Me?! Play the Piano??

I started piano lessons in 1st grade and finally got to quit in 8th grade.  I fought my parents about piano practice for at least 7 of those 8 years.  All of my siblings play the piano very well.  All of them are able to accompany people, play the organ (well, minus Sulli), and just respond whenever they are needed to play the piano.  I, on the other hand, have accompanied one song one time.  In Jr. High I had to play "Let the Holy Spirit Guide" for my parents and Sulli and Tessa for one of my dad's high council assignments.  

Well, today my streak of good luck ended.  I was asked to help with the Young Women's lesson and because of all of my siblings' skills at the piano it was assumed that I also played.  When I was asked to play the opening hymn for them I was like oh I don't really play.  The sister just kind of laughed and was like what page number?  I quickly thought of the first song I knew and said, 142.  "Sweet Hour of Prayer."  You guys, I can't even believe I agreed to do that?!  I faced a huge fear and I played the piano in church!  Thankfully I only messed up once!?  It was a huge blessing cause I literally never play since I quit all those years ago.  You can even ask my mom.  

A Wedding of Friends

The start of this week (ya know when all the storms were and stuff), we headed down to a wedding of two of our dear friends.  Tess and I both lived with Brittanie last year and we just love her.  She ended up not living in the house this year, but she was our most frequent visitor, and we love her!  She's always just so happy and full of life and energy.  I admire how she always looks on the positive side of things.  She is so good at looking at the big perspective and having faith that everything will turn out for the best.  She's always so fun and we always have a good time when we're with Brit.

Luckily, Brittanie married a guy who is just as fun and full of life as she is!  Adam has this special way of making everyone in the room instantly happier when he enters.  We passed each other between classes a couple of times each week this semester, and it always brightened my day talking with Adam for a minute or two.  I'm just so happy for those two and I'm so glad they let Tessa and I be a part of their day :)

Between Tessa, Eden, and I we were able to get some fun pictures.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Brittanie asked me to do her hair for her big day.  I was both honored and excited!  I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.  She seemed to be happy about it too :)

 I have been loving the dutch braids lately! 

That temple is just so huge and beautiful!

 Me and my sissy :)

Mary, Tess, Adam, Me, and Eden.  What a guy!  

A great group of friends that all showed up to party at the reception.  We had so much fun talking, laughing, eating, and dancing.

Brittanie and the bridesmaids from the Sherwood House

The fastest stretch of traveling.  Good visibility, 3-4 inches of snow on the road, and no other traffic!

These past couple of months I have been realizing even more how important it is that I marry someone who is not only going to take me to the temple to get married, but who will take me back frequently. The Gospel is not something to be casual about, and being on the temple grounds and waiting for all of my friends to come out from the sealing strengthened my testimony of the importance of the gospel in my life.  

"Como un niño pequeñito"

Tonight Tessa planned an awesome FHE "Banana Boats and The Book of Mormon."  So, we made banana boats and shared one of our favorite scriptures from The Book of Mormon.  Everyone's scriptures were so good!  (Imagine that...haha!)  When Tessa told me that this is what we were doing I immediately remembered a scripture I had read in El Libro de Mormon three days earlier.  I had been reading in 3 Nephi when Christ is talking to the people in the America's before he appears to them.  Chapter 9 verse 22 really stuck out to me.  Maybe it was because I finally understood a whole verse, but I just loved it.  I read, "Por tanto, al que se arrepintiere y viniere a mí como un niño pequeñito, yo lo recibiré, porque de los tales es el reino do Dios.  He aquí, por éstos he dado mi vida, y la he vuelto a tomar; así pues, arrepentíos y venid a mí, vosotros, extremos de la tierra, y sed salvos."   

Today I went and read it in English.  "Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God.  Behold, for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved."  

First of all, this verse stuck out to me because I am an Elementary Ed major and I love kids.  I think about them all day.  At the start of the verse it says to come unto Him as a little child.  I can not think of any group of people more pure and Christlike than kids.  They are so innocent and they just want to do good.  They truly are closer to God, and I'm so glad I'm going to be able to surround myself with them everyday.  

The second part that stuck out to me was when it said, "for such I have laid down my life..."  Christ died for us that we could have the chance to repent and live with Him again.  He knew that we were going to make mistakes.  None of us are perfect, but He was willing to pay the price so that we could all return to live with our Heavenly Father again.  

I love my Savior.  I know that I can return to live with Him and our Heavenly Father again, but only through the Atonement.  I am far from perfect, but He helps me out all the time.  Almost daily I am able to have an experience with the Spirit, just like the one I shared above.  It's moments like that where I truly feel His love for me, not only from the sacrifices He made for me as He atoned for my sins, but the love He still has for me as He cheers me on and helps me out each day during this journey here on earth.   

Lessons From My Days in Peru

Today marks two months since I got back from Peru.  I've been back for almost as much time as I was gone (not very long) and it's about time I reflect on some of the things I learned from my trip.  

1. The Church is TRUE!  Some of my most special times while I was in Peru were while I was at church.  The curriculum, the order, the sacrament, the happy people--it was all just like it is here and it was so refreshing. While there I gained an even stronger testimony of our prophet, Thomas S. Monson and his apostles and how they are called of God.  I also gained a greater appreciation for the Hymns and the power of music.  My favorite part of each meeting was singing the hymns in Spanish.  So beautiful.  

 (Where's Waldo?! With the YSA from the San Jeronimo Ward)

2. Kids are the best.  Saying goodbye to these cute little rascals on November 27th was possibly one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.  Knowing that I probably wouldn't see any of them again just broke my heart.  They are so full of love and patience.  They never got frustrated with my bad Spanish.  Each time I lost my patience with them, they quickly forgave me.  Their warm hugs and shouts of "Profe-Tee-chair" greeted me each day.  We had so much fun together learning, laughing, brushing our teeth, reading stories, dancing, and so much more.  I understand why the Savior teaches us to become like little children.  They are just so pure and genuine.  I hope to become half as humble, kind, and pacient as the kids at Nuevas Americas.  

3. Everybody has something to give.  The people of Peru work for what they have.  Everyday I saw grandmothers, mothers, and young girls walking up long hills and hopping on and off busses with giant packs tied around their backs.  They did whatever it took to get to the market to sell their goods.  Everyone down there had something to offer.  Husbands spent months and even years working away from home to help support their families.  The youth worked after school was out, earning money to help buy food.  For the most part, people gave what they had to have a good life.  I was very inspired.  

(Her dry, cracked heels were on countless other hard workers as well)

4. I love my family very much.  As I was saying goodbye to my parents in the SLC airport I was somewhat shocked to find myself fighting back tears.  I had been looking forward to this trip for so long!  Why in the heck was I starting to cry?! That was when my mom said, "Isn't it nice to have something so great that it's hard to leave?"  She was so right.  Even though I was setting out to fulfill one of my dreams, it was hard to leave my family and friends.  They're just so great.  While I was gone I got excited about each FaceTime call, each email, and each Facebook message.  Family really is everything.

5. Be thankful.  We are so blessed to live in America.  We have drinkable water.  We have carpet.  We have pretty good sanitation systems.  We don't have a million stray dogs.  We take care of each other.  We have nice vehicles.  We don't have to worry too much about food poisoning or parasites.  We have great hospitals.  We have a great life. 

5. There's more adventurer in my soul than I thought.  While I was down there, I kind of thrived off of doing new things.  Everything around me was new, but I could have easily gotten into a routine and not tried new things.  I tried to do the exact opposite.  I took the public transportation everywhere!  A little sketchy at times--yes!  Culturally educational--you bet ya!  I would try different routes walking home from preschool each day.  I got pretty lost a few times, but I always managed to find a familiar landmark and I got to see a lot of the city that way.  I tried to see all of Peru that I could while I was there (money and time allowing...). I didn't care if I had a buddy to go with me or not, I was going to make the most of it.  At the time, I didn't feel too adventurous, but looking back I figure a young blonde girl, going to Peru --by herself--, finding her way around Cusco, visiting ruins, taking tours in Spanish, and just flat out living in a different country is pretty darn adventurous.  

6. I can do hard things.  You guys.  Learning a language is hard.  It can be frustrating.  It can make you want to cry.  It can also make you cry.  It can also be rewarding.  Spanish is beautiful.  

7. Let your heart love people.  Even though I knew I was only going to be in Cusco for a short time, I decided to love the people I was with.  I grew to love the other volunteers, the people in my ward, the family I lived with, and mostly the kids and Flor.  Putting my heart out there made saying goodbye so much harder, but made my time there so much more worth it.  

This list is not all.  In fact, I'll probably think of 5 more awesome things I learned tomorrow, but it's a pretty good summary.  The trip changed my life.  While I'm still the same Livi, I've learned so much about life, about friendship, and most importantly, about myself.  

Endings.

One of my least favorite things are endings.  Right now I'm facing some of them, and it's kinda killing me.  I'm not good at them.  I've know this ending was going to be coming for quite some time now, so I've been trying to prepare myself for it.  One of the things that helped me was this quote by Buddha.  

So, obviously this isn't the end of my life or anything, but I think this can apply to us all the time.  I'm trying to love all the things I'm doing as well as all of those around me.  I'm trying to live without stress.  I'm trying to not get mad or frustrated about the things that I'm having to let go.  Thanks for the advice, Buddha.  

I also was able to receive some comfort and advice from General Conference.  I didn't remember hearing this quote, but Mary told me it reminded her of me.  It's perfect!  

This is the ending of my time in Provo for a while, but it's not the end of the friendships I've made with people, the memories I've shared, or the lessons I've learned.  So, instead of looking at this time as an ending, I'm going to look at it as a BEGINNING.  Doesn't that sound so much better?!

Another great talk that gave me a new perspective on this change was a talk by Bishop Gary E. Stevenson.  He asked us: 

I got thinkin', and I realized that my summer is just like four minutes of my life.  It's going to go by so fast and I AM going to make the most of it.  I'm going to do good things with those four minutes.  It's going to be great!  

So, enough about sad endings.  I'm just going to look forward to the new beginnings :)

General Conference

Every year when General Conference comes around I'm so excited--excited to have an excuse not to work all day on Saturday, stay in my pajamas all day Sunday, and eat a bunch of food!  This year it's a little different.  I'm excited to hear the living prophet and apostles speak to us.  Yes, US.  The things they say are going to be counsel for all of us living in this day and age, facing the trials we are facing today.  

So, you might wonder, why the change in reason for my excitement?  It's because of a class I'm taking at the Y.  It's a Living Prophets class taught by Lloyd Newell, the voice of Music and the Spoken Word which airs every Sunday morning on radio stations around the world.  He has gotten me so excited to listen to the counsel of God's messengers called to direct us today!  Here are some of my favorite quotes we have gone over to help us prepare for General Conference.  

"Our times are turbulent and difficult.  We see wars internationally and distress domestically.  Neighbors all around us face personal heartaches and family sorrows....all face opposition and travail, and only the rod of iron- the declared word of God- can bring them safely through.  We all need that rod.  We all need that word."  -Elder Jeffery R. Holland.

"The main purpose of general conference, the main purpose of this conference, is to sound the voice of warning.  You who hear and are warned must warn your neighbors.  If we fail to warn our neighbors, we all may be lost."  -President N. Eldon Tanner

People.  It's important.

I don't know what counsel will be given in the next two days, but I know that I don't want to miss it.  I mean, 2 years ago in October they announce the temple in Star Valley.  The FIRST temple in Wyoming!  I was so pumped!  Then last October they announced a change in mission age.  What a wonderful announcement!  I'm going to be honest though, I've been praying that there are no announcements that big this October.  I don't know if I can take another one?!

But here's a little video to get you excited for Conference :)  And you can watch it Saturday and Sunday in any language by clicking HERE.  

Home Teacher Challenge

Small town, blonde haired, home-grown girl :)

There are many things that make up my cultural identity.  There are so many aspects that go into one's identity, but if I had to pick only three artifacts they would be: my great-grandma Duncan's buttons accompanied by my Grannie's poem, a picture of Cokeville, and my Young Women's medallion. 

First of all, I am defined by my heritage.  My great-grandma Duncan's buttons along with my Grannie's poem say so much about my heritage.  

GRANDMA'S BUTTONS

Grandma Duncan was a saver,

Of this there is no doubt. 

Everything was plum wore through

Before she'd throw it out.

I recall a woven basket, 

Setting beside her rocking chair,

And every sock that had a hole

Was sure to wind up there.

Many evenings she would spend, 

After working hard all day

Patching socks, or pants, or shirts, 

There never was time to play.

She always used to wear a dress,

And when the front wore through,

The back became an apron--

Or a shirt for me--"good as new"!!

In winter the boys wore wool,

The outside work was cold.

Shirts and pants turned into mittens

After they were old.

Bed comforters were sewn from scraps, 

Then filled with carded wool,

Backed by flannel, tied with yarn,

Our nights were warm when it was cool.

No matter how ragged or worn the piece, 

If there was a button,--any size 

Color, shape, two holes or four, 

Mom saved it like some precious prize!!

She didn't leave a lot in worldly goods

Just sacks and boxes of buttons remain

From worn out shirts, and coats, and dresses,

Some are pretty, most, very plain.

Grandmas' buttons in a jar,

A simple legacy left for us.

I hope you'll cherish this symbol

Of a life well lived with little pomp or fuss.

by June Duncan Oberg

My mom has carried on the tradition of living within our means.  This has helped shape me in more ways than one.  First of all, I have learned that a simple life is a good life.  We don't need all the "pomp or fuss" to be happy.  Second, I have learned that it is important to be grateful for what you have.  This is a cultural norm of the past, but we need to keep it alive.  Third, these buttons and poem remind me of my future calling as a homemaker.  Today so many mothers are in the work place, but because of influence from my family culture, I feel that my role is in the home.  This artifact is very important in my cultural identity.

Next, this picture of Cokeville represents my cultural identity.  

My hometown plays a HUGE role in who I am today.  Part of my culture is the small-town life.  I love the open spaces, knowing every one's names, and the unity that is felt in my hometown.  I loved growing up swimming in the river, riding bikes, coming home when the street lights came on, and all the other small-town luxuries that I got to enjoy.  The feeling I get every time I pull into Cokeville is indescribable.  There's just something about going home.  I don't think I'll ever be able to shake the culture of this town.

My last artifact that represents my cultural identity is my Young Women's medallion.  

This medallion represents the values I have learned by striving to live the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The Young Women values are values I try to pattern my life by.  They are:

Faith

Divine Nature

Individual Worth

Knowledge

Choice and Accountability

Good Works

Integrity 

Virtue

To earn this medallion I had to do a lot of activities concerning these values that taught me more about the Savior and myself.  I learned perseverance.  I wasn't always consistent at keeping up with my Personal Progress, but just like the gospel, you don't have to be perfect at it.  Personal Progress is a process to help Young Women become closer to Christ.  That means sometimes we have to pick ourselves back up and get back on track.  This medallion is a symbol of my commitment to the gospel.  The temple reminds me of my goal to be sealed for eternity there.  The gospel and the principle of eternal families has been shaping my cultural identity from the day I was born, and I feel like this simple necklace represents that part of my identity.

While it is hard to chose only three artifacts that represent my cultural identity, I feel like my great-grandma's buttons accompanied by my grannie's poem, a picture of Cokeville, and my Young Women's medallion do a fairly good job.  

Change

So today at the Temple I was reading from the Ensign while I was waiting, and I read a great article written just for me!  I can't find the article online, and I know I'm looking in the right magazine because there are the other articles I read, so I'll just do my best.  It was talking about change.  A college age girl was narrating it and she talked about every time something fun or happy happened she found herself dreading it ending instead of just enjoying the moment. Many more happy moments will come if we let them.  Change is inevitable, that's the way Heavenly Father wants it to be.  He wants us to change and grow.  Change is hard for me, but this article just put it into perspective for me.  I need to accept the changes and run with them.  I need to enjoy every moment!   I know that the happy moments will come if we let them.