Wednesday, August 31, 2016

MAY.

May has been a whirlwind of beginnings.

I was working at seven peaks call center for the past couple of months which was not as bad as you may think. I actually really liked it and the pay was super nice. Plus you could wear whatever you wanted because it was a call center. Guilty of wearing sweats.. that was one time, okay okay maybe it was twice... I had to quit that job to start EFY at the end of May because it was just a summer sales job.

I got a few calls from EFY with them changing my schedule around. So I started my first week as a brand new counselor in the Provo 1B session on May 30th. It was so much fun but also so exhausting. Being an EFY counselor reminds me of the mission. I miss my mission. But man. I don't miss always being this tired!! I started in a trio- one other girl counselor (Laurel) and a guy counselor (Jantzen).  Brad Wilcox was the session director which was wonderful. He taught us so many good things about life & the gospel.

I've had so many wonderful opportunities to learn and grow and better myself this year.

In the month of May I learned to "find solace in each other".

I was texting Meg's sister Carly about marriage/how she knew her husband was the one...(curious about these things. I actually talked to a few different people about this topic) And she told me that ^^ I was like "how profound!" Right? I love that we are made for each other to help others. I have met people that I know I was meant to meet. I have changed and grown. I have found solace in others.

I have found solace in my one. (But more on that in later posts.)

We are here to help others along this journey in life. My first week of EFY taught me everything-basically because it was my first week and I knew nothing.. It was a good learning experience for me to care after others. Girls and boys that I had just met-I instantly loved them. It felt like my mission again in that aspect. I could feel the love of God through me for them.

"We are simply walking each other home." -President Uchtdorf


Jarrett's recent converts from his mission were sealed to each other and their two year old son in the Oquirrh Mountain temple. It was a beautiful day.



Ombre called for a selfie
Laurel (co-counselor, Brad Wilcox, Me)
Me and Shannon hanging out at a dance
J would come visit me on break and bring me treats. 

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

April.

Continuing with my monthly lessons learned:

APRIL:
BE HAPPY NO MATTER WHAT.

I learned to allow myself to be happy. No matter what is going on in your life, learn to be happy. I have seen a lot of (& continue to still see) opposition in the last eight months. Not being in school, being car-less, job-less, date-less... you name it. What in the world was I doing with my life? 

But do miracles cease? NO. They do not.

Now I may still be car-less and not in school BUT I have a job! I started a week ago! Its a part-time summer job that goes now until mid August. I work in a call center at Seven Peaks Water Park in Provo. Its close enough to walk to and not die of exhaustion. Hallelujah! I call people and let them know their pass of all passes is expired/going to expire and ask if they want to renew it. Everyone has been pretty nice so far with the exception of your typical call center crazies. It pays the bills and is good enough for now.
Plus I start EFY in Provo on June 12th so I won't even be around that much this summer to work there. I am so excited for EFY to start!! 

ANNNNDDDD I have the world's cutest boyf like of ever. J is one of the best and treats me like a queen. Everyone needs a Jarrett in their life.

Basically, don't let others diminish your happiness just because they are jealous/unhappy with their lives. You do you. & you be happy if you want to be. I don't want to stress about what others think/think I should do and be. I am going to be who I am because I love myself. I have an amazing life and I AM HAPPY. & that's all that matters.

April:
-General Conference
-fishing
-E&O'S wedding
-got a job
-met my cousin's baby
-J went on a fishing trip to lake powell


J took me fishing at Salem Ponds ^^
^^My country boy is pretty cute and obsessed with fishing.
  ^^ I caught my first fish (and then we put him back) BUT. EW. Disclaimer I didn't follow through and kiss it.
Me, J, Josh (his bro) & Eva (his niece) hiked through Payson Canyon to this waterfall. J piggy backed me over the water. And yes, we totally kissed under it.
Spring time in Provo!
J & I went to Mona Ponds a few weeks ago when the weather was nice. Such a beautiful place!

My old roommate, Eryn got married on Saturday & we went to her reception in Bountiful.

BE HAPPY.
xoxo

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Mom Duty

Last Sunday I flew to Arizona to help my sister, Ami out with her babies while her husband, Matt was in Dubai with his Master's Program. (um, jealous.) I love going to Arizona to see her and her girls. I also love that weather tho... It was SO nice out when I was there. I definitely got my tan on.. #black.  Mainly we just were on mom duty the whole week. Its tiring let me tell ya! I totally felt like I needed a nap errey day. 

We basically chilled and tired to survive while taking care of a three year old and 9 month old twins. We went to the Zoo on Tuesday and saw all of the cute animals. #animallovers. There were two twin baby lions that were playing together. It was adorable! Leah loved it and rode her first rollercoaster with Ami. She's getting so big! I just like when she loves me... Which was like 87% of the time. You get what you get with that chick. 

Leah and I went swimming twice in their pool and laid out which was needed! What wasn't needed though was when Autumn got sick with the flu.. poor baby :( Then I got sick too... poor me :( But somehow we survived. (Update: Day #4 of the sickness.. I'm not dead yet. So that's always a good sign.)

It was quite the week full of diapers, bottles, crying, happiness, laughs and sickness but I had a good time and I'm glad that I was able to help out Ami and my cute nieces :)

^^My girl Leah greeted me with this adorable sign she made (with my aunts help of course) "Kyra, stop here for kisses!" ...UM yes please. 
                                                            ^^Poolside picnic with Leah. (That hair tho...)

^^Twin Edition 

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

lessons about self worth, dating & boys

Sitting in the window nook in my apartment staring out at the beautiful view of the mountains, I am reminded that I am blessed. I know #blessed is just one of the many catch phrases lately but I truly feel it.
I love what I can do when I put my mind to something. It is only nine days into the third month of this year but I have accomplished and done so much. My life is not perfect by any means but I have learned that we can find those perfect moments. Its in the day to day process that have made me stronger. Since I moved to Provo last August I have seen my fair share of trials. Most of them were inward struggles. Battles within myself. Starting this new year I knew that I needed to make a change. That doesn't mean that things fell into place a little bit or even at all but it means that I had to make the change in myself. I am in control of my life. I am in control of how I feel. I know its stating the obvious but for someone who was fighting against everything that was happening to her, it meant a lot. I've learned this lesson time and time again and each time I re-learn it, I'm in different phases of my life so that meaning changes. New light is shed on me and I learn about myself, others and life each time. I guess what I am getting at is wanting to share the lessons that I have learned in these three months. 
*Disclaimer* Most of what I will be talking about has to do with dating. Provo life, you know? ;)

January:
SAY WHAT YOU MEAN & MEAN WHAT YOU SAY.

I don't even know where I heard this but as long as I can remember, I have been living by this principle. I had a crush on a boy that was my friend, in my ward ANNNNDDD in my FHE group. Brilliant, right? We would hang out, talk, text and flirt. I thought it was great. One night after FHE at my Bishop's house, I couldn't take it anymore. I had to tell him how I felt. I had to ask him on a date. So I did. My roommates got out of the car and I remained in the front seat. I just started to talk. It wasn't word vomit at all. It was clear and straight to the point. He said he would go out with me and I was beaming. Look at me now! I came into my apartment screaming knowing that I had done something that terrified most people (I surprisingly was very calm despite how attractive he was). A week went by and then another and no call from him. We ignored each other at church, FHE and institute. COOOOOOLLL. I was pretty upset. I was angry. I didn't understand. I was like "oh heck no is he doing this to me!" I tried to justify what he did. I gave myself countless pep talks: "You are beautiful." You are worth it." "Who wouldn't want to go out with you?" And while I believe all of these things, I allowed (key word) Satan to creep into my thoughts and feed me these lies. How stupid!! I confronted this boy at institute and said that he was rude and to stop acting immature but that we could just be friends. He didn't know what to say. How often do people actually speak their minds? Especially when it comes to matters of the heart? Its hard. I'm not saying that I always do it and that no one else does. I am just trying to get the point across of how scary it was. I was still nervous and wanted throw up but I did it! And I want other girls to know that they can do it too! You can speak your mind. You are worth it. People want to hear what you have to say. Whether you get the boy or not, it doesn't matter. How you feel about yourself is what matters. 

February:
PATIENCE MEANS TRYING.

I realized for the 4302584298 time that I just couldn't sit on my couch and not date. I couldn't just cry about not getting asked out if I wasn't even going out and being social! Or if all I did was "hang out" with guys all of the time. I needed to try new things. I was open to go on dates with anyone. I had to actually live by my own personal rule: always say yes to a first date. Despite my pride, I got a Tinder account. A little something about me- I was one of the those people that made fun of Tinder. I thought that I was "above" it and that I was cute enough for guys to ask me out in person. So imagine my surprise when that didn't happen all of the time like I thought it would. I felt like I was doing ALL the chasing with boys and I was getting so tired of it. I would cry about nothing (Note: I'm not much of a crier) and feel so worthless. Nothing anyone said to me made me feel better. I didn't know what to do. Each day brought its new set of challenges.
 I was shocked and giddy over how many matches or messages I got from random guys on Tinder. It made me feel good. I talked to so many cute guys. I went on so many dates. I got so many free meals (what's good!). I was feeling HOT. I had never dated that much in my life. But still nothing was clicking. I started to become frustrated wondering what I was doing wrong again. Then there was one boy that changed it all. 

March:
TRUE HAPPINESS COMES FROM ACCEPTANCE.

I met a boy. A cute boy. And we had an instant connection. Funny story: I served in Manassa, Colorado my last transfer (six weeks) of my mission. I was there from January 2015-February 2015. That is where I met the Fringer family. Manassa is where J is from. My companion, Sister Bush, and I would always hear stories about their son, J, on his mission in Wisconsin. He sounded cool but I didn't think much about it because hello I was a sis mish. One P-day I got an email from an Elder Fringer. I turned to Sister Bush and was like "dude I just got an email from E. Fringer?? What the heck??" We were both cracking up laughing wondering 1. How he got my email and 2. What he could possibly be emailing me about. It was about missionary work and it was very cordial, nothing really. We emailed back and forth maybe twice and then I stopped because I was going home and could barely concentrate on my emails every Monday. I went home and honestly forgot all about him. Until Tinder (thank you tinder. Never thought I would say that) He had super liked me (another fun fact: Janaylee, his sister who I knew from my mission was with him when he saw my pictures. He didn't know how to pronounce my name so he asked her. She screamed out "That's Sister Peterson!") I could see the super like so I swiped right on him too because I recognized him. We started talking and I was like "hey I know your family!!!" He got my number and we texted all. the. time. We went on our first date a week later on a Wednesday (2.10.16) and had a really really good time. We just connected so well. Unlike anyone that I have ever met before. The coolest thing is that when he talked about home and the people there, I knew who he was talking about! We kept going on dates and haven't stopped. 

I wanted to write this mostly for myself. I want to remind myself to never, ever, ever, give up. On myself and on others. There is always hope and happiness. We just have to be the ones to seek it out sometimes. Faith is an action word. Take control of your life. Do what you want to do. Ask out the person who you've been eyeing. Tell someone how you really feel. I needed this reminder. I still have trials. I still am struggling but things just got a little bit better when I met someone that likes me for me. I know that I needed to learn these lessons & I know that I have many more to learn. 

xoxo

Friday, February 26, 2016

ONE YEAR

One year. Three hundred and sixty five days. That is how long I have been home from my eighteen month mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I served in the Colorado Colorado Springs Mission. I can't believe how fast this past year has flown by but at the same time I have done and accomplished so much in my life. I went back to school, I moved to Idaho and then Utah, I traveled, I tried new things, I decided on a new major, I made new friends and connected with old ones. I made resolutions to change and better myself over and over again. Life after the mission hasn't been easy by any means or even anything that I thought it would be but its my life and I love it.



Happy One Year, Sister Peterson!

Friday, January 15, 2016

EMPOWER

When I was home for Christmas break I was having a late night conversation with two of my main girls, Casey & Nicole. With the new year approaching naturally we were talking about new years resolutions and what we wanted to improve on. Casey told us about this blog that she had seen that suggested on just picking one word for the new year and to then base your resolutions/goals around that word. Brilliant right?! She told us that her word was:listen. I immediately knew what my word would be.

EMPOWER.

1. Empower myself
2. Empower others
3. Empower my testimony



Over the past few months, I have come to love that word and grow a deeper appreciation for what it really means. Once it clicked that I can do anything, literally anything, that I put my mind to, I knew that I could soar. I started looking up scriptures and quotes to coincide with my word choice for the year. That led me to find my quote of the year.

"Correct knowledge of and faith in the Lord empower us to hush our fears because Jesus Christ is the only source of enduring peace. He declared, “Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me” (D&C 19:23). -Elder David A. Bednar 

I LOVE that. I know that Jesus Christ is my only true source of peace. I know that everything He has done for me and continues to do for me empowers me to BECOME. I heard this quote so many times on my mission... "It's about becoming," God doesn't care so much as where we are now but as where we are going. We shouldn't forget that. 


Because of this I searched out ways to serve. Yesterday, I started this mentor-ship program through BYU. Girls Empowered. Its a ten week program where college aged girls go to a nearby middle school to help troubled young girls realize their potential and live up to it. Finding this flyer was heaven sent. I know that God gave me this opportunity to help me work on my goals. We were all paired off with our own girl that we will mentor for the ten weeks. We played a fun get to know you game that involved skittles which of course the girls were all about. I fell in love with my fourteen year old girl as I listened to her talk to me about her hopes and dreams. After the girls left the counselor who has worked with them for awhile now talked to us about how hard their lives are and what they are going through. Our hearts broke for those cute little girls. How could anyone their age be going through things like that? Its not right. Our hearts also rejoiced when the counselor told us that we are going to make a huge impact in these girls lives. It will be something they will never forget. And I have a feeling neither will we.

Saturday, December 26, 2015

A Merry Peterson Christmas

Oh, hey there. Soooo...whoops. Sorry its been so long y'all! I'm mostly writing on here again for three reasons...

1. One of my New Years Resolutions is to blog more because I like pictures and writing so why not, right?
2. I need to be better about writing in my journal so I figured that this works basically the same. Can I get an amen?!
3. My RSP (relief society president), L. Flo (Lauren Flores), reaaaalllyyyy wants me to and I love her so here I am. This is for you boo!

So many things have happened since I last blogged but here are just a few Christmas updates with cute pictures! Yesterday was December 25th, 2015 otherwise known as Christmas as some of you may know... It was the first Christmas that my whole family has been together in about four years. So that was pretty monumental in itself. It was also my first Christmas home from my mission and it felt so good to be around family again for the most wonderful time of the year. 




Me, Jenna holding baby G, Jessyka & Oma Vest

  OKAY baby overload time. #sorrynotsorry #auntielife


Claire & Autumn in their Christmas Outfits
Leah
Claire & Autumn

I was able to meet my two month old nephew, Gordon (Baby G), for the first time. What a squish.
Claire, Me & Autumn 
For our Christmas Eve dinner we eat all sorts of appetizers like chips and homemade salsa (thanks dad!), taquitos, shrimp, mozzarella sticks and homemade sushi (thanks dad!)

Every Christmas Eve we watch Albert Finney's "Scrooge" per my father's request. This kid/line is a classic inside joke with my family.

Back in the 90's when my family lived in California my parent's friends hosted an annual Christmas breakfast where they had an open house type deal. When we moved to Pennsylvania in November of '97 my parents thought that it would be a great way to meet new people so they decided to start their own Christmas breakfast. 2015 marks the eighteenth year!



Christmas Dinner
Mmm Christmas Dinner: Prime Rib, Cheesy rolls (not pictured because I had already eaten it. See that little plate with crumbs on it?), Garlic mashed potatoes, Asparagus and salad (also not pictured because.. hunger.)
"As the Christmas season envelops us with all its glory, may we, as did the Wise Men, seek a bright, particular star to guide us to our Christmas opportunity in service to our fellowman. May we all make the journey to Bethlehem in spirit, taking with us a tender, caring heart as our gift to the Savior. And may one and all have a joy-filled Christmas." -President Thomas S. Monson

Merry Christmas! xoxo