Sunday Dinner!

Dinner together with our apratment with an apartment of boys in our ward. The boys cooked. The food was amazing!

Happy Birthday Madre!

I love my Mother! Happy 50th Mommy!! Doesn't she look amazing!!!

Just another day..

Just sitting in the MC, eating area one day at BYU-Idaho. Bored, waiting for a class to start so, I took some pictures of myself and also with my little sister to occupy the time.

Almost time.

Trying to spend as much time with the family before heading up to live in Rexburg, Idaho for the next few months for the coming Fall Semester.

(Daddy, Mother, Myself, and Rachel.)

(Mother, Marie, Sarah, Aubrey, Rachel, and Me. All the girls.)

(Niece Amber. View inside the cabin.)

(Mother sleeping on the couch. A view of inside the cabin.)

(A view from outside the cabin.)

(The view from outside the cabin.)

(Jess, my brother-in-law, married to sister Aubrey, returning from hunting.)

(My nephew Blake and niece Camille, playing at the fire pit at the cabin.)

(My sisters, Aubrey and Rachel holding the twins Ty and Travis.)

(Sarah my sister holding her daughter, Camille.)

(Sitting in the cabin. Sarah holding Camille, Aubrey and I holding the twins, Ty and Travis.)

Catching up!

(Kelsie, me, Malerie, Hunter, and Mya)

Today, I went to lunch with two of my good friends from high school that I haven't seen for awhile. For the first time I was able to see my friend Malerie's two little kids, Mya and Hunter (I think that it is how they are spelled) and also got to see my good friend Kelsie, who is down here visiting her family from living in Rexburg, Idaho with her husband. It was really good to see both and catch up on eachothers lives!

Two little bodies!

My older sister Aubrey, had twin boy's and they are the most scrumptouse little things ever to look at! The picture above are both of them, left is Ty Craig and on the right is Travis Larry, born on April 30th, 2011, they were quite a big surprise to our family but have been really fun to have around! Last Sunday, August 7th, they were given a blessing by their dad at church, and then after we had a get together with the immediate family of both parents. Few of the pictures below are from the get together that I took.

HOME!

I'm home! Today I went and ate lunch at the park with my older sister Sarah, her kids, and also my little sister Rachel. It has been a lot of fun spending time with my family and catching up on the things I have missed while being gone.

I had fun at school this last summer semester but I always loveeee being home! After the Spring semester at BYU-Idaho there is always a 7 week break. I need to find something to fill my time so I don't become really bored but that hasn't happened yet. My little sister, Rachel, came half way through the spring semester and was my roommate. It was really fun and I am excited to continue our adventure together next fall semester when we'll be roommates again.

(Rachel and I at college this last summer semester.)

Last Sunday

(Dad, Mom, I, and Rachel at the Conference Center.)

Last Sunday was General Conference (a conference for members of the LDS church to come together to a conference center or listen or watch on T.V. leaders from the church give talks and messages inspired from our Heavenly Father). My Mom, Dad, sister Rachel, and I had the opportunity to go to the last session of conference. I was given the tickets by Elder Christofferson (a leader of the church in the Quorum of the 12 Apostles) and it was the first time (and probably the only time) I had the chance to go to a meeting of conference. The day of my injury, I don’t remember this (I was out of it at the time) Elder Christofferson who was talking at Byu-Idaho’s devotional that next day, flew in that night and then came to the hospital to visit when he had heard that a girl had past out and was in the hospital in Idaho Falls. He has called a few times since the injury to hear how my recovery was coming along which has been way nice of him because knowing that being an Apostle of the Lord they are very busy and I am sure has a lot on his mind all the time! It was wonderful to listen to men and women talk on what the Lord wants us people to hear in these latter days and I am very grateful for that opportunity!

Practice makes perfect!

(Some of my last semester Byu-Idaho room-mates and I at dinner at the Olive Garden.)

Today is March 27^th, exactly 3 weeks and I am back at school! I’m really excited, it has been a really good break but I am ready to be back at BYU-I. Well, I am going to post a little blip of me practicing the piano and singing. Before my stroke I always would learn new songs and then sing to them while I played them on the piano. Since my stroke that has been kind of hard because of the Ataxia in my right hand. As time has gone on the Ataxia has some-what left and practicing the piano has become a little easier. Now, I am still very far from being back to where I want to be but practice makes perfect, right? So, I am trying. Doesn’t sound good, I know, but I need to start somewhere. It is funny because I have had to start all over and learn how to do again all those things I worked hard for once before. Actually, kind of frustrating but I am trying to keep a good attitude about it. I have to remember what I did before when I started to do something and do that again! Anyway, this last weekend some room-mates I had the last semester at BYU-I came down for the Color Festival and stayed at my house. We went to dinner the night before and then I was going to go to the festival but decided that morning I didn’t feel like going. It was really good to see them and I am excited to see some of them that are coming back to BYU-I in 3 weeks!!!

On my mind...

I am sorry, but today on my blog I have no pictures or anything to show. I just have a lot of thoughts I want to write down. Today I had a dentist appointment and then after my mom and I went to my grandma’s house for a visit. We all had a really good talk and we were talking about my recovery and she told me she thought that I was amazing for what I had gone through blah, blah, blah but I never told her how amazing she is and what I thought about her for what she has done, for her selflessness of taking care of someone else. I hope that my Grandma Mary-Jane gets to read this since I never told her what I thought to her face. My Grandma Mary-Jane and Grandpa Ronald have been taking care of my Aunt Stephanie who is severely handicap for more than 30 years. She is like a big baby, probably 2 years old trapped in a grown woman’s body. They have to feed her, dress her, bathe her, do everything for her! Now that is complete selflessness right there. I mean, being a mother is very selfless but hopefully as they grow older the child will become more independent and the parent will gain back their freedom as time goes on. Then, hopefully around 18, 19, 20ish the child will move out and start a life of their own but for my grandparents that never happened. My Grandma said today that she can’t remember the last time she felt totally free while having Stephanie to take care of. Lately, a couple events have made me have a lot on my mind. Some things when I think about makes me very frustrated. Lately, I have been thinking about how unfair life seems to be at times, like really, why some of us have to suffer so much and we never did something wrong and some people abuse their agency and it never seems like they suffer as much! I mean, really, why has my Grandparents had to live more than 30 years of their lives being controlled by the needs of someone else? Really, WHY??? Why does their freedom get taken away when they never abused it in the first place? Anyway, I shouldn’t complain, time will tell all answers, and if not in this life, we will know in the next. They never complain though, so I shouldn’t either. All I know, they are angels that will be blessed immensely! And just so people know, I am really grateful for what I have gone through and what I go through right now, I have learned a lot and it has helped me to realize so many thing I don’t think I would have realized never going through this stroke before. Anyway, I can’t remember if I ever mentioned on this blog about how miraculous our bodies are. So, if I did I am sorry but I am going to mention it again. I think I told this story before but I am going to tell it again. It was about six months after my stroke and I still was using my walker, I couldn’t stand on my own. I remember talking to my older sister, Aubrey about how if my stroke had caused my legs to become paralyzed (and I am so grateful it didn’t) I would become an amazing tennis player or become something amazing with my arms. Then she said to me “think of how jealous Satan is, we can accomplish so many amazing things with just a small portion of our bodies” or something like that. Our bodies are SO AMAZING! He is so incredibly jealous that we can accomplish so much with just a small portion of our bodies because he can’t do anything he tries to get us, all with bodies, to become like him and destroy and ruin our amazing functioning bodies! We all are sooooo blessed and life is wonderful!!! Anyway, that is my thoughts, thanks for listening! ;)

some events happening in my life.

Last Thursday, March 3^rd my little sister (Rachel) and I went to a jazz game. We need to start getting to know each other as friends and not just as sisters anymore since we will be room-mates this summer at BYU-I. It was fun, they played Denver, Nuggets. We stayed until half time because it was a late game and getting home would have been really late if we stayed for the whole thing. Then also my friend Megan came back from her LDS mission in San Diego on Tuesday. Early this Saturday morning some friends of ours kidnapped her and took her to breakfast. Now, I’m tired so I’ll go back to bed when I am finished with this. But, then later I need to get ready for going out to eat with some neighbor friends of mine, this day is full of going out to eat, not good for me, gym please!

a little bit of sparkle

I’m obsessed with sparkles and butterflies right now (as you can probably tell about butterflies from my profile), I just love being a girl! Haha I mean ya, if I were a boy I would learn to be okay with it (I guess) but, I am really glad Heavenly Father decided to make me a girl. OH and by the way, this is our last FULL week of January! I am really excited for this month to be over; this month has gone by soo very ssslllooowwww. I want summer to come, one month closer to summer, I LOVE the warm weather. I’m excited! ;)

(Top: T.j. Maxx, a favorite store of mine.)

(Earrings: Forever 21)

(Sparkly Headband: a gift from friend, Kelsie Rae)

My Wonderful Friend Megan returns home soon and I am SO EXCITED!

My best friend Megan is on a mission for the Latter-Day Saint Church in San Diego, CA. She is currently serving at the Mormon Battalion Centre there and returns home at the beginning of March. She has been away for almost a year and a half and I am getting anxious for her arrival home. I would never tell her I am excited for her to come home because I don’t want her to think about coming home and not finishing out strong on her mission, so it is my little secret BUT I will tell you all because I don’t think right now she is able to read this! We have been good friends for about 10 years now and I hope it continues for a lot more. Below is a picture of her and I at EFY a few years ago (it is a church camp, for those who don’t know what it is, it is where youth get to meet with other youth of the LDS faith from around the world and stay at a college campus for a week. They get to participate in games, activities and have lessons that help build testimonies and help them learn more about the gospel.)

(Left to right is Megan and I at EFY at Montana State University, summer of 2006.)

Here is her blog of her being on her mission if you're interested in following:
http://missionarymegan.blogspot.com/

Happy Happy 2011!

Happy 2011 to everyone!!! Hope this next year is better than the last and the last year was pretty darn good (but I am pretty sure it will be ;))! I am excited to see what the next year has in store for me. I hope it brings many more big improvements like this year I made some huge improvements, I mean I WENT TO SCHOOL and LIVED ON MY OWN! That is HUGE for me and I am really happy it has gotten back to that point. Well, Happy New Years again and it's a whole New Year for many more posts to come of stuff that we can only wait and see what they are going to be about!