CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Not to sound like a copy-cat, but my amazing sister(-in-law), Nancy, is PREGO!!!! I'm so excited for my brother and her because they have been trying for so long. They are now expecting a little bundle of joy, due March 31st. I can't think of anyone who is better suited for parenthood than Nancy and Will, they are both just so great with kids and amazing people in general. I love them to pieces, and I know that if anyone can make it through Med-school with a new baby, Will and Nancy can!

Will, Nancy, much love and well wishes! I hope that you have a happy, healthy baby, whether boy or girl. Good luck!

PS-To see pictures of the ultrasound go to Nancy's Blog

Save the Family! PLEASE!

My mom sent me this awesome music video about saving the family, and I felt that I should share it with all of my blogging friends. Some of you may have already seen it on my sister's blog, but oh well, this is a good one.



Pay attention to the words, especially the line that says, "the family is the beating heart that keeps a nation strong. If families fail, then nations fall, and all that's good is gone." I also love when it says at the end that "if we are to save the world, we must save the family." And we do need to secure the family for future generations, because I don't want my children, or anyone's children, to grow up in a world where marriage is defined as between Party A and Party B.







Enjoy! :-D

The Vampires Got Me!!!!!

Yesterday was a very busy day. First off, I had school, like always. Then I had lots of Auntie time with my nieces Anabelle and Heidi. (I love to see my nieces because they are the cutest little girls in the whole world! --That includes Emily--) So, I had lots of fun and cuddles while we babysat them so my sister could donate platelets. Well, then I had to get my homework done sometime before bed, so I was able to work on it a little when Anabelle was watching a movie and Heidi had Grandma time. Then, we had a super quick dinner so Shirley could run and pick Chris up from work.

After dinner, I had this urge to go donate blood at our stake blood drive. Time was kind of short because I still had choir practice, but I decided to go for it anyways. So, last night was my first blood donating experience. I had tried before at the school blood drive, but my temperature was .1 degree too high, I think it was from chewing gum/drinking shortly before taking my temperature. Oh well. Anyways, last night I went in and filled out the papers and then got to the iron test, but my blood sank too slow. Luckily, after centrifuging my blood, I passed everything and was sent off to donate. When I got to the chair, the phlebotomist asked which arm and then had to be very careful to find the small vein (with her fingers). She was able to find a good vein, but I had to stay still for about 10-20 minutes before she could actually begin the draw. The needle stick went fine, and the blood was really flowing. I must have veins like my Mom because I was halfway done filling the bag after just 30 seconds. When she saw that, she made me stop rolling the little squeezy thing and then it was only another 3 minutes before I was done. Wow! The phlebotomist said that was SUPER fast. Then, I clotted really fast, so she said that I should think about donating my "good platelets." (I guess I'm just the kind of person who is always in a hurry. :-D) Well, after sitting still for so long with the A/C running, with bare arms and feet, I was cold and shivering. She didn't want me to pass out so she ended up making me sit still for another 20 minutes, even though I wasn't light headed. ARGH!!! I needed to get up and move, not sit still! Oh well. When she finally let me up, I was able to warm up fairly fast. I was very pleased with how well everything went, but it was SUPER lame that they didn't hand out shirts or ice cream coupons or anything, at least not to me.

Immediately following the attack of the vampires (:-D) I had to rush off to stake choir practice, which I was already 30 minutes late for. OOPS!!! So, I got to choir safely and then everything went fine from there, except for a little weakness in my arm and tenderness of my finger.

After choir practice, I then had to rush home to finish my homework, which took me about another hour to complete.

Well, that is the story of my ultra-busy Thursday, filled with school, fun, homework, choir, and a vampire attack. :-D

Oh, by the way, my arm looks really bruised from the blood donation, but it doesn't really hurt that much. Also, the vampire that took my blood was a Swoboda, for those of you who recognize that name. She is the niece of Katie's, Billie's, David's, Laura's, etc.'s Dad. What a small world, huh?

I'm Not Dead Yet!

I'm sure many of you are wondering what is up with me because I haven't posted in over a month and a half. Well, I'm still alive and actually doing quite well.

First I will give some long distant post information:

Girls' Camp

Was a BLAST!!! Probably my best year yet. It seems kind of funny to me that it was such a good year considering I didn't have a counsellor the whole week, so I had to take on many more responsibilities, as a YCL-2. However, it seemed like even though I was doing more work, I was having more "free" time and more fun. The girls in my group (3rd level, ages 13-14) were awesome and really fun to be with. Also, the other YCLs that I worked with were all my friends and were also very fun to work with. It was nice having YCLs that would do whatever needed to be done and that were very sociable and friendly towards everyone. (What a big difference from last year where I didn't really get along with the YCLs that I had to work with and also they wouldn't ever seem to be around. It's amazing how teamwork makes everything run smoother. --I'm sure that is also helped that camp was a little better organized too. :-D)
So, anyways, girls' camp was amazing, and I really wish that I could be a YCL again next year.

Now,

The Pioneer Trek

Okay, so I really had a great spiritual/emotional/physical experience on the trek. But, let's just say that I won't be pushing a handcart halfway across America anytime. I was very unprepared for the trek and thus had great difficulty keeping up with the power-house boys in my group. Despite my inadequacies, it was an amazing experience, and if I had the chance I would do it again, except with better preparation. My family was amazing, we had some really great personalities in the group which really made things fun. The little vignettes also really added to the whole experience, especially on the last day.
On the second day, the hardest day of all, the Mormon Battalion came and took all the men away "to fight the war with Mexico". The young women were left with 9 of the 14 handcarts which we then had to haul up a hill that went on, without levelling off, for .8 miles. It was miserable and it was probably the time when I most doubted and wanted to go home. I didn't go home, but instead figured that I had already made it halfway, so I just kept on pushing and was able to finish the trek, worn out, out of breath, weak, humbled, tired, exhausted, spiritually enriched, and with a greater respect for all those who made the journey to Salt Lake.
So, anyway, as we left camp an Saturday morning, we were each given 4 ounces of flour, the daily ration for adults in the Willie and Martin handcart companies, and told the story of the companies. Then, later along the road, they told us the story of the 3 young men who saved the companies at the Sweetwater River crossing. The young men were then asked to think about if they would be willing to sacrifice their lives as the 3 had. After a few minutes of contemplation, all those who were willing were asked to stand and then carry the young women across a stream that was at least 8 ft. across and 1 ft. deep. Now, this wasn't at the end of the trek and we still had about 1 mile to go, and so all the young men had to hike the rest of the trail with wet boots and feet. I have such respect for all of those young men that were willing to do such a thing and I bet that they will all serve wonderful missions.

Anyway, I can't think of what else occurred during my hiatus from blogging, except for the start of school.

School

Well, it's my senior year of high school, and everyone thinks I am crazy. Officially, as a senior, I only have to take 5 classes, 3 of which I need for graduation and the other 2 I need just for the credits. Instead of being like everyone else and getting senior-itis, I am opting to take six classes, a full load. The six are as follows: American Government/Psychology, Anatomy/Physiology, AP Calculus AB, Physics, AP Literature, and Beginning Ceramics. Ceramics (Visual/performing art), Am. Gov./Psych, and English I have to take to graduate and the other three are just because they sound fun. Well, so far, I am done with week 3 of school and everything seems to be going great. I have some really good/interesting teachers and my classes aren't too hard right now, so hopefully things will stay this way. :-D

Finally, what I really was going to post about.

This Weekend

Well, Friday I took my senior portraits and I think that I got some really cute poses in. Hopefully they turn out nicely, but for two of my 3 outfits, I had this same person who didn't really seem to have many ideas for poses. I really hope that of the very few shots he took that they all are practically perfect. I guess I will just have to wait and see when I get the proofs next week. :-\

Then, Saturday, I went to this fireside with M. Russel Ballard and D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve. They had some really great things to say and it was really amazing to here two Apostles speak, in person.

Now, the BIG excitement of my weekend! Today we had a special stake meeting with Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Twelve. Well, before church, I got to shake his hand as he was entering the building. Then, I was a little surprised at how funny he was when he spoke. He said some great things about serving others, strengthening families, and how it is most important to do missionary work here in America. He was a great speaker. Because I sang in the choir, I was able to shake his hand AGAIN after the meeting!!! Now, you may think that I am a total dork, but he is an Apostle of God and he speaks with the prophet and with God constantly. I think that is very exciting. Also, now if he becomes the prophet someday, I can say that I got to shake his hand, TWICE, when he was just the new Apostle. Pretty nifty.

So, now I guess you are more or less caught up with what is going on in my life. Hope that you enjoyed my (not so) fast recap of the past couple months.

:-D