The Miracle of Mary

After my sophomore year of college I wondered how I was going to go back.  I loved school, but mostly because of my roommates.  They all decided to go on missions and I had no idea who I was going to live with when I returned in the fall.  I was bummed.  

The day I returned home for the summer I got a call from my cousin Mary.  She was heading back to school down there and wondered if I wanted to live with her and two of her mission buddies.  I said yes not knowing it was going to be one of the best decisions of my life.  Here are some of the miracles I have been a part of because of Mary.

I made so many friends because of Mary.  I really realized that last night at her wedding reception.  I was surrounded by people I love and I know most of them because Mary introduced me to them.  

Every since my first day at BYU when I would tell people who I was or where I was from they would ask me if I knew Mary.  They immediately loved me.  

Mary was my first roommate that I had that was super diligent.  She inspired me to be more committed to everything I was doing.

I always want to put people first.  Mary always does put people first.  She is friends with so many and reaches out to everyone around her and makes them feel loved.  

Mary asks the best questions.  When I would see her at the end of every day instead of asking me how my day was, she would ask me what the best part of my day was.  Way better question!  Instead of just responding with "good," I had to reflect back on my day and come up with a good answer.  Another one of my favorite questions of hers was, "What's your favorite thing about ________."  Whether I'd been out with someone or talking on the phone it was fun to answer her question and think about all of the good things about the people I choose to spend my time with. 

Mary is so frugal and thrifty.  I've saved many pennies trying to be more like Mary.

Mary always puts the Lord first.  She always studies her scriptures, prays, attends her meetings, and serves those around her.  You can see it in her eyes, her smile, and her countenance.  She just glows.

Mary got married yesterday and I was privileged enough to be asked to do her hair.  I don't know if she knows how much I really loved doing it or not, but it meant a lot to me.  She was a stunning bride and Ryan is one lucky man!  It was so fun being part of her day. 

Living with and near Mary since I've been at college has been a huge blessing to me.  I'm sure she'll continue to be a large part of my life since we're related and all, and just because she's a great person like that.  I'm so thankful for The Miracle of Mary in my life.  

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.  

Sisters

I have THE best sisters.  Thanks to a recent wedding I now have seven of them.  That's quite a few.   Luckily enough, we all get along so great!  I'm second to the youngest of all of us, and I love it.  I learn so much from them every time I'm with them.  I get to watch them be wives, mothers, friends, daughters, and sisters.  They are all involved in a wide variety of things, and they all rock at life.  So, here's the line up of sisters, starting from my first sister, to my most recent.

This here's the lovely Taffy.  

She's the oldest and most likely wisest of us all.  She is an amazing mom of four (soon to be five) kids.  She juggles all of their schedules and still manages to do the things she loves--coaching volleyball and having a beautiful lawn and garden.  She's a very talented piano player and is now going to try her hand at the "wife of a rancher" life.  She's gonna be bomb.  I'm so thankful for her example of looking on the bright side of the situation and trying to take advantage of all the opportunities life offers.  

Next is Tami in all her natural beauty.   

She's probably the most competitive of all of us, but likes playing games the least. (try and figure that one out…)  I envy her ability to look gorgeous with no make-up on and her ability to wrangle four wild boys all day, every day.  She actually tries her pins on Pinterest and is one of the handiest ladies I know when it comes to building things.  She always stays up late chatting it up with us young ones and gives us some of the best laughs.  I'm so thankful for her example of putting her family first and getting along with everyone.

Now for the beautiful Violet Rose.    

Everyone just knows when Vi walks into a room.  She always looks so put together and is always full of life.  She's a people person, and she has the ability to carry a conversation with everyone.  She's always up on the latest fashions and she tries her best to help me out in that department… I'm so proud of her for living the college student life for going on about 10 years now.  She's a champ!  She always makes time to come to Cokeville and visit with us.  I always love going on walks with Vi.  I'm so thankful for her example of patience and her love for the Lord.  

The last blood sista--Tess the mess.

I love this girl.  We have been best friends since we were babies.  She's so fun to be around and can make anybody smile.  She comes up with the best questions to ask people--questions that make them feel a little uncomfortable, but end up making them feel like they're best friends. her personality is infectious.  She is always trying to do what is right and makes me want to be a better person.  She's a hard worker and she's beautiful to boot!  I'm so thankful for her example of always doing what's right, no matter what the circumstances are.  

"Married-in" Michelle comes next.

Because Michelle is from Cokeville, we've known each other for forever.  She's always been so nice to me.  I was the libero on the volleyball team my sophomore year, she was a senior and the setter, and she never gave up on me.  Even if I shanked 3 passes in a row, she still made me feel like she believed in me.  It meant so much to me.  She's an awesome photographer, I covet her skin, my brother is SO in love with her, and she's now the proud mom to a precious little girl.  I'm so thankful for her example of doing what she loves and being flexible.  

Finally, our newest sister, Candace.  

Candace just joined our family on Thursday, and we are pumped about it!  We love her!  She's so spunky and full of life and is game to try anything.  She's an artist and a dental hygienist.  She puts up with Tyson and is one rare person who has the ability to give it right back to him.  Her laugh is contagious.  Everybody loves her--kids to adults.  She's the lone soccer player of the family, but I'm sure she'll get a few converts soon.  I'm so thankful for her example of making the most of your life, even if it doesn't go as planned.  

I think it's pretty easy to see that I am the winner of the best sisters award.  We are all so different, but one thing we all have in common is our love for our family and our love for the Savior.  All of these ladies are trying their best to do what is right.  They all have strong testimonies and are great examples to me of living the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I am so thankful for them in my life and so thankful that we get to be together for ETERNITY.  

Holly G. ("G" now stands for girl)

So, one of my best friends of my entire life got married today!!  She got married in the San Diego,  CA temple.  I mean, look at this place:

Who wouldn't want to get married there?!?!

The only downer is that I couldn't make it.  I'm in the midst of finals…

Even though I couldn't make it, I was thinking about her and Ryan ALL day!  So, for those of you who don't know what a great person Holly is, I figured I'd enlighten you.  

Holly is the most loyal friend.  I know I can always count on her. 

Holly is a super hard worker.  We have worked together the past 2 summers at the cemetery and it has been SO great!!

Holly is so easy to get along with.  We have spent tons of time together and she just has this great personality that makes it so easy to be around her.  

Holly is so happy!  She knows how to see the bright side of every situation.

Holly is so much fun! Every time we are together we laugh our heads off!  Seriously though, those Grandy's are funny people!

Holly is so thoughtful.  She always texts me at just the right time and it always brightens my day.

Holly has a strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We have had so many good talks about the church and gospel topics, and I always come away feeling refreshed from her insights.  

Holly is so beautiful, inside and out!  I mean, just look at her!?  She is one of the most gorgeous people I know, and from the list above, it's obvious that her beauty isn't just on the outside.  

Thanks for being such a great friend Holly!!  Ryan is a lucky guy!!  I can't wait to see you and hug the now Mrs. Ryan Voges.  Love ya girl!!

Oh, and here is a screen shot of the text she sent me moments after she met Ryan for the first time.  It's a precious story.  Love at first sight :)

(I know, my response is super shallow, but I thought she was kidding?! haha)

Ashbee

Ashbee is fun, kind, smart, athletic, and gorgeous!  These are just a few of her traits.  Most of them I can't quite find words for.  Ashbee is one of my best friends!  I don't know what I would have done without her this last year at school!  It was so great to have her to talk to.  She knew about my life before college, and she could just relate with me so well!  

We've been friends since elementary school and Madi, Ashbee, Tessa, and I did SO much together!  We went school shopping together every year, had end of the school year sleepovers, and multiple sleepovers throughout the school year.  She was a great teammate, cheerleader, and friend.  I always knew I could count on Ashbee! 

When she came to BYU I was so excited!  I didn't know how much we'd see each other since we weren't living together, but we set a goal the first semester to go to the temple every week.  We set aside  Thursday afternoons to go to the temple and then lunch together.  It was so great!  This goal made sure we saw each other at least once a week, and I know those weekly visits to the temple and with Ashbee helped me out so much!  

Second semester we decided to work out together every morning.  We attended some super fun, super hard aerobics classes every morning at 6 am.  I always knew she'd be there.  We kept attending the temple every week as well.  We spent a lot of weekends and evenings together the second semester as well.  

This Friday, August 2nd, Ashbee married one of the best guys I know, Brady Thompson.  I am so excited for them!   It was a gorgeous day, and I was lucky enough to be a bridesmaid! 

It was so fun to watch them fall in love and to get the details from Ashbee along the way :)  I'm so excited for them, but I'm also a little sad for me...this means she's leaving BYU and heading to Laramie.  I'm pretty sure I'll cry when I finally come to grips with the situation. 

So Ashbee, thanks for being there for me.  You're a great friend, a hard worker, an awesome teammate,  reliable, honest, and you've got a good head on your shoulders.  The list could go on and on!  Most of all, thanks for always being willing to share your testimony when I needed it!  I love you girl!