Well, I did it! I moved out to the land of mountains, mormons, and mollies. I can't believe I'm here. For the record, I said I would never move to Mormon Mecca, but frankly, a boy changes all that! I'm living out here in Logan preparing to marry a wonderful man named Quinn Thomson! I have a beautiful dress, ring, and preparing decorations! Oh I am excited for my willow arch!I'm thoroughly excited to have an apartment, just Quinn and I. Where we can sit on the couch and he can do homework and I can read my scriptures, journal, or crochet. To just be us, no roommates, sounds glorious. So, I interviewed for a position as a manager for a scout shop here in Logan, and I just got a job working nights at Bed Bath and Beyond! :) I'm very excited to get things up and running here in Logan and to get a routine. My roommates are super super nice! I actually really don't mind our apartment. We have a TV to watch movies on, our church bench couch is actually comfortable, and I love Kelsey, my actual roommate! She is super sweet! Our room is small but I dont really need much more for now. I'm going to take some stuff back to blackfoot though this weekend, and I definitely NEED hangers! Donations anyone????
So tomorrow I have a second scout shop interview and on Friday I go to Bed Bath and Beyond to set up my schedule and hours!!!! :) and I found a Elk reserve that I can volunteer at teaching school groups about Elk and feeding them. Overall, things are moving right along here in Logan. I even made a Pinewood Derby Mosquito Batmobile last night at FHE and we're going to have an "over the weight limit" race next week at FHE :) So if you want to come to the wedding out here let me know and I'll get you an invitation, but there will be an open house and a reception in Chicago in August! See you all soon!

I'm Back!

Hi! So here I am back from Camp. I loved it so much out there. There was almost no cell service and with working 19 hour days, I truly was able to connect with my friends, the scouts, and my Heavenly Father! it was incredible. There were pine trees everywhere and mountains. We went on night hikes, honor trail, OA ceremonies. I slept outside under the stars! It was one of the hardest experiences I have had, but definitely the best. Between the squirrel landing on my pillow at 5:30 am and sleeping with four sleeping bags b/c of desert temperatures, it was difficult at times. But by far, the experience was one of the most meaningful and influential in my life. I feel like i'm on the right path. Everything works and I have become so passionate about scouts. I met some of my best friends. I became so close with them. I learned to love sleeping outside (I'm currently havingproblems sleeping inside and past 5:30). I did polar bear in the mornings...a frigid 5:30 am dip in a 45 degree river and reciting the scout oath and law.

There are so many stories and memories that I can hardly recount them. The biggest things I've learned are:

1. Don't worry about what other people think, do your job and be accountable to yourself and the people that matter
2. PATIENCE
3. To appreciate quiet and the nature around me in the few moments that I had
4. Self confidence: I am smart, kind, and a hard worker. I am beautiful and worth love. I did a wonderful job this summer and will continue to in the future.
5. To trust people. They will help you. They will be there for you. THey will not leave you alone.
6. The temple has become my home. I feel so at peace and happy when I walk in the door. My home was always changing, it
Now I'm home. Though I would rather be out west, I am happy to see my family and friends. I came home and, bless their >hearts, they have taken care of me. I have had places to go and people to see every day that I've been home. I walked into the temple and felt so loved. Each place I go, there are people there who have missed me and love me. It's been a wonderful experience, despite the fact that I miss the west so much.

I am so grateful that I was able to expand my experience and knowledge. I love the west and it has become another home for me...it even feels more like home than chicago. One day I will make it back there. Hopefully sooner, rather than later. But one day, I will go home. For now, home is where I am. Home is where my friends, family, and ultimately Lord are....and it will be a joy either way.

Camp

Hi Y'all! So it's been insane here in Idaho. I truly have been on facebook for minutes at a time and have not really been on a computer, so sorry for the delay! Well, the hour is upon us when I shall depart for camp! Tomorrow at 6:30am I get to meet everyone I'll be working with for the duration of the summer! So for this, my last post before camp, I'll do two lists: 1. What I've learned thus far in the west and 2. My favorite parts.

Thus far in the west I have learned:

1. My Heavenly Father loves me so much. I need to trust him. He hears my prayers. Even in the bottom of a canyon next to a mountain, he still cares

2. I am a city girl who thinks she's country! No matter how country I thought I was in Chicago, I am city out here

3. I just need to be myself and people will love me.

4. The spirit felt in the Naperville YSA can be brought alive anywhere if I am willing to bring it! The Salt Lake YSA was so welcoming and inviting and loving! They invited me to do things with them, it was wonderful! But I had to be friendly for the first five minutes...it can be anywhere if you bring that spirit of unity and inclusiveness and friendship with you!

5. The culture is very different, but people are people. We all feel hurt, happy, sad, loved, lonely...it exists everywhere...even in "zion".

6. It's important to be forgiving, even when you don't want to.

7. To go with the flow...sort of...I still love plans :(

8. I am beautiful, intelligent, kind, and loving...and worthy and capable of being loved in return.

9. It's ok to let other people take care of you when you are sick, or alone, or even just don't have a ride to the grocery store. They are blessing your life with their service, and God will bless theirs....so let them be blessed and be humble enough to accept help.

10. AND Eating healthy feels so good as compared to heavy foods! The Lord will bless us in following the word of wisdom, not only for what we don't do but for what we DO! Be active in your life! Follow him, don't expect him to stand still! He doesn't work that way...it's a very active pursuit to keep up with Heavenly Father and the Holy Ghost! They are heading for your future...you just have to keep up! Don't just pray...DO! And do whatever it is JOYFULLY!

My favorite parts were:


1. Mill Creek Canyon

2. Lake Jenny, Grand Teton National Park

3. Driving through the cornfield with Tiffany to see the Ghost swing and abandoned silos

4. Eating lunch with the Bison at Yellowstone

5. Hiking along the rapids through the snow and rain at yellowstone

6. Journaling in Porter park in Rexburg

7. Little Lemhi scout camp training....SOOOOOOOOO Much fun!!! Oh my goodness, I wish I had pictures! It was so much fun!

8. Salt Lake YSA

9. BBQ with Bethany and Tom

10. Backstage Rooftop Garden Tour on the roof of the conference center...this is what happens when you have an awesome guide who knows you're a tree hugger

11. Talking with the sister missionaries at the visitors center...and then seeing sister nion at the conference center and already having someone in salt lake to hug

12. Going to the Church history Library and helping them believe and find the impossible find!

13. Finding my Great-great-great-grandparents marriage in a parrish record book on micro-film at the family history library!

14. Meeting so many wonderful new people and friends

15. Getting to see all my friends I haven't seen in forever

It's been a whirlwind here in UT and ID but I've learned soooo much. It's been like coming home! Well, this is my last post for a while. I'm off to church and then to Idaho falls for a night and tomorrow's camp. I'm nervous and excited. It's going to be a rough ride for the first few weeks, but I'm in for the summer of my life! Once I learn to kayak well :) and I lose my city girl attitude and become a country river rat!

Next saturday I may not be able to post, not sure about internet, so until next time...Love God, Love yourself, and Love you neighbor....and SMILE! I love you all!

Goodbye Utah

Unfortunately, my time here in SLC is coming to a close. Tonight, I went up to a place called Mill Creek Canyon. We had a bonfire and made peanut butter smores and watched as the sun set over the mountains. I was able to go to the church history library, family history library, the information center, and the conference center. I got to take an extended tour of the garden atop the conference center b/c they found out how much I loved plants! I had the pleasure of learning the complexities of the building and seeing beautiful original works of art. There is so much beauty here in Salt Lake. As I sat, scared about my future, I looked up at the stars and realized I am protected, loved, and on the right path. I have met so many loving people. I was priveleged enough to go to a benefit concert for the phillipines, play fast and furuious uno, a garden BBQ, and watch many many movies! It was wonderful to get lost in microfilm looking at my great-great-great grandma and grandpa's marriage record in the parrish book! I loved amazing the people at the church history library, finding info they deemed impossible to find! It made their day apparently! I loved being at the benefit with so many people that I didn't know, but feeling like a part of it! Best of all, I love the fact that people here care about me! People who barely meet me, seem to care...and people I've come to visit really care! I felt like family here and I am so grateful for that! Tomorrow I go to the Singles ward here in SLC, an adventure in and of itself! I will for sure write about that! lol...Overall, it has been a very successful adventure here in SLC! It's beauty as we drove up the mountain tonight moved me to tears. I felt so close to my heavenly father tonight up there on the mountain next to a stream, sitting in a canyon,
staring up through the trees at the stars....and He still saw me there! Alone in the bottom of a canyon, He still sees me, knows me, loves me, comforts me, and protects me! I am so grateful to be here! On OUR adventure!

UTAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm finally here in Salt Lake City Utah!!!! And it's soooo pretty! The Mountains,flowers, the temple, the weather, the people, even the traffic! I've been staying with my friend's family and they are absolutely wonderful. It's been a great chance to slow down and relax. I have a cold, so it's been a forcable slow down, but a much needed one nonetheless. I have been so anxious lately but from the time I stepped off the plane, my heart has been at peace. I feel like my journey is finally beginning and I am finally where the Lord wants me! Its a wonderful feeling! I've
gotten to see several friends and some of downtown salt lake. I laid on the grass under the temple and felt the breeze blow by. It truly brought peace to my soul...as if I didn't have a care in the world. Its been beautiful weather and b/c it snowed on monday, the mountains are unusually snowy and majestic for this time of year. I'm getting all my necessities for camp and pretty soon get to go do baptisms for my ancestors! It's so exciting! I also get to meet the family of one of my elder's and get to see the elder who baptized me for the first time in a year! I got to hang out with Karina and watch tangled, made homemade muffins with Bethany and her sister,
have had wonderful gospel centered conversations and I feel like I'm learning and growing so much already. On the plane on the way here, a gentleman asked if I was mormon, and I replied, "Yes". It was the beginning of a new identity. I can be mormon, I don't have to be catholic, I don't have to be who I was! I get to start brand new and embrace my identity as a mormon...no questions asked! I can leave all my negative drama at home and go up to camp, happy, healthy, mormon, and ready to learn!

Learning

So you have to learn to crawl before you walk, and walk before you run...but no one talks about how many bumps and bruises and tears are shed as you fall before you walk, and while you walk and while you run. In this picture, I was able to hike in the sacred grove and the connection to nature and walking there was one of the most amazingly spiritual experiences I have ever had. Tonight, Nova wanted me to share my testimony of walking, however, I was unable to attend FHE, so here it is!

Almost two years ago, I enrolled in an environmental education class. It involved walking over the summer for three hours a day twice a week, in hot and humid forest preserves. After that, i went back to college, then an internship at a nature center where I hiked two-three miles a day and emptied fish tanks and cleaned, then I walked 5-7 miles a day at the zoo over the summer, then as a nanny I would walk with the kids for up to two hours a day, and currently I walk 1-2 hours a day around my block. I have lost 40 lbs in the last two years. I have reversed my insulin resistance, retrained my metabolism, and have found peace and joy in walking outdoors. I love being able to do things with much more ease than before and the more I do, the easier it is! I am able to fully enjoy the body I have been given. I am more flexible and it makes my day easier. I will be able to keep up with my job, dogs, and eventually kids and family! I want to be the best person I can be and I now feel that I can achieve that goal. I testify that walking outdoors and small daily exercise can help bring you closer to your heavenly father if you allow it to be a spiritually building experience. He will help you as you define a definite goal. As you enjoy the earth and body God has gifted us, you will come to find great joy in small exercise and it becomes a lifestyle, not a task.

I am taking a kayaking class to get some things down before I move this summer. I am using it as a spiritually and temporally building experience. Its teaching me so much physically, but it's giving me a spiritual base because I am following the Lord's plan for me. It's physically tiring, but also emotionally tiring. I am having trouble believing in myself. But as I keep going, I know that I will do well. We learned paddle strokes tonight and I never did well enough for me. I am beginning a strength and endurance regiment tomorrow. I am rather excited, but a little nervous. So much change in my life...positive change, but its still nerve wrecking! Plus, the fact that I was able to meet someone who worked at the camp really gave me a positive attitude about it. It is fast approaching and I am super excited! I hear its beautiful. All I know is, I'm going to come back in better shape than I have ever been in before! The best part about this is that I am following the Holy Ghost and I know because of that, I will be fine. He will not lead me astray!

The Last picture is me on top of the hill Kamora. I was able to hike up the historic path up the hill and trapse throught the same path that Joseph may have taken long ago. I am so privaledged to have been capable of making the trek.

CHANGING TOPICS: Today I heard on the news about a boy in Virginia...I think...That gave up speaking for Lent. I thought about the discipline that he had. He is only 13 years old. For 40 days, he has not and will not speak. Easter Sunday, his first words will be "thankyou God! I can speak!" He is only 13 and the faith, dedication, and love of God, is absolutely awe inspiring. One day, I hope that I can have that much dedication to my faith. There are so many wonderful people in this world! I hope I get to meet and hear of more of them.

Final thought for the day, there was a new member who came into my church. He was very friendly but I only spoke to him several times and very light conversation. One day, he told me that I made him so happy and he just loved me. And I asked him why. and he said it was because i was such a happy person all the time and that if he was in a bad mood he just thinks, what am i doing? Lisa wouldn't be happy. However, I am not happy all the time. But this helped me realize that you never know who is watching and so it is so important to be your best self and the best example as you possibly can be.

General Conference

This past thursday Bishop Clements in his infinite wisdom told me to take notes on conference and that we would discuss them. Well I misunderstood and thought he wanted me to give a presentation. So Friday night I made my new journal and went to the stake center saturday until 3:45 and then went to work. I got up and watched the rest of general conference saturday session and then went to the stake center for sunday session. I learned several amazing things.
1. The Holy Ghost comes to you in your preparation sometimes more strongly than in the message itself. Preparing the journal Friday night I had many of my questions answered.
2. If you go in with questions, he can answer them in your preparation and converence. And even further confirm the answers you get time and time again. Questions...Ask and you shall receive, but you have to ask.
3. The Holy Ghost talks to us in many different ways. It doesn't have to be a blinding light or physical feeling of peace. He can talk through others and either just coincidences that are tender mercies. And that is ok. As your faith grows, if you look back, You will see Christ everywhere! And the fact that it is not a blinding light does not mean you are unworthy.
4. Rome was given back to me. When I left the catholic faith, i had a great love for Rome, as my holy city, and I felt as if it was not my home anymore. But with the temple coming to Rome I feel as if I can go there and look at history of my ancestors and the history that made me who I am...But still have a home for who I have become.
5. We need to help the poor! By helping people with their temporal needs we are being Christ's hands. And they will often help us more than we help them.
6. Women are the heart of the Church. You could see it in their faces and hear it in their voice. The love that they, the general authorities, have for us, radiated from pore. I could feel how much they love and respect us. I've never felt so honored and so respected as by the general authorities. It was inspiring.
7. I learned of the joy that comes with marriage and a family and I desire that joy.
8. And my testimony of President Monson, as the prophet of the church, was strengthened greatly! He is a prophet, I felt as if he saw and spoke just to me. It was the same presence, love, and intuition with the other general authorities. I felt as if they saw into my soul. Each one was better than the next!
9. 272,000 people apporoximately were new converts in the year 2010. I am one of those! I am so lucky and so grateful.

Conference was amazing! The preparation created in me an attitude of humility. I felt the presence of the spirit so strongly. I am so grateful for Thomas S. Monson. I wanted to reach through and hug him. I am so grateful for a bishop who cares for me so much. I'm grateful for the peace the spirit brings when you don't think you can have peace. I am grateful for promptings from the spirit because his path for me is better than anything I could plan. I am so happy and thankful for my testimony and for this wonderful church. I am grateful that I was being prepared my whole life, that my testimony was not a shock. That I was able to join. That my family supported me. There is so much to be grateful for in this, the year in which I made the best decision i've ever made.

On top of this being such an amazing conference because of the preparation I did, the Peace, comfort and spirit I felt, and The amazing family of 8 that I got to sit with, it was also one year ago, April 3, 2010, that I consented to be baptized three weeks from that day. I was baptized on April 24, 2010...My year mark is Easter Sunday this year! April 3, 2011, was also the one year anniversary of my grandmother's death. The picture was taken just before her funeral last year in front of the house my dad grew up in. Its my cousins, sister, and me.

Her remembrance Card says:

God hath not promised skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through.
God hath not promised sun without rain,
joy without sorrow, peace without pain.
But God hath promised strength for the day,
rest for the labor, light for the way.
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love.

She is proud of me. I know that. And how fitting is this prayer. She understood the law of opposites before I did. Her death helped solidify my testimony of the church. She was sick, but her death was quicker than expected. All that was thrown at me, the further I fell, the more I looked forward to the day when the sun would shine more blindingly than ever before. I was plunged into darkness but I have seen that sun many times over...and she...she is in a place flooded with light. Thankyou Grandma.