Prayer and Fasting does the Trick!

I really shouldn't be posting this right now, but hey my brain is fried and I am nowhere near being ready for school to start again tomorrow so here goes. A few weeks ago I had a thought pop in my mind (yes that happens occasionally) :) It was actually more of a vision--now before you go thinking that I'm a delusional psychopath, it may have just been a daydream, but nonetheless--of me in the temple sitting in the Celestial room. A lady came up to me and gave me a hug then the daydream progressed to her introducing me to her son (don't go putting me in a straight jacket yet) then you can fill in the rest of the story...let me just tell you, it made me happy. Is it crazy? Yes. Did I care? No.
So I got to thinking after that daydream 'Should I go through the temple?' I have never had a desire to go through the temple unless it was because I'd be getting married or going on a mission. I've always thought that I would wait. I have, time to time, when I've done baptisms for the dead thought 'When will I get to take that next step of attending the temple.' When I went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house I couldn't help but think, 'I can't wait to be able to do more than just baptisms and be able to do more and witness the true beauty of the temple.'
At first, right after this--whatever it was--I just decided that it was a just a dream (defined by me as a crazy ridiculous production that happens in the noggin') and didn't think anything of it. But I just couldn't get it out of my head. So I thought about it, talked to my parents, prayed, and ended up talking to my Bishop about it because my desire to go through the temple had flipped completely. I now really want to go through and take that next step.
He suggested that we fast about it on Fast Sunday and see how we feel. Well, the last week and a half that I have had that time to really ponder, read and pray, I've felt good about it. Then I would feel doubtful (for lack of better word) then back and forth. Today after I had fasted I talked with my parents and asked what their thoughts were (they are wiser than I am, ya know?) and we all felt the same. What a wonder the power of fasting and prayer! We all felt that either way--to wait or to go now--would be a good choice. So now I just need to talk to my bishop and see what he says. If he doesn't see a problem with it, I'll be preparing to go through! Yay!

Life Sum of 2010--Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011

Dear 2010,
This past year was a very good year but it flew by! I was able to move home and have an awesome student-teaching experience in Kindergarten and made a great friend in the process. Third grade was a little bit more of a challenge but it was a great learning experience. The graduation ceremony was a much better experience than when I graduated from UVU with my Associates degree because I knew most of the people I was graduating with and the speakers. It is still weird to think that I am a college graduate!
Then I was able to move up to the beautiful, small town of Kamas to live with Greg, Kim, and Maddie. I am very greatful to them for letting me bum off of themin their little apartment, for getting me a job at Kneaders up in Park City, and being able to work with Greg and Kim. And even though I worked quite a bit and we all didn't get to see each other much, I enjoyed so much being there with them and getting to know each of them better. It was quite a joy to become closer to them and to see Maddie grow each day too.
Exciting and sad was the day that I was offered a job teaching first grade in Price of all places! Exciting because it was a job! More exciting because I would be teaching first grade!! But sad because I would be moving away from Greg, Kim, and Maddie--and everyone else I knew. Who knew that this would happen. Who knew that my favorite professor from school would call me and tell me about a job opening in Price and of her friend who was the Principal who would hire me. Only God knows what is in store for us. Even though I still don't know why He wanted me here in Price, I know I'm where I am supposed to be, I just hope I can fulfill whatever it is that I am supposed to do here.
If all that I am to fulfill is to get experience teaching and to learn, I have no doubt that I will gain that. I am learning so much. I only hope that my students will learn just as much or more that me. I am definitely being challenged, I hope that I can beat it and be a better teacher!
Lastly, probably the most exciting thing that happened this year was having Thomas come home from his mission. He came home on Wednesday, December 15. I was still in school for another week when he came home, but I got a substitute-teacher for that Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday and headed up home to get him from the airport. He was so excited to be home that he was walking too fast toward us and we almost missed him. We got his sign up when he was already half-way to where we were waiting. (I would post pictures of the happy occasion but I seemed to have misplaced my cords that connect my camera to my computer)
The best part of him coming home is not just having him home (duh!) but being able to go to the Stake President's office that night and to hear his testimony of what he learned on his mission and seeing how much his testimony had grown and his articulation of it. He worked his hardest and he did awesome. I love the silly, goofball. He's a great kid!
Christmas was of course awesome! This is probably the Christmas where we recieved the least amount of things but that isn't what makes Christmas, Christmas. It's being with family and being home. If only Brian and Kate could have come up. But no worries they will be up here in July! ;)

Well that's all of 2010 folks! We'll see what 2011 will bring!

Price: My new town, the new school, and classroom!

My Mom and I took a quick trip down to Price yesterday to go meet the Principal and to check out my new classroom. I got to choose out of two classrooms which one I wanted. The choice was between the classroom with windows or the classroom without windows but with a HUGE storage closet. It took me about a half hour to decide but I finally decided that I wanted the bigger sized room with the windows. I want more space for the kids than storage space for me. I may kick myself for that decision further on down the road, but then I'll know it's time to de-junk my classroom at that point!

Here I am outside the school with MY key!!

Here are a few different shots of my classroom, it looks pretty bare and plain right now, but I will get some after pictures up once I get it all set!

And I was about jumping for joy when I saw this sight! I said to my Mom, "All is well! There is a Maurices in Price!" Maurices is where I shop. I have the best of luck finding clothes there. Now that I know there is one there I know it was meant to be! :)

And this is just something that made me laugh! This is one of three or four turtle shell shaped garages that are all connected together by tunnels. They house a bunch of the city's maintenance vehicles (or at least that's what it looked like to me!). If you are ever down in Price once you find these things you will be right next to Creekview Elementary where I am now a teacher! haha!!

P.S.

We also went down to look at houses or apartments to rent. We had no luck because the power plant in Huntington just hired a bunch of temporary workers who are all needing places to rent. I started thinking, 'What if I bought a house?'....

Da da da da! We checked into it and now the plan is to buy one! Housing is cheap down there and it will cost me less to buy than it will to rent. It will be less money up front which is perfect, so that's the plan Stan!

Life in Kamas

Life in Kamas has been pretty fun. I love playing and helping out with Maddie. Kim and I usually get talking or watching our favorite shows together (the t.v. thing is a new addiction--Kim has got me hooked on NCIS mostly). I also have become a follower of the NBA finals and love to sit and root for whatever team is playing against the Lakers--this is thanks to Greg. ;) The last couple of weeks I have been getting around 40 hours or more at work. I know that's a normal work day for most people, but after not working a full time job for two years it's quite an adjustment! When I came home from work today and saw Maddie I couldn't help but think 'Holy Cow, it seems like forever since I've been home when she's been awake!' I'm sure going to miss these guys when I leave to go teach in Price. Thanks Greg, Kim, and Maddie for sharing your apartment with me, and for giving me a job, and for being such great family to me!
I've been going to the singles branch here (which is super small) and to as many singles activities as possible. I've made friends with a few of the girls in the ward, they are pretty welcoming though, I can't give the credit to myself. I should also be working on finding a place to live down in Price in August, but I just haven't had the time during decent hours of the day to make calls. Maybe on my day off this week I'll get busy and set up some appointments for when I go down on the 24th to check out my classroom!! I'm so excited!!!!!!!!

Mom's Birthday Cake-s...

Mom's birthday was today and we had Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Grandpa come up to Kamas for the Party. They brought dinner and Kim and I made the cake. We went to the store this morning and bought all the things that we needed to make this awesome, 3-layer cake. It was gonna be the best dang cake you ever saw (and ate)....

It didn't turn out quite like we planned. We were watching Toy Story at the same time, I think our cake turned out looking more like Buzz Lightyear's spaceship instead!

It must have tasted yummy because Maddie sure liked it!!

After another trip to the store and another cake mix later this is what we ended up with!

Mini-individual cakes for everyone!! Haha ;)

Yes it's been about a year, but here is a brief update...

I GOT A JOB IN PRICE AS A 1ST GRADE TEACHER!!!
(...yes that means I've graduated
....that also means that I finished my student-teaching in Kindergarten and 3rd grade
..and I survived "The Block" classes (my last semester at SUU)
...and had great times at family reunions last summer. )

That pretty much covers everything except that I'm super-DUPER excited for my job!!! aahahah!!

I Love to See the Temple, I'm going there someday.

A few weeks ago we had the Bawden Family Reunion up Heber Canyon at the young women camp cabins. It was a nice place, too many rules though. :) It was really fun to see all the aunts and uncles together. It is a riot to hear them talk, banter, and tease back and forth.

I didn't have to go back to Cedar until Tuesday morning so I asked Mom and Dad if it would be possible to go to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. They went online and got tickets for it and we made plans to go Monday.

The temple is so gorgeous inside, I love it. It is so my temple because the inside has a lot of green in the patterns of the chair fabrics and even some green walls. I really enjoyed it. When we walked into the Celestial room I couldn't believe how tall the ceiling was. I know it reaches Heaven. The chandelier was absolutely magnificent. The whiteness of the walls and its furnishings and brightness of the light coming in through the gigantic windows really gave it a celestial glow. It really does it's job of representing Heaven. When we walked in the ordinance rooms I couldn't fathom the effort it took to paint the beautiful nature murals all over every wall. The beauty of each room was incredible.

Here is Mom, Dad, and I outside the Oquirrh Temple. I wish everyone could have been there. Someday though :)

I had the most amazing experience in the sealing room which is the reason, even after many years of dreaming of getting married in the Salt Lake Temple, I now want to be married in the Oquirrh Mountin Temple--when that day comes. Maybe it is because we were able to actually rest out feet and sit down in beautiful, comfortable white chairs and hear the testimony of a couple who has been sealed in the temple and how their family has been blessed by it. Maybe because I sat there and imagined how my wedding day will be with an unknown someone kneeling across from me and all of my family and close friends there watching us be sealed to each other forever, fufilling my every dream. Maybe because I was thinking how MUCH our Father in Heaven truly loves us that he has made the sealing power available to us to be able to be sealed to our families, the ones we love the most, need the most, and treasure the most. I think it was a combination of all these maybe's.

I'm so glad I was able to go to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple that day and feel of the spirit there. I'm so glad my parents have been willing to teach and still are teaching me of the temple. I thankful that my mom and dad were sealed for all eternity, that I will be with them forever. That I will forever be with them and my wonderful brothers, sisters, and niece. I love them all so much. They are everything to me. I love you all! Thanks for being my joy! I am always so overjoyed when I think of my family, its a great eternal one.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Movie worth the wait at the midnight showing!

So a few of my friends and I decided Sunday night to order tickets online to go see the sixth Harry Potter movie. And yes you know you live in a small town when you can decide to get and buy tickets to a highly anticipated movie just a couple days before. So tuesday night after a full day at work, I got home wanting to take my time getting ready but everyone was ready and waiting for me to go stand in line. This was at 8:30. It was 9:00 by the time we got there in line. We weren't too far back, so we got to pick good seats (we better have though, we waited in line for 3 hrs!) The wait was worth it, the movie was really good! The movie played off the whole teenage love drama quite a bit making it quite funny, I really liked it!

Weekend up Beaver Canyon

This weekend I was able to get work off and escape from Cedar with my roommates Hannah, Jen, Alicia, our neighbor Lindsay, and my Cedar City brother Lane. We went up Beaver canyon to Alicia's family's cabin. Its a pretty big cabin--more like a big home with the cabin look--with two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, a big family room, full kitchen and dining area on the main floor with a bathroom, washer and dryer. Then downstairs there are three bedrooms, one bathroom, and family room with a pool table. They also have a few 4-wheelers and a Polaris Ranger (kind of like a 4-wheeler, but holds more people and gear).

The drive up to the canyon was really pretty. I have never been up Beaver canyon, but it is a gorgeous canyon. We went out Friday evening after we got up there on a drive on one of the 4-wheelers and the ranger up to an old ski resort that is no longer open but it was a pretty drive and fun to see all the wild life come out before dark. It started looking a lttle rainy and tried to rain as we were headed back, thank goodness we got back in time before it did rain.

(These are a few pictures of us as we drove up to the old ski resort Friday night. In the last picture in the back are Alicia, Jen, Lindsay, Me. In the front is Lane and Hannah.)

(Here we are lighting a fire in the fireplace. I built a house out of legos, and next are pictures of me wresting with the bear, and then all of us at the table coloring. haha)

Saturday we spent the afternoon on the 4-wheeler and ranger. It was a pretty scenic ride, pretty bumpy, but worth it, my back was so sore from riding the four wheeler. Most of the trees up there are evergreen trees and aspen trees, the contrasting green colors of the leaves are pretty together, and pretty purple and yellow flowers growing next to the little streams that are cutting through grass meadows. It was beautiful.



(The battery cables to the ranger's battery came detatched, good thing Lane was there to figure it out and always is prepared with electrical tape!)

Saturday for dinner we had the traditional camping meal of roasting hotdogs and marshmallows and making smores. Mmmm. Hannah and I made the fire, we were pretty stoked that we were able to do it by ourselves. After a while we started throwing the marshmallows in to see how black they would get. Lane kept one on a stick cooked it till it was almost completely ash, and then ate it. Later I asked him what it tasted like, he said, "Like ash." Lol. We also got a bunch of big sticks and started putting them in the fire and catching them on fire and waved them around like sparklers. Young adults with fire sticks....Gotta love a camp fire and the crazy things we do around 'em!

Here we all are outside of the cabin as we were heading out. We all look so tired because we're all leaning on the person next to us.

Left to Right: Lane, Hannah, Me, Alicia, Jen, and Lindsay

Locked Out of the Car....on Top of the Mountain...Ooops!

So Sunday, Hannah wanted to go a little ways up the canyon and show me a pretty and peaceful little place that she found on her walk earlier in the day. Thinking that we weren't going to go very far up the canyon, Hannah and I only wore shorts and t-shirts and sneakers. Lane was a little smarter and had on his jeans and a t-shirt, but grabbed a jacket.

As we started up the canyon a sign was up saying that the road to Cedar Breaks was open. So spontaneously we decided to go all the way up. We got up to scenic view point for Cedar Breaks and get out of the car. I grabbed my keys and then threw them back down on the seat thinking 'We're not going very far and we're the only ones up here, no need to lock my car or bring my keys'.....

We took a few pictures then went back to the car. I tried to open my door and it was locked (i'm in such a habbit to lock my door the second I open it) so I look up at Hannah and said, "You didn't lock your door did you?" (knowing full well that she did, I've trained her to lock it every time) She did. My face evidently was pretty funny cause her and Lane both started laughing. I had no other choice but to laugh, but at the same time I was like....oh SNAP!

Hannah and I didn't have service, but Lane did--thank goodness for him and his verizon service!

We started waving down people driving by while he tried getting ahold of "triple A" and figured out a plan. We called our neighbor she was home and Hannah had left her window unlocked, so we had her break in our apt. and grab my spare key. She was so willing to drive up the canyon and bring it to us!

After we called her, a park ranger from the Cedar Breaks visitor center was driving past and stopped for us. She was on her way home from work, she lives in paragonah. She gave us the Brian Head sheriff's department # and then let us warm up in her car. It was so cold and windy up there! She stayed until somebody came from the sheriff's department to break into my car. If it weren't for her we probably would have gotten hypothermia. It's good to know there are still angels out there watching over the dumb college students. ;)

Here we are sitting in the ranger's car warming up

The police officer that came to break in worked on getting in my car for a few minutes and then said, "The good news is, your car is really hard to break into. The bad news is, we're trying to break into it." So he wasn't able to get in, but that's ok, because then Tess showed up with the spare key!

Trying to break into my car

We sure learned, on top of the mountain is NOT where you want to be when your locked out of your car, for sure! Good thing for friends, ranger angels, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but yes, local law enforcement. ;)