I love Sundays!

Sunday Favorites:

Going to church--playing piano for primary

Writing a letter to my wonderful missionary, Elder Matthew Parks

Going for a walk in the woods when the weather permits it

Taking a bunch of pictures

Listening to hymns

Planning out my week

Writing in my journal

Watching home videos

Reading blogs

Watching classic movies (The Sound of Music, Anne of Green Gables, Singin' in the Rain, Belles on their Toes, etc. Yes I have quite of collection of the old classics.)

Today I wrote a letter to Matthew-- part of it during Sharing Time in primary, and the other part while I was sitting on our unfinished deck, enjoying the beautiful weather. Writing letters outside is one of the greatest feelings. I could feel the spirit while I was writing, and being out in nature seemed to clear my mind from other unimportant things and allowed me to write what I felt was a uplifting, encouraging, and happy letter. The ideas of what to write about just kept flowing and it was amazing! I definitely recommend writing a letter outside next time, or just doing anything outside that you would normally do sitting in your house. It really makes a huge difference-- or at least it does to me.

I also went for a walk around our house, or in other words-- the woods, since that's what surrounds our house. We also have a creek that I took some pictures of as well.

This might not really go with the whole theme of Sunday, but I need to tell you what I got in the mail yesterday!! On my way out to go to work, I stopped at the mailbox and inside there was a pink bubble mailer address to me, from my Elder Parks. (Now comes the super happy feeling I felt inside), I got back in my car and took pictures of it, but I decided not to open it until I got home from work. Well, that wasn't the easiest thing since I worked a 7 hour shift, but I made it through, and when I got home and opened it, this is what was inside: a lovely letter, a huge Pokemon card, and a rear view mirror decoration that he had talked about making me for Christmas but didn't get it finished in time, so I guess he just saved it for V-day. On one side it has a picture of the SLC temple, and the other side has him with a scripture written underneath from Genesis 29:20--"And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her". It was absolutely perfect!

Ta-da! It's in my car now. 

Time to go to church-- I had to pose for a picture first. :)

I love Sunday outside time!

All comfy to write a letter to my favorite missionary. <3

"You don't take a photograph, you make it."

"I always make it a point to carry a camera with me at all times...I just shoot at what interests me at that moment"

Elliott Erwitt

New dress= take a picture! :)

Starting a new letter on the countdown! Month 16 has been going smoothly. 

Matthew will be getting this letter next week-- simple, but effective!

Gotta love Fridays... day off from work and running errands with two goofy siblings. :p

My awesome brother, my favorite all-star basketball player.

I'm pretty sure we're the all-star team's biggest fans and supporters. :) Go Habersham!!

Not a major difference, but I updated one of the walls in my bedroom with pictures of some of my favorite temples.

Maybe a letter today.....? We'll see.

V-Day: My Day

Yes, I called Valentine's Day, V-Day. As I've said before, it's just so much easier and more fun to say that way!

I noticed that many other Missionary Girlfriends were blogging about their day, which I find kind of ironic since none of us spent time with our sweethearts. But anyway, here is what I spent my day doing. 

This morning I drove down to Gainesville to take yet another test. I was scheduled to take it at 10am, but I guess the lady there thought she had me down for 11am. Since I had to wait about 30 minutes for someone else to finish up so that I could have my turn, I got to eat some of the sweets that were present for the students to have. (That was some good chocolate molten cake and punch!) I took my test in 20 minutes (the time limit is 2 hours), and passed with flying colors! It was probably the easiest test I've taken to this day. 

I called into work 2 hours early because it was really busy. At first I wasn't thrilled about having 2 whole hours taken out of my afternoon to be at work even longer than I had expected, but it turned out to be a good thing, because I got things done that helped me be ahead all night and not have to stress over anything one bit. Not only that, but I was just really happy and positive the entire time I worked and it was great.

When I got home my brother and sisters each had left a Valentine to me somewhere in my bedroom. It surprised me, but it really made my day.

Yep, that is what my day consisted of. I was disappointed at first that I didn't get even a letter from Matthew today, but then I realized I was being silly to feel that way. I know he loves me very much and I don't need some material thing to prove it to me. I feel it in my heart.

Overall, it was a wonderful day!

My Elder Parks

This might be a very short post, but I just could not skip out on the opportunity to tell you how much my missionary, Elder Matthew Parks, means to me.

Today marks 16 months he has been serving in the Idaho Pocatello Mission. Only 8 months left! 

With each and every day that passes, I am more and more convinced that Matthew is the one I am meant to be with. I compare almost every guy I come in contact with to him (sometimes without realizing it) and they just don't even come close. 

He is hilarious, has a good sense of humor, and knows exactly what to say to make me smile and even laugh.

He is respectful, caring, protective of me, and humble.

He is a sweet country boy. 

He is quite handsome.

He loves the Lord and puts his trust in Him.

He writes me letters! (Not just any guy will do that, mind you)

He makes me feel special.

He makes me the happiest girl in the world.

I love him with all my heart. <3

My 30 Day Photo Challenge

This post is dedicated to the pictures for my photo challenge. Here is the simple idea of this challenge: you have a list of 30 things, and each day you take a picture of one item on that list for those 30 days. 

Before I started this I thought it would be a lot of fun, as well as a good time to make month 15 go by quicker. :) Not only was it exciting and made the month fly by, but I had the best time really looking at my life and seeing what matters most to me through pictures. Not only is this a fun activity, but it's a wonderful exercise for just stepping back and looking at your life. For being grateful for the person you are, and for the exciting adventures you hope to have in the future. I had so much fun working on this challenge, and I would challenge you to take time to do this. 

So. It's time to show you what I've been keeping busy with over the last month. :)

Day 1: My favorite animal

I love pretty much any animal that is white, and I especially love swans. They don't usually come to people's minds when you ask, "What's your favorite animal?", but they are so special. They appear to me to be very pure and elegant, and I just love how two of them can make a heart with their necks. :)

Day 2: My dream home

There are TONS of houses that I love at first sight, but this one is a pretty good example of what I like. I big "must" is having a porch like this.

Day 3: My car

Here it is! My lovely 2002 Kia Sportage. :)

Day 4: The last book I read

A Surrendered Heart by Tracie Peterson & Judith Miller

(I really recommend any book by Tracie Peterson.)

Day 5: Something I would buy with a lot of money

I would buy a corvette, and I would want it to be a deep red color.

Day 6: My favorite color

PURPLE!!!

Day 7: My favorite place to eat

Since I work at Chick-fil-A and often eat the food there, I would say that this is where I like to eat.

Day 8: My favorite place to shop

 I love to shop for clothes.

Day 9: My famous person look-alike

This one was a bit hard for me, because there isn't a celebrity that I look just like. Back when the Harry Potter movies were new, I was told that I looked like Hermione... so I guess I look most like Emma Watson.

Day 10: My favorite season

Day 11: My favorite shoes

Day 12: My favorite crayon color

I physically searched through a box of crayons to find this color. There weren't any exotic colors, so this is the best that I came up with: red violet.

Day 13: Cast from my favorite tv show

Downton Abbey is my favorite show, but now I've watched all the episodes there are and there's no more to watch...

Day 14: Something I did that night

I made this Cinnamon Cream Cheese Streusel Coffee Cake, and it was delicious!

Day 15: My favorite memory

This picture of Matthew and me was taken before our LDS prom in May 2011. It was one of the most special dates we went on before he left on his mission. 

Day 16: My most treasured item

There are so many possessions of mine that I view as "treasured", but ultimately, these binders which contain the letters I've received from Matthew over the last 3 1/2 years, are priceless to me.

Day 17: A picture that makes me laugh

Matthew's sister, Amy, had just changed her profile picture on Facebook to this, and when I saw I couldn't help but laugh, hence the title of this picture. :)

Day 18: Something I love

This is a fudge brownie sundae from Chick-fil-A and I love it... along with all of the other chocolate  candy, cake, pie, etc. that I've tasted in my lifetime. I love sweets!

Day 19: My favorite band

One Direction-- good music.

Day 20: Someone I couldn't live without

My parents.

Day 21: Bucket list item

Put a padlock on the Lovers Bridge in Paris and throw the key in the Seine River below to symbolize eternal love.

Day 22: Something that has had a huge impact on my life recently

For the past 16 months, my boyfriend, Matthew Parks, has been on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Idaho Pocatello mission. Not being able to see him for that long has been hard. We write letters and I got to talk to him once, but that's about all. Yet we still grow closer to each other and our relationship is continuing to become stronger. I love this boy SO MUCH, and couldn't be happier to wait for such an amazing man. <3

Day 23: A letter

Of course I took a picture of a recent letter from Matthew (I chose the one where he wrote his name in Spanish). :)

Day 24: Somewhere I want to travel

Prince Edward Island, Canada

Day 25: Something I wish I was better at

Exercising!!! I am doing better, though.

Day 26: My favorite book

Anne of the Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Anne Shirley & Gilbert Blythe, combined with college life-- what more could you want in a book?!

Day 27: My day

Sitting in my room, studying World Religions, while i constantly blow my nose because I have a cold... blah!

Day 28: Something that means a lot to me

My family! Dad, Mom, Morgan, Mark, and Rachel.

Day 29: Myself and a family member

Me and my youngest sister, Rachel.

Day 30: Something that always makes me smile

I absolute adore this picture. At first I was just going to include a picture of the Washington D.C. temple, because it is my favorite and makes me smile every time I see it. But then I saw this picture... a couple that just got married in my very favorite temple. It makes me smile because that could be me, with my husband, after getting married in the Washington D.C. temple. This picture to me equals complete bliss. 

PINK is the word.

I was enjoying my day off from work (getting productive stuff done), and suddenly, I realized a similarity between the several tasks I'd accomplished in this one single day........ the color PINK was involved with what seemed like everything! 

I put together Matthew's Valentine's Day package this morning and mailed it off. As you can see in the picture, I did a "Heart Attack" and wrote down 60 things I love about him on hearts. I also included pictures and candy, which were beneath all of these hearts. Of course the color PINK was involved...

Then I had to study....yep, good 'ole World Religions. It really isn't too bad. Just keeping all of the eastern religions straight in my brain is going to be the tough part. What do ya know? I used this PINK pen to take notes while studying Christianity and Islam. :)

I was really looking forward to getting some exercise time in today. My arms and legs got a workout and I'm pretty sure I won't be able to stand in the morning, but hard work will get good results! :) I began to take my tennis shoes off and thought "I just love my PINK shoes... wait, PINK? What's going on here. haha" 

Lastly, I told my mom I wanted to try out this new recipe I'd seen on Pinterest (don't you just love new recipes? :) The recipe is titled "Strawberry Brownies". What color are strawberry brownies? PINK! 

side note: These things are SO GOOD! Here is the recipe... (very simple to make)

1 box of strawberry cake mix

1/3 cup oil

2 eggs

Mix it all together in a bowl and spread in a greased 9x13 in. dish.

Bake at 350* for 15 minutes.

Glaze: 1 cup powdered sugar & 2-3 tablespoons of milk

So as you can see, I'm really getting into the spirit of Valentine's Day, without even trying! It's great! You know, I didn't realize until this year how much I adore Valentine's Day. There is just something about it that makes me feel happy inside. :D Have a wonderful Valentine's Day y'all!!

Accomplishments Are My Friends!

This week has been great! Here are all of the reasons why...

1. I got to work on front counter at Chick-fil-A on both Monday and Tuesday, and on Tuesday I had my very own register with my name on it! I really, really love working up front and interacting with the customers more. If you would have asked me, a year ago, my thoughts on being up front and taking people's orders, I probably would've said "No way, that's not my thing", but I now feel that it is good for me. I believe it's helping me to be well-rounded and get to know other fellow co-workers better.

2. On Wednesday I was just having an "off" day. A letter from Matthew seemed to be the one thing that could turn my mood around. Not 10 minutes later, my mom came into my room and handed me a letter. I was so surprised and happy because I hadn't heard from him since Christmas. It was a good letter and pictures were included too. (There is one of them at the end of this post).

3. I drove myself down to Brenau University in Gainesville (30 min drive) on Thursday to take my DSST exam entitled "Ethics in America". I had to parallel park, which made me a little nervous, but I didn't hit any cars, so I guess I did a good enough job. ;) The test went well and I passed! I must say that I was relieved to have it completed. I appreciate that there are ethics in the world to set the bar for standards and such, but to study it for school is not fun, whatsoever. :)

4. I was off from work on Friday so I planned out my entire day with fun, yet productive activities. There is nothing like making a list of everything you want to accomplish, and crossing off each item. There was one thing on my list that I didn't end up getting around to, and that was exercising, but I will do better... My day consisted of this:

Take Morgan and Mark to Science class

Go to the store and the post office, all within 40 minutes so that I could be home in time for a coaching call for school

Get home as fast, yet safely as I can to be in time for the call (got home with 3 minutes to spare)

Coaching call which lasts for only 10 minutes

Go back to pick up the kids from their class

Remember that I didn't have time to get a box from the post office before, so drive over there and find out that there isn't the right size box that I needed

Stop off at Walmart and Taco Bell (because my brother and sister needed to get some things-- mostly food :)

Come back home and eat lunch

Walk out with Morgan and Rachel to get the mail-- there's a Valentine's day package from the grandparents and a Netflix dvd (Downton Abbey)

Watch Downton Abbey with Mom, Morgan, and Rachel, while eating V-day candy

Scan the pictures Matthew sent onto my computer

Make a new enchilada recipe for dinner while listening to my music

Go with the family to Mark's basketball game. His team wins with a 7 point lead. (YES!)

Eat cake, watch a movie/tv, try to do some reading of some sort, but feel too tired and decide to go to bed.

(Such a great day!) :)

Basically, I just had a busy week of getting important things accomplished, which is like music to my ears! Two things I love: being motivated, and using that motivation to do great things. 

I've also been working on collecting my pictures everyday for the "30 Day Photo Challenge" which ends on the 12th. I am excited to dedicate a whole blog post to those pictures. :)

I also starting working on Matthew's V-day package (I know it sounds goofy, but I just have this thing for calling Valentine's day, V-day. It's just so much faster to say that way, isn't it?) on Friday. It's an idea I got from Pinterest called a "Heart Attack". You cut out a bunch of hearts and write one thing you love about the person on each one, then mail all the cute hearts in a box. I am doing that, but I will also put candy inside with the hearts. I've been tracing and cutting out tons of hearts already and it's all going beautifully! I will post pictures soon.

My very first "real" parallel parking job

Delicious white sauce enchiladas I made for dinner

My handsome missionary is the one on the right with his face all bundled up. :)

I will end this post with a quote I came across today that is a pick-me-up no matter what kind of day you're having.

Remember to always look for the good in things, and you will find life very fulfilling. Until next time then!