Merry Christmas & Happy New Year :)

MY MISSION BABY IS DUE TODAY!!!;) hahaha! oh my gosh, 9 months down, this is crazy! it's also mind boggling that since Joe left til now - that's literally how long it takes for a baby to grow inside of you. how cute:) i'm so excited for that day! i can't wait to be a mom. (hence, the picture for nine months!)

nine months = nine month belly... nooooot really. so i just put a heart ;) haha

so what has the month of november brought to me... well, to be honest... nothing toooo extreme. this month came and went so quickly i hardly know what to write.

i've been meeting with my bishop to discuss mission options. today actually, i am going up to the BYU campus to have a pre-missionary evaluation. i'm kind of nervous because i'm meeting with a therapist to discuss some issues and then all of my information gets sent back to my bishop. i guess this evaluation helps you know how well you would cope on a mission with certain issues you're facing... so we'll see.

the elder is doing great of course. loving every second of his mission. this past week he sent me an email though saying that i needed to go out and have fun; "date around." weeeeellllll. what he doesn't understand is that i was never that girl. even before meeting him! i seriously have no desire to go out with other guys. GAH! i know he's probably just saying these things to help me out and make sure i'm not just sitting around, but the thing is, i'm NOT just sitting around! hahah i'm way way busy all the time. with school and work and home, it gets a little crazy and i am totally fine "not going out." i hang out with girlfriends, and have plans with guy friends once in a while. i just don't like being told what to do i guess when i'm already set on something ;)

thanksgiving was absolutely wonderful this year! my family had plans to stay home - just the four of us - and my dad was going to cook a prime rib dinner, but my elders dad INSISTED we come to their home. so we spent thanksgiving with my elders family:) it was so great. there was tons of laughter, fun and yummy food. i loved it and realized that this could be the first of many more to come! it made my heart swell <3

this month i went and saw catching fire! you know, the new hunger games movie? OHHH MY GOSHHHH! i don't know about anyone else, but i thought that was the greatest movie i've basically ever seen. oh my laws! jennifer lawrence is an outstanding actress. i am in love with the movie.

lately i've been super stressed because of school. all of my final tests, assignments, projects and papers are coming up and there's SO MUCH to do! might i mention i am just about the worst procrastinator in the history of the world. not okay. well through all this craziness, we had a relief society lesson just this past sunday about hope. a quote was said and i absolutely loved it:

 Hope can be the anchor to our soul in the storm of a raging sea

if that isn't comforting, i don't know what is. hope is comforting. it is something that we gain which allows our faith to strengthen. once our faith is strengthened and we have hope, charity is gained. i am striving to achieve these qualities within myself because these are three of the things the Savior had and still has. He is our source of strength in the toughest of storms. i am so grateful for my Savior - His constant love and support. i fail Him so many times, yet He lifts me up and says "try again." He is so merciful as is the Father. how blessed are we to have such loving Gods?

my dad went into the hospital about two days ago. he was having major pains in his stomach. he thought he could handle it but decided otherwise. mom rushed him to orem and they got him in a care unit of some sort. people under 14 weren't even allowed on the floor (so my little sister couldn't visit). turns out after a million and one tests, scans, and ultrasounds he has some kind of stomach infection. also gallstones. they gave him some medicine for it and plan to treat it soon, not sure when, but he was able to come home last night. he is still in a lot of pain which stinks :\ hopefully the medicine will help. 

Christmas is coming! my family has this crazy tradition of decorating the house outside to the max. we have blow ups all over the yard, our trees are like temple square trees, completely covered. it's actually pretty cheesy but the neighbors love it and people come from all around the neighborhood to see it. it's fun.

as Christmas approaches, let us all go on in the spirit of the Lord. He is the reason we celebrate CHRISTmas after all. remember the babe born in a stable, lain in a manger to sleep. He was born into the humblest of circumstances; nothing extraordinary. nothing fancy. mary and joseph looked at their infant, the Savior and Redeemer of the world, knowing who He was but not quite understanding who He would become. the Savior is Gods Only Begotten Son, a gift to this world... a sacrifice. the Saviors atonement is for ALL who use it. so use it in your life and appreciate what the Savior went through to help us obtain celestial glory. we owe everything to Him and our Father in Heaven. 

Merry Christmas everybody & Happy New Year! 

see you in 2014 with DOUBLE DIGIT months!;)

catching fire with my little sister

sista love

all of the blow ups outside my house! told ya we go crazy ;)

Merry Christmas - from the thurmans :)

i'm falling even harder...

8 months today:) so happy and so excited that my missionary has made it this far. i know for a fact that he won't give up. he will endure to the end because that is what The Lord has asked of him. i have never met a more dedicated and faithful man. it amazes me how Heavenly Father can transform a boy into a man by helping him love and serve others. A MISSION! he just got transferred yesterday for the first time in 4 1/2 months! he's in Salvador now, closer to the post office! YAY! hahah i can send letters:) in his last email he had mentioned that he and his companion were leading the mission. their district also reached a goal of 1,000 baptisms. i'm so PROUD OF HIM!!!!!!!!

 eight months = eight stars i used to surprise him one night

the cute blondie is mine ;)

this beauty was holding the flower up to joe's camera as if to give it to ME :) 

she's SO CUTEEEEE! 

the past month has been CRAZY wonderful:) where to even begin? i spent a ton of time this month with my elders family. his father (my fathers best friend) and his sister and brother in law came up to our cabin to go elk hunting. they spent about 2 weeks in all hunting, shooting and gathering the meat. it was so fun being up there with them. their presence makes me so happy, not only because they're my man's family, but because they welcome me as if i were already one of them. it is a feeling unlike any other to know you are welcomed into another family. especially such an important one.

i got called into my bishops office. whether by coincidence or by inspiration (inspiration duh;) we talked about a mission for myself. i told him i was still in the process of deciding. he gave me some advice that really helped. he said to write down the pros and cons of each choice, pick one and then earnestly pray if it is right. so i did that. honestly, i think Heavenly Father is testing me with patience because i believe he is telling me to wait. i think a mission would be a wonderful thing for me to experience. i would love to serve and help others, but i just don't know if that is the exact plan He has for me. Still waiting it out... but... as of now, i believe i am supposed to stay home and wait for Joe :) my greatest desire is to become a wife and mother. waiting for my elder is the beginning process to that and i feel this is right. i am so excited!

another interesting thing that happened this month... ummm, a boy asked for my number. can you imagine my face???? i am scared to even recall what it may have looked like :\ oops. well, i gave it to him and he called me within the same week. he asked me to go to a dance but i had work and told him i couldn't go. i didn't want to be rude though, so i told him if he ever wanted to hang out we could. now the plate is in his hands and he hasn't called since. so we'll see if we ever hang out.

I LOVE FALL!!!!!!! the trees changing color are one of God's greatest creations (in my opinion). i absolutely love the weather and feeling in the air. it's so beautiful. tis the season... i'm falling even harder in love ;) even though it's fall, i sent all of my elders Christmas packages and a letter within this month:) i mentioned in an earlier post that i would describe what i did in each package briefly:
each one had a theme. the first package was themed "J" for "Jesus" Christ. everything within the box was Christ centered. pictures, poems, conference talks, and i even typed up some Christlike teachings that he can apply on his mission. the second package was themed "O" for "others" and serving. i got a whole bunch of items for my missionary to give away; bracelets, necklaces, chap-stick, shirts, ties, puzzles, stickers, pictures... small little things like that. the last package was themed "Y" for "yourself." i put all of his presents in there. a shirt i made him, pictures, a tie, 2 little tie pins, a CTR ring and a few other small items. when he opens all of these packages and puts the themes together, it will spell out JOY:) the only way to obtaining full joy over the Christmas season, and all year round, is to focus on Jesus Christ, Others, and then have a little time for Yourself. i just checked the location of the boxes the other day and the tracking said they made it to Brazil:) i'm so grateful and so happy!!! also excited for Joe to get these packages so he can start giving all the stuff away!

i've gotten into a major habit of indexing for the church. i seriously did over 500+ names in 2 days. i spent 5 hours doing it my first night. soooo obsessed haha:)

i've been working on my photography. one of my best friends (joe's sister) asked me to take her senior pictures!! it was so fun. she's such a beaut!

if you like what you see, feel free to email me at myranda.thurman@hotmail.com, if you or someone you know would like pictures done and want more info.! 

here are a few: 

my father and i decided that we are going to do a 2 week service project with an LDS organization called HEFY. we are going to travel to Fiji and help work on building a school and other facilities for young children. we are planning on going June 2014. i'm SO EXCITED!!!! 

on Oct. 26th, my friend Mai Hong flew in from Hawaii to stay with me before heading to the MTC on the 31st. the funny story is... we met on the FB missionary girlfriend page!!!! crazy right? long story short, we got talking a whole bunch through messaging and became super close friends. when she mentioned coming to Utah early to find some winter clothes, my first thought was "stay with me and i can take you shopping!" i asked her if she had a place to stay and she hadn't found anywhere yet. after lots of discussing and our moms communicating back and forth, Mai came to my house:))) i never knew, honestly, that i could love someone in such a short amount of time. we both felt like we'd known each other our whole lives when in reality, we knew each other for maybe a total of 2-3 months before she visited. the first time i met her was the day we picked her up from the airport. Mai became one of my dearest friends. she is like a sister to me! her visit (along with her family that joined us later) was definitely one of the highlights of this month. 

we took Mai to the roof (temple square) for dinner

and last, but definitely not least, the other day i got the most wonderful, thought out and "grown up" letter i think i've ever received. it was from my joe and he is SO MATURE!!! i can already see a huge change in him. it's not like he wasn't mature before, but truly his mission is shaping him into the man he is meant to be. his letter told me all of his goals and ambitions within the church. he mentioned how my example helped him become the worthy priesthood holder he is today.. :') it was a very very touching letter and i am so grateful to have someone in my life who is so faithful and dedicated and smart and loving and kind and and and ;) i could go on for pages. i know that i want to marry him. he is far above myself. he is far above anyone i have ever met and makes me want to be better. he makes me want to strive to be more Christlike just to match him and who he truly is. i love him so much :) 

it gets easier, promise

so here i sit, all curled up in one of his huuuuge jackets overjoyed with the fact that it’s ALREADY time to blog again. 7 months today (monthly picture below) which is so mind blowing because i swear i just wrote for month 6 like a day ago. let me tell you, IT GETS EASIER! i didn't believe anyone who told me this, but seriously. if you stay busy, time escapes itself. on sept. 24, we hit our 2 year mark since meeting each other. i honestly can’t believe it’s only been 2 years. it feels like ive known him my whole life. he has been such an incredible example to me and i know Heavenly Father allowed me to meet him at the right moment. at that specific time in my life i was dealing with some major issues. when joe came around, my life literally flipped. 180ed. i began to try harder and be better because i wanted to be better for him. then i realized joe made me want to be better for Christ. im so grateful for his Christ-like example to me. his determination. his love. i don’t know what i would do without it or him:)

i have been so busy with work and school which is why, thankfully, time has been going very quickly. i enjoy what i do and ive gotten used to dealing with hailey (the 2 year old i tend) for the most part. she’s a handful but she makes it fun. ive been bringing my 8 year old sister along with me every so often to help keep hay entertained. it’s actually been working wonderfully. she loves playing with little kids and learning from them.

over the month, i attended one of my neighbor’s weddings. it was absolutely beautiful but they were not sealed in the temple. the wedding took place in their backyard. it truly helped me realize how much i want to be sealed in the temple with my companion; to know that we are being sealed by the power of God rather than by legalization of man. i absolutely do not want to be married anywhere else. the temple is my goal and that will never change. it is my heaven on earth and i cannot wait to enter into it and be sealed for time and all eternity. how blessed are we to have that privilege. also within this month, i was able to do a bunch of random acts of kindness. one of them in particular – i was driving home from school on a back road when i looked up the street and saw a girl running. she obviously was not exercising because she was dressed for school and had a backpack on with books in hand. i was just about to pass her on the road when i felt prompted to pull over. (it also helped that as i passed, she stuck her arm out as if for me to stop). i pulled over and rolled down my window… turns out that she was headed to the train station about a mile up the road. when i looked towards the station, i could see the train coming that very moment. i needed no more explanation and invited her into my car. i drove her to where she needed to go so she wouldn't miss the train. i felt really good after doing this. it was so simple, but it saved her from having to wait an hour and half for another train to come. another wonderful opportunity this past month was going to the Relief Society Conference with my mom, grandmother and mom’s friend, tiffany. i absolutely love living so close to the actual conference center and being able to attend meetings that are broadcast everywhere. it fills my heart with joy knowing how lucky i am. it was so wonderful to feel the womanhood and spirit within the room and worldwide. (pictures below) and finally the last thing worth mentioning this month... we had SISTER MISSIONARIES come over for dinner. it was awesome. they were so stinkin' cute and i loved them! (pictures below)

last monday, i got a LETTER!!!!! and not just any letter. it was the first, actual letter, from my elder in 4 months. he had sent me something previously (but it wasn’t a letter) and our only communication has been through email. this letter was 4 pages long and it MELTED. MY. HEART. you know when your missionary is soooo focused and they don’t really express feelings or memories or anything like that? maybe it’s just my elder, but in this letter… he brought up feelings and memories and more. i needed that letter so much. i needed it to calm my troubled heart. even though i am confident he is the one for me, i can’t seem to shake the discouragement that comes from the adversary sometimes. i just have to remember that satan tries to put me down. not only does he know my weaknesses, he knows what i can become with my missionary. a family; everything satan works so hard to destroy. just by me and my missionary staying close and faithful to each other, we are furthering the cause of zion and potentially creating future generations. i know i can do this because God is on MY side. satan has nothing over my God. 

can we just talk about conference for a moment now? INCREDIBLE!!! i had the wonderful opportunity of attending the morning session today and it was unbelievable. (after the morning session, i went over to temple square to take some pictures! (pictures below!)) the whole weekend of conference was indescribable. i felt like every single talk was applicable to me. i learned something new with every speaker. whether it was learning to be more meek, or how to be a better member missionary, or never looking back, or becoming a wife and mother, or coping with depression, missionary opportunities, happiness, conversion, challenges, the atonement, enduring, priesthood, looking up, or change...... i learned so much :') my heart and mind were fully invested and i truly felt the spirit testify to me over and over that everything that was being said was TRUE. The Lord directed and guided those men and woman to teach exactly what i needed to learn. it was so miraculous to me to see and hear my prayers being answered, and know that Heavenly Father DOES answer prayers. almost every single question i wrote down was answered in some way. after this conference, ive never been so excited to apply the teachings so quickly. ive never been so excited to become a wife and mother and do my very best to raise my children in righteousness. i am so grateful for conference!!! i love President Thomas S. Monson. he is God’s living prophet. i know it. the spirit is real and Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live. how grateful i am to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  

seven months = seven little notes from him 

(he would leave these in places for me to find/secretly hide them:)

*blurred for privacy*

Relief Society Conference:

me & mom 

me & grams 

mom, me & tiffany (mom's friend!)

Sister Missionaries:

Salt Lake City Temple pictures after morning session:

half a year... say WHAT?

can't believe i get to say this, but... IT'S BEEN HALF A YEAR!!!! 6 months!!! done!!! check!!! my favorite elder has been gone for half a year and i miss him like crazy! he's doing fantastic and absolutely loves every minute of it as i knew he would. the people of Brazil are treating him kind (mostly) and i'm very grateful for that. he has baptisms often and says the people are so receptive while learning and accepting the gospel. i'm so happy for him:) letters take pretty long to send and receive so we've been emailing almost every week. i told him i'd always write to him, but he's okay not to write back some weeks because emailing home should be most important. (it takes up so much time to write home - he'll write me if he has left over time, or sometimes a minute before writing home.)
so randomly, i have already started on his Christmas package! how funny is that? i need to have everything ready to go so it will get there at a decent time. i made him a shirt on zazzle.com and me a matching sweatshirt. his says "Called To Serve" and mine says "Missionary Girlfriend." they are SO cute! (pictures below) i've already figured out how to make the package meaningful and everything. i will share my ideas with you once it gets closer to its departure date.

i've recently started my first college experiences. it has definitely helped move the time along. i started at UVU in orem on aug. 26th. the first week was a struuuggle. i literally spent hours in the counseling office fixing classes and rearranging my schedule. things were just not working out. i eventually got it fixed, but it was really really stressful. other than that, it hasn't taken too long getting used to the campus. i've seen a few friends and that's been fun. my days aren't too long either and i have friday's off. (thank the heavens!) best feeling ever. oh by the way, on the first day of school, i got a delivery:) i think the Lord knew i would need it because of all the chaos! FLOWERS & CHOCOLATE from my missionary!! love him. (picture below)

now, more on the personal side of things if anyone is interested, i started a nannying job this past wednesday. one of my friends sisters needed help. she has 5-1/2 month old twins and also a 2 year old girl. while the mom is busy with the twins, my job is to basically keep the crazy 2 year old under control. she is the most active - go go go - girl i have ever MET! she's adorable! the first day was a little overwhelming though. i felt like i needed to memorize everything the mom was telling me. it was also crazy because i worked from 3:30-9:00pm; one of my longer shifts for the first day. i will usually be working Mon: 3:00-6:00pm & Wed: 3:30-9:00pm. she is paying me pretty good, which i'm so grateful for because i am poor and all of the money for tuition, books, food, clothes, my car and just about everything has come from my parents. they're the BEST to help me out. i'm so grateful!
in other news, i have started my own Scentsy business. for those of you that don't know what Scentsy is, it's a party plan company. we sell wickless candles with super cute warmer designs, 90+ amazing fragrances and SO much more. seriously! we have stuffed animals for kids, room sprays, car fresheners, plug ins, laundry detergent, lotions, body wash... the list goes on and on and on.

if you ever need perfect gifts for weddings, baby/bridal showers, birthdays, holidays... COME TO ME:) i promise you'll love what you get and see. if you're interested, visit my website at https://myrandat.scentsy.us/ :) there is an online catalog on the very bottom left - check it out!!! i have pictures of some of the products below as well.

thanks for reading this month friends. i'm so excited for what the next chapter of my life holds. school, waiting, friendships... i know i have been so blessed by my Heavenly Father. i give all my praises and thanks to Him.

six months = six bracelets he has made/given me

his Christmas present! (obviously the sweatshirt is mine though;)

first day of school flowers and chocolate:)

SCENTSY PRODUCTS:

(+ much much more!)

the simple things

5 months today!:) it's crazy how time is flying, yet at the same time, moving slower than ever before. i decided to create/take a picture for each month he is gone. it will make sense when you see the photos posted below! it's so fun coming up with ideas to symbolize each month and i really enjoy it.
thinking back on these last few weeks, nothing truly out of the ordinary has happened. i feel like every post i've made has something worth while to explain or write about... but all that has happened lately are goodbyes! EVERYONE IS LEAVING ON THEIR MISSION! i have been to at least 10+ farewells in the past month. it's incredible to see the Lords work moving forward. it truly is, in these last days, when the Word of God will spread to every nation, tongue and people. i'm so proud of all the missionaries going out! they will do amazing things.
lately, i've been feeling like answers to my prayers come in all different ways and meanings. as in, one day i receive an answer, and the next it's a completely different answer from the day before. i've concluded with this idea;

i really believe that this is what may be happening. Heavenly Father trusts us enough to make a choice that will be right EITHER way. either way, something will go right for YOU. no matter which choice, something good will come of it. it brings a sense of comfort and peace thinking of it that way, wouldn't you agree? 

i believe that Heavenly Father wouldn't allow us to keep going in the wrong direction for too long. He cares too much. He allows the Savior to help us and guide us along. even though we may stumble, our Savior picks us back up, brushes us off and tells us to keep moving. Christ is our source of strength in this marathon of the Lord God. 

i love this gospel. i'm so grateful for the little incidents and experiences in life that strengthen my testimony, no matter how small. the simple things. this past saturday, i went with my missionaries sister to help babysit their niece and two nephews. during the time there, one of the little boys eyes were bothering him a lot, so he started to cry and came to me for help. he seemed to have an infection, so i told him we'd go find a wet washcloth to wipe his eyes. he followed me around and started asking me questions like, "have you had this before? did it hurt you to?" "did you use a washcloth this same size?" "did you use the same color?" "will this hurt forever?" my heart! with the saddest little look in his eyes, he was begging me to make the pain stop. i teared up as he laid his head on my lap and held onto me as i put the washcloth to his eyes. 

i began to think of Christ's love for these little children... for all little children. i even felt a motherly love as i held this little boy and wished i could do more to help him. i pondered the love that our Father in Heaven has for each of us. how He loves us, every single one, and just wants us back. 

i then thought of all the children being born and how they are saved for these last days; the strongest! the most valiant! someday, even my own will be more valiant and stronger than me, and that's all i hope for. 

i can't wait to be a mother! the gift of motherhood is wonderful and i'm so excited to hold my baby boy, or baby girl, look into their eyes and realize how special they are. to realize that they just left the presence of God and He trusts me enough to raise them. i pray that my children will continue in righteousness. i pray they will be so much better than i am. i pray they never forget who their Father in Heaven is and how much He loves them. 

thanks for reading this month:) these are the creative "months he's been gone" pictures i was explaining before. they're so fun! 

one month = one key to my heart

two months = M+J

three months = three words

four months = four flowers (he gave me)

five months = three sweatshirts + two of his hats

i love him and miss him to death!! only one more month until half a YEAR!:) i can do this. ♥ 

 

for the love

4 months down today!!:) almost out of the 600's people... it's kind of a big deal. so since i've written last, my elder got his VISA! i was so stunned when my mom told me the news. i checked my email and sure enough, he had let me know too. he was to leave for the Brazil Salvador South mission on june 10th. not gonna lie, i was kind of devastated when i first heard he'd received his visa... i really thought he'd be in colorado for a while longer. it was so nice knowing that he was just a state over rather than 5,000 miles away from me... but of course those feelings went away knowing that he was needed in Brazil now. he is doing FANTASTIC! he has been down there for almost 4 weeks and already has 3 people committed to baptism, plus more family members interested in the discussions. i'm so happy for him! he loves it there and says the people are some of the most wonderful he's ever met. in his last email, being such a jokester, he told me that he bought a machete for $10 after seeing how big the spiders were. hahah! he rambled on and on about it and then said, juuuust kidding;) i seriously thought he bought a machete for $10 though! (can you say gullible? yep that's me) i've been missing him so much lately. (especially over the july 4th holiday! we had some good times last year) i even had a dream about him the other night and it broke my heart when i woke up. it was so real! i just can't wait until he has served with all of his heart, might, mind and strength and then gets to come home:) but hey, guess what! only ONE MORE 4th of july without him; thinking about it that way tends to make the time seem shorter for some reason.

so in my last post i mentioned how i'd be going out of town all of june on a trip called Heritage Tours. i was able to travel to each of the sights that took place in the history of the restoration of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. (also a bit of pioneer history at the beginning) we traveled from utah (where i live) clear over to nyc, down to washington d.c. and back. i was gone from june 3 - june 22; by bus. yes... a bus. well, two buses actually. about 90 kids all and all came on this tour. i learned so much and have never had a stronger testimony. i was able to gain new insights by experiences throughout the tour and i gained stronger relationships with my Savior and Heavenly Father. but most of all, i was able to gain the strongest testimony of Joseph Smith - the prophet God called to restore Christs church. before going on this tour, i believed. i thought i knew... and i did, but i know even better now. i know this church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is TRUE! without a doubt in my soul. i've been to the places joseph smith said he saw God the Father and His son. i've been there, and the spirit testified to me of the truthfulness of it all. i've never been more confident in knowing that i belong to God's true church. when you put it all together and begin to understand the things that i learned, it all makes sense. i gained a stronger testimony of the Book of Mormon - something i've always always needed. i've read the book 4-5 times, but never really understood what it was trying to teach me. i get it now, and it's the best! i read the BofM in 3 weeks:) i'm so glad i was able to accomplish that. i also had the opportunity to be a missionary myself; i gave out a Book of Mormon with my own personal testimony inside. i really hope and pray that the family i gave it to gives it a chance. it could changed their lives. i love this gospel. it's blessed me in so many ways! even on the tour, we truly felt the Lords hand as we traveled. we were protected in so many ways! to name a few:

1. our bus driver fell asleep at the wheel going head on to a semi-truck; we didn't DIE!
2. one night, specifically a blessing to me and the girls in my district, a man tried getting into our hotel room. (literally followed my friend up to our room, pounded on the door, waited outside the room) but we were protected and saved by one of the boys in our district.
3. a tornado! as we passed a spot on the freeway, a tornado began to form... but as we passed, it STOPPED! the funnel literally sat mid air. 15 minutes after we passed, we heard it touched the ground when we were out of sight.

there were so many more!! these blessings in and of them-self were proof to me of a loving Heavenly Father. He does watch over us and care for us. how grateful i am for Him and His endless love.

all of the pictures below are ones i took on tour. this is a photography blog too, remember? enjoy and thanks for reading:)

happy 4th of july!

boston temple

washington d.c. temple

washington d.c. temple

carthage; joseph smith

kansas city temple

heaven shining down ;) 

palmyra temple

sacred grove 

the tornado that began to form while we passed!

the place that Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father appeared to Joseph Smith. THE PLACE!