Sweet Summer time!

Hi Friends!
I kept feeling like I needed to blog. I have had several drafts written since I last wrote, but I just couldn't seem to get in right. So, here goes! When I first moved to Idaho it was because of a job offer I accepted in Emmett/Payette. I worked for that particular agency for about two months before I quit. I wasn't getting the hours I needed and it was a long drive (commuting from Meridian to Payette). And quite honestly I was not made to help rehabilitate adults! Haha I have no patience for them :) But the Lord definitely guides our lives because I accepted an even better job in Nampa working with children. I have been with CenterPointe since the middle of June, and I have LOVED it! I am a Psychosocial Rehabilitation Specialist (PSRS) which is just a fancy term for "bossing kids around and teaching/telling them how to live their lives." I have clients that I work with in the community, as well as, clients that I work with in school. I'm working at Gateways Elementary which is an alternative school for children with severe behaviors. Most of the clients we work with have experienced severe trauma (generally abuse in some form), and we help them work through it. I love it so much- I get 3 recesses a day! What could be better? But that's enough about work. I had a blast this summer! Seriously, I was fortunate enough to only work about 10 hours a week this summer and I pretty much spent the rest of my time playing.  

The end of June we had a family reunion in Eastern Idaho near Jackson Hole.



I spent the 4th of July with Kassie and her sweet family! It truly was the perfect day!


Joshua and I on the 4th- this boy melts my heart



I spent my 25th birthday at a David Nail concert. Yes, you read that right I am now extremely old. Ha but the concert was amazing and it was ONLY $5!


Continuing my birthday weekend festivities I was in the front row at the Josh Turner concert. Two concerts in two days- it was the best!



I went to Logan the beginning of August for Josh's 1st birthday


Best friend reunion in Logan. Love these girls! "I never seem to laugh now like I did with them"- Turning Home by David Nail- great song! Listen to it!


Saw Thompson Square the middle of August at the Western Idaho State Fair



Rode a Ferris Wheel for the 1st time too!


And I spent Labor Day in Blackfoot with Britt, Brad, and the kids. We took them to Ross Park and Zeke was a WILD man! Haha he absolutely loved it!


Jen and Orie spent a week in Boise as well, but sadly we didn't take any pictures. I love summer and I'm sad to see it go. However, I am loving football season thus far. I love watching my Aggies play! Ha it doesn't mix well with the local BSU crowd, though :)


*August 26th was my 6 months home from my mission mark. I can't believe it has been that long. I think about it every single day! I will forever be grateful to the Lord for allowing me to serve. Life is crazy but I wouldn't have it any other way!

If You Want to Hear God Laugh Tell Him YOUR Plans

Apparently, I need to blog more because as I sit here writing the task seems daunting. I have a lot I want to share, but this quote basically sums up my thoughts lately.

My life has definitely not gone as I have planned... and yes, that's ok! I'm learning to trust in the journey even if I don't always understand it. So, recap of my life the past month- I have been job hunting, and spending quality time in Cedar City. I haven't spent that much time here in years. It has been good having the day-to-day routine with the fam. I will admit that I've been finding joy in harassing little Brycey. Haha it's good for him though! He's not used to having siblings at home to bug him. Towards the end of April I received a call for a job interview in Idaho. They wanted to meet the day after Easter. So, Mom, Bryce, and I loaded up the car and headed North. We went to Carey and then on over to Boise. I'm very grateful we were able to go to Carey beforehand. I was able to see my cousin John and his wife Shelly and their new baby Aiden. John was serving in the Army and had previously been stationed in Korea, and then when they had came back to the states I was already in Michigan. So, it had been a few years since I had seen them. And as most of you know John passed away unexpectedly yesterday morning. It was a tender mercy that I was able to see him recently before he died. He was a proud little dad, and you could just see how happy he was. Definitely a good last memory... In Boise I was able to see a lot of family I hadn't seen since being home. We had a glow in the dark Easter egg hunt for the kids- which was a lot of fun. It was nice being about to catch up. Oh, and I met my new aunt Margo. She's a sweetheart, and I'm happy she's part of the family.The next morning we traveled over to Emmett for my interview. As we came into the valley I had a very strong prompting that this is where I needed to be. It reminded me a lot of my little Cache Valley. I wanted this job so much that I was beyond nervous for the interview. However, I clicked really well with the interviewer, and I could just picture myself working there. Within the hour I had received a call offering me the position. Ha and life has been crazy ever since! My job requires a lot of traveling, and where I will be over 600 miles from home we decided I needed a new car. I bought a 2007 Pontiac Grand Prix. To say that I love my car would be an understatement. I seriously get so excited to drive- which is good :) I might not be saying that after the long drive to Idaho. Haha! I was originally supposed to start yesterday, but life is funny! The morning I was supposed to leave I came down with a terrible case of the flu. It wrecked all of my plans. I had planned to attended Orie's graduation from Utah State. I had planned to see my family. I had planned to spend time with best friends that I don't get to see nearly enough. I had plans to say a proper goodbye to my precious Logan. I also had plans to go to a job interview with DCFS. They had positions open in Logan, Brigham City, Ogden, Clearfield, and Bountiful. All fantastic places that would be so much closer to home! And the flu messed with all of my plans. At first I was pretty upset and felt picked on. Everyone was having fun, and I could barely hold my head up. Now days later (and a lot of perspective) I can see that my plans weren't God's plans. Life doesn't always go how we expect or think it should. But that's the beauty of it! We never know what it has in store for us. I never pictured moving to Idaho. I hadn't even heard of Emmett until I applied for this job. But I also never planned on serving a mission, and that was the greatest thing for me. Today, I am grateful for God's plan. I am grateful for eternal families. I am grateful that I know without a doubt that He needs me in Emmett....and I'm so very excited for this new adventure!

            
                 John, Shelly, and Aiden on Easter
                        
            My cute family at Orie's graduation.

      
                Grace- My new best friend

     
                          My new home

Take the Rain With the Sunshine

This past week I have been traveling around the state of Utah. I had a job interview in Logan on Thursday, and so I decided to pay a visit to Salt Lake and Provo as well. Though, I was hoping my job interview would work out- sadly it did not. During the interview I had the distinct impression that I was not what they were looking for and vice-versa. I was a little sad about it for awhile, but I'm grateful that it gave me the opportunity to glimpse what my life would be like if I moved to one of the previously mention places. Lately, I have been very indecisive, and I can't quite seem to picture my life. Ha you can image how extremely frustrating it has been for me. I'm usually the head-strong, I know what I want, type. Why suddenly can I not make a decision to save my life? I thought my trip would basically decide for me. Turns out it did not. Haha however, what I did find was that wherever I go, I will find happiness. There were several moments through out my trip that I felt pure happiness. They were simple yet profound. It was in the smile and laughter of cute little Joshua as we played. It was eating at Texas Roadhouse with Jen and Orie. It was going to a dance party with Marz & Katie and feeling extremely awkward-yet enjoying myself nonetheless. It was seeing mission friends, and getting to know them as regular people. But most importantly it was in the Celestial room, in the Logan temple that I found the quiet assurance that everything would work out. That it didn't matter that I have no idea what my future holds- and that's alright. I realized I need to enjoy these moments, and stop worrying about the future. Things will work out when the Lord needs them to. It is His times table not mine. While in Provo I attended a Singles Ward for the first time since being home. Yeah, I felt FUNNY through out the meetings, but Relief Society was exactly what I needed. The Relief Society President showed this video by Hillary Weeks:

In this song I love the line "I used to pray He'd take it all away, but instead it became a beautiful heartbreak." I think we can all relate to this. "Yes, the road has bumps and detours and even some hazards. But don't focus on them. Look for the happiness your Father in Heaven has prepared for you in every step of your journey. Happiness is the destination, but it's also the path" (President Uchtdorf). In this video it shows clips of Stephanie Nielson's story. Her Mormon Message "My New Life" helped me get through the hard times on my mission. Anytime I was having a rough day I would watch it, and be reminded of how truly wonderful life is. We are so blessed! I attached her video as well. Enjoy!

Let Your Heart Be Your Compass When You're Lost

Friends,

I'm back!!! Contrary to what my blogs shows, this past year and a half have been crazy busy! Sometimes it's hard to believe that it's all over. Now, I just have memories to look back on and reminisce about. It is definitely bittersweet. I am so grateful that the Lord gave me the opportunity to serve Him and His children full time. It was an experience unlike any other. So, if you have the chance to serve a mission I would say GO! It's funny how when you lose yourself for others you truly find yourself. I had a strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ before my mission, but it's nothing like the conviction that I have now. Hands down best experience of my life! Not gonna lie- when I first got home I had the hardest time sleeping. I would wake up in the night, forget where I was, and then it would hit me and I would get really sad. Thankfully, that phase is over! The first two weeks of being home I was pretty busy with seeing everyone and catching up. I have missed my friends and family dearly, and it has been fun seeing them again...This past week I have been more focused on the reality of things, and trying to find a job. Being a grown up is not as fun as it sounds. Haha! No, I'm excited for this new adventure though. I have been applying for jobs through out Utah and Idaho. Hopefully, I will land one soon. Only time will tell. It's exciting because I don't have anything tying me down. I can basically go anywhere. It's thrilling and terrifying all at the same time! This is the only time in my life that I haven't had it all planned out. Before it was always school, school, school, and then it was mission. Now it's, now what? Masters? Career? Both? Utah? Idaho? The possibilities are endless. Obviously, I still don't know what my plans are yet. Hence the title of this post is "Let Your Heart Be Your Compass When You're Lost" from Lady Antebellum's song "Compass". Best. Song. Ever. I have missed my country music. I will admit I felt like a major sinner when I first started listening to "worldly" music again. It's still a challenge at times, but I have my select few songs that I listen to on repeat. Yep, RMs are weirdos. And I'm definitely alright with that. We were in Vegas last week walking the strip and Jen was like "Cover Bryce's eyes" to which I replied, "Cover his eyes? More like cover my eyes!" It was an adventure for sure. The best part of Vegas was cheering on our boys at the Utah State game. I've missed watching my Aggies play. I never thought I could love a school as much as USU, but surprisingly U of M is now a close second. I loved serving on their campus. Michigan will always hold a special place in my heart. Most days I wish I could just combine my two worlds. That would be ideal. However, to every thing there is a season...

 

        Saying goodbye to Michelle- my favorite little Asian

The Gerbers- I miss them so!

                      The AIRPORT with Dad & Bryce

The Dynamic Duo reunited- love this girl