My Baby and Me

"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself."

--Josh Billings

How to Open a Chocolate Orange

A big thank you to Christian for this wonderful demonstration. :)

I love my job!

I love my job! I work at Riverwoods Imaging Center--Radiologist office--and it's the best job I've ever had. Even better, my good friend Kara now works there with me! It's so great. This year we had a Christmas party, and for dinner, they ordered us CARRABBAS! Can you believe that??? Ahh, the benefits of working for a doctor. I love it. :)

What Christmas Means

"Christmas means giving. The Father gave his Son, and the Son gave his life. Without giving there is no true Christmas, and without sacrifice there is no true worship."

Gordon B. Hinckley, "What Shall I Do Then with Jesus Which Is Called Christ?" Ensign, Dec. 1983, 3

The Message of the Season

"The message of this season that is applicable throughout the year lies not in the receiving of earthly presents and treasures but in the forsaking of selfishness and greed and in going forward, seeking and enjoying the gifts of the Spirit, which Paul said are 'love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law' (Gal. 5:22-23)."

James E. Faust, "A Christmas with No Presents," Ensign, Dec. 2001, 6

A Random Act of Kindness

My hands were numb, my feet soaked, and my face stung from wind and snow. I was already late for a doctor's appointment, and I wasn't going to be getting there anytime soon at the rate I was going. My poor little car was buried in the gutter, and only my mother, me and my little 11-year-old brother were there to try to get it out. It was hopeless. Every try just seemed to push it deeper into the snow. Just when I was ready to give up, I slipped and dropped my brand-new phone into a nice mound of slushly street snow. JUST GREAT. On the verge of tears, I lost hope. Just then, the snow-plow drove by and stopped. The nicest man I possibly have ever met got out and without a word grabbed a shovel and began to dig my poor little car out. I was exhausted, and could barely say thank you. He just smiled and kept working. Within minutes the car was free and I was on my way. God bless the random stranger who took the time and effort to help rescue me today. He truly was an angel in disguise.

A New Magic Word

Remember in grade school, when we were all taught the magic words PLEASE and THANK YOU? Here's a new one:

I was in the kitchen getting some rocky road while my dad was finishing up cutting it, and my little brother Sean came in and tried to snatch a piece. Being the loving big sister that I am, I stopped him and said, “What do you say?” expecting him to give in and ask nicely, preferably with a please. Instead, he replies, “MOM,” snags and piece, and walks off.

Apparently MOM counts as a magic words these days.

Beautiful Sadness

I am grateful for learning to cry. I didn’t used to have that ability. I still don’t use it to its full potential, but I’m learning. Crying can be a good thing. Holding things in just makes it more painful when they come out later--and they will come out in the end. This evening I drove up to the temple and cried to my Father in Heaven for a while—it’s really weird, but it almost felt good, I can’t quite explain it. It’s like the Goo Goo Dolls song, Iris: “you bleed just to know you’re alive.” Sometimes crying can make me feel, and that’s priceless, especially right now. Here’s a good quote to describe it (Trey Parker and Matt Stone): “I love life…Yeah, I’m sad, but at the same time, I’m really happy that something could make me feel that sad. It’s like… It makes me feel alive, you know. It makes me feel human. The only way I could feel this sad now is if I felt something really good before. So I have to take the bad with the good. So I guess what I’m feeling is like a beautiful sadness.” Maybe that’s what it is. Maybe tears are a blessing.

Angels Aiding Angels

Today I had the opportunity of witnessing the wonder of giving here at BYU: the Humanities College Sub-for-Santa project, Angels Aiding Angels. What a wonderful thing! This is why I love BYU. The students were so giving; I have never seen so many presents in my entire life! I'm so grateful that we could help out so many families this year. This is the meaning of Christmas.

SNOW!

I have completely loved this winter--the warmth and lack of rain and snow. I HATE the snow when I have to drive to school in it, dealing with the other out-of-state students, the pants wet up to your knees, the all-day long squishy shoes, the runny-nose, the nasty hair, and my favorite, my bright red rudolph nose. I hate it with a passion. However, I emerged from class today to find the campus swirling with snowflakes, and I smiled. I smiled like I've never smiled over snow before. It was just so beautiful. The flakes were gigantic, like the kind you make back in grade-school, soft, beautiful and unique. It truly was a wonderland.

Turning to Christ for Peace

“Jesus was also a being of flesh and spirit, but He yielded not to temptation see Mosiah 15:5. We can turn to Him as we seek unity and peace within, because He understands. He understands the struggle, and He also understands how to win the struggle….Most importantly, may we look to Jesus to help restore the inner unity of our soul when we have succumbed and destroyed our peace”

D. Todd Christofferson, “That They May Be One in Us,” Ensign, November, 71-73

Multiple Uses of the Scriptures

And you thought that they were only good for reading...

Mini-Wookie

Little Guy, our latest creature.... uh, pet. :)

Greatest Joys in Life Come from Family Relations

“I am at a stage in my life when, because of great distances, I cannot come to know well grandchildren and, in time, great-grandchildren. There are also people who have never had the opportunity for marriage and parenthood who have the same yearning as I do to somehow be close to family. Because of the restoration of the knowledge of eternal families, we are more hopeful and more kindly in all our family relations. The greatest joys in this life center in families, as they will in the worlds to come. I am so grateful for the assurance I have that if we are faithful, the same sociality which we enjoy here in this life will be forever with us in the world to come, in eternal glory (see D&C 130:2).”

Henry B. Eyring, “The True and Living Church,” Ensign, May 2008, 22

I hope we all remember how wonderful our families are, especially during this wonderful holiday season. I know this past Thanksgiving week I have, and I am so grateful for the family that I have been blessed with. :)

Think Pink

It's funny the things that make us smile; for me, it's anything pink. This week, I upgraded to an LG Venus phone--PINK, of course. Every time I use it, I smile a little, just because it's pink. It's so beautiful.

Clark Kent

This is classified information; do not reveal unless communicating to your closest allies--and especially, whatever you do, do not tell Lex Luther! But I have discovered the great CLARK KENT! That's right, SUPERMAN!!! Wahahahahaha! He's been living under a whole new secret identity of my brother-in-law, Daniel Wilcox, but just look at him! Definitely Clark Kent.

Aida

I love Broadway! I wish that life was a musical, it would make it that much more enjoyable. :) Even here in Provo we can experience Broadway--I had the opportunity to see many of my friends perform in the Hale Center Theater's showing of AIDA. It was fantastic! Not gonna lie, I totally cried--it was beautiful. Josie (Aida) was amazing--she inspires me every time! and Danny was entertaining as always--he never ceases to make me smile. It was a great evening.

Princess for a Day

I know it's been a long time coming, but being the smart person that I am, I brought my camera to the dance, but forgot the battery, so I had to get these pictures from a friend. Haha, oops. Anyway, a few weeks back I got outside of my bubble and went to the BYU Preference Dance with Ryan Willis--ain't he one good-lookin' guy? and such a gentleman! :D Hopefully you can tell by the pictures, but I had a blast!

Gospel = Love ------> Transformation

"The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of transformation. It takes us as men and women of the earth and refines us into men and women for the eternities."The means of this refinement is our Christlike love. There is no pain it cannot soften, no bitterness it cannot remove, no hatred it cannot alter. The Greek playwright Sophocles wrote: 'One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love' (Oedipus at Colonus, in The Oedipus Cycle, trans. Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald [New York: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1949], 161 62)."The most cherished and sacred moments of our lives are those filled with the spirit of love. The greater the measure of our love, the greater is our joy. In the end, the development of such love is the true measure of success in life."

Joseph B Wirthlin, "The Great Commandment," Ensign, Nov. 2007, 30

Our best

"Let us be mindful of the fact that... the best,
if offered willingly and with pure intent, is always
excellent in the sight of God, however poor by
other comparison that best may be."

Hang in there, baby

My dad showed this to me in an
effort to inspire me to keep going.
Thanks Dad, I'm gonna keep on trying. :)

Does it come in black?

Halloween is such a great holiday. For one night, you can be whoever or whatever you please! So, in light of my previous post, and of course my over-the-top love for Christian Bale and Batman, I decided to live out my superhero comic dream: I became Batgirl! What a night!

My Superhero Comic

Do you ever want to just drop everything and start a new life? Even just to take a break for a short while every now and again... if I could, my creative outlet would be crime-fighting.


If I were a superhero...

I would take after Batman...
I would rule the night...

and I would kick some serious butt!

Facing Doubt and Discouragement

"In the gospel of Jesus Christ you have help from both sides of the veil, and you must never forget that. When disappointment and discouragement strike--and they will--you remember and never forget that if our eyes could be opened we would see horses and chariots of fire as far as the eye can see riding at reckless speed to come to our protection (see 2 Kgs. 6:16-17). They will always be there, these armies of heaven, in defense of Abraham's seed." --Jeffrey R. Holland