Life has been SO fetus crazy.

You want some spicy THAI?! w/ally&andre

He's kind of a creep, & when I say kind of, I mean REALLY.

New hot cocoa & cupcake place, so yummy! Not a bad date either!

Pilates & Biggest Loser with Kyle! love him.

ALSO,
Yesterday I received two letters. Both of which were quite impactful.

Johnny's letter: It consisted of him saying how much he appreciates me. A while back he made a statement saying "I think you're attractive, but I'm not attracted to you." Wow did I not like that! The funny thing was, within a day I was absolutely over the whole thing, and have not really thought twice about my feelings beyond friendship for him since. The letter went on to explain that statement, and it was so sweet. He said many nice things, a lot of which were things I needed to hear very much at that moment. It is always so nice to feel appreciated.

Ethan's letter: First off, I was not even expecting to receive a letter from this boy! I was so shocked when I got it and SO excited. A picture was enclosed, and he started it off with the sarcasm I'm used to, and my heart just started racing again, I was really surprised to feel this way! He seems to be doing so well in Brazil, and loving the mission. I miss him more than I realized. He closed the letter with his apologies of the way he treated me at the end of last year, and saying that if conditions allow, when he returns we should give it another chance. That was a shocker. In all honesty, I would be more than willing. He holds so many of the characteristics I forsee in a spouse. I enjoyed my time with him SO much, and am just so happy to be in contact with him, and so grateful for his apologies. I know it takes a lot to humble yourself like that, so I found it very admirable.

ALSOOOO:

Tara came home from church today with a love note for me! I cannot even explain how much this girl means to me! She is such a blessing in my life. This is what the letter said:
You get a HUGE love note this week! I just wanted to express how grateful I am to have you as my best friend. I feel that you have taught me so much and I love that I can just be myself around you and you accept that. One of the things I feel like I've really learned to improve on from your example is how to love people and express it. I've told you before and you know, that before I was SUPER reserved at expressing my feelings especially one as important as love. I'm grateful that you have made me realize that it is okay to tell friends & family that you love them and greet them with huge hugs and smiles. I think that this small change in my life has made a bigger difference in my relationship with everyone. I find my dad sometimes beating me in saying it first! :)
This is only one example of how I feel you have blessed my life, I couldn't have asked for a better "spouse" during my young adult years! I am so proud of you and all of the changes you have made in your life. In the long run you will see how much those changes have changed your life if you don't already realize it. I love you!
Tara Bird
PS The emergency response plan is true doctrine, FOLLOW IT! lol.

WOW am I lucky. I feel like each of these letters have been an answer to my prayers. I have been struggling with drawing the line at what I can expect from people and how I deserve to be treated. Too many times in the past have I settled for less. I look around now and realize how many special people I have in my life. I am so fortunate to be blessed with such a great family and such a great circle of friends. While it can be frustrating to be treated worse than you feel you deserve, I think that it is also my responsibility to be patient with others--afterall, I have an entire back up behind me cheering me on--I think I can handle one or two people in my life who aren't Class-A cheerleaders.



On a more serious note...




Today in church we had a FANTASTIC speaker from the Stake. He was absolutely captivating and I felt that I could really relate to all he was teaching. He spoke about how he had converted to the church and married a widow who already had five children from her previous marriage. He told us how they were all sealed to one another and it got me thinking about how grateful I am for the blessing of being sealed to my family for time and all eternity. I love this picture below, because it is one that CLEARLY would not be here if my Dad had not chosen to join the church. My life has been so blessed by the gospel, I have been able to overcome obstacles that would have been seemingly impossible without the atonement in my life.

These were a few of my absolute favorite statements:

• There is no marriage that can survive without a healthy does of forgiveness. [I could not agree more with this! Even in my friendships and interaction with siblings & parents, I have had to practice a dang BIG dose of forgiveness, as have they with me. It has shaped our relationships into healthy and strong ones though, the act of humbling oneself and willingly forgiving only opens a door to a bond that is nearly impossible to break.]
  
• Don't wait for the perfect person, take about 80%, actually girls, you might even need to take 70%. [LOVED this. I think sometimes since I have been in a serious relationship in the past, I expect boys to measure up to the positives of that relationship, and all together forget the negatives that existed. In reality, many of the boys I have dated surpassed past boyfriends exponentially. Just being LDS and sharing common standards puts them on an entirely different pedestal.While I am confident that anyone I have let go, or anyone that has let go of me is not the one I still think it is important to remember that improvement comes with time, and I am not ANYWHERE near perfect, so there is no way I can expect any of the "him"s to be.]
  
• The worst day married is better than the best day single. [I have questions about this one to be honest, but if it is true than married life for me is going to be ROCKIN. I have loved the single life & girl time, so if that I what I have to look forward to, then bring it on!]
• Lets say you live 100 years, a pretty long life here in mortality. That would mean that you were only absent from Kolob for 2 hours and 24 minutes. That's NOTHING! Lord of the Rings is longer than that! [I loved this. I think it really puts things into perspective. It gives me a stronger desire to suceed, I can't really explain why...but I guess if this is such a small period in my life, and I have all eternity to live with my family & other loved ones, then it is absolutely worth it to stay on track. The prize to be one is inmeasureable!]
• By all standards of the world, we are weird, but you know what, we are right and they are wrong. [Quite a bold statement, and we hear it often, but I'll explain why it cut so deeply today. I think today, when I heard him say this, I felt, for the very first time, 100% positive that the words coming out of his mouth were true. I have no doubt that this is the true gospel, that everything we read in the Book of Mormon, everything we hear from the Prophets, and everything I have been taught since a very young age, is true. This is such a comfort. I hope from this day on that I never wonder again. I feel so solid in this belief and so strengthened by it!]