"Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured."

One of my favorite quotes from President Gordon B. Hinckley is: “In all of living, have much joy and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.” I was thinking…how can we enjoy life, and not just endure it? Especially in this day and age, where all around us, things seem to be constantly going wrong, or there just seems to be so much to do that you can't enjoy your life? I don’t entirely have an answer…but I do have a solution (which, yes, I believe that those are two different things).

Take things one day at a time. One hour at a time. One moment at a time. Most of our life is just memories. There are but a few seconds/milliseconds of time where we are in the present. Most of our life is just memories. Enjoy your life where you are. Make plans that you look forward to. Make the most of your life. It's the only one you have. Sometimes you will have rough patches, but you just need to push on through. There's a light at the end of the tunnel, and things will get better in time.

Honestly, this week has been pretty difficult for me. I had a dentist appointment on Monday, in which they sterilized my gums and prepped my tooth for a permanent crown. In the mean time, they gave me a temporary crown. By Wednesday, I was like, "This pain is far more than just my gums" so I went back in on Thursday, and they fixed my temporary crown, which had had a crack in it, which was the source of the pain because I think it kept catching on my cheek. After that, I was feeling better but my gums were still sore. Friday was a pretty good day, but by the end of the day, I was having a hard time eating anything because my mouth was just super sore, and my throat was starting to hurt. Yesterday I woke up in the most extreme pain–swallowing hurt and I couldn't eat anything. I was so hungry. I took some medicine around noon and ended up taking about an hour and a half nap, which honestly helped so much. I went to stake conference even though I still wasn't feeling super great, and by the end of stake conference I was basically dead. I don't remember hardly anything that was said and I don't remember any of the notes that I took. I was in so much pain and I could hardly even stand afterwards–I was so terrified that I would faint. 

After conference, I was able to receive a blessing. I am so thankful for that blessing!! It was the sweetest and most comforting blessing. Alex gave me 'homework'; she wanted me to stay on my bed or the couch for the rest of the night, and then she brought me some homemade ice cream. I was able to get to sleep easily (something that Kyle blessed me with in my blessing) and when I woke up this morning, all that hurt was my throat again. I'm back to just having a hard time swallowing and chewing. Which isn't the greatest, especially because I am just so hungry, but I am grateful that I can stand, and walk, and be awake. 

I am grateful that I can turn to the men in my ward for blessings any time, and I am grateful that my Heavenly Father knows what I need to hear. I am grateful that my Savior understands my pain, and I am grateful that He can help me through it. 

Amidst this terrible week (in which I felt like I was just enduring it the whole time), however, there were moments of beauty and enjoyment. I was able to see Josh Groban and Idina Menzel in concert on Monday, and that was absolutely FANTASTIC!!! I loved it and was so happy the whole time!! I was able to go to institute on Tuesday and I learned so much and am excited for the rest of the semester. Halloween was exciting; I love seeing all the different costumes that people come up with. Thursday I was able to spend a little time with my mom and I'm grateful for that. I had a little dinner party with some friends Friday night that was fun; I had a great time. Each little moment of beauty this week was a blessing and snapshot of the love that my Father in Heaven has for me. 

I hope you all have a blessed Sabbath Day and a wonderful week! God is here for you, and I am here for you, too. There's always a moment of beauty to be enjoyed despite any troubling times you have in your life. You just have to find it. 

Xoxo

Mattie

Graduation announcements and blessings.

Okay, so we ordered my graduation announcements a while back and we ordered 50. I didn't realize that there would be more than 50 people that I would want to let know that I am graduating! So my orchestra teacher suggested that I do a photo announcement from Costco and my mom said that was a great idea and I could do it. So I have one of my favorite baby pictures and a couple of my favorite senior pictures, but I couldn't find a picture of just me right in the middle.

So I'd been looking at pictures for like an hour, and I had come across a bunch of cute pictures of me as a baby and as like a four to six year old, but none that I was just like, "Ah ha!", you know? I got to some pictures of my baptism; one with my sister Halie, and I was like, "This one would be cute," but I really just wanted one of me. A few pictures later, I found one of just me! I was like, "This is it! This is the one!" And I'm so excited because it's so cute and I just LOVED my baptism dress! And I think it's funny (ironic) that I chose that picture because I've got a picture from each really important part of my life–my baby picture, my baptism picture, and my senior picture–and I'm moving on to another really important part of my life.

I know that Heavenly Father blessed me to be able to find it. There were some pictures before that I thought would be cute, but I kept looking just in case I found a better one, and I'm so glad I did because I really do love the picture that I picked.

I know that education is important because our knowledge is all we're going to take with us when we die. I'm really nervous to start the next chapter in my life, but I'm also really excited. Just–remember to cherish everything. You never know how much you will miss something or miss being a certain age until you're a senior in high school–or a wife, or a mother–and you realize that your life has flown by. So I just ask you to cherish the moments. Life is fleeting, and you will find yourself wishing you could go back in time. Love every moment. <3

Babysitting.

Okay, so I was just thinking about babysitting because I babysat tonight. I love babysitting with all of my heart because it's a whole different experience. It's a chance for me to get to be familiar with dealing with different types of children. Some children are easy-going and listen well. Some children are very creative and listen (mostly). Some children bring out the tears when they aren't getting what they want and twist your heart into giving in. And that's just a drop in the barrel. Anyway. I don't know what types of children my kids are going to be. I don't know if I'll have kids. I don't know if I'll have kids of my own. I don't know if I'll get married. Whatever my future holds in store for me, me being able to deal with lots of different kids is important to me. There are those random children in stores that need cheering up. There are those random kids at the park who you help swing and slide because her mama can't climb after her. I want to have the experience to be able to deal with each child differently. I need that experience. I just don't feel like there's a better place to be besides with children. Their sweet natures are so innocent and careless, and their rollercoaster attitudes make me feel right at home. Babysitting gives me a sense of purpose, a sense of being. I love being the guardian and caretaker for those kids while their parents are out. I love getting to know the kids, and how they click. I love how they come to love and trust me easily, and I love and care for them with all of my heart. I see the world differently through their eyes. I love being their role model and their idol. I love being with them. There will always be children in the world, and I will ALWAYS look after them, no matter what.