watermelon in winter

Words of wisdom.  This is gonna be a long post, because of quoting a couple things... Mother Teresa of Calcutta said: "People are often unreasonable and self-centered.  Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives.  Be kind anyway. If you are honest, people may cheat you.  Be honest anyway. If you find happiness, people may be jealous.  Be happy anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.  Do good. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough.  Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.  It was never between you and them anyway." Martina McBride sang: " You can spend your whole life buildin' Something from nothin One storm can come and blow it all away   Build it anyway You can chase a dream   That seems so out of reach And you know it might not ever come your way Dream it anyway God is great but sometimes life aint good And when I...

It's that time of year again!!!! As I sit here, my mom just commented that we have a peaceful house.  Pops already went to bed for the night, I am sitting here reading some things, the cat is sitting on the couch and purring, Mom is knitting, and the clock is ticking.  We really do have a peaceful house, and it's really good to be home again!  It's nice to not have to worry about school, though I am still keeping busy with my end of a deal with my parents.  :)  I love my family, and I love how supportive they are to me and the decisions I make. Today was busy, but this evening has been nice and relaxing.  I got to talk for a little while with my other half (Renato), and then I set up the Christmas tree with Mom, while listening to Josh Groban Christmas music.  After that, we worked on some Christmas planning (you know, getting in touch with Santa and all), which is great.  Tomorrow should be another bu...

I'm sitting here listening to "Brown Eyed Girl" and eating eggs, toast, and hash browns for dinner...what a delicious meal accompanied by some good classic music!  And it just makes me think....why should I be just like everyone else?  I coulda just as easily heated up some leftover chili and made some pasta for dinner...but nope, I wanted eggs and hash browns and toast.  I do what I want, and I like it that way. :)  Life is great today!!!!!

I remember several months ago, actually, since I got back from the mission, thinking that I could only see my life until June...after that, I had no idea what was going to happen.  Since then, I've been making plans, exploring options, and doing everything I can to make my dreams come true.  Now it's June, and basically everything I had planned until now has happened, and many things have fallen into place a lot easier than I thought they would. So from now on out....I still don't know a lot about what is in store!  My fall semester plans are contingent upon the grade I get in my calculus class for spring term.  The rest of my summer is all planned out, basically down to the hours and minutes!!  In less than two weeks, I'll be on my way back to Brazil.  I will spend 33 days there, visiting the mission and mission friends.  When i come back, I'll get to see my whole family (well, except for Steven who just recently left on his mission), and then I'll h...

I am often reminded of how fragile life is, and in these moments, I become very pensive.  Like right now.  My last district leader on the mission was Elder Schenk...he is one of the best missionaries I know, and it was an honor to be able to serve with him, and he became a very good friend of mine!  He was scheduled to finish his mission this June, going home with the same group as President and Sister Moreira. And in an instant, plans changed, lives changed. Yesterday afternoon, he was going to cross a busy São Paulo street, as is not uncommon among missionaries!  He was on the corner, waiting to cross, and all of a sudden, a bus came...neither he nor the bus driver saw each other, and the bus hit him.  He went immediately to a hospital, but it was a hassle, and to make a really long story short, he was in critical condition, and it took about 4 hours of surgery for the doctors to figure out where to start.  He suffered severe head/brain trauma, and they...

I'm down to less than 24 hours until I leave.  I still have so much to do, but whatever gets done, gets done.  And what doesn't...oh well.  I'm on God's time, so it will all work out like it's supposed to. My testimony is the biggest thing that led me to go on a mission. I saved this for last, because I thought it was a good note to end on for a year and a half.  I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only church with ALL the truth on the earth today.  I know Jesus Christ is my Savior.  I know He died that I might live with Him and Heavenly Father again.  I know that I can be with my family forever.  I know that God answers prayers.  He knows us and loves us more than we can even imagine.  I know that the Church was restored through the prophet Joseph Smith, back in the early 1800s. I know that President Thomas S. Monson is our living prophet today. I know He receives direct revelation from God for the Church. ...

Sometimes you don't realize how much you love people until they're gone . Sometimes you don't realize how much you appreciate someone until you don't see them anymore . Sometimes you don't realize how much you care about someone until you can't talk to them anymore . Sometimes you don't realize how close you are to someone until they get busy and aren't around as much . Sometimes you don't realize how much you still care about someone until they re-enter your life . Sometimes you don't realize how much you like your job until it's over . Sometimes you don't realize how near the end/beginning is until you count the days . Sometimes you don't realize how much you like someone until they break your heart . Sometimes you don't realize how cautious you're being until someone slips right through your fingers . Sometimes you don't realize how carefree you're being until you get hurt . Sometimes y...

Inspired by James's last post found  here . You only get a once in a lifetime chance...once in a lifetime. You only make a once in a lifetime friend...once in a lifetime.  You've heard it all before, I'm sure.  What are some things YOU have only done once in a lifetime?  Like James, I've got a bunch of those...because my parents are awesome, and taught me from the day I was born that my backyard is not the center of the world.  We traveled.  We drove everywhere we went, so we saw more that way.  That sense of adventure has not left me.  Perhaps that is why it does not scare me to be half a world away from my family in Brazil.  Perhaps that is why I've been to Alaska, every province in Canada, Death Valley California, 30-something states, 9 different countries, etc. Perhaps that is why I do what may seem like crazy things sometimes. I believe in carpe diem.  Seize that day!  You never know when you'll get to do something...

Stanford Larsen:  One of my dearest friends.  Also one of the few people in this world who never let me down...ever.  Every time I think back to memories with him, i can't help but smile.  He has left a smile on my heart forever. Watermelon always makes me smile.  No other explanation needed. My cats make me smile.  They purr and are happy kitties. Snow of course.  Snow snow snow!  Snow angels, snowballs, snowmen, snow forts, snow fights, snow shoveling, snowfall, snow! My family.  They're all my best friends.  I couldn't ask for a better family...ever. Mater.  Cars.  The music in the movie.  Watching the movie over and over again, on rainy or sunny days.  Lots of memories that go with this movie, too. Country.  Country music.  Country dancing.  Country movies.  Nashville.  Country stars.  Cowboys.  One in particular.  All of these things make me smile like I'd...

Recently I was listening to an old Rascal Flatts song..."God Bless the Broken Road." This used to be one of my favorite songs, and though I still love it, it has different meaning now. With this song come a lot of memories from high school and such. One time, I was running through the woods near Lake Winnepesaukee, NH, when I got a huge cut on my leg from a tree branch. It bled, scabbed over, and was still there for a couple weeks. It left an extremely visible scar. But it's okay, I like the story...especially because we were running to go see Mitt Romney's HUGE stables when it happened! A while ago, I noticed that I really can't see the scar anymore. Sad, because it was such a good one! But oh well. There will be more scars in the future to brag about. In a similar way, I was thinking about emotional scars. Time is often the best healer. As in my scar on my leg, time healed it enough to hide it from those who don't know about it, but I still k...

The end of the year generally brings a reflection of it. What did I do that was noteworthy? Who did I meet? How did my life change? Who helped change my life? So many questions, answered now on December 31. I rode a train across the continent. I went to the lowest point in this hemisphere. I walked on a glacier. I made lots of new friends. I saw a glacier calve into a lake. I was an EFY counselor and loved every second of it. I received my mission call. I danced in the rain at midnight with people I'd never met. I pulled my first all-nighter. I made a few movies. I made decisions not knowing what the future held for me. I said goodbyes and seeya-laters...too many for my liking. And so much more. I met so many people who have touched and affected my life. My amazing co-counselors each taught me something. My EFY youth were amazing examples of strength. Some of my HP friends have taught me to love people in a new way. I met people on the way to Alaska with who...

We all know the verse. Row, Row, Row your boat gently down the stream. Merrily, Merrily, Merrily; life is but a dream. What a metaphor for life! Life IS but a dream. Sometimes I wake up and think that life is so short, especially when measured in small increments. Yesterday I woke up and realized that I've only got two months left in NH before I head to Brazil. I can hardly believe it's already been 2 1/2 months. Sometimes we have bad dreams, sometimes we have good dreams. Life is a dream in the sense that we don't always know what will happen next, it does not always seem to make sense, and yet it just keeps going. It ends abruptly for some people, and for others it just tapers off, as in some dreams. So let's keep rowing our boats gently down the stream of life. How? Think about it...you'll figure it out. As for Christmas...here are some pictures! Tiff and Sky came out for a week, and it was basically the best Christmas ever! Although sprinkled with go...

Hey all. It's been forever since I've posted anything on here, and even longer since it was something artsy and different and interesting. So basically... I like lists. Lists help me organize my life. At this very moment in time, I have a to-do list written out for today, and a longer one in my head for this week. I also have a bucket list that keeps getting added to, though I haven't actually put pen to paper on that one. Maybe I should get working on that. I have about 2 1/2 months until I report to the MTC for my mission in Brazil. I'll be going through lots of lists before then. Clothes to buy, books to read, movies to see, shots to get, letters to write, people to talk with, etc. Look, that's a list in itself. Already, I can feel the organization. Dreams. I have weird dreams. Sometimes more than others. For the past couple weeks, I've been on a roll. I remember my dreams the next day, so I remember what I just dreamed about. I have lots of d...

Sometimes you think you've seen and heard it all. You look back on your life and think, "wow, I've been through everything." And you realize that you've been friendless, lost people close to you to the dreaded cancer, pretty much failed a class, missed work entirely, didn't know how you were going to pay your bills, been rejected by people you liked, felt lost and aimless, been rejected twice from the dream you've been dreaming, had the car die on you more times than you can count, and the list goes on. On the other hand, you've got amazing friends, the gospel in life, a positive and optimistic outlook, had the opportunity to be an EFY counselor, have an amazing family, travelled a ton, finally found what you want to do with your education, and the list goes on longer than the first. And then you think, again, "wow, I really HAVE been through everything!" And you think you know how to deal with anything that might come your way, because ...

Today as I was driving to Litchfield, listening to country music and enjoying the trees that NH is so blessed to have, there was a biker biking on the side of the road. As I gave him some room and drove around him, I noticed in my rearview mirror how incredibly far the drivers were from the biker, and yet they still moved over to give him room. This got me thinking about perspective. From my standpoint as a driver, had I stayed in my lane 100%, it looked like I would have hit him with my mirror. As I watched the van in the rearview, the vehicle was several feet from the biker. When I'vebeen out biking and cars dodge me, I notice how far away from me they are. And then I got thinking about perspective in life. The biker, the driver, and a bystander all have different perspectives in this situation. In life, we all have different perspectives. Something I often hear is that we all think we have the biggest problems. I've learned over the years that as we serve others and...

I've found that it's really easy to stay in a bad mood when you get in one. Like if you go to bed in a bad mood, it's easy to be in a bad mood the entire next day. You just start feeling sorry for yourself and then your bad mood sticks around, and you are pretty much unpleasant to be around and associate with (Excuse my dangling prepositions). I found myself in this predicament this weekend...Friday night I went to bed ticked off for one reason or another, and was annoyed with myself for being bugged about this one thing. Saturday I woke up to a beautiful day with lots of sunshine, but spent 8 hours of it at work. Fortunately, I got to work outside and see a great baseball game. Unfortunately, work went on so long that I missed my own party that I'd planned, and that sent me back into my bad mood from the night before. Then I was pretty much in a sour disposition until I went to bed again last night, except for while I was at Stake Conference last night. This mor...

So I was just listening to pandora while doing other stuff, and the song "Meant to Live," by Switchfoot, came on. It got me thinking as I was listening to the lyrics, that we have so much to live for! We were meant to live for so much more, as the song says. There are times where we all get caught up in the hustle and bustle of modern American life. We get caught up with getting in enough hours at work so that we can pay the rent. We get caught up in studying so much that we pass up opportunities to build friendships. I know I'm especially guilty of this this semester. We get caught up in doing all these things that we "need" to do, that we forget to live. Sure, we all have things that truly need to get done, but if we take some time out to live, I think it would make a world of a difference. A long time ago, I decided not to do homework or work or anything on Sundays. Not only has it made me Sabbath that much better, but it has also given me a chance...