upclose & personal

here i am

2013-01-24T13:35:00.001-08:00

completely bored out of my mind at work.

im currently watching secret life of the american teenager on the iPad pretending like i am doing work- when in reality- i am blogging. what a sneaky person i am today.

but guess what-
62 days left. 62 days.62 days.

thats how long until i head out for my mission. kind of crazy. it will seriously be here in no time. i opened my call 9 weeks ago. and i have a lil over two months left. i thought to myself when i opened it that march 27th was so far away. that i had so much time until i had to leave. and low and behold- its almost here.

but today is thursday & i havent done a thankful thursday in a LONG time. so here it goes.

thankful for:

the church of jesus christ of latter day saints. the temple. prayer. the scriptures. and the atonement.

netflix. seriously the only thing that keeps me sane at work.

pretty little liars. it makes me excited watching a new episode. not to mention i think i am part of the show so im thankful for that :)

pinterest. second thing that makes work not so boring.

rain. although i hate that the rain suddenly causes drivers to forget every law or how to drive in general- its a nice change in this crap desert i live in.

long hair. my hair has grown soooo much and i am ridiculously excited about it.

my job. although it is about as far away from my house as possible- i am so happy i have a job.

vacations. i am going to NYC next wednesday and i am so excited. its gonna be awesome!

i seriously-

2013-01-22T13:01:00.001-08:00

am such a stinkin slacker. it makes me sad that i hardly everrrr blog- i need to get back on my game- but yenno we'll see if it happens.

i was thinking today while i was sitting at work about what makes me ME. get it? like the little things that make me who i am.

goals of 2013!

2013-01-22T13:00:00.001-08:00

sometimes i feel like 2013 isnt really real for me. in about 3 months i will be heading off to the Philippines and that will feel like the end of the year for me. haha if that even makes sense. but i will still set goals for the year. here we go!

1. read the book of mormon before i enter the MTC on March 27th. [which i have already started]

2. on top of reading the book of mormon study in preach my gospel at least 4 times a week.

3. blog more.

4. read atleast 1 book a month.

5. attend the temple atleast once a week once it opens again.

6. be the best daughter, sister, granddaughter, girlfriend, friend & whatever else i can be.

7. write in my journal more often.

8. once im on my mission, be obedient.

9. be more positive, smile more and speak kindly.

10. lose 10 pounds before i leave for the MTC.

a small reflection

2013-01-01T16:36:00.001-08:00

When I was a senior in high school my student council advisor asked our class when we got back from winter break to reflect on the past year. To write down what was different, the same, how we grew, our thoughts about the year as a whole. I was so thankful for that assignment. Since then I have done that & I will post it here rather than my journal this year to help people understand how I've grown.

In 2012 I was living in Utah attending Utah valley university. I spent jan- may at BYU watching baseball, & I also started working at Build a bear. My life was slowly chuggin. I missed my family. Missed a lot of important things. But that comes with growing up. I moved back home & started a new job. I work full time as a Medical Bill Reviewer & I love my life.

In 2012 I saw a lot of my friends relieve their mission calls & head out to serve The Lord. Friends in Chile, Peru, Brazil, Russia, New York, Mexico, the Philippines & many others. These boys are awesome & have set an example for me & been blessings. I love hearing from them & hearing about their experiences.

In 2012 two of my closest friends became wives. Both married for time & all eternity in the house of The Lord. My best friend Kaycee got engaged & married. She was a stunning bride & i was honored to be on of her maids of honor. Along with my sister friend Deidre. Moving from baseball gf to baseball wife.

In 2012 babies were born. Most importantly my cute lil nephew. Colton is by far the cutest little baby I've ever seen.

In 2012 lives were lost. My Nanay Deli, the last of the Ipac siblings passed away. My family was brought together. It had been years since I've seen that many of them in one space.

In 2012 I turned 20 years old. I truly feel like an adult. Half way to forty is huge.

In 2012 I made new friends, severed old relationships & grew up as a person. I learned that no matter how hard you try to predict the future you never really know what will happen.

In 2012 I was called to serve in the Philippines Angeles mission. My friends opened calls & we all are waiting to report to serve for our church.

In 2012 I grew closer to my siblings. We made new jokes, shared tears & loved each other more. Got closer to my cousins & realized that family is always going to come first.

In 2012 I gained a new person in my life that has changed me for the better. Strengthened my testimony & made me happier than I could describe.

2012 was good to me. 2013 will treat me better. I know it.

Out with the old,

2012-12-31T17:11:00.001-08:00

I've neglected my blog for far too long. I need to make it more of a priority considering that I have loads to write. But that will happen one day. Soon. My old habit of not writing will be gone. & I'm gonna start doing outfit posts... Maybe.

-Recently tho my parents celebrated their 21 year anniversary.

-My mom turned 43!

-I went through the temple for the first time on the 29th.

-I passed my three month til I leave mark on the 27th.

-had an awesome Christmas with lots of family that came in from out of town

-excited for the new year & what it brings.

pumpkin cookies

2012-12-04T16:29:00.001-08:00

who doesn't love pumpkin cookies?! I may be late on this post but they are so yummy anytime of the year!

One can of pumpkin mix (15 oz can)

One box of spice cake mix

Preheat the oven to 350. Mix the ingredients together & put them on parchment paper on a cookie sheet & bake them for 10 minutes. So easy & so yummy. not to mention they stay soft!! I added chocolate chips & did a double batch. They were a hit at thanksgiving lunch :)

i have sadly neglected my blog for an entire month...

2012-12-04T16:25:00.001-08:00

big news-

i have been called to serve!!!

Dear Sister Littlefield... from Gloria Littlefield on Vimeo.

Philippines Angeles Mission. I leave March 27th to the Provo MTC. I will preach the gospel in the Tagalog language. I cannot wait. This is a once in a life time experience. For 18 months I will tell people about the LDS church and serve the people there.

this adventure will be one that is going to be hard. i am going to miss everyone that is back home. but i know more than anything that this is what needs to happen in my life. giving back to the lord will be an amazing thing. he has blessed me tremendously in my life. i owe him everything.

my cute boyfriend trey. he is so supportive. i am so happy that we are together.

the best friend a girl could ask for. kaycee is the best.

its already NOVEMBER?!?!!

2012-11-06T17:43:00.003-08:00

i feel like this year is literally zooming by. seriously- its november. october, november and december are my absolute favorite months of the entire year. they are soo fun. my birthday, halloween, thanksgiving, and christmas!! nothing better.

if you havent noticed- my blog is brand new! thanks to Miss Deejmbl over at Love, the Skinnys for redoing my blog! love you sis!

i certainly need to play catch up- so today will be a load of pictures and whatnot. then i will write about other events in my life. :)

okay- so even tho im going on my mission- i was still going to compete in miss nevada. this was part of the photo shoot that we had in early october. i will have a post all about this. but these girls are awesome. im excited for them!

this was an event for miss nevada. mad & cambrie are hotties.

this is the beginning of my cali trip with the pictum family. we were at BJs at balboa beach.

drive to disneyland- we were clearly super excited.

the most AWKWARD moment. who on earth makes out on a disneyland ride!? Trey was disgusted. obvi.

disneyland/ CA adventures was a blast. i had soo much fun with this kid.

halloween. preston has been buzz lightyear almost every time ive seen him. hes a cutie tho.

Oh hey! my mission papers are ALLLLL done!

"marizzle marley"

2012-10-23T18:36:00.003-07:00

okay so i think i could quite possible have the most outrageous younger sister ever. today when i was looking through pictures and videos on my laptop i just could not stop laughing. marley is a complete hellion. she is crazy, hilarious, and completely one of a kind.

she is 11 years old, in the 6th grade.

she is my identical twin.

she comes running with me, becomes completely exhausted half way through and just cries on the sidewalk.

she texts me while im at work and she is at school and cracks me up.

she is completely out of control

she refuses to smile most of the time

she ruins family pictures like no ones business.

i love her to death. she drives me nuts but at the end of the day i am so happy she is my sister.

follow her on instagram, youll love it :) @marizzle_marley

& if you have a twitter, look up the hashtag about her #wordsofmarley

trust me, she is insane. gotta love her.

Due to recent events-

2012-10-22T21:32:00.004-07:00

I find it extremely necessary to completely pour my heart out on my blog. considering the fact that this is my PERSONAL blog- I am giving fair & clear warning that I don't believe in holding back. This is my place to say what I want & I want to make that perfectly clear. So here we go-

First huge thing- I have made the decision to serve a mission for my church. This is BIG. I can't describe how HUGE this is. A mission for girls use to be a requirement of being 21. Recently the prophet of the church has changed the age to 19. since I'm finally an adult of 20 years old I'm going on a mission. I am soooo excited :) i will be turning my papers in as sooooon as i possibly can. so take a guess as to where i will be serving!! i am soo excited to know where the Lord needs me!

Second thing- things between tanner and i are different. i feel like i need to write it here but its not because i need to explain things but because i am over people asking about it. so its here- tanner and i before he left decided that i could date. its a necessary thing for not only our relationship but also for me as a person. i need to grow up as a person and i need to think about what i need in the long run. i have started to date and am loving it. i want to make it COMPLETELY clear that no matter what anyone is saying about what i am doing- tanner is FINE with it. he wants me to be happy and not have to wonder what could have been. i want him to focus on his mission and serve the lord 100%. so please keep your comments about me and him to yourself. considering that my mission papers should be in super soon and that i will hopefully be out serving by february i need to date before i leave. tanner is still my best friend. i still care about him a lot. if you do have an issue or a question i would be MORE than happy to chat with you about it. just text me or something :)

So- besides those things i have officially turned 20!! its insane. i feel like that is SO old. my birthday was awesome. my cute siblings decorated my car and i loved it! i got some hilarious texts, awesome phone calls, a bouquet of roses and yummy treats. i cannot believe that i am 20 and no longer a teenager. its super weird.

i have sooo many other events to blog about- but that will wait for another day :) life is good. no matter what.

busy bee.

2012-09-30T23:21:00.001-07:00

i seriously dont have a single day where i could just sleep all day. hah i really need a ME day. im gonna force myself to do that one day. but until then i enjoy my super busy life. this week was great.

jack had an awesome game at cimarron high. it was on tv and hes a beast. nothing new. plus trey is fianlly taller than me. and i took him and the troll marley to get shakes, but trey paid. cutie.

papa lanny was back in the hospital. i think this week ill tell about papa. hes the best and deserves a spotlight. but hes doing better now. hes out of the hospital and back home.

dallin had his farewell talk. he gave one of the most incredible talks. he will be such an amazing missionary in new york. he leaves this wednesday and has been a really good friend to me. tonight we went up to the temple and had a much needed talk about life. im happy to have such amazing friends.

my perfect stud of a nephew colton reed petereson was finally born 7 lbs. 12 oz. and 20 & 1/4 in long. my sis was a champ and had literally the most handsome boy ever! i just LOVE him.

i volunteered in my moms classroom. she is now an art teacher at an elementary school. it was really cute!

vegas played foothill.

got bomb massages from my baby cousins. it was a great game and they won. nothing better. refs sucked- but it was a good game to watch.

my best friend had her bachelorette party.

kaycee has been my friend since i was in third grade and she was in 5th. she has been my BEST friend since i was in 8th. shes the best. i honestly dont know what id do without her. she is the only person in vegas that i can tell every thought and she never judges. always listens. and always has my back.

she was a beautiful bride. i am so proud of her and so happy that she chose an awesome guy and got married in the temple.

i got to see my favorite kailee- we were roommates in college and shes one of the greatest girls on the planet. i just love her and im so happy her and tate are happy :)

my cute replacement boyfriend took a picture with us. trey is getting HUGE. its nuts.

kaycees wedding was awesome. :)

life is good.

does anyone else,

2012-09-19T14:38:00.000-07:00

ever get into a 5 song music kick?! where you just cannot stop listening to the same songs over and over and over again??

it happens to me literally every month. someone will introduce me to a song that i just LOVE. that i cant stop listening to.

while im at work i listen to pandora every single day. all day long. i mean im in a lil office at my desk for 5-8 hours. i might as well use pandora to keep me entertained. my top stations are sleep station, amos lee, todays country, and the temptations. that is some variety huh? this song is always on the sleep station and i love it. i dont know why. i just do.

next song- kayla durnian introduced me to. she texted me: have you heard the song time is love by josh turner? wait do you like country first?? hahaha

i had not heard it and looked it up right away. i love it. i love country music. :) & i loveeee josh turners voice.

last song then on to my actual reason for blogging this morning:

this song may be older- but its still one of my favorites!

those are my top three right now. i seriously cannot stop listening to them.

update on elder chauncey:

he arrived in his area of Joao Pessoa yesterday after two flights! he is a reallllll missionary now. his companion is elder da cunha from southern brazil! he doesnt speak english so pray they are able to easily communicate. he is doing awesome tho. he has no air conditioning but says it isnt that bad since the coast is there and there is a breeze. my bubs is such an amazing guy. everyday i am reminded of how lucky i am to have such a faithful guy in my life. he is such a huge example to me. his sacrifice to serve the lord day in and day out makes me so happy. only 22 more months and ill get to see my best friend again. :)

do my instagram posts about elder chauncey get old?? i dont care. hahahaha

ive heard people say that after a while ill get sick of writing. that it wont be fun anymore. but honestly, i love writing him. i love being able to just write whatever i want and i love getting letters. i still scream like a crazy child when i get a letter in the mail. its the best feeling ever.

time is FLYING.

2012-09-17T15:53:00.001-07:00

tomorrow elder chauncey will arrive in his area of Joao Pessoa && its his two month mark! this is seriously so exciting. i am so proud of him!

only 22 more months!!!

i honestly cannot explain how happy it makes me knowing that he is serving the lord and doing the best thing he can for himself and others. he is awesome. i got a letter today and he has asked for letters! so please if you know him- write him. mail is his favorite thing. and has even turned an entire day around. lets stuff his mailbox!

Elder Tanner Chauncey

Joao Pessoa Mission

Rua Deputado Jose Mariz, 515 Tambauzinho

58042-020 Joao Pessoa/PB Brasil

well this week my lovely long lost sister Deidre found here, nominated me for a sweet little award. shes a gem.

The Rules

1. Nominate up to 15 fellow bloggers who are relatively new to blogging.

2. Let the nominated bloggers know that they have been nominated for this award.

3. Share 7 random facts about yourself.

4. Thank the blogger who has nominated you.

5. Add the Versatile Blogger Award picture to your post.

7 Random Facts

1. I have recently turned vegan- we will see how long it lasts.

2. I turn 20 in just 22 days! that is half way to 40 and im not happy about it.

3. I was sealed to my parents in the Dallas, TX temple.

4. If I could have any pet itd be a miniature pig- they are so adorable.

5. I didnt learn how to do my own laundry until halfway through my first year of college...oops.

6. I love IKEA.

7. I wish so badly I could go back to the south.

My Nominees

Sincerely Smeda!

Brandeis Loves Jerilyn

Worth the Wait

Just Emilee

The McAllister Family

They Call Me Smudge

Come What May & Love It.

730 Days

Brittani Heward

go check out these blogs. they are all awesome!

this week,

2012-09-11T22:23:00.000-07:00

has been hectic to say the least.

after taking a long week off recovering from my wisdom teeth, i was SLAMMED at work. i started cheer coaching at East Tech& i was getting ready for my pageant. it felt good to be busy. i feel like its been forever since ive had a lot on my plate. but recap of the week- i LOVE cheer coaching. the girls seem awesome & the other coach Jeri is great. she cracks me up during practice. on wednesday i heard from elder chauncey which is always awesome. hes a beast! he goes into the field soo soon- i am so excited for him. he is going to do amazing things.

elder chauncey & elder souza!

wednesday was also my best friends bridal shower. it was super cute & i seriously cannot wait for her wedding! its coming up soo soon!! i cant wait to be a bridesmaid- oh & for her bachelorette party ;)

i made these cake pops for the first time for the shower- literally the most time consuming thing ever. they were yummy tho & im glad they turned out cute!

friday my brother had a football game at Desert Oasis & to say the least- he crushed. 2 sacks & at least 5 solo tackles. plus a couple allllmost interceptions. hes a monster. im seriously a proud sister. i cant help but brag about him all the time. my baby brother is a 15 year old STUD.

my casualwear. love this outfit & the fact that i look freaking skinny. HAH

my sissys.

asia- my beautiful jr teen miss utah.

saturday was my pageant. i got national grand supreme. i was really happy with it considering that i havent competed in 4 years. it felt good to be at a pageant again. cambrie is the bestest.

littlefield girls at NAAE :)

on sunday i went to a farewell for elder springer. another friend going out to serve the lord- which is great. im so proud of him. good luck ricardo! youll do awesome things!

today is 9/11. i hope that we can all remember that life is never guaranteed, we are so blessed to live in a free country. always be thankful for the people that fight for our freedom and america everyday.

need to smile?

2012-09-04T22:28:00.000-07:00

cutest kids around seriously. :)

reminiscing...

2012-09-01T22:19:00.000-07:00

a roadtrip in 2006.

same roadtrip, my brothers were TINY.

marley is literally the coolest 4 year old EVER. she is a thug and i miss her being this tiny.

its game dayyyy.

2012-09-01T14:30:00.001-07:00

tigers breaux, geaux LSU!

college football is the greatest time of the entire year.

even when i was drugged, i knew what was up.

kristin, my old roommate & elder chaunceys cousin impersonating me- cute huh?

friday confessions

2012-08-31T17:57:00.004-07:00

i confess... no one understands my excitement seriously. COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON IS FINALLY HERE!!!!! LSU has their first game tomorrow and i cant freaking wait. i confess.. i started taking biotin. its a vitamin and apparently my hair and nails are gonna start growing faster and my skin will be healthier. fingers crossed. i confess.. my cheeks are still puffy and my mouth is still hurting from my wisdom teeth extraction. will my face ever be normal again?? probably not.

yesterday & today. maybe it is going down a little.

i confess.. i am now the new assistant cheer coach at East Tech. I am extremely excited to coach with Jerilyn. she was once a missionary girlfriend, now wife to that missionary, a LVHS alumni, and you should go follow her blog:HEREEEEE, there will be many more blogs including her and my adventure coaching the ECTA Titans competition squad. i confess..i really really want to be friends with the Kardashian family. i just love them! i confess.. i am soooo excited for my sis Brittany to have her baby. Colton is gonna be the cutest boy ever and i seriously cant wait! i confess.. i LOVE when my guy best friend texts me to check up on me. he may be across the country but hes the best. seriously. i confess.. elder chauncey sent me another letter in the mail and i have practically attacked the mailbox everyday hoping it will be there. i confess.. i have the bestest lil siblings. i cant believe how fast theyve grown up and they are so talented.

my cute brother & the football team. my sis & the rest of the student body officers!

thankful thursday!

2012-08-30T12:18:00.000-07:00

i have SO much to be thankful for. every time im feeling down or upset i find myself counting my blessing and instantly feeling better.

-im thankful for... bishop & sister miner. i blogged about them a few days ago- and i thought id share a lil somethin. soo they are serving in brazil also. they serve at the temple and in the MTC once a week. so i mentioned before how they are in Elder Chaunceys branch presidency and last week in his email he mentioned how he met them and whatnot and how i should write them on facebook. so i did-

&& tanner wrote this back:

so cool right?! im so thankful for the tender mercies and blessings that are present each and everyday.

-im thankful for... my grandmas. since i got my wisdom teeth i cant eat anything. still- i can barely open my mouth which sucks. both of my nanays have been cooking and bringing me soups everyday! thank goodness for them because i cant do anything. i cant drive and my family is all at work or school so im home alone. im so glad they love me!! :)

-im thankful for...missionties. its a website that allows me to write elder chauncey more often since mail takes forever to get to him. plus he can write back and send pictures same day. its awesome.

-im thankful for... medicine. my mouth is HUGE and in soo much pain. thank goodness i was given pain meds or id be going crazy.

im thankful for... prayer. seriously i dont know what id do without it. in my house we have quotes literally everywhere and one of them says- when lifes too hard to stand, kneel. that is soo true.

-im thankful for... kayla durnian & sarah boyer. sarah gets full credit for filiming all my wisdom teeth videos. thanks for that barah. they are great. and kayla came to visit me & brought breaking dawn. shes the best!

wisdom teeth part 2 &3.

2012-08-30T05:36:00.003-07:00

i promised to put the rest of the videos up and here they are- just so ya know- i am really super embarrassed. i dont remember ANY of this. but oh well, im totally willing to share cus they are pretty funny. this is continuing from the first video-

IMG 0695 (iPhone & iPod) from Regina Littlefield on Vimeo.

& this is continuing from the second video.

IMG 0701 from Regina Littlefield on Vimeo.

ENJOY! btw- i have lots of other stuff to blog, specifically about tanner but i will do that later :)

wisdom teeth.

2012-08-28T23:55:00.001-07:00

okay- so i have been blogging about how theyd come out today for about two weeks and it happened. i no longer have any wisdom teeth. i got all four extracted this morning at 8.

this is part one of the videos-sarah recorded another on her phone but i dont have it yet- so that will get put up tomorrow.

a lil bit of background. before i got into the surgery room i was reading catching fire- the second book in the hunger games series. on the ride over i was joking with my mom and sarah about how the doctor might accidentally knock out my two front teeth. and my dad is not a cop- he is an administrator at a local high school.

wisdom teeth - Large from Gloria Littlefield on Vimeo.

i am recovering okay- i have been throwing up a lot and my face is HUGE. my cheeks hurt way bad but that was highly expected. my mom is a gem for what shes done for me today- so thanks momma! i love you!

since i really dont care about what i look like ever- here is the difference between just one hour.

cute right?! i am practically spongebob.

the peak and the pit.

2012-08-27T23:00:00.002-07:00

so i love reality tv. i think its hilarious. so- keeping up with the kardashians is one show i just cannot get sick of. its hilarious. but anyway- on that show they say what the peak and the pit of their day is. so i thought today was a good day do this.

august 27th- the first day of school in vegas. i cant believe how old my siblings are. marley started middle school, cruz started 8th, jake started 10th & madd is a senior.

arent they the freaking cutest? marley is my favorite. she was so nervous for middle school. she said on the way to drop her off that she was going to #crapherpants hahaha. & she said that she needs to be at school early so she can "holler at dem 8th graders." she is literally out of her mind.

so that is number one peak of my day. sending my cute siblings off to school and hearing about their days after. i am a proud sister. madd is student body president and varsity cheer captain. jake is a varsity football player- starting as a sophomore. hes a monster. cruz is an amazing musician. he is seriously SO talented. marley is literally the funniest person i know. i honestly couldnt name a single person that is funnier than her.

peak number two: A LETTER!!! no one understands why this is HUGE. while tanner was in the Provo MTC we were able to write all the time. i wrote him something every single day thanks to dearelder.com. and we wrote handwritten letters atleast 2 times a week. it was so awesome being able to talk to him so often and know how he was doing. since he left for brazil that changed. it takes around 2 or 3 weeks for a handwritten letter to get to either of us. tanner sent my letter on august 13th and i got it today. I WAS STOKED. soo- i pulled up to the mailbox and secretly hoped that i had a letter in there. i honestly wasnt sure but really had my fingers crossed. so i stuck my key in the box took a picture, closed my eyes, took another picture when i opened it, opened my eyes and screamed like a kid on christmas!

(dont mind my disgusting nail polish)

it was literally the BEST letter ever. maybe because i have been waiting so long for it- but seriously i have the most incredible boyfriend ever. so- one thing i can share, my old bishop and his wife are serving a mission in brazil as well right now.

they are serving in the sao paulo temple and also the MTC. so there are soo many missions in brazil and loads of missionaries there. the last time i saw the miners i told them how my boyfriend was also going to be serving in brazil but way far for where they would be. i told them to keep an eye out for him anyway tho. well guess what! they are in his branch presidency! so awesome seriously. in tanners letter he said that them being in his branch presidency is just one of the many blessings and tender mercies that he has experienced. when bishop miner met tanner he said: AH! We found you!!! i was so so so happy to hear about this. i am soo proud of elder tanner. he is such an amazing example and is doing such an awesome service.

the pit of my day is today was the one year of my cousin Patrick passing away. i miss him everyday and think about him often. he is forever in my heart. my family truly means everything to me. when he passed away i was in utah and wasnt able to come down for his funeral. when i finally visited his grave it was super hard. i cried and realized that he was really gone. He was my very best friend growing up. he always stuck up for me, always helped me, always caused trouble with me, and always tickled my back when i asked him to. he will always be my angel and protector. we make choices in life that may not end the way we want them to, but heavenly father truly has a plan for all of us and there are no coincidences in this life.

I believe-

2012-08-26T15:52:00.004-07:00

I got this letter a while ago in a relief society lesson and I wanted to share it. I am so blessed to have the gospel and know of the truths. Jesus Christ is one of my best friends. I am able to talk to him whenever I want. He wants to hear from you, President Hinckley said- "get on your knees and pray, and then get on your feet and work."

Dear Gloria,

How are you? I just had to send you this letter to tell you how much I love you and care about you. I saw you yesterday as you were walking with your friends. I waited all day, hoping you should walk and talk with me also. As evening drew near, I gave you a sunset to close your day and a cool breeze to rest you. Then, I waited, but you never came. Oh yes, it hurt me, but I still love you because I am your friend.

I saw you fall asleep last night and I longed to touch your brow, so I spilt moonlight upon your pillow and your face. Again I waited, wanting to rush down so we could talk. I have so many gifts for you.

You awakened late this morning and rushed off for the day. My tears were in the rain. Today you looked so sad, so alone. It makes my heart ache because I understand. My friends let me down and hurt me many times too, but I love you. I try to tell you in the quiet green grass. I whisper it in the leaves and trees and breathe it in the color of the flowers. I shout it to you in the mountain streams and give the birds love songs to sing. I clothe you with warm sunshine and perfume the air. My love for you is deeper than the oceans and bigger than the biggest want or need you could ever have.

We will spend eternity together in heaven. I know how hard it is on earth. I really know, because I was there, and I want to help you. My Father wants to help you too. He's that way, you know. Just call on me, ask me, and talk to me, It is your decision... I have chosen you and because of this I will wait... Because I love you.

Your friend and Elder Brother,
Jesus

just a reminder.

2012-08-26T15:14:00.002-07:00

my friend elder lythgoe is an amazing guy. in one of his emails home he said to share this video- and i finally watched it. it is awesome. it may seem like it is a message strictly for boys preparing for missions- but parents, girls, and friends can all take note of it. things happen and repentance is so important. not only to serve a mission, but to one day enter the temple. watch this video and be reminded of the worthiness that is necessary for your eternal life. :)

my sister is amazing.

2012-08-25T16:22:00.000-07:00

and today its her 18th birthday!!!

shes my best friend.

she is beautiful inside and out.

she makes sure everyone knows it is her birthday& makes sure the world revolves around her for one day.

she is so sweet, kind, and loving.

she is an amazing varsity cheer captian, student body president, and national workshop leader!

she makes everyone laugh, happy, and makes sure that everyone is involved.

i am so lucky to have the best sister on the planet. we arent as close as we were when we were both in high school- but she means the world to me. i hope that she continues to do her best, set a good example, and succeed at everything she wants in life. happy birthday princess madilynne- i sure love you. dont ever forget that. you will always be my baby sister and i will always be here for you <3