Somday...

Someday I will be able to look back and see all the of the things I have learned.

Someday I will be able to look back on life and understand why it all happened the way it did.

Someday I will be able to look back with complete gratitude for all the hard times.

Today, I am just so so so grateful for the gospel, for the Holy Ghost, for priesthood blessings, for church leaders, for prayer, for the Atonement, for scriptures, for my patriarchal blessing, and for family and friends!

For now, I just have to have faith to know that this "someday" will come. In the mean time, I have a long list of things I have always wanted to do... sounds like I need to go pick out material for a quilt.

My Wildest Dreams

I wake up in the morning and always have these great ambitions! I want to do so much! For example...

I want to get my Sign Language Interpreters License someday.

I want to go to beauty school and learn how to cut hair.

I want to go make a home for someone in a needy country.

I want to go on an Alaskan Cruise.

I want to go mentor in a near-by preschool that teaches children how to read using the Book of Mormon so that someday I can run my own preschool.

I want to take up family history.

I want to snuggle up a beautiful corner and read a cheesy romance novel.

I want to train for a triathlon.

I want to scrapbook every single picture that I own.

I want to learn how to make darling accessories.

I want to read all the scriptural based books alongside my scripture study and take every single institute class offered.

I want to plant a huge garden.

I want to get scuba certified.

I want to refinish old furniture and make it super cute.

I want to learn how to quilt with my grandma.

I want to take cooking classes so that I might be a wonderful cook who actually likes to make dinner.

I want to get a job that requires me to wear scrubs - just because it would be cool.

I want to become certified to be one of the class instructors at the gym.

I want to learn how to snowboard.

I want to take a church history trip AFTER I read all I can about it.

I want to take even more classes on children and family sciences because they are my absolute favorite.

And the list goes on and on...

The problem? I can't even seem to get my homework done, make it to the gym a few times a week, get adequate sleep, and fit in a meaningful scripture study.

Maybe that is why I absolutely LOVED Sis. Julie B. Beck's talk from conference! She said, "A good woman knows that she does not have enough time, energy, or opportunity to take care of all of the people or do all of the worthy things her heart yearns to do. Life is not calm for most women, and each day seems to require the accomplishment of a million things, most of which are important. A good woman must constantly resist alluring and deceptive messages from many sources telling her that she is entitled to more time away from her responsibilities and that she deserves a life of greater ease and independence. But with personal revelation, she can prioritize correctly and navigate this life confidently."

I want to do all these things and I am sure that I will eventually get to do SOME of them, but the most important thing is that I accomplish what Heavenly Father wants me to do most! So I will have to hold off on some of my wildest dreams! In the mean time, I will just enjoy dreaming and love today!! :)

General Conference

How can you not love it?! I absolutely loved general conference and cannot believe that it already came and went! I was kind of bummed that Easter and Conference fell on the same day this year (one less day of celebration since conference and Easter are both a big deal in our house!). But to my surprise, I ended up loving this Easter the most! I think I thought more about the true meaning of Easter this year than I ever have before! I am grateful for our Savior who lives that we might live again too! I know that we have living prophets and apostles here on the earth and they speak to us! And the best part, their talks (even the young women's general meeting AND the priesthood session) are already online to watch over and over! I love technology!

Here is the link! :)

http://www.lds.org/conference/sessions/display/0,5239,23-1-1207,00.html

And here is one of my favorite quotes from the General Young Women's Meeting: It is by Sis. Ann Dibb, President Monson's daughter.

"Heavenly Father knows and loves each of you. If you will turn to Him, He will not fail you; He will bless you with the strength and courage that you need to complete your journey back to Him."

13.1 Miles

Back in October, I decided the weather was nice again and that I would start training for my next half marathon. I signed up for a half-marathon that was scheduled for the end of January and I began the training. As part of the training, my friend Whitney and I ran the turkey trot 10k and we were well on our way!Every Saturday means lots of running and getting up at 6:15am but it was worth it! Every week I get to see the sun rise, tons of beautiful horses, flocks of geese (trying to fly in a "v"), a family of cranes, stunning homes, vibrant flowers (I run past a green house), trains, 4 year-old soccer games, etc. I absolutely love the various smells and sounds! This world is so beautiful!! So my Saturday training was early and cold but always worth it - not to mention, I can eat whatever dessert I want after running for 2 hours.

As the race got closer, I got more and more excited! So excited, that I even talked my family into coming! All of them signed up for the 2 mile fun run and Cody decided to run a 10k. We would all get to run together and my family would be there to see me really finish a half marathon. And then the week of the race... I got sick - super sick! Like, walk-up-the-stairs-too-fast-and-you-can't-breathe sick! I was SO disappointed! I had trained and worked up to this event for 4 months and now I wasn't even able to walk a mile without hacking up a lung. But the race must go on... so instead of running the half-marathon, I ran the 2 mile run with my family. This meant I had lots of time to sit and watch the rest of my friends and family finish their races.

It was hard - hard to sit and watch others do what I wanted to do so badly! But I came to learn a great lesson: how grateful I am for my body - one that works, one that allows me to run 13.1 miles without stopping. Our bodies are amazing gifts! As I watched various runners of all ages, sizes, and shapes run through that finish line, I couldn't help but feel gratitude for Heavenly Father's love for each of us - enough to give us our wonderful bodies. So, although I didn't get to race like I had planned, it ended up being a great day!

But still not feeling satisfied with my sad ending to the running season, I searched and searched for another half-marathon that I could participate in (it's hard to find Saturday races). I ended up finding a great one here in the valley. And I even convinced Cody to run it with me so that I would not be alone! He only had 4 weeks to train for it, but he did it and it was SO MUCH FUN! Rumor went around that this was a very challenging course and so my goal was no longer to beat my previous time but just to finish! Much to my surprise, I beat my personal record! Not to mention, we got medals and massages after the race! Now THAT is a great ending to my running season! :)

The Greatest Job!

I have been a nanny for an entire year now! Wow!! Time flies so quickly! The family I nanny for has 4 children! I love all of them sooo much! In the past year I have been able to teach the older two how to swim, and the twins how to clap! :) We love to jump on the tramp, play in the sand (the twins like to try and eat the sand), play Guess Who, make forts, have piano concerts, dance to Tarzan music, swing, play peek-a-boo, color, play dress-up, and much more! Everyday is a new adventure!

The twins just turned one a few weeks ago and they are starting to walk and talk! I can't believe how quickly they have grown up. I was watching them play the other day and realized that they aren't little babies anymore; they are little boys! They went from this...

to this...

I really do have the greatest job! I am greeted everyday with slobbery kisses and big bear hugs! I wouldn't trade it for any other job! I love them and am so grateful that I have been able to be a part of their family for an entire year!!

I Looked Out the Window...

and what did I see? ...

POPCORN POPPING ON THE APRICOT TREE!!

Well, it's not an actual apricot tree but as I drive down my street everyday to go home, I see TONS of these trees in full bloom and the song pops in my head every single time and ends up stuck in my head for the rest of the day! I absolutely love that I can now really relate to that song! :) It's a gratifying feeling, especially since Pres. Uchtdorf loves that song (or so he said in his last conference talk)! :) Haha!

Other random things: So we have quite a few fruit trees in our backyard. Last year the trees did not get fertilized in the transition of homeowners and the fruit turned out NASTY! This last summer, the boys took the time to fertilize the trees after we had a tree doctor come and tell us all about these trees. We learned that these fruit trees are ALL over 50 years old. Crazy huh?! That is so amazing to me! Most are still doing quite well, but a few had completely died. We ended up ripping out 2 of the trees and we are getting ready to plant 2 brand new navel orange trees in the next few weeks! :) Anyway, because of how old the trees are, we did not have a lot of hope for good fruit this year, but much to our surprise, the fruit is DELICIOUS!! I love fruit trees and I love that "Orange Blossom" season is just around the corner! :)

Spring really does bring us such a nice surprise every single year! :) - Blossoms popping right before my eyes!!

"I Am Loved"

It is a common thing in our family to "regift" free things that we don't really want. For Christmas one year, I opened a beautifully wrapped present that was about the size of a jewelry box and found... a silver dove-shaped paper weight. Yep, a paper weight that my dad got at work. So when I came home from school the other day and saw this heart ornament on my desk, I thought nothing of it. Later on, I asked my mom where this heart ornament came from. I was right, it came in a small package from a jewelry store in promotion of the holiday season sales they are having.

The longer it sat around my room though, the more I have thought about it. As I have, I realized that I really am so blessed! I am not sure why I ended up so lucky, but I am! I have family all around me! I have the best brothers and a happy-go-lucky sister. I have parents that are always there to help! And I have the best extended family ever! Over the past week of holidays, I realized how much I love spending time with family! I also have the greatest friends - ones that are always there when you need them and never there when you don't. ;) Not to mention, I am so privileged to know that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me more than anyone else! And His Son, Jesus Christ understands me perfectly and wants me to be happy! What a great thing to know and understand! I have so many wonderful people in my life, and I couldn't be happier!

So, thanks mom! Thanks for helping me realize how much I am loved! Who would have thought a free "regift" could help me realize so much! :)