LMP

Last night I attended a wedding reception I had been highly anticipating. One of my good friends Maddie was marrying her best friend and her amazingly talented and darling mom was putting on the backyard reception. We all knew it was going to be darling, but holy cow! It exceeded my expectations! It began with a ride from the church parking lot (such a good solution to overcrowded suburb streets!) in a golf cart. Through a park. Ashley let me babysit her bouquet ;) Then, we saw the bride and groom standing under a canopy of aspen branches and flowers. It was so lovely. There were also lots of engagement pictures of the couple in mismatched frames on a table. It was vintage feeling but fresh and so pretty. Maddie's mom did all the flowers herself! I loved the soft, feminine, pastel feel of the bouquets. They had mismatched vases and frames too which was the perfect touch of charming and pretty. The food was delish,...

I'm a big believer in mottos/themes. I choose a School Year Theme annually, and have started picking summer ones as well. For my entire mission, I've chosen Alma 29:9. I will probably also choose monthly scriptures or quotes, and today I chose my MTC theme. I will be in the MTC for 9-12 weeks so I thought it fitting to have a special theme for the time I spend there. My friend told me it's like living in the temple, and that the environment is uniquely peaceful, spiritual, and purposeful. I cannot wait to spend almost three months there! So without further adieu... DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS 88:118 “And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith” As I learn Cantonese and become familiar with missionary and Chinese culture, I want to learn by faith, not just study. I know that this is the only way I will be able to learn such a diffic...

You know when you hear music to a musical that you listened to eighty bajillion times as a kid? Or reread a book that changed your fourth grade year? And it brings back a mess of memories and things that can't quite wiggle themselves into true consciousness? Instead they bubble up inside you, too big to understand and too intricate to untangle, and make you want to cry and laugh and glare and fall in love and jump in a French lake all at the same time? Well, maybe that's just me. I don't know. However you describe it, it's perplexing. Even still, I want to write about it. I want to make sense of it, but it turns into forcing sense into it, and I am obliged to leave it alone. Let the emotions live in their half-realized haze, not unfulfilled, not nonexistent, but intriguing, and oh so riveting.

*The text in 'Emily Turquoise' is from the blog and mind of Emily Abel, writer and friend extraordinaire* It was a typical Sunday afternoon. I was relaxing at home with my family, enjoying that gentle spirit that follows a beautiful church meeting. Later in the evening, mom and I planned to attend the missionary report by a son of an old friend of hers. Prior to our leaving, I received a text from Golda that blew a giant bubble of glowing excitement in my chest; but my practicality smashed it back down in an instant. The message said something like: 'Come to Italy with us. We found cheap plane tickets. Please?' It really was laughably simple--only Golda would make a cross Atlantic flight proposal through a text. As much as longed to live my way through an European adventure in person, not just through Golda's Instagram, I didn't allow myself to get excited. This sort of thing doesn't happen to me! My family stays home and enjoys a nice documentary ...

I was reading a favorite  blog of mine  yesterday and was led to a link of yet another blog. The author briefly mentioned periods of planting, and periods of growing. It really resonated with me. Although we should be growing and progressing constantly, part of growing  is  planting. We aren't going to be accomplishing things or seeing noticeable growth every minute. There are times when Heavenly Father needs us to simply desire, to plant the seed, to nourish it, and to be the gardener. We cannot constantly be reaping our fields or picking the flowers. As gardeners of our lives, there is sowing to be done, weeding to finish, and watering to see to. Most flowers bloom in their season, but that does not mean that they are not beautiful as bulbs, sprouts, or buds. The trick is to see the beauty of the process, to appreciate the pursuit, and to love the struggle of endeavor. Whatever season my life landscape is in, I want to notice the subtleties and promise of pos...

After driving home from Moab, we went to a Thai restaurant on 700 South. It was delicious!! I wanted to walk around Temple Square because I hadn't seen the spring flowers yet My dad and I picked Araceli up from her orchestra dress rehearsal and returned to Temple Square for a beautiful dusk evening that made the temple glow What will I ever do without her?? We talked to two sisters earlier in the evening, one from Australia, the other from South Africa. They were incredibly friendly and gave me some great missionary advice. We watched some missionary videos in the Visitors' Center (they're new and located in the very front! They are awesome!) When we walked in I saw the pictures of the missionaries on the outside of the theater room where the videos are projected. I said to my dad "They look really familiar! I think I know them." Then I realized they were the missionaries from The District! The District is an LDS video series that inter...

I really wanted to go on a trip before my mission (well, another trip ;) ) but we literally did not have a free weekend. So my dad orchestrated a quick trip to Moab so we could spend some quality time together before I leave in FORTY-THREE DAYS!!! We left at 4 am to beat the heat and the crowds. SO worth it! The weather was absolutely perfect and we even got into the park for free! Early-bird National Park special maybe? I had never seen Delicate Arch this close before! It's Utah's most iconic natural formation so I'm glad I have finally seen it up close! I didn't know it was so tipped, the pictures make it seem parallel. Mango, blackberry, apple juice smoothie anyone? After the hike we walked downtown Moab.