#weddingweekend

So there was this one time when one of my best friends got married and then another one of my best friends got married the day after that.  For both weddings I was a bridesmaid and, don't get me wrong I loved it, but I am exhausted!  I have kinda been crashing today.  My cute roommate kellie-Jo got married and Meredith, a friend from savior of the world and roommate from Provo got married as well.  For both brides I was in charge of their bachelorette parties and had a blast throwing them!  Here are some pics!  

                                

                             

                             

                                  

Then came their weddings!!  Kellie's was first and got to do her hair and make-up! That was fun to be apart of despite going to bed at 2:30 and having to wake up at 4:20.

                               

                                  

                             

I adore Mark and my Kell Bell.  It's amazing to me how easy it was for kellie and I to connect when I moved in.  Her other two bridesmaids were her sister and her best friend since 7th grade so the fact that she chose me as one of them was so sweet.  We really did become dear friends quickly.  The reception was a blast and I even got to stand in the line!

                                   

                                   

                                    

                                  

                     

Then Mere's!  I have loved watching Meredith and Steve together.  He truly treats her like gold.  Even the way he speaks to her - the tone he uses.  He is so kind to her.  And they are hilarious to watch too.  It was an honor to be included in all of their festivities as well.  It was also fun because Meredith and I know a lot of the same people from savior of the world so it was a bit of a reunion!  Pics ahead: 

                   

                                   

                                  

What fun times.  Remind me that I HAVE to have a dance party at my wedding reception.  It's necessary.  So fun.  On a more serious note about attending a temple sealing for the first time.  It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.  The veil was thin and it was so apparent that those marriages were of God - His presence and approval could be felt throughout all of the celebrations. The promises and blessings made in that ceremony are worth any sacrifice that could be asked of us.  I loved watching such dear friends experience such beautiful and eternal things.  I love the temple and I love love and I love our Heavenly Father's perfect plan!  

Now to go catch up on some much needed sleep....

Feelin' 22!!

It feels like a perfect night to dress up like hipsters
And make fun of our exes, uh uh, uh uh.
It feels like a perfect night for breakfast at midnight
To fall in love with strangers, uh uh, uh uh.
Yeah,
We're happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time
It's miserable and magical.
Oh, yeah
Tonight's the night when we forget about the deadlines
It's time
Uh oh!
I don't know about you
But I'm feeling 22
Everything will be alright
If you keep me next to you
You don't know about me
But I'll bet you want to
Everything will be alright
If we just keep dancing like we're
22, ooh-ooh
22, ooh-ooh
It seems like one of those nights,
This place is too crowded.
Too many cool kids, uh uh, uh uh (who's Taylor Swift anyway, ew?)
It seems like one of those nights,
We ditch the whole scene and end up dreaming
Instead of sleeping.
Yeah,
We're happy, free, confused, and lonely in the best way
It's miserable and magical.
Oh, yeah
Tonight's the night when we forget about the heartbreaks
It's time
Uh oh! (hey!)
I don't know about you
But I'm feeling 22
Everything will be alright
If you keep me next to you
You don't know about me
But I'll bet you want to
Everything will be alright (alright)
If we just keep dancing like we're
22, ooh-ooh (oh, oh, oh)
22, ooh-ooh
I don't know about you
22, ooh-ooh
22, ooh-ooh
It feels like one of those nights,
We ditch the whole scene.
It feels like one of those nights,
We won't be sleeping.
It feels like one of those nights,
You look like bad news.
I gotta have you,
I gotta have you.
Ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh, ye-e-e-e-eah, hey
I don't know about you (I don't know about you)
But I'm feeling 22
Everything will be alright
If you keep me next to you
You don't know about me (you don't know about me)
But I'll bet you want to
Everything will be alright
If we just keep dancing like we're
22, ooh-ooh
22, ooh-ooh
22, ooh-ooh, yeah, yeah
22, ooh-ooh, yeah, yeah, yeah
It feels like one of those nights,
We ditch the whole scene
It feels like one of those nights,
We won't be sleeping
It feels like one of those nights,
You look like bad news,
I gotta have you,
I gotta have you.

Ahhh life is good.  And confusing and wonderful and lonely at times and funny and magical.  You know?  So!  That T Swift song sure applies.  Yeah, I'm 22.  I turned it yesterday and it was a fantastic day!  All day long I had loved ones calling me and sending messages of all sorts.  I went to class the watched some episodes of Parks and Recreation then fell asleep for a bit.  Then my parents came up and brought Alivia because they were tending her and we went to dinner at Elements.  Umm super nice delicious food.  Then my roommates threw a fantastic surprise birthday party for me which included balloons, cake, games and the whole bit!  I loved it
Also, last week was spring break so my mom and I went to St. George.  Also Adam and I had a combined birthday dinner (why haven't we ever done that before?) and we opened presents then.  And we recreated a picture from 1994.  It is now 2014.  20 years! I got clothes a book a swimming suit and my very first hot glue gun!  A crafter's necessity.  Isn't it funny how as ya get older ya get excited bout that sort of thing?  It was great!  
Also, this marks having my blog for 4 years now.  4 years!!  Crazy.  So much has happened in that amount of time.  My life is definitely totally different than I thought it would be.  Okay not totally but a lot.  And the best part is, it is all progress.  Sometimes ya take two steps forward and one step back, but it truly is progress.  I'm movin', ya know?  Plans change and people change and what ya want changes and it's great!  I love this thing - this blog.  It will forever be a treasure for me.  I hope you (few readers) enjoy it too!

Also, pictures!  Yay!

                                                        

She Changed US - a summer miracle

I have been wanting to tell this story for a while now, but have had a hard time knowing how to say some of the special feelings I have.  Knowing that expressing them isn't really possible, I'll just do my best. :)

This is Dita:

(She came to my family's 24th of July bbq)

 This summer I was staying at my friend Cami's house while my parents were out of town.  One morning my Cami was up way earlier than I was and heard a big commotion out on the busy street in front of her house.  She grabbed her dad who is a doctor and they ran out to find a crowd around a girl who had just been cruising down a hill on her bike, lost control and hit a bus that was pulling from a stop at the bottom of the hill.  This girl was from Latvia and here for the summer for work.  She was staying with a family in my friends ward.  After the accident, ward members, Cami's family and I were able to rally around her and help her during her healing process.  She received a priesthood blessing that night and recognized the spirit immediately.  They got done and she said “what did you do to me?!  I feel so warm!”  The Lord had prepared her to receive the gospel.  It was because of this big accident which ended up causing her a lot of pain and discouragement and even the need to quit her sales job, that she was exposed to the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I was able to witness her conversion as we and the missionaries worked with her.  She was baptized right before going back to her country at the end of the summer.  At her baptism she tearfully said that she would be hit by a bus again and again because it brought her to Christ.   
Now, this is the short version of the story.  There are details and miracles along the way but I just don't know where to begin.  I was so grateful for the opportunities that I had to share my testimony and learn and grow with Dita.  I was constantly reminded of how very close the Lord is to each of us - how He plans out the details of our lives, sometimes even down to the smallest of moments.  I was experiencing some hard things at the time, but was reminded in a very tender moment that if the Lord loves this girl, and has prepared her to receive the gospel, then He loves me and has a perfect plan for me too.  Mostly I loved seeing how much healing and joy Dita received from the gospel.  I loved seeing how much she loved the Savior.  She was a delight to be around.  She reminded me about what was important.  She brought me back down to earth.  She taught me to see things simply, to not complicate things, and to just feel.  Apparently she did this for all of Centerville too because half of the city showed up to her baptism.   Everyone who met her, even if it was just while she was out doing door-to-door sales, was touched by her light.  
While it may seem that all the miracles happened on her behalf - that she was the only one to have gained - this girl came to little old Centerville, where the majority of us have grown up with the gospel in our lives, and reminded us where true joy is found.  That the gospel brings new happiness every day, even when we have never had to be without it, or even when we experience "monkies" as she would affectionately call hard times.  She reminded us to not be complacent.  She helped us remember!  
I had prayed for an opportunity like this, and still continue to.  I'm so grateful that the Lord allows us to be involved in this joyous work.  It is happiness.  
Dita is back in Latvia now, and I don't know if I will ever see her again in this life, but we are sisters, she and I.  I am forever humbled and grateful.

Cami, me, Dita, Meredith at the Conference Center theatre

Where have you been all my life?!

So apparently there is this guy named James Taylor.  Umm he is amazing and I love him and I didn't even know him!  Why have I only heard his name and not his music all of my life?!  Well, now that I got to attend the MoTab choir concert featuring ol' James, I have and I love his sound!  He has such a unique sound and combing that with another one of my favorite sounds: the choir (my dad), was a heavenly feeling!  Ya know how some music can really just calm ya down and make you feel so content and like you have just gotten all the answers to everything?  Well that's how I felt during this concert.  So good.  Plus I was with some of my favorite people in this whole world.  I got to go with my mama, sister, and brother-in-law, and Mr. Chase Hansen was kind enough to be my date that night. Love these people!  Love James!  Love music!  Love the gospel!  Love my papa!

These people are bomb!

Mama gets a little irked when she cant see Dad real well.

Sista, sista.  Oh, I love this lady.  We are soooo different, but sooo alike in a lot of ways too.  She has become one of my very best friends.  Also, we make each other laugh like no ones business.  I absolutely love it when we get goin'.  The poor people around us before the concert...stifling our laughter is a very painful and awkward experience for all parties involved.

I think Chaser was a little overwhelmed at mine and Shandee's sisterly-ness. ;)

Aww.  Got a good one.  Phew!