The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Christmas time is here.  In other words, Happiness is here.  The two words are most definitely synonymous. 

Awesome fact about Christmas time: No School

 Finals week was fun, hard, painful, rewarding, and best of all it is......OVER.  

( This is what we do in our study time.  My cousin Nate joined in too. )

Second awesome fact about Christmas time:  Everything looks beautiful

Nik and I went and saw the lights at Temple Square last night.  It was another one of those best dates ever.  I looked like a two year old the whole time driving up because I freaked out over every falling snowflake and twinkling Christmas light we saw (This is a season long phenomenon).  We stopped in daybreak to open the Christmas presents that we gave each other.  I might have cried a bit, I'm going to miss him while he's in New Zealand over the break.  Then we went to the Roof in Salt Lake.  I love the Roof, everything is so yummy and the view is breathtaking.  It was really fun to see how far we had both come since the last time we went there in July.  

One of my favorite things about Christmas is just walking around looking at everything and anything with Christmas decorations.  Nik and I walked through City Creek for a while, I couldn't help smiling everywhere we went as I thought about the blessing Nik has been in my life and how that all started right there in SLC during our International DECA competition. 

 I am so grateful for the peace felt at Christmas as I reflect on all of the many blessings I have! I have had such a fun and enlightening first semester of college and I look forward to another one!

PS for more updates on fun times with the Sampson family, visit our joint blog Girl Talk!

Priesthood Power

I am so grateful for this wonderful gospel!!! I'm so grateful for the knowledge I have the God loves me and is watching over me.  I really got to experience that yesterday.  After taking some finals and studying all day I was hanging out with Nik, and I started feeling really shaky and started getting fever-like symptoms.  Haha I just ignored it and blamed it on the fact that it was my lovely time of the month. After a while I realized that sadly I was not only suffering from the visit of Uncle TOM and Aunt Flo, but that I was indeed getting sick.  So I went home and tried to sleep.  It didn't work so well and I woke up after an hour when I realized my roommate Cassidy had come in and I was keeping her awake by moaning subconciously like a dying animal.  She kindly brought me some ibuprofen and water and I spent the next hour (which felt like a lifetime) trying to get to sleep.

At 1 am I decided this wasn't going to work, I had gone to bed early to be properly rested for my finals and all I was really doing was sitting in my bed shaking trying to get comfortable enough to at least get my mind off the burning and freezing sensations pulsing through my skin.  And then I remembered that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me, he wants me to do well on my finals, and I have priesthood holders all around me that are ready and willing to help.  I called Nik and with tears asked him If he could come give me a blessing.

  He was there in 15 min and he gave me a wonderful blessing with the promise that if I had the faith to be healed I would be able to sleep peacefully through the night and I would be healed.  I am so grateful to have a wonderful boyfriend that is worthy to hold the Melchizedek priesthood. And for a Heavenly Father that has given the priesthood to worthy men.  I gave Nik probably 50 hugs before he left and I couldn't stop crying.  When I finally climbed into my bed I said a quick prayer of thanks and I told Heavenly Father that I knew that with his power I could be healed.  I drifted to sleep 5 minutes later and woke up with out a trace of sickness.  Guys, the church is true.  I know it without a doubt.  I love this gospel with all my heart.

What a Day.

Wow today was....an adventure? terrible? amazing? stressful? Probably a combination of all of the above.  I woke up earlier than I have all school year to finish up my computer programming final (hopefully the last c++ program I'll ever have to write?) I expected it to take 3 or 4 more hours.  Not exactly fun, but reasonable right? Wrong.  It took me approximately ten hours today.  Plus the two or three hours I'd spent from the days before.  I was not a happy camper.

(this was pretty much me) 

This is when I'm so very incredibly thankful for a fantastic boyfriend.  He drove up to BYU and we had lunch together.  I was planning on going back to the lab to continue my never ending CS 142 final but as my lunch hour passed I started feeling more and more like I was going to throw up and I started getting dizzy.  So he walked with me and held my stuff while I uploaded my files in the lab and he drove me back to my apartment.  He is basically the greatest.  This would be the third time this week he has picked me up from school due to some difficulty.  

So I got home and napped.  It was great to get some sleep.  Then came the storm.  I'm sure my roommates thought I was crazy, ranting about cpp files, polymorphism, and pointer vectors (if you don't know what that means, don't ask, I don't think I even know haha).  At one point I'd yell to my program about my hatred for it, and then I'd do my best to lovingly convince it to run.  It never did.  There goes 10% of my test score down the tubes.  But I turned it in.  Errors and all, who needs a working program anyway? I just sat on the couch and felt my brain melt. Then my fantabulous boyfriend knocked on the door.  I opened it to find my best friend holding flowers and my favorite white chocolate Lindor truffles.  Nothing cures a sick girl with a fried brain like flowers, chocolates, and a handsome boy. What a day. 

Shooting

Today, or uh I guess technically yesterday I went shooting with Nik and his dad.  Have I mentioned how scared I am of guns? If I have I don't think I've emphasized it enough.  I AM SOOOOOOO SCARED OF GUNS!!!!!!! I only shot a few times before the gun kicked back and I jammed my thumb. Yet another example of why guns scare me. It doesn't help that it was so loud I still can't hear out of my left ear.  Even though at first things were a bit rough it got much better and I really did have a lot of fun band-aides, ringing ears and all!

Break Time!

So I woke up at 2:00 pm today. I know thats so bad. I promise I'll try not to do it again. But hey, its the break, in fact its the first break BYU has had since august. This is my first chance to catch up on some much needed sleep.  Im so excited for thanksgiving and to see both sides of my extended family this week, it will be a blast :)

Loving Winter

I am absolutely loving winter.  With winter comes beautiful snow, thanksgiving, breaks from school, hot chocolate, cuddling while watching movies, and Christmas (my personal favorite).  I'm obsessed with Christmas, it really is the most wonderful time of the year. Recipe for instant happiness: Listen to Christmas music while drinking hot chocolate or eating something peppermint flavored.  Trust me, it works.  

P.S. Remember this post? Well, it just so happens that we are officially dating now. He's a pretty great boyfriend :) (sorry its pretty blurry)

He Cares.

I'm so incredibly grateful for a Heavenly Father that cares. I'm grateful for the people he sends into our lives to teach us what he needs us to learn. I'm grateful that when we have a bad day he knows just how to fix it.  The gospel is amazing.  I felt like every testimony, talk, lesson, or thought given in church today was catered directly to me.  The Lord speaks to his children and He loves them completely. I know it without a doubt.  I'm also grateful for the people He sends in our lives to watch over us and comfort us.  I have the best roommates anyone could ever ask for. I came home to this on my door, and a whole lot more of it all over my apartment.

God loves you. I promise. He cares.