Thanksgiving and a little bit of Pumpkin Soup

I can't believe that Thanksgiving has come and gone! It always amazes me how time flies. It was so wonderful to visit my family for a few days. It is always depressing for me to come back to school after being with my family. I just have to push through these next few weeks! Sadly, I didn't get any good pictures over Thanksgiving break. I tried to cherish the moments with my family...especially with Curtis since he will be leaving for the Phillipines right before Christmas. My siblings are growing up fast!

The week before Thanksgiving Break was spent frantically trying to finish some projects and helping out with my ward's Thanksgiving Dinner. Everything turned out great and now I have one more project left in the semester...along with a whole lot of exams! Last Sunday, I decided to try a recipe that I saw where you make soup in a pumpkin. It was quite an adventure and a good learning experience. I felt so creative cooking something in a pumpkin! I've decided to make it a tradition because it was so fun. So, I'm loving the holiday season and praying that I can survive the next two and a half weeks!

A little bit of this and that

These last few weeks have been crazy busy with school, church, and the social life. I have been working so hard to find and keep the delicate balance. I have been so blessed with amazing friends here in Twin Falls. I am overwhelmed at how much the Lord has blessed me. I know that when the Lord is put first, everything else falls into place. I have seen that this semester. Now for the highlights of October:

Sister Pitts must have seen my last post because in the mail a few weeks ago was the above postcard. REAL LEAVES FROM NEW YORK!!! Look at those beautiful colors! I am grateful for my inspired mission companions who still continue to serve me. This simple postcard helped cure a little bit of my New York "homesickness."

I was able to go home one weekend for my cousin Elizabeth's wedding to Amilton. It was wonderful to see so much family and spend some time with my long lost cousins. At Beth's Bridal Shower we played the classic toilet paper wedding dress game. Fun, fun!

Below is an amazing pumpkin from our LDS Institute's pumpkin carving contest. I loved it so much that I had to take a picture of it! It's the Twin Falls Temple...beautiful. :)

Stacie, Nakia, and I decided to team up for the pumpkin carving contest and ended up winning one of the top three prizes for our jack-o-lantern/snowman combination. We are just so creative! :)

Last but not least, Curtis went through the Twin Falls Temple last weekend. It was my first time being in the temple with not only Curtis, but also Lindsey and Brenen. It was a beautiful experience and one that I will cherish always. I am so excited for Curtis to be headed on his mission next month. He has amazing adventures ahead of him!