Me & My Beautiful Sister!

Yep, you guessed it...it's Christmas Picture Time!!!!

This is me and my sister's favorite time of year...

NOT!!!!

But at least we got through them...yet another year down...ssssssoooooooooo many more to go!

We're sorry we can't help it!!!!

We're gorgeous!

Everything Happens for a Reason

My favorite quote has always been:

Everything happens for a reason.

I just finished up another few months in Idaho and let me tell you, it was probably the hardest one yet. I always think, okay this one will be easier, but it never really ends up that way. It seems that the more confident I think I am the more I realize I face more challenges to help me grow and help shape me into who I am becoming. These past 4 months I've had to deal with challenges a lot of people probably think aren't really "challenges". But to me they've been some of the biggest and I've learned so much.

I really am amazed at how things really do happen for a reason. There is a reason that I had to face challenges including roommates, work, and everything else this semester. There is a reason that there were nights that I wanted nothing more than to get on a plane and go home to my family. There is a reason I had to forego things that I thought were important just to learn the lesson that they weren't important.

This is a lesson that I will continually be learning. Learning to accept the fact that everything happens for a reason. Everything, including, the good times and the bad, the happy and the sad, the expected and the unexpected! It is all part of the plan and I'm so grateful that there is a plan. That there is a reason for everything that we go through in this life. I'm so grateful for that knowledge and I am blessed because of it.

Everything happens for a reason and for a reason it all works out in the end!!!

Power of Music

Tonight I went and I sat up in the Eliza R. Snow Building on Campus. This is the music building on our campus. From where I was sitting I could hear someone practicing a jazz number on the piano and a classical piece on the flute. I strongly believe that music has power. It can uplift you or it can degrade you. It can make you happy or it can make you sad. Music has the power to not only change moods but to change lives.

The first time I ever attended an orchestra was here in Rexburg about 9 months ago. It was then that the power of music became real to me. As I was sitting in the audience at the Rexburg Tabernacle I couldn't help but to be wrapped up in the notes and melodies that played around me. When I was there, it didn't matter what went on throughout the day. All that mattered was the beautiful pieces being played straight to my soul.

That's what music does. It doesn't just go into the ears, it goes directly to the soul. And stays there. Stays there to be recalled again and again. Stays there to lift us up time after time when we remember the light that the music brought to our souls.

Music is an outlet for me. I find that music gives me the power to calm down and reflect on what put me in the attitude that I am in. Music can inspire. Power is found in music and all that it can do for me.

I love how powerful music can be. I want to challenge myself to take an inventory every now and then of how the music I am listening to is impacting not just my mood but more importantly, how it is impacting my soul.

In The Moment

It's officially November and I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! The weather here in Rexburg definitely believes it though! Since yesterday it's been rain all day and wind like crazy! But I am just so thankful that Fall has lasted as long as it did for us this year. Usually by this time we have snow and it's just not the most happiest place on earth.

Just last week I walked up to the temple that is seriously like 3 blocks away and I took some pictures of campus and of the amazing view from the top of the hill. Looking back at those pictures I've been able to reflect on the beauties of this earth that only a loving God could have created. It's ridiculous to look out on a sunset and NOT believe in a God. I just don't understand how some people go about their days and never think once where all of this beautiful world came from. These things have recently been on my mind and it's definitely got me thinking.

Why don't I stop for just 2 seconds when I'm walking to campus to just notice and appreciate the beauty of all that is around me? Take the time to stop and take in everything. Sights, sounds, smells...all of it. I have been blessed with this day so why am I not taking it in for all that it is worth?

This is truly the challenge of life: Living for today and taking it all in as if it will be your last.

The Rexburg Temple

The South end of campus
Beautiful Rexburg view...

So this is like the 5th time that I've started this blog and I can't figure out what it is that I want to say. There is something inside that I want to say but I can't get it out on this computer. It has been a crazy 2 weeks, with 2 of my friends dieing. It has just felt like everything has come down on me. I feel like I'm stuck at the bottom of a waterfall and there is nothing to help me get out from underneath it. But this isn't about that. It's not about how unhappy I've been or the hurt and sadness that I've felt. It's more about the hope that it's given me. The faith that it's caused me to gain because of it all.

When this all happened my first thought was why in the world would this happen to these two people? But then I realized how selfish this thought was. I was truly only thinking about the fact that I wouldn't be able to see these 2 people again in this life. It took me a few days but then I started thinking about what they are now doing...serving the Lord and helping us from the other side. This thought has truly brought me hope. It's helped me to realize that life isn't about what's coming next or what happened last week. It is about what is going on right now, TODAY! We have to live for today. There is no other way that we can go about our lives. Today is what matters most and what counts the most. If we aren't concentrated on today and what we can do today, what happens tomorrow won't be as significant as we really think it might be.

Just think about it. It's truly a lesson that has to be learned by all. Live for the moment that we have right now, today! Definitely easier said than done, but truly something to strive for each and everyday!

We are blessed with today for a reason, it is today and we can actually do something about it!

Random, Random Rexburg

Mandy & I on one of the last NICE Sundays in Rexburg!

It's truly not too exciting the things that go on in Rexburg, but we always find something to do!

I have NO idea what I am doing on here but I thought I'd give it a try for a while! Hope everyone is well! Love ya!