Happy December!!

So I'm pretty much bursting with joy and happiness right now...Mom just finished her first lesson with the sister missionaries!! It was soooo great! Sister Allan and Sister Prince are the sweetest!! We read a couple of scriptures, and they talked about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. The Spirit was so strong, it was amazing! :) The sisters must've thought the lesson was going well, too, because they asked my mom if she wants to be baptized! She said not yet, but we're going to try the family ward next Sunday! I'm sooo excited!

Anywho, I know I haven't posted in forever...sorry!! It's been a little crazy the last few weeks, and Christmas is right around the corner! I lovelovelove Christmas...everything about it gives me those lovely warm 'n' fuzzies.

Hope your December is off to a good start! :)

One Year

It's my birthday...kinda sorta. :) It feels like it is, at least!

November 15, 2008...that's the day I was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I cannot believe it's already been a whole year!!

I've been looking forward to this day for a long time, as it shows me that this is something I can do. It definitely isn't always easy, but I'm trying my hardest to do the right things and to keep my hold on the iron rod. I still feel like a baby in the Church, though...there is sooo much to learn, and I feel like I should know so much more! But I guess that just gets me more motivated to study and learn as much as I can.

I love this Church.

I love the gospel.

I love my Heavenly Father.

I love my Savior. I'm eternally grateful for His example and for everything He's done for me. I'm so thankful for the opportunity I have to be perfected through Him each day.

Happy Birthday to me. :)

:)

I just got back from a meeting with my bishop, to talk about the big "M" word. I've been holding off for a while, just in case I changed my mind or something. I wanted to be absolutely sure that this is the right thing for me before I started telling everyone about my plans. Now that it's "out," the mission feels so right. And I couldn't be more excited. :)

If anyone has any good quotes, tips, or advice, I'd lovelovelove to hear it!! Also, I've decided to follow in Madison's footsteps...

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Hopefully we'll start seeing more red soon!!

Oh, and the job hunt is still ongoing...I went to the Superstition Springs Mall yesterday and today and filled out applications at every store that looked interesting. So hopefully I'll hear something from at least a few of those stores...

Hermana Taets :)

Madison goes into the MTC TODAY!!!!!! I can't believe it!!!

Her farewell talk was on Sunday, but I didn't get to make it. :'( I was going to meet some friends at the institute that morning and carpool over to Avondale with them. I almost made it to the 'tute, but as I got closer to ASU, I started seeing some orange cones. Ok, construction, no biggie...but then, I started seeing bikers. Lots and lots of bikers. It was a triathlon, and it was pretty much impossible to get onto the campus. I was soooo bummed and pretty much cried all the way back home. But I called Madi on Monday and we got to talk for a bit, yay! She sounded sooo happy and excited!!

Madison is one of the strongest people I've ever met, and she is going to be such a great missionary. I'm sooo grateful that Heavenly Father allowed our paths to cross again! I know the Texans are going to fall in love with her, and she'll love them right back.

Missing U5

bahahahaha!!

Let's do this!!

Click on the smiley face to read all about it! :)

In other news...I just got back from an interview with Barnes & Noble. It went good; we'll see if I get a call back. Keep your fingers crossed, please!

I got to see all of my wonderful friends at 5th Ward yesterday morning!! It was so great to see everyone again! But boy, has that ward changed a lot! It's huuuge!! The Relief Society fills up the chapel, haha! I also went to my new ward in the afternoon, and I came home happy! :) Yay! I'm starting to feel a little more comfortable there, and I'm seeing more and more familiar faces each week. The talks were really great, too; one gal who spoke had just returned home after serving a mission in Nauvoo, so she shared some of her experiences from that, and Brother Calton, one of my favorite institute teachers, talked about General Conference.

And that reminds me, I never wrote a post with my thoughts on the last Conference! Oops! So in a nutshell, it was A-MAY-Zinnng. As always. :) One thing I especially noticed, though, that I don't remember doing a whole lot in previous conferences, is that I laughed a lot from things the speakers said. I hope that doesn't sound bad, I had my serious moments, too, haha! I just found myself laughing a lot more with the speakers...maybe I'm understanding Mormon humor better?? Anywho, it was kinda fun to be feeling the Spirit so strongly, but also to have some of those lighter moments, as well.

I will write some more thoughts on Conference in my next post, but I've gotta run now...love you all and hope you're doing fabulously!!

Call Me Irresponsible

Woohoo, I've made it to 11 months!! I can't believe it's been almost a whole year since my baptism...crazy!

I like making lists; it makes me feel very accomplished when I can check something off as done. :) Sooo here are some goals I hope to accomplish over the next few weeks up until my favorite day on the calendar.

• Go to the temple at least once a week. Attending the temple regularly is something I need to work on. I love the temple, but I guess I just find myself "too busy" to go, or "too this" or "too that" or whatever. By the way, most Americans think that "whatever" is the most annoying word to ever be put in our vocabulary. What do you think? Kind of a funny story, I was getting ready to go to the temple one night, after having been maybe a week or so before, and my mom asked what I'd be doing there. I told her I was going to do baptisms, and she went, "a-GAIN???" (I don't know if she said it that loud, but it sounded pretty loud to me, haha.) I really do love the temple, and I want to make it a part of my life...I don't want it to seem like a big deal or an event whenever I go, I just want to go.
• Get the nerve up to ask my mom if she wants to talk to the missionaries. We'd talked a little bit about the possibility before the move, and she said "maybe." I wonder if that's another one of the most annoying words...it's not yes but it's not no, it's just in between.
• Be a better example, especially to my family. This one's on-going. Chris definitely keeps me on my toes, especially with the WoW...if I pull out a Coke, he yells out, "Bad Mormon!!" haha, oh brother. :)
• Speak up more in Sunday School and RS.
• Make a major decision about my mission. This may or may not be accomplished by November 15....we'll see. The major decision being when to put in my papers. My savings account is looking pretty sad right now, so I'm thinking I won't have the $10,000 I'll need by March...or April...or May...or June (I don't know when exactly I would have to have the money...but you get the idea). So I may go ahead and just wait until closer to my 22nd birthday...my parents would be a lot happier, and it would give me a little more time to prepare myself. Again, we'll see.

I wish I had more goals, but my brain is not working for me right now. If I think of more, I'll add them, and if you have any thoughts, I'd be happy to hear them! :)

I love you all, and I'm so grateful for my friends. I hope y'all know how much I appreciate each of you.

P.S. I have a job interview tomorrow; please pray for me!!

P.S.S. The title has nothing to do with this post. It's been a weird few days and I just have Michael Buble going through my head.