i'll be home for christmas....

I have just come to the conclusion that I'm not a regular blogger, I just blog when I remember. So I'll just catch up in a few small posts so as not to overwhelm my e x t e n s i v e list of followers.

I'll just give a brief overview of Christmas.

On Christmas Eve, we were playing games at Mandy and Clay's house. We were just talking about how it seemed a little dead and boring and empty without Krista and Jason, and Angela and John. No more than 5 minutes later, there was a knock at the door....

Dylan went to get it and brought in a huge gift bag full of treats. As he started digging through it, Mandy noticed some snacks that aren't found here in the United States. I didn't clue in, but she all of a sudden just kept saying, "No way, there is no way!!!"

In my head I was thinking, well she probably just had it delivered here. (As in Krista sending stuff from Austria)

Mandy then ran outside (we all followed) and sure enough, there stood Krista and Jason on the sidewalk. We were all in shock but at the same time not really surprised that they did this.

We had a lot of fun together over the time they were here. It was good to spend time with them especially before Landon left.

They apparently just can't stay away from us for very long, and that's fine by me :)

i hope they call me on a mission.....

Well it's official. The Peterson residence is now an empty nest.

Landon left today for the South Carolina, Columbia mission.

What a bittersweet time for our family! I can definitely say that there is nowhere else I'd rather him be than serving the Lord on a full time mission. He has grown into such a great young man and I truly look forward to hearing the stories he has to share over the next two years.

Landon gave a great talk on Sunday for his farewell and he brought such a sweet spirit to the meeting with his testimony. He sure is going to touch a lot of lives :)

Although a lot of tears were shed last night when all the goodbyes were said, talk about an exciting time for Landon! He was so excited to get to the MTC today, not even nervous. I wonder what he's doing right now.....

i love.

aaahhhhhhh fall.

i love fall.

i love the colors.

i love the smells.

i love the holidays.

i love the clothes.

i love the traditions.

i love the crispness.

i love the decorations.

happy fall everyone :)

words of wisdom.

ahhhh. conference weekend. two of the best weekends of the year. i really love october conference. it seems like it just kicks off one of my favorite times of the year.

i love fall! and what a better way to start it out by receiving guiding words from the leaders of our church. i loved how back to basics this conference was.

{pray} . {study the scriptures} . {keep your covenants} .

{keep your standards high} . {follow the commandments}.

these are just a few of many great things that were spoken about during conference. my ward had ward conference last week, and our wonderful stake president asked that we pray specifically for questions to be answered. to go into conference with a question in our minds and hearts. to pray for an answer. he promised that if we did this in faith, our questions/concerns would be answered and our testimony of Jesus Christ would be strengthened.

i did. and did i receive an answer? you bet.

what a blessing it is to have such incredible instruction. here are a few things i loved from conference. please feel free to share your thoughts as well :)

{this is a very condensed list. too many great things!}

{1} scriptures are like packets of light that illuminate our minds that give way for guidance and inspiration from on high...elder richard g. scott

{2} our work knows no boundaries...elder l. whitney clayton

{3} do the right thing, at the right time, without delay...elder jose l. alonso

{4} take hold of your life and order yourself to be valiant...president boyd k. packer

{5} motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling...elder neil a. anderson

{6} let us be as quick to kneel as we are to text...elder ian ardern

{7} we must be bold in our declaration of Jesus Christ...elder l. tom perry

{8} deal with, learn from, and overcome storms through Jesus Christ...president thomas s. monson

{9} teach people, not lessons...elder matthew richardson

{10} it is never too late to choose eternal life...elder randall k. bennett

{11} lead the world in a return to virtue...sister elaine s. dalton

{12} be loyal to the royal within you...sister elaine s. dalton

i love my Savior. i love His church. we are blessed!

right where i need to be.

life's been a little hectic lately, therefore blogging has nearly stopped.

week number three has just started for my first school year as a real live teacher. it's been an incredible few weeks and i have come to the conclusion that i'm about as happy as a clam. {i never understood that phrase...like we know how happy clams are...} but still...i love love love my job. my kids are great. my co-workers are great. i cannot imagine being anywhere else right now. i have learned a few things in my short time surrounded by 7th graders, freshmen, and high school kids.

1. kids get restless come 1:00 in the afternoon

2. twelve + hour days are not uncommon as an ag teacher

3. twelve-year-old girls are not the twelve-year-old girls that i remember. they're more like twelve going on twenty-five.

breaks my heart.

4. high school boys are surprised when they find out that a girl knows how to use power-tools.

5. kids are kids. they need someone to love them.

i'll try to update at least once a week. if nothing else, it will be good for me so i don't ever forget this time of my life. being a brand new teacher is hard. it's time consuming. it's stressful. it's busy. but it's rewarding. it's satisfying. it's a blessing. it's exactly where i know i need to be.

oh and p.s. i have decided something.

patience=trust. trust=patience.

someday.

someday, everything will all make perfect sense.

so for now, {laugh} at the confusion,

{smile} through the tears,

and keep {reminding} yourself

that everything {happens} for a

REASON.

nothin' to complain 'bout.

why this week is good:

1. spent time with long time friends-some old, some older.

2. saw the hand of the Lord in my life too many times to count.

3. i get to see my bestie lisha after ten long weeks of waiting.

4. i get to see two of my best friends get married...to each other!

life's good.