Here I am in Provo!

Hello folks, sorry I haven't posted in a while. :)

Well, here I am, where I feel I was told to go, where I feel I need to be, in good old Provo, UT, living at Glenwood with five other girls in a BYU ward.

My application to transfer to BYU is completed, now I just have to wait a couple of months to find out if I am accepted. Some people have asked me what I am going to do if I don't get in...I honestly don't know. It is hard to imagine going back to BYU-Idaho after the experience I had where Heavenly Father told me to come here. We will cross that bridge when we come to it but for now I am loving life, having faith, and praying every night that everything will happen the way it is supposed to.

I am loving my new life here. This ward is full of amazing people and very social, it is lots of fun. Being a "new" person has been kind of weird since I have never been that before. I have only been new when everyone else was new too, so meeting all these new people and making all these new friends has been fun and interesting. Also, the weirdest thing happened. I was told by a couple of people that I come off as intimidating. WHAT?!?! Anyone who knows me knows that I love all people, you can come to me for help with anything, and I love making new friends. When I heard this I was shocked and a little bit crushed. Inside my brain I am a very kind and easy going person, I guess I need to make sure to be that way on the outside even when I am feeling quiet and shy.

Life is great. The church is true! Speaking of which, one of the residents at the Charleston (where I am so blessed to be working full-time right now) told me that I need to pray again about going on a mission because he is convinced I am supposed to serve. Hahah, it was cute. Of course I am open to whatever the Lord wants me to do, but I still feel like I need to be focusing on my education and keep doing what I am doing right now. :)

New Adventures

It has been a while since I last blogged, but not because I haven't had anything exciting or important going on in my life. Lots has been going on and life is full of new experiences.

I graduated from BYU-Idaho with my Associate's degree. I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted to do the whole cap and gown ceremony thing, but I am really glad I did. It gave me a really wonderful sense of closure as I left BYU-I. I am so grateful for the 5 semesters I attended there. I learned so much about myself, life, the gospel, and of course Child Development (my major).

I came back to Utah and bought a car. a '99 Toyota Carolla for $2,000. Her name is Mahidable Saphira Jones. I quite like her.

I have been moving all my stuff into my apartment in Provo. I am so excited to room with my dear friend Heather and to get to know my 4 other roommates as well. 

I love my Dad! He came to pick me up from Rexburg and support me at my graduation.

Life is so very good. I am learning that happiness is in the right now. If you live your life waiting for the next stage, you will wish your life away. There is magic in this moment. The past is behind you, the future isn't here yet, live today.

Also, I saw Les Miserables with my family on Christmas Day and then again on New Year's Eve with my wonderful friend Amanda. I love it! I am a huge Les Miz fan and I absolutely loved the movie. 

I loved playing the part of Fantine in my High School's production. Seeing the movie brought back so many memories and reminded me why I love the story so much. It is all about mercy, redemption, and Christlike love. 

Also, my 17-year-old brother Evan is my very favorite person. Today he helped me move a bunch of my stuff down to Provo and then we went out to lunch together. He is so fun to talk to and laugh with and I love his guts!

Life is good. :)

A tip for finals, and for life:

If you work hard, it will be easy; if you work easy, it will be hard.

Our Christmas and some other things.

My cute roommates, our two favorite (yup, we definitely play favorites) FHE brothers, and I decided a little while ago that for us and our love, December 9th would be Christmas. We have a cute little tree set up and it had lots of fun little presents under it that we got for each other. We made two yummy kinds of soup and ate them all cozy and then opened our presents. I figured out that I could MAKE a cute infinity scarf, so that is what I gave my roommate Aubrey, as well as a manly one for my FHE brother Parker. Here is a picture of Aubrey's, it turned out quite fabulous, I must say! (We love mustard yellow at our house.)

I also made a crocheted headband to match it. 

FUNNIEST story. When Parker unwrapped his present (an infinity scarf) he exclaimed, "An eternity robe!!!!" We aren't letting him live it down. 

I liked my outfit today. I wore the cute denim shirt my good friend Alee gave me for Christmas, and the darling Anthropology belt my roommate Emily gave me. I felt so very spoiled!

Our mirror was dirty when this picture was taken...don't judge.

In case you are wondering, I should definitely be studying for finals right now...this is what happens when I try to do homework in my apartment instead of at the Library.

So...I am really excited to move to Provo. These last couple of weeks have been a teensie tiny bit scary. I won't find out if I am actually accepted to go to school at BYU until February, but I am moving there anyway. It feels kind of like a gamble, even though I know I shouldn't be so worried because I have a high GPA. I just feel like a little bit of a leap of faith is being required of me. But it's ok!!! Everything will work out the way it is supposed to, I just know it!

I also feel so strongly that I need to go there. At first I was planning on just living at home during Winter semester before moving to Provo in the summer, but I just feel so strongly and undeniably pulled to Provo, obviously I don't know why. I am excited for this new adventure!

This was kind of a rambly post, I apologize.

Tonight we had a ward closing dinner/talent show and I sang "Part of Your World." When I sat down afterwards my roommates held up a plastic fork and said I should have used it as my "dinglehopper." Is it weird that I wish I would have?

Nuggets

Thanksgiving break was lovely. I love being with my family as well as with my second family at the Charleston Assisted Living Community where I have worked for over 4 years. Lots of love, lots of food, and countless spiritual confirmations that completely uprooting and rearranging my life to move to Provo and transfer to BYU is the right thing to do. Of course I have moments where I ask myself "Why am I doing this? It doesn't make any sense! It's crazy!" But it just feels so right. I was talking to my mom the day after I realized it was what I need to do and I told her that the scariest part is that I don't feel scared.

I wanted to share a couple of nuggets with you. Little nuggets of truth/inspiration/encouragement.

Heavenly Father loves to bless you. Sometimes He just wants to tell you He loves you.

Fear is not a companion of mine.

Christ makes up the difference.

The comfort and aid of regular scripture study helps us endure to the end.

If God doesn't give you what you want then it isn't what you need.

Put your trust in the Lord, He will never let you down.

"Lead me in the truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day." (Psalms 25:5)

Obedience isn't always easy or comfortable, but in the end it will make you happy.

"You deserve to sit fully in your brightest, most beautiful self." ~Stephanie Lee (my beautiful sister!)

Christ's message is the miracle of change.

It is important to feed your Spirit every day.

When you have a problem, ask God--He knows what to do!

Think about the things you want to change in your life, then ask, then see how the Savior helps you overcome.

I hope at least one of those helped you out a little bit. :) Have a wonderful day!

Guide My Footsteps

Oh my goodness gracious. The last week of my life has blown my mind. I am talking about the big change that I mentioned a couple of posts ago. Here is the story

So this semester is my 5th at BYU-Idaho. I have loved it so much. This semester though I was feeling perhaps a little bit, hmmm, like nothing at all was happening in my life? I am not sure how to describe it other than to say that my life consisted of my classes and my church calling and that's basically it. I felt somewhat empty inside. I was doing everything I could to live life to the fullest, and I was still enjoying every day, but it definitely felt like not everything was as it should be.

Last Sunday, I was sitting in the BYU-Idaho center next to my FHE brothers waiting for the Boise Temple dedication to start. My dear FHE brother Parker and I were talking about school and he told me that he had been considering transferring to BYU in Provo. The strangest thing happened. It was almost as if I heard myself saying "I want to do that too." At first I was a bit taken aback by myself since this really wasn't something I had been thinking about at all! The dedication started then and I will always remember how strongly and undeniably the Spirit spoke to me personally during that meeting. I knew that transferring to BYU was what I was supposed to do. I will treasure that day forever.

After that I jumped right into making plans and basically rearranging my entire life. It has been crazy. I assumed that I would continue at BYU-I for winter semester and then start at BYU in the fall, but it turns out that if I do that I will have too many credits to transfer. At first this seemed like an obstacle, but everything has fallen into place for me to move to Provo and work during winter semester.

I have been amazed to see the Lord's hand working in my life this past week. Transferring from a school where I have scholarships and am 3 semesters away from my Bachelor's to a brand new place seems crazy, but I know without a doubt that this is the direction I am supposed to take. So many things have worked out miraculously for me; I know the Lord is watching over me and helping me get to where I need to be.

It feels amazing to know something as strongly as I know I am supposed to move and transfer. Already from this experience I have learned so much about myself and about the Lord's constant care for me.

I know that He is guiding my footsteps. :)

Kinda Lame

Someday, one of you cutsie bloggers should teach me how to make my blog look cool.