3 of 3.

on april first, i mailed home three boxes from hawaii. i told them the slowest mail, 3-4 weeks, was okay. well, 3-4 weeks later i received two of those boxes... and patiently waited for the third. and waited.. and waited.. my mom thought all was lost. it had been six weeks! i called the post office in laie, they said they didn't have it either. we called the post office in mission viejo, they didn't have it. i'll have to admit it was disheartening, but i didn't lose hope. finally, eight weeks later, a miracle occurred. yep you guessed it- my box came!!


a little beat up, maybe, but this box still had my favorite moccasins, my gray jeans, and my favorite sweat pants inside. hallelujah.

family, run, mission papers.

first, my trip to chicago was really fun. we got to visit with lots of family and see the windy city. which is BEAUTIFUL.


the next weekend i went to san francisco with my dad for the 100th annual bay to breakers 12k. it was so much fun! i finished in 1:20:23. pretty good i think? i never thought i would be able to run 7.5 miles at one time, let alone actually enjoy doing it. it was proof that if you work at something, you can do it!


and since i've been home i've been working two jobs and finishing up my mission papers!! i should have my call within two or three weeks. ah!!!

river trip next weekend with the ward. hollaaaaa. life's GOOD.

blessed.

i've been home from hawaii for three weeks now, and let me just tell you-- i really miss it. that, along with the fact that my best friends BOTH decided to stay at school all summer, plus working 6 days a week at golden spoon has me being a teeny bit grumpy every now and then. don't get me wrong, i am happy to be home and definitely happy i have a job. and i do have lots of great friends here too. i'm just a brat sometimes (just being honest).

so, instead of bemoaning the fact that i haven't fallen asleep to the sound of the waves crashing or watched the sunrise come up above the ocean from my bed in three weeks, i decided i should count my blessings and realize how many amazing things i have going for me on the mainland (and abroad!).

first, i have a job! that's a blessing in itself. although the unlimited free fro yo is not the best for my diet, it is so nice to not have had to look for a job coming home from school.

next week i get to take a week off and go to chicago!! it's my mom's birthday trip and we're gonna have a great time. i get to see where she grew up, see some family, eat authentic chicago deep dish pizza.. yumm. excited!

the following weekend is the bay to breakers 12k run. i've been training..sorta.. i need to step it up these next few weeks so my dad doesn't leave me in the dust. but i'm not too worried; i'm not tryin to break any records here, just have a fun time up in san francisco with my papa and participate in a famous run :)

a couple weeks later, i get to go to the river with the ward!!! YESSSSS looove the river trip!

sometime in the month of june i will be getting my mission call. can. you. believe it?! ahhhh.

july- mid august i will be going on my study abroad to the mediterranean!!! that is going to be absolutely amazing, i still can't believe i'm actually going to ITALY, GREECE, TURKEY, and SWITZERLAND. oh boy oh boy oh boy.

and then, just about a week after i return there's talk of me going to lake powell with a certain megan moody and family :)

and then i just wait a couple months until i leave for my mission.

gosh. i am so blessed!! i have SO many opportunities for traveling, learning, and growing. it's just amazing. i feel so blessed and fortunate to have had my wonderful experience in hawaii, and although i really miss it sometimes, i know that i have many wonderful experiences to look forward to.

when i really think about it, i don't feel like i deserve all these blessings. like really; how many people can consider themselves so blessed and fortunate? why did i get to live this life?

let's talk about my biggest blessing of all: being a member of the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints. truly, it is the thing i am most grateful for, along with my family. i have had so many opportunities that i never would have had had i not joined the church. i have SO much to look forward to in learning and growing in the gospel. i am so looking forward to being a missionary and sharing with others the joy that i have in my life because of the gospel. LOVE IT!

so, whenever i feel sad or bored or grumpy, i just need to take a minute to think of all the good things in my life and i will snap right out of my mood :) like the hymn says,

"when upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed, when you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done."

here's a little video of our prophet from october 2010. one of my favorite talks of that general conference. watch or read it! :)

http://lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/charity-never-faileth?lang=eng&media=video