Honor Week! Jan 22-29

I love where I live and have the chance to go to school. 

I LOVE it.

Did I mention i'm a famous hand model? 

Sunday's are kind of crazy now, but I still love them. Its dedicated a whole day to service and Christ. And possibly sleep. After some of my meetings I went on a drive with my friend up to the parkway. It was all rainy and foggy and look how pretty! We were on top of the world!

I was writing Alley on Sunday and we both were talking about how different things shape who we are. The Lord teaches us and puts us in many different experiences that our tailored to us. I appreciated what she said about her learning and growing on her mission, and about me growing here at SVU.

Here is a shot of the parking lot. HAHA

We have been having the warmest winter ever. A lot of days I am just in a cardigan! Its been the best. This is a horrible picture but some girls were just laying out on tables basking in the sun. I want to do that!

Have I mentioned I love my job?

This is Sarah. I love this girl. I think we drive each other absolutely crazy, but hey, at least its mutual!

Friday some of my friends (myself included) needed to go do something crazy. And its important to go hang out with people you don't necessarily do stuff with everyday. So Chalae, Cody Barnes, Sarah, and Catherine and I headed off to the most entertaining place in miles..

Walmart!

 

I decided the RA's needed a pet. We could pass it around each week.

We had quite the adventure let me tell ya. Our goal was to find the craziest kids toy. I think we all appreciated going back to the good old days (last week), and playing with the kids toys! 

Saturday I woke up to try and get some homework done! I was pretty successful and then we went to the boys basketball game. It was getting intense man! It was also kind of sad because the whole cross country team, who I spend a lot of time with, was at a meet.. But it was still good.

That night it was honor ball. It looked so pretty! And we had this professional jazz band from Lynchburg. They were AMAZING! I just liked standing there listening to them!

We left the dance and decided we needed cookies. So Sarah and I traipsed through Walmart in our dresses and bought cookies!

Sunday we had an awesome combined third hour where the Bishopric answered questions that we submitted the week before. 

My favorite question: Can you draw a Dinosaur?

Have I ever told you about this crazy girl that I call my sister?

Raleigh Adventures Jan 15-21

I have developed this habit of going down to campus after 9pm and working on homework in the Library or Jonzzeys. Its quiet, it doesn't contain my bed which is super comfortable and calls my name, and my favorite part is walking home. I love walking at night! And we have had the greatest weather!

I was able to work on Visiting Teaching with my counselors this week. Its always a really cool experience. 

Saturday we went on adventure to the Raleigh Temple. What Sarah and I didn't know...was that there isn't a straight route to Raleigh from our school. You have to go winding through all these side streets. It was raining and an absolute beautiful drive! It just took FOREVER!

We arrived and went to Panara for Lunch. I have never really liked Panara, but this time I loved it! I got a delicious sandwich and mac and cheese! ..and I may or may not have gotten a chocolate croissant. 

 

We then went walking around the quite town of Raleigh. I am in love! We had so much fun and met this amazing lady at her art gallery. I was just in heaven. Art, antiques, book stores, and quaint shops!

 
 

The beautiful temple :)

 
 

It took us 5 hours instead of 3 to get home because we went just the freeway route because it was pouring rain and safer that way. So we got home in a fluster.. but it was a good little adventure!

The Longest Full Week of School Jan 8-14

This was not okay!!

Sunday was a little crazy! I have ward council now at 7:30am and I was all alone for Relief Society. I taught the lesson which I think went well. I am so excited to continue to get to know the amazing woman in my Relief Society. I have such a testimony that we are in our certain wards for a reason. The leaders have special priesthood authority and guidance for those they are over. That is why it is so important to attend the ward you are suppose to be in! There was also a World Wide Devotional that night.

Monday this happened. I spent all day trying to determine how to make cold illegal.

For FHE we tied blankets for a local women's shelter.

Only in Virginia can you have 13 Degree Weather on Monday and Wednesday have a high of over 60! It was beautiful!


Look at this cuteness!


Thursday's are so crazy! I had classes, went straight to work, had an RA dinner with the Lofts, had a meeting with Bishop, and then had a big group RA meeting. It was nuts! 

The week just kept going and going. It felt like we had been in school at least three weeks.

Friday was the first SVU Men's Volleyball game. We won! It was such a fun night! It was also twin day for the game and I think Cody and Baby Marshall definitely won the best twin award. 

Saturday I woke up and just needed to not be on campus. So, Sarah and I went on our monthly movie date. This time to La La Land. My love for this movie is insane. I loved it even more the second time!


We came home and went to the Shenanigans performance. It was funny as always!


Afterword a group was going up to the Lofts to watch Psych. Man, how I love that show!
 

I am counting down the days to when Alley arrives home. I got looking at pictures from our UK trip and it made me mad that I wasn't in England and sad Alley wasn't home yet! But its just a few weeks away!


Will's face in this picture is priceless

Starting Again! Jan 3-Jan7

I left super early on January 3rd and it was crazy! I was delayed because of the snow and ice and I ran to my connecting flight in Denver, arriving just in time. Needless to say I was very happy to arrive back in Virginia. 

I hung out with Raquel for a bit before heading back to the airport to pick up my friend Stockton. It was nice having someone in the car to drive home with and keep me awake!

I hadn't ate basically all day, so I went on an adventure to Cook-out. I was absolutely exhausted but I had a new resident text me saying she was arriving at 2am... So I had to do something to stay awake. We ended up renting Me Before You and watched that in the art hallway till she arrived. 

Life jumped right back in with work on Wednesday. I really did miss their cute little faces and laughs. They are some of my favorite little human beings ever! Its amazing to see how much they grew up in a few short weeks.

Classes started on Thursday the 5th which was a little crazy. Half the school wasn't back yet, and everyone was thrown off by the middle of the week start. But I think I am really going to like my classes!!

I have Institute, Choir, Museum Studies (This is the best!), Organization and Leadership, Pilates, British Literature, and Genre Studies: Fiction.

So along with classes starting Thursday, I got called in to meet with my Bishop. 

I am now the Buena Vista YSA 4th ward Relief Society President.

I had a feeling this was coming! I am excited and nervous and anxious to get everything in place and moving along. But I have such a love for the women in the ward and am excited to work with all of them!

And just to keep a theme going... 3 out of 4 of us in the presidency are named Lauren. :) 

Friday Anna, Alex and I played Bananagrams. We were throwing it back to Freshman year. It was great!

Saturday we got some snow! It was such a relaxing day. I slept in, did some homework, watched a tv show.. It was so nice!

 

Saturday night I was reading in 1 Nephi. In 1 Nephi 3:5 it says, 

"And now, behold thy brothers murmur, saying it is a hard thing which I have required of them; but behold I have not required it of them, but it is a commandment of the Lord."

The Lord often requires hard things from us. That is how we grow and change and progress towards our eternal home. But because he requires hard things, he also has provided the way for us to accomplish those hard things if we just have faith! 

Lessons from Junior Year

After every semester I have always posted a sum up of things I learn. That list is for me to remember and see the growth that I have made each year. I don't know why this semesters post is so hard for me to write.

I feel like I did a lot of coasting last semester. I went to class, I went to work, I ate, I did homework, I slept. 

That was it.

But through those consistent and seemingly simple days, I did learn some things.

******

When it came to classes this semester I really felt like I was learning nothing. I felt like I was going through a redundant cycle of sitting in class but learning nothing. I struggled retaining information and forming opinions for myself. So a lesson I learned

Its important to think.

I am going to work harder at really thinking in class. Its not enough to go to school just for the sake of going to school. Pray for help to fully grasp what you are learning and don't just do the assignments, but really look at how it effects you and what you are learning.

*****

When it comes to work I learned a million things! But one of the biggest lessons was that

God works through Children.

Those kids are so amazing. They can be absolutely nuts and crazy and hard, but they are so amazing. I have thought a lot about how in the scriptures it tells us to become like little Children. They are so kind, quick to forgive, funny, welcoming. They are amazing.

And even when we tell them three (or twenty) times to stop doing something that isn't safe for them or those around them and they won't listen, there is a lesson there too. My co teacher Anna always looks at the child that is throwing a fit and turns to me to say, "how many times do I do that with the Lord?" That has made me think a lot this semester. How many times do we know we are being stubborn and that there is a better way, but we keep fighting it? 

******

The Middle of October will always bring a melt down.

I don't know what it is. But about the same week every year I have some crying break down to someone! Its always this point where people and classes and homework and callings and everything just goes BAM! 

....and I just lose it.

But guess what? Those moments are very healthy.

******

Life is always unexpected.

No matter what you think, life is always going to throw you a curve ball. 

******

Marriage is essential. 

I was in the Eternal Families Institute course and when you pair that with working with children five days a week, it taught me the real value of two people raising a family. A husband and a wife who are teamed up in the same goals, working together, helping out where the other needs it. Its essential. And so important to Heavenly Father's plan.

******

Trials are there to benefit us.

I didn't truly realize this one till I was home. My mom asked all of us to say our highlight from 2016. I sat there and just said, "My 2016 was awful." But if it weren't for all of those trials that taught me valuable and hard lessons, I would not have gone through the temple when I did. 

And let me tell you. I NEEDED the Temple. What a blessing! I needed it so bad. And if it weren't for a lot of the pain and experiences I had, I probably wouldn't have gone through when I did.

Trials bring blessings.

A Quick Dec 12-17

Finals Week is always such an interesting week. You have all these test that are usually 30-40% of your grade, yet you have lost almost all motivation to do anything. 

This was my hardest finals week BY FAR!

They all turned out pretty good though.

Here are a few moments from that week:

Institute provides breakfast all week. Its a nice break from the caf and so much fun! They have christmas music and hot chocolate and the Institute couples are my favorite. 

A Bird.

Shannon! I love this girl!

I love this quote that my friend posted

Messages from Kaylee :) I use to do this when I was her RA. I went looking for her one day and couldn't find her so I wrote her a giant message and this was her reply.

This is exactly how I feel!

A picture after one of my study sessions. This consisted of studying for 3 minutes, getting a knock on my door. Study for 5 minutes, go check a resident out of their room. On repeat for hours. Not very effective studying...

Look how cute and creative this little christmas gift was!

I went on an adventure to Walmart where we made a list in the car of random things we had to find. One of those things was "Find the Grossest Food". I don't think the picture does it justice. But whatever this was it looked disgusting!

Love this girl!

Discovered an obsession with these.

Thanks Raquel for the homemade soup! It was delicious!

I love airports. I always manage to find the coolest people. One women on the tram saw my London phone case and we got talking. Turns out her husband is British and they met in Germany when they both worked for the army. They still have a house in London and go all the time. She was very cool! She then bought me breakfast! It was delicious by the way.

Utah!