The Way He Was Raised

Song I heard on the radio. Here's the lyrics...no youtube video...YET! It's a good one. It'll make you happy...listen for it. It's by Josh Turner:

The Way He Was Raised

Written by Josh Turner, Mark Narmore and Bobby Tomberlin

He always wore those worn out flip-flops

Spent hours in his Daddy's workshop

loved being on the water

Fishing with His friends

He always listened to the old folks

When they'd tell stories and crack jokes

Didn't talk back to his Mama

When she got onto Him

Oh, that's just the way He was raised

Had to finish all His chores 'fore

He could go outside and play

they always went to church that's were he learned how to pray

And that's just the way He was raised

He grew His hair out when He got older

Grew it clear down to His shoulders

Started hanging with the outcasts

When He went off to town

Some called Him a troublemaker

Even some said a lawbreaker

No matter how they talked about Him

He never put nobody down

'Cause that's just the way He was raised

When people start to gossip, He'd just walk away

He always loved his neighbor no matter what they'd say

Oh, that's just the way He was raised

On a cross, on a hill

That long-haired boy was killed

All our sins washed away

When He walked out of that grave

Oh, that's just the way He was raised

there's no way we can measure

The sacrifice He made

He knew He had to die

For our debt to be paid

Oh, that's just the way He was raised

It took the roll the stone away

And that's just the way He was raised

Yeah, that's just the way He was raised

Christmas Letter...

Well...I read my mom's Christmas letter this morning and I laughed...a lot! My mom's letter always makes me laugh because I've never really understood the point of it and this time she had more than a few grammatical/punctuation errors. I can laugh at that because my mom does know how to write she must've just been in a hurry :) I love you Mom!! As I read the letter I realized that I got like two sentences on my life in the past year and SO much has happened that I really can't quite say two sentences sums it up. So here's my version of a Christmas letter...although don't plan to see one of these for a while...maybe someday when I have kids to brag about or something :)

Friends and Family,

Another year has passed and what a year it's been! I have experienced so many blessings in the past year that I cannot quite comprehend it all at times. Some of these blessings I'm not quite ready to talk about yet, others you've heard much about but I'm going to fill you in anyway. I feel as though I may have met my quota for my lifetime, but I'm sure that's not actually the case.

Almost a year ago exactly, I graduated from Boise State University. The day was bittersweet for a number of reasons. The main reason being that I enjoyed my college experience immensely! Immensely! I am grateful for the experiences, memories, and learning that took place on campus. I am so grateful for all of the memories I have with Misty, Jonnie, and with professors that literally moved me to tears. I had at least one of those a semester, what a blessing! What a way to send someone out into the world of education!

After graduation I started working as a 3rd grade teacher in a new school district, new school, a grade I hadn't worked with prior...it was hard. I was grateful for the job, don't get me wrong, but I feared I had chosen the wrong career. It wasn't what I had expected and I struggled, really struggled, through the year.

In addition to that, I watched my brother muster up more courage than I can fathom and leave to serve a mission for the church in Brazil. I think the day he left was the most empty day of my life, to date. That was a trial of faith for me, to trust my Heavenly Father to watch over my brother for two entire years. Shane is my friend and he is the one person who can make me laugh at any time. He's hilarious, and luckily hasn't lost that yet and it has been almost a year. He's growing a lot on his mission and I have felt the blessings our family has received through his service. I thank him for that and I do thank my Heavenly Father for watching over him. I miss him every single day, still. I honestly cannot wait for the next year.

It's funny, that when Shane left I wanted to wish the next two years away and somehow this year has been so full that I hate to see it go. After such a hard six months of teaching third grade I found a job at the Idaho Foodbank. I have already blogged and spoken so much about this opportunity. I found my heart again. I helped feed needy children and worked with some of the most loving and caring people I've ever met. I made some lasting friendships and my life was changed through my job this summer.

Right before summer started I had the opportunity to interview for a 5th grade teaching position at Wilson, which is where I student taught. I would have the opportunity to work in the kind of school I have wanted to since I started classes at Boise State. I would work with some people that I had truly grown to love. I wasn't sure I wanted to teach in Caldwell because I want to go back to school and Caldwell doesn't cover graduate school costs like some other districts do. I was truly torn. I did pray about that decision and I decided on Wilson. I made the right choice! I will find another way to go back to school...I am unbelievably happy with my job, my class, and MOST of my coworkers.

Some of my coworkers have been such good friends that they helped me find a place to live out there...so I could visit with them on occasion and be closer to school. So...yes! I finally moved out and ON MY OWN! It was a big adjustment at first, to be honest. It was different than I thought it would be but I have grown attached to my little townhouse and I am LOVING it! I will post pictures but I must tell you, it is cute, and it's mine and I am happy about that.

The past two months have been a whirlwind of emotions and new friendships. I have met some people (and one person in particular) who have/has changed my life...from this point on it won't ever be the same, regardless. :) I am happy although some days I'm still in shock! I am grateful for the opportunity to have these people bless my life.

I am so grateful for the holiday season and what it represents. I am so lucky to have a family that is so loving and giving. Our immediate family isn't celebrating Christmas as normal without Shane, it just wouldn't even feel right. But we are enjoying the spirit of the season nonetheless. I love my Savior and what He has done for me and for all of us. I have had the opportunity to really try to better understand His sacrifice and what it means for us over the past several weeks and I have a better appreciation for it now than I ever did before. I am of course, most of all, grateful for the exemplary life He led. I hope that as we celebrate His birth and close out this year, that I can prepare and set goals to be more like Him in the coming year(s). I love you all! Merry Christmas!

A Thrill of Hope--the Weary World Rejoices

Christmas is absoultely one of my favorite times of the year! I love getting lost in the true meaning of Christmas and everything that comes with it! I am possibly going to post quotes, carol lyrics, etc...over the next few weeks. To start off--here's one that I got at our ward Christmas party last night.

"We bear testimony, as his duly ordained Apostles--that Jesus is THE LIVING CHRIST, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son."

--The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve. The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles

Just for Fun...

I got this off of a friend's blog. You are supposed to bold the ones that you have done.1. Started your own blog 2. Slept under the stars 3. Played in a band 4. Visited Hawaii 5. Watched a meteor shower 6. Given more than you can afford to charity 7. Been to Disneyland 8. Climbed a mountain 9. Held a praying mantis 10. Sang a solo 11. Bungee jumped 12. Visited Paris 13. Watched a lightning storm at sea 14. Taught yourself an art from scratch 15. Adopted a child 16. Had food poisoning 17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty 18. Grown your own vegetables 19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France 20. Slept on an overnight train 21. Had a pillow fight 22. Hitch hiked 23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill 24. Built a snow fort 25. Held a lamb 26. Gone skinny dipping 27. Run a Marathon 28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice 29. Seen a total eclipse 30. Watched a sunrise or sunset 31. Hit a home run 32. Been on a cruise 33. Seen Niagara Falls in person 34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors 35. Seen an Amish community 36. Taught yourself a new language 37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied 38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person 39. Gone rock climbing 40. Seen Michelangelo’s David 41. Sung karaoke 42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt 43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant 44. Visited Africa 45. Walked on a beach by moonlight 46. Been transported in an ambulance 47. Had your portrait painted 48. Gone deep sea fishing- 49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person 50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris 51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling 52. Kissed in the rain 53. Played in the mud 54. Gone to a drive-in theater 55. Been in a movie- 56. Visited the Great Wall of China 57. Started a business 58. Taken a martial arts class 59. Visited Russia 60. Served at a soup kitchen 61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies 62. Gone whale watching 63. Got flowers for no reason 64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma 65. Gone sky diving 66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp 67. Bounced a check 68. Flown in a helicopter 69. Saved a favorite childhood toy 70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial 71. Eaten Caviar 72. Pieced a quilt 73. Stood in Times Square 74. Toured the Everglades 75. Been fired from a job 76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London 77. Broken a bone 78. Been on a speeding motorcycle 79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person 80. Published a book 81. Visited the Vatican 82. Bought a brand new car 83. Walked in Jerusalem 84. Had your picture in the newspaper 85. Read the entire Bible 86. Visited the White House 87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating 88. Had chickenpox 89. Saved someone’s life 90. Sat on a jury 91. Met someone famous 92. Joined a book club 93. Lost a loved one 94. Had a baby 95. Seen the Alamo in person 96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake 97. Been involved in a law suit 98. Owned a cell phone 99. Been stung by a bee
This seems weak! Guess I better STOP blogging and start doing some of the stuff listed here! :)