God Bless

God bless America

God bless those who serve

God bless those who sacrifice

God bless those who risk or lose their lives

God bless those who go overseas

God bless their families

Happy Memorial Day! Today I am truly thankful for those who have died to give me freedom, who have died with honor, who have died for peace. I am also thankful for all those who are serving in the military at this time, who continue to protect and defend. Thank you to all who have deployed and risked your lives. Thank you for your service.

Mountains

I love to look at mountains. They stand so tall and strong. I am in awe of how beautiful mountains are, and how they show such strength. I also love how each peak is unique. Haha I rhymed. This may sound silly, but on the drive to Anchorage, there are so many mountains. I like to look at them and see what kinds of pictures I could find in their appearance. I have found such pictures as bunnies, bears, and an old man's face. I like mountains because each one has a different story. Each one has had different people climb it, experienced different weather, had various plants and animals live on and around it. Each peak is unique and beautiful. Just as every mountain is special, so is every person. I like mountains because they remind me that I can be strong and firm in my beliefs. They also remind me that everyone is beautiful in their own way, and that everyone has an interesting story. Mountains remind me that just as every peak is important, so are all of God's children. I am grateful that God put mountains on the earth to remind me that I am special and that through Him, I can have greater strength.

Sibling love

I love my younger siblings. Sometimes they are a little wild and crazy, but aren't we all? Heavenly Father puts us in our families for a reason. We all have different strengths and weaknesses. We learn to work together. Here's some reasons I love my siblings:

Tyrel: He is taking the time to serve a mission for our church. He sticks to what he believes in no matter what. He is a hard worker and a quick learner. He inspires me to be more outgoing about my beliefs.

Denali: She gets things done, even when it seems really hard. She knows me so well it's almost scary. She helps me recognize when one of my crazy ideas may not be so great, and she gives me good advice. She helps me stay grounded when I go crazy :D

Cassidee: She is so brave when it comes to learning new things, especially in sports. She is so good at being friendly and helping others feel welcome. She is also amazing at being a good example and sharing the gospel. She makes me want to be a better friend.

Brigham: He is so smart. He loves to read. He has a great imagination and a lot of energy. He is so creative. He has enough energy to do so many good things. He inspires me to find joy in learning new things.

Camilla: She is just a little sweetheart. She is also really smart and good at remembering things. She is very close to God and Jesus. She is very creative. She is strong and brave as she tries to do her best despite her learning challenges. She inspires me to have greater faith in trials.

Count Your Blessings, Name Them One By One

Today I was reading a post from my friend Melanie. She was talking about how sometimes we get down on ourselves and want to have a pity party. She shared a quote from the book Tuesdays with Morrie that lets us know that it is okay to cry, but we also need to remember that we are blessed:

"I give myself a good cry if I need it. But then I concentrate on the good things still in my life. I don't allow myself any more self-pity than that. A little each every morning, a few tears, and that's all. "

It got me thinking of how many times I've been down about life and just lingered on the lame feeling instead of counting my blessings. I felt lame for quite awhile. Other times I have just tried to hold it all in, trying to be strong and not show emotion. Yeah, that didn't work. It just made my outburst worse later. I like this quote because it shows me that I need to find a balance between acknowledging+processing my negative emotions and being able to think of the good things in my life.

Earlier this week, I was having a pity party. I felt lame and worthless. I felt like I couldn't stop. It was scary. Then I got the thought to read my patriarchal blessing. I read through it the first, then I got the thought to circle everytime a form of the word "bless" was used. I was surprised by how many times the word was used, and overwhelmed with the love Heavenly Father has for me. After that, I said a prayer and thanked the Father for as many of my blessings as I could think of. I felt so much better, much more grateful, more closer to Father when I was done. I am grateful that I was able to have this experience to remind me how blessed I really am.

Here are but a few of the many blessings I have:

The knowledge of Heavenly Father and Christ's love for me, and God's plan for me

Christ's Atonement

Prophets, Apostles, and other church leaders

The scriptures

My patriarchal blessing

The hymns and church-related music

The beauty of the earth

The temple

Mi familia

My wonderful crazy friends

The Fairbanks 4th Branch

My home and visiting teachers

Institute

My house

A job

Food

Transportation

Health

Word of Wisdom

Music

Good books

Dancing

Fun activities

Cameras to capture memories

School

Clothes

and many more blessings!

Por Favor....

We're going on the temple trip this weekend and we'll be stopping at an LDS bookstore. Here's some things I wouldn't mind getting:

http://deseretbook.com/item/5025397/The_Ties_That_Bind

http://deseretbook.com/item/4933036/_Til_the_Boys_Come_Home_A_World_War_I_Novel

http://deseretbook.com/item/5039816/He_Knows_You

http://deseretbook.com/item/4964366/White_Dresses

http://deseretbook.com/item/4505373/Daughter_of_a_King

http://deseretbook.com/item/5041096/The_Remarkable_Soul_of_a_Woman

http://deseretbook.com/item/374676/Saturday_s_Warrior_Score_

http://deseretbook.com/item/5042469/Spring_Tote

Grateful...

I love my mom. She's taken care of me, loved me, taught me, put up with me.... as well as my brothers and sisters. She rocks. She's amazing. I am so grateful for her.

A New Chapter

Last night was the last Institute Class that Brother Richardson taught in Alaska. I'll miss him. He's been a great teacher. But now the Hardy's will teach. And then a new missionary couple. It'll be interesting to see what they bring to the class. Although it's hard to see him go, I am excited for what lies in store.

Last night reminded me that so many changes happen in life. And you just learn to roll with whatever God sends. God knows what we need in our lifes. He knows what we are capable of, what we need to grow, who we need to help us, who we need to help. He knows all.

A lot of my friends are going different places in life. It happens every year. Friends get married, friends move. Life goes on. I used to be freaked out that all this stuff is going on, but I realized that instead of just sitting around, worrying about everyone, I should be working on being who God wants me to be, what He wants me to do, who He wants me to serve, how He wants me to live. I have so much more confidence knowing that God is behind me 100 %. And that I have a wonderful family and so many great friends. I am definitely looking forward to this summer, all of the change and adventure that lies ahead.

One Attractive Mattress.... OOOOO baybay!

Denali and I are super random. That's pretty much a given. We totally need to put a voice recorder in the car because that is where we have some of our WEIRDEST conversations! You lucky ducks get to read about one such conversation.

We were driving home from FHE tonight, talking about all of the random stuff that had happened. I commented on how pretty the hills looked as we came off the bridge over the Chena Flood Channel.

Me: "Oh, what a pretty view. The hills, not the truck, I mean." (A truck had just pulled in front of us.)

Denali: (something to the effect of...) "The truck isn't pretty, but the people inside are."

Me: "Yeah, especially if a hot guy is driving the truck!"

Denali: "Don't say hot!"

Me: "Ok. An ATTRACTIVE young man is driving the truck!"

(We both bust out laughing because we remember a conversation we had with our friends Trent and Kendra. Trent was asking Kendra if she thought this one guy was attractive, and the voice and facial expression Trent used was just HILARIOUS. So we thought of Trent and laughed.)

Denali (as a truck passes by with a mattress in the back): (something to the effect of) "Is that mattress attractive?????"

(And we laugh the whole rest of the way home!)

Oh dear! I guess it was one of those conversations where you really had to be there. But we had our laugh of the night. More weirdness to be posted soon.....