fall

I've been in love with the amazing fall colors this year. For some reason, it seems like there are more oranges and reds (my favorites) and not just yellows and browns. 

It is so pretty and it makes me grateful that God created a world full of color. Color makes me happy.

I'm enjoying the fall weather so far, although I wish I could just lay in bed and read my book instead of go to work most of the time... I'm loving fall more this year, but I would love it much more if winter didn't follow it.

wordless wednesday

fall colors

On Sunday when we drove down to Salt Lake to watch conference  with family, we were able to see some beautiful fall colors as we drove through the canyon. The sky looked awesome too.

What a beautiful world God has created for us!

transition

this picture makes me think of so many things. 

it makes me think of the transition from summer to fall today, the first day of the new season. 

it makes me think of God's amazing creations and how each of us grow like this flower- with nourishment and time. 

petal by petal we grow,  struggling through the ups and downs, the hard times when we are trying to truly know ourselves. We are one of God's creations, his children, yet some days we may not know if we are a seed or if we will bloom to be the beautiful flower that He has intended us to be. 

And sometimes we only have half of our petals, until we are strong enough to have them all. 

And then, the seasons change, we experience more, and sometimes get hammered by the cold, weather and life.  Sometimes, we get rips and tears in our leaves, sometimes our beauty is not noticed. But we continue through life because we know that no matter what life brings, healing can always come because our Heavenly Father prepared a way through His Son.

In my current situation, I often feel like I only have half my petals because I am discovering my role as a wife, a future mother, a sister, a daughter -- and I am in transition.  

Happy Halloween!

This October, in addition to our outrage over politics and the election, Jake and I have done some fun things. We went down to Salt Lake a few weeks ago to go to the Body Worlds exhibit, which was really interesting. We went to a park and through some Salt Lake neighborhoods which give some amazing views.


Last week we carved pumpkins for Family Home Evening which was fun. Thank goodness for the pumpkin carving kit to make up for my creative inability in that area.

Last night for FHE we went to the Pumpkin Walk in North Logan where a bunch of people had put together displays using pumpkins and squash. It was pretty cool. On Friday we'll see if we get any trick-or-treaters- I don't think we'll have any in our apartment complex, but I may be wrong. Other than that, we don't have any big plans for Friday. School is getting super busy right now so we may just try to catch up on that.


Oh! And my grand announcement! I finally figured out my life. I am going to finish my Spanish major and do a Latin American Studies minor. I should be able to graduate next December- yay!!! I basically sat down to figure out how I can be finished with school fastest and that was the conclusion. Now I just have to talk to the counselor...if only she will respond to my email. Anyway, I'm excited. I just want to graduate and then decide what I want to do from there.



I guess if that doesn't work, I can always become a wild creature. (But only if Jake is Yoda.)

Fall

So fall is officially here, although my flowers are still blooming which makes me happy. Last weekend was General Conference, it was so good. And the best part - A TEMPLE IN PHILLY!!! Our mission worked so hard at that. Every goal we had, every person who was baptized, every lesson we taught was toward that goal- we wanted a temple there so bad. We were so excited, we totally yelled when it was announced. Jake and I are going back once it's built. We had a get-together with some missionaries on Sat night and it was so fun to just feel everyone's excitement over the announcement.
General Conference was so good. I always love Conference weekend because it is so relaxing, refreshing and full of the spirit. This General Conference I came away with the main goal of being more positive. It has worked so far this week, but I really need to improve on that. I just had such an overwhelming feeling of happiness and love on Sunday while Jake and I were driving back up to Logan. It was interesting how a common theme was that we all go through hard times. But it made me realize that angels are there to watch over us and that God knows me and my life. I also am trying to be more grateful for everything I have.
School is crazy busy right now, so much is going on. It is getting colder here in Logan- the wind blows like crazy on campus because it is at the mouth of the canyon and it feels 10 degrees colder than at our apartment just a few blocks away.
Lately I have been working on a paper for one of my classes on political biases in our Universities. The research and everything that I have found is very interesting. I watched a documentary that I have been wanting to see for a long time- Indoctrinate U. It is excellent and really points out some of the crazy things that are being taught. This is one of the reasons why I want to be a teacher- to teach the subject and the truth and nothing else. It really has made Jake and I think about what our educational system will be like when we have children. Kind of scary.
We are also in an Institute class right now that is excellent. It is on the book The Miracle of Forgiveness by Spencer W. Kimball. Our teacher is really good and the chapter from last week has really made both of us think a lot. It is exactly what was confirmed in General Conference- I need to have positive thoughts. The chapter was As a Man Thinketh. Our thoughts have such powerful affects on our lives- we choose what we think about, we choose what tempts us and we choose our future. So interesting- we have it tonight which is something to look forward to.
Last Friday night was the BYU vs. USU football game up here in Logan. It was fun to have Brent and Christa, Scott, Ashleigh and Skye up here. We all wore our Quest t-shirts and got yelled at by the USU fans for being in the student section. It wasn't a blow out as we expected, but BYU won and we still have our 15 game winning streak. Afterward we played some wii and Ash learned how to throw a football.
We went down to Salt Lake for Conference weekend- it was Karma's birthday (Jake's mom) and we got to see family and friends which was fun. Life is good! We are so blessed and continue to move forward. We love you all!