...sometimes you have to drop the asian...

i'm not sure if it's possible but sometimes i wond

er if life could get any crazier. with that said our home teacher came over tonight and amongst the message of the importance of temple attendance we talked about sometimes it's difficult to find balance in our lives.

he shared this thought...

yes this was the visual that came to mind (minus the asian on the top). but really do you ever feel like you have all these plates and you need to keep them spinning? talk about pressure..once you get one going the way you want you realize the one on the other side is about to fall and then once you get that back up to speed you have to focus on the next. and then before you know it, the asian you're balancing on your head falls off and hits the ground (i'm referring to the picture by the way. in no way am i trying to be racist.).

thats what life feels like right now. i'm not trying to complain because really i LOVE how my life is. i couldn't be more blessed. but honestly between school starting, work getting INSANE with students coming back, matt's work and school schedule, church callings, our little side job, and everything else sometimes i want to smash all the plates onto the ground and run away to an island somewhere or disneyland or even karlie and jenny's houses. it's even worse when family calls and invites you over to a family bbq but you can't go because your schedule is planned out for the next month. literally.

anyways..i feel better now that i got that out. it's funny how the Lord works. that little visual helped my remember the Atonement. weird how an asian spinning a plate could do that but the reality is that we may never find the perfect balance. there may always be a plate that you'll have to pay special attention to but what a bles

sing it is to know we don't have to do alone.

Christ is there to help us.

i personally love this photo and this video...click here!

i personally believe that we tend to forget that Christ not only alleviates the pain of hardship or sin but provides the strength, hope, and assistance we need in ALL things even the positive things of life like work, school, family, etc. etc. because of the Atonement the good things in our lives are made better.

anyways..i'm glad our home teacher was able to come by and as strange as it is i'm grateful for the asian i get to balance on my head.

..12 months have passed..

..well today it's been one year since this..

..weird..

..it went by so fast..

..its hard to imagine i'd celebrate milestones like this..

..in the beginning i thought that 6, 9, 12 month marks would never come..

..and when they did get there, they had come much too fast..

..it's been a long time since i did service and it brought about events like these..

..sometimes i miss spending all of my time with bff's like these..

..they truly are my sisters. we would laugh, cry, pray, wish, hope, and teach together everyday. i learned more than i ever thought possible from these women..

..there are times where i think about my "washington families" and i miss them terribly..

..i couldn't have been more blessed to have my many homes away from home. family truly is forever..

..i began my mission with all of these fine elders..

..and these men taught me more than i could explain..

..mornings were spent in this little corner..

..and afternoons/evenings were spent like this..

..i wish i could put into words the things i learned from miracles like these..

..and these gorgeous spots seem like they were memories from a postcard..

..even though i miss my mission horribly some days, i couldn't be more blessed..

..this last year has been one the best. i got this little catch for heaven's sake..

..i'd have to say..

i'd have to say that there is much to blog about today. it's been awhile. so enjoy...

1. i'd have to say... that i definitely should not have posted anything about the possibility of being pregnant. live and learn right? for all of you that are curious i'm not pregnant. i do however have some crazzzzy acid reflex thing going on.

here's a little health fact for ya..if you have heartburn or you're throwing up or anything like that your lungs automatically tighten up and have a little covering that goes over the top of them to protect them from the stomach acid. interesting huh? so with that said let me explain...last sunday night i had what most would describe as an asthma attack. super scary. i've never experienced something like that. it was horrible. except i don't have asthma. the next day the doctor was called and come thursday we had an idea of what was going on. for about the same amount of time that i've had the heartburn and nausea thing, i've also had trouble breathing. i haven't been able to fully catch my breath with just basic breathing, so after sunday night matt and i were really worried about it. hence the doctor. good thing too because after he taught me about that little tid bit of information up there he put me on a prescription of prilosec and an inhaler. blessings straight from heaven i tell you. i couldn't remember the last time i didn't have heartburn. do you know what it feels like NOT to have your esophagus on fire?!?! AMAZING. and i can breath. that's awesome too. it's so nice not to have to try to make yourself yawn just to get air inside you. the doctor says that the acid business could be from stress, or new foods, or pure luck of the draw. in two weeks we'll have a final conclusion though. he said more than likely i got the luck of the draw and it'll go away with some medicine it's just a question of how long i'll have to be on it. i'll keep you posted.

2. i'd have to say...i've been very blessed in my life. a couple weeks ago in church someone said that their mom had always told them to be and to have friends that the Savior would have. isn't that profound? that simple phrase has stuck with me the last couple weeks. i've taken for granted the friends that i have and what amazing examples they are to me. i've truly been blessed by their influence, compassion, and friendship. i've also thought a lot about how i can improve to be more like the Savior myself so I can be a friend that the Savior would have. given i do believe that the Savior would accept anyone and treat everyone as His friend but those he surrounded Himself with on a regular basis i'm sure were great in their Christlike attributes as well. with that said, as always there is definitely room for improvement. what a great blessing the Atonement is.

3. i'd have to say...that i'm STILL working on getting my thank you cards out from our wedding. ps-do you know how long ago that was?? FOREVER in thank you card time. all of the tennessee ones have been written, stamped, and mailed. all of the utah and washington ones have not. 3/4 have been written, most have been sealed, but none have been mailed. horrible. i feel awful about it. life has been insane with getting married, moving, finals, summer school, and starting a full time job. plus matt says it doesn't help that i can't just say thank you but have to personalize and express my appreciation. i don't want anyone to think that that's all justification it's merely an explanation. i truly am grateful for all we received for our wedding. it's just embarrassing for me to not have expressed that gratitude sooner.

4. i'd have to say...that work is great. i love my job. it's getting busier by the day as students begin coming back. school starts a week from wednesday so our office will be full again. summer ending is bitter sweet.

5. i'd have to say...that i'm not excited for school to start. i just officially finished my summer semester and am not ready for it to begin again. i am grateful however that this is the beginning of the first of my last two semesters. april could not come sooner.

6. i'd have to say...that life is grand. and this post is long. so until next time...

..heartburn update..

..no worries..i'm fine..and not pregnant..just a little acid reflex..

...my tummy is a achin...

yesterday and today have been filled with heart burn and nausea. my two least favorite things. i sleep A LOT when these two friends come to town. sleep helps me to avoid them. after work yesterday i took a nap that lasted two and a half hours, made dinner (mmm...quesadillas), watched the office and went back to bed. during the office matt went to the store to buy my favorite drink, pepto bismal. blah. while he was gone i called my mom to whine. i get whinny when i'm sick and she's an excellent listener.
today she called to see how i was feeling. nice huh? i think she loves me but, then she mentioned that maybe its not a bug that is making me sick but maybe something else. like a baby. she said that if it didn't go away by next week she'd buy me a pregnancy test. how thoughtful. it seems to me that someone wants to be a grandma.

i'll keep you posted on my heartburn status.