The Little Things

It’s the little things that seem to have the biggest impact on me. 



My roommate Nahiomi, who happens to be one of my favorite people of all time (shout out to Puerto Rican Spice!), is a sweetheart and drives me to class a few days each week. Now, we go to school in Idaho...AKA her car is completely frozen each morning and it takes several minutes to scrape the ice off of the windshield each morning so she can actually see while she's driving. It's a pain in the butt. I really was unaware of how much I could hate ice. 

The other day when we got in the car, the sun was shining down onto the ice and it was one of the prettiest things in the world. Basically, what I'm trying to say, is that there is beauty everywhere, we just don't always see it. 

It's the little things.  

Sometimes, the weirdest things put a smile on your face. For instance, Coley and I were driving to the movie theatre on Friday. I looked over at the car next to us and this is what I saw:

Why, yes, that is a potato. And yes, he is chomping down on it. Gotta love Idaho. 

It's the little things. 

Little do my family members know that I screenshot every sweet text I get from them. Here's just a few that have put massive smiles on my face:

It's the little things.

And some other little things that makes me smile:

A new goal of mine to constantly be looking for the little things in my life...because there are so many. I'm so blessed. 

What are your little things?

Blessed Beyond Belief

My heart is so full. 

I've been feeling so incredibly blessed lately. This past week really wasn't that spectacular...just a normal week! But I'm coming to realize that normal weeks are spectacular.  I'm learning that the biggest key to happiness is recognizing all of your blessings. Your blessings are always there. Sometimes they just get hidden because we forget to remember.  In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I'm just going to list off some of my blessings.

1. My Family

I am seriously so blessed to have the family that I have. They are the perfect family for me. It's hard being so far away from them, but since I am, it makes me even more grateful and appreciative for their love and support. I wouldn't trade them for the world.

2. My Friends

Heavenly Father has put some pretty incredible people in my path. I am so incredibly grateful for them. Thanks for putting up with me, guys. You rock. :)

3. My School

Sometimes I get so stressed out with life that I don't take time to appreciate where I am right now. It is one of the biggest blessings ever to attend one of the Lord's institutions. It is amazing to me that I can go to a school where I am surrounded by good people who strive to live in such a way that the Holy Ghost can be their constant companion.

This week, I'm especially grateful for my Book of Mormon teacher, Brother Rowe. He is truly one of the most Christlike people I know. I'm not sure why this had such an impact on me, but last weekend I was out to dinner with Coley and Nahiomi and I saw Brother Rowe and he stopped and smiled and said, "Hi Lauren!" Such a small little act, but I will forever remember it. Mind you, he has 150+  students, so the fact that he remembered my name just meant so much to me! I guess that's like Heavenly Father. He has an incredible amount of children, but He knows us each by name and so personally. Amazing! 

I tried extra hard this week to prepare for class so that I could learn more in the classroom. And I must say, it was a massive success. I learned so much! Sometimes I feel like the Book of Mormon was written just for me because it affects me so personally. But it's for you too! :) So anyways, it's just great to be a student here!

4. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ

Their love for us is unreal. Seriously. I've been sitting here for hours trying to figure out how else I can elaborate on this...but really, that's all. They love us.

If you have a few minutes to spare, you should definitely watch this video. Or go read the book. Either way, so powerful! Feelin' the love. 

Never Alone

Obviously I haven't been doing a great job at blogging this semester. I have so much to catch up on that I don't even know where to start...Soooo I won't be able to write about everything that has been happening. Sorry Mom!

I'm confused. I'm confused because this last month and a half at school has been the longest month and a half of my life...but at the same time, I am halfway done with this semester...and I'm coming home NEXT month. When this semester is over, I'll be done with my freshman year of college. That blows my mind. Now that I'm looking back, it seems like this year has gone by in a flash. Appreciate every moment.

While this has been the longest month and a half of my life, it has also been a very trying month and a half. Sometimes when we are so caught up in our busy lives that we don't take time to fully comprehend all that we have been blessed with.

I think I'm a semester late on the whole "getting adjusted to college" thing. Last semester, I really didn't have the typical homesickness and all that jazz, but I can assure you that now, I'm feelin' it. It's hard. It's really hard. My classes are a lot more challenging this semester, I miss my family, and I've just kind of been down in the dumps. I'm working really hard to get out of the dumps right now. Haha. And I'm making progress! I realized that I won't be here forever so I really just need to enjoy every second. I really am so blessed to go to this incredible school! There's something incredible about being in a place where you can constantly feel the Holy Ghost. I know this is where I'm supposed to be! I also realized that I am never alone. Heavenly Father is always going to be there for me and that is just so comforting! I'm not sure if any of you were able to watch the CES Fireside tonight, but Russell T. Osguthorpe spoke about the Savior and it was incredible! My favorite quote from his talk was:

"We cannot make it on our own in this life. We CANNOT do it."

Sorry this is a short blog post... Basically I'm just apologizing to my mom and my future self because we all know that we're the only ones who really care. ;)

Me and a few of my roommates went out with some new friends to Idaho Falls to go roller blading...in 70s clothes! It was way fun! I like making new friends. 

OKAY, CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS? For those of you poor souls that do not know you this man is, let me introduce you. This, my dear friends, is Brooks Forester. Bachelorette celebrity. Please google him. 

I'm not gonna lie, I really wasn't a huge fan of him on the show. Also, I thought he was severely ugly. Haha.  And I could not, for the LIFE of me, understand why Des was so in love with this guy. But obviously, when I found out he was coming to Rexburg to have a meet and greet, I HAD to go. Why the HECK he was in Rexburg, Idaho, I have absolutely no clue. But I'm not questioning it...

Anyways, we walked into this place and I died. DIED. You guys. I cannot explain to you how beautiful he is. And this is coming from the girl who could barely stand to look at him on the television screen. Dude is NOT photogenic. Even in this picture I have with him you can't tell how attractive he is. You guys. You guys, you guys, you guys. B E A U T I F U L. You have to see it to believe it. 

So that was that. I am still in complete shock that this whole thing happened. Wow. 

Getting this snapchat from Trevor definitely put a huge smile on my face. What a guy!

I got a haircut :( RIP long hair.

Halloween was weird this year. Basically all we did was eat a crap ton of junk food and then we watched a scary movie. It was fun, just weird not being home! 

Anyways, that's all I have for today. I'm going to try to do better with keeping up with this ol' thing. Have a great week everyone! Keep moving forward.