Amazing Friends

I have the best friends in the whole world. I wanted to share a few pictures my friend Ashley just emailed me...ok I lied there are a lot of pictures but I love everyone one of them!

Since these pictures were taken around Marissas birthday I'll talk about her first! I met Marrissa through Ashley when they became roommates and we had an insta-bond. Marrissa is the type of person who will do anything and everything for you. She is hilarious and always makes me laugh.

Don't we just make the cutest pirates?!

Yes these pictures were taken around Halloween! We had a halloween marathon it felt like! We had three different customes. Each of which were not the ones we had planned for that night!

See the cute blonde on the left in the black jacket?! That's Brittany! She is so darling! I met Brittany through Natalie and Ashley when they became room mates. Brittany is amazing. She lost her dad last year which would give her every right to be bitter and upset at the world, but she is completely opposite. Brittany helps everyone in need and is all smiles! Cute story about Brit, Ashley and Natalie decided to scar her one night (it was late at night). They hid in the shadows in the living room, and when Brittany came in the door they started making all these creepy noises and moved towards her. Instead of screaming Brit hopped up and down laughing hysterically and exclaimed "Oh I love being scared"! Only you Brit!

Now lets talk about Natalie! She is the one in the middle (picture on right hand side). So much to say about this girl. We can state that obvious that she is beautiful and has a great smile, she is extremely smart and was SUPER dedicated to her studies (when her laptop wasn't open to facebook;)). But anyone can tell you that! Natalie loves to scare people...don't let that sweet smile fool you! For example when we went to the haunted house, Natalie thought it was hilarious to fall back in the dark and then creep up on people! Which I am here to tell you is not funny! Natalie is also extremely loyal to her friends and is one of the funniest people that I know! In fact she laughs hysterically when she is scared which will make you laugh! I mean there we were scared out of our minds because someone was banging on the front door at 3 AM and all Natalie could do was laugh!

Lastly, lets talk about Ashley! Ashley is the adorable blonde (left of me in the picture on the left) She has helped me so much this year and was the person who got me out of my shell this year, went to my new ward with me, and has taken me under her wing (literally)! I don't think I have been on more fun double dates then when I am with Ash! We have a blast! Ashley is so caring, she is hard working (we call her the dad of the friends because she is a work-a-holic), hilarious, gorgeous, fiesty, and is always excited to see her friends! You get the picture, she is pretty amazing!

I have not named all of my amazing friends in this post as I don't have pictures of them all to post right now, but shout out to "THE PACK" which includes, Mckell, Amanda, Kelsey, Kim, Shana, and Matt! Yup Matt is in a pack of all girls. Spencer, Heather, Amber, Kenzie, Ashley W., Ian, Tate, Stephanie M., Charelle, etc, etc, etc! You get the idea! I am so blessed to have such amazing friends!

Challenge #3

POWER OF GOOD MUSIC

“Music can help you draw closer to your Heavenly Father. It can be used to educate, edify, inspire, and unite. However, music can, by its tempo, beat, intensity, and lyrics, dull your spiritual sensitivity. You cannot afford to fill your minds with unworthy music.”
Thomas S. Monson

I am now implementing CHALLENGE #3. Which, if you couldn't tell from from the heading is going to be listening to GOOD MUSIC! This means getting rid of music with harsh beats, sexual innuendos, and swear words. My challenge is to get rid of all this music on my itunes and to listen to only GOOD MUSIC. My challenge starts March 26th and ends April 26th.

Results come from doing

“When our wagon gets stuck in the mud, God is much more likely to assist the man who gets out to push than the man who merely raises his voice in prayer—no matter how eloquent the oration.”
Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Grow in Grace

For Relief Society Enrichment tonight we learned how to grow in grace and plant a garden/flowers! These are a few tidbits from tonight that really touched me.

"Behold, ye are little children and ye cannot bear all things now; ye must grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth."

-D&C Section 50:40

"God doesn't love us because we are so lovable. He loves us because his nature is to love. He is love."

How To Grow In Grace

1. Faith

2. Repentance

3. Humility

4. Follow through and participate

5. Keep the commandments

"Through the atonement even our character defects can be fixed."

"There is so much in us to give, to teach, and to love. This is what we do as women, we give, teach and love."

"Heavenly Father has already given everything to you. All you have to do is reach out and grab it."

Humor is the best antidote

"I figured out why I'm fat! The shampoo I use in the shower that runs down my body says "For extra volume and body". I'm going to start using "Dawn" dish soap. It says " Dissolves fat that is otherwise difficult to remove"." - unknown

Atonement is Foundation

Elder Cook shared several things he learned between the ages of 18-30 that continue to be meaningful to him today. The first was to focus on priorities. He used the example of a Peanuts comic, in which the character Lucy loses the baseball game for her team because she is distracted, to show that we need to keep our eye on the ball. So how do we do this?

1. Make sure our choices are consistent with our goals.

2. Be careful about wanting to do big, noticeable things.

3. Recognize that “there is no chance, no fate, no destiny that can circumvent or hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul.”

The second is work towards something.“learn a lot of things; don’t limit yourself, but have goals” and work toward them. “If you do that, then you’ll always feel like you’re preparing to do your best.” - Elder Cook.

Third have a doctrinal foundation. The three realities—that Jesus is the Savior, that Joseph Smith is a true prophet, and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God—“ are the foundation of everything else you’ll do.”

Remembering...

Today I am hurting for someone that I don't even know, and yet I know exactly what she is going through. I remember like it was yesterday exactly how she felt. Phrases such as "today I am sad and my stomach is in knots" , "my heart is aching so badly", and "the worst pain I have ever experienced" are all phrases that are seared into me. And yet there was one phrase at the end that shines a little ray of hope, which I need to remember, and that is...

"the good thing from this experience is that the people who truly love me and care about me have reached out to me and shown their love, and that is what has kept me in one piece."