December of Joy!

This December was a fun one! I was able to travel a bit and see some people who are near and dear to my heart! There was also some random joy too! Let's have a looksy:
My friend Doug and I decided to test our mad puzzle skills. This puzzle is a 3-D holographic type one. When Bryan gave it to me a few years ago, I thought he hated me or something ;) JUST KIDDING. But here is our final product!


I had the fabulous opportunity to go to California for a few days! I loved my time there and was able to do some fun things! My original reason of going was for my psuedo little brother, Blake's wedding. It was so amazing to see my adopted family for the first time since before my mission! PLUS I got to see a lot of people from Woodland from my growing up years! Here are a few pictures from the wedding:


The cake was SOOO good! Melissa, Blake's sister, made the cake!



Sarah, Jill, and I haven't been together in I don't know how many years! It was so great to be together again, and to meet Sarah's kids!



Pretty, huh?

I also got to spend some time with my nieces, Trinity and Taryn. Lucky for me, I got to go to Taryn's birthday party! Afterwards, I got to help her with her Barbie pool. I also got to hang with Trinity. She tried to teach me how to do the worm, and then gave up and made carpet angels! (What else do you do in California??)


It's been awhile since I have worked with Barbie, but I got it figured out!



She has mad skills!

I also got to spend some one on one time with Trista, my sister-in-law, which is super nice, because I didn't know her very well (as I had been gone for awhile) and it was fun to just hang with her. We even got pedicures!

Do you like my snowflakes?

Alas, there was a bit of sadness in my California adventure. I was given a poinsettia from work. I forgot about watering it before I left, and didn't think about it until I got home. It was quite pathetic. BUT I watered it, and it was somewhat revived! Then I did some trimming off of deadness and I had a poinsettia palm plant! AND I gave it to Bryan and Dani before I left for Oregon :).




I also had a bit of birthday joy throughout the month! I was only in Utah for one Sunday in December, so Bryan and Dani surprised me at Sunday dinner at the Raynes with a birthday cake at the beginning of the month! AND there was a whiteboard of birthday joy for me at work. AND then there was a birthday cheesecake on my actual birthday in Oregon. I thank you all for remembering me!




AND I thank you all for the wonderful birthday wishes as well!

I will be posting Christmas on its own..soon! I promise!

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!

SO...

I know, I know. I am horrible at this whole blogging thing. I am trying to get better. I also know that you don't try...you either do or you don't. BUT I am a firm believer in processes, so this trying to improve at blogging is indeed a process of doing. HA!
SO...over Thanksgiving break we had The GREAT Heritage Flood. The construction crews broke a water main and we had thousands of gallons of water flood through Heritage Halls. I was the only Hall Advisor around, SO I was in the trenches, shoveling out water. It was actually a lot of fun, even in the midst of the chaos and the worry. Makes me grateful for the people I work with.

SO...also over break I was able to go to Temple Square in Salt Lake City to see the Christmas lights with Bryan, Dani, Charlotte, and Alex-Dani's nephew. We had so much fun, and Charlotte was LOVING it. We also had dinner at the Lionhouse...DELICIOUS!


SO...of course we had Thanksgiving. I got to spend it with the Raynes family. Oh, how I love them!

SO...we had snow, and my RAs got a taste of the joy of shoveling. The funny thing, is these two, Eric and Melany, are from Arizona and California, respectively, so they are novices with shoveling. BUT they had fun...I think!

SO...I have the tradition in my family to make a Thankful Tree in the month of November where we write down one thing every day that we are thankful for. I made one in my hall, and invited residents to write on leaves as well. This is what we ended up with.

I will try to update you all on December happenings soon! Have a wonderful day!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Random Happenings of Late

Just wanted to give you some quick updates and pictures from my little corner of the world.

Lacey and I went to the Midnight Oh Eight showing of Harry Potter! I can't remember any other midnight-ish showings I have gone to for a movie. It was so fun, with random crazies!


A friend from my mission is on the BYU Hockey Team. I started going to games after a LONG hiatus, and have been enjoying them. I promised Tim I would make a sign...so I did! It is hope in Bulgarian, which is his last name! (Aren't I clever??)


For Missionary Week at Heritage Halls, we had a culture night. There was a booth about Bulgaria, and I got to help out a bit. It was fun to have things on display and to talk some about it.


Here are some of my peeps from Heritage. This was from Missionary Week. Chalene, Kristen, Lacey, and Melany. We are all in the same core group of HAs and RAs. We have some of the FUNNIEST staff meetings! I cry laughing sometimes.


I hope you have enjoyed a few snapshots of my life in the last little while!

SO CUTE!

See Charlotte. See Charlotte dance. See Charlotte groove. See Charlotte walk. Enjoy!

Entertainment Value

Tonight we had a party/break night for our RA Staff meeting. We took care of a little business, but then we busted out the movie "How to Train Your Dragon", which I highly recommend. BUT the most entertaining part of the movie for me was watching my RA, Eric watch the movie. He was SOOO into it. He shushed us a few times, and was so expressive in his concern and was just so enthralled. I haven't seen anything like this in SO long, I am actually laughing while writing this blog thinking about Eric watching the movie. It showed a whole new side of him. Maybe it works with all guys...maybe it is like a test for them, to see if they can get emotionally involved in the movie. Maybe. Or it just has a high entertainment value, especially when watching it with Eric!

I just have to LAUGH!

This was a sign in the room of 2 of my current freshmen residents. A lady in their home ward made it for them before they came out to school. I just had to laugh!

Mission Reunion

I didn't have my camera, so I stole this picture from someone else...oh the beauty of Facebook! ANYWAY. We had a reunion the weekend of Conference, and the Bennetts were there. Here is a picture of most of us that were there. I hope you can find me in the mass of people. I am so grateful for the people who I met on my mission, that I have that bond with, who are my 'war buddies'. I love you all! (Can't wait for the next one!)

Happy Birthday, Charlotte!

My niece, Charlotte, turned 1 (see previous post) and so of course, there was a party. It was so much fun, and the highlight of entertainment was Charlee deVOURing the cake!

One Year Old(er)

SO, my niece, Charlotte is now 1! I just can't believe it. Granted, I didn't meet her until she was about 9 months old, but still. Time is flying by! She is absolutely adorable and we are best friends. :)

FIERCE

I just wanted to share a picture from RA Training this year. Here we are, getting our FIERCE on at Camp Williams.

My Job

SO. I have not really said much...well about anything...BUT especially about my new job. I returned to the world of BYU Housing as a Hall Advisor, something I have wanted to do, but didn't really think it was going to happen. While I was on my mission, and people kept asking me what I was doing afterwards, the thought came to me to find out about being a HA. I found out, and applied, and miracle of miracles, I got the job!
I started on August 13, just in time for RA training! That week was pretty overwhelming because I had NO idea what was going on, and they kept saying, "just ask your Hall Advisor". I am sure I had a deer in the headlights look for most of the week. I have been blessed with amazing co-workers and awesome managers who are helping me and supporting me. It surprised me how many people I actually know who are still with Housing. I feel like I am coming home.
I supervise 3 RAs...2 women and 1 young man. They are absolutely amazing and so much fun to work with everyday. I am trying to get to know the residents in all 3 halls. I was stressing out about it, and then I realized that I needed to relax. As soon as that happened, names and faces became actual people. Granted, I still have A LOT of people to learn, but it is coming along, for sure.
It is interesting to be the HA, and let the RAs do their jobs. Not that I think they are not doing them, but to take on that leadership/mentoring role. I had some great examples while I was an RA (shout out!), and I only hope that I can be that positive influence on their lives. I have come to realize that I need to be helping people, guiding them, and as I do that, I feel more purpose and direction in my own life. I saw it in my teaching, my mission, and I see it now again, which gives me that extra confidence that I am doing what is best right now. I am grateful for that knowledge.
*PLUS...some of the residents have started calling me "mama k", which I LOVE!*

Memory Flashbacks

So, the other day "Becoming Jane" was on TV, and I got sucked in to watching the last chunk of the movie, which reminded me of the first time I watched the movie. It was the summer of 2007, and I was living in Branbury with DeAnna and Jessica, and next door to the girls. We all went to see the movie, and I thought all knowing about Jane Austen's life. However, just before the end of the movie, Alissa starts getting really upset and said that if she doesn't end up with THE guy, she is leaving. Well, as we know, Jane Austen never got married, and Alissa stomped out, possibly cursing as she went, refusing to watch it end.
I hadn't thought about this in SO long, but as soon as the movie was on, my mind flipped to that memory almost immediately.

I think it is so amazing how you can not think about something for the longest time, and then have a small trigger and then it all comes back to you? Now, I realize I have already blogged about this (in 2008) but I just had to share it again. Our minds are absolutely amazing and have an enormous capacity. James M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan said, "God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December". I fully agree with that. It is a way that His tender mercies are given to us; as we remember these random times, we have little signals that He is aware of us, and wants us to be happy and have rich, memory-filled lives. What a blessing!

I STILL look forward to Mondays

I didn't think I would still look forward to Mondays as much as I do after my mission. BUT I forgot that some of my favorite people are still on their missions, and so I get to wait for the Magic Monday to roll around so I can hear from them! It makes me laugh. My heart was so full this morning as I heard from dear friends and fellow warriors in the work.

Slacker!

I apologize for being such a slacker in the blogging-ness since I have gotten home. Quick updates:

*Spent a week or so with my family in Oregon
*Had Mexican food for the first time since before my mission and it made my heart SO happy!
*Spent almost a week in Windsor, CA for a family reunion
*Hung out with the cutest nieces on the face of the planet! (I have 3 of them)
*Went to the Medford and Oakland temples (I MISSED the temple!)
*Traveled to Utah with Bryan, Dani, and Charlotte
*Started my job as a Hall Advisor in Heritage Halls at BYU
*Went to the wedding reception of 2 of my favorite people (they married each other, how precious is that?)
*Talked with dear friends from before the mission (yes, life did exist before, and there is life afterwards too...which is an interesting thought, comparing the mission to mortality, but that is a different blog topic completely)
*LOVING LIFE!!!!

I'M BAAACCCKKK!!!

Just a quick note to let you all know that I am back in the States!!!!!