Temple, Calendars, Callings, Craziness!

Don't give up! You are forming your happily ever after today!

Holy Goodness! Life is BUSY!! This is why I love what Jordan said this week: " I am so grateful I'm a part of this gospel. I would be LOST without it." It's so true. Without the faith and trust we both have in the Lord we would have given up on our craziness a looonnngggg time ago. We seriously cling to the knowledge that if we will follow Him and do His will everything will work out. Without that knowledge and desire to serve Him- it's like we are wandering in a dark forest without a flashlight and that is scary. 

Well we have some exciting news we want to share! 

Samantha was officially called as a temple worker in the Provo Temple! She will be working on Wednesday nights in the Baptistery from 7:45-11pm! (Come visit!) She got set apart on Saturday April 16, 2016 and serves her first day on Wednesday April 20, 2016! She is SO excited to serve in the house of the Lord. This is such a sacred calling for her. 

Samantha right after being set apart as a Temple Worker :) 

Samantha also got called to another calling! She is now a primary teacher in the Nursery. She loves little children so she is excited about this one too! She started that today and already loves all those kids. She feels so blessed because she gets to be with kids all week at her job then again on Sundays to teach the tiny ones! :)

Heavenly Father really knows us personally and guides us to the places where He knows our talents are needed, also to the palaces where we will learn the lessons He needs us too while developing the beautiful gifts and talents He has blessed us with. 

Today Jordan and I looked at the calendar and noticed that every single weekend till he leaves on his mission (and even some after that) are BOOKED!! Looks like date nights are being kissed goodbye a little sooner than we expected! :( But it's okay because almost every single one of those "bookings" are things with out families. (vacations, volunteer work, a wedding, graduations, etc.) So at least we will be with most important people in our lives: FAMILIES! :) Jordan and I love our families SO much. They are amazing. 

Amid Jordan getting ready to leave, and me working in the temple: Satan hates us quite a bit lately. He tries ever so hard to get us into trouble. Not like big trouble we've discovered; because we were prepared for that, so he tries to sneak in our lives in very sneaky ways: arguing, doubt, skipping a service day, feeling sad for ourselves, having a bad attitude, etc. and then that leads to bigger problems. See Satan knows if he can just sneak his way in he can plant seeds of doubt which when acted upon grow into thrones which attack our flowers of faith, hope, and love. We need to learn to cast out the bad seeds and only plant and nourish good seeds: seeds that will lead us up- to our Heavenly Home together. As Elder Uchtdorf once said: "Sandwiched between their once upon a time and their happily ever after they all had to experience great adversity... your wondrous story has already begun. Your once upon a time is now!" How true! :) I love the prophets and apostles:) 

We believe the best way to live and prepare for our happily ever after is by attending the temple together! :) 

I just want to share this 5 minute video with you about overcoming adversity- and I hope it helps you! It's called "Mountains to Climb". Watch Video here

I know we all have trials. Jordan has them, I have them, you have them. We all have our own personal mountains to climb. But you do not have to do it alone. I don't know what your mountain looks like- but the Savior does. He climbed that mountain for you already, so now He can carry you. You keep trying. Don't you give up. Don't listen to Satan's lies- only listen to God's love and hope. You are His divine child. Together, hand in hand we can lift each other and make it back to Him. 

This is my testimony and I know it is true. You are not alone or forgotten. No matter how crazy this life gets, no matter where you are, what you look like, what your job is, what car you do or do not drive, or what religion you are: you are His and He loves you perfectly no matter what. So come to Him. You do not need to be perfect- just perfectly trying. 

Well Jordan and I love you loads! Do not give up. We will continue to share our stories and mission experiences as they occur. We hope you share yours too! Those missionary moments, those answered or even unanswered prayers, that hope you have: that is your testimony. Cling to it and never let it dim. Hold up the light you have and it will grow. Of this we leave our witness and testimony, In our Savior's holy name, Amen. 

Have a great day everyone! You deserve it! (oh Ps. Mother's day is in just 3 short weeks! Don't forget to thank the women in your lives and show them your love and heartfelt appreciation for all they do!) Loves! 

Love, Samantha and Jordan:) 

It's only been 4 days..

Hey Guys!

It's funny, when I changed the blog so that I wasn't updated every Sunday, everyday I find myself saying "I want to update the blog and put this and this and this on it!" hahaha! It's sorta like a journal, so welcome to our life!!

Before I get started I wanted to say- I will be posting Jordan's general weekly email for his mission, but it will mostly be the adventures I'm having while he's out serving the Lord, along with my temple experiences. This is literally a blog for us (mainly me) to share our thoughts and lessons we learn during this time of our lives.

So in the past few days, Jordan and I have made some goals of things we want to do before he goes on his mission.
1- Weekly Temple Attendance (Thank you to our dear friends Courtney and Jake for inspiring us yet again! We love you!!)
2- We are doing a 21 day service challenge. (It started Monday and goes till May 1) We will be doing different things each day to serve someone and strengthen our relationship with our Savior and those we serve. Along with that we will focusing more on what we can do to make our temple worship more sacred and meaningful. (Join us!)
3- We want to serve our families more diligently, especially our siblings!

Our upcoming blog posts will be about the things we do for these goals. So let me share with you one that touched my heart.

On Tuesday, I skipped our morning work-outs and I felt bad about it; so the day wasn't starting out as well as I had hoped. When I got to work, I had a lot on my mind (with Jordan's mission call sinking in and what not). Upon arriving- I reported to the teacher I was to help for the day and they let me know that I needed to fix some work I'd done a few weeks earlier. They were very kind about it, I just felt awful about it, and now I was behind on things I needed to do for them. Then at lunch one of the children threw up and I cleaned it up. It wasn't bad at all- especially since I've worked in Healthcare, I've seen MUCH worse. Although it wasn't bad, it put me behind on cleaning up tables and getting the other children out to recess. I just wanted to go home and cry.
As I went to the office to pick up my stuff and clock out, one of my co-workers handed me a folded up paper and said "Samantha this was left for you." I knew it was from Jordan ;) I was going to wait and read it at home but decided I needed to read it as I walked home. I got no further than out the front doors of the school when I read "Samantha, meet me at the park for a sweet picnic. Love, your Love" I started to cry. I had told Jordan weeks earlier that a picnic after work on a sunny day would be so fun, and he remembered. I wasn't sure how to find him in the huge park full of people, but then I saw him, he started to run towards me and he picked me up in a huge hug and I cried some more. Then we walked hand in hand over to where the picnic was set up. I thought he had just made some PB&J's, but nope! He went to Zupas and got my favorites! (He's so good at remembering!) I cried again. (Yes I'm a crier- and with everything that was going on in my mind this was just heaven sent.) We sat and talked for an hour while eating.
When I asked why he decided to do this today- of all day, with no special occasion, he replied "The Spirit told me." Awwwwww if that isn't precious I don't know what is. Find me something more attractive than a young man listening to the promptings of the spirit. I dare you. (you won't) ;) Jordan is AMAZING!

The note :) 

My cutie and ZUPAS!! 

Well, that's about it! We are just working on getting Jordan all ready to go and I'm excited for my temple interview on Saturday! But I just wanted to end with my testimony that following the spirit blesses lives. Jordan didn't know that I needed a "pick me up" that day, but Heavenly Father did, so He had the Spirit prompt Jordan to do this tiny little thing for me, and it changed my whole day. It is something I will never forget. You can do that for someone too!!! Just pray for help to find the one who needs you today and don't be afraid to reach out to them when you feel the Spirit nudge you to do something. You'll know what to do. Even if it's just a simple smile or a simple note. Little things change lives and that changes the world. You can do it!
watch: Have I Done Any Good In The World Today?
What good have you done today?
Have a great day! Talk to you soon!

Love, Samantha & Jordan:)

Changes!! :)

Hello Everyone! Welcome to our new blog! :)

For those of you who read and follow this blog every time I send out an update: you know, this looks different, the name is different and the URL is different! (Hopefully you can all find it!) ;) Let me explain what's going on.

First, I wanted to reach more people. I want to share my story with more people. So I wanted to make some changes and after reading all of your great feed back here it is!

New things:
1- this blog is not just mine anymore! Most of you know my best friend JORDAN! You probably also know that we aren't just best friends. We have been dating for a little over a year! Well Jordan just received his mission call this past week to Des Moines Iowa! So he asked me to keep up a blog for him while he was gone with his mission letters and pictures, so we decided combining blogs was the best way to do it since my blog is already a missionary blog!

2- The name of the blog is no longer "Dancing in my Storms" rather it is "Our Mission Stories" because I will be posting Jordan's mission letters and pictures, and also my own experiences from temple working! (I have an interview with the Provo Temple this weekend to become a temple worker!)

3- The URL is changed!!! Please take note of this!! This blog is now:
our-mission-stories.blogspot.com If you try to use the previous URL it WILL NOT work. You need to use new URL! (Pass on the word please!)

4- The "description" of the blog has changed due to all these other reasons.

5- This blog will no longer be updated every Sunday. Rather we will update when we want to share an experience, or feel there is something worth sharing with all of our friends. So that could be multiple times a week, or once in a few weeks. (However, when Jordan leaves on his mission at the end of June, I will for sure update every week with his weekly email.)

Well there you have it! Our new blog! We are so excited to make these changes and use this blog to share with you our spiritual experiences and our enduring love story. Thank you for sharing these memories with us and supporting us through both the good, bad, hard, and easier times. We love you all so much! Have a great day!

Love, Samantha and Jordan <3

PS. Here are some experiences from the week! (It was Spring Break, so Jordan was out of school and I was off work! So there's a lot!)

Ice Skating! 

Fishing at Yuba Lake! 

Jordan learning how to work on Military trucks!

Campfire Cuddles 

Jordan shooting his bow and arrow 

Jordan practicing Photography at temple square. 

Finally got him to take a picture WITH me not just of me. ;)

The beautiful Christ statue in SLC 

Jordan after he opened his mission call! (Sorry it wouldn't let me post the video!) But we are proud none the less!  

Come Listen To A Prophet's Voice

When the Prophet speaks, it is as if The Lord spoke it Himself. 

Brothers and Sisters, 

Today I wanted to share with you a short message about Receiving Personal Revelation. Since returning home from my short LDS mission, I have felt very lost and confused as to what the Lord wants me to be doing at home. Being at home has not been an easy feat by any means and there are nights I wish I was still out having panic attacks on the mission- because then maybe people would still be proud of me, maybe then people wouldn't treat me as if I was a poisonous disease. Without the help of my ward leaders, and my amazing family I do not know what I would have done during these few months of being home. Sure, people have tried to reach out to me; only to find out they wanted to hear my story, all they wanted was to be my "friend" to hear the reason I'm home, then they didn't seem to care as much. So I quit talking about it. I didn't want to ever speak about my mission again. I wanted to pretend it didn't happen. I wanted to just "go away" and maybe people would realize I was still the Samantha they knew before my mission, I had just been made aware of some health problems that needed my careful attention. That didn't mean I was a bad influence now, it doesn't mean I can't get past this trial someday, it doesn't mean I want others to come home early from their mission, and it doesn't mean I don't want others to do serve a mission, etc. If only I could get people to understand that I still have a desire to serve the Lord, just not in that particular way. I did the mission He asked me to do, and now He has guided me back home for a reason I do not yet know. But here I am, trying to follow Him but really struggling to know what to do. 

Before my mission studying my scriptures, praying, sharing my testimony, serving others, etc. all came very naturally: and I knew where I was going. I was going on a mission. As soon as I realized I was being sent home, I was lost. I knew nothing would ever be the same. I knew that my life was different now and things were about to be even harder. I wanted to crawl into a rock and hide forever. Even now, some nights, I feel that same feeling I had that day in the MTC as I called my parents with my mission president and told them it was time for me to come home. 

Now the desire to study, the desire to serve, the desire to be the Lord's servant is still there, however it doesn't come as it did before my mission. It is more difficult, and I feel I don't have direction so the things I try to do to make a difference don't mean anything because I don't know where I am going. 

Since I've been home, I have prayed earnestly with many tears, & much want and desire to know: "Father, I am lost. I don't know what to do now. I feel like a failure. I feel like there's something you want me to do: but I don't know what it is. Please help me. I can't do this alone." Every day and night I gave this prayer, and every day and night I still wait for an answer. 

At different times I felt that maybe my answer was to become a temple worker, or to start a Youth Church Service Mission. However to this point I have not decided what the best option is for me, and what The Lord has in store for me. I have continued to pray and I'm still learning and listening.  

With this weekend being conference, I have hoped and prayed for an answer or at least a direction to go. I have been praying that I could listen with the Spirit of the Lord and I would hear what He needs me to know today. 

Prayerfully and carefully I have listened, and taken note. 

As I listened with intent to learn and grow and seek answers, The Lord has truly spoken to me. This weekend of Conference has brought me to tears. I know I am not lost, the Lord knows exactly where I am, what I need and where He needs me to go. He will rescue me if I will reach out to Him and follow Him. He will put me on His shoulders and carry me back home to our Father. I am not alone and even though my mission is not what I thought it would be, I am still a Child Of God and He still loves me more than I know. 

I want to invite you, to listen to the voice of the Lord's chosen Prophet and Apostles. They speak the words of God as if it was God Himself teaching us. They love us as our Father does. I know they care and they bring with them the messages that The Lord needs us to hear today. And all of us can and will receive revelation if we are willing to listen with an open heart, listen with the Spirit and ask The Lord to speak to you. He will. He loves you. But you must be truly listening with intent to learn and know for yourself; not with the intent to discredit the words spoken. 

I know Heavenly Father loves us more than we know. He will guide us, and He does hear our prayers and will answer us. What we desire, with out intent to come closer to Him, He will show us. We will not be left alone, and while it takes time for us to see and find answers: we must never give up and hold fast to the knowledge and faith we DO have. And always remember that He loves us. 

In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen 

Love, Samantha 

To watch conference: click here 

Listening to the Spirit Blesses Your Life :)

He loves you. You are HIS. 

Hello friends! :) Happy Easter!! I love Easter so today I want to share with you why- and it has to do with the Spirit we are blessed with in our daily Life's because of the Atonement. Let me share with you a few things that happened to me this week that strengthened my faith in the Savior and His Atonement.

This week I have been having a difficult week. I had my ups and downs and I ended a lot of my days feeling like I just couldn't measure up, like I was lacking so much I didn't even matter anymore. I prayed to my loving Heavenly Father a lot more this week, and with a lot more desperation to know my place in His plan and why I was feeling so alone and lost. Thursday night, just when I was about to give up hope, I felt prompted to go somewhere- even if it meant going all alone. (which I was sorta scared to do.)

Thursday night I felt as if everything kept going wrong. Everything was my fault and I couldn't seem to say anything right or do anything right and everyone was so busy and I just felt so "bleh" about my life I just wanted to go hide in my room. I knew there was a Relief Society conference and dinner that night but I just did not want to go. My sister and mom were busy with things for the kids and I didn't want to go alone because I didn't think anyone would want to sit by me, or if they did all they'd want to talk about was why I was home from my mission. I didn't want to go and be around people because it was just a bad day and I didn't want to spend the night talking about things that would just make me feel worse. But the fact of the matter was: the feeling to go would not leave me alone. So finally- 10 mins before it was to start, I changed and went- alone.

As I pulled up I saw lots of women with their friends, and I felt alone. I didn't want to go in. "No, I thought. I've got to at least go in and see if there's anyone who I can sit by." I got out of the car, and walked into the building. The instant I walked in the church a member from my ward saw me and said "Samantha! I am SO glad you are here." Then another member of my ward said "Hey, how are you? Do you want to come sit by me?" I was in awe. Heavenly Father heard my prayers and answered them. I finally felt like I was important.

During the dinner, I sat with some ward members and the only time they even came close to asking about my mission was when they asked how I was doing. We laughed and enjoyed a great meal- followed by a great program. I defiantly felt the Spirit that night, and learned the things Heavenly Father needed me to know-things I would not have learned had I not listened to the Spirit's promptings to go and do. Because I went I received answers to heart felt prayers and I felt the Savior's love for me personally. Here are some of the things I learned:
1- Music can be the most powerful message. (My Kindness Shall Not Depart From Thee)
2- Heavenly Father knows ME. He knows me better than I know myself. If He knows I can do something- I can.
3- There should be no question whose team you are on. The way you spend your time, money, energy shows who you are truly rooting for.
4- "Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief."
5- You can be the person He planned for you to be.
6- When you give something up to serve the Lord, He will give you back SO much more.
7- Walk through trials with the Savior hand in hand.
8- Sacrifice is painful and inconvenient; But just do it. Get your walking boots on and go. He wants to give you so much more, but you must do something. Ask him what you can sacrifice, give Him that and He will help you get there.
9- Your heart needs to break before He can make you whole.
10- Your trials are nothing more but to turn your heart to Him.
11- It's okay to wonder and doubt as long as you STAY PLANTED! in the faith you have and hold fast to what you DO know.
12- Your Father knows when something is wrong; don't wait to turn to Him.

It was a beautiful meeting and I am so blessed and thankful I went. The most important lesson I learned was that I am not alone, people do care, and following the Spirit can really change my life. I need to not be so concerned about "being alone" or worrying who I will sit by. I always have a friend in Jesus and with Him I am never alone.

Friday night I got to spend some time with my Best Friend. We went to see the adorable kids I work with at school in their school play and then we went out to get Wendy's. We ate, and we laughed so hard we almost choked on food. It was such a great way to spend the evening. Thank your Jordan! :)

Saturday was also an answer to many prayers. I had the opportunity to go to General Women's Conference with some really great friends of mine. They were so kind and invited me to dinner with them and we laughed and had a great evening together. It was so perfect and it means more to me than they know! Love you guys! :) Some of the things I learned at Women's Conference are:
1- Even when it seems all is lost, the work of the Lord is going on.
2- Prayer makes the dark hours sweet, the Lord will conduct us safely till the end.
3- Service is not a burden; rather an opportunity to learn to love.
4- Choosing to be happy, not gossip, tell the truth, smile, etc. are ways to serve. Small and simple acts of kindness are service too.
5- Think: who is under my influence? What time do I have? What skills can I offer? Who can I serve in my family or with my family?
6- Obey with gladness!!
7- It is good to nurture others, but we need to bring ourselves to Christ first.
8- Love is making space in your life for someone else. :)
9- The more we follow Him, the more we love Him, the more we teach simple truths.
10- Remember your covenants but be careful to not run faster than you have strength.
11- Remember: the love of the sisterhood of the church, love for everyone including strangers, and remember the influence of the Holy Ghost. He will guide you to find those who NEED you. and remember the reality of the love the Savior has for you.
12- Commit: to go and to serve. He will prepare the way. Commit to remember the Lord as you serve His children. "What will The Lord have me do?" Commit to be personally modest about your service and good works. Do things in secret and the Lord will reward you openly.

Overall this week has truly been an answer to prayers. I know that Heavenly Father loves us. I know that He has a plan for us and that His Son came to earth many years ago and lived and died and lives again for us. Some of us may be willing to die for our faith, but are we willing to live for it? We need to commit today to be more like the Savior in all we do and live in such a way that others can see Him through us.

On this special Easter Sunday I just wanted to share a video really quick to end. (Sorry I know that this is long.) But this is my testimony; Joseph Smith couldn't have said it better. He says in Doctrine and Covenants 76: 22-24
" 22 And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!

 23 For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—

 24 That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God."

I know He lives again and Because He lives I can do all things through Him. I love Him with all my heart and I want to be like Him.

He Is Risen

This is my testimony. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen
Love, Samantha

Goals In Life

This is my favorite book. (Read till end to see why this book is relevant)

Hello fellow blog readers!! This week I have been blessed with lots of little tender mercies- a lot of which are helping me to set goals of what I want to be today and also someday with my own family. Sooooo let's get started!!

So on Monday my sister Rose and I went to SLC to have a sister date! After we got off work we caught the front runner up to SLC, went to the church history museum, had lunch at Kneaders, and spent the rest of the day shopping. It was a great day full of laughter and making memories. We learned a lot at the church history museum too. I highly recommend visiting this amazing museum for both members and non-members alike. I learned a lot and it's a really neat experience to see all the things that the LDS church, and families of early saints have preserved from history. I loved it. Thanks for going with me Rose!!

At the Museum! 

Kneaders for lunch!

Johnny Rockets for dessert! 

Tuesday- When I do reading help at the School, we choose some words they have been struggling with and we ask them to write them down and say them out loud. As I was doing this with one of my readers, he started to write me little notes, telling me "good job" or "yes" (for correct). I thought this was cute and hey- he was practicing writing so I was fine with it. Then he said: "How do you spell love?" So I spelled it, and he turned to me and said: "I wrote this for you.." (see bottom line)

"I love you" awwwwww sooo cute!! 

Wednesday- This was my little brothers 16th Birthday!!! We sent him balloons, he got his drivers licence, we sang to him, and he got answered to prom! It was a fun day! (Oh I also went to the dentist and passed with no problems!)

Now He can legally drive!! 

This balloon had a smiley face, so he said it was his 1st Girlfriend- and he kissed it! (He's hilarious!)

Thursday, my best friend didn't have a night class so we got to see each other for a little while! We ordered my favorite pizza for dinner because my parents were out helping the High School band for a few hours, and we got to watch my favorite TV show! It was a great relaxing night! 

Friday- We had family dinner at the mall (we got to choose our our favorite place). One of my friends gave me some of her old clothes! It was a simple day. 

Saturday- I cleaned the whole house, and went on a ton of walks because the sun was shining :) I got to spend the day with my best friend and we got to help both of our parents get things done. It was a productive day! 

Overall this week I got to witness a lot of sweet acts of simple kindness. Most of them coming from my amazing job. 

1. I get to watch kids play at recess- sometimes there will be a child who is sitting alone with their head down, and sometimes they will be crying. This breaks my heart because when I was little that was me a lot of the time. I know what it feels like to be left out and feel unimportant. When I see this I go over and ask the child if they are okay, if they'd like to walk with me, or if there is anything I can do for them. After we have a little talk, generally they ask to be left alone for a little bit so I watch them from a distance to see if they feel better after a few minutes. Every time another child will be playing with their friends, notice the alone child, and they will leave their group of friends and go over and share the toy they are playing with and invite the alone child to play with their friends. They always take them by the hand and bring them to the group, introduce them as their FRIEND, and they all play happily. This warms my heart. They are SO sweet and Christ-like. I am so lucky to witness these sweet acts of kindness. And always, those kids are friends, for not just recess, not just the day, but generally they are now friends they can count on. It is so amazing to see such young kids treating others as Christ would. I literally see angels every day at my job. 

2. When I supervise at lunch time in the lunchroom, I get to encourage kids help with clean up of tables and trash. If they are good helpers, I get to give them a "positive paw" which is a paper they write their name on and they get rewarded for getting these "paws." This week as I was handing out these "paws" to my helpers one child came back and said "I like to write other kid's names on the paws." I asked "oh why is that sweetie?" and then came this sweet honest reply "because some kids have a hard time earning "paws". Sometimes they have a hard time being good, but I want them to remember that someone still loves them. That's why I put their names on it." He gave me the "paw" and ran out to recess. I was speechless. This sweet little kid was looking out for other kids who were having a hard time just because he wanted too. And he wanted to keep it a secret too. What an amazing way for him to be Christlike. I think we can all learn from his quiet sweet example of selfless love and caring. 

At the end of my work day, I always come home wanting to be more like those sweet loving children. I pray and make goals to not just be like them, but to be the mother that teaches my own children how to treat other kids- even when I am not around. I know that these kids are like this because of their amazing parents and grandparents, and other guardians. I know they are learning from example, so I know they are coming from amazing families. Never stop teaching them to be like the Savior no matter where they are. and always remember: your actions speak much louder than your words. Speak kindly, teach and show them they don't need attention for their good deeds, just a good feeling in their hearts. Teach them the stories of Jesus and live like Jesus would. 

I know we can do this. We can change the world by changing theirs. Remember they are the most important thing in this world. Your children need you. Just like Heavenly Father needs you- His child. Never forget who's child you are, and teach your kids that too. You are heirs of the throne of the Kingdom of God. You are princes and princesses. and He loves you! (See picture at top) 

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen 

Love, Samantha  

Grown Up

You never know.. What message are you sending them? 

Hello blog readers! How are you doing?! I've got a lot going on lately and I know it's a busy time for lots so I'll keep it short!

This week I have been busy! I'm not sure how much I learned this week, but usually by the end of writing this blog every week I realize a re-occurring something during the week!

Monday was a very special day for me and my best friend. March 7, was the year mark for us dating. And can I just say it's been the craziest, most memorable, lesson learning, faith building, amazing year of my life?! Largely due to the love and support of my best friend. I am so thankful that Heavenly Father sent me such an amazing worthy Priesthood holder to help me stay worthy, and help me learn and grow closer to my Heavenly Father. My best friend is truly one of my biggest blessings and I am so proud of Him. (Here are some pictures from the day's events.)

Dressed up for dinner at the place we went on our first date! 

The gift I left Jordan! (Pretty much just food since that's what he likes best) ;) 

He brought me my favorite flowers!! 

And a stuffed bunny :) 

And for lunch: My FAVORITE! Zupas, at the duck pond!!! 

Tuesday, I went and spent my evening with my hair dresser and close friend. She lightened my hair for Spring/Summer! Not only do I love my hair, I love my hairdresser because she is SO real. She cares about me and my life, she listens and gives great advice. She is such a great friend and example to me. I love her!! I don't know what I'd do without her! Especially when my best friend goes for his mission, she will be SUCH a great friend to turn too. I LOVE HER!

Before

Before 

After! 

After! 

Wednesday I spent the afternoon working and the evening with my best friend's family celebrating grandma's birthday. It was so great to spend the evening talking and laughing and making memories with them. It was a great way to end a stressful day. I love them!

Thursday I went shopping for new, more modest clothing. (This is so stressful for me..) I wasn't having any luck and was about to give up when I looked over and saw the type of jeans I love for sale for $9! My sweet grandma knows how to sew so I knew she could cut them to where they needed to be for modest shorts. I was SO excited! (Little tender mercies right there!!)

Friday my best friend took me out to get my nails done. I was SO excited because I had been wanting them done for Spring sooo badly. It was a great time for me to relax and enjoy myself. Then we went back to my house and we had my favorite: Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup!!! It was delightful! Such a great night :)

Cute fingers and toes for Spring! 

Saturday I finally got to work out, and then cleaned both outside and inside! We got a lot done and it felt so good to be able to have a clean house. Then I went and got myself a new swim suit for the summer! (This was a struggle too because I don't wear bikinis, or low cut things, so finding a modest suit was HARD!) Then I got to talk with my best friend's mom while he cleaned a car for a friend. It was awesome to be able to talk with her and just chat about things in life. I love talking with great friends; talking to a great friend, being able to confide in them and trust them will always mean more to me than they will know. (Thank you! I treasure those moments!) After that, my best friend and I ran some errands for our moms to get them groceries, then we helped with dinner. We had homemade hamburgers at my house, and breakfast at his. (2 of my favorites!) Then we went to Jamba Juice! Which I love too! We brought our smoothies home and we watched one of my favorite TV shows and just relaxed. It was a great day!

My yummy Burger was so big I couldn't bite it..

Jamba Juice! :) 

Sunday (today), I had the opportunity to go to church and partake of the sacrament; renewing my covenants with my Heavenly Father and being forgiven of my sins and wrong-doings this week. I also had to chance to speak with my bishop about things that are coming up in my life and making choices and it was great! I am so thankful that I am able to go to church every Sunday and live around so many wonderful people, members and non-members alike. I love them and I learn so much from them every day. I love this gospel!!

This week, overall I learned that Heavenly Father loves us no matter how difficult things get to be. He sends us people all along the way to help us and to learn from and with us. There are people around us every single day, and we choose (most of the time subconsciously) to either make a positive interaction with them or a negative one. All we have to do is simply smile. Heavenly Father sends us to a family, we make friends, we have teachers, leaders, peers, and all other kinds of examples.. what kind of example are you to those around you?
I realized something this week: When we are young we all have that one "older person" we look up too. That one adult that we believe to be the coolest person ever. The one that we all get really excited to talk too and we want to be just like them. Well I am that person now. I'm grown up and I know there are kids that look up to me like that. What kind of example am I showing them? Can they see Heavenly Father through me??

In closing I want to say that Heavenly Father loves you. I know that He knows you and that you are not forgotten. Please never forget that. You are HIS child and you matter to Him. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen
Love, Samantha