Two days.

There are so many emotions going through my head right now. It's CRAZY that I'm leaving in TWO days to go to the MTC! It feels like I've been waiting FOR-EVER... so I should still be waiting or something, ya know? I'm still kind of in denial or whatever. I'm getting set apart tomorrow night. SO I have ONE day to do all sorts of crazy things! Haha, like that's going to happen. :)

Well, I love you all and FAREWELL!! Keep tabs on my other blog.... sisterreed.blogspot.com

Be good...

:)

Cecmpa Reed

Birth control

This weekend my parents are in Utah for my nephew's baby blessing. (jealous.) I offered to stay home and watch our 14-month old foster baby, Joslyn. (makes me more jealous.) So it's been alright, and we've had things to do so that's good. Today we hung out with my Aunt and cousin, which was super fun. Kwin my cousin is about the same age as Joslyn, so it worked out with carseats/strollers and all that good stuff.

I love Joslyn. And the hugs and kisses make up for the screaming and temper tantrums hands down. But this was a very good form of birth control for me. Watching a very active and busy baby by myself for a weekend is not my ideal weekend plan.

But it's been fun. :)

Saying goodbye....

This summer semester is almost over here at BYU-I and it's going to be so hard saying goodbye this time. I have made some super amazing friends this semester and I am going to miss them SO much! A few months ago, all I wanted to do was go home. I got my mission call, I didn't care about school anymore. I was doing horribly at my major. I was missing my friends at home. I was missing my family. I had no direction. (Except that I was going on a mission.) I wasn't doing my homework because I just didn't have the desire. I wasn't being pathetic (most of the time) or depressed or anything, I was just needing to move on (in my opinion.) I wish now that I hadn't wasted those two months. Not only because now I have a ton of catching up to do, but because I needed to be keeping busy. It's easy to get distracted and lose focus when I'm not staying busy. I get doubtful and once again I am forced to be humble. I can say that honestly, that is exactly what happened to me. This semester has had some trials. Some big, others small and petty. But one of the major blessings as a result of one of those trials is that I came closer to my Heavenly Father than I can ever say that I have. So on one hand, I am glad these couple of months have had some difficulty. It will have an eternal effect on me in the best way possible. Because of this experience, I can forsee Heavenly Father and I having an amazing relationship on my mission.
It amazes me how He knows exactly what I need when I need it. He knows how to give me those tender mercies and that extra boost when I'm in the deepest pit of a trial. When I am struggling, I can always step back and look at how life is wonderful. He makes it so easy for me to see that. When I feel lonely, He provides me with amazing friends. Or He gives me prayer, where I can tell Him about it. And as a result of that, I always feel peace. I love that giddy feeling after a spiritual experience. I can't wait to feel that all the time.
I have been blessed SO MUCH these past couple of months with chances for growth and experience. I always learn so much when I come to school. I am always stretched in one way or another. I am going to miss this univerity and the people I have come to love this semester. It's so hard to think that I'll probably never see some of them again. Especially since I'm leaving for 1 1/2 years.
But I'm SO excited to go to Russia and serve the Lord and His children. I am so thankful for this opportunity. RUSSIA- It still blows my mind!

well, I better go do something productive... or something...

Sugar Lips!

Soooo a couple weekends ago my two amazing friends, Jen and Tia (who is also my cousin :)) came to visit me in Rexburg! I was so thrilled to have them! They are the best for driving all that way to hang out with me. Here are some of the highlights of that weekend:

Thursday: Jen and Tia arrived!



Friday: I had to go to class :(. After that we went to the gardens (beautiful)



Then we went to Big Jud's



And we shared a burger the size of your face



And then we ate some ice cream.....................



Haha... I knew it!



Then we worked off Big Jud's by hiking "R" Mountain



Saturday morning: we went to the Rexburg temple! SO pretty!!



And then we got manicures/pedicures and Jen got a haircut and she looks dang HOT!





HELLO THUGAR LIPTH!!



I love these girlies! :)

Shaniquala!

A weeks ago there was this huge sale on fabric on campus. My roomates and I bought some brown and blue fabric for curtains. AND some purple metallic-y stretchy material for a giant bungee! Her name is Shaniquala. She is big hit and got stretched out pretty well from us playing with her non-stop the first day she was done. These pictures don't give her justice on how fun she is.





Kristin and I with Shaniquala on my neck. You can see what she looks like up close. (I feel weird calling an inanimate object a "she." Especially since it's a giant bungee...)

Rain, rain go away......

So it's been super rainy and cloudy for the past couple of weeks. I feel like I'm in Western Washington. The other weekend it started to rain SO hard with huge drops. So my roomies and I ran outside for a bit and got soaked. I'm glad I live with people who are willing to do goofy things with me.

(sorry the pics are sideways)

Springtime

Life is good.



I have the best roomates.





My FHE group is super great.






I'm going on a mission.



My family is the best!
Go Dad!!




I am blessed with the best friends. (Here and not pictured)

RUSSIA here I come!!

I got my Mission Call!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm going to the Russia, Novosibirsk Mission and I report August 26th!!

I'm freaking out! Haha! But I'm way excited at the same time. My call came a week before I was expecting!! It came yesterday and I opened it last night! It was such a surprise!! So I opened it in Rexburg, and had my family on a webcam. So it worked out well.

I still can't believe this is real- I'm getting sent to a foreign country! Russia was such an obvious choice because I've taken some Russian language classes in college, but I seriously never thought I would be sent there! I dunno, it's blowing my mind!

But I feel so priviledged to be sent there- and I know that the place and the time are exactly where Heavenly Father needs me to be. And I know that there are people in Russia waiting to hear of their loving Heavenly Father and are eager to come to Him.

I have a month after school's out to buy all the stuff I need to buy, and get the final details figured out, so that's a blessing in a way. I was wanting to leave right after school got out and not wait around, but this could be good for me.

I know I kept going on a mission on the DL, and kinda a secret... I dunno... It just felt right to not let it out yet.

SO anyway!! I will be putting my address on here, so y'all better write me!!!!!!!!!!

Love you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!




*The stuff in the purple is my mission. I'm pretty much going to FREEZE to death!!*

It's official...

SOOOOOO a couple weeks ago before I headed to school in Rexhole, I met with my bishop, then my stake president. I got all my medical and dental work, along with all of my interviews done within about two weeks- which was a miracle how everything worked out just right.
I'm going on a mission!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My papers went in officially on April 25th- my availability date is July 25th- two days after school ends. Who knows if I'll actually leave that soon. That would be kinda nice... I don't really want to wait around to leave once I get my call.
So hopefully next week I will be getting my call and finding out where I will be spending the next 1 1/2 years of my life!

I have been thinking about going on a mission since I was like... 19. After a while it became kind of a stressful thing because the sooner the time came that I needed to figure out if going on a mission was what Heavenly Father wanted, I was praying A LOT. I wasn't getting any answers. But as of recently I really put my faith in Him, knowing that He knows best. I decided to go for it, knowing that if it wasn't the right choice, it wouldn't work out. As of so far things have been working out pretty much perfectly. I am SO excited to go serve.

I know that there is nothing better I could be doing with my time at this point in my life than serving God and His children. I know that wherever I am sent, it is where I am supposed to be. I am so excited to help others come to their loving Heavenly Father. I want to teach my brothers and sisters of the truth. I know that it's going to be hard, but I know that Heavenly Father will direct me and always be with me. I know that He loves His children so much, that He will have them hear the truth by whatever means He sees fit. I feel so priviledged to be an instrument in His hands.

Now the wait begins.....

Love Story meets Viva La Vida

I found this from someone else's blog and I LOVED IT!! Jon Schmidt is amazing-- it's definitlely worth watching the whole 8 minutes.

Clay Ethan Reed!!

Thursday, April 16th at 11:45-ish pm, Clay Ethan Reed was born!! My new little nephew!! He was 7 lbs, 4 oz, and 20 inches long. He was a bit early, so he's a big boy for being premature! He is sooooooooo cute! And so sweet! I just love him! I'm so happy to be an aunt!!! Here are some pics:

Oh...MacGyver...I hardly know you!

So I watched MacGyver for the first time last night. Now I know why everyone was so upset that I had never seen it... it's amazing!

...2009...

It's been a while since the last time I updated!
Life is good right now- I've just been doing a lot of working and trying to take it easy sometimes. :) I'm taking an online class right now, which is probably one of the dumbest choices I could make. Mainly because I am SUCH a procrastinator. It's a really bad habit- and I have been working to cure that. :)
Right now in my singles' ward I am a ward missionary and I LOVE it. It's amazing how much you learn to love complete strangers (until you become friends with them and love them even more). I am really going to miss that when I go to school in a month. I never thought I'd say it, but I'm really going to miss singles' ward... and the people from here. I have come close to many new people this time around... and it's going to be hard to say goodbye for a few months. I am excited and ready for a change of pace tho, and that's the blessing of going back to BYU-I. And I LOVE school. I am always sad to come home after a semester. I guess change is just hard for me!
This new year has been really good for me. Based on the things I learned in 2008, I feel like I've accomplished a lot already- in 3 months. I will never take back the experiences I've had in the past year or the lessons learned. I feel like I changed so much in 2008. I didn't know that was possible... until it happened to me.
Here are some highlights/things I've learned in 2008:
Humbling myself to work at Fred Meyer- I am so prideful when it comes to jobs... and I overcame that a little. Or maybe it just re-affirmed to me that I hate working in retail...hah
Trying to juggle two jobs... it's hard! I applaud anyone who can do that
Realizing how much I adore institute. I have grown to love and respect those teachers- they're all so close to the spirit... and it helped me be closer to him as well
Summer semester at BYU-I......... growing to love photography even more....going to devotional... going to the TEMPLE every week!!! I could always tell the difference when I didn't go. Gaining dear friends.... learning the importance of priesthood blessings (that will change me forever)...
The beauty of Spokane in the spring. Coming home Memorial Day weekend to smell of the beautiful lilacs and see the river sooo high! I appreciated Spokane more than ever after that
Picnics with my best friends at Manito Park
Weekly walks to Porter Park to "study" in the sun with Tyanna
Photo sessions with Allison and Tyanna
Having girls nights with my roomies
Reading mystery books with my sis-in-law, along with sewing and just hanging out together
Trips to Seattle and visiting the Brodheads
Lifehouse concert. One of the best concerts I've been to
Seattle trip with my best friends. WOWZA!!
Shooting guns for the first time
Scapbooking nights until the wee hours of the morning with Jen
Realizing that I will never dye my hair again....
Many YSA and FHE activites
Chiefs hockey games
Doing something every weekend with my good friends
Meeting SO many new people and gaining so many friends
Working at Call Realty and realizing the importance of being a member of the church and what that stands for. I have come so close to the Lord by working there. Learning the importance of being Christlike- no matter how hard it is or who you're being christlike to. It's always important Reading my scriptures every night and noticing the difference
Mission prep class at BYU-I
Going to Canada for the first time with Dave
Learning what's good for me, and what only brings me down. And the type of people I should be around
Going to the gym with Jen... sometimes at the butt crack of dawn
Realizing how much you really can influence people ... whichever way you want to
Realizing how much I can be influenced without noticing it
Growing to love so many people... sometimes I wonder how it's possible. Then I remember how awesome they are and how I would never be the same without them in my life
Learning to give people the benefit of the doubt...
Learning how I like life a lot more when I am kept busy
Learning how I am SO grateful for my family.... immediate and extended. They are amazing!!!!!
Learning how Heavenly Father ANSWERS PRAYERS. No matter how petty or silly I think they are. I've really seen His love for me this past year. He is aware
Learning how I need to appreciate my parents more. They are always supportive of me
Eating duck for the first time
Seeing so many tender mercies from the Lord
Learning that I could never have accomplished anything without help from my Heavenly Father Learning to trust
Watching many friends get married
Learning that I still have a lot to learn

I hope you are all well and happy and I love you all!!

I found the COOLEST site to pimp up your pictures! I am in love. Now I just need an SLR to take awesome pictures with so I can pimp 'em.

Check it out!!

Here it is.