You Dont Have to Do It Alone

Life can be a real journey. I have learned many things this year, but I think the thing I learned best of all is that, I really don't know very much. The year began with the beginning of a new semester. Just previous to that had been a very hard couple of months for my family. My mom was in and out of the hospital, our dryer broke, it was winter, the refrigerator broke and so did most of our cars. So needless to say it was kind of a relief when school started and I had different concerns on my mind, most of which only concerned me which was a change. I do want to say though throughout all of this I never felt alone, I always knew that Heavenly Father was looking out for me and my family.
During the winter semester a lot happened. I made some really great friends got more involved with the school by being a mentor for disadvantaged freshman but the most exciting thing was I switched my major from art to El. Ed.  It was a big change but I KNEW this was what I was to supposed to do.After all this there began a new semester and I felt as if  was starting all over with a clean slate. I had new roommates, a new major and I lived in a new place. Things were good and I had some great experiences. Of course like any other time of life there were trials but I found ways of getting around them.  With the help of religion classes, sincere prayer, lots of scripture study and weekly Temple attendance I was able to get through the school year with minimal bruising.
When it was all over I decided to try something new and move to Provo. It was out of the blue but it sounded fun. My cousin Leah, and I lived with my Grandparents and we had lots of fun but little did I know this was the beginning of a lesson I really needed to learn. As I have described in previous posts I looked for jobs however, I was unsuccessful, l for the most part. I applied for more than forty jobs and the only thing I found was substitute teaching. I prayed hard to know what to do but to no avail. I never felt impressed to do anything or go anywhere, I was at a stand still.One day while I was in Provo my grandpa gave me a blessing, in my blessing he told me many things, all good but many scary. I truly felt that things would probably be different from then on. Shortly after the blessing and  just before Thanksgiving I decided to move home since the holidays were coming and my brother was graduating from college. I felt it was better to be home and I finally felt it was time to be back, for good. Once I moved home I almost instantly became unhappy and kind of depressed. I was not excited for Christmas and I had no friends. Everyone seemed to be gone or busy with other things. My moms health was not that good so I was once again faced with the fear of so much responsibility that I was not sure I could take at the time. The concern of money and other things were always weighing on my mind, even though I had finally felt like I should be home it was hard. Once you move away it is hard to go back and still try to move forward. I lived out of my packed bags and I had a constant feeling of floating, I never felt settled and I didn't  feel like anyone wanted me here. However,  I continued to pray but didn't know what to do. Finally one Sunday I had a breakdown, or should I say a breakthrough. My mom finally asked me if there was something wrong and I just cried. I told her many things. Afterwords I poured out my heart to my Heavenly Father. I told Him I couldn't bare it anymore and I needed the Saviors help. I know how the Atonement works, at least I thought I knew. You lay your burdens on him and He will lighten your load. Well I didn't know how to do that. I continued to pray when finally the answer came. He told me I didn't need to know how, that wasn't my concern. He told me just to trust in Him and he would take care of it. It is so simple yet it has taken me years to learn and far too many tears before I realized that we don't have to understand in order For the Atonement to work. If you go to the Lord with your pains and your sorrows, truly he will make it possible for you to have peace.
This year I learned so much about tender mercies, faith, trust, love, and humility. In order for us to learn Heavenly Father must humble us. When we are at our lowest we are the most malleable and easy to teach. At the End of this year I want to bare my humble testimony that this is the True Church. God lives, and He loves us. The Savior was born, died and was resurrected, He Lives and He loves us. Prayer works and if you pray with a sincere heart He will answer. I know the Book of Mormon is true and was translated by a true prophet. I know that our Prophet today speaks to God and knows what is best for us. I am thankful everyday to be a part of this and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Answer To My Prayer

It has been way too long since I wrote on my blog. Harvest is over and I am now back in Provo trying to find something seasonal to keep myself occupied until I go back to BYUI in January.
For some who may not know exactly what Harvest is or what my place in harvest might be let me explain (below are a few pictures I took). Harvest is that lovely time of year where all the farmers are digging up their crops and putting them into cellars, grain bins and sending beets off to the dump before being processed. I drive a big truck with ten wheels. My truck is not beautiful but handsom... yes that is why I named him Herbert! We got along alright, only a few fun stories to tell. Anyhow I drove Herbert for the duration of about four weeks. I do this every year and most of the time it isn't something I look forward to (hence one of the reasons I moved to Provo) but somehow I always find my way back to the potato field.
Now to the interesting part of the story. Before I decided to go back and work harvest I was really struggling to know what to do since I wasn't having too much luck with jobs. I had applied for over forty jobs and wasn't having any success. I had been praying very hard to know what to do. Every time I prayed I didn't really feel like I should stay and I didn't feel like I should go... Now I look back and see that maybe I just wasn't listening. I wanted so badly to stay and work in Provo but Heavenly Father had different plans for me. Sometimes you can want something so bad but if it is not the Lords will it won't matter how bad you want it. I learned so many things in the last few weeks. I learned that if you are obedient He will provide a way. He knew I didn't want to work but He gave me a friend to help make my experience he softened the hearts of the people I worked for and He even blessed me with a few missionary experiences. He answered my most sincere prayers. Sometimes, lots of times life doesn't go the way you want or the way you think it will but in the end Heavenly Father will always give you the thing that will be the best for you, the thing that will bring the most peace and happiness. I am still a little confused on what I am to do with my life now that I am home but with His help I know I will find the answer.

Twelve row beet topper

The six row beet puller about to load Melissa's truck

I tried to get some shots of the gorgeous sunsets but alas I was unsuccessful

Me in Herbert

My awesome friend and coworker, Ashley

Waiting in line at the Dump

This is just a really weird truck I had to take a picture of. It reminds me of a rat.

The beet field just above the Snake River

The twelve row puller loading cemis

There Truly is Sunshine Beyond the Clouds

As many of you know I am currently living in Provo UT. I love it here and I love living with my one of my favorite people; my cousin Leah. She has made everyday here an adventure and I am positive I wouldn't be having nearly as much fun without her. We do everything from country dancing to having Disney movie marathons. We are always trying to come up with new and fun things to do. Yesterday my grandparents decided they wanted to go for a drive in the mountains so we took our afternoon naps then packed ourselves a few snacks and off we went. We had so much fun! It is always an adventure driving with grandma and grandpa : ) and they say  I am scary... 

As far as my current status in life I have not yet found a job. I am currently a substitute teacher but unless I find something more permanent, soon I will be returning to my home town. I am sure my mom will be happy about that but I will be sad to leave. I have learned a few things though. Heavenly Father listens to our prayers and he ALWAYS answers. I have learned many things while trying to figure out Gods will for me. What I want is not always what will make me the happiest. Surprising right? haha... He always does what is best for US. I hope that I can only learn how to better align myself with His will. This life is a journey and I have only just begun. Life is beautiful.

A Most Glorious Day

I wasn't planning on writing on my blog this much but when a weekend like this comes your way there is no other choice but to write it all down. It all started after our singles branch floated the river yesterday. SaraKay Larsen, Amy Gwynn, Zac Hansen, Adam Young and myself went to Kortney Murdocks house to practice for a song we were going to sing today, which is Sunday. It was such a wonderful experience to have us all there singing together like we had so many times in years before. The song was beautiful and the spirit was strong. Today when we performed it it was very powerful and I can't even tell you how happy it made me to be up there singing with some of my best friends in the whole world. The rest of the day was spent eating food,  talking with one another and singing hymns by the piano it quite simply doesn't get much better than that.
Some might say we have people who come into our lives to help us learn certain things or to help us in certain areas but the truth is when you find good friends you can't just let them go. I often find myself hoping that some things will never change. If I had a say, I continue to meet new people and make new friends but I would never lose the ones I have already. Without good friends I wouldn't be who I am today.

Two of those fabulous friends I mentioned above! This was not the same day but it was still a fabulous day.

Some of my photos

Many people call this my African Sunset picture

 Sunsets and sunrises outside of my home

My niece Hallie

My nephew Kaden

These are just some pictures I have taken mostly this year minus one. All of them are still in raw file form, as you can probably tell, I haven't done any touch ups or changed them in any way. 

The Start of a New Adventure!

This year I have thought a lot about the importance of keeping records of important dates and memories. I have been pretty good at keeping a journal since high school but the last few months have been a bit of a shame. That is when I thought of this idea! I must confess it wasn't my own, I was inspired by others who have done the same, however, stolen or not it is still a good idea. So here I am beginning my own blog.

Beginning in July I decided I would be brave and set out on a new adventure. Now I know moving to Provo may not be the most exciting adventure but it is new to me. I wanted to see if I could find a job in one of the surrounding school districts.So I set off to see if I could find something. I have to say that I remember why I don't like job hunting. It is exhausting and now after two solid weeks of resume sending and email writing I have almost nothing to show for it! Time is not completely gone however, I still have a few days left before most of the surrounding schools start. If all else fails I will be substituting and trying to find a second part time job to keep myself occupied.
All in all I love it in Provo!! It has been so much fun living with my Grandparents and rooming with my fabulous cousin Leah! We have way too much fun. Between the dances, the tennis court in the back yard and the mall just up the street we get our days worth. I can't wait to see what kinds of new things life will bring us!