Times of Trials

Some things have happened with friends recently that have really torn my heart. A new schedule change at my school means my lunch hour gets changed so that i don't have the same lunch with my friends anymore. I miss them terribly and i've lost touch with them. We still talk for about a minute or so in the hall but nothing else really happens. It's made my days very dreary.
I've also gotten into a rift with my really close friend. We had an argument about something and we can't seem to get past it. We're now at the stage where we act as if the other person isn't living and it really breaks my heart. She was such a great friend to me and we've had some fantastic times and now, from one stupid and reckless moment, all happiness has vanished.
Because of the problems that occurred last year with my friends that i lost, I've grown and changed to become a better friend so i've forgiven her and i've tried to make amends but things aren't working out. She just has no interest in making it work. So today, i was just asking Heavenly Father, Why does this always have to happen to me? I always seem to be doing so good and then things just plummet to the cold, hard ground and it made me think of a scripture.
It's found in D&C 58: 3-4 And it says...

 3 Ye cannot behold with your natural ^aeyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the ^bglory which shall follow after much tribulation.

 4 For after much ^atribulation come the ^bblessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be ^ccrowned with much ^dglory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand.

And it just gave me so much peace to know that Heavenly Father knows what i'm going through and he does have a way where this will all work out. Times get hard and things change but our blessings are down the road and without change, we'll never be able to receive those wonderful treasures He has in store for us. 

I'm doing good and i'm staying positive by eating yummy foods and watching lots of Ellen. (: I hope you're all doing well and make sure to keep smiling. (:

Catch Up

It has been 4 months since I last posted in my blog and that means i'm failing! But, not a lot has really happened so i don't feel so bad! I've been focusing on my Personal Progress for a little while because i only have 3 10-hour projects left to do so i'm hustling to get them done! One project is a cookbook for when i get into college and so my sweet aunt Leah is letting me choose meals that i;d like to learn how to cook and she walks me through the steps and the meals turn out good. My other project is scrap booking The Family: A Proclamation to the World with pictures of my own family. It's really coming together and it's actually a great activity because it's developing my creativity skills as well as helping my spiritual growth. And the third project is reading the Book of Mormon and i'm 3rd Nephi so i'm doin' great!
Life at home is really fun with all the kids running around and being crazy. Just the other day when i was doing my homework, Madelyn (4) and Ian (2) crawled into my room pretending to be puppies and i was their "mama". They always find new ways to make me laugh and smile and just brighten my day. Children really are such a blessing. Of course, they can sometimes get on your nerves but those moments when they rest their heads on your shoulder or say they love you, you forget all about everything that's bad in the world! The love from a child is more rewarding than 1.5 billion dollars. I love the Hoogland kids so much and they are no longer cousins; they're my little brothers and sister.
School life is pretty rough this semester. I have U.S. History, American Literature, Algebra 2, Consumer Economics, and PE. All my hard classes have been saved for 2nd semester. Not too excited about that! But i can do it! I can do anything! I finished out last semester with one A, two A-'s, one B, and one B-. The best i've ever done i think! I can really see myself improving and it makes me have so much self-confidence and i just feel so proud of myself for doing something hard. I love the experiences i'm having here and the lessons i'm learning.
I hope all is well with your families and i hope to see you all soon! I love you and keep smiling! :)

More stories? Yes please!

I have a group of friends that i sit by at lunch who are just awesome! They're so nice and super funny and all around great kids. I've had a couple of experiences with me expressing my religion there ( Post below) and i look forward to having more! It's a great place to get to know others points of view and for them to realize that some of the things they do aren't things that i do. Let's take yesterday's experience, shall we?

On Monday, in my acting class, we had to do a debate project where you pick out a topic with a partner and you have to debate your topic fro about 3 minutes. The last topic that was chosen was pre-marital sex. It got mentioned that at the lunch table and one of my really good friends, Alexis, was baffled about me being against it. I explained why i believed i was against it: It is made for a certain thing for when your ready to find your souse and start a family. Sure, it's pleasurable and what human doesn't want pleasure? But there are also consequences to every single action and this one was a drastic one if not done at the right time.

She agreed but she still thought that getting married was too "old fashioned" for her taste. I felt stuck because i could see her point of view but i knew that it just wasn't right. I felt alone. I kinda felt stupid. But then this message that i watched at standards night the Sunday before popped into my head...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_92mKlQOlk

Just click on it. I can't get it to work. :( 

But! back to my story, Sarah sitting next to me chimed in just in time. 

"I think it's wrong too. you should be married first."

I looked over and gave her the most thankful look i could ever give someone. Now, I'm not saying that i knew she was going to do that. But from the message from President Monson, The saying came to me.

"Dare to be a Mormon,

Dare to stand alone.

Dare to have a purpose firm,

Dare to make it known."

I know that the holy ghost was there helping me say the things i needed to just like the time before and he help that message come back into my head. To remind me that I'm strong enough to be out here in a world that thinks my standards are crazy. That thinks it's silly that i want to keep my body covered. That i go to church even! But I'm strong enough to fight it with kindness and compassion and love towards other and that is what is straightening my testimony. 

The story continues with the girls agreeing that it's better to wait until marriage, she just didn't want to. And i was okay with that! Who am i to tell her what to do. But it still felt good to know that I'm doing what Heavenly Father wants me to do. I love you all and keep on smiling. Life is good. (: 

Weekend in Wisconsin

This past weekend was a fabulous weekend! I got to go to Wisconsin with a couple of my friends; Sarah Vercelli, Maddie O'Connell, and Ashley Stelmack. Maddie's parents own a house up on Power's Lake and they were headed up there for a reunion with her dad's cousins. They let Maddie bring some friends and she asked little ol' me. (: 

I had to get a shot that morning for an immunization that was due or else. So, Leah and i packed up the kids and waited for 30 minutes for one little shot! it was crazy how long it took! It made us a little late but we still made it. Then she dropped me off at Sarah's and then Maddie came to pick us up. 

It took about an hour to get there but the drive was really pretty. It's very green and lush up there. When we got there, we did some work for her dad to get ready and then we all congregated to Maddie's room to hang out and talk and plan our night! 

After a while or talking and pretty much goofin off, we decided to go to dinner at Culver's. It's famous for it's Butter Burgers and Custard. It was delicious! Then we went to Walmart to walk around and see what all there was and just look around. Then we went home and got in the hot tub. It was super relaxing and really nice to just relax and get to know the girls! During which, my friend Craig texted me and all the girls thought he was my boyfriend so i got teased non-stop about that. We watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding in the theater that was in the basement and the whole time "Awe, there's M'lynn and Craig!" "So cute! is that how yours and Craig's wedding is gunna be?" Haha It feels good to be teased. (:

We woke up on Sunday morning and drove back in time for me to go to standards night where i got to know the young woman in my ward more. One of them even told me they loved having me there and they all agreed! I love it here. Everyone is so nice! It was a good week and weekend. (:

 Ashley is next to me, Maddie is behind me, and Sarah is behind Ashley. (: 

 Me and Maddie. (:

 Sarah and i were so excited! :D

It was a GREAT weekend. (:

My changed thoughts and feelings.

Being out here has been a huge difference from living in Rexburg. Here, I'm one of 2 kids that are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It's hard having to walk around with bad language being thrown from side to side of the hallways and classrooms. Even my teachers need to watch their language. But, being here has also been a strength for my testimony too. 

       Within the first couple of days I'd been here, i had mentioned to my classmate that i was LDS. She didn't know what that was so i explained as much as i could to her. We're a religion that believes that there are three to the godhead. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ who have bodies like us and the Holy Ghost who does not. We don't drink or smoke or drink coffee and the biggest one she didn't understand, we don't swear. 

The teacher walked by and heard us and some other kids who had joined in discussing it and he started to ask to. Pretty soon, it was a whole classroom deal. I had some questions like "So are all Mormons going to vote for Mitt Romney?" and "Why can't you drink coffee?" and my favorite, "So are you the same religion as the guy on TV that has the 4 wives?" Ha ha! I have to say, i was struggling with some but i know that all the lessons from Primary and Young Womens began to flow into my head and i know that the Holy Ghost was right there helping me out. It was really eye opening and one kid asked about why we have the gold angel on top of the temple. I guess he'd heard about the Mormons and looked into it and that really hit me too. I was a missionary! The discussion probably only last for 5 minutes but that memory will stay with me forever.

     Another experience:

I welcomed a new kid to LT (my high school) and invited him to sit at our table for lunch. He seemed like a nice enough kid and so my friends were cool with it. He'd been sitting at our table for about two weeks now and we got to see the real side of him. He was rude and not very respectful and had a potty mouth the size of Texas. One particular day, he began to talk about politics which is weird because we have no idea, nor do we care, about what is going on in that area. He said "Y'all better start getting some respect for Obama because he's going to be the President for the next 4 years."

  My friend Sarah asked "You don't think Romney has a chance?"

Oh my. Alex, the Obama-loving potty mouth kid, started to bag on Romney and the "Mormon kind" and how they were stupid and believed in *%@# and all sorts of things that should not come out of anyones mouth. Sarah, my dear friend, sat there staring at me waiting for me to stand up and tear this boy apart but i didn't. i got this calm feeling to just be nice about so i simply said...

 "So is that what you think of me?"

And almost instantly, he shut his mouth and the emotion vanished. 

"Maybe you should be careful about what you say before you say it. I think most of us at this table would appreciate that." I finished. 

He, then, later apologized and i told that i think i embarrassed him enough and forgave him. we're good friends now and he hasn't been too bad since. It feels great to be able to stand up for what you know is right. 

If i could say anything I've learned so far, it's that the gospel is so true. It's a blessing in my life and i feel as if Heavenly Father loved me so much that he gave me the opportunity to learn about it from the very beginning. (: 

I love you all and keep on smiling. (: 

Pictures of the day: 

Ian had black beans for dinner last night. I like the beard look. (:

Playtime with Maddie. I love being a big sister. (: 

Hey friends and family! I decided to start a blog because there's so much happening that I want to tell everyone but i can't because there's so much happening! So here it is. My new sanctuary. (:
I live in a little suburb called Burr Ridge about 20-30 minutes west of the city of Chicago. I live with one of my most favorite families, the Hooglands. There's my uncle Scott, my aunt Leah, and their three kids. Rylan who's 9, Maddie who's 4, and Ian who is 20 months. I love them so much!

I got to school at a high in high school call Lyons Township. Their mascot is, of course, a lion. Their colors are blue and yellow and the campus is HUGE. It has two buildings and both are 4 stories tall. The building with the choir rooms also has 8 gyms and a swimming pool! It's almost overwhelming. P.E. here is required also and that's also a big difference because in Rexburg, anyone who takes P.E. is crazy.. haha! But my first day in P.E. ,my teacher instantly made me feel super welcome and she has me under her wing. I also made one of my closest friends in that class. Maureen Elizabeth and i were put together as partners for golf and we just talked and became really good friends! The next weekend, we had a sleepover!

The Thursday of my first week of school, i got stopped by two kids in my 10th hour class and they invited me to the drama club. And of course i joined because i want to make this the greatest experience i can. They became my close friends too! Joey and Sarah. I'm acctually currently doing the sound board for a school play the varsity drama club is putting on called Curiosity. All the crew and cast really welcomed me and i am having the greatest experience.

I love being able to start over but i also miss my Rexburg a lot. There are some great friends that won't be at my school next year that i could've had one last year with. I'm also missing my cousin Porter's and my really good friend Riley Allen's farewells and i won't be able to see my brother graduate. :( I'm sad about that but i know that it's not the end of the world.

I went to my first football game here on Friday and it was lots of fun. There were over 7,000 people there, and i sure could tell! We left 3 hours early just to get a seat that we ended up losing anyways! At the game, we had paratroopers fly in the game ball. It was so awesome! Everyone had their iPhones out taking pictures and videos. (That's another thing. Everyone here has iPhones and cars so shiny you have to wear sunglasses.) I met some great new friends and we had a great time!

                     Me and Sarah on our way to the game.

That's all for right now but more to come. I love and miss you all!