He's gone!

The last few days at the Despain house has been full of excitement and a slight tinge of sadness. On Thursday night I drove home so that I could spend Friday with Curtis. I helped start packing and finishing getting things together for his mission. On Sunday, Curtis and Dad spoke in church. It was wonderful and they both did a great job. Of course I cried through the whole thing but that is completely normal for me to do. I was proud of Curtis because he didn't get super emotional during his talk...why don't boys cry as easily?! He did a great job though and I can tell that he's going to be a great missionary. Lot's of family has been around the last few days which I have loved. This morning we all piled out of the house around 4:45 and headed off to the airport. Curtis got off safely with all of his sisters and Mom blubbering like babies. He is going to be a fabulous missionary and it will be fun to see his growth in two years. Love you Curtis!

P.S. My computer is refusing to upload pictures right now...expect a large post soon full of lots of pictures!

MTC

Two years ago today I entered the Missionary Training Center and set off on one of the greatest, most cherished adventures of my life. I will be eternally grateful for that day and all of the blessings that the decision to serve a misison has brought onto my life. I love missions and I heart NY!!! More to come...

Catching up...

I survived my first semester of the Nursing Program. I finished up my finals yesterday, met with my clinical instructor, then came home and took a deep breath for the first time in four months! I have been so blessed this last semester. I have made so many wonderful friends here. I am thankful for the Lord's guiding hand in placing me right where I need to be. In between studying and taking exams, I somehow found the time to throw a party. My friend Britni started selling jewelry last month. We had a jewelry party and movie night all rolled into one. It is always fun to get together with friends and just enjoy each other's company. Being the typical, forgetful person that I can sometimes be, I didn't get any pictures of the actual party but I did take pictures while I was making treats for it. We had these delicious chocolate covered pretzels...my favorite holiday treat! We ended up watching The Forgotten Carols for the movie night and it was good. It was a little different than I had anticipated but the music alone makes it well worth watching.

Also, in my "free time" (that I probably should have spent studying:), we got a group together and lip synced at our Ward Talent Show. It was epic! For those of you who haven't seen BYU's Divine Comedy Provo Girls...it's hilarious, slightly exaggerated but somewhat true. We decided to create our own version of Provo Girls to perform at our talent show. If we had time, we would have changed the words to "Twin Falls" but time did not allow. Here's our version:

I am excited for a month long break from school. This first week of the break will be spent finishing things up here in Twin and then heading home for Curtis' farewell. I can't believe he's old enough to be going on a mission...makes me feel super old. Oh and as you can see my attempts in blogging my 24 Days of Christmas just isn't happening...there are more important things to be done. Maybe I'll just give a brief summary at the end of the month? Blog to you soon!

Day 5 & 6 plus an update

Yesterday's attribute was faithful. As I was reading in James 2:18, I was struck with the thought that the Savior was faithful because he acted. He didn't just say that He had faith in God, He was perfectly obedient in following the Lord's commandments. Just as Christ had faith in His Father, we must have faith in Christ and our Heavenly Father. With faith, I have been able to do things that I thought were impossible. I particularly think of the path that my life has taken. There is no doubt in my mind that I am where the Lord wants me right now. He has led me to this point in my life. I am so grateful for all of the unanswered prayers that I had. They have turned out to be blessings. I love the discourse on Faith in the Alma 32. Faith is constantly either growing or dying, just like a plant. We must constantly be nourishing out faith in order for it to grow.

Today's attribute is obedience. Of course we know that Christ was exactly obedient to all of His Father's commandments. I have seen the principle of obedience bless my life. One of my worst fears is having the Spirit leave me. I always want to be living worthy of the Spirit. This past weekend I was invited to see Breaking Dawn. I am not a hardcore Twilight fan but I have read all the books and seen the first three movies. I felt that the fourth book was a little too descriptive but it wasn't awful. I was somewhat worried about seeing the fourth movie, but I really wanted to...it's a bummer to start watching a movie series and not be able to finish it. Saturday morning I woke up with this feeling that I shouldn't go see the movie. I went to my study group that morning and was asking one of my friends about Breaking Dawn since she had already seen it. As she was telling me about it, I knew without a doubt that if I went to see that movie, the Spirit would not be with me like I wanted it to be. Let me make a disclaimer here: I know tons of wonderful people who have seen Breaking Dawn and been just fine and they are just as wonderful as they ever were. For me this was a personal choice. Anyway, I ended up letting my friends know that I wouldn't be going. Can I just tell you that I had the most peaceful feeling after making that decision?! It was such a beautiful feeling to know that I had been obedient to that prompting that I received on Saturday morning. I am grateful for Jesus Christ's perfect example of obedience.

One more thing! I have been feeling so blessed lately. I have wonderful friends who make a huge difference in my life. I was driving home from one's house last Saturday and I was overwhelmed with this feeling of love. I know that Heavenly Father does n

ot leave us alone. It is often through other people that He meets our needs.

I have been randomly posting Greg Olsen paintings throughout my post because I just love them! This one reminds me of my sister and I. My Mom a painting similar to this above our piano at home. I love the memories that music makes...my most precious memories have been made gathered around a piano or singing. Music is powerful!

Day 3 & 4: Charity and Service

I'm already behind on the 24 days of Christlike attributes thing and all I can say is that it's probably going to get worse until finals are over. 1 1/2 more weeks until I can breathe again! The last few days have been focused a lot on charity and service. It was perfect because today in Relief Society our lesson was all about this very topic. The words service and love are the epitome of Christ's life. He went about serving in all aspects. When he was a young boy he was serving by teaching in the temple. The ultimate act of service and love was when Christ performed the Atonement. I love how everything ties back to the Atonement.

Day 2: Forgiving

Today's attribute is forgiving. As Christ was nailed to the cross, he uttered these words, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." Luke 23:34 Forgiving others is a commandment. In D&C 64:9-10, the Lord tells us that we are required to forgive all men. This is kind-of a big deal and often can be a hard thing to forgive everyone. I think of all the little times that I have been offended and then held a grudge for an extended period of time. I remember one instance in particular where I someone had unintentionally hurt me. I held a grudge for against that person for me than a year! Now that I think about it....a little ridiculous of me to do. :) When I realized that I was still holding onto those bitter feelings, I made the decision to approach that person and explain my angry feelings toward them. I don't even know if this person realized that I still felt that way but it was such an amazing, peaceful feeling to finally get that weight off my chest. I was able to move on because I had completely forgiven that person and I knew that they had forgiven me. What a blessing forgiveness is and I am so grateful that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are so forgiving of the little mistakes I make everyday, as well as the big ones. Happy Friday everyone!

24 Days of Christmas: Day 1-Humility

For the past few years, each December I have read scriptures that correlate with Jesus Christ's life. I wanted to change things up a little bit. I found a list of Christlike attributes and scriptures that explain each attribute. Today's attribute was Humility. I read the scriptures this morning right before running out the door to my nursing clinical. Clinical days are usually a humbling experience for me so I figured that I would have no problem focusing on this attribute today. :) Two scriptures on humility that stood out to me today were Matthew 18:4-"Whosoever therefore shall ^ahumble himself as this little ^bchild, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." What is it about humility and little children? As I ponder this, I am realizing that we are all like little children. We are so dependent on our Heather Father for love and guidance. If we can remember our relationship with God, then humility will be developed. Gratitude is one way of developing humility. The other scripture is located in Alma 5:27-29. We must be "stripped of pride" in order to be prepared to enter the presence of God. Humility is vital to our salvation. I love how it questions whether or not we have used Christ's Atonement in our lives. As we apply the healing power of the Atonement in our lives, we will be humbled. I am humbled to know that Jesus Christ loves each one of us so much that He suffered for our sins and trial. He knows perfectly how each one of us feels. What a blessing it is to know this!