"Words of wisdom I needed right now"

"Always remember that women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are coarse; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity."

This is a quote from my lesson for Sunday. It always strikes me that my Father in Heaven uses me as an instrument in my very own hands to teach me the things He knows I need to hear at very particular, specific times in my life. Words that I planned to teach others are actually meant for me. Hopefully the young women I am teaching this Sunday will benefit from these wise words as well!

Will I ever see them again?

The computers came much to the joy and excitement of Mitch and Abby! It has turned out to be a great birthday after all.

Happy Birthday to you!

Abby and Mitch celebrate their birthdays in September. It was kind of low key for the both of them, but they seemed okay with that. They must be growing up. Their busy schedules get in the way of big celebrations. They both decided this year instead of celebrating by throwing parties with friends, they wanted to put that money towards laptops, and are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their computers! Yay, I get the computer all to myself! Abby celebrated her birthday at The Club at St Albans with Ryan, Tracy, Stella and Jake, and Gee and Poppy. Last minute schedule changes gave us the evening off so we were able to celebrate on her actual birthday. Mitch celebrated at the Melting Pot this year. His favorite place. We had a great dinner and Gee and Poppy were able to go with us. YUM!

Caught up in missing Missouri

Hi family! Here are a few of the pictures from our adventure out to Missouri. I like Utah and I like school and everything, but I miss you all as usual.

A new year, a new beginning...

School has begun once again. I know there was some excitement in the air this morning as early as it was! Abby is anxious to start a new chapter in a brand new school. Where has the time gone? It seems like yesterday, she was carrying her backpack, which was bigger than her, off to kindergarten! Now she is entering middle school with Mitch. I told Mitch to watch out for her today, but secretly I have a feeling it will be the other way around! Mitch is now the big man on campus being in 8th grade. It will be a fun year for him before he returns to the bottom of the totem pole as a freshman. Meanwhile, I am sitting at home wondering what to do with myself. I remember past years when I looked forward to them going back, so I could have just a little time to myself! But as they have grown, I enjoyed all the time we had together over the summer, and I will miss them like crazy. Notice Mitch has his braces on. He got them on last Friday, and is adjusting fine. However, he needs to learn a completely different method of eating now. Chewing small bites instead of shoveling and swallowing is now a necessity! (Mitch, I apologize, your eyes were closed.) I wish them all the best for a successful, fun filled school year, and I am sure I will find something to fill my days eventually!

Mom and Abby Liz join me in the beehive state

Last weekend, Mom and Miss Abby came and stayed with me in Utah for a couple days. We had a blast together, as was expected, and all of my friends ended up liking them more than me. I can understand that, though, so I'm ok with it.

After I picked them up from the airport, we went the the Pizza Factory. I couldn't believe my mom and sister were sitting directly across from me so I had to take a picture.

Then we all headed to Target. Brendan and Abs can almost share clothes!

The next day we did a little shopping and just hung out before Stadium of Fire. This photo is our best attempt at a group shot. Abs, you need to grow a little more sweetie.

Abs and I rocked the hair flair for the fourth. She keeps me young. Mom was lame and voluntarily excluded herself from the coolness of the red and blue streaks.

Since Abs and I are both proud supporters of Independence, we attempted to paint our nails red, white and blue with stars over the top. The idea was a lot more successful than the actual results. Next time we'll just paint our faces or something less strenuous.

Stadium of Fire was a huge success. Despite our bloody noses due to our seat location, we each highly enjoyed rocking out to SHeDaisy and the Jo Bros.

This is what you get when you mix cuteness with sass.

I love this picture. Mom couldn't take her eyes of Joe Jonas. (PS - Who names their kid Joe Jonas anyway?)

Here's some videos from the night of concert fun:

The next day was Sunday, so Mom and Abby had the pleasure of experiencing first-hand the exciting life of a BYU singles ward. After church we made fajitas and had dinner together like a real family. We even had fruit pizza for dessert. That night some people in my ward came over for game night, which was mom and Abby's introduction to the back-biting game of mafia. I'm glad they got to meet some of the people I hang out with on a regular basis because afterwards we stayed up and chatted for a while. It's nice to be that much more connected and get their insights.

Overall, the hiatus was much too short. Driving Mom and Abby back to the airport was a bitter and not-sweet-at-all goodbye. I almost got on that plane with them but for some reason this is where I'm supposed to be right now.

I love you, Mom and Abby!! (Dad and Mitch, I miss you)

Finally a water dog at age 8.5