2012: WHAT A YEAR!!!

The year 2012. What a year it has been. This year has been the year where I have felt that I have grown the most. As I look back at the many things that happened this year, I am reminded of the many trials, heartbreaks, joys, and blessings that I have experienced.

 

*I have learned both the joys and challenges of having great roommates…. And not so great ones

Colette :)

 

Love them!

 

(p.s these are pictures of the great ones!)

*I have learned that money really doesn’t grow on trees. I have learned how to save my money and spend wisely, but also I learned that every once in awhile I need to splurge on myself!

*I learned how to be on my own. Having my sister and both cousins with me last year i never felt too homesick or alone; but onced they left i had to do some readjusting. I learned how to manage things alone and how to branch out and meet new friends.

 

*During the summer I learned how frustrating it was to find work and earn money.

*I found a love for the elderly that i never imagined i would from working with Russel and by adopting grandparents at a retirement home.

 

*I learned that having an on campus job is such a blessings and i am so thankful for it!

*I learned that college work is a lot more different than high school work. I learned how to actually study! Getting good grades is more important to me now then ever... I mean i'm paying thousands of dollars!

 

*I made new lasting friendships!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*I have been able to spend a lot of time with my relatives and am so grateful for their love and their willingness to help me and spend time with me. The blessings of families has been very apparent to me this year.

 

*I have learned that i am more accident prone that i thought i was! So many accidents.....

 

*I learned the older you get the harder it is for your body to move the way it use to! Playing sports  and exercising is more work than it use to be!

 

*I have learned the importance of using flashdrives… having your hard drive crash with nothing saved... sucks!

*My love for attending church has grown. Along with that, my testimony! The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true without a doubt!

 

*I have found much enjoyment calling my parents all the time. My mom is the best at just letting me talk and talk and hearing me out, and my dad is the best at giving me advice on hard decision I have to make.

 

*I've learned that spending as much time as you can with your family is most important. When having the family separated in different parts of the U.S, being all together isn’t very often. The longer I am away from the home the more love I have for my family. It never gets easier everytime i am seperated from my family!

 

*The temple has become a place that I love to visit. The Logan Temple is beautiful and just looking at it gives me peace.

 

*I have learned that praying about decisions that I need to make, I wont always get answers. I have had to make my own decisions and have had to have the faith that it was right.

 

*Helping people is what I want to do with my life. I have never been more sure and excited about going into the Social Work major as i am right now!

 

*I have learned that it is ok to ask for help. I can’t do everything alone and I need to let others, especially my parents help me when they can.

*I have learned that being negative and grumpy is not worth it and doesn’t help the problem!

 

*I have learned how to embrace fear of the unknown and to take it head on having the faith that I am going in the right direction. It is still scary but i know i am not walking alone.

 

*My love for missionary work has grown immensely. Having my two best friends leave me for two years to serve the lord has be one of the bigger blessings of my life this year. I have never been more proud of them and the humility and hardships that they have had to grow through. I have felt the blessings in my own life from their work on the field.

 

 

*I have learned to try new things! Meet people and befriend people that I normally may not have.

*I have learned that I care too much about everything. I am emotional and hate to see others hurt.

*I get hurt pretty easily and I don't know if its because I love easily and would do anything for anyone and sometimes get used, but I do know its something that I have grown stronger from.

*I have learned that some old friendships and relationships will never be how they use to be. Some have grown better and stronger than before, and others have slowly dwindled away. Every single one though meant something to me at one point and I don’t regret anything. l care deeply for all my old friends and the relationships we had and always will.

 

 

 

*I have had to watch a dear one continue to fight cancer. Words can’t even describe how I feel. But the most I have gotten from it was the assurance and peace of the blessings of the temple. Families are forever and I have never been more grateful for that!

*I have learned that Utah State, Logan, UT. Is where I am suppose to be. I know I made the right choice by choosing to go to this school. I receive a feeling of affirmation countless times.

 

*I have grown closer to my Heavenly Father this year. The power of  prayer is real and powerful. Pouring out my soul and all my thoughts and feelings, I have learned that I am loved. My father is more aware of me than I think. He is with me all the time. His hand is in my life and I know that he will never leave me alone. I have had to make some really tough decisions this year. Many of them I never received a full on confirmation that they were the right decisions, but i have felt that whatever I choose, all would be well. I have learned and continue to learn to make decisions and have the faith that i made the right choice.

 

 

*I have learned that I am a daughter of God who is loved. I have had thoughts of school and studying abroad, thoughts of humanitarian missions and projects, thoughts of a mission and what not. Where many people are finding the love of their life and getting married and having kids, don’t get me wrong I want that also, more then I let on, I am in no rush for this and i know that my life is planned out by my Father in Heaven. I know i have a purpose that Heveanly Father wants me to fulfill and i am so excited to continue to find out what those things are and to do them! All of these different thoughts of mine and things I want to do, i know the ones that are suppose to happen will happen when the time is right. I have no doubt about it.  I'm just gonna keep doing my thing!

 

 

This year has been full of many lessons. I haven't even shared the brunt of them all, just a few that stood out the most to me. This year has been great and i am so thankful for it! I can't wait to see what the next year has in store for me!

 

Chirstmas :)

 

This winter break has been fabulous already! I came home and i have enjoyed spending time with my family going to McKayla's basketball games, celebrating Stephen's birthday, playing games, hot tubing, playing basketball at the church, seeing friends, and having Shana come home. I was even fortunate to have Big 5 let me come back to work for a few weeks to earn some extra cash. But hanging with the siblings has been the best.

Christmas Shopping!!!

 

 

Traditional late night slurpee run!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had someone come and do a quick family shot for our New Year cards. Nothing fancy just something real quick. Mom won't let me share the winning picture but i thought i would share the awkward one. My family is the best and there is always an awkward one...

 

Steve chilling in the front by himself and dad being our "center piece" hahaha

 

 



 

Found this gem in our scrapbook!

 

 

Christmas Eve was a good day. We spent the day full of little projects! Us girls always wear our footies on Christmas Eve but this year Shana and me didn't have room to bring ours and McKayla's were too small so we decided to try something new. Shana had the idea to decorate our own cheesy Christmas shirts. We would wear them Christmas morning!

 

 

Decorating!

 

I am definitely not the artistic one in the family. I stick to hand and finger painting!

 

 

After decorating the shirts we decorated our graham cracker "gingerbread" houses! We teamed up: Shana and Steve together and McKayla and me. McKayla and me struggled you could say.. haha but we had fun! Shana and Steve did a football field and it was pretty cool, not gonna lie. But McKayla's and mine was original and we didn't use any non-edible products (shana and steve..)!

 



 

 

Our little stable with Jesus!

 



Every Christmas Eve we always do a sort of program. Mom and dad share stories and use kids will share what we want or do a musical number. This year was a little different. We didn't have any music but we watch some Christmas clips from lds.org. The spirit of Christmas was strong that night. It never fails to amaze me how the older i get the easier it is for me to feel the spirit.

 

 Afterwards we watched a movie/tv and we played some games. By myself every year i always read the birth of Christ in the Bible even after my dad does. I like that alone time to really read those scriptures and to picture what it must have been like.

 

My parents thought they were so clever and labeled all the gifts for Santa's reindeer's. That way so us kids didn't know which gift was who's so we wouldn't try to figure out what we got.

 

Later found out i was 'Dasher'!

 

 

 

 

 Everyone went to bed and McKayla and me stayed up pretty late working on Mom and Dad's present. Let me rephrase that, McKayla spent most of the time working on it. Us kids put a puzzle together title 'Hope on the Horizon' for them. I'm so glad i had McKayla to help. She is the puzzle master in the family and she pretty much did the whole thing! But it was a gift that we put a lot of thought into and i hope my parents saw how much work was put into it!

 

'Hope on the Horizon'

 

 

 

Seven in the morning came early for me and i really struggled to get up! I am getting old! I guess staying up super late to work on the puzzle had its toil on me! We had a lovely morning opening presents and spending time with one another. But after the presents were opened, you bet i went back to bed! :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bruce loved his Christmas present!!

 

Later that morning my mom bought movie tickets to go see Les Miserables. It was really good. What me and my dad didn't realize was that the whole movie was a musical. I knew that it was one, but i didn't realize that every conversation was sung also. It was long but the music and the story was beautiful. We all found some pleasure watching Stephen squirm through the movie haha. What every 14 year old loves to watch ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later that morning we had a Christmas miracle and it snowed! I haven't had a white Christmas in long time! It was beautiful!

 

 

 

 

 We spent the rest of the day playing games as a family and eating! That puzzle was also not done all the way so a lot of time was spent working on that also.

 

Overall, this Christmas was one of the best. It was really weird for me. I was very excited about the presents and opening them Christmas morning, but something felt different to me this year. I look at what i received and they don't matter to me a whole bunch. I honestly feel that this Christmas was so good because we were reunited as a family and we got to spend time with each other. The way us siblings show love isn't really verbal. We show it through fighting... teasing, wrestling. Sometimes i think my parents think we really are fighting and they hate it, but that's kinda how we are. We are sarcastic to one another and beat up on each other, but we four know its how we say i love you. It has been nice to bond with my siblings this last week!

 

I feel as the older i get the more Christmas means to me. Not the presents, but the being together and the spirit that is in our home. I also noticed that i cry a lot now haha. I am always just so touched by little things and feel the spirit so much more, and my tear ducts go hand in hand with it. This year my mom made each of us kids a big book of her history. Her stories and journal entries of growing up and what she went through and felt through her life so far. I finally finished reading it and you bet, i cried a lot. This gift meant a lot to me and i always look forward to what sentimental thing my mom will make for us the next Christmas!

 



 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!