You don't have to control your thoughts; you just have to stop letting them control you.

     Have you ever been through that part of life when you think that everything is against you and you don't know what to do? Well that has been me these last couple of weeks.  It seemed like all of a sudden things were thrust upon me and I had no idea how to handle it.  I was extremely depressed, people probably didn't see it but I wasn't myself.  A lot of it had to do with the fact that I was starting to feel inadequate of what I need to be doing.  I am having a hard time saving money for next semesters tution, I have money saved for my mission but not near what I need.  I know that Heavenly Father doesn't want me to feel this way but it's hard not to.

A couple of sundays ago it was especailly bad so after church I went up to my room and offered a very heart felt prayer, and after a while I started to feel peace again.  But the pain has made its way back and I'm just not sure what to do. I'm really excited for the opportunity I have in a week to return home to my family and see their faces again, I'm really starting to miss them a lot.  2 years is going to be a LONG time, but with the help of the Lord I know that I can be at peace.  

Well know that I have you worring about me, I should probably give you some more uplifting news.  Today I went with my brother and a couple of my other cousins here at BYU to go to the batism of our twin cousins Matthew and Jared. It was so much fun to be able to see them so excited about being baptized. I wish I could see my face when I was batized, I'm sure it was adorable.  Anyway, I'm so grateful for the siblings of my father that live out here in Utah that love and care about me. It helps days and weeks like these go a little bit smoother.  

Anyways, don't worry about me I'll make it through.  Peace

Life is not the amount of breaths you take, it's the moments that take your breath away.

     Well it has been an extremely long time since I have last updated my blog. I'm really sorry to those that look at it on a regular basis checking for updates.  Hopefully I will start getting better, but it all depends on how the week was. The last couple of weeks have been really hard for me. A ton of midterms and I also have had second thoughts on my major and I just can't wait for the semester to be over. 

   Next semester is going to be so much fun. I'm taking the second half of The Book of Mormon, Missionary Prepartion, Spanish 101, Public Speaking, and American Gov't and Politics. It's is going to be so much fun. Mostly because its a new beginning and I feel like I'm starting to get used to the whole college deal. 

     Oh for those of you who didn't think that shaving my head wasn't a good idea. Fear not I'm in the process of growing it back. It should be to normal length by the time I come home for Christmas. So you don't need to see a naked mole rat in person. And you can thank Phillip for that name. He called me that one time when I was talking to him about shaving my head.

     Well its time for my "mission" update. The other day I was in a Desert Bookstore, and I was in the missionary section where they have all the missionary books and journals and such and I felt the spirit SO strong. I'm so ready to just get out there and preach the gospel. 

The only reason people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory.

     I realize that its been a long time since I last wrote. Many a things have happened since, the most significant being I am now a proud owner of a shaved head. It came about in Las Vegas last weekend. Don't worry I'm still worthy to attend the temple.  I have been able to strengthen friendships. This has come about while playing ultimate Frisbee, sitting on the couch in the neutral zone, and creating a grateful wall with some of girls that I home teach. 

   Oh also Friday was Halloween which is kinda a big deal at BYU. Everyone dresses up, well the

 cool people do. So I dressed up since I'm a cool person. And with being bald I could come up with some creative costumes so after much consideration I decided to dress up as a member of the Blue Man Group.  It was pretty much a hit.    

                                                                                                

                                                                                        

     As far as schooling goes. Most of my classes are going pretty good, I sign up for winter semester on the 7th of November. Which is in a couple of days. Its amazing how fast things go by here at college. It seems like yesterday I was trying to find Room 1105 in the JKB. This also means that I'm this much closer to serving my mission.  

     My availability date for entering the MTC is in only 6 months which will seem like tomorrow. I'm so very excited for that date when I hug my mom for the last time for 2 years. Not that I don't like hugging you mom, but I know that I will be doing what you and dad and more importantly Heavenly Father wants me to do. I hope you understand. As I think about it more and more it has been brought to my attention through the Holy Ghost that someone is out there preparing a specific individual at this very moment for me to baptize. 

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift.

     Well one more week has passed. I'm glad that it is finally over. It was one rough week, but things WILL get better. I went to the temple twice this week; I'm so glad that its only five minutes away. I cooked an AWESOME meal, pepperoni linguini. I did some rock climbing and slid down the side of a mountain, saw a goat that was all eaten up by cougars I'm guessing, thankfully i didn't meet the cougar that would have been scary. I've made new friends. Its amazing how many new people I meet each week even within the apartment complex. 

     Today I had dinner at my aunts house with a couple of other cousins, and next sunday I was invited to a baked potato bar for lunch and then to a uncle's house for dinner. Yay for families that love you. Classes are going good, though I can't wait until next semester it should be so much fun. 

     Every day I keep catching myself thinking about how close I am to leaving on my mission. In the past I've been looking forward to it, but now I'm at the point of I want to go NOW. I can't wait until I have the opportunity to go out and do the Lord's work. I've started thinking about places I want to go and I've narrowed it down to two places, one stateside and one foreign. The foreign is Switerzland and the stateside is Washington state. But ultimately I will go where the Lord wants me to go. 

Reflection of the Week

     This was one amazing week. It went from being 80 degrees one day to snowing the next. I'm so ready for some snow.  I went to the temple twice this week and had a wonderful time. I have decided to go a minimal of one time a week. Sunday was an amazing day. The Elders Quorum lesson was wonderful, in fact every lesson and talk today was incredible. Its great to be excited about going to church and being edified. 

     In an effort to become better prepared for my mission I have set a couple of goals, and they say that when you tell people that it is easier to stay true to that.  So I will tell you. They are: attending the temple once a week, studying Preach My Gospel for a minimal of an hour a week, studying scriptures daily, cook at least 3 meals a week, this excludes things like ramen and macaroni. 

General Conference

As some of you know Shane and I went to General Conference at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City. We left the apartment at about 7:30. Once we got to Salt Lake we spent about ten minutes looking for a parking space. Finally we found one and parked really close to the exit, this was a very smart idea on my part. 

The saturday morning session was really great. The Spirt that was felt as President Monson and his counselors entered the center was magnificent. After this session Shane and I went searching for food due to the fact that both of us were starving. This wasn't the greatest time because there isn't really anything food wise close to the Temple and the heavens had opened the doors and let the rain come. We finally found a Carl's Jr withe the help of a police officer that was directing traffic. And they say men don't ask for directions. Anyway for those on the east coast a Carl's Jr is very similar to a Hardees. As we were eating an elderly couple came an sat down at the table next to us and we had a very enjoyable conversation with them. 

Priesthood Session was different. I was very frustrated with myself due to the fact that I was very tired and ended up kind of napping during each of the talks except for President Monson's. Though I will let you know that when they panned the audience I held up a sign that said "HI MOM" if you had trouble seeing it. I will later post pictures of it on my facebook. 

After the conclusion of the session Shane and I went and took a couple of pictures of the temple. Those can be found on facebook if you would like to look at those. We then walked back to the car and got out of the parking lot in a mere five minutes. However we didn't get to the interstate for another twenty minutes because we missed a turn and ended up in the middle of nowhere. After arriving back to the apartment I went straight to bed and as soon as my head hit the pillow I was out cold. For saturday was a very long day.

Life as a Freshman

Say it ain't so. The little boy has finally grown up and is now in his freshman year of college. Its been a blast. Brigham Young has welcomed me with arms wide opened, and I have gladly accepted the hug. College life is so different than life back home. Sure I miss the fam and friends but hey a kid needs to experience new and exciting things before its to late. Late nights have been more than a few. In fact it is 4:30 in the am when i started this. But I'm normally not up this late. In fact its a strange story as for why I'm up at the wee hours of the morning. I spent several hours at some kids house that I have no idea who it is. I should probably go to sleep now but I'm leaving the apartment in a matter of 2 1/2 hours to go watch the general authorities of the church. 

The grades are doing pretty well. On my first ever English 150 paper I received an amazing score of 91 out of a possible 100. I was extremely proud of myself seeing how as English is my weakest subject. I'm really enjoying my Construction Management class and can't wait till I get back from the mission and can start taking a lot of CM classes. 

I saw a flair on facebook the other day that said "  'social life, adequate sleep, good grades'  'pick two' 'welcome to college'  " and I am here to say that that is true in all senses. the amount of sleep I'm getting isn't that great, but hey I'm living life on top of the mountain.