The Countdown Begins

Who's excited for the new Les Miserable movie? This girl!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvzgxKHYFIc&feature=g-vrec

You Raise Me Up

Instead of our standard talent show my ward does every year, the ward opted to do a Musical Fireside that allowed members to showcase songs about Christ that are not typically appropriate for sacrament meeting but still worshipful of Christ. There is some amazing talent in my ward. I haven't sung in public for a long time and its something that I used to love to do. When I was younger I was in Sunshine Generation which a youth choral group. I loved being in it and love singing but have not been using that gift from the Lord lately. It was time for me to share my gift not only to others but with myself again.

I decided that I wanted to sing You Raise Me Up typically made famous by Josh Groban but don't be fooled, he's not the only one to perform this song. I love the Celtic Women version of this song with the violin accompanying them. While I do not have quit that high of a voice range as Josh Groban this song has been written to accomodate my range.

While practicing the song for several weeks trying to get the notes the way I wanted them I would also reflect on the words and meaning.

When I am down and oh my soul so weary,

When troubles come and my heart burdened be.

Then I am still and wait here in the silence,

Until you come and sit a while with me.

You raise me up so I can stand on mountains.

You raise me up to walk on stormy seas.

I am strong when I am on your shoulders.

You raise me up to more than I can be.

There is no life, no life without its hungers.

Each restless heart beats so imperfectly.

But when you come and I am filled with wonder,

Sometimes I think I've glimpsed eternity.

You raise me up so I can stand on mountains.

You raise me up to walk on stormy seas.

I am strong when I am on your shoulders.

You raise me up to more than I can be.

The only thing that I would change about this song is the last line of the chorus. Instead of saying that Christ raises me up to more than I can be I would say that Christ raises me up to all that I can be. He has paved the way for me to become as he is and inherit all that the Father has. He provides the way for completeness. I know that without Christs sacrifice in a garden I would not be who I am today. I would not have a direction for my life. And I would not have the hope to continue on somedays when the world is rough adn weary.

Thanks Anne and Laura for accompanying me and sharing your talents. You helped me share my talents and shared yours as well and I am so thankful for your friendship and example.

Spooktacular Run

So I'm not the best person at coming up with costumes. In fact I rather stink at it. This year I had no idea what I was going to dress up as for a halloween run. I was hoping a group costume would have worked out but we couldn't come to a collaborated decision so we all ended up doing our own thing. I was freaking out as to what I was going to dress up as.

Finally as I'm walking around Target listening to the new Taylor Swift album it hit me, "go as Taylor Swift!" I love her anyway as she is so cute and fun. I already had the wig I just needed to get a balck skirt which I found the cutest Hello Kitty skirt on sale and I made a red microphone. The Hannah Montana wig I've had around the house for a while worked great since she recently gave herself bangs. I found a cute pic of her online wearing a sparkly black shirt, black skirt, red lipstick and red nails. I can do that I say to myself.

Not a bad job if I do say so myself. It was an easy costume to run in too.

We are Never, Ever, Ever getting back together.

We headed out to Leesburg for the race. I have to admit I have not been preping for this race so my intent was to walk most of it. I mean it's not that hard to walk a 5K. There were some great costumes. I love how creative some people can get. I had a great group of friends that I was running with too. Thanks Kellie and Jessica to walk/jogging with me. We had such great conversation and the weather/scenery was so nice.

After the race we went out to eat and then came back for a haunted house tour. Yes the house was a really old plantation style home and it was probably one of the spookiest haunted houses I have ever been in. I may have screamed a bit. The five of us girls that wen through together were locked in a human chain the whole way through and there were bruises on my arms from how tight we were holding on to each other. Good times. Thanks all for a spooktacular halloween memory.

Heavenly Halloween

I know of no better place to spend Halloween night than serving in the House of the Lord. Afterall, isn't the tradition of halloween stem from the idea of communicating with the dead?

I do have to say that this evening was a wonderful night. While there weren't many patrons in the temple I was quite touched by one dear sister who came to do work for her mother, mother in law and a few other close family members. The spirit was wonderfully strong and felt by all who were helping with the work. The sister would tell us all about the women the work was being done for. It was a wonderful evening to be in the House of the Lord.

The words to a song from a temple program I performed in when I was younger come to mind.

I live my life such a long time ago,

Working the land with the plow and the hoe.

I planted a season, but now I must sleep

Leaving the harvest for others to reap.

Someone who's part of me

Who will that someone be?

For the hearts of the fathers are turning,

Turning to children they've never seen.

And the hearts of the children are burning

With the promise of what will be.

I live in the present, yet feel for the past,

Seeking connections and roots that outlast.

The change of the season, the distance of time,

Stories and people who I can call mine.

Somone who's part of me

Who will that someone be?

For the hearts of the children are turning,

Turning to fathers they've never seen.

And the hearts of the fathers are burning

With the promise of what will be.

How I hoped for this hour; how I prayed for this day.

You have given me more than your name and your face.

In the house of the Lord, heaven's doors open wide,

I will stand in your place!

I will stand by your side!

For the hearts of the fathers are turning,

Turning nto children they've never seen.

And the hearts of the children are burning

With the promise of what will be.

Every covenant spoken,

'Til teh chain is unbroken;

The circle will be complete.

Ghoulish Treats

I love making fun treats to go along with the holidays. These are a little spin of my own creation. Pretzels, Rolos and Candy Corn Pumpkins. They were a big hit at several events this year. My own little pumkin patch. So cute! So good!

Big Girl Bed

Hurray for a new bed!!!!! I finally upgraded from a twin to a queen and I have to say it is amazing!!!!!! I have so much more room to sleep and the mattress is so much more comfortable. I'm sleeping better at night and can't wait for my first slumber party ;)

 I also love that the bed is a sleigh style bed frame. It fits perfectly into my room.

Thank you so much George Kitchen for helping me move my new bed in. Your the best.

I Feel Appreciated

Every year the Elders Quorum holds a sister appreciation dinner for the sisters in our ward to let us know how much they appreciate us. This is my 4th dinner so I'm used to how this works. I even decided to dress a little differently this year since I have worn all of my formal dresses in the past years. I purchased a civil war era dress a few months ago and was so excited to wear it to this event. I didn't care if I stood out because lets face it the whole point of the evening was to feel good about yourself and I felt good in my hoops.

A group of us girls met up at Kellie's house to get ready for the evening. We had a good time doing our hair and makeup while watching/listening to Mean Girls. That's part of the tradition is to get together and help each other get ready. I love my girlfriends.

When we arrived at the church the elders greeted us with roses and escorted us to our seats. Love you Lindsey, Anne, Kellie, Jessica and Kaylee.

Dinner was served by the elders quorum and it was fabulous. They made a great salad and several soups for us to try. The butternut squash and tomato basil were my favorites. Desert was great too.

After dinner the elders actually held a dance. I have to admit its pretty fun rocking out to Journey in a civil war dress. Thanks for the dance guys.

All in all I have to say this was a great evening. I know I am a daughter of God and that he loves me so much and He has my best interest in His plans for me.

Ward Retreat

It's that time of year again, Ward Retreat Time. This year we went to a camp just outside of the Quantico. Too bad we didn't invite the guys there to join us camping. Oh well. It was a beautiful weekend for camping. Thanks to Michelle Chon and Mike Garner for al their hard work in preparation for this much needed weekend retreat. The skits were fun, the cabins were accommodating, the food was filling and the laughter with friends was memorable.

Thanks to Danielle Shuh for teaching us how to better use our camera settings. I will definitely need to practice more. Oh well. Here are some pictures out by the pond.

I found this view outof the windo to be fascinating for some reason.

Our lovely cabin in the woods shared with Lindsey Blau and Anne Zobell. Love you girls. We had a good laugh reading all the tags in the cabin and left one of our own. I have to admit I have never written my name on property before saying Kara was here. Felt like a little rebel.