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!

Looking for an East Coast Autumn

I love the Autumn season! I love the cool, crisp air. I love the excitement of upcoming holidays...lots of preparations and parties. There's always something going on. One of the things that I love the most is the changing colors that are on the trees. After experiencing a New York Fall, I must admit that it has been somewhat of a disappointment to see that the trees in Idaho just don't have the beauty that the ones on the East coast have. I miss it so much and I have been on the look out for beautiful leaves. I was so excited to finally find a tree that had changed colors...so excited that I had to take a picture with it! :) Sadly, the leaves barely made it into the picture but you can see the flecks of orange above my head.

Last Monday we had a random holiday. I've never had school canceled for Columbus Day so this was a first. I decided that my apartment needed to bond a little bit more as roommates. I have never lived in an apartment with such opposite personalities. My roommates are great, we are all have very different interests. So I took the initiative and we all agreed to go hiking together. We drove to Shoshone Falls and hiked on the Canyon Rim Trail. It was so fun and I wanted to just keep hiking all day. I decided that a backpacking trip next summer is a must because my little heart is missing the hardcore hiking that comes with backpacking.

Above: Jordan, Nicole, and I. We are missing our adopted roommate Jackie but we will have to catch her next time.

This is Shoshone Falls. Did you know that it is higher than Niagara Falls? It should be just as famous!

Other random thoughts: I passed my second Nursing Exam...I truly consider passing a Nursing Exam a miracle. There's no way that I could do it by myself. The Lord has been blessing me. Also, I think that I've matured since my pre-mission days. I went to "A Midsummer Nights Dream" last night. I actually understood what was going on and enjoyed it. I have never been able to do that with Shakespeare before.

Looking forward: Wedding bells ring next weekend and I get to see my family!

P.S. I don't know why my computer is underlining these words but I can't get it to stop....

Conference Weekend

Here are some fun pictures from Conference Weekend. I didn't get a chance to take too many pictures but here are some that I did get. Enjoy!

Reunited with my sisters! Sorry your eyes are closed Lila but this is the best one that I have. :) It was so fun to be together again...especially for Lila. That tough girl still lives at home with our three teenage brothers. She's quite the trooper!

The newlyweds! Speaking of newlyweds, how long am I allowed to call them that? Notice Lila's little head poking up in the back? Love it!

Here is a few of us in the Conference Center. Again, Lila wasn't looking at the camera. My brother look so happy and excited to be at Conference. :) It was a long day for all of us that day but so worth it!

I was wandering through my CDs and found a CD with pictures from my BYU-Idaho days. I miss these girls so much! It's been amazing how after a few years our friendships with each other are still going strong despite the fact that we are all now scattered across the country. Memories were brought back this weekend as I sat in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City Utah. I remember the time that we took a road trip to conference. Good times! I love you D-5 roomies!!!

See this beautiful building below? This is the Provo Tabernacle located in Provo, Utah just a few blocks from BYU campus. When I lived in Utah, I lived just a few blocks from this building and

would walk to it and have meetings in it frequently. Sadly, while I was in New York, it burnt down with just the exterior walls standing. It was announced this weekend that they are rebuilding it and turning it into a TEMPLE!!!

On a side note: To those of you that I didn't get to meet up with this weekend...I'm planning another trip to Utah sometime when I will have time to do things other than sitting and watching conference. :) Love you all!

Missing this...

This is the first time in 11 years (not counting my mission) that I haven't been on a competition dance team. When I made the decision not to dance this school year, I really thought that I would be okay with it. Lately though, I have been missing clogging like crazy! I am definitely a clogger FOR LIFE! I caved in and decided that I will at least be competing individual events this year. YAY! I have also been debating whether or not to start teaching dance out of my garage. The debate continues to go on in my mind. Here's an awesome video of one of the teams I used to compete against. Just follow the link and you will see why I am missing clogging so much! :)

St. George Competition 2011

On a happier note, I am super excited to go to Utah next weekend for General Conference! I am so blessed to know that God calls prophets in our day. General Conference is for everyone. Click here for more information. I'd love to have you join me this next weekend in watching the prophet and apostles of our Savior Jesus Christ speak to us! It will be a fabulous weekend at Temple Square. Love that place!

Education

I survived my first Nursing exam of the semester! All I can say about it is that miracles never cease. I really want to do well in my Nursing classes and not get behind so I have spent almost every waking minute preparing for this test. In an effort to keep my priorities straight, I have been making sure that I put God first. It has simply been amazing to see that the same things that made me successful on my mission (daily prayer, scripture study, etc..) continue to make me successful here. As I continue to do my best to have the Spirit in my life, I have been more successful in my educational pursuits. I love it!!!! Speaking of educational pursuits, here is a link to one of my favorite websites. http://mormon.org/learning/ Check it out!!! I am so thankful for the endless learning opportunities that life brings!

Mission Memories: Sister Bentley

I should be studying. School has officially consumed my life. Not cool! But in two short years, it will be worth it. I am grateful that I have the opportunity to get an education. It is such a blessing! My Nursing class seems to have several amazing people in it. I am fortunate to work with them for the next two years. I really feel like we are all on a team trying to get through these next two years of Nursing school together. In addition to my heavy Nursing load, I am taking an Institute class through my church. To learn more about what Institute is follow this link: http://institute.lds.org/ There are Institutes all over the world where people can go to take Religion classes. I am currently taking a class about the New Testament. I absolutely love it! I love learning more about our Savior Jesus Christ. I really fell in love with the New Testament as a missionary in New York. The world is blessed to have two witnesses of Jesus Christ-the Holy Bible and the Book of Mormon.

So on to my subject title. Many of you know that last Tuesday I received a phone call that I never expected. My friend Ben called to inform me that our friend, Vanessa Bentley, had been killed in a car crash while on her mission. Vanessa, Ben, and I were in the BYU 51st Ward together. A little over a year later Vanessa (now Sister Bentley) and I served together in the New York Utica Mission. Sister Bentley and I were companions for three months. I have been in shock the last week or so but one thing that I know for sure is that God has a plan for each one of us. His plans are bigger than our own. As we trust in him, I know that He will lead us in the right direction. Here are some of my favorite memories of Sister Vanessa Bentley:

*Riding back to Fayetteville from transfer meeting with Elder and Sister Hersam. We had so much luggage that we had to pack it into the back sit along with our bodies. :)

*Being in a district with more Sisters than Elders. Sister power!

*Spending Christmas together-missionary Christmases are the BEST THING EVER!

*Surviving the worst Winter upstate New York has seen in years...walking.

There are so many more memories but I would be writing all night trying to record all of them. I love Sister Bentley and I know, without a doubt, that we will all see her again. She will be with her family again. I am eternally grateful for this knowledge. It's not just good-bye Sister Bentley...it's see you later!

Now about that homework... :S