what really happened

on my photo blog...I posted my "my view today" photo about the rain and hail we got...but let's be honest, this is the reality of my life today. homework. papers. projects. math problems. law books.

oh yeah

photo-a-day

happy december! I'm so excited for Christmas!
I'm going to celebrate with this - - - 

so check out the photo blog! :)

Thanksgiving in America

It was good to be with my family for Thanksgiving again :)
I missed them.
In fact...I really missed them a lot! I was so looking forward to Thanksgiving time.
I just haven't had nearly enough fam time since I've been home!

 This Thanksgiving we all went St. George to stay at Curtis and Whitney's house. Grandma and Grandpa Limberg came down too :) It was fun and crazy being all in one big house together! I loved it! I loved being able to hug and kiss my nephews and niece as much as I wanted all day! :)

 

Whitney was a great hostess...she even took care of the details of the table. So fun!

I'm thankful for my family.

even though they are crazy :)

coolest nephews ever

I got to play with my cute nephews so much this past week and I loved every minute of it. 
If you haven't met my nephews yet...you definitely should. They are like the coolest people I know :) 

They have a trampoline in their back yard...but not just any trampoline. This one has a net around it and a basketball hoop hanging over the inside.  
AKA Michael Jordan time.

i love these little boys.

favorite fall treat

candy corn+peanuts 
it is a delicious combination

(this particular bowl happens to have pumpkin seeds in there as well....also a nice addition)


This is so yummy. You should try it.

Trust in the Lord

I am taking a New Testament class this semester. We are studying the epistles right now...and this week it was Peter.

I've read Peter before. But this time it meant more to me.

So this is what happened - Tuesday was kind of a rough day for me. Ok, it was just all together terrible.
I even made banana bread that day just to give my hands something to do.

But of course, Heavenly Father always answers my prayers and when it seems like I am feeling the lowest...that is when He steps in. On Wednesday morning, I was reading 1 Peter to get ready for class and I loved it! It made me so happy and I felt/read so many things that I needed to hear.
I decided in that moment that 1 Peter is one of my most favorite books of scripture of all time.
In class that day, Brother Wightman was asking us about what we read and I made a comment but I started out by saying that the way Peter writes is pretty and Bro Wightman, when I was done, said,
"First off, don't ever refer to what a man writes as 'pretty.'" hahaha fair enough.

"Peter pinned the most sublime language of any of the apostles." 
                                                          - Joseph Smith

I guess sublime really is the better word.
When Joseph was in Liberty Jail, and things couldn't get any worse, Peter's words comforted his soul and gave him perspective in his trials.
His words did the same for me this week.

We read parts of a talk by Elder Richard G. Scott from not long after his wife passed away.
Elder Scott's talks have a way of changing my life.

I'm going to paste in some pretty good sized chunks of his talk. Just a few parts that I loved...but I only do this to refrain from just pasting in the whole thing. I highly suggest you go read it here.

"Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more. He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain.
When you face adversity, you can be led to ask many questions. Some serve a useful purpose; others do not. To ask, Why does this have to happen to me? Why do I have to suffer this, now? What have I done to cause this? will lead you into blind alleys. It really does no good to ask questions that reflect opposition to the will of God. Rather ask, What am I to do? What am I to learn from this experience? What am I to change? Whom am I to help? How can I remember my many blessings in times of trial? Willing sacrifice of deeply held personal desires in favor of the will of God is very hard to do. Yet, when you pray with real conviction, “Please let me know Thy will” and “May Thy will be done,” you are in the strongest position to receive the maximum help from your loving Father."

" To produce fruit, your trust in the Lord must be more powerful and enduring than your confidence in your own personal feelings and experience."

"Your willingness to accept the will of the Father will not change what in His wisdom He has chosen to do. However, it will certainly change the effect of those decisions on you personally. That evidence of the proper exercise of agency allows His decisions to produce far greater blessings in your life."

"I testify that when the Lord closes one important door in your life, He shows His continuing love and compassion by opening many other compensating doors through your exercise of faith. He will place in your path packets of spiritual sunlight to brighten your way. They often come after the trial has been the greatest, as evidence of the compassion and love of an all-knowing Father. They point the way to greater happiness, more understanding, and strengthen your determination to accept and be obedient to His will."

"True enduring happiness with the accompanying strength, courage, and capacity to overcome the most challenging difficulties comes from a life centered in Jesus Christ."

Through the course of that day, everything was resolved.
I felt so much peace. It is the kind of peace that can only come from whole-hearted acceptance of the will of the Lord. It is such a good feeling.

And seriously, this class was only one of the blessings that was poured upon me Wednesday.
He lets us suffer and feel the sorrow for a little bit...because that is how we grow. But in my experience, when He comes to succor me, all the hard feelings are completely washed away and replaced with hope and joy.

I guess I'm sharing this because I just feel so reverenced. In awe of the way the Lord works. He knows what I need. Letting him take the reins is the only happy way to live. I felt this week the power of the Atonement. It is so so real.




Casting all your care upon him; 
for he careth for you. 1 Peter 5:7

10 lessons I've learned...

...about smiling :)


I like smiling. Smiling's my favorite :)


This was a project for one of my classes...it was made totally in powerpoint and all of the photos are mine

Obama won

Fine, I guess I should post about something real and relevant.

This election was really pretty intense. But, I wasn't really that worried about it.
I just feel like whoever God wanted to win....would win.

Turns out that it was Obama.

I love the way the church responded.
I don't think I could say it better than the First Presidency so I'll just quote them:

"We congratulate President Obama on winning a second term as President of the United States.

After a long campaign, this is now a time for Americans to come together. It is a long tradition among Latter-day Saints to pray for our national leaders in our personal prayers and in our congregations.  
We invite Americans everywhere, whatever their political persuasion, to pray for the President, for his administration and the new Congress as they lead us through difficult and turbulent times.  
May our national leaders reflect the best in wisdom and judgment as they fulfill the great trust afforded to them by the American people.
We also commend Governor Romney for engaging at the highest level of our democratic process, which, by its nature, demands so much of those who offer themselves for public service. We wish him and his family every success in their future endeavors."
(click here to see the article)

This man is our president. So, let's just pray for him.

 
All I know is, I voted.

Pinterest Koalas

so...I discovered yesterday that Pinterest has animals on it!
(I'm new to Pinterest...I've been in Spain for a year and a half. Don't judge)
And that knowledge pretty much changed my life. And took up a good 30 minutes of my time.
Why have I been wasting my time with recipes when I can pin pictures of baby animals?
I've been pinning puppies like you wouldn't believe.

Anyway, in my pinning escapades I found THIS

A baby koala...that someone keeps in their office. It's even sitting on her laptop!!

She feeds it from that little bottle in the background. 

Don't even try to tell me that isn't the cutest thing you've seen all week! (it's only Tuesday)

I realize that blogging this gives no value to society...I just think it is SO cute.

and I want one.

if you want you can follow me on Pinterest, click here.

gossip

It is just as cowardly to judge an absent person as it is wicked to strike a defenseless one. Only the ignorant and narrow-minded gossip, for they speak of persons instead of things.  

- Lawrence G. Lovasik 

I am working on a presentation for one of my classes. My topic=gossip.

So...I've been thinking a lot about gossip lately: what it is, what it does, why it matters.

I've also been thinking about how much GOOD can be done by saying nice things about people. 

The power of a kind word.

But, I would so love to hear your opinions too!

What is gossip really?

How has it affected you?

How has it affected your friends/family/acquaintances?

How do you deal with gossip?

What experiences have you had with gossip?

Is gossip always a bad thing?

How have you seen kind words affect you or others?

Your input will totally help with my project so...please feel free to share stories!