Good Friday

We love him, because he first loved us. 

-1 John 4:19 

I find it difficult to get out of bed when it's still dark outside and the person next to me is sound asleep. Still, I slowly pulled myself out of bed. I did not want to go to work today. I thought of the patients I would have to encounter.  I assessed the scratchiness of my sore throat and determined that I was not ill enough to call in sick. Then a charitable thought came into my mind as I made my way to the kitchen. This weekend was Easter and the 28 patients I worked with would have to spend this holiday away from home and their friends and families. I should try to make it as nice as I could.

I pulled a semi-wrinkled shirt from dryer. As I walked out of the kitchen, I looked at calendar. After dreamily looking at the turquoise water in the photograph of the Virgin Islands, I glanced down at today's date. Today was Good Friday, the day representing the Savior's crucifixion. As I went back into the bedroom, I found Nate lying in bed. The stress and frustration of Nate's unemployment crept up within me as well as my desire not to go to work. As my mind reflected back I thought back to the events of the sacred events that lead up to the day that we celebrate as Easter, I though about the Savior's hesitation (for lack of a better word) before he completed His work in Gethsemane as He said, "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42).

Christmas is a very busy time for me at work. Two to three weeks before Christmas is an absolute dead sprint as we buy and wrap presents for 30 patients (some we won't even meet until after Christmas) and planning activities for the leading up to and on Christmas on top of everything else we have to do every week (progress notes, running and charting groups, one to one sessions with patients, planning and preparing for weekend activities, treatment plans, discharge interviews, etc.). While everything seem to run smoothly this year (a first for me), it left me burned out and drained. I couldn't seem to recuperate from Christmas.

For the past three months, I have been dealing with many of the sickest patients of my career. And these patients have not been  coming one at a time, they come in groups. As we help them to stabilize and return to the community, we get more patients replacing them that are just as sick or worse. I feel like I am competing in a triathlon that I haven't prepared for.

I kissed Nate good-bye and as I walked outside, the birds were chirping and the sky was a watercolor of blues, oranges, and pinks. Something I would have missed if I had called in sick. I listened to The Olive Press on my way to work.  I really enjoy how Truman G. Madsen was able to point out the symbolism of the Holy Land in relation to the Savior's teachings.

As I continued to think of the Atonement, I thought of the verse in Alma 7 "And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people" (v.11). The Savior felt what I felt today. He has felt my frustration, apathy, and weariness. Shayne M. Bowen said, “as we rely on the Atonement of Jesus Christ, He can help us endure our trials, sicknesses, and pain. We can be filled with joy, peace, and consolation. All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ” ("Because I Live, Ye Shall Live Also", CR Oct 2012).  He too worked with people who were difficult and did not feel that they needed help. He even had those whom he loved and they loved Him sleep as He faced a difficult challenge (Matthew 25:40).

These past couple of months has made me appreciate what Easter represents. How grateful I am that we have a God whose plan included a Savior. "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:10). He is a Savior not saving us from our sins, but someone to save us from drowning as we go through the trials that refine us to become more like Him (Matthew 14:31, "How Firm a Foundation" v. 4-5).

Two songs relate how I feel about Easter this year:

My Nerdy Valentine

My nerdy valentine

Sweet, comic book reading valentine
You make me smile with my heart

Nate had just suggested that we not give gifts but spend time together for Valentine's day. However, I really wanted to get him something (and it turns out he didn't stick to this plan either). I thought about getting him a gift card to a restaurant here in town. That was my plan until the day before Valentine's day. The night before Nate and I were talking about things that we could do together. He had told me about wanting to try out a recipe from a comic that he read online. On Monday morning, I was on pinterest and stumbled upon one of my pins.

Nate is a pretty big Star Wars fan. So I thought this would be perfect for making pancakes. As I continued to look around on the website, I also found these:Star Wars pancake molds!

A pancake pen. It helps put the batter into the molds.

Nate was super excited about these and apparently I am "the coolest girlfriend a guy could ask for." I was rather nervous about how they would turn out. There were mixed reviews on the website, but as long as we sprayed the molds really well and filled them up only half way they turned out pretty well.
I'm pretty crazy about this Star Wars nerd. :)

Happy Valentine's Day

I love Valentine's Day. To me Valentine's Day is to celebrate love, romantic and non-romantic love alike. I really enjoy decorating for holidays and got a little carried away with my cricut this year.

This reminds me of a homemaking craft from the 1990's.

The one of valentines I made for Nate (this one had all the sappy stuff inside).

Nate got me carousel roses (one of my favorite flowers) and Reese's peanut butter cups. :)

Nate and I wanted to make dinner for Valentine's Day. We thought about making spring rolls. Apparently Idaho isn't the best place to look for oriental food. He was running all over town looking for ingredients. We ended up making fried rice. Nate's mom taught us how to make a recipe that is used in a bunch of Chinese restaurants around town. Can I tell you it made me ten times more nervous to be cooking anything with her in the kitchen. Nate's mom is not judgmental, but I am afraid of what she might think of my cooking skills (or lack thereof).

After Nate brought me home, I didn't want to go to sleep because that meant that Valentine's Day was over. It was a great first Valentine's Day with a valentine.

Having a Perfect Brightness of Hope

"Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life." (2 Nephi 31:20)

When I first got home from my mission, I studied topic of hope in great depth. I really like this definition of hope: "Hope is not knowledge, but rather the abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promise to us. It is confidence that if we live according to God’s laws and the words of His prophets now, we will receive desired blessings in the future. It is believing and expecting that our prayers will be answered. It is manifest in confidence, optimism, enthusiasm, and patient perseverance" (The Infinite Power of Hope). So what does it mean to have a perfect brightness of hope? One year for Christmas, I asked for the willow tree Angel of Hope ornament.



I think it is beautiful that the artist uses a lantern to symbolize hope. A lantern to me symbolizes being in the dark as well as being outside (away from the comfort and security of home). Hope, as well as faith, gives us enough light to keep moving forward. Sometimes hope is simply knowing generally what is out there. We do not know how soon it will come across our path or in what shape it will take. To me, a perfect brightness of hope means finding the right balance between relying on the Lord and putting forth our own effort to accomplish what we desire.

Being away from family, holidays can be saddening. For Thanksgiving, I tried to volunteer at a soup kitchen but it didn't end up working out. I ended up spending the day working on Christmas cards, eating a Lean Cuisine turkey dinner, and wishing that I could be at work. Easter isn't as bad because I was used to being away from home because I was away at school. The thing was my roommates were there. Here, where all my roommates live with in an easy distance of their families it makes it a bit more difficult. One of them offered to have me over for Easter dinner with her family, but I have to admit, I feel awkward going to a family dinner where I only know one person.

With almost every major holiday, there are traditions that surround it. I look forward to the day when I get to share these traditions with my own family. However, I'm not waiting until I have my own family to establish these traditions. As President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, "Your own wondrous story has already begun. Your 'once upon a time' is now" (Your Happily Ever After).

Growing up, the Easter Bunny came on the Saturday before Easter. This allowed us to focus on the Atonement and resurrection on Easter. On Friday night, I put together Easter baskets for my roommates and hid eggs through out the house. It was fun to come home from work on Saturday afternoon and see baskets full of eggs. I am glad my roommates are willing to participate in traditions even if they may not be "age-appropriate."



Another tradition I would like to carry on is having a nice Easter dinner. This afternoon, I made a nice dinner (well nice for me). Part of me wished that I had had the dishes from my hope chest because I have hope that one day I will not be eating Easter dinner alone. :)



We all have things that we hope for in our lives, things that are good and righteous desires. We hope for marriage, children, jobs, or other things that will bring joy into our lives and blessings into the lives of others. We must remember "all that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ" (Preach My Gospel, pg. 52). I am so grateful for the Atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ, for the hope that in brings into my life. Elder M. Russell Ballard once said, “My message to you today, my brothers and sisters, is simply this: the Lord is in control. He knows the end from the beginning. He has given us adequate instruction that, if followed, will see us safely through any crisis. His purposes will be fulfilled, and someday we will understand the eternal reasons for all of these events. Therefore, today we must be careful to not overreact, nor should we be caught up in extreme preparations; but what we must do is keep the commandments of God and never lose hope!”

Graveyard Goodies

Happy National Potato Day!

Idaho Potato Facts:

-Idaho grows roughly one-third of the U.S. fall potato crop.

-The Idaho Potato industry accounts for more than 15% of the state's gross state product.

-In 2008, an estimated 300,000 acres of Idaho Potatoes were harvested - about 11 billion pounds of potatoes. That's enough potatoes to fill 500 NFL football fields.

-The exceptional quality of Idaho Potatoes is a product of the state's rich volcanic soil, warm days, cool nights and an adequate supply of clean water for irrigation.

Pictures of from the Idaho Potato Museum:

World's largest potato chip


Potato Mashers

ode to the padre

Today, I went to my home ward to be with my dad for father's day. As the primary kids were getting up to sing a Father's Day medley, the pianist played "Fathers." I got a bit teary-eyed as I thought about the chorus of the song:

Fathers are so special with a very special love.
They watch us and protect us.
They guide us and direct us
Back to our home above.

There are times that my dad and I don't see a situation the same way, he asks me about things I don't want to talk about ("Dad, let's talk about you."), he did things that I, his teenager daughter, found embarrassing, and our timing to get things done is different. Still, I'm grateful for his influence in my life, the encouragement to be better, and support that I need.

I'm thankful for the opportunity he gave me to obtain a higher education. I was the fifth child my dad had supported through college. When I received my degree, I walked off that stage completely debt free. His support allowed me to focus on my education and enjoy my college experience.


My dad has invited my siblings and me to go with him and my mom on trips. As I have begun looking at taking trips of my own, I have realized what a financial sacrifice he made to include us on these trips. I'm so grateful for the chance to go on these family vacations. These trips have opened my eyes to new cultures and beautiful sites; some sites so beautiful that my dad was constantly pulling our car to the side of the road to take pictures. :) Many Sunday evenings after dinner were spent reminiscing about the wonderful memories made as we followed the man in the yellow hat.


Many Sunday evenings were also spent playing cards games. My dad never lets us win easily. If we won, we earned it or luck was on our side, depending on the game. He would screech "NO!" in my ear was trying to place a die on a four level tower while playing stack. He wouldn't give up a card in phase 10 without a fight ("That was a draw"). The traveling and game playing helped me understand why in The Family: A Proclamation to the World, we learn that one of the ways successful families and marriages are maintained is through wholesome recreational activities.


While my dad's time is precious, he did find time to attend my extracurricular activities. He came to track meets, plays, senior nights, and the football game when I was nominated for Homecoming Court. He would only come for part of the time, but it meant a lot to me when he did come.

Happy Father's Day, Papu! I love you HEAPS!

Happy Halloween

Julia and Me

Safari Guide and Flapper

The two crocodile hunters and the safari guide

The two crocodile hunters

Julie and Me

Candycorn fangs

Nine years of graveyard baked goods

Valentine's and Things

My roommates (and Tim, our adopted roommate) went to go see "Thoroughly Modern Millie." It's one of my favorite musicals.

As a student council, we had a guest lecturer come and speak to us. We had Deborah come and speak to us about Animal Assisted Therapy. I was mainly running around getting things ready, but the parts that I listened to were really helpful. Deborah brought two standard poodles with her.

I had my year mark from when I came home from my mission. It was interesting to see how much had changed and what still hasn't. :-)

Valentine's Day was great! I really wanted to make sure I wasn't sitting home by myself, eating ice cream, watching a chick flick, and wondering why my life wasn't like that. For Valentine's day, my roommates and I ordered a heart shaped pizza from a local pizzeria. Then, that night, we had a fondue party. It was great to see friends I hadn't see in a while. We then watched the least romantic movie we could find, TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). :-) I have to say it was the best Valentine's ever (no boyfriend required).

December Highlights

So it has been a pretty crazy two months. It has been nice to be done with school. It was a crazy end of the semester. I was trying to finish volunteer hours for abnormal psychology, write papers, tests, presentations, and then finals. Here I am with my project for Introduction to Therapeutic Recreation. It went through over 500 sheets and an ink cartridge. It was insane but I got 100% on it.

There were many parties to celebrate Christmas and the end of the semester. I'm on the student council for my major and we had a Christmas breakfast. We told the students that we'd have waffles and pancakes. We had enough of the mix and enough griddles and waffle makers, unfortunately, we blew all the fuses in the room (including the one for the computer so our Christmas music was gone). So, we ended up having one griddle and one waffle maker going in the hallway. We were suppose to have one of the members of the faculty dress up as Santa, but the person responsible to bring the costume slept passed his alarm. It was crazy! Definitely a learning experience.

I'm in the Relief Society Presidency and so we planned a Christmas party. We had house making but instead of using ginger bread, we used wafers and frosted mini wheats. There were a few bumps getting ready for that event but it turned out pretty well.

John and Edna had their twin girls blessed in Edna's parent's ward. It was great to be able to attend.

We had everyone home for Christmas. It was a bit crazy having 11 adults and 4 babies in the house, but it was fun. We definitely did not do the Hallelujah chorus run. That stampede would have been very dangerous.

I went with my friend, Samantha, to a pajama New Year's Eve party at the institute. I think that was one of the better New Year's Eves that I've celebrated. We watch the movie "The Fall", played games, and brought in the New Year with sparkling cider.

Thanksgiving

It was great to have family for Thanksgiving even thought our numbers were pretty low this year. Here is the one picture I got from Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, Uncle Pat was not being very cooperative.

Halloween Fun!

I love holidays. They give me an excuse to dress up and decorate. I love the traditions that form with holidays. For example, for seven years now (I missed one year because I was on my mission), I've made a graveyard cake around Halloween. Three of those years I made it with one of my good friends/roommates, Katie. Unfortunately, I was sick this week and so I had to take extra precautions when making and decorating my graveyard cupcakes (I did cupcakes this year because my mom sent me some really fun cupcake wrappers). I made sure to wash my hands and use hand sanitizer anytime that I handled the cupcakes and wrapped one my of scarves around my face so that I wouldn't spread my germs by breathing on them either. My roommates and I ate them as we carved pumpkins. I'm so grateful I have roommates who get into holidays as much as I do (or are at least willing to go along with my ideas).

I hadn't come up with a costume idea for this year's Halloween. I had been playing around on amazon.com and found a mask and cloak that I absolutely loved, but also absolutely out of my budget. On Friday afternoon, I was leaving to go to the mall to look at ideas for Christmas Cards (yes, I know it's a tad early, but I'm so excited for Christmas this year), and my roommate, Shelece, was talking about getting dressed up and doing something. I reminded her that I had no Halloween costume. She said we'd figure it out. So, I went to the scrapbook store, looking for ideas and after that was done, I figured I'd might as well look for a quick, easy costume while I was at the mall. They were doing trick-or-treating at the mall and so it was super crowded. My first thought was to find some silky looking p.j.'s and a tiara and go as "sleeping beauty." However, the P.J.'s were just out of my budget as well. So, I stopped by one of my favorite stores, Mariposa, that is going out of business and they had a huge sale going on. I thought maybe I could find a white formal and match Shelece, who was going as an angel, since formals were $30. Alas, I couldn't find one that worked. Still working off of Shelece's theme I thought, what if I went as a demon? I went looking for some devil horns and found a pair at Claire's for $2.40. I then went back to Mariposa and found a red formal skirt my size that was 75% off. I got home and Shelece and I got all dolled up and took some pictures. We then went to the stake Halloween party. It was decent, not too much to do, but it was fun to see friends and the costumes people were wearing. Overall, it was an enjoyable evening. I never would have imagined myself being a demon for Halloween, but that's what happens when you put a costume together in 20 minutes. :-)