Life is Good

I just feel so content right now. There are a thousand things to do on a list that will never end, but I am OK with that. I have learned from my husband Seth that it is good to take everything one task at a time, and it is OK to say no to things you just can't handle. I have so many blessings that I cannot count them. I have been doing some reflecting on the past couple years of my life. There have been very tough, painful times, and very wonderful, exciting and beautiful times. But through it all I have learned that no matter what, if I try my best to do what is right, the Lord will lead me in the right direction, and whatever does happen will be the very best thing for me in the long run. I have heard that it is possible to carry your own weather with you. It is a beautiful day, and I am going to choose to enjoy it.

Tag You're It!

My friend Laura tagged me. My husband says this is as bad as forwarding chain letters, but I really don’t think so.

4 Things you may not know about me:

-One of my favorite memories of growing up was folding massive piles of laundry while sitting on the couch with my Mom and watching movies like Fiddler on the Roof.

-I accidentally joined BYU-Idaho’s Forensics (Speech and Debate) Team, and 2 semesters later, my partner, Quincy Stott and I won the Novice National Championship in Parliamentary Debate in March 2008.

-I love Latin dancing! I used to go Latin dancing almost every weekend when I was single. I hope Seth learns while we are in Guatemala.

-I cannot eat spicy food. No matter how hard I try, it is just not ever going to work for me.

4 Places I Go Over and Over:

-The Tutoring Center at the Library (I tutor English, and I get tutored in Spanish)

-The Smith Building

-The Spori Building

-The Library

That pretty much sums it up. I am a last semester student in my under-grad with way too much on my plate. 5 more weeks!!! The end is in sight!

4 People Who Email Me:

-My Dad

-BYU-Idaho University Updates

-My professors for classes

-My Bishop (ward emails)

4 of My Favorite Foods:

-Chicken Green Chile Quesadilla from Bajio (It is my favorite thing to eat!)

-Banana Fudge Ice Cream

-Tacos – Good old home made tacos

-Homemade Apple Pie

4 Places I'd love to be at:

-On a camping trip with Seth

-With my family playing a game

-On a roller coaster at an amusement park

-At a Coldplay Concert

4 Movies I Watch Over and Over

-Dan in Real Life

-What About Bob

-Pride and Prejudice

-Much Ado About Nothing

-Singing in the Rain

-You've Got Mail

-Newsies

I couldn't pick just 4!

4 People I'm tagging:

-Angie Brimhall
-Lani Hacking
-Val Evans
- Erin Anderson

A Ride on the Magic School Bus!

OK, well it wasn't exactly the magic school bus, but it was an interesting adventure. My sister Claire and I are taking 3 classes together this semester: Geology Lab 102, Natural Disasters, or Geology 104, and I am the TA in her Spanish 102 class. We had a field trip on Saturday for our Natural Disasters class. It was 9 hours long!!!

Claire slept over the night before, and then we rolled out of bed to get to the bus. We got to the place we were supposed to meet as we saw the bus wheels start to roll away. I had to practically jump out of the moving car, and I flagged down the bus. Claire was in such a hurry that she accidentally stuck her hand in the yogurt that I had been eating for breakfast in the car. Then the rest of the day, Claire kept asking me, "Remember that time when the bus almost left us, and we had to run after it, and I stuck my hand in your yogurt?" It is fun to have sisters.

I was really happy that we didn't have to drive ourselves, because who in the world can pay for gas? Not us... I even saw one for $4.14. That is the highest gas price I have ever seen. When I was born gas was under a dollar.

This is the Teton Dam, or what is left of it. It failed in the mid 1970's. I didn't know that they make dams just out of rock. It was really interesting, but it would have been more interesting had it not been freezing outside!

This is our Natural Disaster's professor. He is perfect for the job. He just loves geology, and makes you want to love it to. He is enthusiastic, kind, funny, and very knowledgeable. I love those qualities in a teacher.

This is Claire and I looking like we just woke up, which we did, and shivering in front of an alluvial fan. Yes, I do know something about geology now!

We saw some very beautiful things on our trip, but we didn't want to stay outside to look at it because it was 30 degrees and windy!

And it snowed for part of the day!!! SNOW, in JUNE! I thought I signed up for summer semester. Boy, was I wrong.

This is the first muskrat I have ever seen. They look like mini beavers with rat tails. I thought it was cute. Claire thought it was gross. You can't see it in this picture, but its tail is as long as its body.

On our trip we went to Big Springs, Henry's Fork on the Snake River, or Mesa Falls. Wow, there are some beautiful parts of Idaho. Some people say Idaho is in the middle of nowhere, or that it is boring. I say they are wrong. You can't find this in Chicago!

I am definitely OK with having Geology class in a place like this. Learning about the earth, and rocks, and water systems has never been more interesting, well, once it stopped snowing.

Coldplay - Viva la Vida

Coldplay is my very favorite band. It was love at first listen. I have never gotten to see them in concert for various reasons. Now they are coming out with a new album, Viva la Vida, and they are finally going on tour! I looked at every location and date to see if it might even be possible to go. They are going to be in Cleveland just days before we get there...it is just agonizing. They will be in Vegas the day after we graduate. If only we had time to go there before Guatemala... Then, the moment of truth: they are coming to Toronto in October. I thought for sure this would be the one. Toronto is 5 hours from Cleveland. Then my sister Hannah let me know about how to get better info about tickets for the tour. I found out they are coming to Clevland in October!!!!! YAY!!!! I am so excited. We got our tickets! expensive , but not ridiculous, and we are so going!

Kids (and husbands) say the darndest things!

OK, so today I was sitting with my laptop typing up a post, and Seth was taking a nap on the adjacent couch. He half woke up and looked at me, held out his hand to me with his thumb and pointer finger really close together like he was holding something really small. Then he mumbled something like, "I found...the...cookie." I was laughing by then, and I asked him what he was talking about. Then he said, "The cookie...with the candy cane...made by the computer program." I was laughing so hard by then. Then he really woke up. I told him what he said and he didn't believe me, and was pretty grumpy. Later when he was actually and completely awake, he said he kind of believed me. I am just really excited that I finally had something funny to post!

Encouraging Blessings

Today I have been contemplating the obstacles that I have faced over the last 2 years. I am amazed at how far I have been able to come, and how much I have been able to learn through my trials. Seth and I have been planning for a long time to graduate at the end of this semester. I have done 5 continuous semesters so that I could graduate with exactly 120 credits (the requirement) . I have gone to school through many months of illness, pain, sorrow, and disappointment. But I have made it this far, and I am about to graduate. These past couple months have been very happy, busy, and almost easy compared to what I have overcome.

Then 5 weeks into the semester, a letter from the graduation office arrived in the mail saying I could not graduate this semester because I was missing 3 credits of Communication electives.... I cannot express the wave of disappointment and fear that washed over me. I had practically lived in the advising center trying to make sure that I had everything I needed. 3 different advisors told me I had all I needed for Communications, so I chose to take a Spanish 321 class that is very challenging for me so that I could add to my language abilities.

I wasn't just going to take this lying down. I was willing to go straight to the President of our university if need be. I spent hours writing a letter of appeal to the graduation committee, and preparing a petition list of BYUI faculty to back me up. Then I went to a few trusted profesors, true friends, that helped me to feel confident that it would all work out. They told me who I needed to talk to. The person with the power to make it so I would graduate happened to be the same one who had helped me through some major issues because of my pregnancies and illnesses last year. He said he knew my situation, and signed the paper so I could graduate. Just like that... one redemptive signature. It was a miracle. He said, "You know I am just doing this for you because I like you." I don't think that is completely true because I know many people were praying for me, and because he has a good heart. What a blessing! It was like a 1000 pound weight was lifted off my shoulders. This means that on July 18th, I will be able to walk across the graduation stage with my husband and leave Rexburg to start a new adventure, knowing that I have accomplished what I came here to do.

I have recently finished reading the autobiography of Helen Keller. I urge all of you to read it. It will make you feel like your trials aren't so impossible, and that you aren't so alone. Helen Keller is an inspiration to me. Her story is one of hope and encouragement. She fought blindness and deafness all of her life, and yet did great things. She learned to speak, read, and write English, French, and German. She knew many types of Braille and sign language and defeated all of her obstacles. She graduated from college as a scholar and an avid seeker of knowledge. I am amazed at her determination, and her attitude makes me think that I can also accomplish anything. This is a picture of Helen, and her beloved mentor Anne Sullivan. Together, these two women changed the world. This is a passage from her book:


"Very few of the books required in the various courses are printed for the blind, and I am obliged to have them spelled into my hand. Consequently I need more time to prepare my lessons than other girls. The manual part takes longer, and I have perplexities which they have not. There are days when the close attentions I must give to details chafes my spirit, and the thought that I must spend hours reading a few chapters, while in the world without other girls are laughing and singing and dancing, makes me rebellious; but I soon recover my buoyancy and laugh the discontent out of my heart. For, after all, everyone who wishes to gain true knowledge must climb the Hill Difficulty alone, and since there is no royal roads to the summit, I must zigzag it in my own way. I slip back many times, I fall, I stand still, I run against the edge of hidden obstacles, I lose my temper and find it again and keep it better, I trudge on, I gain a little, I feel encouraged , I get more eager and climb higher and begin to see the widening horizon. Every struggle is a victory. One more effort and I reach the luminous cloud, the blue depths of the sky, the uplands of my desire. I am not always alone, however, in these struggles. Mr. William Wade and Mr. E. E. Allen, Principal of the Pennsylvania Institution for the Instruction of the Blind, get for me many of the books I need in raised print. Their thoughtfulness has been more of a help and encouragement to me than they can ever know." (Helen Keller, The Story of My Life, p. 101-102)

Like Helen Keller, I am so grateful to all the people who have made it possible for me to climb the Hill Difficulty, to my parents who taught me the importance of an education, and of family, and of working hard; to all the beloved leaders who have guided me through troubled waters; to the friends and family who have had listening ears and comforting words; to the merciful instructors who truly love their students and want to help them achieve their dreams; to all those who have ever said a prayer for me; to my husband who has stood by my side every step of the way, and has carried me when I couldn't stand myself; and most of all, to my Lord who has been there for me through every smile and tear, knowing it would all work out for the best in the end, and helping me to put one foot in front of the other.

Help me!

So this is to all you experienced bloggers out there. For some reason, I am having a really hard time figuring out how to get a list of links to my friends' blogs on my blog. Could someone please tell me the secret?

Picnic in the Park

Claire comes over for dinner every Sunday for family dinner. I have been learning how to make some new things in my cooking class at school. We also learned how to plan meals ahead. I have planned this whole week of dinners, and I already feel less stressed. So today I made a Chicken Broccoli Croissant Braid, and mashed potatoes for dinner. We took it to the nature park near our apartment and had a fun picnic.


This is Seth trying to avoid being in any pictures.

Apartment Living

We have lived at the same apartment since we have been married. The apartments are only a few years old. The floors are not insulated so it is almost like we kind of live with our downstairs neighbors... we hear everything they do, and they hear everything we do I suppose. This week I have witnessed the very worst lawn mowing job in the world. It has rained a lot for Idaho this year, so the grass was really long, and then someone decided to mow it.

I don't know who it was. Maybe a little kid who stole their parent's lawn mower.

When I came home the grass looked like the head of a 4 year old who decided to cut their own hair and then left all the hair on the ground.

Seeing this mow job made me look forward to when we have a home with a lawn that I will have to help mow. Then I will have control over the outcome. The weather is so nice right now! But it isn't very pleasant to sit on the grass. We usually don't sit outside anyway because our apartment is literally feet away from the highway. When we open our window at night, we are lulled to sleep by the sound of semi-trucks passing by. This is the view from our front window, and when you step out the front door.

But if you overlook the highway, there is a nice bunch of farms, and usually horses. This just goes to show that you have to take the good with the bad in life. Or, on the other hand, it could mean 'the grass is always greener on the other side,' or at least a lot more even.

I don't know that I will miss it after we move in 6 weeks, but we have had a good time while we have been here. It's nice to at least have a place to lay your head every night that you can call home. That reminds me of the time Seth and I decided to get married. He told me. "I used to think it was corny when people said 'Home is where the heart is.' But I feel at home with you wherever we are , because my heart is with you." I know that wherever Seth is, that will be my home too.