Such a Wonderful Christmas Season

This is one of my most favorite times of the year.

I love the snow, the Christmas trees, the lights, the treats, and most of all spending time with family.

This is the time of year to really reflect how absolutely amazing He is and was here on earth.

Christ is our Savior, our Redeemer, our Healer, our Shepard, and so much more.

Having him come to earth those so many years ago is such a blessing.

Every year, at Christmas time, my testimony grows.

I love hearing and acting out the nativity scene with the cousins, and to hear the scriptures of His birth.

I love the tradition of going to the Forgotten Carols with my family.

That play is one of the best and most amazing testimony builders.

My heart hurt the morning my mom woke me up and told me the Provo Tabernacle was burning down.

I turned on the news to watch the many firefighters and trucks trying to put the fire out.

It was such a historical building it is so sad to see it gone.

All the beautiful pictures inside were burned.

And then I saw this one

It is a picture of Provo Firefighters looking at a painting of Christ that was burned in the fire.  The fire from the Tabernacle burned the entire image except the image of Christ in the center.

After seeing this picture for the first time, my testimony grew.

I know, after seeing that picture, the church is true, and I am so beyond grateful to be part of it.

And just like this picture, someday, Christ will come to this earth again.

I Love My Life and the People in It

I am so grateful for the people I have in my life.

My life has been so blessed to have such incredible people in it.

There have been so many people in my life that have taught me so much, and have inspired me.

Two people in my life that have taught me and inspired me so much are

                                                            

Grandma and Grandpa Down

Grandma,

You are one of the most amazing people in my life.

Without you, our family wouldn’t have the gospel in our lives.

Thank you so much for that!

Thank you for raising such a wonderful daughter,

Who has grown to be the amazing mother that you are to your own children.

I love all the memories I have with you, and we have more to make.

I will cherish every moment.

Someday, I hope to be a great mother like you were and are to your children,

And I also hope to be a great grandmother like you are now to all of your grandchildren.

Grandma I love you so much!

Thank you for everything you do in my life.

Grandpa,

I love you so much!

You are such an amazing person.

I will forever remember all the memories we have had so far in life.

Growing up with such a wonderful grandpa is all I could ask for.

I could never ask for a better one.

I will never forget you taking me camping and fishing.

I will never forget standing on the deck with you at your old house.

I will never forget riding in the green truck with you, and much much more.

Thank you so much for all the truly amazing things you have done for me.

I look so forward every summer to coming and spending time with you and grandma.

It is the best time of the year!

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for the most amazing grandparents anyone could ask for!

The Season To Be Grateful

Thanksgiving is my favorite time of the year.

I love the turkey, and the jello, but most of all the mashed potatoes!

But I also love that it is the time of year when we all really focus on what we are grateful for.

My mom taught a Relief Society lesson a couple weeks ago on gratitude.

She asked the sisters to think about things they were grateful for.

I’m sure everyone first thought of the regular “church” answers, such as family, the gospel, or the scriptures.

Those are amazing things.

But my mom asked the sisters to think of things that they wouldn’t on a regular basis think how lucky we are to have.

Some of the sisters really got thinking.

Things like cement, a sister got cement in her backyard and now dirt wasn’t tracked in her house.

That lesson got me thinking a lot.

As the season has gotten colder and I have to walk quite a ways to get to school, it always gets me thinking of the small things I am grateful for.

An umbrella when it rains,

Gloves so my hands don’t turn blue,

Apple cider to warm me up on my walk to class,

A warm car to get into after being outside,

And then a warm home to go to after.

I love the amazing things we have today.

The pioneers walked in snow, and some with no shoes.

They didn’t have umbrellas when it rained,

Most, probably didn’t have gloves,

They probably didn’t have a warm drink to warm them up,

And they didn’t have a warm car,

Or a warm house to walk into after a long day of being in the cold.

This is a wonderful season.

We shouldn’t only use this month of the season to be grateful.

But to be grateful all year round for the magnificent things we have in life.

It was finally time to decide what I wanted to be...

Every little girl wants to be a nurse, a vet,

a princess, or an actress when they grow up. 

For me, I wanted to be a dentist. 

Then when I was in 8^th grade,

I decided I wanted to be an orthodontist. 

During my senior year of high school,

 everyone was trying to decide

what they wanted to go into when they graduated. 

I always thought how easy I had it. 

From the time I was in third grade

I knew exactly what I wanted to do. 

That was until graduation actually rolled around

& it was serious time. 

I didn’t know what I wanted to go to college for. 

It made it hard to get signed up for college

because I had no push and excitement.

One week before school started,

I was helping my mom get her preschool room ready. 

As I sat there helping her come up with ideas.

 It clicked in my head,

like a light bulb went on. 

I then knew exactly what I wanted to go to school for. 

And that was to be a….

Teacher!

Just like my mama! 

Graduation

Graduation and the year 2010 came faster than I could ever imagine. 

It seems like yesterday I was in preschool having my mom teach me

my colors, numbers, shapes, and the alphabet.

It seems like yesterday I was turning eight years old, being baptized

and celebrating the millennium with all my cousins.

It seems like yesterday I was finishing up elementary school just wishing I was going into high school. The thought of going to my “dad’s school” was amazing to me.

It seems like yesterday I was starting my first day of high school

so close to graduating I could smell it.

 

It seems like yesterday I was starting my first day

as a senior at Timpanogos High School

The year went by too fast with all the fun times I had in high school. 

I will always remember every moment, from the good to the great to the bad.

Now here I am graduated from high school. 

I’m now starting a new time in my life. 

Everyone always says, “Graduating is the beginning of the rest of your life.” 

I have really thought about that… just how much my life will now be really starting. 

This is the time in my life where I have to focus on my schooling,

I have to now get a job, and actually do something with my life. 

I can do anything I ever dreamed of doing.

I can become who I have always dreamed of being. 

Walking through the “T” at graduation and walking to get my diploma was a surreal moment. 

It all went too fast…