Gratitude changes everything.

I am so full of gratitude this week!

I am thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, and for His sacrifice for me, which makes it so that I can be with my family forever, and with Ricky forever. It makes it so that I get to try again and again to be like Him in order for me to live with my Heavenly Father again.

I am so grateful for Ricky. He is so thoughtful and sweet. I am so excited to be marrying him! He is a blessing gin my life and he is my best friend. There is so much that we still have to do to plan our wedding our future together, but he is oh-so-willing to help me (in most things 🤣).

I am grateful for the angels in my life–on this earth, and on the other side. I am grateful for the love, peace, and guidance that they–and the Holy Ghost–give to me. I am so blessed to have angels on both sides of the veil in my life to bless, love, and support me.

I am grateful for the Book of Mormon. I am grateful for its testimony of Jesus Christ, and for the truths in its pages, and for the lessons that these truths teach me. I am grateful for the peace that it brings into my life, and for the answers that come as I search its pages.

I am grateful for my Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother. I am grateful for Her divinity and strength. I am grateful for His mercy and grace. I am grateful for Their love and guidance. I am grateful for the blessings they give to me, and for the big part that They play in my life. I am so thankful that Heavenly Father is always willing to bless me and lift me up.

I am grateful for friends and family who are always willing to help me, especially with wedding plans as my wedding is coming up. Everyone has been offering help and advice, and I so appreciate it.

When we are grateful, and notice our blessings, we're happier. I've seen this in my life. As we recognize the Lord's hand in our lives, we are able to notice more and more all of the good things in our lives. The more grateful we are, the more dopamine that our brain makes, which means that we are happier! It's science! I learned that in college! But I've also experienced it in my life. I am grateful for the love and peace that being grateful has brought to me. What are you grateful for?

I hope that everyone has a great week! God loves you! I love you! Thanks for all of the love and support!!

Xoxo
Mattie

I can #LightTheWorld by loving.

I was able to be at home today for Bridger's ordination to the Aaronic priesthood. I'm so proud of him! It was good to be with my family and a good start to this week's #LightTheWorld initiative, which is Light Your Family. Serving with your family can bring you closer together, but serving your family members can bring the light of Christ into your own home. This week, focus on ways you can serve the people you love most.

I am so glad that I was able to be home today! My mom is the ward choir director and since I'll be home next Sunday for the Christmas program, I'm going to help sing. My little brothers are so excited to have me home for Christmas! I can't wait for them to see what I got them for Christmas!

It's kind of hard to serve your family when you live either super far away, or when you live far enough away that your lives don't always cross. So here are some suggestions that I have:

1. You can text, call, or FaceTime your family each night, or just one night this week. You can study scriptures together, or even just chat with each other about life.

2. You can write letters to your family and send them! Or you could send them a package. Whatever you like.

3. You can have a group chat and send silly memes to each other, or even your favorite scriptures. Just let them know that you are thinking of them. 

There are so many ways that you can serve your family! I am so excited for Christmas! I may or may not have gotten everyone in my family a gift this year. And they may or may not be absolutely perfect for each member of my family. And I may or may not be extremely excited to see how they react when they open their gifts.

While I'm waiting to go home, I'm going to try and serve those closest to me as if they were my family. And I'm also going to be making plans to serve my family this week while we're apart. I'm so excited for the holidays and I can't wait for the New Year! 

I'm so thankful for my Heavenly Father! Last night I went to Temple Square with my ward (and had a fantastic time and took some amazing pictures, which I will show here in a second)! We were able to pass out 113 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to homeless people on the streets and it was so awesome! Afterwards, we were so blessed to be able to make it to the 9:03 train because it was delayed so we didn't miss it! It was super cool to spend a bunch of time looking at the lights and the temple and just being so amazed and in awe of the beauty of the temple and of the world. I am so excited to be able to go through the temple next month and I can't wait!!

These are my peeps! This is my ward! Love them so much!

I really had a fantastic time taking pictures!! There were a TON of people around so it was super crowded but it was super fun! It wasn't too cold, which was perfect! 

Thought this was a cool angle!

So pretty!! 

I really loved the moon!

I loved the blue lights, the red lights, and the white temple!
And the moon was cool, too!

This was so serene. I loved the lamps!
They reminded me of the lamp in the Chronicles of Narnia!

LOVED the temple through the lights!

Beauty.

I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to go see the temple lights! I am grateful for my family, and for the love that I feel for them and from them. I am so excited to be celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and I am so grateful for all the love that He has for us, and all that He has done for us.

I hope y'all have a wonderful week! I'm just trying to get through till Thursday...scheduled finals on the last two days is the worst, but somehow, I know I will make it through! 

Xoxo
Mattie

Honor thy mother.

Today is Mother's Day, and I am so thankful for my mother, and for all the women in my life! I learn so much from each of them and I really look up to them. I am grateful for their examples of love, service, kindness, charity, and how to be a good woman, mother, and daughter of God. I don't know where I'd be without their love and examples.

Sacrament meeting was full of beautiful messages about mothers:
-We have no need to doubt, for our mothers know, so we can know.
-The relationships we have with God and with our mother are of equal importance.
-You can't remember mother and forget God; nor can you remember God and forget mother.

"If we want to be Christlike, honoring our mother is a crucial part." Bishop said that in Relief Society as a summary of the messages of sacrament meeting, and I loved it so much. My brother spoke in sacrament meeting today and he talked about how Jesus Christ treated His mother. Christ is the epitome of how to be Christlike (I mean, who else would be?) and He loved and respected His mother so much. If we are to be Christlike, we must treat our mothers as He treated His.

There are so many women in my life that I am so grateful for, look up to, and love so very, very much, but I'm just going to talk about a few of them.

I am so thankful for my mother. I have learned so much from her, and I know that she will always love me. I am blessed to have such an amazing example to look up to. She does so much for my family, and I hope that someday I can be even half the woman and mother that she is.

I am so thankful for my grandma. I love my grandma so much! She is always thinking of others and she is such a wonderful example to me of how to minister and care for those around you. She blesses my life and I am so, so thankful that I have her in my life.

I am so thankful for my aunts. I love them so much! They are all wonderful examples to me of Christlike love. They all do so much for their families, and I know that if I ever need them, they will be there for me.

I am so thankful for my Great-Grandma Harker and my Great-Grandma Radke. I am lucky enough to share a name with each of them (as well as my mother), and I learned so much from my Great-Grandma Harker when I was growing up. I never met my Great-Grandma Radke, but my dad has told me that I am like her in many ways. I am grateful for their examples and I am so thankful to bear their names! I hope that I can be as strong as they were, and I hope that I can do as much good as they did.

This is just a small portion of the women in my life, but I am so blessed to have so many wonderful women in my life! I know that they are and will be blessed for their service, love, and efforts to follow the Savior, and I know that I will be a better woman as I follow their examples.

Here are a few links to several different songs about mothers that I love and wanted to share with you.

I know that the women in our lives are some of the most important and special people to ever walk the planet. I am so thankful to have so many wonderful examples of beautiful and amazing women to follow in my life.

Happy Mother's Day to all of the women!! May you have a beautiful and special day filled with love.

Xoxo

Mattie

Sweet is the peace.

First things first, I'm now officially the ward choir director! I'm nervous but excited! It should be really fun. :) I love music and am excited to challenge myself in directing our choir to sing and really feel the message of the songs we will be performing, and share their testimonies and the Spirit with our ward. I've never legitimately led anyone in anything, so this will be a fun experience.

It's been a tough week for me, starting with the fact that I picked up two shifts last week and this week, and so I worked a lot more than normal (and I will work more the week after, as well) so I'm really tired; and I've got some personal things going on in my life that threw me off emotionally and made me question several things. But! My friends and family are the greatest and have been super supportive, patient, and loving, which has been such a blessing. I thank God every day for them, and I'm so lucky to have them in my life. ❤️❤️

Life is weird. One minute, life's going great–you're coasting in coolness–and the next thing you know, SPLAT!! You've hit a wall, and are no longer coasting in coolness. In fact, you're no longer coasting at all–you're just existing, meandering aimlessly, trying to find yourself again, or trying to find a meaning to all that is going on in your life. And you're just sort of stuck.

I've been there–several times–and I know how hard it is, and how it feels, and it's not always the greatest feeling. Sometimes, I've just felt kind of "Blah" about it, but sometimes it's made me feel really sad, or stressed, and I haven't really known how to fix it, or what to do about it. Sometimes I've just avoided doing anything about it for awhile, and just tried to move on with my life. Sometimes that doesn't work. I try to listen to music, specifically to help calm me, and bring the Spirit, and that always helps. What helps the most, though, is prayer–turning to my Heavenly Father. Sometimes the answer or help doesn't come right away, but what does come always is peace. Peace that things will work out, peace that I will be fine, and peace that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing, and peace that I am where I am supposed to be. And oh how sweet is the peace!

I'm grateful for the peace that the Lord gives me in times of hardship, heartache, and sorrow, but also for the peace that He gives me when I'm doing the right things, and when I'm blessing other people's lives. There is no greater joy to me than sharing the love of my Heavenly Father and Savior with those around me, in whatever way, whether that be service, music, or just spending time with them and listening. I hope and pray every day that I am able to help someone feel the love of their Savior when they need it.

School is starting for many soon, and I just want to wish you all luck!! I know that everything will be all right, and that you will be blessed as you turn to your Father in Heaven for help and guidance.

Xoxo
Mattie

Finding your way.

School starts tomorrow! I also start my job tomorrow. This is going to be a busy week figuring things out, but I think I'll be okay. :)

I'm so grateful for my Savior. As one of my New Year's Resolutions, I want to try to consciously think of Him and focus on Him, and this past week has been hard, and sometimes I've failed, but it's been a great experience as I've been able to think about Him more and involve Him more in my life. I am very blessed to have my Savior in my life and I am full of love and gratitude towards Him and towards my Father in Heaven. Every day I am given the chance to start anew, and for that I am so grateful. I am who I am today–and I am where I am today–because of my Savior.

Finding my own way has never been easy. In fact, I'm still searching. I've had personal struggles that have been hard to overcome, and I've had things that have gotten in the way of me being able to do what I want to or need to do. But always I have had my Savior, and my Heavenly Father, and my family and friends. Having people to turn to in my life has always been a blessing. And when I don't know if I can turn to someone, I always have my Savior.

Facing a new year with new challenges is always a puzzle, but I am confident that we can do it! We all have our challenges and struggles, but I know that there are things that we can overcome–with the Savior's help–that will help us change in this new year and make it easier to overcome other challenges. It can make it easier for you to find your way. I know that whatever you want from this new year, you can achieve it with His help.

Xoxo
Mattie

Above any other title or identity, you are a child of God.

I am so grateful for my ward!! I learned a lot of things today that I needed a reminder of. A reminder of who I am and who I can be.

My thoughts during the sacrament:

Christmastime is here, and oh how grateful I am! I am so blessed. I have an amazing family that I love with all my heart, I have awesome roommates and an awesome ward, and I have wonderful friends whom I love and adore. Above all, I have my Savior, who was born for me, who lived for me, who died for me so that I can live and have the strength to get through each and every day. I love Him and am so grateful for His love and guidance in my life. At the end of the day, He has helped me more times than I can count. I am so thankful for His example of how to live my life. I'm not perfect, but I try to be like Him, and I try to be His hands for those around me who need them.

I do it all year-round, but especially at Christmastime. Service is my favorite thing–after my friends and family, of course. :)

Today was fast Sunday, and many things were said in testimonies today that I loved:
-He lived, and still lives. He lived and died for us.
-The Savior needs you. He saw/sees our potential.
-When you struggle, do you speak to yourself like you speak to your family and friends?
-We have to turn to our Savior to turn on the Light.
-If God says it is to be so, it is. If Christ thought that we were worth it to die for, we are.
-Above any other title or identity, we are sons and daughters of God.

Gospel Principles was so fulfilling. We talked about light, and the Sabbath Day, and one thing that was said really stood out to me: The way we heal others is by leading them to Christ. I loved that. Christ is really the only one who can heal, so the way we heal others is by leading them to Christ.

Relief Society was about following Christ, and how He can help us, and how He does help us.
-Jesus Christ understands us and He is there for us.
-No matter what, you still have worth.
-"If we love the Savior more, will we hurt less?" (Elder Hales, Oct. 2016)
-You are not an exception. You are definitely included in the Savior's sacrifice–He suffered for you, and He will help you change and return to Heavenly Father.
-John 14:18–"I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you."
-You're already enough. He cares about who and what you are and can become.
-Christ is the way.
-Christ will complete you, and He is completing you.
-Refining does not take away from your worth.
-Christ constantly has to watch us–heating/refining too much can ruin the silver/us.
-We need to make Him our priority. We were His priority.
-He wants us to love Him and to return to Him.

I am so grateful for what I learned today. I definitely learned a lot of things that I can do better in my life. I'm grateful for the opportunities I have daily in my life to change and be more like Christ. I'm far from perfect and am glad that I have help from my Savior to change and become better.

I love the month of December. Christmas is probably my favorite holiday of all time. Not because I get gifts, but because I get to give gifts and service to my favorite people of all time: my family and friends. Also random people, but mostly family and friends. I love spending time with my family and friends, and I love the opportunity that I have to share the love of my Savior with my family and friends. I hope that this holiday season will be a great one for you and your family. I love you and wish you the very best in these upcoming weeks. I know that our Heavenly Father loves you and is watching out for you. You are His child, and He loves you so much. Turn to Him in all your times of need. He will be there for you, I promise. <3

Xoxo
Mattie

My birthday adventure.

Well, yesterday was my birthday!!! I had a great day! It went like this:

I had orchestra rehearsal in the morning and my friend got me a couple of cute things; then when I read her card later, I cried a little (for the first time but definitely not the last time I'd cry that day).

So then I went to spend a couple of hours with my family; I got the new Cinderella movie!!! My parents are going to buy me a couple of tickets to a BYU arts production so I can take a friend and they are also going to buy me a new camera. I'm so excited!! Anyway, after we had treats (my mom made mini funfetti cheesecakes) my parents took me out to lunch, and then I was home for about another hour while I tried to work on stuff for the new year of college. During that time, one of my friends going to a different college called me, and so I got to talk to her for a bit, which was fun.

Then my dad took me back to my dorm, and I got ready for stake conference really quick and then I headed up to the Joseph Smith Auditorium for that. I heard a lot of messages that I needed to hear, and as we were singing the closing hymn, "How Firm A Foundation", I started to tear up a little about halfway through the second verse, but I totally lost it at the third verse, and I couldn't sing it. There was an older man sitting a seat over from me and he patted me on the shoulder and so of course I felt really self-conscious then and I tried to stop crying and I tried to sing the last couple of lines of the song, but it just wasn't happening. I just really needed to hear the message in that verse, and my Heavenly Father knew that.

After that, I met up with my friends for dinner and then we headed to BYU's Ballet production of Alice in Wonderland. It was so good!!! I had a great time. After the ballet, we headed back to our dorm and got changed and then we headed downstairs to the basement–my friend had made me a cake, and my friends sang to me and we had cake (one of my friends gave me a card) and chatted for awhile before we all had homework and things to do.

At this point, I wrote in my journal about my birthday (it took up like three pages) and some more crying commenced because it had been a super great day and I was just an emotional mess (as always ;) ) when I got to thinking about it all, and about the things that my friends had written in their cards. I have been having a bit of a hard time lately, what with still trying to figure out when to do my readings and things for my homework, amongst other things, and the things that my friends said in their cards to me were sweet words of love and encouragement that I needed. I'm so grateful for their examples to me, and for their love. Yesterday was an amazing day because of my friends and family, and I'm so grateful for all of the people in my life. <3 <3

Happy Thanksgiving!

Two separate Facebook posts about today. I had a blast with my family today! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!!! I'm grateful for so many things!! I'm so grateful that I have the opportunity to go to school and get an education. I'm lucky and grateful to have been surrounded by so many great examples throughout my life. I'm so grateful that there are temples around. I'm so grateful for all of the opportunities that I have had (and will have) to grow as a person and to grow in the gospel. I'm so grateful for my family and friends (they love me in spite of my weirdness and craziness ;) ). I'm so grateful for the scriptures and the prophets. But most of all I'm grateful for my Heavenly Father, and my Savior, Jesus Christ. His Atonement has helped me heal more times than I can count, but I know that I can always count on Him to be there for me.

It's been a really fun day. Filled with family, food, dessert (yes it's a separate category of food), funny videos, and laughing fits and outbursts. I love my family and I'm so grateful that I got to spend the day with them. I'm also grateful that I get to be myself. I know I'm crazier and weirder than most but I wouldn't trade who I am to be anyone else. I'm grateful that I get to be me because my world is better when I'm being myself–it's real. :)

Today was kind of hard. But that's okay.

So, as the title says, today was kind of hard. But that's okay. Hard times make me stronger (though, I'm going to be honest, sometimes I wish I could become stronger in other ways). This morning was super fun–I went to rehearsal today and, though some of the pieces are challenging, I am excited. It's going to be so much fun!! Plus, I love spending time with my friend. :) After rehearsal, though, I was just so overwhelmed. I have a nature experience proposal due in Biology on Monday and I have absolutely NO idea what to do. It has been bothering me all day, and it is what has made today hard (that, plus the fact that my shoulders/back are super sore for who-knows-why and are killing me). But I was really looking forward to the General Women's Broadcast tonight. :) I was super excited!! I was not disappointed!! It was such a great session! I loved it! I am so excited for General Conference next weekend!! There were SO many good messages spoken that I needed to hear!!!

Sister Rosemary M. Wixom said:

Life is a gift, and God has a plan for each of us.

Our divine nature comes from God.

Because you are His child, He knows who you can become.

I love this. This is such a great reminder that we are His, and He has a plan for us, and all that we have been blessed with comes from Him. <3

Sister Linda S. Reeves said:

We will be blessed if we exercise faith in our Father and go to Him.

The reward is so great, so eternal...

As we keep our lives pure and clean...we will one day receive all that the Father hath.

I love this! We will be blessed as we keep His commandments–I love that she got emotional as she talked about how, when we see the Father in Heaven, we will be amazed at how awesome the reward is, and how all we had to do was get through our trials that seem extremely hard now, but, in the end, will be nothing compared to the reward. <3

Sister Carol F. McConkie said:

We must love one another and see in one another the beauty of the soul.

In the strength of the Lord we can do all things.

We repent so that we may be better.

"In this cause [FYI, she said that "we are here to serve a righteous cause"] we are all valued. We are all needed. The righteous cause we serve is the cause of Christ. It is the work of salvation."

I love this. I can't even add anything to it. <3

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf:

He told a story about a young girl who visited her Great-Aunt Rose over the summer while the girl's mother recovered from a surgery. These are some of the things he said as he told the story:

If we trust Him, we can find the brighter, happier things in life.

The best things take patience and work.

Brooding and worrying makes it worse. (this stood out to me in particular. <3 <3 <3)

God didn't design us to be sad. He created us to have joy.

Now is part of eternity. 

Faith will fortify every step of the way.

I love President Uchtdorf! This was such a good talk! I loved the story! Such a cute story, and very relatable. <3 <3

I absolutely LOVED this session!!!! God is watching out for me and He knows exactly what I need. <3 <3 <3 Can't wait for next weekend!!!

Xoxo
Mattie

Letter of gratitude and love.

Dear Reader,
If you're reading this, this either means that you are either a friend, or a family member, or a nice random person who follows my blog. [If you're the latter, thank you so much! :)]

Today is Saturday August 22nd, 2015. I know it's late, but I realized earlier today that this weekend is my last weekend at home!! I move out next Wednesday.  You may question: Am I super excited? Can I wait? Am I a little sad? (Answers to come shortly)

Before I go, I have to say something (I was going to post this Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, but I couldn't wait).

18 years is a long time. I've lived in five homes, two of which were in Provo when I was little, and two of which were in Orem up until I was 14 years old. The most recent home is here in Lehi. Though I do not really remember the homes in Provo, I most definitely remember the Orem homes and, obviously, Lehi. I've been to four schools, two of which were in Orem and two of which were here in Lehi.

In all that time, I have met so many people. They have all taught me so many things. If you would like to read a detailed version of my gratitude for people in my life, click here. I should mention that it is literally detailed. It is way, way, waaay long, and if you don't want to read it after you look at it, I don't blame you. But just in case you want to, it is there for you.

Now–I am so, so, so grateful for everyone in my home neighborhoods–both Lehi and Orem. I have learned so much and grown so much because of all of the people that I have come in contact with. Everyone has taught me a valuable lesson, whether they knew it or not–whether I knew it or not. I have had so many angels in my life, especially within the last three or so years. They have been anchors and strengths to me, and I'm so grateful for them. I never knew that so many people could touch my life in so many different ways, but it's possible. <3

I have never felt so much love for all of my friends and family until now. There are so many things I'm going to miss.

I'm going to miss getting together with my girl friends whenever a school dance was coming up and having a movie night. We had such fun!! I love those girls so much!!
I'm going to miss getting to be around my family all the time.
I'm going to miss getting to watch Porter and Lander grow up.
I'm going to miss lunchtime. I pretty much was a bouncy ball, traveling to friends because I wanted to see them and I missed them. (Also because I was literally bouncy. It's so much fun!)
I'm going to miss young women's. I love those girls so, so much!! They're all such sweethearts and they're going to be amazing mothers someday. <3
I'm going to miss seeing my friends every day/every other day. You get used to seeing them so often very fast, and when it's suddenly not happening, your world turns upside down. It's quite disconcerting.
I'm going to miss knowing people everywhere I go, or mostly everywhere I go. BYU is a big school, and I'm probably not going to see people that I currently know all that often, so I'm going to need to make new friends (which is hard for me. Please pray for me).
I'm going to miss my dad's weird sense of humor.
I'm going to miss all the times that all of us kids get along together, and we watch a movie, or quote a movie together, or have a singing/dancing session/marathon, or when we just talked and laughed.
I'm going to miss babysitting all the cute kids in my ward. They're so cute and I always enjoy watching them because they're so cute!!! I'm going to miss that.
Most of all, I'm going to miss having my mom around.
I'm going to miss her always being right there for me when I need her.

To answer your questions: Yes, I'm super excited, and yes, I can't wait, but yes, I'm a little sad.

Life is going to change so much for me in a few days.

Sometimes I'm ready for it.

Right now?

Right now, I'm going to miss what I have now, but yes–I am excited. Though I will be having to adjust to new changes, there is one thing that I do not have to adjust to. Because one thing that is never going to change ever is my Savior. He will always be with me. He will always be there for me, and He is always going to love me. I know that I don't have to get through this without Him, and I'm so grateful for that. I love Him so much and I know that He loves me.

Thank you for always being there. Thanks for reading, thanks for being supportive, thanks for the love, and thanks for being my friend. Please, don't ever forget me. I'm always here for you, even if we never talk. Thanks for everything. <3

Love,
Mattie

End of November gratitude.

Hard to believe it's already the end of November!! I'm so grateful for my family and friends and for all they do and for their examples to me. I am grateful for the Thanksgiving season to get me in the mood for gratitude and I'm so excited for the Christmas season to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I'm grateful for Him and for all He's done for me, and for His love and faith in me. I love Him and am grateful that He believes in me and wants me to return to live with our Heavenly Father. 

Callings and Thanksgiving.

Today I was released from my calling as the Laurel class president and I'm grateful for the opportunity I had to serve with my two wonderful counselors and my awesome secretary. It was a wonderful experience and I am going to miss being the president but I'm grateful that I was released because I've had a lot of experience being a class president and I think other girls need the opportunity to serve.

This week is Thanksgiving!! I am so excited because I get to spend time with my (extended) family and eat food! I'm grateful for this country and for the freedoms we enjoy; I'm grateful for my family; I'm grateful for the home I live in; I'm grateful for my friends; I'm grateful for wonderful leaders, teachers, and mentors in my life; and most of all, I'm thankful for my Savior, and for His Atonement, and for His love for me. I know He lives and I know He loves me and I know He wants us all to return to live with our Heavenly Father. 

He is with me and He loves me no matter what.

So, I'm naturally a musical person. I love to sing and I love to play the violin. And I love musical movies. You know, like Tangled, Frozen, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, etc. And I love to sing along with the movies and recite my favorite lines. Well, my brothers find it annoying that I do that. Well guess what brothers? I don't care—I'll do it anyway, whether or not they like it because it's not harming anyone. But when I say something—that either took me a little while to get or understand, or I didn't think and just said it—my brother always implies that I'm stupid. And I don't like that. I hate it, actually, because he does it to everyone and it's annoying and rude. I'm not stupid—neither are any of my other siblings—but he always implies that we are. And that's just so rude. We're a family and we are supposed to be kind to each other. Sometimes I have a hard time with remembering to be patient and kind, but I know when not to cross the line into "Uh-oh, this is the mean, rude, I'm-going-to-hurt-someone" territory. But my little brothers sometimes don't. And so I'm trying to help teach them to be kind. 

So, I'm also naturally an optimistic and happy person—this annoys some of my siblings; again, I don't care—and I am trying to be the peacemaker between my siblings. Sometimes it doesn't work. But I try it anyway. I am trying to teach Tyler (and sometimes Conner)—because they forget—that the little boys are only little and they do not understand that the little boys are still growing and learning!

This next school year is going to be my senior year of high school and I'm feeling a mix of emotions. I'm excited to be going to school and I'm excited to be finished. I'm also sad—I don't want summer to end and I don't want my last year to be over. I'm excited for the future, but also scared. I'm also scared for summer to end and for school to start. Really, my emotions can be boiled down to two: excited and scared. But guess what??

Did you guess? Okay, here's the real answer:

No matter what I'm going through in life—family matters, school matters, friendship matters—I can always count on my Savior and I can always turn to Him. I can always depend on His gospel to help me answer my questions and get through life. I am so grateful for His Atonement and I am so grateful that He listens to me and helps me when I need it. I have learned that He knows and loves me and He sends blessings my way when I need them, even if I don't know that I need them. He will always love me—no matter what—and He will always send me help. He is always right beside me and knows the path ahead of me even though I can't see it. He is always with me. And I am so grateful that He will never leave me alone because I don't know what I would do without His hand in my life. 

Life happens, and sometimes you have to pause it.

Life is hard sometimes, and sometimes we need to put it on pause or on hold for a little while, but with the help of our Savior, family, and friends, we can get through anything. Our Savior died and atoned for us so that we can live together as families in the eternities. I love that families are sealed together forever because when people die, it doesn't end. It doesn't have to end, because it doesn't. There is more to life than living. When we die, we return to being a spirit. When I was baptized, I promised to "mourn with those that mourn" and "comfort those that stand in need of comfort" and I promised to be "willing to bear one another's burdens that they may be light." Well, tonight I did all three of those, and I hope that I helped my friend and her family. Life is a happy thing, and death is a sad thing, but, in the end, it will all be worth it. The Lord loves you, He will always love you, and He NEVER forgets you. He blesses you, and things happen for a reason. We may not always know that reason, but there is a reason. 

Thanksgiving Day Gratitude.

The Number Twenty-Eight: I am so, so, so, so, so, sooo thankful for everything. I am so thankful for my family. My cousins are so cute! I am so thankful for my friends. I love learning from them and hanging out with them. I am so thankful for food. I love mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, and pie. I am so thankful for music; I love to express myself using good music. I am so thankful for my talents. I love to share them with others. I am so thankful for good tv shows. I love to watch them; they help me get away from reality a bit. I am so thankful for good movies. I love to watch cute sweet ones. I am so thankful for good books. I love to read fantasy and romance. I am so thankful for teachers and leaders who listen and teach very well. I learn a lot from them. But most of all, I am so, so thankful for this gospel. I am so thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, who suffered and died for me and for all of us. I am so thankful for His example in His reign on this earth. I am so thankful for my Heavenly Father, who loves me, and you, and sent His Only Begotten Son to die for us. I am so thankful for the Holy Ghost who helps me every day. I am so thankful for all the prophets, apostles, and missionaries. I am so thankful for this beautiful world that has been designed for us. So, I am so grateful for all that has been given to me (and to everyone on this earth). 

Gratitude.

Okay, so I'm six days late for starting the gratitude thing. But I figured better late than never, right? So I'll just start with six things/people I'm grateful for and why. Here we go:

Number one: I'm grateful for the gospel. Without it, I don't know where I'd be, or where I'd be going, and why I am here. So I am grateful for the knowledge and light that it brings to my life.

Little b: I'm grateful for music. It keeps me strong, and with it I can express myself in any way that I choose. So I am grateful for the talents in music that I have and the opportunities I have to share my talents/testimony with others.

Third: I'm grateful for my family. I really am. I learn a lot from them, like what not to do. So I am grateful that they aren't all crazy psychopaths. ;)

iv: I'm grateful for my friends. They are all such wonderful examples to me and they inspire me. I learn a lot from them, too, but usually for good. So I am grateful that I have friends who share the same beliefs as me. 

Big E: I'm grateful for my teachers. They are all amazing examples and I look up to them. So I am grateful for teachers who care. 

There you go. Six things I am thankful for. I'll be back tomorrow (hopefully) with anther one. But in the meantime, remember this: God made you special, and He loves you very much. Goodbye!

(Yes, that line was from VeggieTales. No, I am not ashamed.) 

A glimpse to a piece of my heart.

I don't know what to say. I'm tired and really hating homework. School would be perfect if there was no (or a very, very small amount of homework) homework at all. The cultural event is coming along nicely. I think it's going a lot smoother than the other one. The other one was great, too, but this one is going smoother. I'm super excited!! Some purple things that I love: my new portable charger that's being kind of whacko, my new purple shoes, my purple shirts, my new purple iPod case, and my purple glasses!! :) I love purple with all...well...most of my heart. The rest of it belongs to The Lord. I am trying my very best to be what the Savior wants me to be, and what He knows I can be, along with along leaders and friends, and teachers. Especially the ones that have changed my life forever. I never would have made it to this point in my life without them. And that's why I talk about people often. Because they are forever engraved in my heart. And I never, never want to forget them, or what they've done for me.