Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

I had a great time in california for christmas! it went by way too fast...now i'm back in idaho and its a few days before the semester starts so i decided it would be a good time to blog! we did so much (stace and I, she drove from arizona) that I'll just be highlighting a few of the things we did!)

before i left, julianne gave me christmas & birthday gifts! they came with me to california...i have to show them off because she is so talented! she makes and sells baby stuff as well and its all so cute!




Christmas eve our friend Kokob came over (after having a wonderful christmas eve dinner with a family in our ward~ its a tradition :) and stace and i had a crazy running around dropping off christmas treats- chocolate dipped pretzels!). she gave us christmas scarves she made, as well as some yummy cookies...




Christmas morning we ate breakfast and i also talked to some friends and family to wish them merry christmas (and feliz navidad!). I love my family and i wish we could have all been together!
We went to visit a friend before heading out to rocklin to our grandparents house in the afternoon and we ate tons of delish food (stace and i made the stuffed celery), had a fun gift exchange, and hung out and caught up on life! i got an assortment of christmas cookies from my aunt lori and the ones with the chocolate in the middle are soo good! i definitely got geared up for a cold idaho winter because my aunt sharon gave me a scarf and gloves which will come in handy when it gets below 0!! We had a smaller crowd this year...we are all spreading out and its harder to get together like we used to!



i also loved looking at a lot of the old photos that my grandparents have up at their house (my dad's side of the family) of my dad when he was little and his brothers and sisters!





you'll have to be sure to check out my sister's blog
for more pictures from the week because she will give a more detailed/full of pics post
! on my birthday she took me to a kings game against cleavland and also out to eat and we also went and saw the movie "blindside" which was SO good, i recommend it!!
we also did some thrift store shopping (woodland has the best.thrift.store.ever. if you want to find some amazingly good deals you have to go there (and invite me along! i will help you find them!)
My sister stace also made me a cool photo collage calendar which came in the mail today! i love surprises and it has so many memories in it because she used recent photos as well as ones from when we were little!






I cant forget two other people that made my holiday so great, carissa and nicole! We have been friends since we were like 12 and have had a lot of fun times together! They have both since married, and all of us are in different states- Arizona (Stace), Idaho (me), Utah (Nicole) and Alabama (Carissa). They were both in woodland for christmas and we had a few get togethers, talking and laughing and catching up on life!
We were able to stop by and visit a lot of families and friends! it was so great to see them all and i can't wait to see you all again (probably in the summer!) it is such a great feeling to be able to see friends that you haven't seen in a while and be able to pick up where you left off and laugh and enjoy a few moments of life together!




The most important part of Christmas is Christ! I am so grateful for his birth and the significance of His life and the gift that He gave all of us!

 

What are you thankful for?

tueSday

Today was a day of S's....

sunshine (and it was actually not super super cold! love days like that, especially in idaho!

I love the smell of skittles!  Next time before you eat them, take a moment to smell them. Oh, and I found a snacksize in my backpack (descreetly snacked on during class!)

SMILE! I went back over to return Julianne's cookie sheet and saw baby hailey (2 days in a row)! She fed herself (with my help) and man, she is SO cute! She is getting some teeth in now. And, she has a really loud scream! (she was just screaming to scream...)

Plus Julianne 'cause we update each other on whats up.

Hmmm and now I get to do some more homework. 3 days till Thanksgiving break! Can't wait! 

I also sent some delicious

 

to Rolfy today...yep...and they are pretty much the.best.cookies.ever 'cause they have cinnamon chips and chocolate chips in them and them and nice and soft....mmmm.

And one last thing...i watched this and it happens to have one of my most favorite quotes ever on it by Elder Wirthlin from this talk. 

Have a great evening! Now its cold and dark outside...sleep is calling my name early tonight! 

I want to be a missionary again. This feeling come back over and over again and sometimes it hits me really hard, like right now. I wish I could explain how deeply I feel it!
At the beginning they tell you to make the most of every moment, every opportunity to teach and to learn and to feel the spirit and see the miracles because 1. you will never have those same kinds of experiences again (being a full time missionary) and 2. because it goes by so fast and you want to look back on it as the best experience of your life.
And the good thing about that, is that I can.
The bad thing about it is, I can and its true that I can't go back.
Not to like how it was before.
I want the simplicity of the mission. Of waking up and knowing that I had one focus, one goal.
I know what I learned is going to be tested now, over and over again. Because I learned what I learned and grew in certain ways for a purpose.
The Lord knows I have it but it isn't just to have.

My halloween was celebrated more the weekend before halloween then actually on halloween! I was in SLC and as you can see we had some adventures! Don't worry, no one got hurt!





why did I end up next to the spider!?

Today is November 3rd. I can't believe we are in November already! My classes are going...okay for the most part. With the exception of spanish and math. I'm stressed out and have a lot to do and am also looking for a job. Next week I'll register for classes for winter. I'm also deciding if I'm going to stay here in this apartment complex! It has its pros and cons.
Rodolfo is now Elder Moreno. He went into the MTC last Wednesday (has it really only been a week, it feels like more...) and we have been writing and it is really hard not talking to him because he is who I would talk to every day and when I felt down or upset or happy or excited or had good new or bad news or needed advice or wanted to give advice lol he was always just a phone call away. I am really glad i had the weekends I had to go visit him and also for being there his last day before he left to go to the MTC. A little crazy, I know...I left early early Monday morning (of last week) after being there the weekend to come back here to school for my classes (he almost came with me) and we had talked about me coming back up one more time but it looked like there was going to be snow, so that is why he didn't drive up with me to Rexburg. After my classes I couldn't stand the thought of not being with him one more time before he left, so after checking the weather forecasts, I grabbed my laptop and my backpack and a few other things and headed back to Salt Lake City! I felt so peaceful, calm and so happy going back...and a little crazy 'cause I was just there earlier that day! But it didn't matter, I was going to see him again and it turned out to be just what I needed.
There was some snow on Tuesday (we had a little trouble getting to the West Jordan temple where we did a session) but it just snowed on and off. Monday night was great to hang out with his family and talk and eat and Tuesday we went to the temple, ate at Subway, got a few more things he needed, etc, and then at 7pm we went to the stake center and met up with his family and his bishop and he was set apart as a missionary! Before I left to go back to Rexburg, he gave me a blessing. I have no regrets going back (the 3 1/2 hr drive is so familiar now!) and I am greatcoat for all the memories we have together so far! From how we first met, to when he told me how he felt about me, to seeing how it wasn't coincidence that we are where we are now.
Okay so maybe you could tell I'm missing him a LOT (sometimes it will just hit me really hard)! Thank goodness for letters. And that he is doing the work of the Lord because I know this is where he needs to be right now and that it is not our time, it is the Lords. It makes me think a lot about my mission as well, and also about what I can do now as far a missionary work goes, as well as what I can do to prepare for the future. It is true that sometimes the little and seemingly insignificant things are the things that matter most. And it is because of those things that I can continue day to day to put my life in perspective and think positive and follow the spirit and learn something new each day and recognize the many blessings I have.