, I'll tell you.... *whisper* It's almost Christmas!!! *whisper* :) It's also blisteringly cold outside, people start to drive really stupid due to the snow(fact: I almost got hit by the missionaries the other day!!!!!) People are either extremely grumpy, or overly cheerful, and you ALWAYS have a topic of conversation with kids(what do you want Santa to bring you for Christmas?!) It's also the end of the semester. Which means: dead week, and Finals! yuck! But, then we get like, A MONTH OFF!!! YAHOO! and when we go back, we will have new classes which bring new friends, and new adventures. So it will be great!! Last night my roommate Mariana and I spent a little bit of time decorating the apartment for Christmas. We put our tree up and hung some tinsel and put up our Nativity Set. because after all, it wouldn't be Christmas without Christ.

It really helped get into the Christmas mood. Not to mention, there's a little bit of snow outside. It was a much needed distraction. Things have been kinda crazy. Keeping busy with work and school, being sick, and getting everything ready for end of semester and the beginning of next. Plus there's always the stresses of life. It was hard to feel the joy and excitement that Christmas time usually brings, however I think I found it last night! Now let's just hope the snow sticks around because after all, what would it be like to not have a White Christmas? :( Sad I think. Anyway, I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas is one of my favorite Christmas songs! :) It gets super stuck in my head, but that's ok! I hope you enjoy it as well! And I hope you are beginning to feel the Christmas spirit also!!!

just a close up on a few of our cute ornaments we use to put on my family tree when I was younger.

November Thankfulness....

As we are all well aware we just finished up the month of November. What's so special about November? well, there's usually snow, delicious food, family time, and fun holiday traditions(one of my favorites is The Nutcracker!). Plus, the added spitirt of Thanksgiving that most people seem to have. I know it's everywhere during the month of November. and of course, November isn't the only time we should be thankful, but it does seem to manifest itself a lot more around Thanksgiving than any other time of year. So naturally, facebook seems to be one of the best places to talk about life and what you're thankful for. I joined in and did the Thanksgiving thankfulness countdown, and here's what I came up with: November 1: today i'm thankful for rice bags. :) they are so wonderful to curl up with when your body is achy, tired, and cold. November 2: Thankful for sleep. :) I'm feeling much better now! November 3: thankful for amazing friends(and their wonderful husbands that take such good care of them!), great girl talk, pizza, laughter, memories, and continuously building relationships. :) What a fun girls night I had with Heidi and Rebeka! November 4: Today I'm thankful for laughter, naps, pampering oneself, M&M's, heaters, and wonderful friendships that just keep growing stronger despite the fact that although we're at different stages in our lives. Life is so good! November 5: Is grateful today for simple messages that may not mean much to the sender, but did to me. Thank you. November 6: today I'm thankful for my moms awesome sewing skills, sundays, firesides, President Boyde K. Packer, chocolate chip cookies, friends, tissues, testimony meeting, my ward, great movies, laughing with my roommate, puzzles, peanutbutter, and my brothers and sisters. November 7: is thankful for skype, crockpots, laughter, friends, random visits, family home evening, temples, and days off. :) November 8: today I'm thankful for; leftovers, living in Logan, seeing friends on campus, hugs(and meeting my hug quota for the day!), my nieces and nephews, a wonderful sister-in-law that feeds me delicious dinner, facebook conversations, friends with wonderful words of wisdom, my yellow trench coat, the Cha-cha, bluezone, blankets, cold meds, and sleep! :) November 9: today I am thankful for: bananas, my wonderful co-workers, fun people in my classes, facebook(and how much fun it is to argue about for an in class discussion,) the opportunity I have to go to college, free prints at the USU computer labs, my religion, and the many wonderful leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. November 10: today I'm thankful for the wonderful relationship I have with my roommate. And the knowledge that if we need one another, we'll be there. Our fun adventure trying to fix her car, random 10pm trips to walmart, laughter, and being able to vent on bad days. November 11: today I am thankful for family. both extended and immediate. My siblings are the greatest. Went to lunch with most of them today and had a great time! And my nieces and nephews are oh so adorable. I'm thankful that my immediate family lives close so I can see them often and be there to help bring up my lil munchkins. November 12: is thankful today for missionary letters. :) and all of the amazing young men and women serving our Lord and representing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints all across the earth. November 13: today I am thankful for the Gospel, and the Holy Ghost. It's remarkable how it all works. I'm also thankful for great friends and fun times. and Dawna Webb and everything she does for people and the wonderful things she does to bring people together! November 14: today I am thankful for Johnathan in my English class for helping me print my assignment since I forgot my student ID card, Nicole Homer for just being awesome and giving up like a half hour of her afternoon to just sit and chat with me, the academic advisers up on campus for helping me be less stressed about registration, hamburger helper, and all of the wonderful people in my life that put a smile on my face. November 15: today I am thankful that I chose to ride the Aggie shuttle up from the bottom of old main instead of walk because it means I got to see the wonderful Paige McMurdie, and Alex Fronk, the beautiful Heidi Brandley Thorne, and I got to spend more time chatting with the fantastic Lexi Nielsen because I got to class earlier. :) Who knew making a 'lazy' decision could be so beneficial?! ;) hahaha. and I am also grateful for getting to spend time with friends. It's the best! November 16: today I am thankful for good Monday/Wednesday/Friday classes. And all the people that make them good. especially people like Misty Inglet, Nicole Homer, and Ashley Bingham! November 17: Today I am thankful for those times when things just work in your favor, even if at first they don't seem like they will.(I got into all of the classes I wanted!!) November 18: today i'm thankful for shelter from the storms of life- bot in Nature and personal/emotional storms. November 19: had a lot of things to be thankful for today: fun times spent with friends, the beautiful valley I have to live in, good entertainment, friends trusting you with exciting secrets, and seeing two people so in Love and knowing their love is Eternal. :) November 20: Today I am thankful for Cameron Bartlett and his willingness to help me out with what could have been a potentially awkward assignment. :) I am also thankful for my great ward and how strong the spirit always is in our meetings. November 21: today I am thankful for: Cancelled classes, warm blankets, Netflix, and my "remarkable yet not the best idea ever" talent to write good grade earning papers in extremely short amounts of time right before class...... November 22: today I had the opportunity to see my cousin Coden, his beautiful wife Ashlee, and their remarkable baby girl Sophie. Today, I am thankful for miracles. In reality, little Sophie shouldn't be here today but because of modern day technologies, the priesthood, the hand of the Lord, and many answered prayers she is a happy, healthy, growing little girl. It is great having Cody and Ash in Logan and I am really looking forward to getting to spend more time with them and getting to know them better. ♥ family is the greatest. November 23: Today I am thankful for my friends. They are the greatest!! Girls nights are great, spending time with friends I haven't seen for a while is awesome, and hearing cute little stories and getting giddy with my girls from high school will never get old. :)

November 24: Today i'm thankful for the life I have to live. It isn't perfect, there are things I don't like, and there are things I wish I could change, but I am try blessed. I have the best family, adorable nieces and nephews, wonderful friends, a good job, the opportunity to get an advanced education, a nice apartment, the blessing of the Gospel in my life, a beautiful valley to live in, and blessings beyond measure. Never forget that even when life is not going your way that you have so much to be thankful for!

The last few months have not been the easiest for me. I have had struggles, but I have so many things to be thankful for. It is always so fun to record what you were thankful for and then go back and read it a little while later. Some of these things feel like they happened just the other day, and others feel like it was more than just a few weeks ago. It is nice to have the reminder that I am so very blessed. Life may not always go they way I'd hoped or planned, but despite it all, there is ALWAYS something to be thankful for! Even on your hardest days......

USU, Get Connected....

Well, I am finally, OFFICIALLY a student at Utah State University!!!

:) :) This last week has been a crazy one, but it's been really good. I opted to take the USU Connections class for incoming freshman, and it was a really good decision.
Before the class we had an assignment to read the book, Zeitoun. To my surprise, it wasn't half bad. It's by far not something I would chose to read on my own, but it's a book I'm glad I read. It's about a Muslim family during Hurricane Katrina and everything they went through, from the husband deciding to stay and getting arrested, the fight to get him released, his wife taking care of their 4 kids halfway across the US without knowing where he is, to the re-building and growth of New Orleans after the hurricane struck. I learned so much about what actually happened during Hurricane Katrina, because I was so young when it happened i didn't remember much. Then, we had to write a 5 page paper on the book. not too bad.

The class started out on Wednesday, and I got to meet my teacher, my peer mentor, and all the kids in my class. They were all pretty cool. Of course, in every group of people there's the few that are really annoying, especially when most all of them are little 17/18 year old kids who haven't had any taste of reality yet. So there were a few kids I wanted to smack, but overall, it was just fine.
I got to park at the bottom of Old Main every day and hike up the stairs(let's just say, I feel like i've totally got my exercise in for sure this week!) and of course, running all around campus going to seminars, and finding our classes, learning about the computers and other resources available to the USU students, and all the other fun stuff we got to do.
Friday, we got to go do a service project for a program in our community. That was really neat, I always enjoy doing service. It makes me feel so good!! And it was AWESOME to see all 32 of us students in our USU game day t-shirts out weeding and cleaning all together. It was hot, and we got dirty but it was great. and we bonded over it as well. I love giving back to the community!

There were other fun activities that went on, friends were made, and I learned a lot! I'm really glad I took the class, even if I had to deal with annoying little teenagers all week.

I can now say, I feel a bit more prepared for my first day of official classes on Monday.

USU, Here I come!!!!

also, here's a neat video we watched in one of our workshops. It was on the Aggies Think Care Act campaign. The program is designed to:
"Encourage positive individual decisions, Promote pro-social behavior and bystander intervention, and create a culture of caring." It's about getting out in the community; both on the USU campus or around in the valley and doing things to better the community. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! :)

Summer is the Fairest time of year..... :)

I LOVE SUMMER!!!

It is by far, the best season. Yeah, sure, It's hot and humid, but it is great!! And nothing beats all of the fantastic events and activities available in and around Cache Valley for the summer!
There's Summerfest in June, and July brings the 4th of July festivities and fun Pioneer Day activities. There's camping in the wonderful Mountains surrounding the Valley, boating and swimming at Bear Lake and Hyrum Dam. Lagoon, Floating the Canal, mini-golfing, and this is just a tiny handful of the endless possibilities of summer joy!!
and then come August.... we have the Cache County Fair!! Summer would NOT be complete without it!

:) vendors, quilts, rides and games(which I never ride or participate in but they just add to the feel of the fair!) laughter, all of the animals, the bean displays, wonderful artwork, amazing foods, delicious smells wafting through the air, and my yearly dose of Navajo Tacos, Funnel Cakes, and Texas Twister Lemonade.... :) Summer would not be complete without them!!! Everything rolled into one make the entire atmosphere of the Fair the best!!!
This year, I got to go walk around the Fair three times!!

Thursday afternoon I went and walked around with Aaron. It was really fun to walk around holding hands. ;) and it was really fun to be able to walk around and talk about the things and learn even more about him-- interests and some little things I didn't know yet. We ate Churros and spent a lot of time just talking. This was especially great considering I've been sick and hadn't got to see or talk to him hardly at all!!

Thursday Evening I went back with my wonderful Momma! :) I always love walking around with my mom. She's the best. Every year we try and convince her to enter something into the craft section-- but she never listens!! This is where I got to eat my most delicious Navajo Taco-- WHICH I have been Craving ALL SUMMER(sadly I had to miss the summerfest so I didn't get one then) It was totally worth the almost 45 minute wait in line! Before leaving the fair- I stopped and bought a slice of Strawberry Rhubarb tart, and German Cheese cake from this wonderful German guy that sells the most yummy German stuff in these parts of town!

Saturday was my third time at the County Fair-- and I went with my dear Roommate!! So fun! Even though we both ate so much and drank a ton of lemonade and practically made ourselves sick!

But really.... THE FAIR IS THE BEST!!

On top of the Fair, and after getting over the bulk of my illness, the week was great!! I don't know if part of it was just the excitement that always comes along with the Fair, or if it was just a good week but it was wonderful!!

Saturday at work was probably one of the best days at work I've had for a really long time. My manager Lynn Hobbs, almost made me cry. He's awesome! He came up to me, gave me a hug, and told me how much he appreciates me, and everything I do to help him, and how he's real glad he gets to work with me. Thanks Hobbs! I didn't get stuck with too many stupid people to help, and all the girls at work were in a good mood. Sometimes, work is awesome!!!
Saturday after the Fair, Mariana and I went on a little adventure to print a project she was working on for her mom, and then we headed to Wellsville to Heart Attack Aaron's door!! He'd been in Bear Lake for the weekend, and I was hoping he was still gone(his whole family was there) but, they weren't. so the whole time we were hurrying our fastest in hopes we wouldn't get caught!! and we DIDN'T! yay!!! we have now officially been dating a month... CRAZY!
We ended out the night with a fantastic Party at Dawna Webb's house! Her Annual August Bash is always the best!! Really, it's her birthday-- but she doesn't like to let people know that ;)

I am not excited for summer to come to an end! There's still so many things I want to do that haven't happened yet!!! But, I am excited for my next grand adventure to start in two weeks: COLLEGE!!!!!!!

Bring.It.On!!!

Hello friends, it's been a while.....

Well, maybe I kinda stink at this blog updating thing. In my defense, I have been living in an apartment since June that has NOT had internet...... and, I've found myself rather busy the last few weeks.

The middle of June I took a week and went to California with my mom and brother. It was a blast!! We went to visit my grandma. It was really nice to see her again, but a bit weird being in her new house, and being there without Grandpa. It was my first visit since my grandpa's funeral last summer. But it was a good visit. We helped her organize her garage a bit. She recently moved, and everything got dumped in her garage. poor woman! Shortly after moving, she fell and broke her hip, and then got shingles. So she hasn't got too much done since right after she moved. We didn't get as much done as we'd hoped, but there is some great improvement!!!

Not wanting us to spend our entire weeks vacation just helping her, we did some fun stuff too! My brother and I spent a day in San Fracisco, which was AWESOME!! It had been a while since either of us were there last, and it was so much fun to walk around together and remember all our old trips with our cousins!! And we got some great pictures!! :) San Francisco is truly a beautiful city! It's not somewhere I'd want to live(i definitely decided I am a small town girl) but it is so great to go visit. It has such marvelous architecture, and some beautiful, beautiful sights! Not to mention, all of the absolutely interesting people there are there! :) Definitely, a great trip!
We also took a day and went to Oakland to the beautiful Oakland LDS Temple!! It is so gorgeous! and I am so glad I got to go! I got to go do baptisms for the dead, while my mom, grandma, and brother did a session. The baptismal font is in the back of the temple, and they don't have a separate entrance so I got to walk all the way through the halls of the temple, and have a cute little lady(sister Hershey) escort me the whole time. After I finished I still had about 2 hours to wait for my family, so I made my way over to the visitors center, where I spent some time talking with a super awesome sister missionary. She showed me some of her pictures, told me how wonderful her mission has been for her, and had me watch a great movie! It's called the "Labor of Love" Totally one of those super cheesey one's you'd watch in seminary, but it was really good.... maybe I cried a bit!! After my family finished their session, we went back into the temple and ate at the cafeteria. super yummy food! :) We spent some time taking some great pictures, and Mark and I walked around the top of the temple. way neat!! It was a great experience!
Later that day, Mark and I took a trip to Fairfield(which is a town not too far away from where my grandma lives) and went mini-golfing at this great little place called SCANDIA!! :) we use to go there allllllll the time when we were younger with all our cousins. It was a highlight of our California trips growing up!



Mark and I had an awesome time visiting a cute little park, eating some delicious cake at this cute German bakery, have some great "walks down memory lane" and visiting with some of my cousins and uncles and aunt. I have such a great family!! Seeing my grandma was awesome. I love that cute lady! and spending time with my mom and brother was the best!! I got a little car sick on the ride home, but it was great. I am so glad we took the time to go to on that trip!!

Well, since getting home I've just stayed busy working, and getting ready for my Freshman year at USU!! It's about time I'm starting college, and I am SO excited!! My roommate moved in so I am not living alone anymore, which is awesome and I love her so very much! We have been on some pretty fun little adventures, watched some good movies, and just shared a lot of good laughs(and dinners!) OH, and I started dating this super great guy named Aaron. He is such a sweetie, and he treats me real well. I am one lucky gal!

So, that's what's been happening since my last up-date. Aside from getting Whooping cough(which I am currently suffering from) life has been absolutely WONDERFUL!!! I thank God every day for all of my blessings, because I sure do have a lot of them. :)

and the apartment hunt is done.... :)

Ok, So once upon a time, I decided I REALLY wanted to move out! At first, the plan was I was just going to move out for the summer, but then I started talking to these two girls in my ward, and we decided we'd all move out together. It was going to be GREAT! Well, we started looking and things were so expensive, so I decided to invite our other friend too! Now, these three girls are all fantastic, so we were going to party like none other!!
BUT..... no luck! I found a few places that sounded good, but nothing was working in our favor. There was even one that we went and looked at and were sooo in love with, but then the lady told me when I went to return the key, that we couldn't have 4 girls, it was in the wrong zone for that. soo, we kept looking.... and looking... for 3 months!!! and I was going insane! and so sick of looking! we looked a few other places, but nothing that really felt right.....
So we were deciding what to do when one day, one of the girls told us she couldn't move out. She had just got a calling in our Relief Society Presidency. Awesome..... then one of the other girls and I talked and she really liked this place, that I wasn't a huge fan of. so we decided we'd go our separate ways. Which I felt kinda bad about because she REALLY has to move out! she will have no where to live soon. :(
but as bad as i felt about that, once that decision was made and it was just down to me and another girl, the heavens opened and I found this apartment, that is wonderful!
It's in the basement of this grandma's house down on the island. It's just a little 2 bedroom, BUT it's so cute! The back part(the bedrooms and bathroom) have been recently re-done, and the bathroom is pretty large! The kitchen doesn't have loads of storage space, but it has the most fantastic turquoise oven and sink in the entire world! and the front area is kinda small, but it works pretty well for our TV and couch and such. It is kinda chilly, but in the summer I think that will be fantastic, and in the winter-- well we'll see what happens. there's always blankets and jackets and slippers and fuzzy socks! :)

The outside of the house is beautiful, and it's pretty close to campus which will be great! There's a cute little creek that runs along the back of the huge yard, and a little walkway right by the house that can go along the creek in the back. It's so nice to know it's my place! and in August, MARIANA will be moving in with me too(my dear roommate, but she can't move out until then so the apartment is all mine for the summer!) I've got my work cut out for me in un-packing and organizing, but it will be a great adventure, and a fantastic place to live for the year!!


My Roommate Mariana and me!!!



My fantastic Turquoise oven!

It's Friday Friday! Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun!

It's Friday! Friday! Gotta get down on Friday!! :) :)..............
Whitney Boam, this is for you!!
Who else loves to mock this song?



I think it's so great. Don't get me wrong, the song is pretty bad but it's probably one of the best songs to make fun of, even though it gets stuck in your head. My friend Whitney and I work together and we constantly will break out into song with this when something reminds us of it. :) It is so funny we'll just look at each other and start laughing. oh good times in the bakery. (especially on Friday, friday.)

Yesterday was thursday, Today it is friday, We so excited! We so excited! We gonna have a ball today! Tomorrow is saturday, and sunday comes afterwards............(incase you didn't know the next 3 days go as follows: Monday, tuesday, wednesday, and then you're back to thursday and then it's friday! friday!)

I would love to write some stupid story about where this song came from, but I'm not sure I could dumb myself down quite that much. So we'll just leave it with....

Partyin Partyin yeah! Partyin Partyin yeah! Fun Fun Fun Fun! LOOKIN FORWARD TO THE WEEKEND!!!!

The Joy of Service....

"As we look heavenward, we inevitably learn of our responsibility to reach outward. To find real happiness, we must seek for it in a focus outside ourselves. No one has learned the meaning of living until he has surrendered his ego to the service of his fellow man. Service to others is akin to duty, the fulfillment of which brings true joy. We do not live alone in our city, our nation, or our world. There is no dividing line between our prosperity and our neighbor's wretchedness. 'Love thy neighbor' is more than a divine truth. It is a pattern for perfection."
I don't know about you, but I LOVE the feeling I get after performing an act of service. I do not always enjoy what the service is, but it always seems to be worth it in the end. :) This evening, was yet another one of those great moments.
My ward went to the Hyrum Cemetery for our activity, where we cleaned headstones in preparation for Memorial day. I have participated in an activity like this a few times before, and it is always so great.
I personally am blessed by activities like this. My brother is burried in the Hyrum Cemetery and, Whenever I go do an activity there, I make sure I get over to my brothers grave and take a little while to tend his headstone. It provides a great opportunty to make sure it gets done.
It also makes me remember how absolutely blessed I am in my life. I am blessed with many wonderful people that I love and care about. and I am blessed with the knowledge of life after death. I know that God has a plan, and that death is a part of that. But I know that death is not the end, and that families can be together forever.
It always makes me so sad to see headstones of little babies and young children. Children who still had SO MUCH living to do. To think of their families left behind to griev(well, it's that way with every headstone) But there are so many who lived only a day, or a week, or a few years. In all of our cleaing, my friends Lexi, Kendra, Mariana and I found a little cluster of 4 headstones that all looked alike, and had the same last name. They were all babies. The one that lived the longest lived 11 months. How hard would that be?!?
And then, you have the headstones of the men and women who lived to be 80 years old or so!! I found one headstone, where both the wife and the husband were burried in the same spot and their information was on the same headstone. They were only seperated by death for 4 months!! I think it would be so hard for the family left behind, but can you imagine how wonderful it would be to be reunited so quickly?! What a blessing!

Like I said, I always make my way over to my brothers grave to clean it when I get up there with something like that. He's kinda out in the outskirts of the cemetery, so its a bit of a walk to get there from where we parked today. I convinced 3 of my friends to come over with me and we spent our time cleaning the headstones in the farther out area of the Cemetery whee most people don't get to.
We had the wonderful opportunity while we were there, to meet a few people that had come to visit their loved ones. We cleaned the headstones for them, and it was so great to see the instant gratification!!!!!
I am so grateful for all of the knowledge and comfort the Gospel brings into our lives, and the blessings that come from Serving others!

My hands still smell like vinegar, my arms are sore, and the knees of my pants are all dirty, But we had some good laughs, ate yummy food, and were blessed by serving others! :)

This is me. This is who I am.....

Sometimes I lose track of who I am. My name is Cami. I am almost 20 years old. I will be starting school at USU in August, and I don't know what I want to do with my life. That scares me. A lot! I greatly dislike talking on the phone, and I hate hearing my voice in recordings. I love writing and receiving letters. I use the word "thingy" when I can't remember what something is called(which happens quite often.) I will burst out laughing, about something that happened yesterday. I am a major fan of those "had to be there moments." Sometimes I have a hard time trusting others, I talk to God. I listen to song lyrics and often think of how they apply to my life. I'll dance along to anything. I talk to myself, and randomly burst into song. I love tights, and scarfs, and funky socks. I love Disney, and play-dough, and swinging on swings. I love coloring :) I prefer to eat my Oreo's with Peanut-butter(ok, I may be a bit of a Peanut-butter addict....) I push doors that say pull, I stop the microwave before it beeps, I use my fingers to count because math is NOT my strong point. I forget things easy, yet I remember random facts about people(which makes me seem like a creeper sometimes, but I don't do it on purpose), i find myself talking in accents without realizing it, and I speak German to inanimate objects. I enjoy reading my horoscope- but I don't really believe them, I LOVE PHOTOGRAPHY!, I still watch the silly tween Disney TV shows sometimes, I love Harry Potter, reading is great and I wish I had more time for it. I'm not very athletic-- and I seem to hurt myself when I try to be. I feel like I'm pretty easy to get along with. I love choir. I think cooking and baking are fun- but i'm not that great at them. I believe in Love, and I know that someday, I WILL find it. I like Ice Cream.... a lot(even though it makes me sick!) I talk when I get nervous, or else I don't talk very much. I HATE scary movies. I have been lucky enough to have spent four months in the beautiful country of Germany, where I grew and learned lessons that have helped make me who I am today. A piece of my heart is and always will remain in Germany. my.friends.are....awesome!!! ♥ my nieces and nephews are my life ♥, I'm the youngest of 7 and My brothers and sisters mean so much to me. my mom is one of my best friend., I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and I am thankful for the blessings it brings me in my life. I am thankful for the life I have, as messed up and psycho as it is. My Life has taught me to live, laugh, and love. It has taught me to try and forgive and forget, that sometimes things don't go as planned, people will betray you, and you WILL get hurt, but if you put your trust in the Lord, everything will work out in the end, and if it doesn't work out-- it's not the end!
A lot of things have made me the person that I am. I wouldn't be where I am at today if I had not lived the life that I have, and had all of my many experiences. I am Cami, and I am perfectly okay with that.