Embracing life.

Ohh my goodness. Life.


Life has so much to offer.  I'm learning more and more every day, not only about life in general, but about myself.   I love that!  Even though I've known myself for 20 years and some odd months now, I am capable of learning more about myself every day.  Interesting thought, right?

Well, I'm not exactly sure what I really want to blog about today....I just know that I felt like blogging (probably 'cuz I am procrastinating packing and such as long as I possibly can. Bleh.).  But really..blogging is fun! :)

So I'm blogging about life as my title suggests.... Where am I at in life right now?  Currently I am living at home with my family while working not one, not two, not even three, but four jobs.  The cool thing?  I may have four jobs, but I don't work a day in my life. I LOVE what I do.  And the people I come in contact with have become oh so dear to me.   Seriously.  Three of my four "jobs" are home health jobs.  I go into people's homes and care for their daily needs--things that may seem simple to us, but these people aren't capable of doing.  It really has made me grateful for where I am at. I have met some very amazing people who have been through a lot. Frankly, more than a person should deal with in one lifetime. Sometimes I get really sad for them, but then I remember: hey! They are not going to be this way forever.  One day, they are going to be perfect again.  This life is short in relation to eternity :)

While we're on a similar topic, I wanted to share a great video with y'all.  The song is entitled "Beautiful Heartbreak."  It's by a wonderful LDS artist, Hilary Weeks. Basically the message of the song is even though we go through some heartbreaking things in our lives, they can become something beautiful if we allow them to.  We can become stronger through the trials we face. So the video is below, and I'm also gonna post the lyrics so you can read it if you'd like.

BEAUTIFUL HEARTBREAK:

I had it all mapped out in front of me, 

Knew just where I wanted to go; 

But life decided to change my plans, 

And I found a mountain in the middle of my road. 

I knew there was no way over it, 

So I searched for a way around; 

Brokenhearted I started climbin', 

And at the top I found... 

Every fear, every doubt, 

All the pain I went through; 

Was the price that I paid to see this view; 

And now that I'm here I would never trade... 

The grace that I feel, 

And the faith that I find; 

Through the bitter-sweet tears, 

And the sleepless nights; 

I used to pray he'd take it all away, 

But instead it became a beautiful heartbreak. 

I never dreamed my heart would make it, 

I thought about turning around; 

But heaven has shown me miracles, 

I never would have seen from the ground. 

Now I take the rain with the sunshine, 

Cause there's one thing that I know; 

He picks up the pieces, 

Along each broken road. 

Every fear, every doubt, 

All the pain I went through; 

Was the price that I paid to see this view; 

And now that I'm here I would never trade... 

The grace that I feel, 

And the faith that I find; 

Through the bitter-sweet tears, 

And the sleepless nights. 

I used to pray he'd take it all away, 

But instead it became a beautiful heartbreak. 

I would never trade... 

The grace that I feel, 

And the faith that I find; 

Through the bitter-sweet tears, 

And the sleepless nights. 

I used to pray he'd take it all away, 

But instead it became a beautiful heartbreak.

Isn't that such an inspiring song? I sure think so!

I don't know who knew this, but my family and I had the fabulous opportunity to go to Hilary's home for dinner and a private concert in her basement last Friday.  Can I just say, she's not only an amazing singer-songwriter, but she is an amazing person, too! She was so welcoming and so kind to everyone in attendance; I felt like I'd known her for ages!  That night was actually the first time I've heard her song "Beautiful Heartbreak", or at least first time seeing the music video. She sang it live while the video played on screen behind her.  Oh man.  It was a touching moment.  I'm so very grateful for the wonderful talents of people, and their willingness to share and touch the lives of others.  Uplifting music really is so great! It always helps lift my mood and brings the spirit in a way I don't think anything else can.  If you've never heard of Hilary Weeks before, I highly suggest you look up more of her stuff--it's all amazing!

So, I don't exactly know how I got from talking about life to talking about uplifting music.....random tangent I guess..  But the point is: life is good.  Life is even great! It's all in the attitude in which we carry ourselves.  And when life gets tough, and we feel we have mountains to climb, we have been given other human beings to lean on for support as well as a loving Father in Heaven who cares.  

I hope each of you will never take for granted the little things in life, even as simple as getting out of bed in the morning on your own, or playing your guitar.  Life is as beautiful as you make it out to be....so let's create a masterpiece. 

The Road to Eternity

Today was a day full of emotion.

- - - -But it was a wonderful day to say the least!

To start off: one of my bestest best friends got married this morning! So, my friend McKenzi and I got up early and headed up to the beautiful Salt Lake Temple to greet the newlyweds (Steve and Kath) as they came out.  They are so happy, which makes me happy :)  When I first saw Kath and how beautiful she looked, and the glow she had about her--the waterworks show decided to go off; yes, I'm a baby.  It was a fun afternoon though.  Cynthia (Katherine's mom) asked Kenz and I to stay with the bride and groom as they got the rest of their pictures and make sure they made it to their luncheon okay. So we spent a good hour+ helping out with the bouquet, veil, dress, picture positioning, lighting-control, etc.  Man, it was suuuper hot outside but well worth it. Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Fortney! (whoa, weird.)  Here are some pictures from their Big Day:

After she became Mrs. Fortney :)

Katherine and her gorgeous little sisters

It was such a beautiful day! 

After arriving back to my humble abode after the wedding, I got ready and headed over to pick up my paycheck (Yay for Pay Day Friday!!!) and then took a 35 minute drive to visit my friend Rachel, who I mentioned in my post before this one (titled "No Regrets").  It was so good to see her.  Can I just tell you: she is one strong and brave chicka. You wouldn't even know anything was up (other than the fact she seems exhausted, poor thing) because she remains so positive and faithful.  She really does amaze me, though. She's a fighter! She told me she was telling her doctor that she IS going to be running track in the spring, even if she walks the 400m. What a trouper ;)

It was a pretty neat experience for me all around to be able to go and spend some time with her.  When I first got there, her parents were actually outside visiting with a couple people, but I was immediately greeted with warm hugs and welcoming.  I have never met Rachel's mother, but she is a gem :) When she saw me walking up the the house, she gave me the biggest hug and thanked me for coming and for my blog post I wrote about Rachel the other night. (I think Rachel showed her, so that's how she recognized me.) She said she and Rachel read my post and just cried together, saying it was so sweet and thoughtful. I am grateful that something so small on my part could mean so much to someone else.  It's the little things that count!

Rachel and I talked for a good, long while. One of the things I asked her was what she was most afraid of. She said just not knowing what is going to happen, or if she'd survive long enough to complete things she wants to accomplish in her life. (If she doesn't survive through this treatment, the doctors give her a year or so :( ) She leave this upcoming Sunday to go out to Tennessee where she has chemo and radiation treatment at St. Judes.  Her situation is different than most; for the type of cancer she has, 75% of the patients who have it are little boys. Well, she's a 17-year old girl, AND a twin.  Primary Children's told her they currently have 3 patients that have survived what she has....so it's pretty nerve-wracking. Like I mentioned before: keep Rach and her family in your prayers. I know it means so much!

Here is a picture of us right before I left:

Isn't she soooo beautiful?! :) 

I'm glad I got to see ya today, Rach! Good luck with the treatment and keep that positive attitude! I'll be looking forward to watching you during track season.  Again, if you'd like to follow Rachel and her progress, check out her blog at:  http://rachelstratton.blogspot.com/ 

One last thing that I was thinking today after attending my friend's wedding; families are FOREVER. Steven and Katherine just made an eternal covenant today in the temple. They have each other (and their future kids) forever! In my mind, it's a comfort to have this knowledge of eternal families. Even though Rachel is going through this hard trial, she will have her family forever just like they will have her forever. There's a quote that is hanging up on the wall of my kitchen that I love: "We may not have it all together, but together we have it all."  Just something to think about.

So tonight was Katherine and Steven's reception at the Springville Museum of Art. It was just splendid :)  Aaaaand, I caught the bouquet.  (Not that that means anything, haha).

Surprisingly, it was a lot harder to "give her up" than I thought.  Things are going to be so different now, but I know it's for the better, and that her life she is starting with Steven is the beginning of something beautiful. Her life is just moving forward, and that is okay! My time will come.....but until then, I will just enjoy being me and doing the things I want! :P

Well, it's been a long day and I have to be up at 5:00 AM for work tomorrow morning, so I best be peacing out! Toodles!

No regrets.

I just wanted to take the time to write and say: don't take life for granted. Ever. 

You never know how fast it's going to change.

Why do I say this?
Recently I just found out that a beautiful, sweet girl I know from my high school cross country and track days has brain cancer.  It honestly broke my heart when I found out.

I ache for her.
I cried upon finding out this heart-wrenching news.

I wish there was something I could do to make her better.

You wanna know the amazing thing though? She is so strong, so brave, so upbeat and positive.

She has the knowledge that her Heavenly Father has a plan for her, and that He will be watching over her through the whole process.  That alone is a testimony builder for me;  if someone who is going through a trial as hard as hers, can manage to have the amount of Faith she shows: SO CAN I. 

Basically what I am saying is, live your life each and every day with no regrets. You never know what tomorrow is going to bring. It's scary to think about, really. One day we may be fine and dandy- the next, not-so-much. 

Please keep my darling friend, Rachel, in your prayers.  I'm sure she and her family would appreciate all the support; she leaves for a 6-week treatment in Tennessee, on Sunday.  It's her senior year, and no one should have to start it out this way :(

Rachel (back) with teammate and friend, Summer (front)

Love you, Rach.

I'm pulling for you.

For those of you who would like to follow her progress, you can check out her blog at: http://rachelstratton.blogspot.com/

A New Chapter Has Begun

Sorry it's taken me a while to get this story written! It's short, anyway.

I had a marvelous July 14th!!!  Everything went so smoothly and I was just in a superb mood the whole day!  I got so much accomplished, and it felt great. :)  I woke up at 5:00 AM and ate breakfast and read my scriptures while eating.  Then I headed over to Provo to help a lovely patient I take care of at 6:00 AM.  After I was done there I rushed home and ran 8 miles with my aunt, and then I showered and got ready for the day and then took care of another patient.  When I was done, it was time for the baptism! Ahh! So exciting :) :)

A new chapter has now begun in Ruben's life. His baptism was beautiful, like pretty much all baptisms are.  There was such a wonderful spirit there, and I loved seeing him so happy. My mom and dad did the musical number. My mom sang and my dad accompanied her on the piano. ("My Soul Hungered" is the song they did. If you haven't heard it, I highly suggest looking it up and taking a listen cuz it is gorgeous! Brought me to tears.)

Anyway -- it was all beautiful to say the least. He was smiling so brightly after.

I got to go to his confirmation the next day as well. He is so happy that he made this big decision in his life, even though it took him many, many years.


Here is the before picture. We like to joke that you can tell he doesn't have the Spirit with him yet:

And here is the after picture!!! He was so so happy: 

I know that God is real, and that He loves each and every one of us and will touch our lives in so many different ways if we allow Him to.  If you really want to know of the truth, and you have an open mind and heart, He will manifest it unto you...always. That is what happened with Ruben, and he is so super happy! I'm grateful God allowed me to be a big part of his conversion process because it has been a testimony builder for me. 

And he's getting baptized!!!

Today I want to refer back to one of my very first posts on my blog (the 5th post to be exact):


"I just wanted to write about how much I love missionary work!!!! Oh how I LOVE IT!!!

At my job the past couple of days I have had the opportunity for some great missionary work. One of our newer resident's (Irma) husband comes to see her every day. He misses her, and the change of her being at the nursing home has been hard on him. They moved here with their daughter and son-in-law from California, but he and his wife are originally from Argentina. Anyway. So whenever I work I get to see him. We have become good buddies :) He's a way cute little old man! He's about 72 and his wife is 70, so they've been married a long time.  Irma mostly spouts off in Spanish because she's starting to forget her English, so it's nice when he is there so he can help translate for us. 


Whenever I take my dinner break I go and sit by them cuz they're usually chillin out in the dining room at a table. Ruben (Irma's husband) absolutely adores me! He says he always looks forward to the times when I work, and he dreads when I have to go off to college because he will really miss me, and the help I give to his wife etc, etc. He says I'm the best! He is such a funny guy.


So, it started yesterday. We got talking religion. Somehow I knew he wasn't LDS and later found out he is Catholic--well kinda cuz he's not active in that religion anymore. But we got talking and I told him about the plan of salvation and that families can be together forever, I explained the purposed of baptism. I told him about patriarchal blessings and the temple. I also explained a little about temple work. He asked questions here and there and I did my very best to answer as correct as possible. (Oh and btw his daughter who lives here is LDS and they've given him a Spanish and English BOM and he tried reading it years ago, but said it was really hard for him to understand and concentrate....) but yeah. We got talking about many different church related things. He seemed interested. And tonight was even more awesome! I brought my regular set of scriptures and also my mini BOM to work with me and I also found some scripture verses before work and on my dinner break we talked more and I had him read some of the scriptures I found. He seems really interested and said he thinks what it says is true. So that's a good start! He promised me he would read the BOM (at least try starting again) and he even took home my little BOM set to borrow until when I work Sunday! (The reason he took mine is because last night he looked for his, but realised he left them in Cali) I am going to start working on marking another BOM for him tonight to get to him by Monday. I'm hoping if I mark and write some things in different places that it'll be easier for him to understand and concentrate.

I got emotional partway through our conversation.... he said it was all just hard for him lately with his wife being gone and that he couldn't hardly ever eat from being upset. He just was having a hard time understanding WHY all of this was happening to him. I told him about Joseph Smith, and the scripture found in D&C about how all of our challenges are for our good. The Lord has a purpose for everything. Then I got emotional.... I told him maybe, just maybe the reason his wife was like this and in the nursing home, is so he'd get the chance to meet me. Maybe the Lord wanted him to hear the gospel again from me because I could get to him and teach it to him in a way his family hadn't been able to.. Later after we talked he thanked me, and sweetly said "I think you're my angel." Then he gave me a big hug. It was so neat!

Anyway. It was a really neat experience, and I just wanted to share it with ya'll. I'm excited to find out how far he gets in reading when I next see him Sunday, and I am excited to give him another copy with my testimony in it! :) :)"




So that is the beginning of my missionary experience with Ruben.  Actually, I just realized something neat; I just checked the date I wrote that post, and it's 2 years, to the day, from tomorrow (July 9, 2010).  


You are probably wondering the reason why I decided to re-share this post with you.  Well, over the 2 years I have known Ruben, we have become really close, my adopted Grandpa (as I like to call him).  He knows, and loves, my whole family as well. Anyway, Ruben is kind of a bit stubborn in character a lot of the time. If he doesn't want to do something, he won't. 


We still talk about church things frequently, and he asks questions. The biggest "battle" has been for the past 7-8 months I have been trying to occasionally invite him to come to church with me.  He wouldn't come because he said he was scared and doesn't like not knowing what to expect.  On a side note, about a couple months ago I think he started going to the MTC sometimes. He volunteered and was an investigator for the missionaries being trained. Since he's Argentine, he'd be able to help out by speaking Spanish with them. After going a couple times, he actually attended church with his daughter and their family, and it wasn't as bad as he thought, just like I kept telling him ;) 


Well.....I guess what I'm trying to get at is, this past week when I got back from vacation HE TOLD ME HE DECIDED TO GET BAPTIZED!!!! The baptism will be held this upcoming Saturday, and I could not be more excited. I'm really hoping they'll approve my day-off request at work because I can't miss this. Plus, Ruben was telling me he needed and wanted me there, because without me he wouldn't be the same. 


This whole experience has been a really neat one. It makes me excited to think that one day, whenever I'm able to be a full-time missionary for my Lord (as a calling), I will be having many experiences like this.  I just loved watching Ruben's faith grow over the years, and seeing that he was ready even before he knew he was. I just had to patiently wait until his fear subsided and he allowed himself to realize what I think he's known for a long time. 

(Ruben and I the before I left for college)

I can't wait for Saturday!!


:) :) :) :) :)