Be Strong and of Good Courage

"Sisters, we love you. We pray for you. Be strong and of good courage. You are truly royal spirit daughters of Almighty God. You are princesses, destined to become queens. Your own wondrous story has already begun. Your 'once upon a time' is now."
Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Life Is Precious

In loving memory of Grandpa Lawrence

We don't realize how precious life is until we are losing someone who has been a part of our lives. Grandpa Lawrence was in a horrible car accident Thursday afternoon; he was on his way to feed some chickens of a friend when a car ran a yield sign and hit him. He was rushed to a Catholic hospital in Spokane, Washington. Every morning a priest comes into his room to give him a blessing. Mom says that Lawrence would like knowing that. When I talked to my mom yesterday they thought that Lawrence was going to make it. Today my mom is back in Spokane, and Grandpa is in the ICU. She says the view from his room is amazing, and that the doctors have done a really good job to help make him comfortable. My mom was very positive when she was on the phone with me telling me that patients can hear you even when they are unconcsious. When I asked her how he was really doing, she stepped out into the hallway and told me that in a few hours once a lawyer had arrived they would be taking Grandpa off of life support.

I am grateful for all of the Sundays our family spent visiting both Granpa Lawrence and Grandma Kirby. I remember us picking apricots from his trees in the back yard and playing football in the front yard.

We love you Grandpa Lawrence.

DAILY INSPIRATION

"Many blessings in life are missed because worldly judgment was applied to what was really a spiritual decision."

-Gregory A. Schwitzer

"My mother assured me that if I stayed on the road of truth, even when it seemed hot and dusty, even when there were distractions, the end would be better than the beginning. I will be eternally grateful that Mother told me."

-Bradley D. Foster

"A person can never be a good judge without the gospel of Jesus Christ as a reference. The gospel has a long and successful record of guiding people to happiness. Some of the world's ideas leave mankind adrift to try to define their own standards. Because of this, we hear phrases like 'a new morality.' This phrase is deceptive! The standards of morality are eternal and have not changed; neither should we try to discover a new interpretation of them."

-Gregory A. Schwitzer

"Turn to the Lord. Exercise all of the faith you have in Him. Let Him share your burden. Allow His grace to lighten your load."

-Donald L. Hallstrom

How many people do you affect each day?!

So I watch 'Good Things Utah' when I'm working out in the morning, and today's message was just for me. I've been feeling a little down lately; perhaps its because I'm trying this cleansing diet that allows ZERO sugar. Perhaps that why I've been cranky?! Or perhaps it's because it's that time of the month (need I say more). Or perhaps it is because this weekend will mark my "would have been" one year anniversary....which has elicited quite a few break downs. Sorry to my mom AKA therapist/best friend/"person I vent too"...I know sometimes you probably want to lock me in an insane asylum:) Anyway, 'Good Things Utah' said that we affect over 200 people with our mood every day! We affect 6 people who in turn affect 6 more people, and so on and so forth! That's just on average; I work with patients, so imagine how many people I have the ability to influence! I decided right that minute that no matter how awful I thought I had it, I have so much to be grateful for and BY GEORGE I was going to be happy about it! And you know what?, somewhere along the road of pretending to be happy today, I actually felt very happy! Smiling is contagious! Try it! You might even fool yourself too!

"We will each face times of difficulty, and the question is not when we will face them but how we will face them...Our Heavenly Father, who loves us completely and perfectly, permits us to have experiences that will allow us to develop the traits and attributes we need to become more and more Christlike. . . . As we understand this doctrine, we gain greater assurance of our Father's love."

- James B. Martino

MaSqUeRaDe

The highlight of my Halloween festivities was hands down the "Masquerade Ball"!
I bought this dress for my Senior Homecoming dance, and I still wear it! Defintely have gotten my money's worth out of it!

Sarai, Lauren, and Ashley!

I didn't know anyone other than Lauren and Ashley at the Masquerade! It was so fun getting to know a bunch of new people!

Best mask!

It was a wonderful night!

Work Is No Fun If You Can't Have A Little Fun:)

At work we all dressed up for the Halloween Holiday! It was great! I won the "cutest/funniest" award for my costume of "banana split" and got twenty bucks! As my dad put it "Well I guess twenty bucks was worth that humilation." Yup it was!
My friend Jennifer (the fairy) and I (banana split)! The cutest part of the day was when a little girl saw Jennifer and fell in love with her fairy costume! She didn't want to leave the hospital and her parents took her down to our gift shop and bought her "fairy wings" just like Jennifers! It was so adorable!

So here was the other half of my costume! Hence "banana split"! Tinkerbell -Heather and Cowgirl -Erika were so adorable! Love me job and all the ladies I work with!