story of my life

Sometimes we need to stop analyzing the past
stop planning the future,
stop figuring out precisely how we feel,
stop deciding exactly what we want,
and just live.

2010....

cannot believe it is already 2010! well it has been a while since i last posted, about when i went home and figured it was time to play catch up.

10 best things about being home for the holidays (in no special order)

1. I was back in Danville
2. the sunshine
3. Blake, Shelby, Marissa, Lori and Michael
4. playing with John
5. learning to crochet from grandma and rediscovering my love for painting
6. CHRISTMAS!!!!
7. relaxing, playing with mom, watching way too many movies
8. shopping
9. going to shelter cove with Alex
10. sleeping in my own bedroom every night and hearing everyday how much i was loved















Now i'm back in provo, have been for about four days now, and have started a new semester. i started my major and it has been so much fun. there is a lot of work and demands on my time, but i am loving it. i love being in class and seeing how it is actually applicable to what i want to do with the rest of my life.
For some crazy reason i decided it would be a good idea to take 17 credits this semester...we'll see if i survive. my schedule goes something like this...
Monday:
12-2: Math Education 305 - hasn't been too hard yet, but there is lots of homework and stuff to read
2-4: Drama in the Elementary Classroom - this class has a lot of reading and projects, but so far it has been good. it just drags on forever because i'm not used to having to be in a class for two hours!
Tuesday:
12-1: New Testament - love love love, i love my teacher and i love learning about the gospel
1-2: Music - my teacher reminds me of a kindergarten teacher which is kind of fitting i guess, the class has been ok, we had to record ourselves singing on a casette tape for her to listen to which i thought was a little weird...
2-3: LDS Marriage and Family - i really love this class! my professor is in the general sunday school presidency which is way cool. more importantly he is an amazing teacher and so far i've loved the readings we've had.
(only on Tuesday) 5-7:30: Rhythm and Dance - this class requires that you let all embarassment go, it was hilarious, we were jumping around all over the place and i'm sure i looked like a fool but it was funny.
Wednesday:
repeat Monday
Thursday:
repeat Tuesday
Friday:
tomorrow i have my visual arts education class and i am so excited. if you know me, visual arts is my thing. i would do that all day if i could. i'm pumped.

so yeah life has been good, its been good to see friends again and remember why i've been working so hard the last three semesters and that eventually it'll all be worth it.

love from provo,

j

ps: new year's resolutions to come, i'm still working on them :)

Mary, Did You Know?

One final left in the semester....D&C...piece of cake! already checked in for my flight (i'm A36, love it) and this time tomorrow i'm be in sunny california with my adorable brother. gotta love christmas time. its the best. so in all my christmas music listening one song i love is Mary Did You Know by Clay Aiken, its one of my favorites especially this part.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
The sleeping Child you're holding is the Great, I Am.

Its so amazing to me. I know that Mary knew she was carrying the Son of God, but can you imagine that moment when she looked into that baby's face. Did she know all he would do for every one of us? Including her? I'm so thankful for her.

The painting is one of my favorites its titled "Kissing the Face of God" by Morgan Weistling its been in our dining room at home for as long as i can remember but its always touched my heart, especially at Christmas time.

No Empty Chairs

officially finished with stats, and could not be happier. stats was not my favorite class of this semester...only two more finals and i'm officially finished with the semester.

trying to think of a Christmas thought today was kind of difficult cause i've been so busy and it was the last thing on my mind. so this isn't exactly Christmas but i love it and its inspiring a Christmas present i'm doing for someone, and its about family, what could be more Christmas-y than family?

Please No Empty Chairs
President Ezra Taft Benson said, "God intended the family to be eternal. With all my soul, i testify to the truth of that declaration. May he bless us to strengthen our homes and the lives of each family member so that in due time we can report to our Heavenly Father in His celestial home that we are all there - father, mother, sister, brother, all who hold each other dear. Each chair is filled. We are all back home. "

you're a mean one Mr. Grinch

So let's see life update: one final down (A) three to go, hopefully with similar results, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. today i took church history and wasn't worried about it, but i'm glad to be done and able to move on to the next test. i'll most likely take stats tomorrow geography wednesday (worried about that one) and then take D&C on thursday and fly home. can't wait!

Christmas thought for today comes from one of my favorite books. i wish i had it here, i'll just have to wait till i go home. If you have it go read it, it will make your heart grow three sizes :)

"Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot, but the Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville - did not. The Grinch hated Christmas - the whole Christmas season. Now, please don't ask why; no one quite knows the reason. It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight. Or it could be that his head wasn't screwed on just right. But I think that the most likely reason of all may have been that his heart was two sizes too small."

you all know the story, the Grinch takes all of Christmas, the decorations, the presents, even the feast, and then he waits to hear the Whos cry when they realize there will be no Christmas. Suddenly he hears them singing together.

"He puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more! And what happened then? Well, in Whoville they say that the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day."

Let's remember this Christmas season, that the true meaning of Christmas doesn't come from finding the perfect gift, it comes from the spirit of Christ and his birth and life and of loving those around us.

j

Gate 67

Last Sunday, a week ago, the First Presidency of the Church gave a Christmas Devotional. It was a wonderful devotional filled with powerful words and beautiful music, but nothing touched me quite like the story President Monson told, I was able to find it on LDS Church News.

"By way of illustration, he spoke of an incident that occurred in December 1970, when an ice storm caused thousands of travelers to become stranded in the airport in Atlanta, Ga., as flights were delayed for many hours, lessening the chances for them to get wherever they most wanted to be for Christmas --— "most likely home."

The midnight hour had tolled and passengers clustered around the ticket counters, conferring with ticket agents.

"When an occasional plane managed to break out, more travelers stayed behind than made it aboard. The words 'standby,' 'reservation confirmed' and 'first class passenger' settled priorities and bespoke money, power, influence, foresight – or lack thereof."

President Monson said Gate 67 in Atlanta was a microcosm of the whole cavernous airport. Except for a few passengers traveling in pairs, there was little conversation. A salesman stared into space, a young mother cradled an infant in her arms and a man in a finely tailored gray flannel suit seemed impervious to the collective suffering. A person observing this busy man might have identified him as an Ebenezer Scrooge.

"Suddenly the relative silence was broken by a commotion. A young man in military uniform, no more than 19 years old, was in animated conversation with the desk agent. The boy held a low-priority ticket. He pleaded with the agent to help him get to New Orleans so that he could take the bus to the obscure Louisiana village he called home.

"The agent wearily told him the prospects were poor for the next 24 hours, maybe longer. The boy grew frantic. Immediately after Christmas his unit was to be sent to Vietnam – where at that time war was raging – and if he didn't make this flight, he might never again spend Christmas at home."

President Monson said the agent was clearly moved but could only offer sympathy – not hope.

Finally, the agent announced that the flight was ready for boarding. Travelers, who had been waiting hours, shuffled onto the plane until there were no more seats. The agent turned to the frantic soldier and shrugged.

"Inexplicably the businessman had lingered behind. Now he stepped forward. 'I have a confirmed ticket,' he quietly told the agent. 'I'd like to give my seat to this young man.' The agent stared incredulously, then he motioned to the soldier. Unable to speak, tears streaming down his face, the boy in olive drab shook hands with the man in the gray flannel suit, who simply murmured, 'Good luck. Have a fine Christmas. Good luck.' "

President Monson said no more than a few among the thousands stranded at the Atlanta airport witnessed the drama at Gate 67. "But for those who did, the sullenness, the frustration, the hostility, all dissolved into a glow. That act of love and kindness between strangers had brought the spirit of Christmas into their hearts." (Taken from "Drama at Gate 67," by Ray Jenkins.) "

The Spirit of Christmas

So fun fact about me: i love christmas, i know a lot of people say that, but really, i LOVE christmas, its my favorite time of the year, i love the food, the decorations, finding the perfect gift, the smells, the happy spirit everyone has, the grinch and other favorite christmas stories, even the perfectly white snow on the groud outside my apartment.

but this year, i've been so distracted with finals that i'm not in the cheery christmas mood that usually accopanies me at christmas time. i was ms. christmas when i was home with the family decorating our house after thanksgiving, but since then i haven't been very christmas-y, i try to listen to christmas music (like i am now :) ) so that i can get in the mind set, and it helps sometimes, but my christmas sparkle is not shining through, i think it has something to do with my complete focus on concentration on finals and my school work and me me me, i'm being the selfish mr. scrooge, worrying less about everyone else and more on myself, and i know finals are important, and i've been working hard to get to this point and there's no way i'm not finishing on a high, BUT there's no reason i can't be carrying that feeling of christmas that normally follows me in my daily activities while i do it. so i decided to make a little post everyday ill christmas (hopefully), my ode to christmas and the true spirit of christmas. i stole the daily post idea from my friend ashley, she's great :)

on my last day of D&C my professor gave us this quote:

"This Christmas, mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Write a letter. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in word and deed. Keep a promise. Forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Apologize. Try to understand. Examine your demands on others. Think first of someone else. Be kind. Be gentle. Laugh a little more.
"Express your gratitude. Welcome a stranger. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your love and the speak it again...Christmas is a celebration, and there is no celebration that compares with the realization of the true meaning of Christmas - with the sudden stirring of the heart that has extended itself unselfishly in the things that matter most." - President Howard W. Hunter

and in case that wasn't enough, here's the most adorable video from Mormon Messages

http://www.youtube.com/user/MormonMessages#p/a/u/0/tXXwtFWpAI8

love and merry christmas season!

j