10 Minutes of Silence...

In todays world, how often do we give ourselves true moments of silence for an extended period of time? With phone calls and texting, busy schedules of classes and work, iPods, and the distractions found all around us, it isn't suprising to find that most people only quiet down when going to sleep at night or when preparing to take a nap. What would our lives be like if we made sure to schedule at least 10 minutes of quiet time to think, pray, ponder, and so on?

This morning, I went to the temple by myself to do baptisms for the dead. After sleeping for only 3 hours, I was ready to just get in, and get out so that I could shower and go back to bed for a couple hours before starting my busy schedule. As I was sitting in the temple though, I had to question myself as to why I was there. The more I thought about my reasons to be at the temple, the more I came to realize how much it didn't matter how long I ended up being in the temple. I followed this thought process to the point that I became grateful that things were running slowly and that I wasn't doing the whole "get in and get out" process that I tend to do on a day to day basis wherever I am due to busy schedules and such. Because of the slow moving lines for confirmations and baptisms, I was given the opportunity to truly ponder and let my thoughts take me to places that strengthened my testimony. I was given the time to consider those things that I should "KISS" in my life: Keep, Increase, Stop, and Start.

So the next time you have the chance and you remember to, put aside whatever may be distracting you or causing "noise", find a quiet place, sit..... and just think. Think, and listen for the promptings of the Spirit.

(I do not take credit for this photo. I found it when using "Stumble Upon" and forgot to save the website)

Serving the Lord

I am very pleased and over-joyed to announce that my older brother got his mission call! He will be serving in the Puebla Mexico Mission!!!! And he leaves August 3rd. This is just super happy :) To be honest, out of all of the friends that I have had leave for missions over the years, my brother was the very first person I have ever witnessed open a mission call. It was very power and super memorable.

I am very excited for my older brother to serve his mission. This fall, I plan to leave on my own mission, and my younger brother is getting set to leave on his mission this year as well. It is unbelieveable!!! Just being there when my brother opened his call was a tender mercy as the spirit manifested once again in my life that this is the true church on the earth, and that Jesus Christ, our Savior, is the head of the Church. I pray for the missionaries every night that they will find those that are ready to hear and receive the gospel. I am so proud of my brother and his desire to serve God for the next 2 years of his life. It is miraculous. I love you bro :)

A NEW BLOG!!!

Hey Peeps: I have started a new blog: Untainted Passions :) I may continue doing posts on this blog (The Little Blessings of Life) on occassion, but I'm going to see if I can switch completely over to this new one.... we'll see! Check it out:
http://untaintedpassions.blogspot.com/
Follow me! My blogs may not have a specific theme, but I hope you enjoy my posts! Thank you to those of you that actually look at my blog on a regular basis-- you're what keeps me posting!
Peace and Much Love

Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba Sithi uhm ingonyama

A week ago today, I went to see The Lion King at the Capitol Theater in SLC with my mom and little sister. It was a wonderful experience!!!! Before going to the play, we went out to dinner and then spent some time on temple square.
During the first song of the play (The Circle of Life), all of these dancers/actors/singers came out with these AMAZING costumes. I cried, it was so beautiful! No, I was not bawling, but my eyes started watering, and I was just so happy. :) It was then that I realized that when I do finally make it to Africa, I am going to cry as soon as I can see the land from my plane window. It will be a blessed experience--one I've been waiting for most of my life. Oh how I loved the play! All of the characters were portrayed so well, and the music was oustanding. Who knew a play based off a cartoon of wild animals could be so amazing?
Thank you Mom for giving me that outstanding experience! It's right up there with Wicked for me :)

Like it's Dynamite

Yes, I had my birthday last week! Woot Woot! My BFF had me set aside Saturday so that we could spend the day together in celebration of me achieving yet another year in life. We did many things: went to breakfast at One Man Band (first time there for both of us!), visited a couple antique shops, went for a walk, got cupcakes and frappes from the The Cocoa Bean Cupcake Cafe, watched a movie, and played a game at the dollar tree where you find the coolest thing there and buy it ;) It was a super awesome day!
Thank you to everyone that sent me birthday wishes on my birthday! They were very much appreciated, and made me feel so happy :) (Who knew so many people used facebook to wish others a happy birthday?!?)

Just Dance

Friday night was an awesome night! We had the opening social at Heritage Halls with the theme "Dancing Through the Decades". Needless to say, I did my best to dress up all 80's. (I wanted to go wearing yellow leggings, an awesome leotard, and fitness shorts on top-- Alas, it didn't fit with the Honor Code.) Anyway, I danced at that dance for a couple hours, but then frolicked over to the dance at Brigham Square, where my life was filled with felicity as I danced the night away with my dear friends from Club Style! :) When the dance ended at 11:30pm, my darling dancing friends and myself did a small list of things:
We got slushies from Sonic,
We went swimming at a pool at someones apartment complex,
and last but not least...
We went to Dennys.
It was a very fun-filled night!!! I didn't get back until 4:00am, and still didn't get to bed until 5:00am because I needed to shower. Nevertheless, it was an awesome night :)
(Please forgive my messy room in these pictures-- I didn't want to take the time to crop them, haha.)

An Experiment...

In the past I have mentioned and even shared pictures from a blog that I love: The Clothes Horse. This is a very clever fashion blog where the owner produces pictures of herself and the style that she has. (Currently, she is visiting Europe so she has been sharing excellent pictures of the world around her.) Since following her blog, I have begun to consider my own style-- or even if I have style! Well, at the end of last week, I decided to just document a few days of what clothes I wore. Here, I am posting 5 days worth :) The first day I wore some things that I typically don't wear often-- the colorful shrug, and a pair of red converse. For some reason, I feel like converse don't look too good on me... Anyway, if you have any comments about anything, feel free to share! Maybe one day I will discover what my true fashion is :)
(Some of the pictures are fuzzy, and I apologize for that! One day, I want to own one of those really nice Cannon or Nikon cameras... maybe I'll get one for my upcoming birthday...)

I got my hair cut this day :)

Double 9

Because 9 is my favorite number, and this is my 99th post, I wanted to do something special for it. I've spent these last few weeks trying to figure out what "special" thing I wanted to post about, and believe you me... it's been rough! I have finally settled on posting pictures from some of my favorite memories I've had this summer :) Because I failed miserably with staying on top of blogging for the last few months, this will also be a good way to catch up on things! So here we go with 9 of my favorite memories this summer:




Going to the rodeo with my family (heart)



Going on a trip to St. George with my best friend, her sisters, and one of their cousins :)




Doing a photo shoot with my older sister :)

Going to the midnight showing of Step Up 3 with my German sister. AWESOME!!

Vacationing in Manti with the best two roommies in the world!

Shopping for rings in Springdale.

Staying at an amazing ranch near Zions National Park (they had a pretty cool swimming pool:)

Doing a photo shoot involving balloons with my German sister and ... "real" sister... haha

My German sister treating myself and my family to a German breakfast! (Something I had been wanting to gorge on for the last two years!)

AND!!!!!-- I have a bonus memory that I love:

My little bro came back from his service mission!!!!

Welcome home little bro :) You da bomb!