Everyday Miracles

This past week has been filled with miracle after miracle.

Direct prayers being answered.

Glimpses of the bigger picture.

Love in my heart.

The power of The Atonement working in every breathing moment of my life.

How on Earth did I get so blessed?

I'm not sure, but to be able to give thanks for all that I have been given I feel that I really need to write about it and share some of my testimony/experiences with others :)

 

 

Ahhhhh. Deep breathe. Here it goes.

Sunday sacrament meeting rolled around and not only did I want to repent, I wanted a deep change. I wanted The Lord to be in control of my words and my thoughts. I wanted to feel the spirit so strong so that He could work through me and make me a better person in the process. That was just the beginning.

As my week progressed I found myself in deep spiritual reflection; strengthening parts of my testimony I never knew existed. The Lord helped me on my midterms, for I am certain the without His help it would have been impossible for me to recall all of that information and do so well.

During my nightly scripture study and seminary preparation the scriptures came alive to me. The words spoken and lessons taught were for ME. Another thing I had prayed for answered.

I prayed extra hard for Joseph this week. But something new that I added to my prayers was that the people he needed to teach could be prepared to receive the gospel, they could be humbled, they could search and then receive. Joseph gained a new investigator this week, and 3 more potential investigators. Seeing the miracles of his mission has changed my life. He also has a baptism next months and a full appointment book. :) I'm pretty proud of him. I told y'all I wasn't lying when I said he was going to be the best missionary evaaaaa ;)

Lastly, I have a friend who is going through a really rough trial. I prayed for her, but while I was praying I has the impression to not pray for a certain outcome, but instead for great peace and a glimpse at her greater future. She went to the temple then told me about her experiences. She used almost the exact same words. It was beautiful. -A miracle that can only be explained by the divine nature of Christ and God's plan.

These experiences don't even scape the surface of this week. Every prayer was answered. Even the small things that only matter to me. His hand was in every aspect of my life, and maybe the only difference between this week and any other week was my enthusiasm to look for it. The Lord is always there preforming miracles bigger than us everyday.

We can open our minds to see them when we give thanks.

 

This is why I started a golden list :)

Every single day write 10 things you are grateful for.

Try to make the list different everyday.

Write it in the sky or in s notebook, just write it somewhere because when you write it down you think about it more and it causes you a substantial about of time to ponder your life and blessings :)

This list has worked flawlessly for me-maybe even changed my life :)

 

I know that The Lord loves us. I know He is the All-Saving Redeemer and The Atonement is real.

He lives.

When we ask, we receive.

-And maybe more of a blessing than the actual blessing is giving thanks.

It has brought SO much joy into my life.

I am what He gives, and it is so much more than I deserve.

 

All my love, Lauren.

Midterms and Music

I get onto the computer to do some research for my midterms this week

And an hour later....

Vedging out and reading some of my favorite blogs.

Funny how that always seems to happen. :)

 

 

 

What goes together better than studying and music?

Here's a few of the things I've been listening to lately

 

Dear John- Taylor Swift 

(Don't worry no one is getting Dear John-ed just a fanfreakingtastic song)

Aint Nothin Bout You- Brooks and Dunn

Run-George Strait

Enchanted-Taylor Swift

Under The Bridge- Red Hot Chili Peppers

Long Hot Summer- Keith Urban

Safe and Sound- Capital Cities

Anna Sun- Walk The Moon

When She Says Baby- Jason Aldean

Slow Dancing in A Burning Room- John Mayer

 

Have fun listening and wish my luck studying!

All my love, Lauren.

 

 

 

 

 



5 Truths

 

5 truths about life that I have come to know.

 

1. Just because 2 things are different doesn't mean 1 is good and 1 is bad. It just means that they're different.

 

2. If your happiness depends on people or things, you're going to spend a lot of time unhappy.

 

3.Smiling at strangers is good.

 

4.It's okay to let people help you.

 

5. If something is right there will be nothing you can do to keep it from happening, if it is wrong you won't be able to make it happen.

Change Is A Comin

I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has been reading my blog!

The growth just this past week has been AMAZING! I'm so grateful for the views and all of your reading :)

But with a little more popularity I think an upgrade is needed...haha... because this blog's look is pretty sad....and I'm as technologically handicap as it gets.

Seriously. I just found out what a button was yesterday! Haha!

How long have I been blogging?

 

Anyways, thank you and please be patient with my construction process!

Not sure how long this is going to take me, but I am determined to come up with something good! You guys are the greatest. :)

 

All my love, Lauren. 

Ps. I'm redecorating my room too! Maybe I'm just in the mood for change.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

And only 3 days late :)

New Years was a ton of fun. My friends and I were all scrabbling trying to come up with plans of something to do. Our region has a big New Years dance, but we're all getting a little old for that now. Kind of awkward dancing with 14 year olds when you're about ready to graduate ;)

So my friends and I just decided to get together and go out to dinner then show up for the last hour of the dance for fireworks and balloon drop.

The night turned out way better than anticipated :)

Dinner was way fun and the dance wasn't so lame after all!

I'm so bummed I didn't get ANY pictures.

Well, except for this photo strip with my friend ,Justin.
 

 

The photo booth was the hit of the night :)

All of my friends took lots of pictures

(How in heck did I not get a strip!?!)

Oh well :) Anyways fun night. Here's a quote from Jake.

Jake: "Do you guys want to go get ice cream?"

Me: "Sure, I don't care. I just don't know where is going to be open on New Years 12:30 in the morning."

Jake: "Oh yea.. Rats.. Hey do you guys want to go to Smiths and just grab a tub of ice cream?"

Me: I don't care! Sure, whatever you want to do sounds good to me!"

Jake: "No lets not do that.. I don't want to go in.."

Me: "Well I bet McDonalds is open"

Jake: "I don't want McDonald's ice cream I want like real real ice cream."

Me: "Do you really want ice cream?"

Jake: " YES!!!!  IT SOUNDS SO GOOD RIGHT NOW."

Me: "Okay then lets get ice cream!!"

Jake: "Nevermind. I don't know what I want. I'm sleepy and I just want to go to bed."

 

 

This probably doesn't do it justice haha! Jake is the most laid back and chill person on the face of the planet. You could dye all of his clothes orange and he would say, "Oh shoot everything is orange. Bummer." and still wear it all. (Okay that was a weird example, but you get it)

I don't know, Jake just makes me laugh :)

 

I'm really glad that it turned out being a fun night because all I have been doing my entire winter break is sewing and cleaning. I needed a fun day :)

 

LETS TALK GOALS

Yada yada I know y'all could careless what my New Years Goals are, but this is mostly for me :)

If I tell you guys about them I am more likely to uphold them.

-Be more patient

-Maintain a clean room

-Continue reading scriptures/praying/journaling every night

-Pray on knees

-Never drop below 3.0 GPA

-Get YW Medallion

-Run 2x week minimum no exception

 

 

I think that's it :)

All my love, Lauren.

 

Missionary Package: Christmas

I had SO much fun putting this package together!

It was tiring, and tedious, but I am rather please with the way it turned out and it was a whole lot of fun :)

 

THE BOX:

My strategy for this package was to avoid crazy shipping costs by getting a small box and just jam packing everything possible in it. Mission accomplished. I lined the bottom of the box with Christmassy scrapbook paper and the sides with polka dots. I painted the box red and made a "Merry Christmas" banner for when he opened it! It was perfect for the box shape. I'm not sure how I would do that in a box with 4 flaps. Another smart box idea that I didn't think of is getting a flat rate box from the post office. I was kicking myself for a while once the pounds started adding up, but it all worked out pretty well for me. 

 

Gatorade (aka Priesthood PowerAde)

Chapstick

Tic-Tacs (Missionaries can't chew gum)

Hot coco with candy canes

 

Fruit snacks

Goldfish

Beef Jerky

Snickers

Starburst

M&M's

 

Sheet music for Love Story by Taylor Swift

and I Can Show You The World from Disney movie Aladdin

3 bookmarks

-Missionary quotes

-A poem

-My favorite scriptures

 

More "Open When" letters. I made these a couple months back but decided against sending them all at once because I am almost positive Joseph would just sit on his bed and open letter after letter until he had read them all haha! So I space them out, sending a few at a time:) You can find "Open When" letter post here. Making the letters was my favorite part of the whole package. Some of the topics were:

-When you're having companion problems

-When you need a good laugh

-When you're bored

-When you need to feel uplifted

-When you are discouraged

-When you feel like reminiscing

It was so fun writing these! For all of the letters I prayed for guidance on what to write and say. Especially the spiritual ones. It was really uplifting for me as I felt the spirit guiding me what to say, scriptures to share, talks to print out, testimony to bare. It was such a cool experience.

 

Warm socks for the winter months

Lint roller

Hand sewn Hand Warmers.

I just sewed two square pieces of material, flipped it inside out so the seams weren't shown and filled them with rice before stitching them up completely. You can also fill them with oats and they will work the same. You pop them in the microwave for a minute or two and they will stay warm for up to a couple hours! Just slip them in your pockets and they will keep them nice and toasty:)

 



This was the final product before I shipped it away.

I put the letters in the box and wrapped almost everything because I thought it would be fun for him to have something he could actually open on Christmas morning.

Everything has a cheesy saying to go along with it, if you couldn't read them in the pictures just leave a comment on this post and I will send them to you:)

I loved putting this together and any of my ideas are free to be used!

Goodluck!

 

All my love, Lauren.

Just Another Missionary Post

I love the girls I follow on my blog.

I've never met them, but have you ever had that silly connection with someone totally random?

Yea. That's me with them.

They are all super great and I love them.

One of the gals I follow is Aleigh.

I have followed her blog for almost a year now and I FELL IN LOVE WITH HER.

She is the craftiest, sweetest, most fun person ever :)

And no I have never met her but who says I can't think she's awesome?

She has definitely had an influence on my life.

So this post has to do with missionaries.

Sweet Aleigh has a missionary who is coming home in just a few days and I'm crazy excited for her!

For no good reason at all, except for the fact that

1) They are crazy in love and adorable

2) She is proof girls CAN wait for missionaries

3) I have been following her story and can't wait for him to finally be home!

4) I love happy endings :)

 

And what a happy ending this will be.

Check out her blog and her story with her sweet love :)

She posts more and more of their story once a month and I am always left on the edge of my seat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, and I have a couple ideas I'm working on for y'all.

A post about running,

Joseph's Christmas package,

a Young Women Project

just to name a few :)

 

All my love, Lauren.

5 Things

Hey there!

 

 

No need to say I have a really hard time keeping up with myself haha.

Stuff magically piles up...

And where did the time go?

I keep nagging myself to blog, then it takes a friend to nudge me back into it;)

So to get back into the swing, I will list 5 things and bombard you with pictures.

 

 

1. Track season is starting and ohhhhh how bitter sweet haha. Say goodbye to after school naps and hello to sore aching bodies, but it is so worth it. I love what I am doing, but I feel like I know NOBODY in track. Everybody has their own friends and I didn't really branch out last year either. So trying to make friends:) Trying to get back in shape(I thought I already was!?!?!?)

 

 

2. Joseph(because no blog post would be complete without mentioning him, right?) I get a kick out of his stories. Apparently it is totally possible for the inside of your nose to freeze;) Monday emails can't come quick enough.

 

 

3. My friend, Dorian, is getting baptized on the 21st! NO WAY!!! Everyone is so excited because he has been investigating the church forever... Really, though. Has it been 6 or 7 years? I am sooo excited! This is news of a lifetime. I am so excited for him to receive the constant companionship of The Holy Ghost and receive the blessings of The Temple. I'm beyond excited. Maybe even more than Dorian.

 

 

4. I was a vegetarian for 6 years and just started eating meat a few months ago. Boy did I miss out. Cheeseburgers are the best haha. And bacon. And biscuits and gravy is SO much better with sausage. Chicken noodle soup too.

 

 

5. Which brings me to my last topic. I have been sick for going on my... 7th or 8th week now? Fevers, chills, coughs, head aches, nausea, I've seen it all. Gosh dang. Pray for me guys because I'm sick of it. (Pun totally intended)

 

 

Life lately, in pictures.....

 

Finally finished this painting! I'm really proud of it.

Priest and Laurel South Stake Temple trip!

Las Vegas temple

Beautiful and crazy hard hike on a mountain over looking the entire city!:)

 

 

 

I think that's all for now:)

All my love, Lauren.



Come What May and Love It

I'm sure all you people are wondering if I even use this thing anymore!

And I'm wondering if I remember how to

But hey, I'm blogging again so that's better then nothing.

So crazy past couple of weeks I don't even know where to begin to summarize so I will just share the good stuff:)

 

I put some stuff together for my friend, Elder Starsi Scherf!

It's for his Christmas package which I actually had to get together like ASAP because shipping takes 2 months. So I made up a Christmas Story Scripture chase, put it some hot chocolate and water flavoring stuff to invite the holiday spirit and make the water taste a little better down there :) I gave him a lint roller, a tie, and some hand warmers that I sewed myself! Ahh yes, I sewed myself. I'm super proud of that lol even though they are just super basic pouches filled with rice that you stick in the microwave and nuke for a minute. That was really fun for me to make :)

 

I finished my school's quarterly grading period with a 3.8!!!!WHAT!!!

I know this probably doesn't seem like a big deal, but for me, it was. especially because I took up such a challenging schedule this year. I am feeling really proud of myself!

 

I have been pretty productive with my Autumn Bucketlist!

Doing all sorts of fun things and it really does feel like Fall:)

 

Gen Conf talks SAVE MY LIFE!

I've substituted the times I would listen to music with General Conference talks and I never want to go back. Now it's definitely my preference to listen to talks over music! My whole day is noticeably better and more uplifting. If I actually don't get to slip my headphones in and listen to a talk for two during the day I feel deprived of the spirit! It's amazing!!!

So I think I will leave you guys with my favorite talk of maybe all time, here.

 

All my love, Lauren. :)

 

 

 



Getting Down to Business

My life is kind of a mess haha. Literally.

I'm cleaning everything.

It seems like everyone in my family has been 10x busier than usual... and 10x messier..

Anyways I'm pretty sick of living in a pig-sty.

Today I washed all my bed sheets and comforter.

Got a mound of laundry done.

Cleaned every dish

Wiped off every counter what seemed to be 100x

Does anyone else notice that counters/tables cant stay clean?

And I yard saled and got rid of a bunch of junk.

I have a list of things I still need to get done.

Buuuuutttt, I thought if I blogged about it, someone might hold me accountable if I don't follow through with this project ;)

 

All my love, Lauren.

 

Ps. As a reward for cleaning and organizing everything in my life I am redecorating my room.

Yayyyyy!!

 



Autumn Is In The Air

So I woke up this morning and it was cold out.

Is this for reals?

Out here in Vegas the weather "cool-down" is a pretty big thing cause you know, it's like finally cool enough for us to go outside.

Anyways, I opened all the windows and doors and let that cool air blow right in,

and I have been in the fall mood ever since.

 

So during the summer I made a "Summer Bucketlist"

and it was SO MUCH FUN.

Whenever friends were bored they would call me up and asked what needed to be done on my list so we always had something to do.

It made me way more productive at accomplishing things, and I almost got all of it done!

So I thought, "Why not make a fall list?"

So I did.

 

Ya ya ya, I'm super cliché I know, but this is a Autumn Bucketlist after all, isn't it?

 

 

 

 

  Autumn  Bucketlist

Go to a pumpkin patch

Go to the orchard

Farmers Market

Carve pumpkins

Eat Smores

Bonfire

Fall Photoshoot

Haunted Houses

Make Chili

Have a Bonfire

Go shooting

Make a Fall craft

Picnic

Go on a nature walk/hike

Go to a football game

Bake pies and other fall goodies

Attend a fall festival

Go to Bonnie Springs/Petting zoo

Spend a day in the library

Scavenger Hunt

Harry Potter movie marathon

Make a pumpkin recipe

Go on a day trip

Service Project

Make bird food pinecones

Make a banner of things family is grateful for

‰Spring Autumn Cleaning

Scary stories

Feed ducks

Knit/Sew something

Paint something Fall inspired

Fall/Winter Garden

Make homemade Butter Beer

 

 

 

 

Feel free to use any ideas :)

Tis' the season!

All my love, Lauren.

A Super Duper Trippy Hippie Post

So ya know all that rain I was telling you we were getting?

Well today it produced the most insanely amazing full double rainbow and sunset.

I think I had a trippy hippie double rainbow moment, but that's ok because I think just about everyone did.

And it was totally trippy hippie moment worthy.

I don't think I have ever seen ANYTHING so beautiful in my entire life it was just incredible.

Let me explain for a moment.

Full on double rainbow that stretched from end to end in the sky.

AND IT WAS SO VIVID MY GOSH.

Ok haha now I'm sounding a little trippy hippie.

I will just show you some pictures because they will be able to show you way better then I could ever tell you.

 

 

 

 

It was beautiful.

I just laid in the grass during my run and marveled.

I may have even cried a little.

Oh my gosh this is all too embarrassing, but really guys I couldn't have been the only one.

It was a truly spiritual experience.

I am so grateful for this beautiful world God has created for me.

 

All my love, Lauren.

 

ps. Oh and btw if you don't get my "trippy hippie" reference go onto YouTube NOW, don't walk, run and go look up double rainbow hippie. Hilarious.

Playing Catch Up

I know, I know, this post is sooooo over due.

But, life is busy, and that's a good thing.

 

Anyways, I am a Junior now!

As lame as it sounds, I really do feel a ton older.

Although I am as positive as positive can be I want to go to BYUI filling out all the college recruit letters is really fun haha!

Makes me feel official ;)

The first 2 weeks of school were crazzzzzyyy.

It never fails, I always get "those" teachers.

The unorganized ones who are mean and scary that everyone in the school avoids at all possible costs.

Yup. Without fail, I always get um.

Buuuuuut, I got a couple *cough* 5 *cough* schedule changes and not things are looking pretty good.

I'm happy with it.

And the really great thing is now that all my friends are driving we go every Friday to get food after school

Haha. We call it Food Friday. I'm so clever.

So there's that. This year really is going to be a bundle of fun:)

 

 

 

And........ Joseph hit his 1 month mark!

Yayyyyy.

Here's a pre mish picture to commemorate.

But mostly because I am sad and miss my bestfriend and look at old photos way too much.

Enjoy!

 

This one is sooooo awkward haha I love it

 

 

 

 

Today in church they had the Laurels teach and the topic was virtue.

You know when you feel like you know what you want to say but then you get all emotional and flustered and it comes out all wrong?

Yea, hi. You are my people.

Trust me, I even had it all written down but between my messy hand writing and teary blurred vision I lost it all.

But, I've been periodically sobbing all day and think I have finally got my thoughts together,

hopefully I will get this out a little better.

And if not, well, I'll just delete it ;)
Ok. Virtue.

By definition it means behavior showing high moral standards.

But broken down and with lots of thought it means sooooo much more.

I feel like it's a constant topic in Young Women's class of you have to be prepared for your future husband which yayaya is great but honestly I am soooo sick of hearing.

Literally every time it is brought up I cringe a little, especially with the topic of virtue.

Maybe that's why I got flustered, because this lesson I prepared on virtue got tuned into a "Ladies, you have to be virtuous so you can find a virtuous guy" Then I look around and see all the mortified Beehive's faces.

To me, virtue is the ultimate quality of Christ.

Yes, you need to marry someone good. It is one of the (if not the) most important decisions in this Earthly life.

But so many people never get married, or like my Mom, you marry a good guy and he goes astray.

I could probably ask any woman, "Do you love your husband?" ... yes

"Is he the most perfect love for you?" .... yes

"When you married him did all the world become perfect, did every temptation go away, was there no more trial or suffering ever because you married the man of your dreams?" ...

HEEYYCK TO THE NO.

You could marry the prophet and still have struggles!

Look at Lehi and Sariah, he was the prophet! And did she still murmur? Yes.

Struggles and trials do not just go away because you are married to a great man.

This is where virtue comes in.

The MOST important relationship in your life should be the one you have with Heavenly Father and Christ.

And know this is all my opinion.

But I have shared with you guys multiple times how terrified I was that when Joseph left I felt like standing on my own would be hard.

-And it has been, but it has been the GREATEST blessing I do not think I am capable of explaining.

My testimony of The Atonement, Prophets, Book of Mormon, My Savior, God, has been elevated so much.

Through study of The Book of Mormon I have determined political views, and morals which will help me stand when the going gets rough.

It's The Book of Mormon that will help you become like Christ and obtain virtue, not a husband.

This topic was obviously for me because I learned so much.

 

 

 

 

I feel bad ending this post on such a heavy note so it's been really rainy and wet here and I enjoy that.

I stopped running for about a month, then started back up to train with a friend for a race, and phew it's hard getting back into it haha, but I love running!

I went out early Saturday morning and ran up a mountain to see the sunrise, then I laid in the grass for a while pondering.

I know it totally sounds like I wasn't running much, but I ran a lot haha.

I just took advantage of the super peaceful moment and took a break.

Here are some photos I took while running!

 

 

Yes, Las Vegas really is just 1 big ol' dust hole.

But I kinda secretly love it.

 

 

All my love, Lauren.



A Lot To Say About Nothing

It's been an eventful week, and a difficult week.

And I have a lot to say, about nothing in particular.

Just a lot to say.

 

First of all, I had no idea how big of a cheese ball I am.

My humor, taste in movies, romance.

I am oh so cheesy.

And you know what?

No regrets.

I love being cheesy, I love watching romantic comedies in my pj's and crying in all the sad parts and practically jumping up and down cheering in all the kissing parts.

Yes. Now you all know.

I'm one of those girls, but ahhh do I love it.

So sweet!

 

 

McKenzie.

My best friend.

The one I go to with all my good and bad.

LET ME NOT EXAGGERATE WHEN I SAY I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE I WOULD BE WITHOUT HER.

She teaches me so much and she is so smart.

Probably the smartest person I have ever met.

And yesterday she left for college.

Uhh, it aches to say goodbye.

But Provo, you're lucky.

I've been saying goodbye a lot lately and I don't think I can take one more.

Here are some pictures of us, and my favorite memories with her.

And then the dreaded goodbye. :(

 

 

 

 

 

Being sick is awful.

I seem to have had EVERYTHING wrong with me lately.

Infections, cough, migraines, achiness, "that time of the month"

You name it, I've had it.

And accompanied by an awful rash was an awful sigh of depression.

I think I was just so sick and stressed out I lost my mind for a couple days there haha.

But with a trip to the temple and some support from great friends and family I made it through!

I'm just done with being sick.

Getting better and on the road to recovery!

 

I got this nifty planner and I am way too excited about it.

It's purple and has lilacs on the inside.

I has a monthly calendar and DAILY!

I keep looking at it and flipping through the pages and it brings me SO MUCH JOY.

LIKE I CAN'T EVEN. I'M SO HAPPY.

But I can't use it until the 2014.

Life is hard.

 

Advice Corner: Everything happens for a reason.

I know I'm a broken record and it's so cliché but seriously guys.

Everything. Happens. For. A. Reason.

I'll share something personal.

This week 2 am I was miserable.

One of the worst pains I have ever experienced.

It was physical, emotional, physiological, spiritual pain.

Everything ached I can't even explain.

And I prayed and felt pretty angry.

I didn't feel relief when all I wanted was comfort.

But I needed to feel that pain.

Gosh I had to, because the very next day I experienced the most beautiful miracle that I would have never been able to witness if I hadn't survived the pain from the night before.

God answers all prayers, but He has His own timetable.

Trust in it.

Endure it.

And He is waiting to bless you.

My testimony burns tonight.

1 Nephi 20:10

Alma 40: 23

 

Phew writing that took a lot out of me.

I look at the title of my post and laugh because it should probably say

"A Lot To Say About Everything"

but I'm too lazy to change it :);)

So oh well

All my love, Lauren :)

 

 



He Hears My Prayers

Heavenly Father hears my prayers, and He answers me.

Gosh I have no idea how this is all going to come out!

So I will just be blunt and get on with it.

 

Elder Joseph Rosequist.

Not a day goes by I don't miss him, but today I reeeeaaalllllyyyy missed him

The past couple days I participated in an eagle project and a private school in town and it was great, but the whole weekend my heart ached and missed him.

We have so many memories there.

We did an eagle project there last year, and he used to go to that school so there's pictures of him on like every wall..... Or it just seemed like there was.

Anyways, the past couple days I've just missed him.

I've wished he was here.

I'm so proud of him serving a mission, but who wants to say goodbye to a great friend for 2 years?

So last night I prayed.

I prayed I could feel close to him and receive comfort.

I prayed that I could have peace and more than anything just a connection with him.

So I went to church like normal and it was a great day.

I came home and napped and then made dinner for the missionaries coming over.

Our Elders just transferred and we got Sister missionaries!

It was our first Sunday with them(and my first time ever meeting them)

And for some CRAZY reason, I felt prompted to ask if one of the sisters had ever met Elder Rosequist. (She just got out of the MTC)

AND SURE ENOUGH....

 

Yes! She had met Joseph!

AHHHHHHHHHHH

They sat next to eachother at orientation and had met again in the mail room!

And of course she told me allllll about how great and impressed by him she was.

I told y'all he would be the best missionary.

And we talked about him, and it was just what I needed.

It was just what God knew I needed.

I know for a fact that this was an answer to my prayers!

It was just so cool.

 

And that's not the only answer I have got to prayers lately.

It's everything.

It's in every breathe.

In every step I can see The Lord's hand in my life.

There's a short poem here that I love.

It totally describes my life lately.

I am what He gives me, and I am so grateful that He has been so generous.

 

All my love, Lauren.

 

 

Music To My Ears

I seriously love music.

I know, who doesn't?

But today I just felt like publicly giving thanks for it.

I don't express my gratitude enough, especially for all the little things that I love so much.

Like lavender, dusk and dawn, the lines on the carpet after vacuuming.

But especially music today.

I mean, it's pretty much what has gotten me through this past month of my life.

And I like all music, even though I consider myself a country music junkie.

I love some good Broadway, MoTab, and Metal too.

I pretty much can find music in any genre that I like...... with the exception to rap.

But hey, I'm not close minded to it. If I hear some rap that I like-well, I guess I will like it.

Anyways, here's the playlist I have most recently set my life to.

I will put a star by the really really good stuff ;) but check it all out if your heart desires!

 

*Better- Maggie Rose

Foundations- Kate Nash

*Give It All We've Got Tonight-George Strait

*Love Is Alive-Phil Vassar

***Breathe-Taylor Swift

Dust to Dust-The Civil Wars

Hero-Skillet

*Home-Blake Shelton(or look up the Micheal Buble version)

Mr.Mom-Lonestar

Somewhere Only We Know-Keane

*Amazed-Lonestar

*****Gravity-Sara Bareilles

 

All my love, Lauren.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Goodbye Arizona

This past weekend I got to spend in Arizona with the best family anyone could ever ask for.

Grandma and Grandpa, all the cousins, Aunts and Uncles.

It was such a great mini family reunion.

I flew back home yesterday and ever since my heart has ached.

I know I'm only a state a way and an hour flight, but they feel so far.

And I'm a bit jealous all my cousins get to grow up together, date together, go to school with one another and be best friends.

I'm feeling a little like the forgotten relative over here, but oh well.

I wouldn't trade all my friends and cool people I've met here in dusty ol' Nevada for anything.

But I do want to share with you all some picture of my wonderful time in Arizona.

It really was wonderful.

 

This is my sister Lindsey and I on that super rickety and scary plane. It was making all sorts of really freaky noises.

 

This is what I come home to in Arizona. Miles and miles of strait up farm land, cows, and tractors.

 

This is me holding a 1700nFrench style musket complete with bayonet. This was soooooo cool.

 

That's my really great sun burn I got after only being in Arizona a day.

It was totally worth it though because I floated the river with my cousins and we all got crispy burnt together.

 

Here are all the older cousins playing BS together. I think I have FINALLY discovered how you win.

I can thank my cousin Trevor for the helpful tip.

He's the cute toe head blonde sitting closest to the camera on the right hand side.

 

This is the sunset on the last day. So pretty.

And this has nothing to do with my trip to Arizona, but just a picture of Lindsey and I doing a late night shave ice run. Oh and my dog Roxy. See if you can spot her!

 

 

So I'm really really bummed we spent the whole weekend having so much fun that we forgot to take a big group family picture. Grrrrr, I'm going to be kicking myself for that one forever!

Not to mention the really bad quality of the pictures in this post.

Curse my shaking hand!

Oh well, nothing to do about it now!

But all in all my weekend get away was just what I needed.

I miss my family.

I love my family.

And with that being said I will return again soon.

 

All my love, Lauren.