Thursday, March 31, 2011

Just Messin :)

K, so basically I'm still not the best blogger and I'm still learning how to do things. Today I just figured out how to post YouTube videos in a post! So now I'm trying it out. Next I hope to figure out how to make my blog cuter and add the cute side bar things. If you have any ideas let me know!
(P.s. Sorry if you are sick of this video, but I just love it! So that is why I chose it lol)



Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Mother I Love You, Mother I Do :)


I just wanted to write and dedicate this post to my mama. I love her so very much, and I couldn't imagine where I would be without her! I literally wouldn't be here :) She has supported me through everything (except maybe my messy room or hair color changes..lol). Anyway, I love you mom! Thanks for 19 wonderful and fun years. Here's to you:

April 25, 1992







Spring Break Cruise 2010


Family Pictures - November 2009

Graduation day! May 25, 2010 :)

Paul McCartney Concert - July 13, 2010
Off to college I go!

(Our legs are too short :P)
Jazz Game!




"A daughter is a little girl who grows up to be a friend." ~Author Unknown


Monday, March 28, 2011

Growing ↑



Yesterday was a big day for me! I wrote out a $200 down payment check that decided the place I will be living next fall/spring :) I felt like such a big girl! haha. So that is my exciting news for this past week. I actually went "house hunting" last week on Wednesday with my friend (and soon-to-be roommate) Alyssa. We went to about 6 different apartments/condos. Until our last place, we weren't really excited about any of our choices. But the minute we walked into this place (see above picture) we fell in love! It just felt right and it was really nice.....after looking through it and leaving, we both shrieked and called our moms.

I don't really know why I am still rambling, but just I guess telling you that growing up has its advantages :) I'm super excited for this change. At first I was pretty nervous to go on my own (without my mom) and look for a place and decide on my own, but I think we (Lys and I) did a pretty dang good job! I am also really excited because another friend of mine, Allie Jo (who is also a swing instructor with me!), decided that she wants to live there as well. She made her down payment yesterday also. I'm gonna have such fun roommates! I can't wait!!

Well I best get going to institute! And then finishing getting ready for my chemistry test later on! Thanks for reading, whoever you are...

Monday, March 21, 2011

Blustery Day


Today is a blustery day (as Pooh Bear would say) and I really just don't want to be outside! :/ What makes it all even worse is that their is a butt-load of wind out there as well!! So the snow whips in your face.. Not fun. Plus the reason I have to go outside is for Biology class at noon, which is a pretty dumb reason. Help me think of a good excuse not to go!

. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ok. . .after much pondering, I decided I have to suck it up and just go.
If I wanna ever be a nurse one day, I have to endure to the end, rain or snow, clouds or sunshine. It could be worse I guess: there could be a hurricane or tornado out there. :) Happy Monday!






Sunday, March 20, 2011

My Soul Hungered

This past week I have been on Spring break, and it has been a really eventful week! I'm sad it has to come to a close, but I had a fun time reconnecting with long "lost" friends, going on dates, visiting my buddies at the nursing home, and just hanging around with the fam. I just wanna end on this note, seeing as it's Sunday anyway. ;)

A close friend of mine shared a scripture with me the other day. One that stuck out to me quite a lot and I really like it:

"My soul hath been redeemed from the gall of
bitterness and bonds of iniquity. I was in the
darkest abyss; but now I behold the marvelous
light of God. My soul was racked with eternal
torment; but I am snatched, and my soul is pained no more."
--Mosiah 27:29

Isn't that amazing? There is nothing in this world that we can't overcome. But remember: no one is perfect. We must all figure out our weaknesses and try to perfect ourselves through
Heavenly Father and by living His plan. Once we are able to do that, and get a hold of our life, all our pains will go away and we will be able to see the light and love of God in our lives. A couple verses before the one I just shared say:

"And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all
mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds,
tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of
God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a
state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming
his sons and daughters;
And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do
this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God."

--Mosiah 27:25-26

So basically everyone needs work. Everyone is in a "fallen state." We are all sons and daughters of God, so let's make Him proud. Let's make Him proud to claim us as His very own.
I don't know what else to really say about these verses other than they were in my mind ever since my friend shared with me. I hope they may be of some help to you and that we can all endure to the end... :)

One last thing...here are the lyrics to a song by Kurt Bestor that I absolutely love. It kinda goes along with the scriptures I shared: (you can also click for the link to listen to it)

My heart cried out:
"Please Lord, release me
From pain and from doubt."
Oh, my soul hungered
The moment I knelt down to pray,
And felt all my doubts Wash away.

Oh, my soul hungered,
He heard my cry.
The voice of the Lord
Spoke peace to my mind.
Oh, my soul hungered-
Things that were old became new
When I learned to feel
What I already knew.

With all my heart,
With all my soul,
I wrestled before the Lord
To make my life whole.
He filled my hunger-
He fed my soul.
He fed my soul.

The truth that belonged
To everyone else
Is now a sacred part of myself.
Oh, I found out what I could not find,
When I heard with my heart
What I knew in my mind.
With all my heart,
With all my soul,
I wrestled before the Lord
To make my life whole.
He filled my hunger-
He fed my soul.
He fed my soul.

Oh, my soul hungered.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

"There's No Place Like Home"



Can I just say how very ecstatic I am to be home right now?? This break is a MUCH needed one for me, and it couldn't have come at a more perfect time. Last week was a week from hell--I was stressed and tired beyond belief!-- so naturally I came home and crashed. I actually went to bed by 11:15pm, can you belief it!? Haha yes, Steph. You read that right: 11:15!!!
Basically I don't even really know what I planned on writing about, or what to say, other than I am so uber duber happy to be home!!!!! I haven't been with my family since the beginning of January! The first hug I received was from my mama who saw me coming up the walkway from the window. Man, that was a good hug :)
I guess I also wanna throw in and say that I know that God is real. He lives. Even though He may give us horrible trials in our lives (sometimes ones that we think we can't handle, especially alone), He knows that we CAN get through them. They are for our own good and we become stronger from them, as hard as that may sound. I know there is a God out there who loves us no matter what and He will never ever ever ever ever ever leave us. We just need to develop a solid relationship with Him and let Him know that we are trying our best to live the best life we possibly can; to write the best dang book of life anyone has ever read! We aren't really "home" until we make it back to Him, our Father in Heaven. So strive everyday to "Live your life everyday so that when you wake up in the morning, Satan says, 'Oh no! (S)he's awake!!'" I think Carrie Underwood's song "Temporary Home" says it best, for right now. Take a listen.


"This is my temporary home
It's not where I belong.
Windows and rooms that I'm passin' through.
This is just a stop, on the way to where I'm going.
I'm not afraid because I know this is my
Temporary Home."

Sunday, March 6, 2011

It's in YOUR Hands.


So today in Relief Society, one of my roommates, Kjersti, gave a very good lesson. It was based off of President Uchtdorf's message entitled "Looking for the Good." In it he says:

"Have you ever noticed that people can usually find whatever they are looking for? Look hard enough, and you can discover both good and bad in almost anyone and anything. People have done the same with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since its beginning. Those who look for the good will find a kind and compassionate people—a people who love the Lord and desire to serve Him and bless the lives of their fellowman. But it is also true that those who look for the bad will certainly find things that are not so ideal."


How true this is! I found it kind of ironic that this was this week's lesson, because if you read my last post before this, you will see why I say this. Kjersti asked me in the middle of the week to look for the good in everything that went on during the week for me, even when I was having a hard time, and to try and find something positive about it all. She wanted me to share my experience during her lesson. At first it was really hard because I have been really stressed lately, and nothing seems to be good. Well I was wrong.

I believe that this experience has actually been a learning/growing one for me. After reading my scriptures, praying, and also reading my patriarchal blessing a few times through, I realized that nursing really must be what I need to do. It also really hit when I bore my testimony in sacrament meeting today. I shared my experience that I had with my teacher this past week, and basically (without thinking or knowing it was coming) I flat out said that I realized nursing is what I am supposed to do with my life. I guess that is an answer to my prayers, right? But not only has nursing been a dream of mine, but it just all seems to fit together so nicely! I think this has just been a trial of my faith. I can't do it without Christ. Nobody can. I need to learn to rely on Him more. So what I took from this (and shared in Kjersti's lesson) is what I've already just said, plus the day I get to walk across the stage and receive my diploma--all my hard work paying off--what a great day that will be! You can't get more positive then that! Then I will not only be working to achieve my dream, but actually living my dream!

President Uchtdorf later says, "We have a choice. We can seek for the bad in others. Or we can make peace and work to extend to others the understanding, fairness, and forgiveness we so desperately desire for ourselves. It is our choice; for whatever we seek, that we will certainly find." So I say.....be happy! Look for the good in everything, because, after all, it is in your hands....

Friday, March 4, 2011

Harsh Hints or Fate?

So I've been thinking lately...
I recently went and talked to a teacher of mine about my concerns on some things. I am one who gets stressed out easily and lately, that has been happening a lot. I have a butt load on my plate, and it's been really rough. I told her of the classes I have this semester -- biology, chemistry, chemistry lab, human development, human anatomy, human anatomy lab, circuit weight training, and institute (I am the class president in my class, too). I thought that this would help (talking to her, I mean), but I left there feeling a bit inadequate; not smart enough or that I couldn't handle it all. She basically flat out told me that if I couldn't handle the stress of her class right now, I definitely wouldn't be able to handle all of the stress when I
was in the nursing program (if I even got in; they only accept 20 people each year) and I should possibly even consider switching my major. She also said that if I didn't get an"A" in her class, that I wouldn't have a prayer of being able to get into the program since it is so competitive. So I was just feeling really discouraged. I didn't know whether or not this was a sign of "Hey, this isn't the major for you....you should take the hint and switch," or "Hey, this is just a really rough time in your life right now....a trial of your faith. But you need to learn something from it." I am not one to quit; I am not a quitter. I don't want my dream of becoming a nurse one day to be shot down just because one person told me "You can't." I'm stronger than that. I just need to turn to my Heavenly Father and figure out what the rest of my unwritten story is all about. I have a friend who actually made up a quote, but it really stood out to me and I really like it: "Our parents are the authors of our bodies. God is the author of our spirits. But WE are the authors of our lives. Write an award winning novel." And I want to love the
story I write. I want to live an "award winning" life! Overcoming trials makes for an interesting story, right?