watermelon in winter

Today is one of my last few days at my parents' house before I head back to BYU for my senior year.  The long road of college finally has a light at the end of the tunnel, and it looks reachable!  But this time next year, if all goes according to plan, I will be married and living in Brazil.  The last couple days have made me look back on my summer and think about all that has happened... So, this is going to be a long post, mostly because of pictures that are going to help me tell my summer 2013 story.  I came back to NH in April after winter semester ended, stayed for about a week and a half, and then I went to Brazil for 5 1/2 weeks.  And while I was there, some wonderful things happened..... Renato proposed to me at the Recife Temple the day I got to Brazil (the first time we'd seen each other in over 9 months), and I said yes!  So (finally) we are officially engaged and planning a wedding for July 22 2014, in Brazil! Our rings :) We ...

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...

I love you so much it hurts... We've all heard this phrase, many of us have said it, but how often do we think about it? Tonight I was just thinking about this.  What does it even mean, to love someone so much it hurts?  Does it mean that love=hurt?  Nope. Here's what I think.  Loving someone so much it hurts means you feel it when they hurt.  When they are sad, you genuinely feel sad.  When someone hurts them, you feel personally wounded or hurt as well.  You feel what they feel.  It goes the other way, too.  When they are happy, you are too.  When they accomplish something, you feel proud!   It all goes back to Genesis, in the Garden of Eden.  You really and truly become one, feeling each other's joys and pains, and you work through things together.

Hello friends. Long time no contact, right? Yeah, my bad. Here's a very brief summary of the last 2 1/2 months of my life: -Christmas -New Years (started that off right!) -Renato's birthday -came back to school -got a new job (I'm back at BYUTV, hooray!!!!) and quit my old one -school is keeping me ridiculously busy, more than I'd even thought it would -I only have one roommate this semester -I'm cooking more -I have my first Portuguese student (I start teaching on Monday) -I've learned a lot about trust in the Lord (again) and about how having priorities in the right place can make a huge difference in all aspects of life -bought a plane ticket to Brazil- I'm going there in May! -fell even more in love with Renato :) So, that's the short list of everything that's happened.  There has been a lot going on.  I'll try to be better about keeping this updated again, especially now that I have a few big things to look forward to, es...

Today at church I heard a definition of forgiveness that I'd never heard nor even thought about before, and it stuck out a LOT at me: "Forgiveness is repentance for a failure to love." Love who?  Love of God.  Love of others.  Love of self.  We are our own worst critics, and often the hardest person to forgive is ourself.  But as we learn to love ourselves, we learn to love God, and to forgive ourselves, implementing the Atonement in our lives.  As we learn to love God, and love as God loves, we are more open to speedy forgiveness of others.  I think Nephi had this down...his own brothers tried to take his life, and he "swiftly forgave" them.  That is just incredible.  And often we are slow to forgive (others and ourselves) for even trivial matters that really don't matter in the eternal scheme of things. As we learn to love others, we automatically learn to expand out capacity to forgive.  And that brings blessings beyond compare!!!...

Do you have certain things that you need to hear from people??  For me, I need to know that people appreciate me, I need to know that I am needed.  It's not a "I did service, now recognize it!" sort of thing...for me to be happy, I just need to know that I am needed.  By my mom, by my siblings, by my friends, most importantly, by Renato.  I don't know why I am the way I am, but that's just how it is.  And that in turn has made me do the same to other people, let them know how much I need them, and how important they are not only to me, but to others!  Everyone makes a difference, and I think the great majority of people need to know that their lives are touching someone else's for the better. :) And another sentence that can literally change the course of how my day is going is very simple: I LOVE YOU!!!!

Sometimes I really think I'm the luckiest girl alive.  But actually, that's a word I don't like... I am so blessed!  Haha it may sound molly-mormon-ish, but it's true.  In January 2011, I met someone who would change my life forever, though I never in my wildest dreams imagined that back then. At a baptismal interview of some of my investigators in Suzano, I met my district leader's new companion, Elder R. Araújo.  This is a picture from the very beginning.  Who knew THAT DAY would lead to... ...this kind of happiness and love!!!!! Renato entered my life when I least expected it, and he is now in my life and I don't plan on letting him go, ever!!!  I got to go see him in Bahia, Brazil this summer, and those are 17 days I will never forget, that I spent with him and with his family. I have so many thoughts about all this, but it's all good stuff.  In short, the Lord works in mysterious ways.  In talking about how we met and became f...

What is art? What is literature? What is love? What is beauty? What is a sacrifice? What is ugly? As I was reading an assignment for my Brazilian Literature class, I got thinking about how abstract life can be, how we can't often define things in one way and have that way apply to everything in life.  Your definition of art is probably very different from mine, and what we find beautiful could also be extremely different.  How you feel love for someone is different than how I feel love for someone, and it is not even something that can be put into words and fully expressed. BYU has a motto, "The world is our campus".  I was thinking about this over the last couple of weeks as I was in my geology classroom...out in the field.  Just as I am not limited to a classroom to learn, I am not limited to a dictionary definition of abstract words, words that really have no definition.  I can spread my wings and fly away with how I interpret things to be, and ...

So just now, I was randomly reading old posts of mine.....man, I used to be quite the writer.  I don't know what happened; I think my blog inspiration has just expired or something.  I wonder if I can renew it like a magazine subscription... But I think it's because i am dealing with real-life big decisions right now.  At the moment, I'm on a one day break between weeks of geology field camp.  Last week, I learned a really awesome lesson in trust.  Trust in the Lord, that is.  It seems I am ALWAYS relearning this lesson, though always in a different way.  have you ever made a map before?  Specifically, a geologic map?  Yeah, I hadn't either.  And yet, week one of field camp was going to Little Cottonwood Canyon and mapping an area there.  I had the mountains, a topographical map, a pencil, an eraser, and my compass as resources.  I had never had a class in this and had no idea where to start.  Each day, I began my day wi...

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...

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...

Really?  Who invented this holiday?  If you can't tell someone you love and/or appreciate them every other day of the year, what is going to make February 14 so special?  I'm just glad it's over.  I'm sick of seeing mushy (stupid) cards, flowers, and ridiculously packaged chocolates come through my line at work. I'm sick of everyone being like "what are YOU doing for Valentine's day?" as if it's actually an important day.  Nothing, thank you very much. Oh and thanks for the reminder that I'm single.  No problem, usually.  But it's pretty annoying when everyone is all la-dee-da about this stupid day and "oh, you're single? I'm sorry...."  Whoop-dee-freakin-doo.  I'm glad I'm single.  For the moment.  Hello, I wouldn't be going to Brazil otherwise! So that's half a rant.  The other half I don't want to get into right now.  Or probably ever, on this blog.  But hey, on the bright side...remember that as...

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...

Life is wonderful! I'm in love! With country dancing....hahahahaha. But for real. Last night, I went to swing club, and ended up dancing with a guy in my math class (random...but brings a whole new perspective to math class now!). He was really good, and we danced a lot, and I decided the best workout is just to go country/swing dancing. I am trying to find someone to go with tonight, down at the Center. I think I'm realizing that I'm leaving in 3 1/2 weeks, and I definitely shoulda gone dancing long before now, seeing as I won't really have the chance back home! Sad day. So now I'm just going to go every chance I get. Next week, though, we have a country dance lab, so I won't get to go to swing club. But that'll be fine, because it'll be awesome nonetheless. Maybe I'll get to go to both! As for school...this week has actually been pretty relaxing. My math test last weekend was the last test I had to take before finals. I've got a ...