nineteen.

I'm nineteen now... strange how fast that went. I feel young yet old yet the same as I always do. This morning we went up to Park City and got breakfast (to keep with tradition). Whenever people find out my birthday is Christmas Eve they always tell me how much I must hate that. I disagree with those people. I love it. I always have family around because they are also here to celebrate Christmas. I also get to have an entire season of jollyness leading up to my birthday. I also get alot of time to ponder the Savior around my birthday. It's great. Here are some pictures from today's festivities:

Dapper Brother:

Merry Christmas to all! I can't wait to go to sleep so that I can wake up! (That's one of my favorite parts of my birthday: I don't have to be sad when I go to sleep because the fun is far from over!)

Couch in its natural habitat.

I have this fixation with having cool indoor furniture...outdoors. I really want to get a cool floral, vintage couch and do a photo shoot with it up in the mountains or something. So when I saw one already outside and covered in snow no less, I had to get some pictures!

Human Orbits.

I just watched The Nativity Story which is a wonderfully done film about, of course, the Savior's birth. When the star appeared above the stable where Jesus was born, I thought back to a quote about that star that had really impressed me. It took a little searching but I finally found it:

“The same God that placed that star in a precise orbit millennia before it appeared over Bethlehem in celebration of the birth of the Babe has given at least equal attention to placement of each of us in precise human orbits so that we may, if we will, illuminate the landscape of our individual lives, so that our light may not only lead others but warm them as well.”

-Elder Maxwell

I absolutely love this quote. We each have a divine mission here on earth. Our Heavenly Father has placed us in a precise "human orbit" so that we can complete our mission while also leading others to Christ with the light inside of each of us. This is a beautiful message to ponder, especially during this Christmas season.

MERRY CHRISTMAS.

Everybody is Weird.

"There's something weird about every family. That's what makes America great." 

I have come to find that if you think someone would never do something crazy or weird... you probably don't know them very well. Everyone is strange, weird, crazy, etc. and that's what makes them so much fun! I remember one experience in high school when a girl came up to me and told me she thought I was very serious and mature and put together...I'm sure she meant that as a compliment. Well I'm not sure but I'll pretend she did. But it took me aback a little. That meant I wasn't sharing my true self with people around me. When I told her that I could be very weird and spazzy she was surprised. I don't want people to think i'm a serious, no fun person!

Everyone: Embrace your quirks, don't be afraid to show people your true self.
Self:Take your own advice.


"Better to be hated then loved loved loved for what you're not."

-Marina and the Diamonds

I want those around me to love me for me... not some edited version of myself that I think they may like better than the real me.

Dare to be real.

No Ordinary People.

I read a quote from C.S. Lewis today that really caused me to stop and think:

"It is a serious thing, to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no 'ordinary' people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilisations -- these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit -- immortal horrors or everlasting splendours."

None of us are ordinary. Don't let anyone ever feel like you are. We all have a great purpose here on earth and an eternal and wonderful potential. Think of this quote the next time you think unkindly of someone else. I know I will. We have a responsibility to love and serve those around us and help everyone to reach their full potential.

Awk-vard.

I love the website Awkward Family Photos. So classic. One of my crowning achievements in life so far is making it onto that website. Here is the beautifully awkward picture that made the site:

Too good.

The best part was when people I barely knew stopped me at work and asked me if they had seen me on the website. I was proud to declare "yes, yes you did."

The Times They are a Changin'.

This blog is making a change. I have decided that I want to be able to post not only my photos but my favorite things, stuff that inspires me, and everyday thoughts. I haven't been taking nearly enough pictures to post as often as I would like. I am also not writing in my journal as often as I should so I have decided to make this one big picture sharing, journal writing blog of love. I hope none of you mind. If you're only interested in the pictures, feel free to skip over the other stuff.

HERE WE GO!

The Mod Squad 2