The Truth...

So, When I was home a couple weekends ago, I told everyone how much I hated college.  Well, That isn't necessarily true.  I am sooo blessed to be at BYU-I right now, no matter how much I complain and cry and say I hate it, I truly know that it is where I need to be.  I have INCREDIBLE roommates who are crazy and soo much fun!  I actually have some pretty awesome classes, (I just hate having to do homework...)  There is a temple super close that I can go to whenever I want to, I can feel the spirit EVERY single day in my classes because the teachers teach with the spirit and we start each class with prayer.  I have the opportunity to meet new people EVERY SINGLE DAY.  I am truly Thankful and blessed to be here right now.  I know it's where I need to be, and when I need to be.  Yes, Sometimes trusting in the Lord's timing is hard and having faith that he knows all can feel excruciating, but, I know, without a doubt that he loves me and wants what's best for me, and he will guide me, as long as I am trying my hardest to follow him.

I am so blessed, and I know that I don't take the time to recognize that on a daily basis.  I get so caught up in all of the things that I have to do that I forget what truly matter in life.  Something that has been helping me to get through the REALLY hard days is to remind myself that, yes, I am sacrificing some of the things that I love to do (spending time with my family, helping with our cows) right now so that I can gain an education and eventually, do those things full time.  I am sooo thankful for EVERYTHING that I have, and I just wanted to share that!  <3

Going Home!

So, I got to go home on Friday afternoon!!  I am soooo glad that I did, I just REALLY didn't want to come back to Rexburg, but I went anyways.  The main reason I went home is because we were moving our cows from our summer pasture to the property right around our house.  It was soooo much fun to actually get to be home with my family and do the things that I love!!

Getting the horses all ready at the beginning!

If you can't tell, It was SUPER foggy down in the valley, but we were out of it to begin with.  It looked really cool!!  

The cows were sooo ready to get out of there!!  

And...  We are off!

Russell and I ran along behind most of the way.  We would run up through the middle of the cows so that we could get in the front and stand in all of the holes in the fences or stand in places where there are no fences!  

Waiting...

Here they come!!

A huge Brahma bull.

So, I had a GREAT day yesterday!  Spending time with my family and working with cows are two of my very favorite things!  Oh, My mom and I went to town yesterday and when we were walking back into our house, I noticed this HIDEOUS spider on the wall

Yes, it really is as big as it looks!!  I HATE these spiders!  One summer, we had one that had built a web outside of our kitchen window and it lived there for several months!!  It  was pretty intense! :)  When I would be standing at the sink doing dishes at night (yes, I do dishes ;) ), I would see it catch flys and moths.  It was cool to watch it, as long as there was a barrier between us :)  Anyways, last night, I went to see my amazing cousin Lexcie!!  It was soo great to see her and to visit with all of her family!!  This morning, I got to go to Church with my family which was AWESOME!! Even though I cried, a lot because I didn't want to come back to Rexburg!!!  :)  I know, I'm pathetic!  My mom brought me over to Ontario to meet the girl who was going to bring me back to Rexburg, and I cried some more, then when We actually got to Rexburg, I called my parents to tell them that I made it and I cried some more...  You know, I just cry A LOT!!  We made it back to Rexburg from Ontario in 4 hours and 45 minutes!!  I was pretty impressed!  :)   Anyways, I am already counting down the days until I get to go home for Thanksgiving!  In case you were wondering, there are 30 :)  I can't wait to spend a little longer at home!  Then after I get back from that, there are only 20 days until I get to go home for Christmas!  So, I guess I have no choice but to stick it out...  I know I can do it, i just REALLY do not want to!!!  Have a great week everyone!! 

One Month in Rexburg!

So, this week has gone by insanely fast!! I guess I counted wrong last week because there are still 9 1/2 weeks left until Christmas break!  Call me crazy, but I have already started listening to Christmas Music :)  It is the only thing that makes me feel better when I'm really depressed!  Hahaha :)  My roommates are probably going CRAZY!  I had my first test on Monday and I did pretty well!  I have two this week...  So that should be fun!  Ha!  My field trip to Logan, Utah was actually a lot of fun!!  It was a REALLY long day though!  We got to see some pretty cool stuff!  On Tuesday, I found out that I won free groceries for all of FALL SEMESTER!!!  How awesome is that?  I was pretty excited!  I went shopping yesterday with one of my roommates and we found some pretty amazing things!!  After that, I went to the temple again.  By myself this time which was pretty terrifying for me!  I hate being by myself!  But it was really good!  I definitely needed that time alone!  Last night, We went and saw Meet The Mormons!  It was SOOOOO good!!

If you haven't had the chance to see it yet, I would really encourage it!  Even if you aren't a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!  It really tells what we believe in as "Mormons" and it is just a great movie!!  

My Brother James went home  this weekend to go hunting with my dad and two of my other brothers.  Oh, how I wish I could have gone too!!  But, as my dad was saying when I talked to him on Friday night, I will have other opportunities to go hunting!  Right now I need to focus on school!!  It is just sooo hard sometimes!!!  There are sooo many other things that I would rather be doing!  

I got called to be a Relief Society teacher and I am insanely nervous!  I have to give the lesson next week!  Yikes!  Thankfully, I have had sooo many wonderful teachers in my life who have helped me to know what to do!  It is just way different actually preparing the lesson!  But, I know I can do it!  Have a GREAT week everyone!!  <3

General Conference is the BEST!!

I have now survived 3 weeks of school!!  Which means I only have ten more, and one of those weeks is Thanksgiving :)  So really, 9 & 1/2!  Haha, My family came to Rexburg this past weekend For General Conference, while it was great to see them, Yesterday and today have been REALLY hard!  I just want to go home and not go to college ANYMORE!!!  I have gotten into a routine where I can get my homework done really easily, I just miss being home and I REALLY want to go hunting with my dad this weekend!!  Anyways, I Really am doing great!  I have my first test in the testing center tomorrow which I am NOT looking forward to :)  I made Cinnamon rolls this weekend that were absolutely delicious!  They were called Cake Batter Cinnamon rolls and oh my goodness, I will never make plain cinnamon rolls again!!  :)  Cake Batter Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

I would just like to let everyone know that rolling out cinnamon rolls without a rolling pin in REALLY difficult!  Anyways, they turned out delicious and I got to share them with my family, my roommates and a bunch of other random people :)  

On Friday afternoon, Hannah, Logan, My roommate Jordan, and I all were able to go to the temple again!  It was GREAT!!  

The pictures we got this time were way better!  :)  I'm soo beyond blessed that there is a temple less than a mile away from my apartment!  I love being able to go so often!  Last night, (Sunday)  Mackenzie and I went to stadium singing which is where a bunch of people gather below the bleachers at the stadium and sing hymns late at night.  It was AMAZING!!  I'm soooo glad I went, even though I still had a bunch of homework!  

Conference was AMAZING!!  There were sooo many wonderful talks that I don't even know which one was my favorite!!  I loved Henry B. Eyring's talk on Sunday Morning
 and Richard G. Scott's talk on Sunday afternoon!  I am soo thankful that we are able to have living prophets on the earth at this time and that twice a year, they speak to us and share exactly what we need at this time!!  I got to skype with my Brother and Sister-in-law and see my nephew yesterday!!  Oh my goodness how he has grown in a month!  I miss them like crazy but I'm glad I got to talk to them for so long yesterday!!  Anyways, I have to head to my last class of the day. Have a great week!!

One Week Down, Thirteen More to Go... (I'm not counting)

While I know I should be doing my homework that is due on Tuesday, I would rather write a quick little update.  Not that anyone really cares, I do this more for me than for anything else.  I mean, I do like having people read my posts, but still :)  I have officially survived my first week of COLLEGE!  And by survive, I mean that I called home every day, crying most times, telling my parents how much I wanted to come home :) I mean, I don't hate it here by any means, I just hate SCHOOL and homework!  Probably the highlight of my week was going to the temple with Hannah and Logan on Friday afternoon

.

Me, Hannah, and Logan in front of the GORGEOUS Rexburg Temple!

I love these girls soo much!!  If they weren't in Rexburg, I think I would be having a WAY harder time than I already am!  They brighten my day whenever I see them! I am soo greatful that there is a temple within walking distance of my apartment.  It is such a blessing to not have to travel for over an hour to get to the Temple.  I am so excited for the many opportunities that I will have to attend the temple in the next several months! I got to go to dinner on Saturday night with the amazing Madison Baker, one of the sister missionaries who served in Weiser but is now home and attending BYU-I.  We went to Pizza Pie Cafe, which is amazing, and we just caught up and I told her all of the news from Weiser, not that I know very much since I have only been home for three weeks in the past 4 months.  But we still had a lot of fun talking!  My roommate Jordan and I moved all of our furniture around in our living room so that we could actually plug our TV into the cable, then we watched BYU beat UVA yesterday.  It was pretty great.  

Our cute little living room :)

I only have class from 7:45-8:45 on Friday mornings, which is the best thing ever!!  And it is also my favorite class which makes it even better :) It's my Intro to Livestock Production class.  It was a great way to end my first week of school :)

     Anyways, I am alive and so far things are going alright!!  I love BYU-I campus!  Now, I really do need to finish my homework :)  Have a great week!!

College!!

So, I am officially moved into my apartment and my first day of classes is TOMORROW!!  I'm pretty scared!!  My first class starts at 7:45 a.m. so we'll see how that goes :)
I really love my apartment and my roommates!  My birthday was on Friday and my roommates threw a surprise party for me.  I had absolutely no idea (hence the surprise)!!

I am soo thankful for the amazing people in my life!!
On the way down to Rexburg, I was seriously packed into the car.  It was obviously my fault since I brought so much stuff but it was still pretty uncomfortable!

Good bye Chandler Ln :(

I really miss Weiser and my family but I know this semester will fly by so I need to enjoy it while it's happening!!  I'm glad that I have so many friends from home here at the same time as me!  

One thing that I don't especially like is the fact that our singles ward starts at 1:00 in the afternoon.  I would much rather get up early and go to church than have to wait and wait and wait for ever until the afternoon.  But oh well, there's nothing that I can do about it so I guess I better enjoy it :)  

Just my Thoughts...

It's been two weeks since I left Utah and I'm leaving for Rexburg in five days!!  There is also 5 days until my 19th BIRTHDAY!!  Yep, I get to move in to my apartment on my birthday!  It definitely isn't the way I would have planned it, but oh well :)  My very first semester of college!  I can't believe it's here!  I am so excited and nervous and anxious, all at the same time!!  It has been great to be home, but leaving my nephew in Utah was one of the hardest things in the World!!  I miss him a ton!

Leaving Provo

One last snuggle before we leave! 

         Since I've been home, I have had two of my wisdom teeth taken out.  That went way better than I was expecting!  I was soooo scared but It went really fast and I really wasn't in that much pain.  I was even able to sing in church on the next Sunday (5 days later) Kind of ;)  It has been wonderful to catch up with family and friends that I didn't get to see all summer!!  Even though it is so great being home, I still miss Utah and all of the amazing people I was privileged to meet this past summer!
       Two of my best friends have received their mission calls in the last two weeks!!  My cousin, Maycee, will be serving in The New York, Utica mission and my amazing friend, Maddie, will be serving in the Chile, Santiago South mission!!  They are both going to do amazing things and change the lives of so many people!!  I am going to miss them both like CRAZY!!

I have had this quote on the back of my mind for the last couple months. 

 

It is a really great quote!  But there are a few things that I just have to say.  I read this post a few weeks ago called "10 Things Girls Who Aren't Serving Missions Want You to Know"  It really hit me.  I'm not saying I will never serve a mission, Honestly I don't KNOW whether or not I will serve a mission yet, it is just really degrading when guys say they will only marry a returned missionary.  It is not the priesthood duty of women to serve missions!  Yes, serving a mission is a great thing to do, and yes, it does strengthen your testimony and help you grow, but not every person is supposed to go!  Some people have a greater work that they need to do that doesn't involve serving a mission.  Girls can grow up, get married and be GREAT moms whether or not they went on a mission.  If I don't end up going on a mission, it doesn't mean I will be a failure as a person, a wife and a mother later in my life!  Anyways, as you have probably concluded from that little rant, I have pretty strong feelings about this!  I think missionaries are awesome!  I think having the opportunity to serve a mission would be INCREDIBLE!!  But sometimes, life doesn't happen the way we think it should or the way other people think it should.   Heavenly Father truly has a plan for each and every one of us!  He knows what is best for us!  We need to trust in him, even when it may seem like we have everything figured out!  I am glad that so many young women are deciding to serve missions because it means that more people are going to be able to hear the message of the restored gospel!  

     The reason I have brought this up is partially because Maddie and Maycee have both received their mission calls, but it is also because I am going to be 19 in 5 days so technically, I could be leaving on a mission too!  Instead, I have decided to go to BYU-Idaho.  I am really excited!  I know that this is what I NEED to do right now!  And really, it is the only thing I'm sure of!  I don't know what my future may hold.  But whatever it holds, I know that It will be what I need to become the person that Heavenly Father wants me to be!! 

October 6th, 2014

I just did a bunch of research as to who said this quote and I found out that it is just something that some random person made up, not a general authority!  Heavenly Father's Priesthood army has been on the Earth for a long time!    President Hinkley said this in the General Priesthood Session of the October 1997 General Conference:

          

 “There seems to be growing in the Church an idea that all young women as well as all young men should go on missions. We need some young women. They perform a remarkable work. They can get in homes where the elders cannot . . . .Some of them will very much wish to go. If so, they should counsel with their bishop as well as their parents. If the idea persists, the bishop will know what to do.

“I say what has been said before, that missionary work is essentially a priesthood responsibility. . . .Over a period of many years, we have held the age level higher for [young women] in an effort to keep the number going relatively small. Again to the sisters I say that you will be as highly respected, you will be considered as being as much in the line of duty, your efforts will be as acceptable to the Lord and to the Church whether you go on a mission or do not go on a mission.”