Another Testament

Sweet Dreams

 

One day this week I woke up in a particularly foul mood.  I even had the thought...Don't get out of bed, don't do it.  Not today.  The reason for my mood was two fold: First, I had managed to sleep through the alarm for over an hour - something I have been really good at for the last 3 months but trying to overcome. Second, I had just woke up from one of the most rotten dreams I have had in a long time.  - No it wasn't a big spider coming to try to attack me...I would have welcomed that dream over the one I had.   It wasn't the one where you get on the bus before you notice that you haven't got dressed (I stopped having that one a few years ago).  It was just a bad one!

 

As I got ready for work it seemed that nothing was going to go right that day.  My hair would have looked better if I had stuck my finger in the light socket, my clothes which I had pictured fitting me a different way were a painful reminder that I have put on a lot of weight since the last time I went shopping, and to make matters worse I was going to be at least two hours late for work.  I kept thinking you should have stayed in bed!  

All day long I stewed about why I had to have stupid dreams.  I am the kind of person that once an image or idea is placed in my head I will dream about it.  While this has brought great joy for a lot of my family on many occasions because when I dream I talk and live the dream, I absolutly hate it.  I hate how real they become to me.  I hate waking up and not knowing if the dream was a reality.   But, I hadn't thought of the people I was dreaming about or the idea that became my dream for quite a long time and all the sudden there was my dream, robbing me of any hope of a good day.  

As I was driving home after class that night I decided I needed to have a conversation with myself, yes I know I am weird but I do that.  As I was discussing the fact that I had managed to let one stupid dream make me have a terrible day I had an idea hit me like a ton of bricks!  Why waste my time focusing on the negative dreams of life?  

I have had many experciances in life that have proved to me that I can't control everything, and more often than not those have lead to some very sweet experiances as I learned to trust in the Lord and have faith not only in his plan but his timing.  So here I was driving down the freeway talking to myself trying to decide what else to focus on rather than negative dreams.  The thought came - Create good dreams ... Have hope for those good things.  

The conversation continued...What are the good dreams?  No sooner had I got that out of my mouth when I thought of a few things I hope for in my life.  I hope someday to be a mom and not just the least favorite aunt. I hope to be a good role model to the youth that someday I will get to teach. I dream about the days when I have become that truly good person with the good, kind, and loving heart that I dream about being.  But, I must say the sweetest spirit came to me as I thought about the dream that I have for all of those wonderful people in my life who are struggling in thier lives - specifically my brothers.  I have this ongoing dream that someday we will all set down together where we will all be in white, where they will know how much I love them, and where they will know how much our Heavenly Father, and our elder brother, Jesus Christ love them.  I love my brothers so very much.  With this thought came the realization that I have some work to do.  So here it is - I know that the our Loving Heavenly Father can and will use us to bless the lives of others as we turn to Him and seek for his guidance in finding ways to help those who are in need.  I realize that sometimes the things he asks us to do are not easy, but helping those around us is always worth it.  I know that as I do my very best to help my brothers that I will be met with opposition, but I do not want them to ever feel like they are less then the good men that they are - Sons of our Heavenly Father.  

 

When I made it home that night, I couldn't help think of the ways that the Lord teaches me in my life, and how he wants me to be happy.  I am thankful that he has given me the desire to be happy. That night as I went to sleep I wasn't worried about the rotten dream coming back to me.  That dream as well as all the others may come and go, but I can choose to focus on the good dreams of life, and work towards seeing those dreams come true!

 

Sweet Dreams To You All!   

She Thinks She Can Just Leave! & This is the Place

Having a sister is like having a best friend you can't get rid of. You know whatever you do, they'll still be there. ~Amy Li

My Parents, Heather & My niece Ryann came up on Thursday to see me. It was fun to just have Ry here by herself for a few days. On Thursday night we went to see


I have to say I was just a little disappointed with the production, probably because I have been in this play I went in thinking it would be amazing as that. It was fun to remember all of the music and actions that we did during the play.

On Saturday we went to "This is the Place Monument and Heritage Park" - they are right it is so much more than a monument and for future reference - plan on spending all day long there.

You can't not help but have an appreciation for those amazing pioneers who gave their all to come across the plains. I am a firm believer that if I had to be one of those that had to do that they would have tossed me out of the wagon or sicked the wolves on me because of all of the complaining I do! I was amazed at how simple they lived, one cabin smaller than my bedroom was home to 9 people. I can't imagine. It was a great day finished off by a family dinner. Good Times Good Times.

Now for the part I don't want to talk about. The beginning of May my little sister Stef moved up here. I was so exited to have her up her and get to know her again. I will be the first to admit I am terrible at communicating and keeping in touch - even with my family. Stef and I used to not get along very well, and haven't lived close to each other for about 5 years so I was really exited to have her here. I am so thankful that she is a forgiving person. It has been so much fun to have her, and such a blessing at the same time. I am a firm beliver that I needed her to be here for me during this summer, helping me get through all of the stress of mono, helping me learn to not stress so much and to take care of myself better. This morning she left to move back to Queen Creek and I already miss her! I called her during her drive and told her that she needed to come back now.

I am so glad that she came up here. I am thankful for the person that she is, for her giving heart and for everything that she does for my family. She is amazing! I feel so blessed to be part of the family that I am, and to have a little sister who loves me. For Good, Stef ... You Changed My Life for Good.

To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time.
~Clara Ortega

My Monolog

One of the guys I work with was giving me grief for coming to work at 2:00pm one afternoon, and he thought he would continue to be funny and tried using the word "mono" as many times in a sentence as he could. I will admit some of them were pretty funny.


At any rate, yes my mono is still here rearing its ugly head. I am now only sleeping about 12 hours a day, but there have been some days when I have slept 23 hours. I keep thinking I am getting better, and really I think I am but not fast enough. I often get frustrated with myself because of all of the things I am not accomplishing just because I can't due to lack of energy. Some days just getting in the shower takes everything I have. I am hoping that I will work at least 15 hours this week, and that will be a big deal. I have been really blessed with a patient boss who is allowing me to do what I can. I feel bad for my little young women and the leaders I serve with. They really should release me and call my little sister. Bless Stefs heart! She has really came in and saved my bacon the last month with my calling. Anytime I need anything done I call her. She was even patient and taught me to backstich.


I have not just been sleeping the last month though, the day before I found out I had mono I bought plane tickets for my Mom and my sweet niece Kaelee to come up and see me from Arizona. Poor Kaelee, she thought it was going to be a fun weekend but instead she had to deal with tired aunt Bec, again thanks to Stef. We did manage to get all of Kaelee's school shopping done, she is such a pretty chica that it was fun to shop with her. Of course everything looks good on her and left me wishing I was skinny again. We also got to go to the temple open house with them. It is such a pretty temple! I hope that the Temple will become an important part of Kaelee's life someday.

The other fun thing I did was take a trip with Stef to Tempe to see Wicked,the Broadway musical with my sisters Shell & Heather & my cousin Lamar. I have wanted to go for years and there was no way I was going to miss it (Especially since I bought the tickets in April) It was a fun weekend. Again, I was the party pooper who slept the whole weekend, but I was glad I went. I was pretty tired during the show and probably didn't enjoy it as much as I could have, but I am glad I went. Maybe someday when I have energy again I will post some of my thoughts about it. My Favorite songs were of course For Good & Defying Gravity.

I hope this finds you all well. Remember to laugh, some days its all we can do.

"Learning to endure times of disappointment, suffering, and sorrow is part of our on-the-job training. These experiences, while often difficult to bear at the time, are precisely the kinds of experiences that stretch our understanding, build our character, and increase our compassion for others." ~ Joseph B. Wirthlin

"The way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life." ~ Joseph B. Wirthlin

Yuck!!!

So... I haven't been feeling well for a while and I finally broke down and went to the doctor this week.


The diagnoses: Mono

The Cause: Definitely not kissing anybody!!! I couldn't even get a frog to kiss me right now! :)

The Treatment: - First of all the hardest for me - No more Marathon training. I am really not happy about that. This has been a really hard summer for me to train, but I was looking forward to that accomplishment.

Secondly - I am supposed to sleep! I almost laughed at the Dr., but he told me if I don't sleep I don't get better. Seems pretty simple but since my body is only used to 3-4 hours a night I thought this was going to be a hard one for me. He told me that I would want to sleep and he was right. I think I have been awake 2 1/2 hours of the last 18, and I am headed back to bed in a few.

I told the Dr. that I didn't have time for mono right now he just laughed and said that these things usually didn't consult schedules.

I guess that means no more kissing for me for a while !

Enough with the negative....It could always be worse. I am thankful that it isn't. I hope you are smiling!

"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. Most putts don't drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just people. ... Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old-time rail journey - delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for the ride" Gordon B. Hinckley

What A Week, What a Week: Temple Open House, Swine Flu, Girls Camp, And A Day with President and Sister Monson

ell.... It has been quite the week. Clear full of fun and excitement of course... What else would there be.

Last Saturday - I woke up feeling pretty sick, but I made it to our Ward Temple Session. It was fun to go with Kamila - My cousins wife, who is still new at the whole temple thing. It reminded me of how nervous I used to get. After the session we went to breakfast at Denny's - I decided that I would never make a good waitress. I am just not patient enough.

After breakfast I came home, feeling much worse, but I had so much to do to get ready for finals. So I tried to study, but honestly, not much really got inside my brain. I had to keep switching studying spots to keep myself awake.

Saturday evening we went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. I absolutely LOVE this temple. I loved the design, the decorations, furniture, it was all just beautiful. I am looking forward to going again with our Young Women in July. I love how all of the temples are unique and different, but all so beautiful.


I started feeling like I was going to throw up (Sorry for all the details) as we sat down in the sealing room where a very cute couple bore their testimony of the importance of the temple. Luckily I made it out of the temple before anything happened. The weather was really yucky and rainy so I decided that I just wanted to get home before I threw up, but I didn't make it. We only had to make one stop but still...

Saturday Night, Sunday and Monday & Tuesday I was sick in bed. We joked about it being swine flu - with the flu you only run a fever for 6 to 10 hours and then you feel alright but we think the fever came during the night when I was making phone calls at 3 am. (Sorry Amy) I really don't think it was. I am just glad it is over.

Of course I had to get sick the week of finals. Couldn't have happened at any other time could it? On Wednesday I took two finals, I did well on the first one, and bombed the other one, but I think I passed the class. I am just glad that they are over, and I have decided that I am going to take a break from school for a little while. I will start classes again in August. I am still not sure what I am going to do with my time, but I am sure I will figure it out.

The fun part of my week started on Thursday when I got to go to girls camp. I absolutely love the Heber Valley Girls Camp. It is so amazingly beautiful and reminds me so much of the mountains of home. I just love driving up there and being with the Young Women of my ward. I work with the best young women and leaders in the whole church. I was really bummed that I only got to spend one day there, but at least I got to spend that day.

They did a really neat thing this year. The theme was GEMS - Girls Embracing Moral Standards. Each ward had a different standard , a Gem associated with that standard, and a scripture that related to it. They gave us a challenge to memorize and pass off the scripture to each ward and once you completed all of them you were able to go pick an oyster and have it opened to get a pearl. It was a really touching experience to remind us that to our Heavenly Father we are treasures.
After a wonderful testimony meeting that our Young Women had planned we loaded up the van so I could bring most of the stuff home. Let's just say I am not sure we could have put much more in that car. It was packed pretty tight! Kudos to Jana & Myndi for packing it all in there. They did a great job!









Today I had a wonderful day! It was the final day of the new mission presidents conference at the MTC and so I got to go be security. My assignment was to help Sister Monson. I got to push her around in her wheel chair and set with her during the sacrament meeting. What a wonderful opportunity. I feel really blessed to be able to meet the prophet and his family. They are both really funny people. My heart is always full as I get to shake hands with him. It was neat to see some of the missionaries as we were going out to the cars so they could leave. They started to sing "We Thank Thee of God for a Prophet" How blessed we are to be led by a living prophet. I am very thankful that I have a testimony, that I know that our Heavenly Father speaks through his prophets. What a great day!
During his talk President Monson quoted James Barrie, who wrote " God gave us memories that we might have June roses in the December of our lives." This week I feel like that I have had a few of those June roses. I love you all and hope all is well. May your June Roses continue to bloom!

To My Dad

The world
doesn’t know him
as a hero,
but she knows differently.
He doesn’t always
say a lot,
but when he does,
she knows it is
worth remembering.
Even worth writing down.
But she never has to
write down anything
that her father says
because she knows
she’ll never forget.

Terri Cecil (adapted)



You may never know
what a difference
your quiet influence
and steady caring
have meant throughout my life...
how much your strong,
protective love and wisdom
have carried me through...

...but maybe you’ll understand
with your heart
what no words can ever tell you...

I Love You, Dad
Happy Father’s Day