My faves

My faves of all time:

Yellowcard

Dashboard

FM static

All American Rejects

The Starting Line

Cartel

Motion City Soundtrack

Boys Like Girls

Bright Eyes

The Used

The Spill Canvas

Jimmy Eat World

Cute is What We Aim For

Death Cab for Cutie

Mae

Taking Back Sunday

+

Ingrid & Celine are my all times of all time.

what day of the week is it?? Monday Tuesday Thursday Wednesday...

Saturday night 7:30 pm:

Seasider Basketball game.. our team seriously rocks!

text my parents to let them know Sami's dad passed away.

Sunday morning 7 am:

text from my dad "that is very sad to hear.. i'm very sorry steph..

flight changed to friday. e-mail you the itinerary. love ya!"

Needless to say i couldn't sleep after that haha. My ward starts at 10

i was up thinking about how much stress this will put me under.

I am so grateful that i get to be with Sam, but i wasn't planning on leaving

until after i was done with classes for the holiday.

Monday:

Talk to all my professors "I'm not going to be here"

Bro. Ferre (my theatre prof.) "that's the price you pay for going home."

what a jerkface haha. i have to write 2 plot outlines of plays

(ps reading plays is THEE worst task ever. like seriously? who can understand them??)

and make a costume for when i get back for my final project.

(i'm going to make it at home because ill have the time

and the sewing machine-hopefully)

Schedule for this week (to catch up before i leave)..

-1 HUGE music test that was scheduled for Saturday in the testing center,

but my professor is changing it to be available Friday thank goodness.

-a spanish test to take early & 3 diarios.

-2 weeks of Biology assignments (ill probably do one when i get home.)

-read a play and 20 pages in my theatre book for quizzes.

that may not seem like a lot.. but it IS trust me.

that music test will murder me.

and i'm so very sad to leave my roommates and my friends for a week. =(

it would've been fun to spend my first Thanksgiving off campus with my roomies.

But baby Jett Holm will be there! and my family and our first class classy kitchen

and my mom's sewing machine.. and my big huge bed..

and Sami and Jazmin and Danny and Stephbax and Liz and James

so i'm happy. =D

Whatever it Takes

today was a good day. I love Sundays like this.

So today we actually made it to church in time for the sacrament.

3 ward members spoke on gratitude and thanksgiving.

One girl read a story "You Are Special"

and i know this seems kind of lame if you're not in the mood to read it..

but it made me realize that

I should care more about what the Lord thinks of me

than anyone else.

Our home teachers took us night snorkeling,

but they didn't give us a lesson so they met with us after church today.

We are so incredibly lucky to have them.

They are amazing. Adam asked us about our testimonies,

and i know he really cares about us, and whether we believe.

I asked him to give me a blessing,

and my roommates decided to get one too.

I always cry in blessings, they are so incredible.

I am so blessed to know so many men who worthily hold the priesthood.

And i am blessed to know that my heavenly father knows me

and he's always beside me helping me to accomplish what he needs me to.

Adam called me a divine daughter in my blessing.

I just can't express the love i feel everyday from my heavenly father.

and i'm so lucky.

I can always feel his peace surround me when i need it the most.

and i feel his hand in my life, and i know how much he needs me.

I was so so lucky to live in Georgia and to grow my testimony there.

I felt so special to be the person that heavenly father wanted to be an example there.

I loved telling people about the truth

and watching their faces, because i know they could feel the truth

and i was the one that got to show it to them for the first time.

And my sister Melissa is this spiritual giant

we had a conversation one time about our family

and she made me feel so special to be her sister

and to be in the family that i have.

well i guess this fits the Thanksgiving theme.

I am going home this Saturday to be with Sami for her dad's funeral

and then with my family for the week.

I want to make sure that they know i am thankful for them.

Eat. Pray. Love.

I found this on a bookshelf

in my friend's apartment.

I have been reading for 20 minutes

and am on the 6th chapter.

From here on out,

i will be putting quotes from this book on my blog.

Number 1:

Names for God

The Universe, The Great Void, The Force,

The Supreme Self, The Whole, The Creator, The Light,

The Higher Power.

"I have nothing against any of these terms. I feel they are all equal

because they are all equally adequate and inadequate descriptions

of the indescribable. But we each do need a functional name for this indescribability,

and "God" is the name that feels the most warm to me."

"Most of the Christians i know accept my feelings on this with grace and open-

mindedness. Then again, most of the Christians I know don't speak very strictly."

"Traditionally, I have responded to the transcendent mystics of all religions.

I have always responded with breathless excitement to anyone who has ever said

that God does not live in a dogmatic scripture or in a distant throne in the sky,

but instead abides very close to us indeed-much closer than we can imagine,

breathing right through our own hearts.

I respond with gratitude to anyone who has ever voyaged to the center of that heart,

and who has then returned to the world with a report for the rest of us that God is

an experience of supreme love."

Thanksgiving

Now that i can.. i'm going to blog about this haha

I get to go home for Thanksgiving!

My sister-in-law's baby boy is due the day before,

and my flight right now lands the morning of Thanksgiving.

I was home when Marcus was born,

at EFY when Camden was..

Hudson was born the day after i visited st. george and went back to Georgia

and June was born while i was in Hawaii.

So i am going to be home either while he's being delivered

or soon after!!!

AND i'm really excited to see my family

and my friends =)

it'll be a fun weekend.

only a week and a half until then

and only 4 weeks left in the semester!! craziness.

I love the Holidays

In Loving Memory..

One of my best friends Samantha Cummings's dad passed away today.

He seriously was one of the coolest dads i've ever met.

He'd always sit and talk to me even when Sami wasn't home.

When i'd stop by during the summers, he'd always give me a big hug

and ask me about my life.

Their family is an amazing family that will pull through..

Samantha and I would drive around this past summer

as he was suffering from his cancer,

and we'd listen to Brad Paisley's "Then".

We'd talk about how amazing he was

and about her parents and how they met

and their life together.

She'd cry thinking about his life before he was diagnosed.

One night, She and i and Christian were sitting with him

on his bed, talking about life and everything that was going on.

He encouraged me to go on a mission, and told me how good of

a friend i was and how much i've meant to Sami throughout

the years that i've known her.

I will miss being able to talk to this incredible man.

Samantha is an amazing person and friend because of his example.

and He will be greatly missed.

TGIF

I had one of the worst days of my life this week..

and i still just don't want to go into haha

Anyway..

tonight i went night snorkeling again at Shark's Cove

The whole time i was keeping my eyes peeled for an octopus..

i knew i'd be way disappointed if i didn't get to see one...

and while we're on our way back to the shore..

i look in a big hole in one of the rocks

and there is this big white thing with huge tentacles...

Adam has a lot of experience at shark's cove or with sea creatures apparently

he kept jabbing at it and poking it trying to make it come out.

my roommates and i were standing back holding hands.

we were scared to death that it would come after us haha

a few minutes later Adam stopped jabbing

and its huge body squeezed itself out of the hole

it was HUGE.

Adam said it was the biggest one he'd seen there.

It swam away and turned red, then yellowish, and black.

Sooo cool.

another epic night in Hawaii.

(i'm asking for a waterproof camera for Christmas

so the next time this happens i can document)

I really am loving this semester.

I feel so lucky that i have such amazing roommates,

an awesome house,

pretty slow and easy classes,

and really good friends to talk to everyday.

-I'm learning how to budget my money

(its really really hard now.. buying groceries is tough)

-this semester has gone by SO fast

-i miss my mom and my sisters a lot

-i love to skype

-Danny Baer is my best friend. we text everyday and i love it.

-Grey's Anatomy, Friends, and Glee keep me alive

-the gym has been my daily friend

-i feel blessed when i get to go to wal-mart

-EVERYONE is getting engaged. seriously. everyone.