power of ASK

so i'm doing my student teaching in the spring, right?  
i'm moving back to salt lake for it.  
i wanted to teach in granite district.  
my advisor said no, they don't place USU kids in granite. 
i asked if i could put it as my first choice anyway.  
she said, ok, doesn't hurt? 
i turned my application in.  
the office lady said, oh we've never had anyone request granite. 
i said, that's because it's on your no request list. 
she said she'd make a few phone calls and see what she could do. 
i smiled.  
i got my placement on wednesday. 
i'm student teaching in granite district.  
granite district is huge.  30ish elementary schools. 
i could've gone anywhere. 
the office lady didn't know my home address BUT
the school she's placed me at is oakridge... 
oakridge is not 4 minutes from my house.  
i cried when i opened that e=mail. 
the Lord is so good to us. 
the power of ASK is incredible and real.  
you get what you want when you ask for what you want.  

in other news, it's the weekend!  huzzah!  

p.o.p.c.o.r.n.

you learn something new everyday.
sometimes things that you should've known before.
TOTALLY should've known before.
yesterday in science class, mrs. scheele was teaching the little ones about physical changes.
we were talking about popcorn... and hypothesizing whether it was a physical or chemical change.
when she was talking about where popcorn comes from, i was astounded to learn it came from corn!
did you know this?  i think i'm probably the only one that didn't realize this... ha ha ha...
but i sat there in awe.  they take it off the stalk and shuck it then dry it out and shake out the kernels and you can pop them to make pop corn.  you'd think with the name "popped corn" i'd catch on... hah!

life just makes so much sense.
i'm glad to be educated now.

ps.  americans consume 500,000,000 pounds of popcorn every year!  i'm pretty sure a good 1,000 of those pounds happen at grandpa anderson's house :)

our big gnome.

today we lost our dear cousin, brian condie.  after a battle with colon cancer for years, it finally took him.  my thoughts and prayers are continually with him, his sweet wife and 2 beautiful daughters, and all other family members.  life is so fragile.  we'll miss the "big gnome".  i'll be wearing this shirt tomorrow in honor of him.

#140.

last night was the calgary temple youth cultural celebration.  i watched the live feed and SO wished i was up there in person watching it all!  the youth did an incredible job with the program, and it seemed to go off without a hitch.  it made me incredibly homesick for calgary, though.  man.  can't wait to get back up there are go through the temple and see the progress it's helped in the missionary force!  i am so grateful for the calgary temple and the addition it is going to be to all the faithful members in alberta!  the 3rd temple in the province, and #140 in the world!  pretty cool!

one thing that absolutely struck me about the program was just a short part that happened near the beginning.  they showed a video from president monson, who was watching the broadcast of the celebration from his home in salt lake city.  president monson expressed that while he wishes he could be in calgary to see it live, his wife was celebrating her 85th birthday on saturday, and he felt it was more important to spend the day with her, surrounded by family and celebrating her life.  he said, "i'm sure you'll understand."   he and his dear wife would take an early flight on sunday morning to make it to calgary in time for the temple dedications that will take place today.

as i was listening to president monson explain this, i couldn't help but think, "now here is a man that truly practices what he preaches, and practices exactly what the gospel of Jesus Christ emphasizes, that family always comes first."  it would've been so easy for him to drag his wife to calgary and celebrate her birthday there, but he felt it was more important to allow her to spend the time with her children and family members in salt lake, and simply watch the cultural celebration from afar.  what a gem.  our dear prophet is surely a man of God, and an incredible example for all of us.

text me maybe

"i'm leaving 4 japan tomorrow & if i get eaten by Godzilla I'm totally going to miss you," says Ferny Carpenter. 

... I'll miss you too, buddy.

"once we went past drumheller it felt like we were on the moon it was so empty.  seriously sara i was legit freaking out.  we had like hardly any gas and it was dark and it felt like we were on the moon," says Logan Lewis.

... the moon, really?

"i'm going to kill a thousand birds with this stone."  "what does that even mean?"  "there's that saying about killing seven birds with a stone."  "...mom, it's two birds..." says Margaret and Hannah Ence.

... and i thought i was confused.

"our personal house elf put clean towels and wash cloths in the bathroom.  if you didn't bring any shampoo you're welcome to use mine with a $1.00 surcharge for each ounce you use," says Deb Ireland.

...feels like the marriott.

"search for 'guy on a buffalo' on youtube and watch the first couple episodes, you will be happier.  it brings happiness and it will be stuck in your head for minimum 24 hours," says Parker Ence.

...i want that 5 minutes of my life back, and, you were right.

"if you can stalk them, you should..." says Melissa K. Condie.

...most useful hobby, my friend.  most useful hobby.

"you wouldn't happen to have a hammer would you?"  "negative, lo siento!"  "that's ok, i used my fist."  "knuckles of steel."  "pretty much.  in unrelated news, would you happen to have a spare nail?"  says Josh Jeppson.

...pretty sure that's related news.

"whenever they look at each other, their eyes look very warm and cordial.  i saw it!"  says Yerin Lee.

...yes, Lin, I would agree that they should date.

"remember how you didn't know you could use your volume button to take pictures?!"  asks Nikki Hodson.

...how could i forget.

"sara, i just want to date someone in America."  says Jenele Vander Veur.

... don't we all, Jenele.  don't we all.

in other news, i finished my last college course today.  EVER.  i'm done.  done done done.  it is a strange, stressful, yet liberating feeling.

3 life miracles

"gain and loss, birth and death, are in the hands of God."  --sri saytha sai baba

life is full of miracles.  today i wish to speak about 3 angels in my life.  3 large miracles that have happened this week.  i feel bittersweet... some of the most opposite yet serene miracles have occurred in my family and circle of influence in just the span of a few days.

my sweet grandpa ence passed away this week, on his 68th anniversary, and just after his 94th birthday.  he was ready to go, but of course will be greatly missed.  i will never forget grandpa's smile and raspy voice saying, "give me a squeeze!" or his love for the university of utah!  i bleed red because of grandpa ence.  i was able to say goodbye over the phone, and will never forget his last "i love you" for me.  he's been waiting for this day for a long time, and i'm at peace knowing he's out of misery and experiencing the sweet reunions and lovely spirit in the spirit world.  the plan of salvation is real, and i know i will have a glorious reunion with my dear grandpa one day.

this picture was taken on memorial day this year.  we got grandpa out of the house (a daunting feat) to go see his parents' graves.  interesting to think the next time we are there, we will be visiting him.  i will never forget this smile and how happy he was this day.  you are an angel to me, grandpa!

early this morning, little ruby marie ence entered the world.  i can't wait to meet this little angel, she is perfect.  congratulations, parker and laci!  you've started the new russell ence generation :)  

a little later this morning, my dear friend yerin lee was baptized.  i met yerin about 2 months ago when she showed up for church.  yerin has the light of christ in her eyes, and it was a beautiful morning to see her go into the waters of baptism and make that covenant with her Heavenly Father, then to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.  elder kim gave the confirmation blessing in korean, and it was beautiful.  yerin said she didn't want to come out of the water because it was so warm and felt like a mother's hug, that she had never been happier in all her life.  she is truly an angel on earth.  

god is truly in everything, if we but open our eyes to see.  

i am a child of god.

they always say the primary songs are laced with doctrine.  i would have to agree.  come with me on a little journey i went on tonight.  some things i discovered about the doctrine in the beautifully simple song we all sing all the time, "i am a child of god."

I am a child of God – I am literally a daughter of God!  He’s my Father.  I am a daughter of a King.  The Almighty Creator, the Endless, Eternal Being God.  But more importantly than all those titles, He is MY Father.  And that means SO many things.  My favorite thing that means is that He loves me with an unconditional, unchanging, eternal, abiding love! 

And He has sent me here – He sent me here, so we must have been somewhere with Him before we came here.  Here – specifically, not randomly, but HERE I am sent.  He sent ME, specifically.  We are here for a reason, not by accident. He knows me. 

Has given me an earthly home – Here is specifies an earthly home, so there must be a heavenly home as well.  He gave it to me.  He made it for me.  He created this Earthly home for ME.  He loves me so He gave it to me.  He has given me everything I have here.  This Earth is home. 

With parents kind and dear – We are placed in families for a reason.  The family is the most basic unit in society.   We are meant to be in family units.  This song doesn’t say He sent me here all alone.  No, we are sent WITH parents kind and dear.  I was placed in the family I am for a very specific purpose.  There was nothing random about that.  They are my parents and I am their earthly daughter for a reason.  My parents have traits that were given to them by a loving Heavenly Father that will enable them to raise and teach me the way Heavenly Father sees best. 

I am a child of God – This means me, personally!! 

And so my needs are great – No one is perfect.  Everyone has needs and everyone makes mistakes.  We are all different, but we all have needs.  Heavenly Father didn’t make anyone of us perfect because He wants us to rely on the Savior, the only perfect man to walk the earth.  Our needs may be great, but Christ’s sacrifice takes those needs and weaknesses and turns them into strengths. 

Help me to understand His words – Understanding His words is an active process that I must be constantly striving for.  He has words.  He has given us words to live by, to guide and direct us, to help us along the way.  We are not left to do this earth thing alone.  I can ask for help.  I can ask for help anytime I want.  He is always there, and WANTS us to understand His words… I just have to ASK!  And He wants us to ask!

Before it grows too late – There will be a time when it IS too late.  Time is a temporary thing.  The time is ever ticking and passing, soon it will be too late to change.  The test is now.  All the changing must occur before that time is up. 

I am a child of God – Each verse starts with this simple statement of truth.  I AM A CHILD OF GOD.  And because I am a child of God….

Rich blessings are in store – Heavenly Father has great things planned and reserved for ME.  They are not only blessings, but RICH blessings.  When I think of rich, I think of abundant.  Prosperous.  Full.  Plentiful.  Well-off.  He has rich blessings for us, because He loves us.  But these blessings are conditional…

If I but learn to do His will – “If” signifies there is a stipulation, a condition that must be met.  These blessings promised are conditional upon us learning, accepting, understanding, following, and applying His will to our lives.  Thus the importance of the aforementioned cry to “Help me to understand His words”!  We not only have to understand His will or know His will, but DO His will.  Doing is an active process!

I’ll live with Him once more – This is our end goal, that “rich blessing” that we are all striving for!  “Once more” suggests that we were with Him before.  We are temporarily away, but we can and will go back!  What a blessing, to be able to live with our Heavenly Father again! The word “live,” testifies that this life isn’t the end, that we will indeed live beyond the grave, that there is life after death!  And we will be living WITH Him.  Not by Him or in the general vicinity of Him, but WITH HIM. 

Lead me, guide me, walk beside me – The chorus is a plea for help from us, as His children, to a loving Father.  We need His leadership, His guidance, and the gift of Him walking right beside us.  That is the beauty of this life- that He WILL walk right beside us.  Again, we are never alone! 

Help me find the way – There is one correct way.  We must find it if we are to be blessed with those things we stand in need of, or that He has in store.  Sometimes it can be tricky to find the way… which is why it is a constant work and effort on our part.  Help is always there.  Again, we just have to ask. 

Teach me all that I must do – Heavenly Father is the greatest teacher.  There are things everyday that we must learn.  We are not saved by faith alone, there are things that we must DO – apply the gospel and the Atonement into our lives.  That’s what we must DO.  MUST.  It’s not optional.  If we want the promised blessings, we have to do things the way Heavenly Father outlined for us to do them.  We are not only Heavenly Father’s children, but also His students.  We are constantly learning from the best teacher, if we will let Him be our teacher.  There are lots of things to learn too.  We must be willing to learn ALL that we must do.  Not just enough to get by or be happy.  But EVERYTHING that is required of us, hard or easy, painful or not, we must do it ALL.  

To live with Him someday – Because this is the beautiful end goal, how appropriate that this line is repeated, and stands as the end of a beautiful song.  We never know when our “someday” will be… but we do know that it will come, sometimes at a time when we least expect it. 

click here! you won't regret it!

in the past i would try, try hard.

today, i found a pretty green bird, DEAD, at the elementary school.  in the middle of the sidewalk right in front of the front door.  naturally, being the good citizen i am, i promptly told the office lady about it.  she looked at me with the nastiest look of disbelief and shrugged, "so?"  seriously?  ... a kid came in crying two minutes later.  should've listened to me, office lady.  should've listened.

had to teach a class about punctuation today.  you better believe i role played with my roommate last night!  (poor jenele...)  who knew all those painful companionship studies would come in handy one day!

smith's was having a 4 for $12 sale on cases of dr. pepper.  of course shannen bought all 4 packs.  and, it was only $10!  take that fresh market!  ...and let's just say now we know why shannen is so hyper all the time...

we always get out of reading class an hour and a half early. today was no exception.  i feel like i should complain because i'm paying for the full 3 hours 15 minutes, but it is SO nice, especially when it's the last class of the week.

groupon is going to be the death of me.  seriously....

math teacher claims 4 hours alloted for online test will be sufficient.  panicked student today said it took her all 4 hours.  shoot me now.  i don't think i even have 4 free hours to set aside.

ward mission leader forgot to tell me it was my turn to teach on sunday.  good thing i felt like i should ask.  and good thing i've never met him... all in good time i suppose.  but honestly, the orders over text message are getting old... ba ha ha.

while i'm here being bombarded with sweatshirt-worthy nights and crisp, fall mornings, allie is over celebrating life on a cruise!  j e a l o u s.  hopefully she'll bring us back some sand.  mm.

got a letter from zack today.  he included a letter from an angry anti-mormon lady they ran into.  the letter was pretty funny actually.  what makes it even more funny is that zack ALWAYS runs into the antis!  always ALWays ALWAYS.  too too funny!  i'll post it here:

"dear anthony and zack,
as promised i have sought God's wisdom and written down the doctrinal differences that separate our beliefs.  please be honest... i would like you to address each of these doctrines with your 'scripture' references.
i pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will reveal the TRUTH to you, remove the scales of blindness and deception from your hearts and minds, and that you will be released form the bondage of the Mormon cult and enter into the freedom and love and salvation that Jesus Christ has appointed for you should you receive Him into your life as Lord and Savior.
God loves you, and so do i... in Christ's love, i tell you, you are deceived and believing a lie, a false Jesus and a false spirit.  worst of all, you are preaching false gospel.  you are in my prayers and i invite you to accept Christ, the TRUE AND ONLY GOD."

thanks for your concern, lady, but i'm pretty darn happy where i'm at.  i'm glad people are all entitled to their own opinions, and that God works with everyone to guide them to truth.  and hey, i believe more people should be preaching and publicizing their faith!  too many people are closet believers.  so, more power to her.  i've always wondered about the false Jesus concept... there's just one Jesus, how can the mormon Jesus be different from everyone else's?  these are the questions i ponder at night.

fare thee well, i'm off to the library.

ps. banana bread with rin!

weekend hangover. nbd.

batman partay - happy birthday parker! 

red pants day!  u of u/byu game.  go UTES!

town meeting... vote YES! 

fishing expedition... shoutout to L. Lewis

i hate weekend hangovers.  blah....mondayyyyy... 

hiatus.

recent hiatus.  my apologies.  the sad reality is that summer is over.  the newish jon mclaughlin song appropriately titled "summer is over" has been running through my head these first three weeks of school.  three weeks?  has it already been three weeks?!  time sure flies, especially when you're having fun, as they say.  and if i had a quarter for every time i quoted that on this here blog... well... anyway.  most my usu friends have moved away since i've been there - marriage (what is this thing called love?) and graduation (who needs a job anyway?).  some days i feel like a freshman all over again, but actually i don't really feel like a freshman at ALL.  did i used to be that annoying and tiny?  don't answer that, but sometimes i wonder.  hah!  mostly i'm just done with the social scene of college... sometimes i find it hard to believe i used to be able to stay up so late and still get up so early and yet still find time to get all my homework done.  seems like a dream!  the only logical conclusion is that, yes, i am getting old.  i need my 8 hours of sleep and the 1am dance partay just isn't as appealing as it used to be... ha.  also i'm kinda done with the whole living away from home thing too.  i'm a homebody, that's all there is to it.  (probably explains why i've been home not once, but all threeee weekends since school started. hah.  don't judge.)    that being said, logan tugs at my heart strings.  i just love it up here.  

one of my favorite things in the world is fall weather!!  the cool fall air is to the point that we almost can't keep our windows open at night anymore.  and driving down sardine canyon you can see the leaves are changing into that spectacular red, unique to cache valley.  mm mmm love me some fall weather.  i don't know what i would do without the changing seasons.  sure love utah.  and of course the fall weather brings football season.  i didn't realize how much i missed football season for the last two years.  last week my aggies beat my utes... i was torn in who to cheer for, but it all worked out ok.  go aggies :)  this week, the ultimate rival byu-utah will go down - it's a red-out, i'm pretty stoked on it.  like, red corduroy pants stoked.  good old footgame, foot...game.  

trying to play catch up would be impossible, but let's just say it's been 5 months since the mission, yet that seems like a far distant dream.  not a day goes by i don't think of the mish, but it seems so far away i wonder did i ever even go?!  oh canada.  my heart longs for you.  but life back home is good too.  i do miss having a companion though, which is weird because that's the thing i was most worried about leaving.  guess i didn't realize how great it was to have a buddy super glued to your hip all the time.  back to the real meaning of missions though - Heavenly Father has given me plentyyyyy of experiences to share the gospel and reactivate since being home, which i'm extremely happy about.  guess what, you can be a missionary without the tag, who would've thought ;)  and this new ZION DAY that the holladay ysa stake has initiated is saving my life.  probably one of the coolest thing i've been part of.  just can't get enough.  i was sad to be released from my summer calling of ward missionary, but don't you worry, bishHOP despain has called me to be a ward missionary in my new ward too... with the wml that has been home all of 3 weeks, bless his heart.  i heart missionary mindedness!  (it's not work, it's a lifestyle)  

not sure when you, my faithful 2 readers, will hear from me again, but until next time, just remember that...

the quest for perfection

"When comparing one’s personal performance with the supreme standard of the Lord’s expectation, the reality of imperfection can at times be depressing. My heart goes out to conscientious Saints who, because of their shortcomings, allow feelings of depression to rob them of happiness in life.  We all need to remember: men are that they might have joy—not guilt trips! 2 We also need to remember that the Lord gives no commandments that are impossible to obey. But sometimes we fail to comprehend them fully.  Our understanding of perfection might be aided if we classify it into two categories. The first could pertain uniquely to this life—mortal perfection. The second category could pertain uniquely to the next life—immortal or eternal perfection." -- Russell M. Nelson

desert watermelon

remember when i used to look like this?  

some days i miss my long hair.  some days.