my Vati

I love my dad. He is the absolute best. He is so patient with me, especially when I'm TERRIBLE at German and he's trying to help me. He is so loving to my mom and all his kids, and even when he's upset looks for ways to help us. He's an incredibly hard worker and very, very spiritual. From observing him I've learned that love can be the strongest motivator to both continue and change, and humility the best attitude to assume. He knows how to be completely goofy and fun and also how to discipline and be disciplined. He is GREAT with kids. I want to be like him when I grow up :)

I'm feeling poetic today--and really, really cheezy. Don't bother reading this post :P

I love the wind. I love the way it plays with my hair and gently brushes my cheeks with its fingertips like a baby trying to fall asleep. I love how invigorating it is to stand in the grass with my arms wide open and absorb the energy of the sun and air until I have to run. I love the way the very earth seems to come alive when the wind blows. The trees dance, the grass waves, the water ripples and rolls, and the sun leaves little brown kisses on my cheeks. Flower petals and cotton wood seeds swirl around me like fairies and remind me of the dreams I used to have of Neverland.

The Mountain from TSO Photography on Vimeo.

I haven't posted in a while because I've just been so busy and between working, school, and going teaching with the Missionaries I've been really tired and sleeping much more than I should need to. I love everything I'm doing, (except for school, which I like, but I wish that I weren't doing it in the summer) and I'm so happy to be home.

I am very grateful for good hair days, especially since they are much more scarce here where it's humid than out in Utah. Sometimes I will blow-dry, brush, condition, EVERYTHING and my hair will still look like this:

Other days it thankfully looks a little more like my sister Sarah's hair, which is THE most gorgeous hair on the face of the earth, Repunzel has nothing on her :)

I am also grateful for my HILARIOUS little brother Cameron. He always makes me laugh, and I love him to death. I love how he is always ready to defend me if he thinks I need it, or make me laugh if I'm ever grumpy or stressed. We have several handshakes and inside jokes. He's my buddy :)

Friends make me smile!

I am so grateful for my friends. Some of them I've known almost my whole life and still keep in contact with, and some of them I was really close to for a short amount of time and we don't really talk much anymore, which is sad, but I am very grateful to all of them. I am so blessed to have so many people in my life that are always there for me and with whom I can talk about anything at all and they are always willing to listen and offer advice. We all share varying amounts of personal interests and beliefs, but I enjoy spending time with all of them. I am so glad that I am not one of those people you see in movies who doesn't like their "friends" and dreads seeing them. I am quite the opposite. I love talking to and seeing my friends, whether its in person, or via Skype, phone, facebook, or otherwise.

My Mother

Today I am especially grateful for my mom. I can be a pain in the butt sometimes, especially when she wants me to wake up relatively early even though we stayed up until 1:30 the night before and I have a gift for sleeping until my body says its not tired anymore. Or the fact I have a tendency to procrastinate and get distracted by anything sparkly or fluffy and thereby give my mom a heart attack because I cut my deadlines too close. No matter how many times I do all of this dumb stuff, she is always there for me with a hug and a smile, and whatever comfort I happen to need at the time.

My mom is incredibly smart and can read me like an open book, even more so than others can. She can always tell when I need to "refocus" on spiritual things because I am getting to caught up in the little things that don't make any difference in the long run. Last week I was stewing over something that I really couldn't control, which was in turn affecting my productivity. Because my mom is a super hero and always knows what to do, she took me over to the piano and handed me a hymn book and opened it to page 124: Be Still My Soul. It is one of my favorite hymns and says basically that we don't need to worry about what happens to us, or what the future holds, because the LORD will take care of us. It really helped me to put this tiny trial in perspective and remember to turn to the one person who knows what I am going through and has the power and the knowledge to guide me through it.

I love my mom so much and I am so grateful to her for all she does for me.

Missionaries

I am so grateful for the sister missionaries in my ward, as well as all missionaries, but this week I'm especially grateful for mine :) I already mentioned my experience with them last tuesday, but I had the opportunity to go with them to teach someone on thursday. The girl we were teaching is my age. She is such a wonderful girl with a big heart, who was asking all the right questions. When we were talking about the plan of salvation and the atonement the spirit was so strong and I could tell that she felt it too. When the missionaries gave her a Book of Mormon they asked her to read three verses (Moroni 10:3-5) which basically say that if you pray with an open heart and ask God if this book is true, he will give you an answer. I have done this very thing and received an answer. The Book of Mormon is true. I know it in my heart and I have seen it touch countless people's lives. I am so grateful for it, this church, and the way their teachings help me become better than I ever could be on my own.

I am also grateful for all of my good friends who are serving missions now, have served them, or are planning on serving in the future. I am so proud of you, and so glad to call you my friends. I admire your courage and selflessness, and am so blessed to know you.

For anyone reading this who doesn't know what missionaries for my church are, or wants to know more about them, click here --> ♥

Music

I've had so much to be grateful for lately, and yet I've managed to be in a grumpy mood, which is really dumb of me to let such little things get me down when I am so blessed. One thing that always helps me get out of these funks is music. Last year I had the privilege of being in the BYU Women's Chorus and we sang some AMAZING spiritual music, which I now have recordings of, and nothing helps me to feel more at peace and close to my Father in Heaven when I am having a bad day than listening to, and singing along with that music. It brings me so close to the Lord to really think about the meanings of the songs and pour my own testimony into them as I sing.

Why I am Mormon

Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet with the sister missionaries from my church. Our original plan was to teach someone who was interested in joining the church, but they never showed up and their phone was off so the sisters and I just talked instead. First we just got to know each other a little bit and talked about how utterly hot it was yesterday, and then they taught me a short lesson since they weren't able to teach the woman we had meant to meet. It was amazing. The spirit was so strong the entire time, testifying to me of the truth of the scriptures and the doctrine of our church.

I am not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because we have fun activities, to make my parents happy, because the teachings fit my lifestyle, or because it's easy. It's not easy, but it is so worth it because every time I go to the awesome activities, or the three hour services on Sundays, or read the Book of Mormon I feel God's love so strongly, and the Holy Spirit testifying to me that the Book of Mormon is the word of the Lord, that Joseph Smith was a true prophet, and that this church has all of the truth, divine authority, and power that it had when Christ was on the earth. I know that our Father loves all of us so much and is willing to forgive us and accept us if we will only accept him and turn away from our sins. I am so grateful for that knowledge.

To all of my friends who are not Mormon: please know that I do not look down on you because of our differences. I do not judge you for doing things that I don't do. I love you, and Father in Heaven does too, even if you don't acknowledge him.

I ♥ My Body

I am really grateful for my body. Even though my skin gets dry and the pigment is uneven, my toes are funny, I need glasses to see things that are far away, whatever. I'm far from perfect physically, but I am so thankful for my body. Even though I may not always show it in the way I care for it I really am so blessed to have a body that, for all intents and purposes, works just fine. Earlier this week I went for a run that was pretty hard on me, although it was relatively short: Almost 3 miles. I was really sore after it because I was silly and forgot to stretch when I got home, but the fact that I was able to just up and run that far is such a blessing, especially considering how much sitting around I've done since I got home. My asthma didn't even act up like it usually does this time of year! I am so grateful for all that I have been given, and for my body that allows me to do almost anything I want.