belief is a beautiful armor

"i

believe

in

you" 

- perhaps

the

most

beautiful

words

i've

heard

uttered

to 

me

in

a 

very, 

very

long

time.  

hands on a miracle

"miracles are spiritual demonstrations of God's power. tender mercies gently bestowed through impressions, feelings of assurance, solutions to problems, strength to meet challenges, and comfort to heal disappointments and sorrow." --e. hales

5 layers later

logan is COLD today.
walking to class with frozen nose hairs
brought back memories of these days:

just grateful i didn't have to wear a skirt this day ;)

schubert wisdom

"man comes into the world with faith, 

which is far superior to 

knowledge and understanding, 

for in order to understand a thing 

one must first of all believe in it. 

 reason is nothing more than 

analyzed belief."  

-- franz peter schubert

turning pages, faking glances, longing gazes, taking changes

2012 was a pretty swell year, if i do say so myself.  let's step back in time and take a gander at some of the adventure that were had:

spent the first 4th of the year as a full-time sister missionary!  

returned home on april 19, a great birthday "surprise" for my dear mother

spent the summer with family, catching up with old friends, making new friends, and attending weddings.  i swear, everyone got married this summer.  

worked as a personal assistant for aimee mcconkie all summer and enjoyed a successful venture outdoors festival: my 6th one!  just can't get enough!! 

our friend, millie millcreek - i was the voice of millie all summer on her blog!

took my family back to the mission for a wonderful week and a half in alberta, canada!  we packed in visiting with people i love, the 100th anniversary of the infamous calgary stampede, banff hikes and canoeing adventures, visiting all the best restaurants, then a few days up in edmonton visiting parker's mission.  we hit up the west edmonton mall, the beautiful canola fields, leduc oil reserve, and the street performers convention.  it was a LOT of driving but totally worth it!  my heart is still in calgary! i never wanted to leave.  

the highlight of the trip for me was visiting some of the people i love the most (not all pictured...)

the palmers

ishani, shenuk, and mickila

the ingoldsby family

of course, bill! 

the hartzlers 

between sterling visiting utah, the mission reunion in october, president archibald's homecoming, and sister riley and hill's weddings, i had plenty of opportunities to see my mission loves, not to mention the dates and "flings" with a few of the elders from the mission.  (totally not ashamed...) 

 tony and erin's wedding: san diego

president archibald's homecoming: st. george

mini reunion when sterling came to town: orem 

ran into president archibald after a work convention: park city

date to bees game with keith, krys, and allie: salt lake

mission reunion around conference: provo

nyssa's wedding: st. george 

speaking of dating, here's the 2 significants since being home!  

(it's been a year of learning for sara! ha ha....)  

the famous keaton gelwix

and our dear thomas call 

[looking at these pictures i just realized they kinda look alike, don't they.  interesting]

sent my two best friends on missions this summer.  i miss allie and jen dearly, but of course wouldn't have them anywhere else.  with the mission age changing now, even more sisters are going out, and i love that!  i may be biased, but i think ALL sisters should go.  best decision i ever made, anyway.  

allie is in washington dc north mission spanish speaking, jen in costa rica san jose mission. LOVE getting these girls' letters :) 

fall came too quickly and i moved back to logan for my final logan semester at utah state university.  scored a sweet apartment on darwin avenue with the best roommates i could've asked for.  by far my favorite place to live and favorite semester of college i've had yet!  

happy canadian thanksgiving! 

happy halloween! 

audrey, me, shannen, and jenele.  imma miss these girls!! 

between jam sessions, dance parties, dates, movie nights, sport events, frosty runs, betos at midnight, campus events and concerts, we packed in all the fun college students should and slept way too little. huzzah for aggieville!  

2012 brought the baptism of a dear friend yerin lee, the passing of our sweet grandpa ence and cousin brian condie, and most excitedly: the arrival of little ruby marie ence!  i'm an aunt! 

the girls at the big gnome benefit concert for brian

the little angel

a large part of my semester was my practicum experience at adams elementary in mrs. scheele's fifth grade class.  came to love those little munchkins, though i realized i am much more suited for the younger grades.  or maybe i just love their innocence more than 5th grade independence.  ha ha.  either way, can't wait to student teach in first grade :)  mrs. scheele was an amazing cooperating teacher and helped me grow a ton professionally.  i will always be grateful to her and the amazing experience she helped me to have in her classroom!  

--

spent the whole year as a ward missionary.  got called this summer in the ysa ward, then again in logan, then again when i returned home this december.  favorite calling EVER.  never want a release.  grateful i've had the opportunity to work with and for so many great people: ferny and yerin, especially!  

ferny and me at general conference (my first time attending in the conference center!) 

between cabin adventures, holiday celebrations, temple dedications, utah games, and concerts, it's been a wonderful year spending time with those that matter most to me, my family!  

brigham city temple dedication

the piano guys concert

 baby shower for laci

happy batman birthday, parker 

whobilation!

ruby's blessing

it's been a rough couple of months health-wise, but i'm hopeful (very hopeful) that they'll figure out what's going on with me soon :P but even with a few setbacks, i've been SO blessed this year. the tender mercies of the Lord are over me every single day.  since coming home from the mission, my goal has been to find God in all things, and that's been so easy because He is in everything.  

2012 has been one of the happiest years of my life so far.  they just keep getting better and better.  which is why i am excited for and hopeful about 2013.  some great things are to come, i just know it.  of course, there's always good things to come for those that put their trust in the Lord.  

here's to a happy 2013!