Weekend Retreat

Saturday was the retreat for Women's Ensemble. That means we went to a location different than school, sang, laughed, sang some more. This is my first experience singing with a formal choir.

We spent the day at a local church rehearsing this term's music. We are singing seven pieces, and we worked on all of them. We started singing around 9:10am in a cold sanctuary room. The acoustics were phenomenal! We sang and sang. In fact, we sang so much that my voice was gone when we broke for lunch.


We broke for lunch around noon and enjoyed a variety of foods brought to share. There was more food than all 22 of us could eat! We certainly did not go hungry that day! After lunch, we had the chance to look through a few books of duet music. We have the opportunity to sing in some small groups at one of our performances this year. I am singing in one group and playing the flute in accompaniment for another group.


We finished off the day with a small performance for our friends and family around 4:00pm. I was impressed with how much of the songs I have memorized after singing them so much on Saturday! Of the seven songs, I have five learned enough that I can sing them from memory. The German song and the Latin song are the only two I still need the music for- mostly for the words and not the notes.

By the end of the day, my voice was very warm. In fact, I was hitting the high notes with a new ease after singing for about six hours. My throat was quite sore when we finished, and my voice was tired. It isn't used to being used so much in such a way!


I am really excited to be in Women's Ensemble the next two terms! I know I will be a better singer because of this experience. I am already a better speaker- I learned how to cheat at rolling my Rs! (I will no longer have an American accent when I say hello in Russian!)

Time Passing

Friday marked my being home from Russia for six months!

I can hardly believe it has been that long, yet Russia seems years away at times. I think of all the events I packed into the last six months and am in awe by what happened. Then I think of what I have planned for the next six months and am almost floored!

It is so amazing to me how the Lord works. I can feel His hand guiding my life and in my choices. Because I currently belong to the YSA age group, I find my life making twists and turns that are unexpected. Through all these changes, I know the Lord is placing me where I can be the most service to Him. The next eight months will be quite the challenging months while being the most rewarding.

Life's Puzzle II

Today, I found all the missing pieces for my life's puzzle! It seems that I was trying to fit the old pieces into the new spots. Being the young single adult (YSA) that I am, life changes rapidly. It took having everything in my life called into question for me to realize my plans needed to change. I made one simple course alteration, and poof, life is dandy again! I am more at peace right now than I have the last week.

You may be asking what this course alteration is. Well, I'll tell you! I am not moving to Logan, UT after Christmas as previously planned!

I am super excited to stay here and continue my schooling at home, be part of the YSA program, and have fun without worrying what comes next! Eventually, I'll move to Logan, but it won't be until at least July. Who knows, I might decide to serve a mission after this school year is out. I might meet the man of my dreams and find myself rushing off to get married. I have no idea what will be next in my life. All roads are open at this point. I just know that finishing this school year is what I need to do!

I'm really excited to continue serving on the Multi-Stake Committee for a while longer. I'm going to enjoy it very much. I attended my second meeting tonight, and this meeting was almost night and day compared to last month's meeting. I left tonight's meeting raring to go, ready to take action! I love being a YSA!!

I can't express my heartfelt gratitude enough to my Father in heaven for the opportunity to stay here to serve in the YSA program, to sing in Women's Ensemble and play in band at school, to be excited about life once again!

May we each enjoy life to its fullest!

Truly Scrumptious

Start with this:


Add a few of these:

Bake for an hour.

The end result?
A scrumptious Pecan Pumpkin Pie!


Would you like a piece?

Visiting Logan

This last weekend, I visited Logan, UT for the first time to check out the town, along with other things.

I love Logan!!! It is one of the neatest towns I've ever been to. Cache Valley is so beautiful with its mixture of fall foliage and evergreen trees! Logan feels like a small town in some parts, but it also feels like a big town when you walk down main street. As I looked over the valley, I felt like I was at home. The colors, the smell of trees were similar to that at home.

The very first thing I saw upon entering Logan was the temple! It's amazing at night. I also had the chance to walk along the grounds of the temple. I was overwhelmed by the beauty and strength this temple has. The hymn that played over and over in my head was "A Mighty Fortress is Our God". The Logan Temple exhibits the Lord's strength to me. It can be seen around the entire valley, from almost everywhere! I am looking forward to having that daily reminder of the Lord's love for His children.

I am so excited to live there with a temple right there, tons of living history, and many new friends to make. One of the girls I sat by in Relief Society on Sunday suggested that I start looking for apartments now in order to have one when I move after Christmas. So, that's what I did today! I starting looking for apartments. I made a bunch of phone calls to find out availability, rates, and information about possible apartments I would want to live in. After all that, I found one I feel will suit my needs perfectly. I can't express enough how excited I am to head on this grand adventure in December!

Now comes the hardest part... waiting and preparing for it to start!

Being A Girl

My entire life, I've been trying to deny the following fact: I am a girl.

I went shopping with Bookworm yesterday. That was quite fun to learn about her interests. She is quite the young woman. I am always surprised at how much she has grown over the last few years. If my nieces and nephews grow this fast, I can't imagine how I'll feel when I have my own growing kids.

I've been able to successfully find the pieces to my life's puzzle that I need for now. Let me tell you, dark chocolate and a new hat solve nothing! However, they sure do help with the process! I found this hat when I was shopping with Bookworm, and I couldn't resist. I discovered my liking of hats when I lived in Russia, where I had to wear one every day!

I'm so glad to have the gospel in my life- especially when I hit my low points in life. I wasn't my normal self yesterday, but attending Institute sure helped get me headed in that direction. I'm kind of excited to see what is up ahead for me. More and more puzzle pieces will come into reach as I travel along the straight and narrow path.

Have a great day!

Life's Puzzle

These last few months, I have forgotten the biggest lesson I learned from my experiences in Russia: Life changes quickly.

It seems that the only thing consistent in life is change. Usually, the biggest changes happen without notice or warning. While I'm thankful for the growth I gain from life's changes, I wish I could be more prepared for them.

I've learned that life is like a puzzle. Well, my puzzle was turned upside down this weekend. I have to figure out how all the pieces fit together now that some of them have changed.

Even though I feel very confused and lost in completing my puzzle, I know that the Lord is with me. He knows where all the pieces are and how they fit together. I am determined to place more trust in Him as I undertake this huge task of rearranging the pieces of my life.

Wish me luck!