July 10, 2012

Wow, has it already been almost a month since I last posted?

Sorry guys! Life just gets so crazy sometimes!

Things have been ridiculously great in my life lately. Of course I have daily struggles and trials but life is just so amazing ya know? 

For the Fourth of July I was planning on staying here in Rexburg. We only had Wednesday off so I figured I'd spend most of the day doing homework. I found out on Tuesday morning that my early morning Thursday class was canceled. I called my dad after class on Tuesday around 5:00 and told him that I didn't have class until 11:30 on Thursday. He got really excited and asked me to please come home for the holiday. How could I say no to that? :)

When I got home I rushed in to my sweet puppy who greeted me with lots of kisses. It was so nice outside that I sat him on my lap while I sat in the porch swing on our back deck. Man do I love that dog. It gets harder for me to see him every time I go home though. I got Cocoa when I was 8 years old. His old eyes are becoming so cloudy and he has a difficult time jumping onto the couch to lay in his favorite spot. I even had to carry him up and down the stairs to and from my bedroom a couple times. When I left Thursday morning I held him and just cried. Dad tells me that Cocoa will be around for at least a couple more years. But for whatever the reason I just kept praying that he'd still be around when I got home at the end of the semester. Nobody has loved me as unconditionally as Cocoa has. Through all the heartaches, tears, and happy times, he's never let me down. 

I spent Tuesday night with my dad. We stayed up late watching TV together eating barbeque chips and Dr. Pepper. I loved every minute of it.

Wednesday morning I woke up to my best friend/brother Austin clapping his hands and saying "GET UP!!!!! It's 11:30!!!! LAZY HEAD GET OUT OF BED!!!" hahaha I must say it's so annoying at the time, but when I'm not home, I really miss it. I got up and got ready, then Dad, Debb, Maddi, Austin and I went to Wendy's. There's nothing more patriotic than getting some good ol' Wendy's right? Austin and I feed off each other way to much. If he has a comment, I come right back with a better comment. I punch him on the shoulder, run down the hall, and he chases me, doesn't even get a chance to get me back before I'm yelling "Daddy!!! Austin's being mean!" To which Dad yells down the hall "Austin, leave your sister alone please!" haha works every time :) I'm so excited to be home for 7 weeks to get to hang out with him!

We went to a barbeque at Grandma and Grandpa Wood's house which was a lot of fun! Then we went to mom's house and spent time with the rest of our siblings. The newest addition of our family Daxton is so stinkin' cute!! He's walking around and jabbering up a storm! It was so fun to play with Landon and Connor as well! 

I watched fireworks with some old friends from high school Carter Fawcett and Eddie Freeman. That was sure a lot of fun :) 

Thursday morning I made the journey back to Rexburg just in time to go to trigonometry.

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My life has changed so much.

Sunday was a very emotional day for me.

First, there's been some contention in my apartment lately. 

This has been really difficult for me and I've learned a lot from it. 

I've learned that it doesn't matter what's happened in the past, it doesn't matter how somebody else acts, it doesn't matter how somebody else treats me. All that matters is how I act, how I treat others, and continue to be the best person I can be every single day. I can't control how others treat me or how other people feel about me. All I can do is love them, do my best to serve them, respect them, and help them in any way that I can. 

Sunday morning I walked into Relief Society with so much contention in my heart. I prayed but the bad feelings didn't go away. The feelings were so overwhelming that I couldn't stand them. I got up, tapped my roommate Jaqci (who is also the relief society president) and the shoulder and asked if she'd talk with me in the hall. We talked for a little about how I was feeling and told her I needed the Spirit in my life. So after relief society my roommates and I went into a classroom and talked through some things. Not everything was resolved but I didn't feel as badly as I did before. 

I was able to take the sacrament and renew my covenants with Heavenly Father. I learned so much from the speakers, and later was able to get a temple recommend. 

Later that night a friend of mine asked if I wanted to get together for a while. So while I got ready I listened to a talk by President Monson. I got this idea from my roommate Jaqci. Did you know that you can download tons of talks on itunes for free? Listening to talks throughout the day has helped me so much. Whether I'm getting ready, cleaning my room, or driving, the more I listen to church talks, the more the Spirit stays with me. I currently have 199 talks downloaded :)

I had a fun time hanging out with my friend and talked with Jaqci a little when I got home.

I woke up feeling very discouraged today.  I didn't like what I saw when looking in the mirror. I didn't have much time to get ready for class. And it took everything I had to move along with my day. All day long I couldn't stop thinking about dating. I kept thinking, should I be dating right now? Am I ready for it? I haven't done much dating at all since December. I really am okay being alone most of the time. I'm pretty independent and am simply content. I think the reason why it was on my mind all day was because I had a dream last night I was dating someone. It was really nice. Sigh.... all I know is that when everything is supposed to happen it will, and as long as I'm living the gospel, everything will be okay. I'm not worried about it :)

I'm so grateful for the blessings and trials that I have. Just little things like having a bed to sleep in, shoes to wear, clean water, and modern medicine are such amazing, wonderful blessings. Trials as simple as being discouraged when I look in the mirror, having trouble with my math homework or trials as difficult as death of loved ones, family members and friends straying from the gospel, and heart ache teach me so many lessons that Heavenly Father wants and needs me to learn. 

I was thinking this week about the life that Christ lived. Christ had so many that disliked Him, criticized Him, and even crucified Him. But through all of this did He ever once say a single mean word to anyone? Did He gossip, lie, or give up? No He didn't. It's difficult for me when people do or say mean things, and I want to retaliate but then I think of Christ and am striving to be more like Him. Of course it's something that I have to work at daily but it's always wonderful to keep it in mind. 

Another wonderful thing about Christ and His life that helps me strive to be more like Him is temptation. Sometimes my mind wanders. Sometimes I think about how my life has been in the past or something that I'm tempted to do that's not good. Don't get me wrong, now that I have the gospel in my life I will NEVER go back to how I used to be. I will NEVER do anything to jeopardize having the Spirit and the gospel in my life every single day. It's not worth it. ever. But it's so comforting to know that when Christ lived here he also had temptation. But He never gave in to temptation. How amazing is that?! Whenever I'm tempted I think to myself "Did Christ give in to temptation?" Again, I'm just doing my best to be more like Him.

I know that Christ is with me every step of the way through this crazy adventure called life. And when I feel like I can't stand it anymore, he'll carry me through.

 I know that the gospel is true. I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love me. I know that one day a worthy priesthood holder will make me the happiest woman and together we'll be sealed for all time and eternity with the gospel as the center of our relationship. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a true prophet. I know that everything happens for a reason and that Heavenly Father has a plan for me. I'm so blessed to have the family and friends that I do. Life is so amazing and wonderful!

Well, that's all for now. I have to get up early tomorrow because I have a big day ahead of me. 

Wanna know why?

I'm going to the temple :) 

I LOVE MY LIFE