Look how cute that puppy is!  She was so so tired after she came home. 

Food for the Soul

- The choice is not between what's convenient and inconvenient. The choice is between what kind of eternity we will have. 2 Nephi 2:27.  Agency is a great thing.  We are so blessed to be able to choose.  Choose correctly. 

-We do not earn forgiveness.  Our Savior Jesus Christ graciously gives it as we turn to Him.

- Can ye feel so now?  --Alma 5:26.  How do we have a lasting conversion? Elder Cook suggests two things.  Keeping our covenants and immersing ourselves in the scriptures.  I think he only mentioned the two because if we are doing those two things all of the rest will fall into place.

The song of the day is "More Holiness Give Me". I felt the Spirit so strong as we sang this song today and felt the my plea to Heavenly Father to bless me with these things. 

More holiness give me

More strivings within

More patience in suffering

More sorrow for sin,

More faith in my Savior,

More sense of His care,

More  joy in His service

More purpose in prayer

More Gratitude give me

More trust in the Lord,

More pride in His glory,

More hope in His word

More tears for His sorrows,

More pain at His grief

More meeknes s in trial,

More praise for relief.

More purity give me

More strength to o'recome,

More freedom from earth-stains,

More longing for home.

More fit for the kingdom,

More used would i be,

More blessed and holy-

More, Savior, like thee.

Text and music: Philip Paul Bliss, 1838-1876

Sibling Date! Jake's the BEST

Jake and I had some reminiscing moments of our childhood and we went to the Spaghetti Factory! Mizithra Cheese and Browned Butter spaghetti...there just isn't anything like it in the whole world!  and then you just have to top it off with the delectable Spumoni Icecream......mmmmmg! just die and go to heaven right now.   And add to that the coolest little brother in the world.  Couldn't get any better.  I love you Jake! 

 

Stef, Tyler, Whit, Jarom, Zach, Brenna, Colton, Me, Tyler, Mckell

Thanks for the great night guys!  Who knew Humor U could be so funny?!

Misplacing Significance

Assigning significance to that which is trivial.

        Validating the inconsequential.

Failing to assign significance to that which is of actual importance.

        Depriving it of real meaning or value. 

Fill your life with genuine substance

In my Russian literature class, there has been a few themes that we have focused on.  The one is misplacing significance. Giving value and attention to what might not deserve it and not paying enough attention to what does.  Another is about disenchantment.  Disenchantment with life. 

On Revelation

Yesterday as I was driving past the gas station I had a thought come into my head, "I should fill up my car".  Then I thought.  Nah...the light just came on last night, I will be fine.  And the thought came into my head again, "you should fill up your car".  And AGAIN I just told myself that I would do it later.   And of course while driving I ran out of gas!  (first time that has happened to me in my years of driving).  Thankfully I was just driving around a parking lot, and thankfully I have a great friend Stefanie Wright who came to save me with a tank of gas. :)  As I was waiting in my freezing cold car my mind began to wander and contemplate on revelation.

Stefanie later said "The Holy Ghost will always warn you".  How silly of me to not listen, or possibly how thick headed of me to not realize that the thoughts in my head were the Holy Ghost trying to help me out.  I learned (or relearned you might say) two lessons from this experience:

1. Don't disregard promptings from the Spirit. ALWAYS ACT ON A PROMPTING!
2.  Heavenly Father is aware of my situation and cares even about the little things in my life like having enough gas in my car so that I can be on time for class. 

This reminds me of a talk that one of the apostles gave.  I have been trying to remember which talk and which apostle..I think maybe President Uchtdorf.   But what he said is that each of us that have received the gift of the Holy Ghost is entitled to receive revelation daily.   That is our right and privilege. What an amazing gift.  I think that through the Holy Ghost, Heavenly Father has a lot to say to us and if we were more aware life would probably go a lot more smoothly and we would be able to be on the Lord's errand and do His Will.  

Goal:  Be consistently listening for revelation in order to receive help and to be an instrument in the Lord's hands. 

Freezing Rain

Meet Bones!

 This is a moment i thought would never happen. My family bought a dog! I was shocked when i received a text from Audrey and Jake. So I of course called Jake and he was so happy.  I love her already just because of her name Bones, I couldn't have picked a better name and because of how happy Jake sounded on the phone! Now he won't be an only child at home anymore. I can't wait to meet her!

"Positive. Encouraging. K-Love"

Haha!  My Christian Radio Station gets mixed in with the Country stations set on my radio.  After I got home from my mission I started listening to it and not gonna lie, I LOVE IT!  I don't love all the songs and I don't like to listen to it all the time but to be honest it helps me to keep my focus on the Savior and to remember that He needs to play a role in every part and moment in my life.

Here are a few of the songs that I have come to love.  

Russian

This is my beautiful Russian triple combination.  I remember when we received these on the mission. The members were so excited to get the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price all together with a new and better translation.  

I have again started reading the Book of  Mormon in Russian this year and I am so happy that I have. I feel like reading the scriptures in a different language gives you a different perspective and helps me see it all in a different light. 

To be honest just the language itself takes me back to my mission.  I love to speak it and read it and help others learn it.  I am thankful for friends who I can speak Russian with both here and in  Russia. I am thankful for the scriptures in Russian and for my opportunity to help people in the MTC to learn it.  

For some reason when I speak Russian it's like I remember what I learned on my mission, I remember the Spirit that was with me and the person that I learned to be. I want to keep that with me always and strive to be the best that I can be. 

A day off

                                

French Toast!  All you can eat french toast!  The Provo one was PACKED so we drove all the way to the Orem Cafe. 

Me: 3

Jacob: 4 

SHOPPING WITH STEF!  Love her.

Sunday January 20 2013

Mckell

 Kell and I were really domestic and cooked us some real food and cooked us up some really good stir fry!!  Woot woot!

Meet Bailey Jane Price.  Katie Carter Price's baby.  Isn't she the sweetest!  So happy to see Katie and Scott as such good parents. 

"It's so fuzzy!  I think I'm gonna die!"

Thanks for the great night Kell!  Love you!

Saturday January 19 2013

The Saturday Night Adventure

What I learned from this night,  is that it's not an adventure until you have to turn around....which we definitely did quite a few times. The goal for the night was for Abby, Jacob and I to go to a craft store and create something. 

The Sweet Tooth Fairy

 While lost we ran into this great bakery. It was so good!  These are the cupcakes that we chose.  We discovered that they have America First Fridays.  You get a free Cupcake!!  This is great news!! or bad news...

We couldn't find a craft store and ended up here.  Haha the results were nothing we expected but lets just saw it had something to do with 3D coloring wall art of large animals :)  Stay tuned for further updates on this  all semester art project.  It's always good to remember to be a kid

On Being Uplifted

Church was incredible today.  Here are some random notes and thoughts I had while being spiritually fed.  They may not mean anything to anyone else but they changed me.

-Everyone that Jesus Christ met He made feel important and loved. He wasn't rushing from one thing to the next. He took care of people and loved them. 

- Life is like a stage.  We all have an important role to play.  What character or role has the director or Heavenly Father assigned to me? Am I fulfilling that role?  How can my character improve the play and add to it as a whole?

-Act! don't be acted upon

-Live today like it is an important day. Because it is.

-Be Happy!

-Give your best personal self to those that you love.

-Be of good cheer.  Do not fear. Trust in the Lord. He knows what He is doing. 

-Take what life throws at you and use it for your benefit and the benefit of others.

-You cannot become stronger with out resistance. 

-Like Nephi and his family we are going to have to go throw the wilderness to get to the promised land.

-Be grateful (specifically) for ALL things!  Not just the good, But also what we see as the bad.  It may possibly be the good.  Just hidden.

-Our goal is not just for us to come unto Christ but to become like Him. This is a whole new level.  A level that requires effort and sacrifice.  The gospel becomes worth it and important to us as we sacrifice and work for the testimonies that we have.

-The Gospel is a lifestyle. 

-When you look back you realize that the hard times were actually the good times.  The hard times are when you create strong and meaningful relationships.  When you learn what is worth learning.  When you find out who you are and who you can become.  When you are strengthened.  The hard times are when you become.    The good times are easy to forget.  But pushing through and triumphing through the hard times are moments you will never forget and they are the moments that define you. 

I am so thankful for the opportunity to go to church every week and to learn and be uplifted.

Big shout out to Abby Clark!!!  I love you girl!  Thanks for being my person! I don't know what I would do without you!

Friday 19 2013

Abby, Polina, Me

 Sisters from the mish! This was a great party!  Polina had all her friends from the BYU English as a second language school and it was so fun!  There were people from all over the world, China, Korea, Mexico, Venezuela etc etc. They are all so friendly and excited about life.  I think that our culture of keeping to ourselves needs to be changed. All the people I met there were just stoked to get to know everyone and to make friends.  

The Grey Team!  Jacob, me, Abby

Eating Delicious brownie, mint chocolate ice cream and whipped cream dessert (compliments of my aunt Cammy)  And watching No Reservations!  I love these people so so much!  

LOOK UP.  Take in the beauty that surrounds you. 

Let it shape and change you.

 My Life in a list today

Lost Wallet? - Check

Broken Computer?- Check

Phone dead? - Check

Chocolate? - Check

MTC?- Check

Now this is the bad thing, notice that it is a "Sharing Size".  Pshh whatever! It just means I will eat double.

 I love volunteering at the MTC with the Senior couples.  They are so positive and determined to learn the language.  The MTC is like a little Heaven in Provo. Just lifts my spirits and makes me happy!

Being more aware
Hopes, dreams, needs, strengths, both ours and of others
Laughing
The little things that make me happy and bring a smile
Warm tomato basil soup with a friend
Country music
Talking to friends and family on the phone
Work, silly kids 
The simple pleasures in life
Homemade grape juice
Hand warmers 
Canned peaces
Chocolate
Running-thinking
Tender Mercies from the Lord
Life can be monotonous unless we look for and find the
extraordinary 

January 16th 2013

Masks we wear and Roles we play

January 15 2013

Learned this fancy trick from my friend Leisa.  

1. Cut up apple

2. Sprinkle with cinnamon

3. heat in microwave

4. add cottage cheese

5. Enjoy the taste of Heaven 

January 14 2013

A Day of Firsts

1.  First day I felt like I was back in Russia!!  It was freezing!  Hands, feet, ears, nose, they were near frost bite!  So here is a picture that will remind you of those freezing but amazing days in Russian.....somehow it seems that the cold was more worth it in the process of saving souls rather than walking around campus...

Sister Djurich and I--Novosibirsk, Russia

2.  First time trying these delicious things! 
        Me: "These taste like Thanksgiving!"
        Friend:  (Laughs)  tries one "....They do taste like Thanksgiving!"

3. You know when you are driving in the car and some annoying person keeps driving up next to you and you speed up and so do they?  This is what was happening and I was getting annoyed when i looked over and he had written his number down and held it up to the window!  Haha!  Thank you random stranger for the unexpected confidence boost!

4. First time going to the gym to lift weights. It was an interesting experience with lots of laughs!  But that could possibly just be due to the fact that I was with Abby Clark!  It seems we can't do anything with out laughing a lot and having a good time. Love you Abby!

January 13 2013

 I Found this cute picture from 8th grade I think!  I love these girls!  I love looking back on life and remember the people who have helped shape me into the person I am.   I have found that it is people and the relationships that we have that helps us grow and "become". 

Yay Aladdin!  Doesn't this show just bring you great joy?  Only watch it with me unless you want to join me in singing along or at least listen to me sing :)

January 12th 2013...Later

The local movie store

My family likes to support the good old Top Hat, so many memories....especially with Audrey going to get Greys! :D haha--- Love spending the weekend with the parentals!  

January 12th 2013

The Temple

Abby Clark and Aaron Stoker

Always an incredible place to go.  I love it so much.  Just a time to go, think, be away from the world, rethink my life and priorities, and try to figure out how to become who I need to be and who my Heavenly Father wants me to become.  I am so grateful that He allows us to serve in His house and gives me this time to be nearer to Him.   

January 11th 2013

Peaches and Cottage Cheese!

Don't judge until you try it!  I love this so so much and if you try it you will too!  Brings a smile to my face every time!  And it's pretty healthy.  Once you start you can't go back.  Next try tomatoes and cottage cheese!

January 10th 2013

WHY STUDY HISTORY!?

Is a question that I and other history majors have posed to us quite often.  SO  my professor had us contemplate this question and write a reflection on it.  I loved doing this assignment for some strange reason, gave me a lot to think about.  History, I have concluded is what shapes us, because of history we are who we are.  I study history because of my gratitude for those who came before me Out of curiosity about the people who have helped create the world I live in and the life that I live.  I want to know their dreams, hopes and passions. History gives us identity.  I study history because I am able to look at their examples, to rethink my life, my morals, standards, expectations and actions in life.  By looking back and learning from the past we are capable of creating a better future. 

To quote Hitch, "You can't know where you are going until you know where you've been".  :)

Thankful to start the morning out right with the scriptures, PMG, beautiful music and raspberry tea.  I am also grateful that I am able to receive revelation from a loving Heavenly Father everyday through the Holy Ghost that stays in my heart all day long.

Monday January 7

First day of school. I am thankful for friendly and familiar faces on campus and passionate professors who love their work and teach me to appreciate what they love.

       

      "I have to answer with my own life for what I have experienced

and understood in art, so that everything I have experienced and understood would not

remain ineffectual in my life.”  

                -  Mikail Bakhtin 1895-1975

Sunday January 6th

The Sabbath.  It was good to spend one more Sunday with my family and be able to go to church with them.   Something crazy I learned the capstone on top of the Salt Lake temple is a time capsule!  I looked it up on the church news and found an article on it

http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/22575/Temple-capstone-laid-100-years-ago.html

"Among the items placed in the receptacle were the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price. Also, there were two books by Elder Parley P. Pratt: Voice of Warning and Key to Theology; and a book by Orson Spencer containing correspondence explaining the Church's most prominent doctrines, Spencer's Letters.

Other items placed in the receptacle included photographs of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George Q. Cannon, and Joseph F. Smith. A photograph of the temple as it appeared at the time also was placed in the box."

How cool is that? I did not know this.  See the picture how the sphere is two separate parts?  the bottom half is hollow and the top half is the capstone.

  Also, maybe I knew this before and didn't pay attention but the Doctrine and Covenants is known as the Capstone of our religion.  Revelation not only for our day but received in our day as well.

Russian Christmas!

I was able to attend a Russian Christmas party with friends and eat really great food! It was so awesome!

 Pelmeni, winter salad, blini, borscht, and ......don't know what its called in english....

 Starting on the left:   Rylee White who will go to Novosibirsk in March, Christina Little who served there as well, Ashley Seelos who will go there in April, and Me.  Novosibirsk Sisters!

I decided to return to high school and I spent my last night of freedom during the break watching High School Musical!  Haha gotta love it!  The 3rd one is the best!  I wish that my life was like a musical...but if i could choose which musical I wanted my life to be like it probably wouldn't be High School Musical.  I would have to choose The White Christmas.   Bing Crosby is possibly one of the most romantic men to ever live.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9QLn7gM-hY

Can't get much better than that. 

BUT....back to today.  Now I am packing up to go back to Provo.  Who knew how much stuff is needed to move back and forth! It's crazy! Such a girl :)   It will be sad to go back but also good to get back into a good routine. 

My comfort found in tea, Summer Bouquet was the choice today, in my cute yellow cup. Makes me warm all the way down to my toes

Today I received a card from a friend in Novosibirsk. I loved it. I need to be better at remembering and appreciating all of those that I love so much that I left there in Russia (and all those that live here for that matter...)

WINGERS!!!  Oh how I missed you!  Haven't had the delicious sticky fingers or asphalt pie in two years or more!  And always great to share it with someone great! This here is my friend Derek. He just returned home from his mission so we got to be "those"  R.M's that only talk about their missions.  It was so great!  Not to mention our adventures with the first restaurant we went to that had a black out and the second one a fire....maybe it was us... :)

Today was the day that I witnessed for myself this great film.  It was incredible and heart wrenching and beautiful.  Gavroche stole my heart.

Welcome to my Christmas vacation.  When I wasn't out being festive or at social activities, this pretty much explains how I spent my free time this break.  Sounds very productive right?  It's how Jake and I bond. 

This has become a new favorite show! and I have pretty much fallen in love with Hodgins.  

Yes, this container is empty.  Do I regret it?  Not a bit!

Sister Margolies came to visit me!  Well  to put it correctly...Melissa Margolies Capps came to visit me!  What a great companion!   We drank tea and reminisced of missions and Russia.  I love this girl so so much!  And I love when I have good excuses to talk about my mission.  Best thing in the world.  Incredible experience that changed my life and continues to change it.

  

YAY WORK!  I got to go back to work today!  It's just so great to have a job that I love that I leave happier than  when I got there!  Kids say the funniest things.

1.  One girl today dubbed me  "Heather Weather" haha she thought she was so clever, like she was the first one to ever come up with that rhyme :)

2.          Me:  "Ok girls, line up and we are going to....."

            10 yr old girl:  "BACON!?!?"

             Me: ".....what?"

3.  5 yr old boy:  "Can I have some handytizer?"

     Me: "You mean hand sanitizer?"

    Boy: "Ya, some hanisizer"

Those awkward moments when everyone thinks your 15 year old brother is your boyfriend.....happen WAY too often for me and this good-lookin kid! But, no worries, he is pretty awesome.  I am so thankful for Jake.  We have so much fun together!  Eating food, Christmas lights, and most importantly this Christmas break, watching BONES!!  He is so great. 

2012

Life is about creating memories.  Here are a few (I got a little carried away) collages of some memories created since I have been home.  Thanks for helping me make these memories!

FAMILY: Rafting, Jackson Hole, shopping, chocolate, dinner, blue soup, dance party, temple, Jake's drivers permit

Wedding, reunion, cooking, boating, murder mystery, fall leaves, baby shower, and camping.

Halloween costumes at work, BYU Game, Olympic Gymnastics, CD Release, crafts, anonymous flowers, John Schmidt, and broken glasses

Memories with the roommates

The mission, post mission, parties, borsht, Russian Chocolate, weddings, tea, blini, homecomings...