My Dad, Mom, little sister Rachel, and I went to Colorado to visit family and see my cousin Cole give his farewell talk before he left on his mission for the LDS Church. I thought this picture was really cute so I just had to post it!
I loved all of Conference but one talk I really felt was directed at me was the talk “Turn to the Lord” by Donald L. Hallstrom. I think since I can feel the ending to this trial coming closer, I am getting really anxious to be like the person I once was and it’s making me get angry and frustrated a lot easier. I have a tendency to get frustrated really really easily. So, to help not do anything irrational I have to go to room and think about life and what could be the outcome of acting a certain way. The link to the talk that has helped me so far is below, if you would like to read it. Maybe it will help someone in someway, you never know.
"Turn to the Lord" by Donald Hallstrom
For General Conference and Easter this last Sunday, together with my extended family, at my Grandparent's house, as a tradition we watched General Conference, had an Easter-egg hunt for the younger kids, and a special Easter dinner. General Conference, for those who have no idea, it’s when leaders of the LDS Church give talks reminding the members for now-day’s what they should be doing to protect from the evils of these times and can be seen and heard all over the world by T.V., internet, radio, etc. Also this last weekend, my cousin’s, Aunt, and Uncle came from Colorado to drop off their son, Cole, today(April 7th) at the MTC(Missionary Training Centre). He will be serving a 2 year mission for the LDS Church to teach people about the gospel in Tampico, Mexico.
My Easter basket. Isn't it so cute? haha my mom is so cute!
My cousin Ella and I. Helping her open her Easter-Egg's after the Easter-Egg hunt.
My cousin Cole and I, after watching him give his last talk in his home-ward before leaving on his mission.
So, I started training for that 5k that I'm going to do in August and right now I'm only doing a mile and then I'll work up to 3 miles. I have to admit that I am dyeing doing that mile and I'm thinking, "how in the world am I going to do 3?" I need help. I really want to run a 5k by August but I can't do it alone, if you are able to fit me in your prayers, please ask Heavenly Father to make the impossible possible. Thank you so much and don't think I'm going to stop working at it and only rely on prayers to get me there, it's just the help will be nice:)
This whole experience has been like a rollercoaster ride for me, going through up’s and down’s almost daily. I ask myself, kind of a lot, why I have to go through something that most people will never go through in there lifetime. I come up with many different reasons, and hopefully someday this whole experience will make complete sense to me. I try to stay positive to help me get through each day, which can be sometimes hard and for right now, I just try to get through this time in my life, one day at a time, and I can’t wait for the day when this is all over. Be thankful ALWAYS for what you can do right now because if you’re not careful, it could be gone in seconds, which is what I have to remind myself almost daily when I get frustrated about not being able to do something I use to be able to do before. When I first realized I was in the hospital I could not even fathom the idea that someday I would be the same person again. I can confirm the truth in this scripture from the Doctrine & Covenants because all my improvements have been so small that it’s hard for me a lot of the time to see the small improvements that I’m making daily. D&C64:33 “Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.”
I don’t think these pictures I’ve posted have been posted before so hopefully they are new to the viewer. My Uncle took these pictures, it’s me I think the day after my surgery and I look pretty horrible right there. 
I am right handed, have always been. When my right side was messed up, it was really hard to adjust. I don’t remember the first time I tried writing but what it looked like, it was horrible. The first picture displayed is a picture of one of the first times I wrote. My hand writing was a mess right after my accident, just scribbles on the paper. Having ataxia, I could not control the pen. During the first month, I had tubes down my throat making it so I could not communicate. Since I could not talk, I tried to write but no one could decipher what the scribbles on the paper said. When I realized no one could figure out what I was saying on the paper, I remembered I had learned the alphabet in sign-language when I was in second grade. I started spelling out each word with sign-language to communicate. My family printed off the alphabet from the internet to find out what I was trying to say. The second picture is what my hand-writing looked like about a month after the injury. A little better but still a mess, at least you can tell what I’m writing on the paper. Third picture is of my hand-writing on August 29 of last year. Last picture is what my hand-writing looks like right now. Much more controlled but still needs work and it still takes me sometime to write anything.
The first video is a song that my friend, Kelsie, and I performed at our high school talent show. We decided to record that song again, one night, just for fun, while being roommates together in college. The song, “Behind these hazel eyes”, originally performed by Kelly Clarkson, to hear my inspiration, listen to it here. Some parts of the song were changed from the original song to fit what my voice could do. The other video is how my voice sounds right now. I’m singing my favorite song by the LDS church, “Abide with me ‘tis eventide”. To listen too a much prettier version, you can listen to it here. The video doesn’t show my face because I hate watching myself sing right now. I know my voice isn’t the same right now but with lots of practice, prayers, and time my voice will sound the same again and if it doesn’t (unless it’s better) I’m going to keep working at it until it does.
Then
Now
