explorations, thoughts, and musings
I am in my womens studies class currently. The topic is violence against women. It is a deep subject, but overall this class is extremely boring. Today I decided to bring my computer.
After reading some articles I have resorted to the website mylifeisaverage.com
Basically its hilarious. The problem is, every now and then I have been snickering or snorting out laughs….
I hope they don’t think I am laughing about violence against women…
I keep pretending I am blowing my nose.
Had the sisters over this weekend. This is what we did.
Saturday
Sunday we went to Church and then drove to Cle Elum to meet my dad and pass them over.
Overall it was a very fun weekend.
Today is the anniversary of my baptism into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
It has been three years since that day. That day when I knew my whole world would change. I remember waiting for my mom to drive me to the baptism. I was scared. I knew that this was a choice bigger than I could comprehend, but I walked forward into the baptismal font. Dressed in white a Priesthood holder immersed me into the water representing Christ. He is there to symbolize Christ and the covenant I was making with him. That if I joined this Church, I was making a big promise. A promise to live a clean, faithful life. He immersed me into the water washing away my past self. When I came out of the water I remember feeling so clean. I felt so happy, like I could never do wrong. I timidly said thank you to the missionary who baptized me and went to change into dry clothes. I remember falling to my knees in the dressing room. Dripping wet I muttered a simple prayer of thanks. I have no recollection of what I said, but I remember feeling so grateful.
Three years have past and I have grown. Physically, mentally, emotionally, and most importantly, spiritually. I never thought I could be where I am today. Married to a wonderful man, still striving to fulfill my end of my promise to Heavenly Father. Baptism isn’t just about my promise though. A covenant has two ends. If I hold up my end, Heavenly Father has to hold up his. My end of the deal is to try my best. To give my greatest effort. Heavenly Father promises me that if I do that, no matter how meek, small, insignificant as it may seem to the world, he will know its my all. He promised a Savior to make up the difference, someone who would wash away the mistakes (which are inevitable) and cleanse me over and over. As long as I was sincere and continued forward Heavenly Father would grant me exaltation. Exaltation is immortality and eternal life with Him and my Savior.
I remember learning this throughout my 3 years. Pieces would click like a puzzle and gradually I gained a remembrance of things that I had learned before, not in this life but before I came to this earth. I was with my Heavenly Father and my Savior. I knew the plan. However, I was not raised in the Church and thus did not gain access to that knowledge until I was 18 years old. Over these three years my knowledge has grown. I thank Heavenly Father for providing me the capability to learn so quickly and understand the bigger picture. I know it has been Him with me, the entire way. Teaching me principles and preparing me little by little.
I am so grateful to be a member of this Church. I cannot deny the testimony I have received of this Church. It makes sense to me that God would continue to send revelation, because He loves us and He wants us to receive every possibility we can to learn. It makes sense not to drink alcohol or smoke or do drugs or even drink coffee. It makes sense that babies are innocent and if they died before they are eight, they are not accountable because they are innocent. Heavenly Father would not condemn them if they can’t make choices on their own. It makes sense that I should be sealed to my family, my husband, for eternity. Family is the building block of this world. It is divinely created and I am so grateful for my family and my husband. It makes sense to have the Book of Mormon. It is so engaging and teaches such true principles that I cannot deny its truth. Judge that by its fruit. The Book of Mormon changes lives. Those who read it and abide by its doctrines and follow what it teaches will be better people for it.
I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father and for a Savior who suffered for us. I know that this Church is true and I am proud to call myself Mormon.
I am a doodler. Some might think that I am distracted by it but in reality….I think it helps me listen.
I have always believed that I had slight ADD and in my mind just trying to focus me on one subject or thought makes me go a little bit crazy. But if you can get me to write or participate somehow…its not so bad. Well I basically have three lecture classes….this results in doodling when the professor is going on and on and I have nothing to write down anymore.
I wish I had pictures but I will tell you what I doodle:
hearts
stars
birds
peacocks
my house
the cover of my book
triangles
flowers
rainbows
pumpkins
witches (these last two are seasonal)
random lines
i wierd. i know.
Recently Kyle made a comment to me after I was upset over something. He said, ” You have a hard time of letting things go.”
This may or may not come as a surprise to you…for me it clarified a lot of feelings I have had all my life. Sometimes you just need someone to point it out for you…
I have an extremely hard time letting parts of my life past. Once they are past, I resent anyone that gets to continue on in my stead. I look at them with extreme jealousy while remember all of the wonderful memories I had and they will continue to have. Need examples?
I came back to a couple of shows after graduating only to feel a sore spot. I wanted to be on the stage. I missed it a lot. UW drama is a lot different and more vulgar than high school so I resisted getting involved….Whenever a song comes on from one of my past high school musicals I sing with gusto and sadness…it kinda sucks…
This place has been such a HUGE part of my life. Heck I met my husband here…so of course it has a lot of significance in my life. I have gone every summer since 1999 and this past summer was the first that I didn’t go…It was HARD. Not being there I cried at home but it was worse being there for a short amount of time. I was SOOOO jealous of all the new counselors and all the memories and trials they would share
I am still involved in institute, I still go to classes and feel like I am fairly well known there. But because I am married…it’s a little different. I don’t feel like I can get AS involved because in reality most of it is mainly for Young Single Adults….I felt a tinge of envy for all of the new people who showed up for the opening social… Kyle and I arrived late because they asked us to help out..well they didn’t even need us…so I just got to observe and get mad…HOORAY! NOT.
You know how when you are stuck in a daily routine all you want is something exciting and new to happen. Well Kyle and I had been working and going to school all summer which was necessary but extremely tiring. His family had planned a family vacation around labor day weekend and Kyle had mentioned to his mother a desire to return to St. Louis (where he served his mission) to visit people and show me the sights. Well we worked and worked, went to Kristin and Holland’s wedding (which was amazing and beautiful), and then flew away.
Our first stop was Kamas, Utah. Never heard of it? Most people in Utah haven’t. Well its a little town of about 1,000 and is where Kyle’s grandparents live and where his family had driven down to for our family vacation. Originally, we were supposed to go to Seaside OR but some scheduling mishaps sent us to Kamas instead. We got picked up in Paul’s (Kyle’s dad) new camero (midnight blue with white racing stripes). It is basically a dream car and was very nice. I wasn’t that impressed though…I am just not a car person. A highlight of being in Kamas was beating Kyle at chinese checkers, watching the Time Travelers Wife after getting some much needed ColdStone Icecream, going to Provo to see friends,and having Kyle’s grandpa let us ride in his horse buggy. One of the best parts was going to the Salt Lake Temple. It was so beautiful and amazing. So intricate and utterly breathtaking. Some downsides to the trip were the fact that we were stuck in Kamas until we rented a minivan (it was the only thing available) and I had to spend my labor day at a sheepdog festival where I got sunburnt. The only entertaining thing there was dogs jumping as far as they could into water.
After leaving Utah we flew to St. Louis. Our first stop was seeing Lisa (my old roommate and GREAT friend) and Chris her husband. They made us dinner and we caught up for awhile and then we were off…….to where? where were we going to stay? Well we were supposed to stay with a family Kyle knew but that plan fell through and we ended up hotel hopping the trip. We went up the arch, dressed up in old time clothes, ate a lot of food, and had a lot of fun. The highlight of the trip was our mini trip to Nauvoo. Nauvoo is a Church history site in Illinois about 3 hours from St. Louis. This was the last settlement for the Saints before they headed West. In fact a town 20 minutes from Nauvoo is where the Prophet Joseph Smith was martyred. It was an amazing experience to go to Carthage and Nauvoo. Nauvoo is mainly a historical town now that offers free tours and fun. The best part was getting to go to the Nauvoo temple. Nauvoo was where the Saints had built a temple before they left to Salt Lake. The temple was burned after they left but rebuilt in 2000 back to almost original condition. It was so simple, but so special. It was an amazing experience.
After being on vacation for nearly 2 weeks. Kyle and I were ready to go home though. Vacationing can be fun but it makes you appreciate your home and the day to day freedoms you have.
Today Kyle and I were walking to dinner on Bothell Way and we saw a plastic bag with a dead cat in it. There was no blood or smashed head. In fact the cat was in full form.
Hypthesis: Someone suffocated a cat and then threw them out of the window of their car.
Opinion: there are some disgusting people in this world
