Visiting Teaching

Oh boy! I'm thrilled to announce that visiting teaching is ready to send out. It has taken us multiple attempts to get it right. Many of our presidency meetings have been centered around discussing it. We rearranged just about everything and everyone and before throwing away our completed piles we wanted to take a picture. Big accomplishment!! Now we just hope they start teaching.

"Heavenly Father knows of your successes: thou they may seem small to you. He acknowledges and cherishes each one of them." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Valentines Weekend

We had a real nice dinner on Sunday but sadly, I forgot to take pictures. These are the pictures I did take of the rest of the weekend. It was really fun.

We visited the old ward on Sunday and heard who

their new bishopric is.

Monday being a holiday, Savers and Goodwill had

a 50% off everything sale.

A and I at the new Provo Temple We would have

walked through for the open house but the lines

were too long. Can't wait to go when it opens.

A and I played Wii Music and other Wii games. Oh yeah, I'm the

rapper on the right. Haha

Institute Valentines Dance

This was such a fun date. This was girl's choice and I asked R to go with me. It was so much fun! We went to Walmart and bought things to make for dinner. We each got a part of the meal. Main dish, appetizer, and dessert. R and I got appetizer and the goal was to purchase it under $5. We fried up some tortillas and had chips and salsa.. The dance was the best part. Some of the songs you really had a hard time dancing to because of the rhythm. There was one song that he and I both knew the words to and it was slow enough dance together and we sang the chorus together and he twirled me. He is such a gentleman. Bonus points for a guy who twirls her. I loved it.

Family "Chopped"

We were impressed they set up so quickly since

we only had an hour. It's got a cookie crust.

Our fearless team + Dad

Over the MLK weekend I went home and it was so much fun. I got a ride with A's friend K and she stayed with us for the weekend. Saturday night we held our own "Chopped" competition. It was so much fun. Mom and Dad put together baskets of food and we had to use all the ingredients in the basket plus we were given $10 extra to get extra things from WinCo. A lot of the ingredients pointed to Mexican food. C and M and I were on a team. S, A, and K were on another team. Mom, Dad, and T were the judges. My team made guacamole stuffed chicken with bean dip and homemade tortilla chips. I got to make mini cheesecakes. Oh heavens, they were so good. I made berry topping and made Nutella whipped cream. Our team won! It was really fun.

Every Step of the Way

I have a testimony that Jesus Christ lives. He is always there for me. It doesn't matter if it's good times or rough times I know that whenever I pray, my Father in Heaven listens and is there. I know that because of the atonement, I can become a better disciple of Him. "I know that he (the Lord) loveth His children." (1 Nephi 11:17) I know that he sent us to earth to grow and to learn through experiences. I won't say that trials aren't hard because we all know that they can be. I just know that He won't give us anything we can't handle. He won't abandon us. Trials are really there to strengthen and stretch us. I love this quote, "On particularly rough days when I'm sure I can't possibly endure, I like to remind myself that my track record for getting through bad days so far is 100% and that's pretty good." I know that I can't get through those days alone. I know that the Lord knows exactly what to bless me with when I need it because I know He has perfect timing. He has blessed me with wonderful people around me. He has blessed me with wonderful experiences. I know that He is mindful of me. I remember a time when I was feeling low and I was in a store and overhead the music came on and it was a John Mayer song and it cheered me up. It may have been just another song for anyone else but I really believe it was more than just a coincidence. If we look around we can find evidence of His love for us. Consider your blessings. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above..." (James 1:17) We are each divine sons or daughters of a Heavenly Father. The gospel of Jesus Christ strengthens and calms by soul. It brings me happiness and peace. You can learn more about what I believe here: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints(I love this picture)

It's Incredible

I am extremely blessed. I'll tell you why. I am surrounded by incredible examples. I have incredible friends. They support me when I don't feel like I deserve it. They listen when I am down or I just want to talk. They have strengthened my testimony so many times. One such time I was feeling pretty down and I got a text during the day that simply said "How are you Jess?" These days, this particular text has been my favorite. This tells me a couple things, the Lord is mindful of me and watches over me, I am blessed to have such caring friends, and I am not alone. I can't thank them enough for their support. I can be entirely too stubborn sometimes in asking for help but I am working on inviting help when I need it. One of my great friends reminded me that the Lord has blessed me with tools like my roommates, them, family and others to help me and support me. I love spending time with them. It boosts me and I only hope I can be there for them like they are for me.

New Years

As tradition for New Years, we always get take out Chinese food. We play games. At the old house we would go outside and run around banging pots and pans at the corner. This year M's friend B came and played games and ate with us. We went outside and lit sparklers. It was sooo cold. It was hard to start the lighter when we couldn't feel our fingers. It was 10 degrees outside!! 2015 was a great year and I hope 2016 is even better. Happy New Years!!

"Be of good cheer, the future is as bright as your faith." - Thomas S. Monson