I'm Back :)

Well, hello everyone!  It has been a very long time since I last posted!  I actually was gone serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from October of 2011 until the beginning of this month.  I served in Hungary :)  And it was fantastic!  I loved my mission!  And now I'm back, ready to share more little blessings of life with the world--- the tender mercies that bring so much joy to live.  I can't promise that I will post something every day, but I definitely want to get back into the swing of blogging.

Have a wonderful day!  And go make someone smile :)

Within a Week

I spent this last week in Denton, Texas. It was actually a wonderful place! It was very hot in humid, but considering how I have spent most of my summer inside, I was ready to soak up the heat and sun! I went to Texas for a dance conference put on by daCi (dance and the Child international). While at the conference, I got to take a number of technique classes and ethnic dance classes including African and Bharatanatyam (a style of dance from India). I attended the daCi with my dance company from BYU, Kinnect. We had the opportunity to perform a few times while there. Overall, it was a wonderful conference! I learned so much about the organization daCi itself and I also learned about how dance can impact people on a deeper level, particularly children.
It was a very neat week! I met another Rachel Kimball, so that was crazy! She taught classes during the conference and had a piece in one of the performances, so it was weird for me to see "my" name all over in the intinerary, program, and schedule and such for the week. She was pretty cool :) I was also able to get tickets for us to go see Harry Potter our last night in Denton! It was so fun! Some of us used the bedsheets from the dorms at the university to dress up as house elves, and I provided chopsticks for others to use as wands. It was lovely :)
I was deeply touched by the love I felt from each member of the Kinnect company, including Marilyn, our fearless leader. With all of the testimonies being shared in our group and the service being performed, I felt the love of Christ so strongly in our group of dancers. There were a couple people in Kinnect that especially left an impact on me by the end of the week, and I am so grateful to them for their examples.
Below are a few pictures from the week! I didn't take as many pictures as I wanted to, but I hope to recieve copies of the pictures that other Kinnect members took :)
Much love

(Me and the other Rachel Kimball at the conference! She's an actual teacher and choreographer ;)

Gone for the Summer

He's off! He's gone! He won't be back for 4 months!
Yesterday, we sent my little brother off on his mini mission. He will be gone for 4 months to Nauvoo, where he will be playing in a band. That kid is really quite talented on the drums, other percussion instruments, the guitar, and piano; he will mainly be playing drums and guitar in Nauvoo. As we watched him go through security and out of sight, I was more excited for him than sad. But now as I sit at home, I realize that I am really going to miss my little bro! He'll have a great time though, and I'm just really happy for him and that he has this wonderful opportunity to serve the Lord and do something he loves :)

Simply words

Hello lovelies :) Welcome to another beautiful Sabbath day! Despite the fact that the sun isn't shining very much here, it is a beautiful day after a night of rain.
So I have been considering starting another blog to go along with this one. It was kind of inspired by the book "Oh the Places You'll Go!" by Dr. Seuss. I was thinking that I could start a blog that mainly consists of pictures of me and all the places I go... whether it be to the piano bench in my front room, the post office, a foreign country, or to the sidewalk in front of my best friends house. There are so many places to go, and it could be fun to just keep track of all of them. I will let you know if I get that blog up and running :)
I really love the book Oh the Places You'll Go. My mom gave it to me as a graduation gift last year, and simply put, I am inspired by that little childrens book! If you have not read it, go read it!
Have a lovely Sabbath day :)

9

As far as I know, most people have a lucky number. Mine is 9. I really like the number nine because I was born on 09-09-1990, I turned 9 on 09-09-1999, and I turned 19 on 09-09-09. Plus, 9 is an odd number. For some reason I prefer odd numbers over even numbers--I even set my alarm clock to odd times. This morning, for example, I set my alarm for 9:03.

Today, I would like to share 9 different things that I love :)

Vintage Accessories

My Journal

Dancing in the Rain

Mini Eclairs

Fairytales

Traveling

Taking Pictures

Fire

Hugs from Best Friends

Africa

Hello my lovelies! Anyone that knows me knows that one of the things I need to do before I die is go to Africa. I'm not sure where this passionate desire came from, but I can tell you.... it's a strong one! Since being at BYU, I have made 3 friends that are African, 1 that grew up in Africa, 1 that visited Africa, and another that served his mission in Africa and went back later for a study abroad. Oh my goodness! I have talked so much about Africa lately, it is almost ridiculous! Anyways, my friend that served in Africa and did a study abroad there has a bunch of pictures that I would like to share (I will only be sharing some though, because he has hundreds!) I hope you enjoy them :) (These pictures are from Namibia)

Missing Germany

Yesterday was a pretty gray day with a few small rain showers. Of all things, it only reminded me of how much I miss Germany. During my visit to Germany a couple years ago, I thoroughly enjoyed the rain and the lush green environment! Oh what I would give to be back there right now! The more I think about Germany, the more I think about my dear friend, Lisa, and her family that I stayed with. What a lovely family :)
Because I have been missing Germany, I decided that I would post some of my favorite pictures. Although I love nearly every picture I took there, I will be sharing my favorites of the scenery and culture. Enjoy! :)

Start By Looking at the Little Things

There are times that I come accross pessimistic people that appear to be ungrateful towards life. I for one, though, have always been able to retain a zest for life which assists me through the day with happiness and joy. After contemplating why I have been blessed to do this, I have noticed that much of my joy comes from the little things. From walking on campus and seeing the snow covered mountains reach towards the blue sky, to hearing my little brothers contagious laugh over a simple phone call. I find joy in the little things.