I love country music.

Lemme tell you 'bout sumthin'

I had one of the greatest Sundays of all time today.

1. We were on time to church today. A "first-verse family," as Bishop Tanner would say. My mother was definitely pleased :)

2. My song came on the radio on the way to church. My Hope is in You, by Aaron Shust. Beautiful. Small blessings, but blessings nonetheless.

3. It was fast Sunday. The testimonies today were amazing and beautiful and powerful. A lot of them involved conversion stories and ways that people overcame any number of trials. The spirit is so strong during our testimony meetings. That is something I know I can always count on.
I decided to fast for myself today, that I would have greater faith and that I would be able to see the abundance of blessings in my life more clearly. I want to be able to see God's hand in my life, and to thank Him always, for everything. It was my prayer to come closer to Him, and to never forget His presence in my life. I felt like my prayer was directly answered, in just one, simple way, right in the middle of testimony meeting. Exactly one year ago, I met with missionaries for the first time. I can hardly comprehend myself how much my life has changed since then, so I can't imagine anyone else being able to fully understand if I tried to explain. It was incredible, the feeling - the Spirit - that overcame me. I knew that God was working in my life in that moment, reminding me of a time that He was ever-present, constanly moving things around in my life, leading me to the right path. I had to stand up and bear my testimony. I just almost ran up there when I realized it had been a year, exactly, since I had met with the missionaries and read Das Buch Mormon for the first time. The church is true, and that's why I'm where I am. I thought it necessary to share these things with the Orchard Ward (AKA my second family).
Leah also bore her testimony today. She spoke with such conviction and was so filled with gratitude and praise that I couldn't help but silently bawl my eyes out. It's amazing to see her devotion changing from being directed at Deven instead to Jesus Christ. She has had a hard time lately, but it's paying off. She is coming to truly know and embrace the truth. I love her, and I am so happy to be her friend. She is an incredible example and a great person.

4. We watched the 5000 Days Project (or whatever it's called) in Sunday school. The story we're watching is so good. It never ends; we've already devoted two sundays to this video, and a third will be next week. It's just so compelling, we're just gonna have to finish it. Sorry Brother Okazaki, we're going to need to postpone a few lessons.

5. We talked about the mormon.org campaign in Young Women/Young Men. It's always good to be reminded about how to approach conversations with people and to remember to be confident in the things that you share about what you believe. We had some really great conversations.

6. The Broncos won the first round of the playoffs agains the Steelers. Timmy T. shined today, but so did the rest of the team. It was an awesome game, a win in OT. Suuuuper siiiick bro. Patriots next week, though...oh well, you gotta have faith.

7. Midnight Madness at the Lattin's house. This is my favorite tradition. It is so fun and so crazy, so competitive and so hilarious. Elder Houston joined the Orchard not too long ago, and he's definitely met the standards, especially in the terms of Midnight Madness. The grand total of bodies at the Lattin home this evening was 16: all 8 Lattins, the Reeds (Stella, Marshall, and Norm), me and my mom, and Elders Christensen, Fuller and Houston. It was so much fun. And it was awesome because Elder Christensen won! Much deserved, I'd say :)
Elder Christensen leaves this Tuesday. It's so sad when missionaries leave. I just love all of the missionaries that I've met in this ward, they have all been so amazing. Elder Christensen is so awesome, and he will continue to do great things in furthering the work of the Lord's church. He is an amazing missionary, a great friend, and a truly genuine person. I will miss him, but he has great things in store.

Sundays are the greatest days. I have had such a wonderful day. I want to carry this happiness with me into the rest of my week. I love this church. It's true. Jesus lives, and leads our church today. He is my Savior and King, and I love Him with my whole heart. I'd be hopelessly lost without Him. I pray that one day I would be able to help those that really are hopelessly lost, that they might come to know their Savior, and know that there is hope. There is always hope.

Re-LAX

Lacrosse is coming.  It's coming. It's so close. In one week winter ball will start. Then morning workouts. Then tryouts. Then lax. Everyday. I honestly cannot wait.

On Tuesday and Thursday of this week, Emma and I went to Newton to start practicing for the season (specifically left hand) and it was our intention to do some sprints. Well, no sprints on Tuesday, but on Thursday, Emily Kelley, A. Fife, Hannah Drier, Hope S., and Carina joined us for a lovely afternoon of lax and a decent workout - decent if you attempt to understand that it's been a while since most of us sprinted. It was so great. I left to go babysit Kayla, and was beaming the whole way there.

Lacrosse is my own personal therapy. It's an escape from the rest of the world, even if it's just for 2 hours. I can put everything I have into it everyday, and leave everything on the field, knowing I did my best. I am determined to make this the best season of my life. It will be so much fun.

Sleep Deprived

I got home from babysitting and my brother was asleep on the couch, so I tried to wake him up. The conversation proceeded as follows:
Me: Daniel, wake up.
Daniel: Huuuhh?
Me: You need to wake up and go to bed.
Daniel: Yeah you would say that, 'cause I changed the channel and you weren't even watching...(mumbling)
Me: Daniel, I wasn't even here.
Daniel: Ooohhhh, of course not.
Me: (cracking up, quite obnoxiously)
Daniel (a few minutes later): Why are you giggling?

I love my little brother.

Sweet Dreams

I just spent an hour singing my little buddy Rowan to sleep. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, the only song he wanted to hear. Whenever I stopped, he would instantly sit up and say "BURRSHOFF! BUUURRSCHOOFFF!!!" (That means Rudolph, if you didn't know). I may not have much of a singing voice, but nothing could have brought me more peace than singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer 40 times. Nothing could have made me smile that wide. Nothing could have made me happier than watching as his eyes finally closed as I sang the last verse.

"Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer, you'll go down in history..."

That smelly smell that smells...smelly

Good ol' Mr. Krabs.
I love being outside. I truly think that nothing is better - nothing smells better - than fresh air. No matter where you are, nature and pure, fresh air make for the best smell I can possibly imagine. Pine trees in the mountains. Wet pavement after a rain storm. Smoke from a fireplace in the winter. The saltiness of the ocean. Crisp, biting air on a January morning. Freshly cut grass. Fallen leaves piled in yards, on the side of roads, stuck in gutters. Sap that oozes out of trees - the kind that sticks to your hands after you've been climbing. Flowers in bloom.

The list goes on. I wish I could just live outside, somewhere where the ocean and the mountains could be combined; where there's no big city obstructing the brightness of the night sky. That way I could smell my smells, and look at my stars. All at the same time.

The Ends

Two unpleasent things just occured.

1. I finished the Hunger Games series. I read all three of them within 6 days. I absolutely loved them. But the end...it just didn't do it for me. Everything that I wanted to happen ended up happening, but I just feel so incomplete. I hate finishing books. The other world that I live in for as long as it takes me to read just disappears. Yeah, I'm a nerd. But that's okay with me.

2. My mother justs reminded me that my last semster of high school starts tomorrow. The past few times I've been reminded of this fact have made me indescribably excited, I have even laughed out loud because of how ready I am. But every now and then, I sort of panic. When we drove past my school today, all I could think about were the things I'll miss. The science office. Eating lunch at The Pit. All of the history teahcers. The silly DECA store, and its delicious cookies. The old gym with its walls of records. Well, I guess I had to leave eventually. And I guess I might be ready. Well see when we get there.