Goodbye Gallbladder

Hello,
I made it through surgery! It wasn't even bad at all. I mean I feel it but it isn't nearly half as bad as I thought it would be. Actually I feel surprisingly well!

I know I have been backed up by many prayers, I thank everyone who offered words to our Savior concerning me.

I actually was supposed to stay overnight but I surprised the doctors and the nurses by how well I was doing. The doctor came by and said I easily passed the two criteria for going home. He raised the option to go home early and I readily took it! Being in the hospital room was an adventure but I wanted home. My parents didn't want to stay overnight with me and I really didn't want to stay alone at the hospital. But that wasn't a problem since I get to be home!

Happy Emma!
Now I am just having fun planning my future as much as I can!

Back In My Home Ward! :D

THE GOSPEL IS WONDERFUL! AND TRUE! 

Dear lovely people,
I have oh so much to be grateful for!  I too, like Mariah, am home for a season here in my good ol' home town. I am excited to be doing all sorts of great things! College has gotten me used to spending lots of time trying to accomplish things. So when thinking about coming home, I wanted to make sure that I would keep up my productivity! Which sometimes is hard to do. I am anxiously awaiting the time when I will be ready to receive my mission call! So, as part of the things I should be accomplishing now I am counting on working on being prepared to be a missionary for my wonderful Savior. How exciting! I'll keep you posted on the great things I will be filling up my life with!

Today I had a wonderful experience! While being at BYU I enjoyed seeing missionary work expanding in such strides. I loved attending the many mission call openings and feeling the spirit come as each future missionary opened their called and heard where the Lord wanted them to go. On each person's face, you could see their trust and assurance in knowing they where going to the place the Lord had designed for them as the Holy Ghost testified to them it is right. With the call now opened, the person seemed to be beaming with enthusiasm that lasted weeks upon weeks, growing as their time came closer for them to go. I loved that experience. What has testified to me even more was returning to my homeward and seeing this same miracle happening to four of my ward friends.  I have known them since my birth, and to see their lifes' brightened with mission excitement hit me in a powerful way.

I LOVE MY HOME WARD!
I can't wait to get my call and join with this wonderful group of youth. Until then, I can keep on preparing myself! Yay! I am so blessed for this opportunity to witness and take part in this great moment in history.

Speaking of history. I have two new loves! Church history and family history! I am excited to be spending my time doing more of these wonderful things too!

LOVE MY LIFE!
Love,
Em Ro

Hello There, I am Home!

I already miss these girls!  The very thing I love about college, which is the fact that I get to meet so many amazing people, is the thing I dislike most (I have to leave them).

But in other news...

I AM HOME!  And I am so excited for a fun summer! :)
Can't wait to see my BC best friends.  WOO

Love,
Mariah

The End of the Froshy Year

When I came to college I did not expect that it would be so great.  I got to meet so many new people!  We did service together (and I got hit in the head with a tree at a service thing--but that's another story), went to the temple together, attended class together, studied together, ate together, even slept in the same bed together.  We learned and grew and helped each other out so much!  We loved each other!

The very thing that makes college so awesome makes it so very, very difficult.  My friends are leaving and so am I!  I won't see them for about 2 years.  We're leaving everything.  Even our awesome little dorm rooms!  I am cleaning and packing, and now my room is a dismal shade of white.  Where there were once butterflies and posters, there is just cinder block.  Sad, right?!  But that just leaves room for the next froshy to come along and decorate!  I am so glad I got to come to BYU and meet these people I am privileged to call my very best friends.  I shan't forget them any time soon. 

I am really grateful for my friends back at home who make this easier.  I haven't seem some of them in so long, and I am excited to hang out with them!  WOO!  And then there's the mission, which I am so excited for.  Not really a pumped up sort of excitement, but more of a quiet thrill of joy at the thought of being able to share the Lord's gospel with people.

Well, as things come to a close at BYU, I am still looking forward to the future.

Because in case you didn't know, my future is bright!

Love,
Mariah

Exciting News!

Hey, ya'll!

I wanted to let you know that something exciting happened to me not too long ago.

I have been accepted for the Art Education track here at good ole BYU!

Emma went with me to get the letter.  It took me a minute to convince myself that I should, in fact, open it.  But when I did I was so happy!  I am so excited to start this track when I get back from my mission. :3 YAY!

Love,
Mariah

Peeta the Hipster

So.... THE NEW CATCHING FIRE TRAILER came out!!!!!! And Peeta looks hipster-ish! Which I love right now but will laugh at in 10 years. Ahh well. Good reminiscent factor.
Emma Rose

General Conference and Basically the Best Weekend Ever

Alright, ya'll.  This weekend three of my awesome friends and I got to attend the Sunday evening session of General Conference!  I had a blast.  We made breakfast, listened to the first half of the morning session, listened to the rest on the way to SLC, and then got there!  We sat in the Terrace, so it is not as high or low as we could be.  It was dang awesome.  I am excited to read the talks again next month/ watch them soon!

We are so cute, holding our hands the same way and stuff... :)

I don't know why, but I really love this photo.  It's perfect. 

Having so much fun with these flowers!  Lovely!

Kelly and Ali are the cutest girls and the cutest friends!  Squish!

We were both laughing, but I can't remember why!  Probably because we are so happy to be in SLC! ;)

Mission prep.  Hello, Irma Briggs!  Hello, Sister Alvarado!

 Then we came back, had dinner, and eventually had a sleep over!  BEST WEEKEND EVER.  I am glad Penni could come down, because we all had a lot of fun!  This summer will be way fun, too. :)
 
Reasons this was the best weekend:

• The Tanner Building. ... Ask about that one.  It involves doors, locks, and Les Mis.
• Found a cat outside
• General Conference
• Got to attend part of General Conference
• Fun photos
• Penni
• Kelly
• Ali
• Pangea bed
• Easy essay
• Gelling my hair, which turned out CRAZY
• Breakfast this morning

Love,
Mariah

I'm Worth Following...?

After studying for 2 hours I finished my homework with 10 minutes to spare before my 4 o'clock Civ class. So for a brain break I went onto my Twitter account and went to my eldest tweets.

Oh, wow, I was one deep fifteen year old. I was just changing the world with all my amazing words of wisdom! Actually, that statement is a major lie. So while all my fellow classmates were discussing deep philosophical moral saving questions, I was laughing at just how ridiculousness I am!

I am sharing my words of grandness with you, I hope you enjoy them one faction as much as I did. 

I subjected myself to embarrassment as I was laughing at my phone in hysterics.

Here is one of my very first tweets. Make sure to admire my spelling. My "no"ledge of spelling is superb... or something. 

Here I am quoting my mom. Not sure why I thought it was worth sharing since no one else would understand it. Oh snap. I did it again! I can't help share to no one who will understand!

Haha... That is my morning optimism speaking...  Me clean? Real truth will come later in this post. 

Oh.. You know all ya need is a hamster ball and you are set. But you get strange looks from eleven year olds in the neighborhood who are wondering why your "soccer ball" is moving by itself.  

Um.... 5 points for whoever knows what this is referring to. 

 The truth.

My wisdom for Laura, oh philosophical self. 

Those golden shoes did control the weather. And squished my feet. 

LAURA IS THE BEST!

This is ironic. But no worries Laura is going to start blogging manically again! And what face is this

I don't even know.....

The joys of living in BC! Tis an adventure!

Oh... I don't even know if this is funny. But it kinda is.... AH

Then I could do this!

Or if a goat is too much of a hardship to get then you than here:

Oh my life is such a hardship. 

PLEASE DON'T JUDGE ME! 

LOVE EMRO

College and Fairytales That Don't Live Up to Real Life

College was like a romantic comedy for me.

Not because I have an adorable and awkward love life where I meet a cute curly-haired boy and fall in love and we are both hipsters and want to save the world together and have our first kiss on a ferris wheel (not that I have actually seen a romantic comedy like that).  No, not because of any of that (ha, I wish). 

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mamzrmCpAL1qk7iqpo1_500.jpg

I guess college is like a romantic comedy because I thought all of this grand novel-like happenings would occur and I would be magically adult-ized.  Just like the way society makes love look a certain way (perty glamorous and magical), college has its own myths.

I am alright with that, because I have grown in so many ways.  I have learned to be more open, more trusting, and more compromising.  I have made some of the greatest friends here.  I am just glad that the ride is continuing.  I look forward to see the surprises that occur.  I never would have thought that Ali would be one of my best friends, or that I would meet so many of the people I know now, experience so many diverse activities, etc.  I just love all of the pleasant surprises.  You might say that in a way they are even better than those little fairy tales we hear.  :)

 Our Father in Heaven is in the details of our lives. :)

Penni is coming soon! Woohoo!

Love,

Mariah