Fill Your Life With Service

Utah weather is very interesting. One minute it will be sunny and warm, the next it will be rainy or stormy then back to wonderful weather in a twenty minute period. Well, the other day we had a very windy storm with speeds that were considered to be as fast as a category two hurricane. The next day, we lost three pine trees. Two fell in the back and one in the front fell on my mom's car. Luckily the tree didn't break any windows or make any dents. Throughout Layton, there were so many trees that had been uprooted from the ground, roof shingles ripped off, fences destroyed, etc.

We are supposed to be getting another windy storm/blizzard tonight, so my ward only had sacrament for twenty five minutes so that we could go out help load all the debris and chopped down trees and take everything to the dump. It has been so much fun helping out. 

 

 "Kindness, love, patience, understanding, and unity will increase as we serve, while intolerance, jealousy, envy, greed, and selfishness decrease or disappear. The more we give of ourselves, the more our capacity to serve, understand, and love will grow." -- Carlos H. Armado

"The most cherished and sacred moments of our lives are those filled with the spirit of love. The greater the measure of our love, the greater is our joy. In the end, the development of such love is the true measure of success in life." -- Joseph B. Wirthlin

I absolutley love service. To be the one that brings happiness to families in need is just a wonderful feeling and makes you truly appreciate things you have in your life.

Fall into autumn

I am so glad fall is here! It is by far my favorite season, next to winter. It's not too hot or too cold, the colors of trees start to change color and make the mountains look beautiful and it's the perfect time to go on hikes! I don't count it as a true hike, but today I went on a walk and went up to Fernwood Park and walked the trail up there for just a ways. I will be going on a lot of walks this week just so I can take some time for myself and get things off my mind.

It was so relaxing going on my walk

I'll have to go up Adam's canyon next time

While on my walk, I had constant thoughts of my frustrations from the past week, the past year, and really just thinking negatively of things that have gone on. I had then remembered that I should not let the negative things dictate my life. The past has happened and dwelling in it keeps you from seeing so much more. "It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters". A guy I used to talk to would quote this to me all the time. You can either dwell and be mad or upset because someone or something has hurt you, or you can learn to accept and forgive what happened and look past the negative things that you may come across.

 "It seems I get so hung up on the history of what's gone wrong, and the hope of a new day is sometimes hard to see. Though I'm finally catching onto it, the past is just a conduit and the light there at the end is where I'll be. Because I'm on the up and up and I haven't given up on what I know I'm capable of." -- Relient K (a song I listened to on my walk)

Party in the SLC

I am happy to say now that my best buddy Dallin finally got his mission call! He is going to Brazil, Curitiba and leaves in January! I am so excited for him and to celebrate on his call, we went down to Salt Lake City, hung out till about ten and held up a sign behind 2news for everyone to see! It was great being able to hang out with him, even if it was for a couple hours. These next few months are going to go by so fast and I am going to miss him so much when he's gone! 

 Hanging out by the reflection pool

 

 Best buddies!

 

 Josh met up after work to help hold the sign

 

Well, I haven't really been up to anything fun besides family home evening activities at my ward, going to a few haunted houses with some friends and taking random shots planking objects in my yard to send to Siri. I'm so glad fall is finally here! I love the colors in the mountains and the weather is perfect! It's also a perfect time to go hiking so hopefully I'll get some time and go for a relaxing hike up the canyon and hopefully there are trees starting to change by the time I go.

Be still my soul

This last week, I was finally able to get some time for myself and go do baptisms for the dead! I was so busy with work during the summer, I could never find a day to go. Now that the slides have been closed and being back from PA, I have made it a goal to go to the temple every week. It is so peaceful being there and I can get so much reading in my scriptures done. I have been going by myself and actually prefer to go alone just so I can get things off my mind and just have the time alone.

 "It is wonderful to know that our Heavenly Father loves us, even with all our flaws. His love is such that even should we give up on ourselves, He never will." -- Joseph B. Wirthlin

 "We see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today. Our Heavenly Father sees us in terms of forever. Although we might settle for less, Heavenly Father won't for He sees us as the glorious beings we are capable of becoming". -- Joseph B. Wirthlin

I am so blessed to have the gospel back in my life. I shared my testimony this last fast Sunday and bore witness of the love the Savior has for me and for all his children. I feel his love for me every day and will never forget what he has done for me and all the blessing I have in my life. Anytime that you may feel discouraged, just remember He loves you and will help you get through the hard times you may come across in your life.

Happy birthday Olivia!

It is amazing how time flies. I couldn't believe that Olivia was already turning one today. It seems like yesterday I was holding this little girl in my arms at the hospital when she was finally born. She was so cute at her party, and she definitely cried when she wanted to. She was so cute opening all her presents, clapping and giving the stuffed animals she got hugs and kisses. It was so hard deciding what I was going to get her because when I shop for girls, I have to buy everything that I think is so cute. I settled on an outfit from Crazy 8's and a snoopy plush from Hallmark. She is such a spoiled little girl but as Bob always says "It's hard saying no to Olivia". She is getting really close to walking by herself but is very mischievous just crawling around. So hopefully she doesn't know how to open the door so she can run off and wreak havoc in the neighborhood like I used to when I was little.

I think Bob enjoyed opening presents

more than Olivia

We were suprised she didn't

dig into the cake

I was able to feed her a bottle

and put her to sleep

Olivia is such a blessing, especially in my life. It was definietly a hard experience to go through, but because of it, I feel my Savior's love for me everyday.