A Jumble of Thoughts.

I'm still sick. I hate sickness. It throws everything off and messes up everyone's plans. We were all hit super hard with it this flu season. Darn freezing cold winter. But thankfully everyone is on the mend.

I've done one week of block classes. Holy cow they move fast. Book of Mormon won't be too bad. But Spanish. Whew! Lets not even talk about how completely ignorant I feel in that class. You would think that in Spanish 101 they would speak more often in English, but no! Immersion is the way to go, right? Wow. What a humbling experience, let me tell ya! I'm by far the most behind in that class as everyone else has had at least a few years of high school Spanish. Me on the other hand... But thankfully I have many kind friends who speak Spanish and are willing to help me. I'm totally going to take them up on it.

I love elves. I wish they were real and I was one. I guess I have to be content with learning all the awesome skills they apparently have. Mostly archery. And just good magic all around. I think I've read a little too much Lord of the Rings in the past two days...

Tonight we had a birthday party for two of my siblings . It was way fun. I love them. But when I left I said goodbye to my Alaskan chillins. And Quince and Jen. They're flying out tomorrow and I won't see them until after my mission. It made my mission seem so much more real. Like, I'm actually going to be out serving in less than two months. And I won't be with my family. And they will write me letters and I will write to them. It was such a weird feeling. It still almost seems like it's not really going to happen. But I'm sure my first night in the MTC will change that! :)

I have had so many kind people in my life lately. I've been in a little bit of a weird situation and I have so appreciated those who have just offered random, thoughtful, kind words. They have no idea how much they mean to me. Something I especially appreciate is when someone who I met through an old boyfriend is still willing to say hi, and ask how I'm doing, and ask me about my life, and give me encouragement, even when they were better friends with the boy I broke up with. Having had so many people act the opposite way after I break up with their friend makes me appreciate so much more those who don't.

Speaking of old bf's. What is my problem?! I have such a hard time getting over someone. I really can't figure out what it is. Because it obviously didn't work out, and I am the one who was the cause of it not working out, so you would think that I would be over it by now. But nope. I'm not. Most of the time I am, thankfully. But random times I just all of the sudden miss them. And it hurts. And I'm like, I am never dating again!! And then I hate relationships and boys, etc. But really I just miss them way bad.

Starting the semester I was really excited to not have nursing classes. I could hardly believe that none of my teachers even emailed me before classes started. Totally abnormal. But after attending class the first two days I realized that I missed nursing. Most of all I missed the nursing students in my class. Mostly I missed Laura and Brittany. Since my freshman year of college I haven't had to go to many classes where I know no one. But I have this semester. It is so good for me. But quite lonely.

I had a good conversation with Sarah when I drove her home tonight. In it, I realized that I have become so much more confident in the past year. I have really learned to be okay with the person I am. Granted, I'm still embarrassed when I'm completely clueless about something that everyone else is aware of, but it happens less and less and when it does it doesn't bother me as much. I have been so blessed to grow up in a home where I was always taught that I was a daughter of God. And that He loved me for who I was. With all my weird quirks, with my flaws, with my imperfections, and with my strengths. And He knows me! And I have nothing to hide from Him. And in the long run, His opinion is the only one that really matters. That has given me such strength. I am the daughter of the most powerful, most loving, all knowing Heavenly Father. And He loves me. 

I need to go to bed now. I have choir practice in the morning. I should have been in bed long ago, but after I took Sarah home I had much to think about. There are a few of my thoughts.

p.s. I love Preach My Gospel. Wow, what an inspired book. It is like scripture and I love reading it. I am so glad this is what I get to read to prepare to serve Heavenly Father.

Goodnight!

Patience Iago

Well, I found out from my Bishop today that my call's status says "Ready to be assigned." Unfortunately this means that it's not going to come this week! Hopefully it will come by next week, but who knows with Thanksgiving getting in the way. Who would have thought that I would ever have a reason to resent a holiday?! Just kidding. I don't resent. Maybe this is good for me to really become comfortable with the idea that I'm leaving on a mission.

It's only been 2 1/2 weeks since I broke up with Taylor, so perhaps a little more time before I get my call will help me be more emotionally ready. I can't even believe that. That's really crazy. It's been a very long, eventful, emotional 18 days. But I've learned a lot, and I have had experiences where I will just stop in the middle of something and realize how happy I am. Of course I've been super lonely, and some days are way worse than others. But I feel peace and contentment every now and again, and that is something I haven't felt in a long time, something I am always lacking when I am in a relationship. Which tells me that so far, none of my relationships were meant to work out for eternity. That's comforting. :)

Having to wait at least another 10 days kind of takes off the stress of it. If I'm not getting it this week, it almost makes it seem like I can be more patient than if it was coming this Wednesday. It will also give me the opportunity to go to the temple a few more times and maybe feel a little more at peace with who I am right now.

Today my choir (as in I'm the director) sang in church. They did a great job. I am slowly getting more and more comfortable directing the choir. It's only been about 10 months, no big deal ;) I also gave a lesson in Relief Society. I am definitely not a teacher because I'm good at it. That is for certain. I really struggle teaching for 40 minutes. I don't really know how to prepare lessons. I guess I'll learn that pretty fast on my mission, eh?

Today I wore an outfit I've never worn before. I can't decide how I feel about it. What do you think?

I've never been a huge fan of gold, but I'm getting more okay with it. The shirt and the belt are mom's and the necklace is Kathy's. And the skirt and shoes are mine.

I have 3 classes tomorrow and then that's it for the rest of the week. I'll probably work 7 hrs tomorrow, 8 hrs Tuesday, and 5 hrs Wednesday. Ha. If I can stand that much work in three days. My job is such a blessing. I get paid way more than I deserve, they're super flexible with my school schedule, and I work in an amazing environment, right on campus, with awesome people. But does it have to be so dang monotonous?! I was not meant to sit at a computer for 8 hrs straight. Not my cup of tea. But hey, it pays for my tuition, right? :)

Tonight we sang the Omar song "He is Born." I love singing with my family. It is one of the best things ever. I remember being home one evening and for some reason all of my brothers were there, one sister, and then me and my Dad. We were singing and I suddenly had the most secure, warm, content feeling wash over me. I felt so safe with so many worthy priesthood holders. It was awesome. Sadly Dad, Milla, and Anna didn't sing with us tonight. But I'm sure we'll sing it all together pretty soon :) Look on fb for a few of the priceless faces people make when they sing...

I hope you all had a wonderful Sunday. It's been a good one for me. I've learned a lot and been inspired. And happy Thanksgiving week :)

Excited.

I am super excited about tonight. I'm going shooting in an hour and a half. And I'm going with Taylor. WAHOO!

Yesterday I had lunch with him. He asked me how my freakingout meter was doing. I said it was perfectly normal. No higher than usual. However I informed him that my confused meter, on the other hand, was waaaay through the roof. I think he understood what I was talking about. What the heck.

My mission papers are almost done.
I think I really like Taylor.
Dad keeps reminding me that "Taylor will still be around when you get back from your mission,"
But I don't know that. And even if I did, I don't know if I like that option.
I'm super excited to go on a mission. Every time I read a missionary letter, or talk about my mission, I get excited.
But I keep getting super excited about these date.
Anyways. You get the idea.

Today Sarah and I got our hairs cut. Meaning we both went to get hair cuts. Sarah chopped off 6 inches. I just had them take off about 1.5.

Yesterday Karen, Kathy, and I had fun taking pictures of ourselves doing back flips while holding hands. It was fun.

And I just love crazy/funny family pictures. We have lots of tongue sticker outers :)

And...pictures :)

I have never been a big fisher. Actually, I can only remember going fishing once with the youth in my ward before this Alaska trip. Thus, I was excited when Jen and Quince said we could go fishing! 

On our way... (Joseph wanted to take this picture of me) 

Look at this amazing family! 5 kids 5 yrs old and under :) 

This was the lake we fished in. It was so beautiful! Pictures never do it justice. 

Samuel was a little bit tired of not being able to play in the water. 

I don't think Mary loved fishing much either. 

Sadly, although we went fishing 2 days in a row (I even bought a temporary fishing license for it) we didn't catch any fish. The second day we were in the boat and they were jumping out of the water all around is. They were mocking our lack of success I think. It was quite frustrating. I believe I am bad luck when it comes to fishing. I still have to say that I've never caught a fish. But it was fun nonetheless :)



On the way back we stopped at the Knotty Shop. Before I saw the sign, Jen told me I was allowed to go because I was now 21. I wasn't quite sure what this shop was until she explained :)

Although not this big, they do have some pretty large, obnoxious mosquitoes up here in Alaska. 

These next pictures are super blurry and it's making me frustrated with my camera! I just bought a nice new one and it gives me blurry pictures. Any suggestions on how to fix this problem? But here are these cute kids anyways:

We also went to the North Pole. It was kinda cool to realize that the twin pole of the one I am standing next to was actually dropped right above the actual North Pole.

And then we stopped at Santa Clause house...

And got to see his reindeer... 

And even got to meet him in person! 

It was awesome. I'm so grateful that Jen and Quince let me come up and stay with them! :)

21 in Alaska!

First of all, I just have to say that I have the cutest nieces and nephews ever :) 

Me and Violet

Ivy-She is growing so fast! 

Nate and Ivy :) 

After flying from Boise to Seattle I had several hours to kill. I read some Les Mis, ate Wendy's, watched Avatar until my comp died, found an outlet in starbucks and decided it was worth going for the first time to finish the avatar episode :), bought my first vanilla bean frappuccino (don't worry, it was caffeine free), and then boarded my flight for Alaska! I was super nervous the whole time I was waiting that I would miss it, but I didn't :)

Flying out of Seattle was beautiful. It was just getting dark when the plane took off and I was able to see gorgeous fireworks across the whole city. It was fun being above them instead of below like usual. These pictures don't do it justice at all. Seattle is stunning at night. (It also looks way brighter in this picture than it really was. It was dark when we left).

I took a bunch of pictures as we took off and then realized that it would be too dark to take any more. However, when I woke up from about a 30 min nap on the plane I realized it was lighter than when we left. We were going to Alaska, after all :) 

This was the sun rise? Set? Just the view as I was flying towards Alaska at midnight. 

I wanted to be brave and give away a Book of Mormon, or even just talk about the church, but I didn't. At least I read it on the way, right?

 I know this picture of me is super unattractive, but this was my last picture as a 20 yr old and this is how light it was outside my window at midnight.

I woke up as a 21 year old taking care of three chillins ;) Jen decorated for me and bought me a super yummy cake. And Quince and Jen got me the book, The Anatomy of Peace. I'm pretty excited to read it.


 And I just love these kiddos so much! The more time I spend with them, the more I love them.

This is Kal-

And this is Kip-

 Aren't they beautiful?

Adventures!

Tomorrow I leave for Boise, from Boise I fly to Seattle, and from Seattle I fly to FAIRBANKS, ALASKA! I'm pretty excited :) I'm a little sad to miss the 4th of July festivities, but it is definitely worth it. And thanks to Kyle I already did fireworks this year.

Also thanks to Kyle, I now own a slackline. I was pretty happy about that as well. Thankfully I found room for it in my suitcase so I'm going to take it up with me and show Jen and Quince how to slackline. It'll be fun.

This will only be my second time flying on an airplane and my very first time flying by myself. The first time I ever flew was when I went to Washington D.C. for choir tour. Hence, I didn't have to worry about boarding passes or anything because it was all taken care of by the chaperones. So this will definitely be an adventure.

Yesterday and today (and also tomorrow) was/is the Andersen reunion. These are always super fun events. Things that are always present at these reunions include the following:

1. Multitudes or swarms of little children, most of them blonde. 
2. Singing family songs
3. Some sort of ancestor stories
4. Yummy food
5. Political discussions
6. Many pregnant women ;) 
7. At least one flag ceremony
8. Family skits/songs

I love these things about my Andersen family. It always inspires me to see what wonderful aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, and grandchildren I am related to. What a powerful feeling. 


Something else that has made me so happy recently is the upcoming 4th of July. It is definitely my favorite holiday. I love that we are almost always with family during this time, we talk about our amazing history, of the miraculous and blessed country we live in, and we celebrate the freedoms that we have. I love patriotic songs!

My country, 'tis of Thee,

Sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing;

Land where my fathers died,

Land of the pilgrims pride,

From every mountain side 

LET FREEDOM RING!! 

Oh Beautiful for spacious skies, 

For amber waves of grain,

For purple mountains majesty

Above the fruited plain!

America! America! 

God shed His grace on Thee! 

And crown they good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea! 

Boy do we need God's grace for our country right now. 

Now I need to finish packing (don't you hate packing the night before? I never can pack stuff because I'm going to use it the next morning before I leave!). 


So Utah, I'll see you in 3 weeks. Enjoy the 4th everyone!  

Christmas thoughts

This Christmas has been different for me. Michelle is married (and hence is not here) and I am not. We celebrated Christmas mainly yesterday instead of today. I'm older, hopefully wiser, and definitely a different person (a very different person) than I was last Christmas. However, I was reading through some of my old goals, or gifts to Jesus that I've "given" in past years and realized that I still continue to struggle with and work on the same exact things, over and over again. That kinda makes me sad, but in a way it makes me happy. I'm still working, and haven't given up yet :)

As I said in a previous post, my overall gift to my Savior, Jesus Christ this year is to come to love Him and our Heavenly Father more. And I believe that the main way that I can do that (along with reading/studying the scriptures) is to serve others. So that is what I am going to do. That is my goal. And to serve, not for recognition, or to get service in return, but because of love: love for the children of God around me as well as love for my Savior. And as I serve, my love for them will grow.

This evening we were able to sing together as a family (and last night and this morning). I LOVE singing. It is one of my very favorite things in the whole world. Some of the times I have felt the most secure, the most safe, or the most loved is when I have been singing together with my family and felt the unity and strength that came from that. One of the songs we learned last Christmas, and that we sang tonight, is called He's Born. It is beautiful. I wanted to record the lyrics here:

Joy to the world, the Lord is come, to ev'ry boy and girl, He'll be the Holy One, 

He'll be a king, He'll be a Lord, He's just a baby, but He'll save the world

And I'll sing Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! He is my Savior. 

Today He's born, He's born. 

Rejoice, rejoice, the Savior's come. We'll lift ev'ry voice, to the Healing One

A sinner saved, the price was paid, He's just a baby, He was born today

And I'll sing Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 

He is my Savior and my King. With all my heart ot Him I"ll sing. 

My Lord and King will I adore and lift my praise forever more. 

He is my Shepherd and I know, that all my love to Him I"ll show,

And all my life to him I'll give, 

He is born! He's born! 

And I'll sing Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! He is my Savior. 

Today He's born, He's born.

I know my Savior lives! I am so grateful for the knowledge. I would definitely be one lost little girl without it. I am so grateful for His sacrifice for me, for His love, for His constant care. And I am so glad that we celebrate His birth specifically during this season.

Merry Christmas!

Random happenings...

I just love my nieces and nephews. They're the best. Here are some of the pictures (I know, the pictures are terrible, I need to get a camera and stop using my phone...) that were taken this last week:

Mary

Violet

Joseph

Matthew

I love this girl!!

Vi's face is so funny in this one!

 This is Andrew climbing up on the washer. He LOVES that thing!

We have a tradition every Christmas to read the Forgotten Carols as a family the Monday before Christmas. We had a smaller group this year, but I wanted to get a few pictures to document it in case it was one of the last years we did it. I like the Forgotten Carols. They have some weird things, but I really like the message it portrays.

This (7 layer dip) is the best food ever. Yum!

And here's a random picture that I got because I went visiting teaching :)

Cool hawk, huh?