Best days of our lives (EFY)

Look at me! Blogging 2 days in a row! It's a record! :)

So, today I hung out with one of my best friends, Sheilani, whom I haven't seen in awhile. We both were EFY counselors together and we were reminiscing about this summer and all of our kids and all the memories we had! So... I wanted to post about it!

I remember most through pictures. I am a visual learner. So, I love having pictures everywhere! In my room, locker, phone, scrapbooks, blog, homework folders... you name it! I love being able to see the people I love and re-living those memories! So mostly on this post, I wanted to post pictures of all my amazing kids! They are all so special to me and I learned so much from them. This past summer was the most amazing summer I have ever had and I had experiences and feelings that I will never forget. I met so many outstanding people that have changed my life forever and will always be a part of who I am.

OGDEN 1 SAH: My Company, the Siempre Fiel (Forever Faithful in Spanish)

 This was by far my hardest week because I had NO idea what I was doing and I am pretty sure my kids could tell I was new at it. But all my kids were so good with working with the inexperienced counselor! And I had great co-co's which helped a ton! Lauralyn and Jake were awesome and we made a pretty good team! :)

There are my lovely Ladies! :) I miss them!!

There are our Boys! :) 

Savanna and Emma! :) LOVE LOVE LOVE them!

 Ogden 2 SAH: My Company! We were "Justice will be Served!"

 I had some of the best co-co's! Spencer and April were SO great and they always had the best lessons! I loved working with them! Words cannot even express how much I love these kids! This is the first and only time I had the older kids and I loved it. It's so different from the younger groups, but each has something amazing to offer!

On game day, the kids came up with a skit for our company and then performed it in front of everyone. We WON! Their skit was amazing! :) I loved it! It was to the tune of "I'll make a man out of you" from Mulan! They were so clever! I was so proud of them ;)

Our company was SO unified! :) During free time, everyone decided to play a game together. We played down by the banks and had several games going and had circles around circles. Out of all my EFY sessions this was one of my most unified companies! :)

Our AMAZING gentlemen :) They were winners!

Aprils Lovely Ladies! :) Some of these girls have become friends that I will have forever! 

My girls! They were ALL examples to me and I don't know what I would have done without them!

April and Spencer! My wonderful Co-Co's!

I was really lucky to have my niece, Katie, and her best friend, Marissa, at my EFY session! :) Getting to see them everyday always brought a Smile to my face! :) 

hahahaha 2 of the COOLEST and tallest high schoolers I know! :)

Sheilani! :) She is my EFY best friend! :) I know my experience would not have been the same without her! :)

All the counselors! :) Boo-YA!

 Sandy 1 SAH: Our company was "Soldiers of Faith" I seriously had some of the best Co-Co's!!! Lacey and Christen were so great! We got along so well and it was like we had known each other forever! :)

I learned a lot from these girls! They were always willing to participate and share their stories and experiences!! :)

Oh Lacy and Christian! We were always having fun :)

Matthew! We had a joke where whenever we saw each other we would wave with just our finger! ha ha

Some of my best EFY friends! Kristen, Alexis, and Erin! :) We had so much fun!! I love them!

Brother and Sister Palmer! Best session director! :)

 Ogden 4 SAH: We were the Angles of Heaven :) This week my co-co's were April again (YAY!) and Luke! They were amazing! :)

 I have a special place in my heart for these kids!! I will NEVER forget them!

Our Flag! :) Super cute!

East! :) He was such an awesome piano player! I was proud of this boy!

Loved seeing Krysta at EFY :) She is adorable!

Mckay!! He was a winner (and so patient with me when I called him the wrong name for the first 2 days!) haha

Scot was such a gentlemen with all the girls! :) I'm proud of him!

Love Love this girl! :) One of my favorite EFY pictures!

Shayla is amazing!! I loved having her in my group and all her profound comments during my lessons!

Meghan was a sweetheart! :) I miss her so much!!

Reagan was SO cute! :) I adored her!!

Danielle was so great! :) She was always so sweet to everyone!

Alex was great! And he was so talented with singing and guitar! At my choir Christmas show, I sang in an ensemble and Brother Simpsons band played with us. One of the band members came up to me after and asked if I knew Alex and was an EFY counselor because he was his Dad! What a small world! It was a tender mercy to hear how he was doing and know he came to my show :) This kid... is great! :)

These girls were ALWAYS so nice to everyone they met! :) They were such a good example to everyone!

Oh Gwen! I love her!! I remember the first real conversation I had with her while waiting for Morningside to start. I fell in love with her instantly :)

Oh these boys were SO funny! They kept me laughing all the time :)

I love Stacy SO much! She is so beautiful! :) I miss her so much!

This kid.... is awesome!! Spencer is really a great example to everyone around him, including me! I love the light he portrays to everyone! I consider him my friend and I will forever :) I am glad I got to know him! I am lucky I got to learn from him! 

AHH Britt is SO amazing! :) Dunno what I would do without her!

Ogden 4 SAH: We are "Judgement Day" My co-co was Bobby! It was really fun! :)

This was by far the week that I learned the most. I am not sure if my kids learned a lot.... but our of all my kids, they taught me the most! I needed this week more than any others! I learned lessons that will help me throughout my life and I have my co-co and my kids to thank! :)

Bobby and I with matching shades. We are cool ;)

I'm not exactly sure why... but all the kids decided to lay on each other. I think it was supposed to be a game where you are trying not to laugh. It took so long to get everyone to lay down, that by the time they all laid down it was SO hot they all got up! ha ha

Cameron taught me a lot :) I really admire this kid!!

Lauren and Hannah! They were SO funny. They were set on setting Bobby and I up! ha ha But I guess that's normal for EFY. :)

Austin was SUCH a hoot! :) I loved having him in my group!! He was one of the coolest guys I have known!

These two were SO great! :)

This was SOOOO sweet! On our spiritual day, all of the boys lined up outside before lunch so when the girls walked out of their meeting, they could be first in line! They girls walked through the line of boys! It was SO sweet to see all these guys be gentlemen and treat the girls with such respect :) A lot of the girls were crying because they were so touched by it! It was a really neat thing to see! :)








The majority of this post has been pictures! .... I am not always very good at expressing my experiences into words, especially since this was 9 months ago! However, this really was the greatest experience and I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to participate in it :) I loved every single minuet of it, the good times and the bad times! I learned a lot. I laughed a lot. I cried a little bit. But I won't forget or regret anything :) I loved everything about EFY!!!!

On the last day, we always made videos for our theme of how we can "arise and shine forth". These are some of those videos! :)

Sandy 1:

 
 Ogden 2:

 

 

Ogden 4:

Humble Pie

Every time I come on this thing I say I am going to do better... yet low and behold four long months go by and I get preoccupied with life while my blog sits, collecting cyberspace dust. Well, now I finally have something to write about. There are many times where eventful things happen and I most definitely could write about them, but if I didn't it wouldn't alter my existence. This experience, however, was an amazing one and I feel heavily inclined to share and remember. I learned at EFY and even taught a lesson a few times on journal writing and the importance of following the promptings of writing things down. The spirit obviously wants me to remember and learn something from this, and so I shall.

So, this goes back a week... I have a child and family welfare class and we take a field trip weekly. It is pretty great. We go visit all kinds of places and get to see all kinds of people in different kinds of social work situations. Last week, we went to St. Anne's homeless shelter. I must admit, at first I thought it was a little sketchy. When I first pulled up, there were tons of cop cars and people all over the street. I was slightly terrified my car was going to get broken into or something. They took us on a tour of the facility and than we got to go and ask some of the residents questions.

They were SUPER nice people. They talked about how one of the worst thing about being homeless is how people look at them and treat them. Not all people choose that lifestyle and many are working hard to maintain better ones. At St. Anne's, they are forced to find work in order to stay there. They must go out and look for jobs in order to be given shelter and food. I felt horrible for thinking the way I did as they were talking. I also felt SO blessed that I have all the things that I do. I have more than enough to survive while those incredible people are on the bare minimum, if even that. It made me want to give them all of my stuff!! I went home and was so thankful for all I had, including the loved ones in my life. Some of those people didn't even have that.

Fast-forwarding.... We had Choralaire Sunday this last week. It's always a blessing to be part of the choir and participate in those spiritual experiences. I always have at least one "WOW-ing" moment each Choralaire Sunday. This time, it was the second meeting. Ususally, it's during "I am a child of God." Something about all of the missionaries always brings the spirit so strongly. Strangely enough, this time, I didn't get it as strong during either of the times we sang it. This time, it came from a cute lady who was sitting behind me during the second meeting. Before the meeting started, she was walking to her seat. She had a walker, and a few teeth missing. She seemed to have a disability of some sort, but was the sweetest lady ever. I started talking to her and she told me how she worked in the nursery and how she loved the little kids. When we started singing, I got to stand right in front of her and she stared at me the whole time! It was like I got to sing directly to her. . . I felt like I was there FOR her! And that she was there FOR me! I just had such a strong connection with her!

Half way through our meeting, we sang "How Firm a Foundation". As I was facing the congragation, I looked down at her and saw that she was mouthing ALL the words! She knew every single verse of the song. She was singing along with us! It melted my heart... and brought me to tears! It only brought me closer to her! Next we sang "I am a Child of God." During that song, we all stay seated so the missionaries can stand. I could hear her behind me singing loudly with us as we hummed and oooed our parts while the lady next to her told her to be quite. The cute lady didn't listen, and continued to sing, which I was estatic about! To know that she loved our music and that she knew all of the words was so impressive!

During our last song, we sang "Fairest Lord Jesus." As we sang, I attempted to pay closer attention to Brother Saunders, but as I took a quick peek down at the Lady, she was looking up at me and she said to me during the song "Beautiful!". I could hardly keep it together! It just made me SO happy! My whole goal as a Choralaire is to bring the spirit and to touch the lives of others.... I had DONE THAT! And little did this lady know, she had done the exact same to me! After the meeting I talked with her and she told me more about nursery and how the gospel is the most important thing in her life! SHE is what made Choralaire Sunday special and brought the spirit! I learned more from her that day than I could have from anyone else. She was exactly what I needed... a tender mercy from the Lord

For Choralaire Sunday, we always have a devotional and testimony meeting before we worship. Ryan and I were the musical number and a few days before I started getting sick. I was SO worried I wasn't going to be able to sing... So I prayed that I would be well enough to sing our song! A miracle happened and I got better and we sang just fine! About an hour after we sang... I got sick again. It came on SO fast and much worse this time! It just showed me that prayers really are answered... and that Heavenly Father has a sense of Humor! ;)

Choralaire Sunday: Melissa wanted to see if I could fit into one of the cupboards at the Church... challenge accepted! :)

Unfortunately, when I got sick, I got REALLY sick! I got the flu and it hit me HARD! I was knocked flat in bet for 3 days, not moving an inch. But I think I needed it because it really humbled me. Sometimes we have to be brought low in order to see just how blessed we are. I realized just how incredible and selfless my parents are. Dad just had surgery and he was willing to help me despite how sick he was! Melissa brought me Lunch and came and visited me, even though I was a contagious Zombie! It was SO nice of her because I really needed the company. Natalie visited me and made me cookies. She continually called me to make sure I was ok and was truly worried! I, being the genius that I am, had also had left my bag with my scriptures, journal, and music folder at the second church we sang at during Choralaire Sunday and I was SO sick I wasn't able to go get it. It was all the way in North Ogden so I didn't quite know what to do. Both mom and dad were unable to get it until the next week. Suddenly, the thought came into my head "MATT!" Matt lives in North Ogden RIGHT by that church so I asked him to get the bag for me and he totally did! No "If's", "Ands", or "Buts".

What amazing friends I have! I feel SO blessed for a Heavenly Father who watched over me and gives me the things I need and humbles me when I need it. I feel blessed to have the people in my life who bless me and are willing to help me when I am in trouble, and I feel blessed to have the spirit with me wherever I go as long as I am doing what is right! I love this gospel. I love my friends. I love my parents. I love the LORD! :) I am one lucky girl! :) 

i KNOW it. i LIVE it. i LOVE it!

This was one of my favorite General Conference talks. It just shows how much of a chosen generation we are as youth of this church. I love the story Sister Dibb's tells at the beginning. It made me think of how much people really do notice our actions and the way we live. We can be an example to those around us by just living righteously and change peoples lives without even knowing it. Just like this girl made an impact on Sister Dibb's life simply by wearing a T-shirt that stated what she believed in! I hope that I can be an example to others by making decisions that will influence others in the best possible ways. I hope I can strive to be able to say "I LIVE IT!"

This talk really made me wonder and ponder the question Sister Dibb's asked. . . am I as focused in my spiritual things and educating my gospel knowledge as much as I am in school and textbooks. In social life and friends? Those spiritual things, feasting on the words of the scriptures, are the things that are going to stay with me forever even in the next life. They are the things that are most important and should take priority over all other things. Am I making the proper amount of time for them? The great thing about having a merciful God is if we forget to give God that time, he forgives us. He still is there for us, even when we aren't there for him. What a true friend! When our family or friends seem to have turned away, or aren't there, he always is. He is the constant light at the end of the tunnel that guides us in our Journey of Life. He is the voice in the back of our minds encouraging us to never give up even in the hardest of times; to always push forward. I personally can say with full confidence that I KNOW IT.

With this Thanksgiving season coming up, I feel so blessed to have this knowledge in my life. I would be lost without it. I am thankful to have such a loving and caring Father in Heaven who blesses me everyday in more ways that I even know. He sends me so many tender mercies and I could never repay him. I am proud to say that "I LOVE IT!" I love it with all my heart and I know with Faith and with strength from the Lord we will be blessed. This Thanksgiving season I hope to remember all the blessings I have been given and stay humbled in remembering that my Father in Heaven gave me all I have. Without him man is nothing. But we are not nothing to him. We are everything to him! And that is what I am thankful for!

I am a Daughter of my Heavenly Father. I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am a Mormon. I know it. I love it. I love it!

Feel So Now

So I have always loved Elder Cook. He always has great talks with messages that speak words of inspiration to me. I was thinking about this talk and how he says that church members have never been stronger, but yet still have a great need to be more committed to the gospel. How true that is, at least for me. I know it's so hard as a college student to find adaquate time to the Lord. I can barely find time to devote to my studies. So I thought it was time to take a step back... am I in a spiritual drought? And what things will cause me from being spiritually fed?

There are the common, primary answers; prayer, scriptures, loving others. But I think it goes deeper than that. Am I doing those things? And not only am I doing those things, but am I doing them with a full intent to be more like Christ? I think there is always room for improvement. You could always become more intimate with your scriputers and always become more acaunited with your Father in Heaven by saying more heartfelt prayers.

My biggest struggle is setting aside that time to God. I know that if you do so, you will be blessed! The Lord has given us so much, so doesn't he deserve at least some of our time? He is our Friend... I always make time for my friends, so I should include him as well.

It is time to take action... there is no more time to say "Well, I will do better tomorrow!" I know that I need to start working towards become closer and more like Christ NOW. To "feel so now".

General Conference Blog

My friend, Shaylee started a blog where she talked about all the general conference talks. It inspired me to do the same. I thought it was a good opportunity to really dissect the talks and pick them apart. How many times do we just go through the motions of listening to conference. I know I sure do... I get SO excited for conference. I listen to all the talks and think "YES, I am going to work on that and do better." But than I don't always do it. I thought maybe if I started to blog about the talks and really ponder them, I might take action upon the words of what our apostles and Prophet were saying. That I would really think about the counsel I was being given. 

I love our Prophet and I love hearing him speak. When I hear him, I get such a calm and peaceful feeling. I can feel the power he has and that he is a man of God. I know that this "talk", although it wasn't really considered a talk, we the highlight of this years general conference. The fact that the age for missionaries in our church has been changed has been a huge blessing in many peoples lives! There are so many people who are in need of the gospel, and now we have the opportunity to send even more servants of God out to preach to them and bring them the true gospel. 

I also love the welcoming of General conference because that is when they announce all the new temples that are going to be built. I think of how blessed we are to have so many temples around the world. We just continue to build more and more proving that our church is only growing. There are so many places around the world who don't have temples anywhere near them and it's such a blessing when they get the opportunity to get a house of the Lord built by them. As President Monson says in his talk, there is no place as sacred or important as a temple and we currently have 139 temples with 27 more to come. 

The Lord is looking our for his people and he knows their needs. He has given us these temples to bless us and he knows when and who needs them the most. I love this gospel with all my heart and am thankful for it. I am nowhere near perfect, and I am thankful that I am always able to be forgiven for my mistakes and sins so that I can eventually become perfect and like him! I am thankful for my Savior and God and for his love for all his children. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to hear from our church leaders and the Prophet who can give me counsel that can guide me in my everyday life so that I can return to my Father in Heaven, and be welcomed home once again to live with him. I hope and strive to eventually one day be like him! I know with his help, I can!

Cha-Cha-Cha Changing!

Change. Change is a part of life. Sometimes it's a good change and sometimes it's ..... uncomfortable. But in the end, it always works out, even when it may seem it won't. This year has been a different one. Different in the sense that I feel like a lot has changed. I have really felt like I am growing up. I am going to be starting my major soon, and I have been working long hours. I feel like a lot of amazing things have happened this past year. I have met my best friends, and learned how to be a better leader and friend. I kinda feel like I have discovered my strengths and weaknesses more!

I start EFY in 3 days and I am kind of freaking out! It's a BIG change and I have a lot of doubt in myself. It's unlike anything I have ever done before and requires a lot of faith. But I know I can do it with the Lords help. I know it's gonna be a marvelous blessing in my life and I can't wait! (even though I am scared out of my mind!) haha I have been trying to plan my lesson on faith for monday. I think through planning it I have already learned so much! It's just foreshadowing what is to come from this upcoming month! SO many blessings are in store! I just know it! I am excited to work with the youth and be an example to them. I know I can learn a lot from them as well!

So a few weeks ago, Jessica Grant, Spencer Christensen, Kayla and I went down to Spanish Fork and watched the Eclipse. Jessica works at the planetarium so she got some glasses for us to watch it! We brought TONS of food and set out blankets in a church parking lot and played some scripture games while watching it! It was one of the funnest days. We were all just crazy and fun. The eclipse was so pretty and after the sunset was beautiful! It was a really fun roadtrip!

The Sunset after the Solar Eclipse!

I had one of the coolest experiences a few weeks ago. It was my stake conference and Melissa and Kaitlin decided to come with me to the Saturday Adult Session. After, we were debating on where we wanted to go get dinner at and after much discussion and indecisiveness, we concluded that the pizza place would be best. We had only been there to eat bread sticks there and decided to take the risk of eating the pizza... It had to be good pizza being called "the pizza place". We were the only customers and got talking to the two teenage boys working. They asked why we were dressed up, and we explained we went to stake conference. They weren't members of the church, so we explained what stake conference was. They were asking us multiple questions about our religion and we talked to them the whole time we were there eating our pizza, which was delicious by the way! They were such nice guys, saying they supported our religion, and had friends out on their missions. A few months ago, the institute gave everyone a book of Mormon and asked us to write our testimonies in them and give it to someone. Melissa has been carrying her's around for 3 months and happened to have it with her. Right before we left, she went to Dylan, and gave him her Book of Mormon. He told her he would read it and he has always wanted one! It was a great missionary experience and just filled my soul with joy! It made me so happy and was a testament that this church is true! It shows me that God really knows what he is doing and plans out every little detail. All those little decisions we make, can make a difference. If we had decided to not go to stake conference, or to go to melissa's stake conference or to eat somewhere else, that experience would have never happened, and his life may not have been touched. It's amazing to me!

Fizzy Oranges!

Prettiest Sunset I've ever seen!

Earlier this week Melissa, Kaitlin, and I went hiking up fern wood! There is a castle house by the trail and it was the coolest house ever! It was my first time on that hike, and it was my favorite! It was really pretty and really easy. We brought lunch and blankets and ate at the top watching the sun set! It was one of the prettiest sunsets I have ever seen! Proof that God lives!!!! It was perfect. So peaceful and away from the worldly things. It was great to be out in nature and in the fresh air. I love hiking and summer!

I know it's so cliche to keep saying I feel like big things are in store for me, but I REALLY do feel like that. I haven't ever really felt that before... But I am starting to feel God's plan for me get put into action and it's a great feeling! I am so blessed to be sourrounded by amazing friends daily and so many blessings and tender mercies! I love this gospel! SOOO much! :)