The Smallest Part Which I Feel

Who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel. -Ammon

I read this verse this morning and felt the need to glory in God. Is there really too much we can do to express our gratitude and love for the Lord and his tender mercies? I feel his enabling power each moment as I embark on my journey. 

Lately I have been thinking about living in the moment. Not in the "eat, drink and be merry" kind of moment, but enjoying what is going on in my life right now. Phases and stages seem to pass by so quickly. From semester to semester I meet and interact with so many different people who add to the color of my life. Some are bright, some are dark. 

Being a mom has been on my mind a lot lately. Sometimes I wonder what my kids will be like. What personalities they will develop and what challenges they will have. Many times I wonder how the experiences that I am having right now will help them and shape the way they see the world and how they will react to people. Walking around Park City Main Street, observing all the people who came from all over the world, a spark of desire surged through me to give my children the opportunity to be cultured, to see the world in its raw and beautiful state. I want them to feel empowered by the diversity, not frightened. There's so much about the world that I don't know. There's so much about people I don't know. When I think of myself as a teacher instructing pure innocent children how to be in this world it seems surreal. Maybe it is because I am in school right now, but I have been thinking about giving my children a desire to know, to know about everything, even the things that I am not quite interested in. Most of all I want to give them the Gospel. I want to teach them that there is no limit in praising God. I want to teach them that there are times when the whole world seems dark, but that they will find light and life in Jesus Christ. Pondering on the mother that I want to be, the mother that I have and the mothers that have influenced my life by their examples including my sisters, makes me acutely aware of the many things that I lack in order to be like these women. 

Thinking of these things enlarges my gratitude for the experiences of now. This very moment that I have to be at BYU, to be studying Therapeutic Recreation, to be working at the Key Office, and to be learning more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

So find joy in your journey. Take this moment to reflect and be grateful for the joys and sorrows that have brought you to this time in your life whether you are on the older end or the younger end. Allow those feelings to strengthen your hope and faith in the future. There is a God and he loves us. 

Ice Ice Baby

Winter. 

I have been trying to find the beauty in this season. 

Yesterday made it pretty hard. 

While trying to hurry to my car to get to my 6 o'clock class at the RB I guess I decided that it would be appropriate to play a little baseball. 

I had a backpack full of books and a smaller backpack full of my soccer stuff for my intramural soccer game after my class, a water bottle because I can't get dehydrated, and my gloves that weren't actually on my hands. Tied loosely around my water bottle was my watch, so I can be sure that I am on time (one of my new years resolutions), but of course I didn't have time to actually put the watch on my wrist.

Anyway, while juggling all my stuff, I scurried across the ice covered driveway in front of my apartment...

Yes. Yes, I did. 

Giving it my all I slid into home base hands and head first. 

It was epic! My backpacks slid down my arms dragging behind me, my gloves skidded across the snow-covered sidewalk, my water bottle and watch bounced and hit home base just seconds before me. 

This happened only once in Rexburg, of which I was very proud of, but that experienced was more like basketball. I slid for the ball and bounced right back up making sure no one saw me. Yesterday was a little different. Considering I had more stuff than last time I took my time getting up and I definitely did not care if anyone saw me. 

Baseball. The All-American sport. Wasn't expecting such a curve-ball, but don't worry, I hit the winning home-run.  

Mega Long Update

Christmas:  a much needed break. 

Being able to spend time with my family was amazing. It was our first Christmas in Rexburg. Holly and Mark and my niece and nephews came from St. George and we just had a blast playing games, swimming, playing in the snow, and talking. Every day was crazy full of crying, laughing, yelling, and love. I love my family. 

 

 

I am not going to lie. I am obsessed with my niece Jane. Maybe it's because I saw her the very first day that she came into this world. Maybe it was because I did pregnant pilates with my sister while we were preparing for her to finally come into this world. Maybe it was because I was able to help Lucy along with my sister Adell after she was born which really means I got to hold her while Lucy slept. Maybe because she is the cutest/most beautiful little girl. I don't know what it is, but every time I see her I want to squeeze her and kiss her chubby little cheeks. Each time I go up and see them She has developed a little more of her sassy little personality. I just love her so much!

Other Highlights From Christmas Break: 

* Seeing Les Miserables.

* Sledding and watching my mom fly through the air (don't worry, she is okay). 

* Having a girl's night with Mom and Lucy watching Hallmark style chick flicks.

* Spending time with my mom, just me and her. 

* Going to my mom's Sunday School class. 

* Adriana coming to Provo!

* Sledding with Adriana, Saryn, Jessica, and Chris. 

* Sledding down the humungo hill with Adriana.

* Going to Salt Lake and doing Baptisms in the Salt Lake Temple for the first time. 

* Finishing The Secret Garden (Easily one of my most favorite novels).

* Visiting with Jessica Miller (also known as Sister Miller to Adriana and I). 

* Going to the Logan Temple with my cousin/best friend Kurt. 

* Buying "Pillow Talk."

 

School Started!

Last semester was challenging in every way and after the break I was feeling ready, hopeful and even a little excited for school to start. 

I love my major! I am a Therapeutic Recreation major. Let me tell ya, it was a journey getting to this point. In the first chapter of my Intro to TR textbook it summarized everything that I have been learning in the last 4 years. Every time I go to class I feel the spirit and feel pumped and inspired. I am learning so much and cannot express how blessed I feel. The Lord is so merciful and kind. 

Last week I taught the first chapter of Gospel Principles in Sunday School. The first chapter is Our Heavenly Father. We had a great discussion about God and who he really is and what our relationship to him really is and how we can come closer to him. One of the things that stuck with me was how he shows his love through tender mercies and how specific those tender mercies are. In the last two weeks I feel like my life sped up a million notches. I have been trying to record in my journal all the tender mercies that happen in one day, but 1.) There are too many to even write and probably a million more I don't even realize. 2.) I am so exhausted by the end of the day that I can't write all of them down. The beautiful thing about this is that my life isn't perfect. There are still things that happen throughout the day that I would rather not happen, I still make so many mistakes, but the tender mercies are so specific that I cannot deny that God loves me and that he is watching over me and cares about my life. 

I am on an Intramural Water Polo team and Soccer team this semester. It is so fun. Last night we had our first Water Polo game and it was hilarious. We play on inter tubes  because let's be honest, real Water Polo would be extremely hard. The best part though was seeing people flip out of their tubes and watching their feet fly straight up in the air. I think my abs got the best work out from laughing so hard. We have our first Soccer game tomorrow. I am super excited. I haven't played Soccer in so long. I am a little rusty, but hopefully I will be able to help a little! 

Over the summer I was in a weight training class with Professor Bailey. This semester I really wanted to take his class again, but it was full. Yesterday I checked and he had spots open so I get to be in his class. It will be awesome!

Another awesome thing is that I am taking Water Safety Instructor Training. By the end I will be certified with Red Cross to teach swimming lessons. I am pretty stoked. 

Last year I made a friend in my personal finance class, Jeremy Hammer. We had fun studying together, but since I have moved I didn't really keep in touch with him. Through facebook I found out that he got married to the girl he was dating last year and I was super excited for him. Anyway, the other day at work I was out on campus with Tessa doing some service requests. We were walking out the Crabtree building and there was Jeremy in his car delivering Jimmy Johns to someone at BYU. It was so good to see him! It made me so happy and made me think about Dixie and how much I LOVE IT! I love that school so much. I am so thankful I was able to go to school there and meet all the people I did and got to be involved in Institute. 

Little by little the experiences that I have had are starting to make more sense to me and I am starting to see why I have been on the journey I have been on. It has been great. Yay for growing up! 

So there is my mega long update. I will leave you with one last quote that I have been obsessed with lately. 

"Go into the world today and love the people you meet. Let your presence light new light in the hearts of people." - Mother Teresa

Pretty much one of my most adored role models. 

So love people in whatever way you can!