the farewell

I can't believe it's over.

My missionary farewell has come and gone.

What a whirlwind of a day.

Stayed up late, woke up early and was going and going and going

all day long. 

My talk was about the Plan of Salvation and the Atonement. 

I used a lot of really great material from The Continuous Atonement  and His Grace is Sufficient .

I was overwhelmed with love as so many people I loved came to say goodbye.

The Kirkby's came all the way from Las Vegas,

Road Runner came from Wyoming,

Mark, Emily, Sarah, Natilee, Grant, Jake, and Vanessa came from Idaho,

Charise flew in from North Carolina to surprise me,

And my Grandma and Grandpa Patterson flew in from Chile

Plus HUNDREDS of loved ones from work, college, high school, the ward and my entire life came to show their love. 

{The Danville Gang-minus Ariana}

{Ariana- who at the moment of this picture I didn't realize was ENGAGED!}

{Aspen/Amelia, and the ever attractive photo bomber Jolie/Christina} 

{Natilee and Sarah came down a day early to have a little bit of a "roommate reunion"} 

I had so much fun talking to everyone and feeling like a celebrity. 

I felt like I was constantly running around,  trying to socialize with everyone.

My mouth was so dry, and my stomach was begging for food,

but I had to keep socializing! (Like I'm complaining...)

I felt like I had almost everyone important to me all in one room,

and let me tell you- it was crowded.

I also got some pretty awesome video (bideo's) as going away presents:

Also- I found this youtube video, and I wish I could put the audio on my ipod

Thank you to my  parents, grandma's, aunts, cousins, and other family members for helping everything run smoothly-

Constantly washing dishes and dishing up Chicken Croissant sandwiches.

Thank you to all who travel near and far far FAR! 

Thanks for the advice.

Thanks for the gifts!

Thanks for the well wishes and prayers in my behalf. 

I am one blessed girl. 

Happy Birthday Momma.

You love me even when I'm a brat. 

You are my biggest cheerleader

And the person who gave me the travel bug.

Happy Birthday Momma! 

Bye to the Burg

I few days ago (ten to be exact)

a friend of mine on Facebook updated their status-

it read:

"I wish introductions and conclusions didn't exist"

and I couldn't help but think about how profound that was.

Especially in this last couple of days.

I've been feeling so emotional and nostalgic about leaving Rexburg

I had a rockin' semester. Honestly, probably the best semester of my college career yet. 

Good friends,

Good classes,

Good ward,

Good job,

Good times,

Good weather,
Good teachers,
Good spirit,

Overall, just good. 

And now, as I say goodbye, I can't help but think

 "How come I started loving this stinky place as soon as it was time to say goodbye."

Because, who knows if I will come back?

Who knows if I do, that it will ever be the same?

Who of these people, that have been my family away from home, will I never see again in this life?

I was so reluctant to leave. 

I dragged it out, because I could. 

 I felt like I needed to stay goodbye to everything

and everyone.

But sometimes goodbye's are the worst thing you can think of, 

So you wait until it's two in the morning and she is walking out the door. 

and then, they are even more terrible. 

And you not to cry because it's over,

but instead by happy that it happened. 

But as you start your drive home alone, 

You are a reminded of a lesson you kept being told:

and you weren't sure why,

but all of a sudden it's clear. 

So au revior to Rexburg,

If we shall meet again,

It will be another great day, at BYU-Idaho. 

#bringtheworldhistruth

So, basically, I'm obsessed with Sister Missionaries right now.....

On Thursday, I was invited by one of my favorite people, Kalli Rae (Perth, Australia), to join a group on facebook called

"Many are called.... few are sisters"

and the moment I realized what it was, I was ADDICTED.

The group is basically as many future sister missionaries finding each other on facebook as possible. We all post where we are serving and when you leave, so that you can find other Sisters going to your same mission on facebook and connect.

(so far, I have found 3 other Hermana's going to Costa Rica!)

We also give each other ideas on shoes selection, good skirts to buy for bikes, 

so on, and so forth...

Then someone had a MARVELOUS IDEA:

So.... they did: 

We sisters in Rexburg were pretty jealous,

 so me and my friend Maddie (Malaga, Spain) decided to do one ourselves in Rexburg: 

So with two days to plan, we posted stuff all over Facebook.

We made announcements in class.

Went door to door.

and did everything we could to get the word out.

But even with all out hard work, we were worried about our turn out. 

So at noon today, we showed up to the Rexburg temple,

praying that others would join us

And CHECK IT!

They did:

And my personal favorite: 

I couldn't have been happier. In the midst of the craziest time of the semester (finals) all of these beautiful future sister missionaries took time out of their schedules to come together.

I could have cried with joy.

"Much of the major growth that is coming to the Church in the last days will come because many of the good women of the world.... will be drawn to the Church in large numbers. This will happen to the degree that the women of the Church reflect righteousness and articulateness in their lives and to the degree that the women of the Church are seen as distinct and different- in happy ways- from the women of the world. Thus it will be that the female exemplars of the church will be a significant force in both the numerical and spiritual growth of the Church in the last days." (Spencer W. Kimball- Ensign, November 1979) 

Thank you so much to Michelle Fowler Photography for her service! Check out her Facebook page, she is so talented! 

Finals

Never in my life have meme's been so reverent to my life: 

*Replace "The day" with finals.*

This is how my entire week has gone 

 Thank you, thank you Ryan Gosling. I knew we were meant to be. 

Only a few more days of torture.... 

Happiness is..... being grateful

Mom buying me Cafe Rio!
The greatest babble necklace around!
Getting all my homework done
Going to Vegas
Having the best family ever
2nd Annual Harry Potter Extravaganza

Listening the greatest book
going for walks
The yummiest Thanksgiving feast EVER!
Being so grateful
Learning from trials
Being considered "Adult"
Totally got this for FREE! 

Getting door bell ditched at 9pm to find balloons, this banner, and little Costa Rican flags in the lawn:

Finally getting home. (I've been gone a long time!)

No longer living out of a suit case!

Workin' on my fitness

Cutie Clemintines (Yea.... I may or may not have ate an entire bunch in two days....)

Zumba (BEST EXERCISE EVER! GO DO IT!)

Running faster and longer than ever. 

I'm not usually a Tswift fan, but this song was the best to Zumba to EVER. 

Candle light bubble baths 

And just in case you thought I couldn't do the Gangnam Style:

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

They called me on a mission!

Yesterday, a VERY  important envelope came in the mail

Before you scroll down, please watch the following video to see what happened when I opened the envelope:

COSTA RICA, SAN JOSE! 

People! I have LITERALLY been called to paradise! 

This is the PERFECT mission for me!

Spanish speaking!

Warm weather!

Latin America!

...The Lord is the BEST! 

I am just so happy right now! 

And I guess we can add one more name to the list: "Hermana". 

Happy Birthday Uncle David

A list of lessons I have learned from my Uncle David:

Just because a room quickly fills with fog, does not mean it's on fire.

When you're the oldest niece, you OBVIOUSLY get to be the "maid of honor"

(even if you are only 11 years old)

How to barn dance.

To be brave enough to ask someone out on fun dates.

To make those younger than you feel important.

How to listen and make the person talking feel like 100 bucks

Treasure hunts can be more fun than any movie or paid entertainment.

To NEVER take for granted your time with your family.

To always make sure you get one last hug in before you say goodbye. 

To be a friend to those who don't have many. 

That castles can be in your very own backyard. 

That Angels are always very close by.

That children are closer to the veil then we imagine.

What it means to selflessly serve someone-even when it's hard.

What it REALLY means to be an eternal family.
That I do not, in fact, have the worst problems in life.
He taught me that I do not want a winter wedding- because his was FREEZING.
How cool the harmonica and guitar are.
The song "Leaving on a Jet Plane"
.... And the song "Seize the day" because of the swamp monster
How fun it can be to drive down a steep hill really fast.
It's cool to be silly.

That sometimes you can actually feel the prayers of loved ones and strangers holding you up.


Thanks for all the life lessons Uncle Dave- especially in the year since we've lost you.

More people who love Dave:
Tiff
Our families blog with how we deal with missing David

Sometimes strangers make me believe in humanity again.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Sadly, today is one of those days :

Was at work until 3 a.m. 

Didn't fall asleep until almost four

Haven't washed my hair in 3 days (not cute)

Convinced I was going to stay in bed all day

oily face

feeling yucky

feeling weepy

all I wanted was my heat pad and a sleeve of coconut dreams

So I finally roll out of bed around 4 p.m. (not a good day) because I really have to go to the store and buy some necessities. I felt gross, probably smelled, but I knew it was going to be a fast run so I through on some clothes, a hat for my hair, and a scarf to distract from scary look. 

As I am walking down an aisle and contemplating which product to by, this lady stops in the isle and tells me 

"I just want to tell you that you look beautiful. I love the look you have and I wish I could pull it off"

At first I said nothing, partially because I was so stunned, and partially because I thought she was joking. But then as I was processing she continued,

"I really think you look great and I just thought you should know it."

I literally almost cried.

I told her I was so grateful she had told me that and how icky I had been feeling that day. She said that she always tried not to suppress compliments when she thinks them. The woman was just a tender mercy. As her and her daughter started to walk away and I  turned with a huge grin on my face back to my product choosing, she once again turned and said

 "Ya! My daughter is right, you are just rocking the 'I'm a movie star who is trying to go to the grocery store like a normal person', look!". 

Again I expressed my gratitude for such an awesome compliment. 

As I continued through my trip around the store, I felt like I was on cloud nine. I had felt so icky and gross all day and in a matter of a minute a complete stranger made me feel beautiful and capable again. 

Now I didn't want to blog about this story today because I wanted you guys to know that an amazing stranger made me feel much better about myself today. I'm blogging about it because I want you all to consider the difference you can make in a complete strangers life. That woman could have thought her compliment, but kept it to herself, but instead she was bold and shared her kind thoughts which was really exactly what I needed to hear. 

Sometimes people have bad days and they really  need to hear that they look good, so with all the bad, sad and maddening things going on in the world, why not try to make it a little brighter for those around us-

-even (and maybe especially) if they are complete strangers