The Family, A Proclamation to the World

The Family, a Proclamation to the World Was introduced in September of 1995, (which just happens to be the exact month I was born)  Which means, it's exactly 20 years old (like me)!  So I thought I would post about it today!

This is TRULY an inspired document!  I don't know what the world was like in 1995, but I know it must have been better than it is today!  We have been given this proclamation as a guide to help us remember the importance of the family.  

The first paragraph says:  

           "WE, THE FIRST PRESIDENCY and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children."

The family is central to God's plan for all of us!  I am so thankful for my family!  I don't know what I would do without them and I am so thankful that I have the knowledge that I have of Eternal Families!  There is so much talk right now of same sex marriage.  It makes my heart hurt to see how much Satan has influenced so many people on this earth.  I know that God's plan is for one man to marry one woman. His standards will NEVER change, despite all of the turmoil on the Earth right now!  I am so thankful for the constancy of the Gospel!  

Things are about to change!

For one of my classes this semester, The Eternal Family, to be exact, I get to participate in a semester long project to help me strengthen my testimony of the importance of the family unit and to help me strengthen my family.  I am really excited for this project, but there is a catch, I'm going to be blogging once a week throughout this semester about different topics that we learn about in my class, as well as things that I come across on line pertaining to the family.  I would really appreciate any feed back or insights that you are willing to share about the topics that I post.  I am so thankful for my family and the blessing that they are to me!  Stay tuned for my first post, hopefully coming sometime next week :)

It's been a LONG time!

May 30th....  That was the last time I wrote anything...  I guess you could say I've had a pretty eventful, busy summer!  First, I flew on a plane for the first time (but I already wrote about that), I went to Arizona to see my nephew get blessed, and we got to go see the Gilbert, AZ temple and the Mesa, AZ temple!  They were GORGEOUS!!

 Then we went to the Grand Canyon on the way home,

 then my entire family came the last week of July for a family reunion (and we took family pictures!)  :)

I love my family so much!  It was awesome to have everyone home for a while and to get to cuddle my adorable nephews!!  

Now, I have 12 days until I go back to Rexburg!(which means 14 days until my 20th birthday!!)  What happened?!?!  At the beginning of the summer, I thought 5 months sounded like a long time but now it's all gone! I'm pretty excited for the most part...  Other than the homework part :)  I'm excited to meet my new roommates and make new memories with them!  I know it will be a great semester!  I'm excited to learn new things and make more friends!  I can't wait to see what is in store for me!

Utah!!

It's been over a month and a half since I last wrote on here...  Wow!!  That's how long I've been home!  I can't believe that I've been graduated for over a year!  I got to fly down to Provo on Tuesday to spend some time with Clay, Emily and Keith, mostly Keith since Emily works all day and Clay is trying to get his thesis done.  It has been great!! I can't believe how much Keith has grown since I last saw him in February!!  He's walking around like crazy!!  Man, I just love him soooo much!!!

He's pretty much adorable!!  :)  I'm flying back home tonight!  This week went way too fast but it was great to get away from home for awhile!  have a great day!!  

Saying Goodbye Stinks!!

I'm going to miss these girls more than I can possibly say!! 

I can't believe I'm going home tomorrow...  Well today I guess :)  This semester has literally been the fastest three months of my life!  I have learned so many new things, I have made so many amazing friends, and I have grown more than I ever thought possible!  I'm so thankful for all that I have experienced this semester!!!

I'm too blessed to be stressed!

As I was finishing the Book of Mormon this morning for the who knows what time, I couldn't help but feel blessed!  I have sooo much in my life to be thankful for!  I have incredible friends, I have an AWESOME family, I have the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I am able to attend an incredible college...  There are sooo many things!  I can't believe how fast this semester has come to an end.  In nine days, I'll be back home in Weiser!  I'm going to be there for five whole months before I come back to college in September!  There are definitely some things that I'm going to miss, one of those things being my independence.  I like not having to get permission to go places!  Haha :)  I'm also going to miss soooo many people in Rexburg and the surrounding area!  Anyways, as I was reading Moroni Ch 10 this morning, I couldn't help but reflect on all of the things I have experienced as I have read the Book of Mormon over the last 7 months.  While the reason I was reading it was for my religion classes last semester and this semester, I have learned so many knew things and my testimony of Jesus Christ has been strengthened immensely!  At the beginning of last semester, I thought reading the Book of Mormon for 45 minutes every day was ridiculous!  Now, it's second nature to me!  It's just something that I do every day and I have definitely felt blessings come into my life because of the time I have dedicated to the Lord every day!  The scriptures have helped me through some pretty tough stuff in my first year at college!  Last semester was soooo hard for me!  I didn't think I was going to be able to get through it!  I was so homesick and I just wanted to give up, the Lord gave me the strength I needed to get through my classes.  I know I couldn't have done it without him!  At the beginning of this semester, I was super homesick again.  Not nearly as bad as last semester, but it was still pretty bad.  The Lord blessed me with incredible roommates and amazing friends who have helped me more than I can say!  I have learned to more fully rely on My Savior.  I know that he is always there for me!

 I am so thankful for the Book of Mormon and the incredible blessing it is to me.  I'm thankful for all of the things I have learned in my first year of college, I'm thankful for all of the people who I have met that have made an impact on my life, and I'm thankful for the lifelong friendships that I have made.  I am so excited to go home and spend some time with my family, away from homework!

Only 3 1/2 weeks left. Where did the semester go?

So.....  I am having some mixed emotions concerning the end of this semester.  I am really excited to see my family since I haven't been home since The beginning of January, but at the same time, I am absolutely loving college right now!!  I'm not loving the homework part, but really, who LIKES to do homework?  haha!  I just have the most amazing friends and roommates and I am really going to miss being in Rexburg for the next 5 months!  Here are some fun pictures from the last few weeks!

Bowling for FHE!  

Roommate date to the Cocoa Bean! Sooo yummy!  Rebecca had to ride in a wheelchair for one of her classes, in case you were wondering...  haha :)

The DELICIOUS pie I made for pie day!  Creamy Peanut Butter Pie!

I have been stressing a lot lately and Allison showed this to me!  It's the TRUTH!

Who needs to do home work when you can do your toenails??

The rest of these are from a photo booth that was at a party that Allison and I went to so they are sort of blurry.  It was sooo much fun!  I've never taken pictures in a real photo booth before!  

Allison and me!

Allison and Me

Allison, Me, Troy, and Sam

Me, Troy, and Allison

Anyways, it's been a great few weeks!  I can't believe how fast time is flying by!!  I am soo thankful for the amazing people that the Lord has put into my life this semester!  I know that he is sooo very aware of everything that is going on in our lives and he TRULY wants to help us!  I prayed soo hard that I would be able to enjoy this semester and what do you know, I am!  I am not homesick AT ALL which is HUGE for me!!  Have a great day!!