The mystery of the missing birthday cards (aka SOMEONE STOLE MY BIRTHDAY CARDS!)

I've checked the mail every single day for 2 weeks. I get home from school/work, drop off my backpack, grab the mail key, and skip to the mailbox. I then throw away the junk mail and slump back home, because every day I become a little more convinced that the postman stole my birthday cards.

It has been confirmed that Grandma and Joe & Kori mailed me birthday cards over 2 weeks ago, but the cards never reached my mailbox. Wedding announcements have arrived from across the country with no problem during this time, but birthday cards must be my mailman's favorite. Here is what I would like to tell my dear mailman:

Dear Sir/Madam, 

I am fairly certain you are in possession of my birthday cards. Maybe it is your birthday, too. In that case, happy birthday! I hope you received many birthday cards from your family/friends, as I can tell that you really love cards. You may keep my birthday cards, but I would much appreciate a photo copy of the notes written inside, and, if there were adorable pictures of my nephews included, I would really like to have those as well. If you are using the money found in the cards to feed your babies, escape an abusive situation, or some other worthy cause, be my guest. However, if the money was used to feed an addiction, I am not okay with that and request to be paid back.

Sincerely,

Lisa

On a brighter note, only one week until I get to attend the World Congress of Families!!!

Elder Beck

Once upon a time when I was a missionary, I met a boy named Kory. Now, it's Kory's turn to be a missionary in South Africa! I am sososo excited for Kory. He is going to be the BEST missionary. He's only been a member of the Church for a short time, but he is way more prepared than I was when I left for my mission. Kory goes out teaching with the missionaries in Eugene all the time, and he has a solid testimony. The best birthday present I received this year was being able to go to the temple with Kory for his very first time. It was the best.

It's my party, I'll smash cake if I want to.

I'm not quite sure how you're supposed to react when your friends throw you a surprise 23rd birthday party, but I decided to revert back to "what would 1 year old Lisa do?" See this beautiful cake?

I decided the best way to eat it would be not by the slice, but by the handful.

Definitely the right decision.

The Roommates.

I was talking to this cute boy the other day (he's my favorite),

and I explained to him why college is the coolest (partially convincing myself, because midterms always make me question if college is really worth it). I told him that college is great because you get to live with your friends. And, if you're really lucky, you might even have friends that you super enjoy living with. That's me. I am very blesssed in the friendship department. My roommates are my best friends, and they are the COOLEST.

1) They are hilarious. Living with them is the best ab workout .

2) They are good listeners, and they care about the non-interesting things that you still want to tell someone even though you know it's boring.

3) They are SO good at words of affirmation. Seriously, if you need to feel good about yourself just come on over. You'll never go a day without someone telling you you're beautiful and wonderful. It's the best.

4) They will usually go along with my random requests for piggy back rides, a definite perk in any relationship.

5) They're good little chefs, and they like to share.

6) They are are well-dressed, and they like to share.

7) I often catch them studying their scriptures. It makes me very happy.

8) They don't get mad when I let my other friends live on the couch.

9) They love fiercely.

10) They embrace vulnerability.

10 years later

When people find out I'm from Louisiana, they usually follow it up with one of three questions: (1) What's the food like? (2) How's the weather down there? or (3) Were you there for hurricane Katrina?

I was in 7th grade when Katrina hit. Let's just pause from the Katrina story and talk about 7th grade for a second. That is a tough year. You are trying to figure out who the heck you are while surrounded by 100s of other pubescent kids who are trying to figure out who they are. You're experimenting with wearing makeup for the first time (most likely doing a terrible job, which does not help since you probably already look pretty awkward). You're probably a little boy crazy. People are mean, and you care too much about what people think. Especially the mean people. Brand names are important. You've lost your childhood confidence, and you haven't quite learned to love your quirks yet. Never have I ever heard anyone say, "Man, I miss 7th grade."

Add to that having both grandpas die less than a month apart only 2 months earlier, and you've got a pretty good idea of where I was when Katrina hit. We knew it was going to be a big one. Our first really big one since moving to Louisiana the summer before 5th grade. School was cancelled for a week to encourage people to evacuate. We lived far enough inland, away enough from waterways, and high enough up that I don't remember being scared our house would be destroyed, but the thought of not having power for a week in the middle of Louisiana August sounded absolutely terrible. Mom, Liv and I packed up the car and decided to go to Grandma's house (in Indiana). Dad and the boys decided to ride out the storm from home.

I remember going to the junior high in Indiana to meet up with my cousin and elementary school friends for lunch. I felt like a celebrity because when you move away from a small town and then come back to visit during school hours, you're a pretty big deal. I went to the Friday night football game and thought about how if I had stayed in that little bitty town, I'd probably be popular (which was a very big deal in 7th grade). I'm sure I milked every ounce of "your home might be destroyed by the hurricane" sympathy I could get.

...watching the news was scary. Waiting to hear from Dad and the brothers was scary.

Katrina was more devastating than I had anticipated. My family, friends, and home were fine. But watching the images on the news...seeing all the people who weren't fine...that was scary. Hurricane Katrina did change my life. But not in the storm. I was one of the lucky ones. We lost a little siding on the house, maybe a few shingles, and a branch went through a window screen. We lost power for awhile. Nothing major.  We were so blessed.

At the time, my family owned two businesses. Our ice cream shoppe was still pretty new, and with the loss of all our inventory we decided not to re-open.  We tried to keep the other business, LaDon's (a Cajun seasoning and sugar-free jellies and jams business that sold to restaurants and grocery stores), going--turning it into a real family affair. I remember Mom picking me up from my now over-crowded school (we welcomed a lot of New Orleans students into our classes) and taking me to LaDon's where I would do my homework and then go out to the warehouse and start sticking labels on jars of sugar-free jellies and jams until it was time for bed. Strangely enough, despite how dang cold that warehouse got, those are some of my favorite memories from junior high. We were there in a small room with just the family, love songs with Delilah on the radio, and plenty of time to talk while our hands were busy trying to keep our business alive.

A year later, my dad drove me down to New Orleans. He took me to the lower 9th ward. The watermarks from Katrina were still visible on the remaining buildings. So many people returned home to New Orleans, but many didn't. A lot of the restaurants and stores that helped keep LaDon's in business didn't reopen--or at least not soon enough. So we moved on to our next adventure.

7th grade was a stretching year. And although I have no desire to re-live that year, I am so grateful for the things I learned.

"...the tests of life are tailored for our own best interests, and all will face the burdens best suited to their own mortal experience... We can be reassured that our challenges will be the ones we needed, and conquering them will bring blessings we could have received in no other way." 

-Elder Holland

The Fairytale Summer

Two weeks after I came home from my mission, I thought I was going to die. Being home was so hard. I needed progression in my life. So I bought a plane ticket, found random housing with random people, applied for a job and made the move cross-country. It was totally last minute and I anticipated it being a completely okay summer (which was better than the miserable summer I was sure I would have in Louisiana).

...and then church was far away. 

I needed a ride. I shyly knocked on Elizabeth and Lucy's bedroom door. It started as rides to church and quickly became a lifetime kind of friendship. Actually, throughout the majority of the summer I had every intention of it being a summer-only friendship. No need to get too attached. But somewhere along the line, I let my guard down. And that, my friends, has been the biggest blessing all summer.  I discover new reasons every day why God placed them in my life. We needed each other. Elizabeth and Lucy have helped me understand myself. They've helped me be comfortable in my own skin. They'v loved me unconditionally. They are the best examples of vulnerability (one of the traits I most admire in people and struggle hardcore to develop myself). And they are so fun. 

I have definitely discovered my inner-weirdo with these two around. You know all those crazy ideas you have, but would never do? These two DO IT. It's the best. 

Whether it's breaking into The Josh to rearrange the cupboards or waiting for them to come home to Lucy in a wedding dress, these two are game.

It's been a pretty magical summer. Now it's time to move on. Evidently spending every waking non-working hour at The Josh with Elizabeth and Lucy is not good for my progression. So it's time to move across campus and go back to school. Maybe stop letting the Joshs kill our chances of finding husbands and start letting ourselves fall in love. 

This summer. These people. It's better than I ever imagined this summer could be. And these people, they're lifers.

I love you.

Story Time: Catch Up Edition

Once upon a time, we made cardboard cars for FamilyHomeEvening (Mercy loves when I say it like its one word).

 Then we drove our cars to the "drive-in theater" in a very buggy lot down the street. We promptly dissembled our car so we could lay on the cardboard

It was fun.

The end.

Once upon a time, we dressed up like hipsters to celebrate Lucy's last night being 22.

We also made fun of our exes, ate breakfast at midnight, and made Lucy fall in love with a stranger...sort of.

The end.

Once upon a time, we thought watching the 4th of July fireworks from the pool was a good idea.

It wasn't as great of an idea as I thought it would be. A) it was cold B) not a great view. We ended up watching the fireworks from a hill. It was the perfect place. We could see the stadium's jumbo-tron and we were close enough to hear, so we basically attended the Journey concert for free. The fireworks were magical. Just thinking about them makes me soooo happy. Especially the super glittery gold ones. My heart. Oh man, I just love those things.

The end.

Once upon a time, I got a free slurpee on 7/11. FINALLY I live in a place with 7/11's. Life is good.

Bonus points if you noticed Elizabeth still has the wrapper on her straw. Lucy insisted we take the picture pre-slurpee.

The end.

Once upon a time, we decorated our apartment like a 3rd grader would. Construction paper and homemade art. It's the bestest way to decorate. Also, we have the bestest friends, because they'll come over at 11pm to paint pictures for us to hang on the walls. 

I don't want it to end.

To My Future Children

Dear Future Children,

Today the Supreme Court decided that same-sex marriages are now legal in the United States. It made me really sad, because God already defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman. No court can change that. Then I realized that you will never know a world where marriage was only between a man and a woman....and that broke my heart.

The world has already changed so much during my lifetime, and I'm only 22 years old. In 1995, when I was just a tot, President Gordon B. Hinckley read "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" at a General Relief Society Meeting. I was talking to a lady at work today and she told me she remembers listening to him read this for the very first time. She thought, "duh" about the whole thing. And then President Hinckley got to the paragraph that starts with "WE WARN." Her ears perked up and she began to listen intently as, for the first time, she realized the truths presented in this heaven-inspired proclamation might not always be such a duh. Over the course of my life, I have cleaved to the truths found in The Family Proclamation. And they haven't always been a duh in the world I've grown up in.

Your life is going to be different than mine (for so many reasons). Today it occurred to me that I won't be able to raise you like my parents raised me, because the world will not be the same. Not only has the very definition of marriage and family been worldly-redefined (remember, it was not redefined according to God. And He's the boss.) but the world is also much more violent and dishonest. Are you going to be able to ride your bike around the block by yourself all day long on summer days? Will you and your BFF be allowed to skip  to the park down the street without supervision? Whose house are you going to be allowed to play at? Are sleepovers even an option? Your daddy and I have a LOT to discuss (...I mean, after I meet him. I guess meeting him is the necessary 1st step in your earthly existence.)

But don't you worry, little babies, even though the world I grew up in and the world you will one day grow up in took another step apart today, I promise to teach you about who you really are and whose you really are. This world is getting darker, but you will be a light. Always choose the choice that will add light to your life. The world will be a better place because of you.

Love, 

Momma

"Why not watch R rated movies? Because it is a world I choose not to live in. Sure, you can find bad language, etc., in the everyday world, but when you have a choice about which/what world to live in--which world you create--do you reproduce the worst of the world around you or the best of the world around you?"

-Unknown, found in a note at work

P.S., Here is a great article about living in this crazy world: Loving Others and Living with Differences 

P.P.S. Love everyone. Be you.

I like weekends.

Last weekend was perfectly planned. So many activities, scheduled into their tiny boxes. And it was a good weekend. A very good weekend. As I walked home from work on Friday, I had no clue what this weekend would hold. It was perfectly un-planned, and I thought just maybe I might get bored with a 3-day-no-plan weekend. False. Provo never fails me.

Friday was full of skating adventures and ice cream with some wardies.

Fun facts:

1. We tried to get some professional skaters (...really. They had sponsors and everything.) to teach us some tricks. I'm not very tricky, but I did master a spinning circle.
2. Skating backwards is a spectacular thigh work out. I was wonderfully sore the next day.
3. One time I busted my tailbone at this skating rink. That did not happen this time. Success!

Saturday, I went on a spontaneous, free, VIP rafting trip down the Provo river. It was pretty legit. And by legit I mean the biggest rapids where about the intensity of pool jets and I didn't even have to paddle. It was pretty great. 

Sundays are always blissfully busy. Church, nap (score!), Sunday dinner with the roommates' backup husband, ward prayer, broken stool, and brownies straight from the pan with the roommates and the Josh's. 

And the fun kept rolling today with a bomb.com trip to the zoo and hilarious FHE skits. 

This was the weekend of the T-Swift concert that once stood between me and coming to Provo. Although Livia is still raving about what an amazing concert Taylor put on, I can't help but think another perfect weekend was further confirmation that this was the right choice.

Life is Good

Last night (let's be real it was 1 a.m,) This morning, I laid in bed and wrote the perfect blog post expressing all my thoughts and feelings perfectly. Unfortunately, I only wrote it in my head. I considered getting out of bed and actually writing it down. It's not like I was sleeping (I was on a life-is-too-good-to-sleep high) so I gave it true consideration. But then the so-called "logical" part of me decided it was ridiculous to blog at 1 a.m. on a Thursday. No body should be awake at 1 a.m. on a Thursday. I decided I would just commit the whole post to memory. I'm sure you can guess just how well that worked now that it is 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

So instead of the eloquently drafted 1 a.m. version, you get this.
I love my life and here are a few reasons why:

1. Lauren is going on a mission. HOW THE HECK DO I EXPRESS MY FEELINGS ON THIS? It just makes me want to explode with happiness because I can tell that she is about to explode with happiness. Lauren has made a big impact on my life. A big impact on my testimony. She's on my list of heroes. Do you think if I beg her enough she'll do a guest post on my blog? *fingers crossed*
2. Heavenly Father reminded me how small and simple things can bring about great things. A friend from Eugene reached out and wants to get involved with the ward there. It's the best feeling. I love nothing more than when He let's me catch a glimpse of His love for someone.
3. My roommates are the greatest.
4. I accidentally got assigned two sets of home teachers. I'm pretty sure it's karma for being a brat about home teaching pre-mish.  (...it's a long story).
5. FaceTime with the nephews is quite possibly my favorite thing. They even let me play hide 'n seek with them. Technology. Love it.
6. My ward. I like them. Sometimes they like to play the "Will-Lisa-fit-in-this?" game. I'm good at fitting in smallish suitcases, in case you wondered. 
7. I eat chocolate chip pancakes at least once a day. How can you not love your life when you eat chocolate chip pancakes daily? Just don't tell my boss. She's trying to turn me vegan.
8. TedTalks. I'm obsessed. 
9. The BYU Library...I love that place. I have to pass it twice a day, and I stop in often. There are SO MANY books to read.
10. Sweatpants. Because every good life needs a little comfy.

Update: The Plate Guy

Remember The Plate Guy from Institute? I think we could safely re-name him The Stalker.

Lucy, Elizabeth and I slipped into church just before the meeting started. Only seconds later, The Plate Guy/Stalker appeared (note: he is not in my ward). "Hi Lisa! It's me; the guy with the plate from institute. I just had to run some errands this morning, like making the programs for my ward and stuff so I was here early and thought I'd come say hi! It was so great meeting you the other night!" Luckily, the meeting started so he slipped out of the room leaving me to think:

1. No one shows up to church THREE HOURS early to print programs.
2. It was kind of creepy that he hunted me down at church.

Oh but wait, it gets better. After church Lucy, Elizabeth and I sat outside the bishop's office waiting to get set-apart for our new callings, and guess who showed up? The Stalker. I tried desperately to keep my current conversation going when I caught a glimpse of him approaching out of the corner of my eye. But eventually, he weaseled his way into the conversation. Despite the fact that he showed up to church 3 hours early, he was late to sacrament meeting. I know because he was out in the hall trying to make conversation until halfway through the meeting. "See ya at institute?" Maybe. I just might explore the zillions of other institute classes in Provo.

It's flattering, right? I mean...I'm really glad he thinks I'm worth tracking down. But his methods are a little creepy.

In the off chance that you, Plate/Stalker Guy, are reading this, please know I think you are probably a very nice person. However, due to your extreme stalking skills, I am thoroughly creeped out. Perhaps in the future try something more subtle? Like waiting until the next institute class to say hi. Just an idea. Best of luck in your future endeavors finding the woman of your dreams. She's not me.