Let the Good Times Roll

Guess who is the newest college graduate in our family?!?!? BOOYAH! Congrats Mom! I'm so excited for you. You've worked really hard and put a lot of hard work, sweat and tears into getting your degree. I can speak for all of us by saying that we are SO proud of you and SO happy that you are done :) The party was definitely good times! Look how fancy she is at our makeshift graduation ceremony...I just love my crazy family :) Unfortunately, this picture was taken about 20 times to try to get one without someone's eyes being close, but its the best you're going to get. Love, love, love you guys!

This weekend, my mom, sister, Amy and I went to Time Out For Women. Its like the mini equivalent of the Women's Conference that BYU puts on every summer. It was so fun to be there! Lots of fantastic messages and performing artists. There is a famous LDS pianist/songwriter, Michael McLean and he sings this song about adoption and its so fantasticly amazing. I know a few of my close friends who have walked the road of adoption and I cant imagine having to give up my baby. I guess it's a little easier knowing that you are giving them up for the opportunity to be in an environment with better opportunities and such. Still, I know it wasn't easy for any of them. At any rate, this is such a tender song and I love it :) He wrote it for a girl that was pregnant and decided adoption was the road she was going to take and she asked him to write a song to convey her feelings and emotions about the situation.


Fantastic, yeah? My favorite speaker was Brad Wilcox (all the others were fantastic, but he was either my Stake President or one of my professors at BYU...I can't remember) so, I have soft spot for him :). He talked about the scripture in 2 Nephi 25:23 that says, "For we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." He focused on the '...after all we can do' portion. He broke it down one word at a time and really focused on what this phrase means. At the end, he focused on the WE part of that phrase. He didn't use 'we' as all of us, God's children, but 'we' as me and Jesus Christ. That through the Atonement, He has made up all of the difference between each of us and our Heavenly Father so that we can return to live in His presence again. That, if we go through life, hand in hand, with Jesus Christ, and do what is required of us, each of us can make it back to Heavenly Father. I wont get more in to it because it got pretty deep/intense in an awesome way, but it was fantastic, nonetheless. Loved it! I'm definitely thankful for all of the knowledge that I have and the testimony that I have been able to develop throughout my life. I couldn't make it through much without the help of my Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and Holy Ghost. I love them :) And I love y'all! For now, I'm out. I hope y'all have a fantastical rest of your weekend and all that jazz :)