Hey everyone! It has been a while since I posted. I am way overdue!!! This will be quick as I am supposed to be studying for my math final that is tomorrow at 7:30AM!!! And then I need to pack for an unplanned trip to Idaho.

Thanksgiving was wonderful! We went to Chiloquin, OR and rented a beautiful house in the mountains with Tim's family for Thanksgiving. It was super cold and snowy but absolutely beautiful and relaxing! We did lots of cooking, crafting, and knitting and a little horse back riding and shopping! It was fun to be with his family and just enjoy a change of pace.

This month has been a little crazy. We are headed to Idaho (Blackfoot, my hometown) tomorrow after my math final because my Grandpa Al passed away yesterday. It will be a bittersweet visit...sad, but good to be with family. We will plan to come back to Reno on the 15th, and then we plan to go back for Christmas on the 23rd.

I hope this finds all of you having a great month and not getting too stressed this holiday season!

If I haven't told you lately, I love you all!

It has been so long since I posted! But I felt it important to do a thankfulness post.

Today I am thankful for so many things. First of all, the blessings we have through our savior Jesus, hope of eternal life and the avenue of prayer! I am thankful for my loving family, my amazing husband and his family, all of you--my awesome lifetime friends!, our doggie Sophie, the ability to work at a good job, the house we were blessed to buy, and so many other little things I take for granted.

I want to wish all of you a wonderful Turkey day tomorrow and many more blessings that fill your life! Love to all!

Wow it's been a while since I posted! Nothing too much is new around here except for life seems to be flying past me at a higher rate of speed! I have begun to believe that life just never slows down; you just have to learn how to manage it!
Well, the members at Central church have decided to start up our monthly home bible studies again. So Tim and I hosted one tonight at our house and we had a really great time with everyone. We barbequed hamburgers, had potato salad and cake, and then we all gathered around our living room and Sam, our preacher, led a very good class on goals, setting personal goals, and goals the church should set. We talked about setting goals of getting to know people and establishing a relationship with them that might lead into spiritual discussions. It was great to set some goals along those lines and sort of get pumped up to talk to more people about the gospel. So my goal is to invite someone over to the house or to coffee or something, once a month and try to get to know them better. Just reaching out to someone. Another goal I set for myself is re-focusing on planting the seed, through attitude, word, and deed, on a daily basis. It is so important to not only talk the talk, but walk the walk. People are always watching!!!

If you have any success stories of how you have been able to reach out to others about the gospel, please share! I would love to hear what works for you!

Well, I hope you all are having a wonderful week!

When I got to work today I was reluctant to even glance in the direction of the picnic table where I spotted the creepy suitcase yesterday. But my curiosity got the best of me and when I looked, the suitcase was out of the bushes and was just sitting unzipped by the table. My steps got quicker to the door and I went inside. I did not have the guts to go check it out. But when I asked about it, I learned that a co-worker had caught wind of my find, and had decided to be brave and go dig it out and open it last night. Much to my relief, there were only a few heads in it...just kidding! Much to my relief, there were only wet, dirty, stinky clothes and a few papers stuffed inside. So it is as I thought; it does indeed belong to some poor homeless man, who probably forgot he stuffed it in there. So, it remains there, in the same spot, open and waiting for its owner to come claim it. I am just so relieved that it was only clothes!!!

I went to my first class today. There was one free parking spot left just for me. A quick 10 minute walk up to the Education building from there, and I reached my classroom to find that all the seats were taken. They put the class in the smallest classroom they could find, and it is a math class where, you might need to spread out your books! Crazy. So I, along with two others, borrowed chairs from the commons area and sat in the back. I will have to get there even earlier so I can sit in the FRONT next time. I think it is going to be a good class. The teacher is very thorough and nice. Then it was crunch time to go buy my book, ($150 ouch!) and then I was off on the walk back to my car and I sped as quickly back to work as I could! The class is right in the middle of the day, so it will be a challenge to balance getting there on time, and making sure things are ok to leave work. But it is my future education we are talking about here right?!

So...today I was eating my lunch on the picnic table in the parking lot at work, and I was also talking to my mom on the phone. Out of the corner of my right eye, I noticed something weird about the bush next to the table. It was on the ground, barely visible and it was very dark. I stared at it for a while, while still engaged in my conversation with my mom. As I strained to make out what it was, I noticed it had wheels and silver rivets and it looked like a black box. I then realized that it was a small suitcase. It was crammed in there pretty good but once I realized what it was, it was pretty noticeable. My next thought was, ok, where is its keeper...in the bush too??? I quietly gathered up my things and bolted for the door, not mentioning anything to my mom. As most of you well know, I tend to think the worst case scenario because I am a freak...ok. But let's be real, why would someone put it there? My mind naturally raced to think about what could possibly be in there. Money, clothes, guns, a head...who knows. So, before I scurried back to my desk, I ran to H.R. to inform them of my find. Just in case it happens to be crime scene evidence. In all seriousness though, I really do think that it might belong to one of the bums who frequent our parking lot and the park across the street. I think whoever owns it, keeps it there for when they come to the table at night to sleep. Because I have definitely seen a guy taking a day nap on our table. But the hair on the back of my neck gives me a bad feeling about it. It is just really weird. So tomorrow, I will check to see if it is still there...and then I might see about calling the police to dig it out and open it because, I don't really want to touch it with at 10 foot pole...especially since a) it's not mine and b) I am not prepared to find anything morbid in it. ahem. so I will let you all know what happens tomorrow...

On another note of less freaky information, I start my math class tomorrow!!! I am only taking one class this semester. Slowly but surely, some day I will finish!