I love Seattle!

I have been to Seattle 3 times, and ABSOLUTELY love it... here are some of my favorite pictures.

Polar Bears :)

Mostly I just love Polar Bears... they are my favorite animal and I would love to have one some day! Haha... I was watching a show on T.V. the other day called "Fatal Attraction" and there was a story about this little old lady who used to feed the bears outside her cabin because she loved them so much- and well they ended up killing her BUT my point is that in order to prevent this from happening I will find a polar bear cub and raise it myself so that it will love me and never kill me! DONE. :) Hahaha!

Who I Am & Who I Want To Become

When I reflect back on my life, particularly the last 3 years I am almost shocked to see the growth and the change that have happened in my life. I am not nearly the same person now as I was three years ago. My life has taken leaps and bounds forward. I have grown so much. I owe a lot of that to my mission, but also some difficult experiences I have had in the past 3 1/2 years that have changed me, it's incredible. I went from a wishy-washy young woman who's life was in a tailspin and I was never sure which direction I was going to a faith-filled confident woman who has her priorities in life straight. I want to continue to be a better person, so that I can be the kind of woman that Heavenly Father needs me to be. A bright light is on the horizon of my future and I want to be a light that others can look to and follow. I want people to know that I live the gospel because it radiates from who I am. I want to become a righteous mother who is firm in what she believes and is known for her great love. I really just want to be whoever God needs me to be and hope that I can live up to His plans for me in this life.

Love Language

I took the love language quiz and found out that I am highest on quality time, with physical touch second. I learned while taking this quiz that I don't really need gifts like some people do. I know people care about me when they want to spend time with me. It was interesting because I was talking to my friend Blake about this, I had text him the day before and asked why he "hated me" haha because we never do anything. Well Blake found out that I am all about quality time and realized that I asked him why he "hated me" because we never spent any time together. I am all about the quality time, it is such a big deal for me. When people don't spend time with me I really do assume they just don't care about me and don't care to spend time with me. Which is not a big deal for me, it just means I spend less time on building that friendship/relationship. Interesting.

And Nothing Shall Offend Them

Elder David A. Bednar
"When we believe or say we have been offended, we usually mean we feel insulted, mistreated, snubbed, or disrespected. And certainly clumsy, embarrassing, unprincipled, and mean-spirited things do occur in our interactions with other people that would allow us to take offense. However, it ultimately is impossible for another person to offend you or to offend me. Indeed, believing that another person offended us is fundamentally false. To be offended is a choice we make; it is not a condition inflicted or imposed upon us by someone or something else."

I love that Elder Bednar mentions that when we are offended it is by our own choice. We all have our agency and no matter the situation, we can choose to be offended by what is happening, by what others say, or whatever else it may be. It is almost empowering to know that we have the CHOICE to be offended or not. Sometimes we feel like we have the right to take offense, but I know that our lives are much more richly blessed when we choose not to be offended by what others might say or do.

Jamie Wheeler

It has been really good to take this class and look at my relationship with my sister Jamie, it used to be a challenging (not in a bad way) relationship and she still challenges me, but it makes me a better person. It makes me look at my life in a different way, and I can really appreciate that now whereas I didn't before. I am grateful for what I've learned about communication this semester and how it has strengthened the relationship that I have with my sister, I feel a lot more love for her and we are a lot closer. I can share pretty much everything with her!

Ariel Belnap

It was interesting this semester to see how the relationship I have with Ariel went in ups and downs. We would spend a lot of time together, then get busy, and then spend a lot of time together again. Overall I am excited to be living in the same room with her next semester so even when we're busy we'll be able to see each other more than we do now. I just love Ariel and I definitely feel like we have built up a strong friendship this semester. I am glad that I could learn about communication this semester and how to make our relationships with other people stronger.