The completely true story of ME!!!

Wow! Well I can now officially say that I've started this adventure! This is a new experience for me, so please forgive me if I'm illiterate at times, or mess things up until I get the hang of this! I know that at times, this might be really confusing, but I'm using this as an extension of my handwritten journal, in the hopes that someday someone will be inspired, and maybe, just maybe, find the peace I have found these past few months.

Well first off, a little about me! I was born and raised in MT (yes, I'm kind of a hick). I have an absolutely wonderful family that I adore and wouldn't trade for anything in the world. I have two loving parents and a little sister who is a huge pain in the butt, but who I wouldn't give up for a million dollars. I love to do anything outdoors. On the weekends in the fall you'll usually find me out hunting with my dad or baking with my mom (that's a huge thing back home)! I'm currently going to school in Utah to pursue a history major and get my teaching license. I have the best friend a girl could ever want and I am so blessed to have her in my life. I also have an unofficial second family with my best friend. Her parents call me their adopted daughter, and love me with a love only parents can give a child.

So I know you're probably thinking, "Wait, I thought this girl said she was Mormon." Hold your horses people, I'm getting there!!! To know my whole story, you  have to realize it hasn't always been a happy, easy journey to get to where I am today. In fact, there's been more bumps and twists in the road than I could have ever imagined possible to be in one person's life. I'm currently a sophomore in college, but when I was a sophomore in high school, my life changed very dramatically overnight. On October 23rd, I lost my big brother. He was working on a fishing boat in Alaska, and while they were coming in from the last trip out of the season, they got caught in a storm. The boat was full of fish, so it was way heavier than usual, and the hole in the hull hadn't been sealed as well as the crew had thought. It was the middle of the night when the Coast Guard lost contact with the ship and it was on midnight the next day that they called off the search. My brother and one other crew member were never found. You never realize how short life is until someone you love that much is ripped from your life with no warning. Fast forward 2 years...I'm going to school in MT and  trying to convince myself that I love life and I love school (when I really hated it with a passion and hadn't been happy for awhile) and my best friend comes home for Thanksgiving. Just what I needed, some girl time and a good venting session with the bestie. Now, my best friend, Kylene, had been raised LDS and was a wonderful example without ever meaning to be. I hadn't been raised in any religion and had pretty much given up on the whole believing in a higher power when my brother died. My best friend always had this  happiness about her, and even when times were tough, she was calm and took everything in stride. Needless to say, I was always confused and perplexed when she was like, "Everything is going to be okay. I know it is. Trust me." Well when she came home, I asked if I could go to church with her one Sunday. Never have I seen anyone's face go through so many emotions in such a short amount of time (if I remember correctly, her jaw literally dropped at one point). Well things didn't work out while she was home, but I called her not even two weeks later and asked if when she was home for Christmas if I could go to church with her. She screamed a bit on the other end of the line and then said of course I could. Christmas day was the first day I went to church, and from that moment, I knew that I would be baptized. I AM A CONVERT!!!!! I wear that title proudly and am eternally grateful for the principles I have learned the past 9 months and the knowledge I continue to gain daily through scripture study and going to church. I had two of the most AMAZING missionaries that a girl could have ever asked for! Elder Nuttall is from California and Elder Price is from a tiny town in Alaska. I think I made their jobs a little easier by asking to take the lessons and being very open to learning. I took the lessons for 3 months and was baptized on St. Patrick's day of 2012. It has been almost 6 months exactly since I made that covenant, and every day is such an adventure. I've dealt with hate, disbelief, questioning, confusion, the purest love I've ever seen, and acceptance in its most wonderful form.

This blog is going to be my adventures as a college student on my own for the first time, what I learn from the Church, and everything else that decides to happen to me the next few years! I encourage anyone who stumbles upon this and is questioning what they know to search for those answers. Your Heavenly Father has an absolutely wonderful plan for you and He will not let you fail. If your curious about my faith, or my church, I encourage you to go to www.lds.org or www.mormon.org. Your questions can be answered, you can read the words of living prophets, and even find churches or missionaries in your area.

And now...for some pictures!!!!!!

My best friend's dad who baptized me!

My best friend, me, and my parents

Just before the baptism

Me and the bestie!!!!

Me and my sister <3

Elder Nuttal, Me and Elder Price

me and the bestie again!

me and my best friend's little brother

me with my best friend's little sister and mom

My sister, mom, me and my dad just before the service