I want to write...

It has been like 4 months since I have written on here at all. Here is what has been going on!

• This semester has been great, it has flown by so fast! It is finals week, I only have 2 tests left and I am out of here! My roommates are amazing and we will be all together again next semester. Oh and all A's this semester baby!!! (first time in my life!)
  
• We have had the BEST family home evening group this semester! I feel so close to the boys of Somerset 207, they are seriously the best. 2 are going on an adventure to China, 1 is going on a mission, 1 is going home to work, 1 is getting married, and we will still have one here with us! He is actually going to be my brother's new roommate!
  
• Christmas break I'm making my way back to Arkansas. To finally see my brother Cody, who got home from his mission in September. I am so excited! I am ready to relax some before having to come back to school for another crazy busy semester.
• Cody and I are driving back up to the Burg in January in our fancy new car, which is a stick shift that I do not know how to drive! I'm a little scared about that! I am so glad I am going to have my big brother here with me though, it's going to be such a blessing I know it!
  
• Next semester I am going to have 18 credits (7 classes! eeK!) and hopefully a job... I didn't get the one that I was supposed to hear back about today so I am on the hunt again. :/ Please someone in Rexburg Hire me!!!!
• One great thing about this semester flying by is that Joey, my missionary, boyfriend, and best friend only has a little more than 5 months left before he comes home! This is so completely unreal to me!!!! He has been gone for 565 days already! Ah I am so ready for him to be home! But he is where he needs to be and is doing such a good job, I am so proud of him!!!
  
• Also this semester I have become addicted to Pinterest! I love it so much. People have asked if I am getting married because of all the wedding ideas I have pinned lol. I'm not getting married yet, but girls gotta be ready ;) and it's probably going to be sooner than later!
  

I am so blessed, seriously! I have a great family, school, best friends, roommates, and a boy in England who thinks I'm pretty cute ;).

It's really been too long since I've posted.

3 days until summer is over.

I have had an AMAZING summer back at home!

Full of spending lots of time with my family

a vacation with my girlfriends

working as a good ole' carhop at Sonic

40 days closer to Christ challenge (more like 50 days)

lots of amazing letters from Joey

but it is time to go back to Rexburg now and i am so ready! I'm making the 1700 mile trip in 3 days with 2 other guys going back to BYU-I. I am going to miss Arkansas for real though, especially all of the trees! I am also going to miss my big brother coming home from his mission :( , he gets home from England a week after i leave! We are going to try to use our fancy phones and technology hook up skype to make it like i'm really there at the airport! I'll see ya at Christmas Cody!

2 days!

without cheating!! woo!

Whatever, I'm eating cheesefries.

I've been going crazy on this stupid diet and like Regina George, I really wanna loose 3 pounds. After 2 1/2 weeks of eating special K for breakfast, skim milk, meal replacement bars for lunch, a reasonably healthy dinner, and then 8pm happens.. I am HUNGRY! and this nasty little hungry monster keeps yelling at me to go into the fridge, get that spinach dip and the corn chips. Now the 4 miles i ran/walked mean nothing.

Tomorrow I am more then determined to not cheat at all! I will not have anything dripping with sweet goodness and nothing crispy or deep fried. I will have a salad. bleh.

Dieting is so lame, but my modest butt will look good on the beach next week!

Finding the Joy in the Journey

This semester is almost over, only a week and a half left then I go back home to Arkansas for the summer and possibly finish school their instead of coming back. BYU- Idaho is such an amazing school, I really feel like I have grown so much and my testimony of Christ is much stronger after these 8 months of living in Idaho in the little Mormon "bubble" that it is. This year I took New Testament as my religion class and we are supposed to keep a journal to go along with our studies of Christ's life. Well I didn't get around to writing in my journal every day and with it due tomorrow the last couple hours I have been making up pages. I came across this talk by President Thomas S. Monson called "Finding Joy in the Journey" http://lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/finding-joy-in-the-journey?lang=eng from the 2008 General Conference while trying to find topics to write about in the journal. This talk is amazing and really stood out to me especially about the last 4 minutes. I want to share it with yall.

"I pray that all of us will reflect gratitude for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. His glorious gospel provides answers to life’s greatest questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where does my spirit go when I die? He taught us how to pray. He taught us how to serve. He taught us how to live. His life is a legacy of love. The sick He healed; the downtrodden He lifted; the sinner He saved. The time came when He stood alone. Some Apostles doubted; one betrayed Him. The Roman soldiers pierced His side. The angry mob took His life. There yet rings from Golgotha’s hill His compassionate words, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Earlier, perhaps perceiving the culmination of His earthly mission, He spoke the lament, “Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” “No room in the inn” was not a singular expression of rejection—just the first. Yet He invites you and me to receive Him. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Who was this Man of sorrows, acquainted with grief? Who is the King of glory, this Lord of hosts? He is our Master. He is our Savior. He is the Son of God. He is the Author of our Salvation. He beckons, “Follow me.” He instructs, “Go, and do thou likewise.” He pleads, “Keep my commandments.” Let us follow Him. Let us emulate His example. Let us obey His word. By so doing, we give to Him the divine gift of gratitude. Brothers and sisters, my sincere prayer is that we may adapt to the changes in our lives, that we may realize what is most important, that we may express our gratitude always and thus find joy in the journey. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

I swear that is one of the best talks I've ever read! The atonement of Christ is amazing. He Suffered so much for me, because he loves me! He is there standing at my door just waiting for me to open it and let him into my life. Your house may be filled with filth and clutter, but that is ok! I know it will take so much courage and faith just to open up the door. But it is important that we do let Christ in becuase all He wants to do is help us clean up the mess that we have made. Once we let Christ into our lives and into our hearts I know that we will be filled with peace and that weight that we walk around with on our shoulders will be lifted, gone. That is an amazing feeling to know that and I feel so lucky to know of Christ and that I decided to let him in.

I am a child of God and my worth is great! All that Heavenly Father and Christ wants us to do in this life is to endure to the end doing everything that we can to stay righteous enough so that we can return to live with them again. In the Garden of Gethsemane Christ suffered for all of our sins, bad choices, mistakes, and pains... but he also felt our joys and happiness, he knows the good times along with the bad. He knows everything about us and knows us by name!

I am so greatful that I know the answers to "Who am I?" "Where did I come from?" "Why am I here?" I am a daughter of Heavenly parents and they love me.

DOUBLE DIGITS BABY!

oh ya it's been 10 months since Joey left, 42% done, only 60 weeks left to go lol!!!! Here's a little somethin' somethin' from his letter "Yes I've eaten fish and chips silly lol. It's really good but enough calories to last a week." I'm so proud of my British boy I can't believe that it's almost been a year, time goes by so fast and I love it!

Prized Posession, Artist, and Human

Day 12: A picture of your most prized posession.

Right now it's Joey's letters and the tape he sent me. Seriously looking in the mailbox and seeing one of those purple stamps with Queen Elizabeth on it is the BEST feeling ever.

With every word I read in his letters I feel a tiny bit closer to him and feels amazing.

Day 13: A picture of your favorite band or artist

I love all kinds of music, but Michael Jackson is the one that will never get old.

Day 14: A picture of someone you couldn't imagine your life without.

Ya Joey wins this one. He has been such a huge part of my life these last 4 ish years, he is a great missionary now and completely, 100% worth the wait!