Moving Announcement

Hi all!

Well, I know it's been quite a while since I've popped in around these parts. However, I have an announcement--Dani Girl Days has been relocated and renamed. If you'd like to keep following my adventures and silliness, take a look at And We Will Fly:

Picture provided for your previewing enjoyment. 

Hope to see you there!

Quote Book Catch Up

I am clearly behind on just about everything, including my quote book posts. I will be leaving this most beloved blog for a good 18 months as I serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but if you would like to follow along, drop by mission blog that my family will maintain for me.

And with that, I give you June, July, and what I have of August.

Tyler: I have the reflexes of a jungle cat.

Taylor: Can I go to the bathroom and then raise you from the dead?

Lacey: If you hear screaming children, it's just the goats.

Lacey: Tickling is about domination. Kissing is about sharing love.

Michael: If I was asleep, I could just pee.

Man in Kohl's: [to his child] Watch out for the humans. There's whole herds of 'em.

Lacey: I am the clever one, you are the potato.

Lacey: Oh no! Ah! Dang it, not again! I have toothpaste on my finger, and I rubbed it in my eye.

Lacey: I have a hair comin' out of the middle of my wound. Please note, Dani, that I said, "wound." With a "d" on the end.

Andrew: Alright, I'll let you hang out here. As long as you're doing something manly like shooting arrows with a hanger.

Benny: I want to be just like Dania. Except I don't have long hair.

Benny: [kicking me with increasing speed and force] Sorry, my feet didn't know you were there.

Benny: Your cheeks are really bouncy. It makes me want to bounce on your cheeks. If I were small, I would bounce on your cheeks, and then I would grow up to be the same size again.

Mom: [completely out of nowhere] Wanna arm wrestle?

Tori: Since when do you have cute sneezes?!

Tori: When you guys leave me, it makes me love you so much.

Benny: I picked you to dance with me. Let's go dance to the music, girl. Turn on your computer music. I'm just gonna grab your little belt.

Benny: Ice cream truck!
Mom: That's not an ice cream truck. That's a truck that's been vandalized, son.

Elder Stevens: I come from a family of actors, but I cannot act sad around Benny.

Mom: Yoga is just short for yogurt.

Ben: I want to fight.
Tori: I don't want to fight.
Ben: I want to wrestle.
Tori: How about we snuggle?
Ben: Okay. I want to wrestle!

Benny: Exercise makes me tired. Do you think I should stop exercising?
Mom and Tori: No.
Benny: But exercising makes me so tired when I get at the end.
Tori: But it makes your muscles so big and strong. Do you want big muscles?
Benny: I'm gonna get big muscles! By drinking lots of drinks!

Benny: Tor, if you flick me, I'll punch your flick.

Tori: Mom made me digestible love.

Benny: I wish you were a bald girl.
Dania: Why do you wish I was a bald girl?
Benny: Cause then your hair wouldn't tickle me so much. I wish you didn't have legs, too, cause then you could fly to walk.

Tori: The attic doesn't have a floor.

Mom: "Gourmet on the Go." Hardly. They gave me the unsalted nuts--are they trying to kill me?!
Tori: [who called Mom while we were running errands to say this] Dad won't make me pancakes.

Mom: What is in this?! It's like some kind of devil coke! That IS a devil coke. But it tastes like an angel.

Mom: Santa was wearing a freaking sports bra on the lawn mower!

Benny: I like that door. I want to steal that door as a present.

Benny: [stroking my hair] *sigh* You could look like an angel someday.

Tori: I only want to run away from home to a park and then come home for dinner.

Tori: This sounds like screamo jazz.

Benny: I'm thirsty!
Dania: I think there's a water bottle on the floor back there, do you see it?
Benny: No, I'm cold. That's how you say you're cold in Chinese.

Mom: Leave me alone! I'm hangry! I'm tired and I think I'm in my coffin--I'm gonna diiiiiiiieeeeeeee. I'm gonna throw up. I'm gonna throw up in your bed.

Benny: I'm going to marry a girl in my gymnastics class.
Dania: You are? Why do you want to marry her?
Benny: Because she looks so pretty in her orange gymnastics uniform.

Tori: I'm gonna use a butter knife. I feel so rebellious, cutting butter with a butter knife.

Benny: Mommy, can we go to the toy store and get me another broom?

Something Beautiful

I've been travelling cross-country from Washington state to Connecticut via multiple forms of transportation. If we're going to be precise, they are as follows: bus, shuttle, airplane, and train. In that order. My travel time is nearing the 24-hour mark and, in that time, I've encountered a lot of people and seen a lot of beauty.

The view from the bus on the way to Seattle, Washington.

Here are my thoughts--with no rhyme, reason, or order to any of them.

I think it is remarkable to see people instinctively help each other. In this area, I firmly believe that the little things are the big things. I don't mean to discount remarkable humanitarian acts of building orphanages and distributing medicine, but I cannot believe that the impact of those actions are any larger than the one the young man on the train had today. Without a moment's hesitation, he helped three elderly women get their suitcases from the overhead compartment, and thanked them in the process. I was deeply impressed by his sincere service, and I want to spread that beauty along the way.

New Jersey is prettiest when seen through little finger smudges on the window. Something about knowing that a small child was thrilled by the scenery makes it more beautiful in my eyes, too.

Journeys are driven by beauty--wherever one finds it. For me, this trip has been driven by the beauty of family. For a girl I met on the bus, yesterday's journey was driven by the beauty in love, dedication, and sacrifice. For a man I met on the street, the journey was driven by the beauty made possible through new beginnings.

This world is remarkably beautiful. The variety, the complexities, the newness that just a few hours in any direction can bring is astounding. There is beauty in the details and in the grand picture, and I want to soak it all in. I want to let that beauty penetrate the walls I put up, and then let that beauty shine back out into the world.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, here's to remembering to see the something beautiful in everything.

Big Girl in Brazil

Fun fact: I am going on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I will be serving in the Brazil São Paulo West Mission, speaking Portuguese, from August 2013 to February 2015. For those who struggle with calendar math (such as myself), that's 18 months in which I will be a full-time missionary in a foreign country, on a different continent, speaking a language that I currently don't know. While I am doing all of this, I will be completely dedicated to teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. (Go here for more information about what a mission is. Or feel free to ask me any questions you may have!)

There will come a time in which I have much, much more to say about what all of this means to me. In fact, those posts are currently drafts.

But I wish to post something in the meanwhile. So stay tuned for the deeper stuff, it's on its way.

You know, my mom sometimes tells a story of my younger self. She always sang a lullaby when she tucked us in at night--usually whatever we chose. "Oh, Hush Thee, My Baby," was among the favorites. But it didn't take me long to catch on to something: my sneaky mother was trying to con me into thinking I was still a baby. And guess what? It wasn't working. On at least one occasion, my fiery red-headed self boldly informed my mom that, "I'm not a baby. I'm a big girl." And, in order to appease me, she changed the words. "Oh, hush thee, my big girl; a story I'll tell..."

(She also tells a story about my 18-month-old self running away from her, wagging my finger and yelling, "No no, Mommy, no no." But that is another tale for another day.)

I report to the missionary training center in 44 days and counting. Which means the deadline is fast approaching. The little details can't be overlooked for much longer--like the fact that I have only purchased a fraction of the wardrobe I will be needing to get me through 18 months of missionary service. So I'm becoming increasingly aware of the things that need to be taken care of and, apparently, so is my mother.

Every so often, my mom contacts me with various questions. It's usually sparked by troubles that other members of our congregation are having as they work through preparations for their missions, so the questions are along the lines of, "So-and-so is having trouble with his visa because of this, have you done that?" And I remind her that I was applying from the other end of the country and I applied through a different consulate.

Sometimes, however, the conversations are more varied. The following are samples of things I have said to my mother regarding my mission:

"Yes, I have been checking my church email. But remember, my mission is a new one and won't open until July. It doesn't exist yet."

"No, I can't go to Canada--I don't have a passport. Don't panic, I have a passport, but not with me. Yes, I know I will need it to get into Brazil. Mom, the church has my passport. They'll send it to me a week before I go to the MTC. I don't know how my visa status is, they'll tell me a week before I report if I'm going straight to Brazil or if I'm going to Provo first."

"I know I need clothes. Yes, I will need a suitcase. Mom, I can't bring that to Brazil with me--it's a giant teddy bear, I don't have room in my suitcase."

"Okay, I will try my hardest to get a present to Benny before Christmas. But remember how the mail is there. Sometimes the post office goes on strike and things."

"Yes, I've heard of the protests happening in Brazil, but who told you? Mom, you cannot keep reading the news about Brazil. It'll put you in a panic! You don't need to be that informed. I'll write you and tell you how things are going. Mom! This is like the time you watched a video of a hip replacement surgery before you got the surgery. You thought you needed to be informed then, too, and it turned out to be a horrible idea. Mom, really, don't follow the news in Brazil."

I am of the firm belief that my mom and I will be having the same conversations for the remainder of . . . forever. Because apparently we've had this one before. And you know how it ended?

If I recall the story correctly, the song went along the lines of something like, "Oh, hush thee, my big girl."

Real Writing

I haven't written--really written--in a very long time. Long enough that I can't quite remember when I last composed a piece of any substance at all. Long enough that I have been craving it for some time now.

Every so often, I put another one of these posts up. Where I stand and acknowledge my apparent death as a writer. I share how much I loved it and express that something magical happened as my fingers stretched across the keyboard--it was as if the wisps of my emotions and experiences knowingly lead me along, one at a time, until I reached what I was looking for all along.

I then clarify that I was no remarkable writer and that I never expected to make a significant impact with my words. But it brought me peace to write and to share those thoughts.

Somewhere along the way, I remember how deeply I love the journey of writing and recommit to a life filled with beautiful thoughts and clever sentences. And, for a small time, I hold myself to my rediscovered passion.

The trouble with beautiful thoughts and clever sentences, though, is that they take time and focus. Which is something that I love to give to writing, so let's try this again. The bigger trouble with beautiful thoughts and clever sentences is that they can always be improved. Which is also something that I love--I love that there is an inherent lack of finality in writing. However, the perfectionist tendencies in me take that quality and turn it into reason for procrastination. Post after post remain drafts because they were set aside to be perfected before they were presented to my small audience.

Well, here I am. And I have decided something. My writing isn't perfect, but it is real--and I am okay with that. Speaking of which, I best leave this real writing to study for and take a final.

To all who may stumble upon this post, please accept it as a peace offering in the battle between perfectionism and a writer's love.

May 2013 Quotes

Lacey: Which, you know, is gonna break her old heart, and she's gonna...die! I wouldn't put it past her--she would die just to guilt trip me.

Lacey: Aoooaahhh! I just smacked myself in the nose!

Taylor: [While looking for a place in the park where we can't smell dog poop] The flowers will override--like perfume on a sweaty woman.

Dani: Lacey, remember when we were crazy?
Lacey: Yeah...remember when we were single?

Lacey: I can feel the sun trying to give me cancer.
Dani: That's just the sun trying to give you love. Sometimes it just grows uncontrollably.

Soo: Why are you telling me to be a good wife? Give me a husband first!

Lacey: So I discovered something about Orajel. It tastes like fire, but it feels like ice.

Taylor: I feel like Harry Potter. My scar hurts.

Tori: Brandon has really good English, but sometimes he gets his murds wixed up.

Lacey: I'm gonna go now because my roommate and fiancee are being children.

Anna: Oh, Anastasia! I was thinking of Fantasia all this time.

Anna: He's very muscular. I dated him for two months. I don't know anything else about him.

Anna: My grandma ended up dying that Friday morning. My bad.

Lacey: [Heard from around the corner at night] Daaaaannnnniiiiiiii, get off Facebook.

Brother Bradford: Does anyone know the first thing Adam and Eve had to deal with in the garden?
Ethan: Was it who wore the plants in the family?

Lacey: I'm gonna have such bad heartburn. [Takes another bite of chili cheese fries.]

Lacey: I feel like she's the kind of person where we'd be like, "Hey, let's be friends." If she weren't my doctor.

Tyler: I hate cereal. It's the meal choice of Satan.
Zach: Well, he has good taste.

Brother Bradford: And then you're popping out the babies every six months, that can be stressful. [Interjection by everyone in the room about the faulty timeframe.] What? Oh. That's not the way it works? Well, I don't know everything about marriage.

President Ogles: I'm sorry I came in late, we had a teenage crisis at my home. It's amazing that anyone makes it through those years without being killed. By their parents.

April 2013 Quotes

Lacey: Cause I know her well enough to know that she will not be okay with having a celibate husband.

Taylor: I was not trying to seduce you with my eyebrow!

Random Girl: Well, I don't have the best memory, but thank goodness for social media.

Random Guy: Dude. I just shaved a chicken and moved a table.

Taylor: It's like I'm five again, and I'm trying to figure out which books to get from the library! Except, this is a 2-year graduate degree.

Tori: I want my Oreos, but they're across the room.

Dania: Tori, you're amazing.
Tori: It's only because I read.

Lacey: You know what would be a fun date? Rubbing Lacey's feet.

Tori: I just wanna live in a mansion and have babies. And eat pop tarts.

Taylor: I wish you could have felt my hamstrings when they were a rock!

Lacey: Ow! Ow! I just flicked myself in the eye!

Taylor: I like having a buddy. It's you, Jesus, and percocet all hangin out.

Dania: Why does everyone have orange juice?
Lacey: Because I bought it. With my money. That's a lie, I bought it with a credit card.

March 2013 Quotes

Guy 1: I don't like bagels.

Guy 2: Do you hate babies and sunshine, too?

Girl: So today I made dinner. I made the usual portion that my mom makes for our family of six--I ate. All of it.

Lacey: Okay, this may sound really stupid, but let's think about Winnie the Pooh for a second. How stupid must he and Christopher Robin have been to be like, "Tut tut, looks like rain, oh that'll fool the bees!"

Zach: I'm not distracting her! That's like telling the sun not to shine.

Taylor: And then you freak out cause your alarm won't change to PM, and then you're like, "Oh wait, I'm a soldier."

Taylor: If I don't want you to talk to someone, I'll kill them.

Lacey: You're really good at...speaking words. And I mean that from the bottom of my soul.

Lacey: Oh my gosh, Dani, I have to add another friend. You know why? I have 666 friends, and Shari's face is creepily poking out the bottom.

Guy: In the construction industry, you usually have a fatal death per week. One or more.

Lacey: Okay. Thank you for sharing your life plan with me. I am not going to be a part of it.

Brad: I'm so happy. I just sent some beef jerky down to my friend in Nicaragua.

Taylor: Do I look as attractive as I think I do?

Taylor: I hope we didn't just hit a pedestrian. I don't think we did, cause I didn't hear a thump.

Taylor: My hands are all dry and crackley, like a pickle.

Taylor: Good thing those cars aren't called "peeps," cause then it would be a poop.

Lacey: I feel like ginger isn't a nationality.

Taylor: Look! That one's dying! Either that, or it's in labor. [Later] Look! That one's having labor too!

Taylor: They're doing handstands. Or, upside down handstands. That's called standing.

Lacey: Second winter is my least favorite of the winters. Unless there's a third winter coming up, in which case, I definitely don't like third winter.

Lacey: What did I just find in my belly button? Look at that, it's like a little stick. How did I get that in my belly button?

Michael: I think you're going to Africa.

Dania: Africa is a continent, not a mission.

Michael: Nuh uh! I can't narrow it down! All the black people need you, Dania.

Michael: I can breathe! I have one and a half nostrils.

Michael: Something about being a single guy makes you really hungry.

Lacey: Trying to fill the hole in your soul that need to be filled by a woman?

Taylor: You need to learn how to be rude.

Brad: It's like a drunk, but without the alcohol content.

Taylor: I bet if you were there, I wouldn't like picnics.

Taylor: I'm not like you. I don't take advantage of my significant other's car.

February 2013 Quotes

Taylor: What's funny, is I made the joke, and you're the only one laughing at it.

Rachel: I cried my lipstick off!

Lacey: Where's my deodorant?
Dania: I ate it!
Lacey: Dani, that is so unhealthy! There is NO nutritional value!

Taylor: My back just made a funny pain.

Random Girl: And then she tired to beat me upside the head with a pillow. And then she put her FEET on me! It was horrible.

And apparently those are the only funny things that happened all month. Lies. Lots of funny things happened in February, but they were all documented in places that I no longer have access to. Like text messages that have since become inaccessible.

Because I have deprived you of your monthly escape from reality in the form of quotes, I've decided to include something funny provided by the wonderful world of the internet.

My professor found this video and showed it to us all. I hope you like ponies.

Grounded

The ground is severely underrated.

I love the ground. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's just my inner child demanding to be expressed (again), but I just love it down here. I feel safe on the ground. And happy. And real.

Sometimes I remember that I'm a real person who lives and breathes--and I'm surprised! So often,  I think about what I have to do, and where I have to be, and who I'm going to be with. I think about the check lists and the deadlines. The plans and the priorities. I run around and I do all these crazy things, and I love the life that I lead. But in the process, I sometimes forget that I am a person. I forget who I am.

Some places, some situations, ground me. (Ha! Ground. Get it?) Not because the situation itself is particularly inspiring, but because it just puts me in a mindset where I can think about my purpose. They're just times where I can stop. The continual whirr in my mind slows itself down, and I remember a little more. And the ground is one of those places.

So, here I sit. I'm on the floor, and I'm wearing my crazy rain boots and my flannel, rainbow plaid, lumberjack shirt. You know what? I like being a kid.

January 2013 Quotes

Janae: I wish these were babier carrots.

Brad: I feel like gouging your eye out with your iPhone isn't the best use of the technology. You don't want to make it an actual eye-phone.

Michael: Why is your door locked?!

Dani: I am freezing and miserable.
Lacey: At least you're not in (chuckle) the French Revolution.

Ethan: I'm an extrovert. I can't just go to bed whenever I want!

Zach: I can't grow a beard...I wish I could just sneeze and have one for a day.

Lacey: He needs a haircut. His head is starting to look like a mushroom.

Girl: Those golden Oreos? My favorite. They make me feel feminine.

Lacey: I feel like this is the way our mornings go--we kind of just follow each other around and I watch you eat.

Lacey: Do you want these last two biscuits? Or should we feed them to children as we pass them in the street?

Lacey: What, are they playing Jumanji up there?!

Taylor: My married friend's fiancée. I mean...what are they called when they're married? Wife.

Taylor: I should have packed more than a bunch of white flower and chemicals.

Joe: [watching Tangled] Dude. You're setting the bar too high. I can't beat that!

Wes: It's such a manly movie, you'll cry at the end. I didn't cry, but I thought about it.

Dark Blue

Some songs demand my attention. I hear the first few notes and immediately drop whatever I'm doing. I associate it with memories and emotion, and I want to completely soak them in.

Dark Blue is one of those.

I never particularly cared for this song until my roommate, Cali, made a most marvelous comment:

"I hope my husband is like this song. I know it inside and out, every little detail of it. But it never gets old. I still get so excited every time I hear it."

And, suddenly, I can't get enough of it. All I want to do is listen to it over and over. I look it up and I put it on repeat. I should probably just buy the thing, but that is a concern for another day.

The point is that I hear this song and, in my mind, I hear those words. And for some reason those words bring me such peace and hope. Hope that someday I can find a this song to my life.

Toast.

I'm not sure why it is, but I have this strange tendency to take any question that I have to this here web log thing I signed up for. But that's irrelevant.

As you can tell from the title of the post, today I want to talk about dreaming. And not the kind that you have at night, and not the kind you have during your most boring class either. The kind that plays itself out somewhere deep in your soul, and every so often you catch a glimpse into. The kind that shows you what it is that you truly, deeply love. The kind that you would be willing to throw your current life--everything that you know--completely aside for.

The desires of your heart.

Sometimes, I dream big. Oh, I dream big. I dream about using my degree (that I have yet to obtain) in recreation management to change the world--or at least a corner of it, somewhere. I could start a non-profit, I say. I could work with youth, I could travel the world via humanitarian trips to various third-world countries. I could get a master's degree. I could learn a language. I could, I could, I could. There are so many wonderful, beautiful, remarkable things available. So much good. And I dream about being a part of it.

Sometimes those big dreams are beautiful. Sometimes they're the most beautiful thing I could ever see. Because when something is just a little bit far off, it still has that extra sparkle. From the outside looking in, the smudges are a little harder to see--especially with that glint in your eye. Sometimes we get selective vision--when we dream up our visions of grandeur, we see the excitement and the glory and the goodness only in the big things. We miss the detail that makes it splendid in the first place.

There is something immensely beautiful in an individual's ability to devote a life dream to something that draws little to no attention. Something that people all too often gloss over. It can be difficult to go after a dream like that in a society that so often pushes "bigger is better" as we trample each other in the race to the top. It takes remarkable courage and, to me, courage and beauty are unfailingly intertwined.

What's funny, is that I think that we all do that. We all have our number one, most important dream. And that's the one that we live. It's the one that we put all else aside for. But what do we do after that? So often, we hold onto our second best, our third best options. Not even for the sake of a backup plan, but to show them. Because we ask each other these things--what is your biggest dream? And we need an answer, don't we?

And for some reason, we never think to answer, "I'm living it." Clear and simple. None of the if's and the maybe's and the hopefully's and the it'll probably never happen's. Just gratitude. Just recognition that you chose to be where you are for a reason.

I guess what I'm saying is that I don't want to be afraid to dream my biggest dream in something inconspicuous. Sometimes that's where accomplishing dreams is the sweetest.

But all this dream-talk is making me hungry. I think I'll go have some toast.

December 2012 Quotes

Stephen: Man up and do the splits, we'll take you to the hospital later.

Brad: What if the cure for cancer is found in the Arabian ladybug?
Nathan: Then let's breed it like heck!

Jared: I'm going to marry someone who I hope is a her!

Taylor: Oh, my tummy just made a funny chorus of sounds.

Taylor: My food is like my temple. ...That I eat.

Brad: ...I have no idea what you just said, so I am just going to agree with you.

Brad: At what point do you decide that it is okay to sing in the bathroom that loudly?

Lacey: I had a bad dream. I was Harry Potter, and Voldemort came and crashed my party and I had to kill him.

Brad: If I was husband hunting, there would probably be more death involved.

Taylor: Hey, there's a chance this couldn't happen! Give me a crowbar.

Nick: I don't know the guy, but I don't like him.

Carrie: If he likes dogs, he can't be that bad.
Steph: Well Hitler liked dogs...

Steph: Except that right not it's so hot that cuddling is hard.

Jordan: Jasmine's giving awkward looks, so I think I'm done.
Jasmine: Jord, I'm just awkward. My face is just...awkward.

Aaron: I need to get a girlfriend so I can sit on the couch with her all day.

Brad: Only Mormons and chick flicks date.

Sister Clark: He's met almost everyone I've dated! Well, not everyone I've dated. But almost everyone who asked me to marry them.

Brad: He thought he was being sneaky, but I out-snuck him.

Brad: Because normal people don't make headlines.
Dani: But they give accurate information.
Brad: But then we wouldn't have the bedroom intruder song.

Janae: Guys, wanna smell my armpits? They smell really good.

Tori: They're really nice, and they don't even smell like old people.

Benny: Dania, I'm going on a mission to Sprout. And do you know what I"m going to bring back from my mission? My own ax!

Mom: Oh look! That person likes to do his visiting teaching!

Tori: Mom, what would you do if I was a perfectionist?
Mom: Slap you.

Tori: All size fits one. I mean...you know what I mean.

Catie: Robbie, hold my hand!
Robbie: No!
Catie: Why not? It'll be funny! My friends will think I'm dating someone!

Brad: I know less about Africa than I know about the surface of Mars.

Dania: I'm going ot miss you! I just want to kidnap you so you can't leave.
Kristy: Or you could just decide to marry a southern latin cowboy and move out to visit me.

What is Faith?

On a fairly regular basis, I realize that I don't know a whole lot. Sometimes that comes in the form of listening to my math major friend talk about his day, sometimes in the form of hearing my roommate discuss literature, sometimes it comes when I look out into this great big world of ours and think about how much knowledge is out there. But then there are the times that I think about what I do know, and how that knowledge can go even deeper. This week, the realization came with the word faith. What is faith, anyway? I mean, what is faith really?

"Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true."

-Alma 32:21

But then, what is hope? A quiet assurance. It's a sense of peace, of calm. Hope is the offspring of preparation and understanding. It enables us to move forward. To become. So as we hope for "things which are not seen, which are true" we combine our experiences with our knowledge to look forward to something greater. We hope for God. We hope in and through Him. We hope in His plan, and in His Gospel, and in His truth. We hope in all that He is and all that He does and, somewhere along the way, we realize that it's faith.

Faith is also a bit of courage. And strength. And beauty.

In the Book of Mormon, we are told, "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life" (2 Nephi 31:20). If we, indeed, express our faith through hope, then the phrase, "having a perfect brightness of hope" tells us that faith gives us light. It lifts and brightens us. Faith is the courage and the strength that we need to press forward, and it is the light by which we can see all beauty.

I once went on a hike at 4 o'clock in the morning. I stumbled along, vaguely making out shapes by the light of the Cheshire Cat moon. Unsure what it was that I would discover, I made my way to the top and looked out into the darkness. Eventually, I began to make out the first signs of dawn. It has since occurred to me that faith is hiking to the top of a mountain in the darkness, not knowing what you'll see--only that the sunrise will be spectacular.

"If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." 

-Matthew 17:20

Through faith, we can summit mountains. We can move them. With faith, nothing is impossible. Ultimately, I think faith is the ability to look beyond the limitations that we see with our mortal eyes. It is letting go of fear and doubt, and it is an absolute trust in what we feel to be undeniably true. It's hoping in God, in all that He is, and all that, through Him, we can become.

November 2012 Quotes

Taylor: I didn't know a doily was a real thing, I jsut thought it was a derogatory term for a bad snowflake.

Taylor: That's a steroid doily!

Dania: My life is a tragedy.
Dustin: But you're in a pile of leaves, so it's okay.

Cali: Teeth brushing party?! Wait for me! I wanna come!

Lacey: Can I just say, I think we're a cuter couple than me and Michael.

Dania: Brad, how much do you love me?
Brad: That depends on whether or not you're trying to make me get you a free pizza.

Taylor: I'm gonna be like Cali, but with hairy legs and stuff.

Taylor: I have grey hairs, laugh lines, a bad back, and arthritis in my ankle. Why do I not have grandchildren out of this?!

Taylor: Do you hear that hair's pulse? It's a strong pulse.

Taylor: Scooter? I'm gonna name by kid Skateboard!

Dania: Benny, spitting on me is not nice.
Benny: It is nice. ..I thought it was funny...

Benny: Dania, I'm not going on a mission. I'm not going on a mission till I get this silly germ out of my eye.

Benny: I ate all my healthy foods, and now I'm stronger than a muscle! And stronger than anyone!

Benny: Oops! Try again, young Dania!

Jaron: I feel like postcards are the international symbol of love.

Janae: Ow. That was my earball.

Janae: I feel like a stuffed potato when we do this.

Taylor: It's not Anaheim! I was in a completely normal nude!

Taylor: It's true, cause you're laughing!

Dr. Swenson: Mirror mirror, on the wall, who's the professor in this room?

Brad: I'm going to go change into not clothes.

Crunch.

This morning I woke up. Late, much later than planned (much to the dismay of my dear roommate, who endured the multiple alarms going off that I, in my sleepy state of delirium, continued to reset), but it did happen. As I woke myself up with a spontaneous solo dance party to one song on repeat, I found the warmest of my running attire somewhere in the depths of my tiny college student room and pulled them on.

By the time I stepped out my door, it was 8 o'clock and the most glorious kind of lovely. The air was crisp. The sun just peering between the mountain peaks. Specks of gold seemed to flick from the snowy ground. And then it happened.

As I rounded the first corner, my foot landed in the few days old, overnight frozen, super loud crunchy snow. And it was like I was home.

Some mornings are just perfect. Even when you don't wake up on time.

Photo from Saturday's morning run. Close enough.

October 2012 Quotes

Alex: The more I'm around you, the more sure I am that I'm going to die. Of laughter.

Taylor: It's weird how dying in a class can actually save your life in a class. It's like a weird resurrection thing.

Dr. Stice: We're talking about Nordstrom's, I figured I'd tuck my shirt in.

Lacey: Don't you dare floor count at McDonald's!

Taylor: My dad served a mission in Japan too. Except it wasn't Japan, it was Argentina.

Jaron: You just made me happy, is that okay?

Taylor: I don't know what that has to do with anything. I just love Mr. Darcy so much!

Taylor: I just have such a long way to go. I'm like, "Hey, Miss Bennett! Let me pull up my pants here!

Taylor: I found some Asian yummy grass in my teeth.

Lacey: There's a chip in your knife!
Taylor: Someone probably tried to cut my abs.

Dania: I want a butt sweater.
Mary: I think those are called pants.

Alex: It's gotta work! I saw it on Pinterest!

Alex: Dani, I don't know if you know this...but you're not a typical girl.

Alex: [sigh] We're the funniest people I know.

Lacey: Dang it Dani! It's official. My library card in Wisconsin is expired.

Dania: What's going on out there?
Alex: Migration of squirrels.

Lacey: Does anyone ever NEED chocolate, Dani?
Dania: Yeah.
Lacey: Good point.

Alex: I feel strangely naked.

Dallin: You can rent puppies? Isn't that like prostitution?

Dr. Stice: If you're from Lehi, you gotta take your fun where you can get it.

Kid in Class: I'm from Eager, Arizona. It's about an hour from Snowflake.
Dr. Stice: When you're giving directions off of where Snowflake is, you're in trouble.

Dr. Stice: We gotta get management in here. We've got someone who understands the DuPont framework in aisle five.

Dr. Stice: I'm a bad guy, but I'm not THAT bad a guy. I wouldn't underline and bold and put in a giant font something that's irrelevant.

Dr. Stice: You assumed wrong. You missed the question. Go away.

Dr. Stice: You become powerful. You become better than other people, and that's what it's all about.

Taylor: It's like the Spirit, but math!

Taylor: Look guys. If I didn't laugh at my jokes, no one would.

Taylor: We're all planning out my schedule, cause I'm the center of the universe.

Taylor: Last night I had a dream I was pregnant. And I was like, "What the freak, I'm a guy! This isn't even supposed to happen."

Dania: Lacey, will you bring me something delicious?
Taylor: I'm already here.

Taylor: Don't wear bows on your mission.
Dania: Why not?
Taylor: You'll be too attractive.

Aaron: Man, my thinking cap is making my head hurt!

Nate-Dawg: Variables--the more the...not merry.

Taylor: Do you paper. And don't talk to boys. Especially your boyfriend. Okay, we can hang out sometime, but make sure I don't have anything hard or sharp in the near vicinity.

Taylor: I miss cha-cha like a mother. ...misses her child.

Student from Texas: Remember the Alamo!
Dr. Stice: Remember the Alamo, yes, I remember it all the time.

Dr. Stice: We're just 4 years from budgetary nirvana!

Dr. Stice: If you haven't seen the movie What's Up Doc, I don't know how to help you. If you see any other movie between now and What's Up Doc, you're wasting your time.

Ethan: Our faucet is slower than a snail on a turtle's back.

Taylor: I don't know the words very well, cause there's a lot of 'em.

Brother Dorius: Tucanos at 9 o'clock at night can kill a middle-aged man.

This Much I Know

"Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it. In the short space of twenty years, he has brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and power of God, and has been the means of publishing it on two continents; has sent the fulness of the everlasting gospel, which it contained, to the four quarters of the earth; has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and Covenants, and many other wise documents and instructions for the benefit of the children of men; gathered many thousands of the Latter-day Saints, founded a great city, and left a fame and name that cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; and like most of the Lord's anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood; and so has his brother Hyrum. In life they were not divided, and in death they were not separated!"

-John Taylor (D&C 135:3)

There are a lot of things that I haven't figured out. There are a lot of things I have left to learn, and a lot of improvements I have to make. I don't know much--compared to all the information out there, I don't know anything. But this much I do know: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. It is God's one true church on the earth today. I have a loving and caring Father in Heaven who knows me and watches over me. He guides me. His Son, Jesus Christ, gave His life for me so that I can return to live with them again. I am never alone.

So as I go through life, confused and a little lost, I will always be grateful for the sacrifices of those who came before me. Joseph Smith gave all that he had to give and, though I may not be called to die for this cause, I will live for it.

Because this much I undeniably and immovably know: this church is true.

September 2012 Quotes

Anna: Tortillas. Satan's cookies probably taste like tortillas.
Dania: Tortillas are good!
Anna: Yeah, but they're not cookies!

Anna: I have my fall nail polish on. That's how you know it's fall.

Dania: I love rain. Rain makes everything better.
Lacey: Except for origami.

Lacey: I want to put something in my mouth. I think it's water?

Lacey: I want to like this just so I can unlike it!

Dania: Lacey, are you my mother?
Lacey: no, I'm not. I'll work on it.

Alex: I'm a first tenor. I'm God's gift to the world.

Seth: Braces are good though. I mean, can you imagine me with bad teeth?

Lacey: I think tired Dani with her retainers in is my favorite Dani.

Lacey: Dani, it's midnight-thirty! We have to go to bed!

Lacey: Hello. Is this Pizza Hut? Oh, I'm sorry.

Lacey: Speaking of alcoholics, how is school going?

Lacey: You know what? I like the Germans.

Cali: I can't decide what to eat, so I'm just going back to bed.

Ethan: I killed a cactus, for crying out loud! I'm less nurturing than a desert!

Jaycee: What's foundation?
Ethan: It's like a primer coat.

Dania: Why am I so weird?
Kyrie: Now, if I could answer that question, I'd have millions.

Lacey: That's the other thing. The man I marry has to love you. He has to love me too, but if he loves me and not you then, 1. What the crap? and 2. There's nothing else.

Guest Speakers in Marketing: I like to say that we're like a mullet. He's the business up front, and I'm the party in the back.

John: We're inventing a backwards euphemism.

Lacey: Sleepy Dani, although funny, is not necessarily the most attractive.

Dania: Hi Ethan, how are you?
Ethan: I'm fine. Oh, sorry, boy fine. I'm great. If you're a girl, fine means something is really wrong.

Lacey: So yeah, I pretty much just got paid $2 to smell some guy's helmet. I feel like a teenage boy.

Lacey: I think I have autocorrect brain.

Lacey: That technically doesn't even make us related, it just makes our blood all squishy.

Dania: $5,000 somewhere in Provo!
Jaron: So much more dollars than I have!

Alex: Her name is Alexis, it would never work.

Lacey: If you make all your decisions based on not becoming a hobo, you'll probably make better decisions.

Dania: Are we being strangely cryptic?
Pappy: No, just normally cryptic.

Taylor: And I was always like, "Sweet, mom's pregnant. That means I can have a sleepover in a few months."

Taylor: My teacher is a 74-year-old man, flirting isn't going to get me anywhere.

Lacey: Dani, it's a piece of pot. I am not eating that.

--And a special note, the quotes from Talk Like a Pirate Day at Krispy Kreme--

Dani: We be eatin ourselves till we be sick.
Lacey: That's self-cannibalism Dani, and I'm not down with that freaky stuff.

Lacey: He's squeakin' like an old poop deck.

Lacey: Brave Kitten!
Lacey and Dani: Strong Kitten!
Dani: Fearsome Kitten! Sailing the seas despite his fear of water!

Lacey: Mateys! Ye be in perfect garb! May we take a magic portrait with ye?

Lacey: The satchel is bewitched!
Kitten: That's not the only thing that's bewitched. [Wink]

Dani: What be a pirate without treasure to seek?

Kitten: I was gonna say something, but I'd end up hitting on both of you, so I decided not to.

Lacey: How do you wash donuts down with more donuts? Cause I've tried that, and it doesn't work.