a little chuckle

Real quick, I just want to say something. I think we've already established the fact that I am a huge freaking advocate of avoidance. It's good and bad. I have been physically able to be a part of babylon and watch movies and stuff for awhile now, but i've been scared. so i've just avoided it.

but, this thanksgiving break, it was time to finally see harry potter. 

a few things. i've forgotten how much i LOVE harry potter. i have been semi indoctrinated by my dang english minor and the inevitable conversation about how terrid jk rowling is from all the bitter and forlorn amateur writers. i fancy her writing gosh dangit. i think she is a freaking genius. you make up an alternate world from everything down to the coinage why doncha. freak. i love her work. and i'll proclaim it until the day i die.

so that was fun. almost better than the movie, however, was the hilarious dialogue that happened. christensens....are sooo stinkin good at watching movies. oh yeah. we call out all the crap, all the hilariosity, all the unrealistic garbage, you name it. we spice things up. and it makes it....so wonderful.  here are some quotes that i had to write down. enjoy. (i understand if you can't--inside jokes are never fun to try to get in on.) (and ps. this is for hp 7.2. yes. 7.1 was also great entertaining, but i wasn't conscious of all the hilarious remarks around me at that time.)

Why do they wear that garbage? Put it in hermiones endless bag of wisdom. 

Cheapest wreath on the block. You could've spent a bit more money mate. 

Chronicles of Narnpotilight

Harry looks like he got kicked in the face by another stripper

Make funny and ask questions. 

Oh yeah, Headmaster McGonagal, I remember now.

Isn't it obvious? In the room with all the other sacred hidden artifacts-where else would it be?

You'll learn to not set a curse that doesn't freakin kill you. Fag. 

Just give him some Bertie botts every flavor beans. He'll be alright. 

What the--Michael Myers?! Straight replica!

He wants to snog.

Twilight is supreme garbage. 

Lotta good wizards. Only a few good bad ones. 

Now he feels like a ba even though he just screwed himself without even realizing it. 

Kill that ugly aaa. 

Their red babies would be like the clumsiest most annoying ever. 

Let the pahtee begin. Take off my cartigan. 

This one's for real: "Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic." Thank you, Dumbledore.

and thank you, jk rowling, for creating such goodness. the books are endlessly better, but we can get such great entertainment value out of the movies. so thank you. we are all endebted to you.

and it was worth the wait by the way. yeah. duh.

certain that same moment

i'm driving up the hill to byu and pandora really throws me a gem. i love her for her endless box of treasures.

this song starts playing and i literally said, out loud, "i'm already likin' how this sounds." wow. i had no idea what was coming. i almost cried when he started singing and this song hasn't stopped playing since. 

this. is. g o r g e o u s.

might've changed my life

this one's for you, whit

(and kristen)

(and everyone else who wants to understand grace a bit better).

thank you, brother brad, for changing our missions and our life. your explanations are clarísimo and your examples unbelievably real and understandable. thank you for bringing grace and the atonement so close to home.

thought of the day

"You and I cannot possibly know the hidden pain eating holes in individual lives, so if we want to be saviors, in partnership with the Lord, we will be kind to everyone, everywhere, all the time."

-virginia pearce

A Heart Like His

get out there

i'd enjoy showing you some photos from some of my recent adventures.

the earth is beautiful. 

...

so this one time my family went camping up in aspen grove. my uncles asked me if i wanted to go on a "hike" and i was like, hey yeah sure, why not? i thought it was strange when they said we were leaving at five in the morning, but whatever. so we started hiking and when we got the to grovey area above aspen i was like, "okay cool, that's good for me. we almost done?" ha ha, oooh no. turns out our "hike" was actually climbing a MOUNTAIN. over 12,000 feet of a mountain in fact. ha ha. i had been deceived, but we still conquered that mountain! 

so, on that exact day ten-ish years later, we hiked it again. it was a lovely "hike" up our local mountain. i was much more prepared--especially mentally--for the task at hand. and i was with some of the koolest kats around: trev, rob, meg, carts and erin. total blast.

 

 

  

(this picture is for you, whit. remember how you told me to take a picture of some mountain goats? ha.)

and this is where we live? unreal. if you've been upon timp...you know what i'm talking about.

 

until next year!

...

i then had the sweet sweet chance to go see my dear canadian cousins whom i love a whole lot and haven't seen for far too long. 

this is the vista from their balcony. absolutely stunning.

we went camping and fishing...

...and hiking around the finger lakes.  no big.

all of us. :)

jo the bear

carly the rabs

and clara the eeper'

(this was the best sunday nap er' cuddling with the largest cat on earth.)

"everybody loves him."

oh, there may or may not have been objects thrown at the black bear that was chillin right outside their house... 

I said it best, "We're very intelligent obviously throwing freakin apples." Ha ha.

...

then i hit up santa jorge with these clowns for a beautiful weekend of "paying to torture ourselves."

pam took this right outta the swim. ha ha. so happy! 

just before we drove home. st. george is so beautiful and it was a blast of a weekend! thanks k'n'colb! love you two!

...

then it was suddenly fall in utah valley and the leaves were changing around here. i love riding my bike up the canyon always, but there is something so humbling and stunning about provo canyon with those vibrant colors.

sun rays poking through...ah. gorgeous!

...

life's good. 

too good.

A little plug...

I'm...not as involved politically as I should be (sorry Michelle P.S!). I know. I'm trying to be better, be more aware and have more of a justified opinion. I've been better this election and am anxious to see the outcome of our votes--like the rest of the world.

I just want to say that it is such a blessing to be able to vote and to live in a democratic country. Allllll over the BOM it talks about how this land has been prepared, how it is a choice land above all lands. I can't help but think about how proud I am to be American and how much I truly do love my country. We're so lucky to be able to vote, and I hope that you have already voted or that you're planning on being there the big day. And if you are in the same boat as some of my family or friends who aren't registered...repent! Haha. No, but seriously. Get registered and be ready next time. Seriously. Our forefathers died so we could have this right and Heavenly Father wants us to exercise our agency and contribute to the preservation of this tierra santa.

I'll keep it fair, how about? A little plug for each side:

I believe in America, too!

a whole new spin on setting goals.

A special thanks to elder oaks and whit for the splendid message:

"Because forgiveness connects principles, it connects people."

I've been studying up on forgiveness. This is too good:

“Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.”

Forgiveness is positioned right in the middle of these simple truths, founded on our Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness. Because forgiveness connects principles, it connects people. It is a key, it opens locked doors, it is the beginning of an honest path, and it is one of our best hopes for a happy family.

We have all been wounded. We all have wounded others.

I have discovered one thing that most have in common: they have a way of forgiving and forgetting the imperfections of others and of looking for the good.

We can feel God’s love for us every day. Shouldn’t we be able to give a little more of ourselves to our fellowmen as taught in the beloved hymn, "Because I Have Been Given Much”? The Lord has opened the door for us to be forgiven. Wouldn’t it be only right to put aside our own egotism and pride and begin to open that blessed door of forgiveness to those with whom we struggle?

In the end, happiness does not spring from perfection but from applying divine principles, even in small steps.

Thanks for always knowing just how to say it, Elder Uchtdorf. 

http://www.lds.org/liahona/2012/10/one-key-to-a-happy-family?lang=eng

"There is only one way to happiness and fulfillment. Jesus Christ is the Way. Every other way, any other way, whatever other way is madness."

I rediscovered this gem as I was walking to school this morning. Holy cow. What a powerhouse. I've seriously replayed it four times already. In the body of his talk he says that every other way is foolishness, but as he's reading it he changes to saying "madness," and I love that. How powerful. The whole thing is just too good. 

Please just go and do. Listen to it.

There is only one way to happiness and fulfillment. He is the Way. Every other way, any other way, whatever other way, is foolishness.

He offers a well of living water. Either we drink and never thirst more, or we don’t and foolishly remain thirsty still.

He is the Bread of Life. Either we eat and hunger no more, or we don’t and foolishly remain weak and hungry still.

He is the Light of the World. Either we follow Him and see clearly, or we don’t and foolishly remain blind and in darkness still.

He is the Savior of the world. Either we accept the blessings of His Atonement and are made clean and pure, worthy to have His Spirit, or we don’t and foolishly remain alone and filthy still.

The Lord’s way is not hard. Life is hard, not the gospel. “There is an opposition in all things,” everywhere, for everyone. Life is hard for all of us, but life is also simple. We have only two choices. We can either follow the Lord and be endowed with His power and have peace, light, strength, knowledge, confidence, love, and joy, or we can go some other way, any other way, whatever other way, and go it alone—without His support, without His power, without guidance, in darkness, turmoil, doubt, grief, and despair. And I ask, which way is easier?

Life is hard, but life is simple. Get on the path and never, ever give up. You never give up. You just keep on going. You don’t quit, and you will make it.

He is the Way.

thank you, elder christofferson.

"Keep going, and the Lord will help you. At times you may not know quite what to do or what to say—just move forward. Begin to act, and the Lord assures that “an effectual door shall be opened for [you]” (D&C 118:3)."
-Elder D. Todd Christofferson
"Bretheren, We Have Work to Do"
GCon, Priesthood Sesh Oct 2012


Also, this is too good. Check it out.

rediscovering

i'm re reading a favorite book. it's too good. check this out:

(sierra smith, this one's for you. made me think of you soo much:)
"...the Savior is the physical representation, the incarnate expression of God's love for us, and our acceptance of Him and our profound gratitude for His atoning sacrifice is the ultimate expression of our love for the Father!"

"God's love fills the immensity of space; therefore, there is no shortage of love in the universe, only in our willingness to do what is needed to feel it." -E John Groberg

Willingness to do what is needed to feel it? 

"It may seem odd, even unfair when we read that we are required to keep the commandments in order to feel the Spirit, but God, in His infinite wisdom, knows how and when to succor us with His love. It is His to give and ours to accept in gratitude. It is part of the glorious and infinite gift of the atonement."

"What can I do, beyond being obedient to the commandments and praying fervently, what will help me feel His love, personally, every day?"

"I have seen others who carry great burdens, whose hearts are shriveled by the daily demands..--creating a debilitating fear that keeps them focused inward until they just don't see anyone else. And yet, paradoxically, the very looking outward, the reverencing of the Deity in others would open a space for God to step in and heal the wounds that continue to bleed in their own hearts."

"When I stack my obstacles against others' they seem too frivolous to be authentic. And yet, this mortal existence is designed by a genius, so that we will all, no matter our circumstances or parentage or gifts, have to exercise our agency to come unto Him."

-virgina pearce
A Heart Like His

hello. a few things--

i need you to do this (for some insights on who you are and how you communicate):

http://www.5lovelanguages.com/assessments/love/

and watch this (for a laugh):  

hawaii revisited

my sweet fam picked me up from the airport after the rich coast.

 man, it was good to see them. :)

a few days later we headed to Hawaii as a fam. willy planned this trip for mine and bro's entire missions and man, was it ridonkulously fun and exquisitely planned.

the first few days we were on oahu, my old homeland! 

just about everything in Laie made me think of you, dearest Mallory Marie Keith. what a dream that was! sure love you!

it felt oh so good to be back in the frigid aisles of my dear Foodland, although i did not welcome her steep prices.

i still do cherish my maika'i card!

we then went to the hukilau cafe for jack johnson's banana pancakes (or coconut or macadamia nut ooooooooooooooooooooooooooh yeah)

hello little shirimp in its entirety...

shrimp truck

THE ORIGINAL. 

haha. 

haliewa! my favorite beach equipped with the funnest cliff jumping!

little tabby's world was totally flipped upside down with the time change, humidity, diet, and schedule in general. but even though that was sucky for her, we were SO glad she was there!

the temple was under construction while I was at school, so we went there our first morning to check out the visitor's center. the "God's Plan for the Family"exhibit was moving. if you have the chance, go see it. it was amazing to see how going to the temple grounds as a family like that literally changed the entire feeling of our day. oh, the gospel blesses families.

i got to go by myself the next morning to do sealings (the session was full. what a great problem! i was so happy!). the inside of the temple was stunning!

...

we then took an "island hopper" to get over to maui.

colby and i really wished the view from our room was a little better... ha ha okay.

whilst on Maui, Heavenly Father was so kind to me. I got to see two sweet friends completely removed from our natural habitat: Kasia Marie and my compa, Hermana McCullough. Oh, it was beautiful!

Kasia took me cliff jumping here...

...and i died. SO BEAUTIFUL. we spent hours there jumping, swimming, cooking in the sun and having the most inspiring, beautiful, deep conversations. kasia marie, i love you so much. thank you for chasing your dreams and being so obedient to the promptings from Heavenly Father!

obviously i couldn't withhold this joy from my family. i brought them back the very next day!

we got to meet kasia's "mom" who gave us those beautiful flowers.

i love how being a member of the church brings us together in such an inexplicable way--no matter where we live or what language we speak!

oh, my dear sister. i love you, elissa! seeing you made my LIFE complete! you are such a strong woman and you inspire me to perseverar hasta el fin. you're a rock, sister. and i thank you for that.

we went to a luau on the beach...

those are whole pigs that were steamed underground for the feast. wow. 

endless piña coladas...

and the sun set while as we digested our food and there was a polynesian dance performance. too good.

oh my goodness. lululani's shaved ice. tdf. bye. 

we're training her well.

just another annoyingly beautiful dinner sunse. gorgeous!

from a whale watching zone. love you, dear sister!

aaaaah. the beach!

call kaylynn ansel adams.

before church we went on a drive up to this gorgeous lookout place--

(we could see people air surfing. i had no idea that was even a thing! how FUN!) 

we went to church in a tongan ward. a few things: 

first-- i got to be tab's gab the whole time. it was the best. love that little one.

second--WOW i love tongan's! they a) sing with their whole heart, b) bore such powerful testimony that the spirit was tangible even though we had no idea what was being said! the church is true and the spirit is universal!

...

tabby has been taught just about what every animal says...and it's adorable. i attempted to get it on film about 80 times. this was one attempt. for some weird reason she wouldn't say what a kitty says, which was her favorite one up until this trip! (then came the tiger..)

i finally captured the whole thing in this little clip!

so. basically hawaii was a joyful reunion (in so many ways) and too much fun. 

hat's off to willy. you did it again.