Friday, December 6, 2013

What a Perfect Holiday

I was lucky enough to be able to travel to Arizona this Thanksgiving break to spend the holiday with my sweet sister and her cute family. It couldn't have been a better week. We didn't waste a single second together. It has been too long since I've seen that cute house my sister has worked so hard to decorate. She has raised her family perfectly. I have to admit, I think I meant to be the youngest of four sisters because I have been so blessed with being able to see them all raise their families. I hope to be half the mother they all are one day. This year for thanksgiving I had more than my fair share of things to be thankful for. To name a few, my sweet family, my job, being able to go to school, being able to receive my upcoming surgery, and this perfect gospel. My life's better than anything I could ever ask for. It was a perfect Thanksgiving even though we missed all the family back home!
Can't you guess why being an aunt is the greatest thing on this planet.

Our friend, the head even decided to come along this trip... He wasn't welcomed very well.
Love this sweet sister of mine.
It was a very sunny and warm Thanksgiving break!

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Grateful for you...

Hello November! 2014 is right around the corner and I couldn't be any more excited! This year has been incredible. I can't believe how much i've grown and learned over this year. Every happy moment or bump in the road has been something I have needed in my life. That's why I love November. November to me is that extra reminder to count your blessings. I know I have too many to count but i'm trying the best I can to write them all down. This month I've tried something knew. Every morning before I do anything else I thank my Heavenly Father for all the blessings I saw in the previous day and then for the new day. I haven't ever really given thankful prayers very often. And yes I could always use a few more blessings but doing this over the past week has taught me so much. I have learned to appreciate such small things. My eyes have been opened to how wonderful this world really is. There is so much good out there to be seen, we just need to realize it. So during this Thanksgiving month here are just a few of the unmeasurable blessings I've been given:)

-My Very Biggest Blessings-

-My Beautiful Sisters-
 -These Perfect Kiddos-
-Being with them Forever-
My Incredible Roommates (haha just kidding) 
Blessed to have them as parents.
 -The Chance to Travel-
-The Best of Friends-

-The Opportunity to go to a Wonderful School-
-This blessing becomes a greater gift every day. There is no one I know that is as thankful for everything than this guy. He only sees the good and I hope a little of that has rubbed off on me over the years;) He makes me so happy and I love him so much. I'm proud of who he's becoming and hope I can measure up one day. I know for a fact I don't need Thanksgiving as a reminder to count my blessing for him everyday.

Life is so good and obviously I have so much to be thankful for.










Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Things Always Work Out

One day you hear someone mention something and you instantly brush it off. Well months later it gets brought up again and you try to shove it aside... again. This keeps happening and happening until one day reality smacks you in the face and you find out news that really could make or break you. 
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There's a quote I love that says, "Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it." I never realized how true that saying was until I had to put it to work in my own life. Sometimes really scary things or hard things happen to us that can bring us down so low but it's INCREDIBLE what can happen when we put a little more faith in the Lord, a bigger smile on our face, and a positive outlook in our minds. Sometimes a positive outlook isn't the easiest thing to come by, especially for me but i'm trying a little harder each day. Life is a wonderful blessing and i'm thankful everyday for the events happening in my life right now. I am learning so much about myself but most of all I have become so much closer to my Savior. When you have a lot on your mind he seems to always be there to help you figure it all out. I am SO blessed! 

Monday, October 28, 2013

Fall Has Been too Good to Me

October has always been my favorite month. No, not just because its my birthday month but because of the leaves, the smell of pumpkins lit on the porch, pumpkin patch pictures and of course Halloween. This month has been one of the best I've had in a long time. 
I can't believe this year is practically to an end!
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This year I tried my very hardest to come up with something new I've never done that a "20" year old could do....yup there's nothing! After weeks of idea after idea being tossed away I thought of it... a party with NO children!! That is a very rare thing at the John household. But I'm not complaining because I love those kiddos. Well this was the result of one very fun night with the adults.  
Can I just mention how much I love my family. They put up with anything I want to do and yup I wanted to play Clue. I have never had so much fun in my whole life and 
I think they would say the same. Don't they all look PERFECT!! 
We found Mr. Boddy!! haha don't you wish you were in my family?
I was spoiled rotten this year and 20 couldn't be any more perfect! 
Everyone wanted me to make a big wish but the thing they didn't know is 
I've been wishing for the same thing for awhile... "the default wish."
What a happy happy birthday!!
Oh and this guy... He treated me like a Queen! Not to mention how amazing he is doing out there. I couldn't be anymore proud. He said it best, "It's been tough but look how much we've grown. We wouldn't trade this experience for the world." He's right on! I sure do love him.
Pumpkin Patch's make for the cutest pictures! I know I say this all the time but I have to brag, I love being an aunt. They bring so much joy into my life! 
This is the cute result of my pumpkin:) 
Just a lil Florida Lovin' 
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And I can't forget to mention how much I love this lady! Having her at home with me has been a huge blessing in itself. I'd be lying if I said I didn't see her everyday. 
We do pretty much everything together and I love every second of it. 
So Happy Halloween everyone! It's been a perfect month and looking forward to next month I know I have so much to be thankful for. I don't know what I did to get so lucky!
 Fall has been too good to me. 

Friday, August 16, 2013

A Bitter Sweet Month~

This month has taken me on a roller coaster, that's for sure. 
Although it started out a little rocky it has turned into a perfect August. 

A little over a week ago my best friend headed into the MTC. I never anticipated it being rough or sad simply because we never talked about it that much. We did almost everything together and laughed through it all. We understood each other and always knew when something was up. She was definitely an "anchor" in my life. I didn't think it would be hard saying goodbye since I've been through it all before, but it was just as hard as the first time. There's something about being apart from your best friends that makes you step up and realize how much better you can be, and what you need to be doing in your life. I'm grateful for those reality checks because they've gotten me to where I am today. Happy and focused on where I want to be. Even though I miss the heck outta her, I am so proud of where she is. She's just the same old Emi, just a whole lot happier. Man I can't wait for these missionaries to get home!!!
 LOVE YA EM!

 Well who doesn't love a good wedding!! I can't believe I'm old enough to be having my closest friends getting married but yet... another reality check. Heck I'm turning 20 in October! AHH! My sweet friend Megan got married earlier this month and I couldn't be happier for her. Being able to be there the whole day was such a happy experience. She looked beautiful and so in love. I was so lucky to be able to share that special day with her and Colton. I'm so excited for the both of them.
 Not to mention having this girl there too:) 

With all these big moments this month...who doesn't love a good escape from reality? This past week the four of us roommates left, took off for St. George. I think that was the best idea we've ever come up with. A little girl time never hurts, right? We laughed, and sang the whole 5 hours (well 3 hrs. with the way Ash drives) haha and just had so much fun. We shopped, slept, went swimming....and swimming and slept some more. It was the perfect vacation. Thursday night we went to the Tuachaun to see Thoroughly Modern Millie. It was a lot of fun, and something to remember. I am so grateful for these 4 best friends of mine. Even though I go to a new school, I'll always have Utah State to thank for them. I can't wait to all get together in the future when the other two are home and everyones married. How exciting! It was such a fun and much needed vacation! 
 Aren't my friends beautiful!
 SWIG- A reason in itself to hop in the car and head to St. George. 
It's that good!!
 Told you we slept a lot!

Well it's been quite the month and it's crazy to think my second year of college starts in a week. 
It's been such a perfect summer so far, even though I sure have missed my Florida boy. 
Life is too good, and I'm blessed beyond belief. 
Keep on Lovin' Life. 



Friday, July 12, 2013

It's the Little Things

Lately I've been trying to stop and find the little moments that make life wonderful. Well let me tell ya...It's not as easy as it seems. It's so easy to get caught up in life or the big picture and forget all about the sweet tender mercies that pass you by.

I have had so many perfect moments this week that have made me stop and just smile. Here's three that just had to make the list:)

1)Chocolate Mustache's--
who would have ever thought making a little chocolate treat with these kiddos would have made my whole night. They definitely aren't afraid to get a little messy!

2) Meeting up with old friends--
 You know those people in your life that it doesn't matter how long you haven't seen each other, but the second you do it's like you haven't spent a day apart? One of my best friends in the whole world probably didn't realize this, but she made my day Tuesday. It was so fun to catch up on everything and have a fun girl night. I'm so grateful for her. She really has taught me a lot and I'm so blessed to have her home, and going to the same school as me. It's rare to find someone going the same direction as you these days, trust me! So thank goodness for another wildcat! Love you Laur!

3)Just a little love--
 So I would be lying if I didn't say this meant the world to me. It's things like this that make being away from someone you're so in love with, that much easier. So a little back story. Two years ago I heart attacked Patricks car for Valentines day. It was covered. Maybe he should have learned his lesson and locked his car like I told him to for once;) These were just normal paper hearts, nothing special, and they didn't have anything on them...well except for one. Never in a million years would I expect that one heart that was tapped to his steering wheel two years ago, to fall out of the letter I opened this week. Now I think you'll probably understand a little better why I count my blessings everyday for that boy in Florida. 

Life sure does becomes so much sweeter when you take the time to realize the small things. 







Thursday, June 27, 2013

Happy (ALMOST) Fourth of July

I LOVE making missionary packages. They get me so excited! I'm sure they make me happier than they make him, but that is completely ok:) I guess it also makes it a lot easier to be away from him on the holidays. Or secretly I get excited cause I only have to make one more 4th of July package;) I love the 4th of July, It's always been one of my favorite holidays. There's nothing more fun than parades, bbq's and fireworks on a hot summer day. So happy (almost) Fourth of July!





Family Vacation

This past week my family headed to Island Park for our big family vacation. It was so fun to have most the family with us. We sure did miss those that weren't able to make it. We had a blast driving through Yellowstone National Park. It is absolutely beautiful there. I've been there many times but it still blows my mind. The kiddos couldn't get enough of counting how many animals they saw. We were lucky enough to see so many Buffalo, Dear, Birds, Bears, and so many more. It was such a fun vacation. I love moments like these with my family. Even though it was freezing, it couldn't have been a better trip. I sure do love that family of mine. 




Sunday, June 23, 2013

So much to Celebrate!

6 MONTHS DOWN! If you can't tell, I'm really excited about this! Six months ago if you were to ask me if I was nervous and scared out of my mind to have Patrick leave I would have lied and said, "Oh, no i'm so excited!!" Well the truth is I really have been excited, every step of the way. I have absolutely loved having him out there. Not only is he loving every minute of it, but I'm loving what I'm doing down here too. Life couldn't be better for either of us. I can't say enough how thankful I have been for this experience so far. I have learned so much from Patch and more importantly I've learned so much about myself. I've learned that your heart takes you in directions you never expected you would go. And that it's ok to do things by yourself. Your family is everything. But most importantly... to go after what you've always wanted. I'm grateful for the hard times because they make the good times that much sweeter. So I'm going to enjoy and celebrate these next 18 months and see where life takes me!

 *Had to take my monthly picture! I love looking back on these 
(mostly because my hair is getting SO long!)


Oh life is way to good.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Happy May 21st

Happy May 21st to my handsome missionary out there! I love days like today that give you a reason to go back to all those happy memories. I wouldn't want him anywhere else, but days like these make me feel like he's so close:) So hold on there while I go back down memory lane for a minute:)

One year ago to this day, I went to go see Patch in one of our schools end of the year shows. I went all by myself so I could actually see him after. I was so excited to see him, cause of course I was head over heals for that boy. Well he never came out after the show. I waited and waited until one of my friends asked me if I could take her home. I was so disappointed I wasn't going to get to see him, but I said I would take her home. We were walking out to the parking lot when I heard Patch yell, "Hey you, wait!" All of a sudden, I was sad to say she would need to find a knew way home! That night was just different, I was so excited to see him. We had been dating a while before then but things were going just too good! We were sitting on the edge of my truck when I heard him say three of my favorite words. I LOVE YOU. I think it's safe to say that I was smiling the whole way home. It's not everyday that you meet your best friend your sophomore year of High School and then completely fall in love with them. But It sure can happen:) 

I'm so happy with how my life is right now. I love being home, going to school, working, and starting projects I've always wanted to do. Life couldn't be better. Even though a very big part of my life is out serving the Lord right now, I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm so proud of him. 

So here's to us Patch, I loved you then and sure do love you now. 

*Every story has to have a picture:)

Thursday, April 18, 2013

The Best is Yet to Come...

 You know those people that come into your life and you never want them to leave? Well that happened to me this past year. I would hands down say that the best thing I've gotten out of Utah State were my five roommates, turned best friends. It kills me to realize we only have 15 or so days left together before we all go our separate ways. It's exciting really, cause we're all growin up and movin on. But at the same time these girls have brought me so much comfort, peace, happiness, and too much fun this past year. Emi and Kelsey. Those two will make the most incredible sister missionaries. I can't wait for them both. They have made a huge impact on my life and I have no doubt in my mind what they could do out in the field. Laur and Ash. Oh heck I love those two. They're staying up in Logan this summer, and I can't imagine how much fun they'll have... especially with me on their couch every weekend.:) They are such sweet hearts and would drop anything for anyone. Well Miss Adrienne. Honestly I don't know where I would be without this girl. I've heard people say, "living with your best friend will be the worst decision you'll ever make." Well I've proved them wrong. She's my other half. I count my blessings everyday for her in my life. I'm sad that I'm heading home for school and she's staying up. But I'm not worried in the least because these five girls are friends that will last and last. Can't wait to see where life takes us all. The best is yet to come!! Love you!


 Truly GREAT FRIENDS are hard to find, difficult to leave & impossible to forget.