Merry Christmas!!

This year I have decided to add my Christmas letter to my blog so that all my friends can see what I have done this year. So here it goes......
I can't believe that another year has flown by and so quickly too. :) There have been many changes in my life this year- some good and some not so great. But we learn to adapt and move forward anyway.
After being married for 4 1/2 years it ended up in divorce but we are still friends. The Lord will guide me in my life as I trust Him. Even though my marriage didn't turn out to be the way that I truly wanted it to be, I know that as I trust Him I will have the marriage that I really desire. This year I have been living in Northern Idaho and working as a Pharmacy technician for Wal-Mart. I earned my national certification in May and I am very grateful that I did that.
This year even though there is a huge amount of lonliness at times, I am feeling hopeful that it will not last too long. Besides the Savior is there holding me during those times and lifting me back up so I can keep moving forward.
As I look back on this year I realize that through all the struggles I have gained peace and feel love for all those who have blessed my life by helping me through the tough times. This next year will be filled with new opportunities as I go back to school again to become a pharmacist. IT will take a lot of work--only another 6 years but it will be worth it.
May the spirit of this Christmas touch each of your hearts as you have touched my heart during this year. Take the time to look at the lights, christmas trees, and snow (for those of you who have it) and allow it to touch your heart to remember the reason for the season. Jesus Christ is the reason for the season- a baby was born over 2000 years ago who would grow up to save the world. He lives today and loves each of us so much.

I hope that each of you who read this will post your comments I would love to hear from each of you. Unfortunately I could not send one to everyone individually since I do not have all the email addresses that I used to.
I hope that each of you will have a terriffic Christmas!!!
This is my Christmas tree!! I love it!!
This is my mini tree with nativity and Christus statue.

November 2010

The seasons are changing and that happens to be a good thing for me. I have just recently learned that I have allergies, which only began to affect me this year for the most part. I have known for a long time that I have been allergic to a certain kind of grass since I was younger when i would have my bare skin touching the grass and have little red bumps from just a little exposure. Now I have learned that I am allergic to: Cottonwood trees, dust mites, ragweed, cats, and timothy grass. No wonder my nose has not liked me this year. It has been dripping quite a bit and my headaches have been more intense lately too.
The sad part of all this is that I love the outdoors!! I love seeing the colors change and the blossoms on the trees. But maybe this is why I love winter so much more!!! There is NO pollen to bother me and I love the snow with the way that it covers the earth. Now I must admit that the accidents that happen due to icy and snowy roads is not my favorite part. We must travel safely this winter.
I do enjoy November with the family get together to eat turkey and all kinds of good foods to go with it. Only this year, I am not sure where I will be enjoying a thanksgiving dinner since I work the day before and the day after. It will not be with my family since they live in another state and it will not be with my ex's family since that would just be too strange. My only family that is here is my church family and no one has asked me what I am doing yet so we will see. I will make sure that I have something better than a TV dinner, even if I have lots of leftovers. :)
The other reason why I like November is that it is time to put my my Christmas decorations. I love looking at trees and nativity scenes. I am excited to decorate this year already and it is not even Thanksgiving yet!
Since this is a time to show gratitude, as we should all year, let me just say a few things that I am grateful for. --a job that provides for me, a home to live in with all that is needed, food to eat everyday that is good for me and some that just tastes good, a family that cares for me everyday no matter what, a marriage that lasted 4 1/2 years which I learned much from, tons of friends here there and everywhere, an education, a laptop to see what my friends are up to, and lastly but first in my life---the Gospel of Jesus Christ and his life for each of us to learn from.

October 2010

Being that we are at the end of the month, I decided to share what I have been up to lately. At the begining of this month, well the last day of September, I drove from Coeur d'Alene, ID to Rigby, ID then to Salt Lake. I picked up my best friend Keira and her adorable 5 year old daughter Aubree and we went down for General Conference. We had a great time!! .

The Utah state sign has changed in the last 2 years.

We met our friends at the mayan Resturant and while we were waiting we saw this snake and took pictures. I like this picture because it makes me look like I am in the snakes mouth.

On Saturday Morning we all went to General Conference in Salt Lake. We travled up there on TRAX--Keira, B, Christine, Mom, Dad, and me. These are the pictures that we took on Trax

These are some of my favorite pictures from the trip.

We spent Saturday in Salt Lake. We listened to General Conference in the Tabrnacle for the morning session. Then the afternoon session sitting on the grounds since we had food to eat.

We saw all the people coming out of the conference center. Which was a lot of fun to watch as you can see from the picture. I had hoped to be inside but I was just grateful to be there.

After the afternoon session, we went over by deseret book and talked to Michael McLean. I learned that he will be doing the forgotten carols show in Spokane this year the day after Thanksgiving. I am actually very excited for that.

Sunday we spent with friends and family. I went with my family that night to see the 2 newest temples in Utah- Draper and Oqurrih Mountain. It was really fun. On monday morning, I knew it was time to head back to Idaho, but I must admit I really wasn't ready to go. But we drove back and saw rainbows on the way. I made it home late that night but was graetful to have the time off to be able to see my family.

As for the rest of October, well not much has happened besides working, and relaxing.

Summer has come and basically gone...

SO I haven't put much on my blog for awhile. I am doing the same things--working, going to church, hanging out at home, and talking with my family. Life has taken an interesting turn and the last 5 months I have learned much. I have been divorced for 5 months and grateful that I was married to him. Honestly, I always wanted a marriage that would last forever as 2 individuals worked together to have their dreams and ideals match up.
Last night for the first time in a long while, I watched the CES fireside and I am so glad that I did. It was on dating and marriage. So much good information from Elder Richard G Scott. There were many things that could have been better in my marriage- mostly the spiritual things. I have come to realize that it is our spiritual selves that matter the most and that that is really who we are. We are to overcome the natural man which is not the easy way to go but it is the way that is more worthwhile in the end.
The summer has been filled with adventures to see family. I have had the chance to go to Portland, Or to see my parents, and then to Rexburg, Id to see my sister and a bunch of friends. Most of the time I have been in North Idaho working and seeing what is around me. There is so much to see up here and I was able to see more when my parents and sister came to see me. We drove from Coeur d'Alene to Sandpoint to Bonners Ferry and up to the canadian border. I got as close to Canada as I could since I don't have a passport. It was fun to be there with my family.
I have become nationaly certified as a pharmacy technician and I will be going back to school in January at North Idaho College to get some math and science classes done. Who knows next summer I may move to a new location to start the next portion of my life.

Life in the Pharmacy

I have been working in Wal-Mart pharmacy for a tiny bit over a year now and it is very different from the first pharmacy that I worked in a few years ago. I spend my days on my feet for 8 hours each day. I use a computer to accept new prescriptions, and to type them in so the pharmacist can make sure I put it in correctly. Then the process of filling the prescription comes next. We use handhelds to scan the correct bottle and then count the pills out. The pharmacist then checks our work to make sure we did grab the correct medication.
I also talk with people on the phone and put hard copies of the prescriptions away in files. The hardest part for me is being on my feet for that long each day--40 hours in a work week. I am glad to be a technician. In fact the good news is that I took the National pharmacy techician test at the begining of the month and I passed it. So now I am a nationally certified Pharmacy Technician. Horray for me!!!
Lately I have been thinking about going back to school to become a pharmacist. The hard part is choosing a school to go to and being able to work while I attend school. We will see what happens in the near future.

Anything is possible

The reason for the title of this post is very simple. I have spent the last month studying to take the national test for pharmacy technician. The national test will allow me work at any pharmacy in the United States. I took the test on May 6th and passed it. The score for passing ranges from 650 to 900 and I won't have my offical score until the 21st. I did all I could and then allowed God to help me know what to do.
With God all things are possible!!!! Hearts can heal but not always in the time that we want it too. Sometimes we want to go a lot faster than we need to to heal. God knows better than we do and even when it is hard He will be right there with us. I hope Mother's day is all that each of you want it to be. Mother's deserve the very best.

New Beginnings

Spring in Coeur d'Alene Idaho is quite beautiful. The blossoms on the trees are so bright. They remind me of a new beginning. It is a nice place to live but I know that my life is heading in another direction to a place that at this point I am not sure where it is exactly yet.












During the month of April, I became divorced from my former spouse. I have had a mixture of feelings about it happening but I place my trust in God and keep going everyday. Today marks the end of a long drive to work in Ponderay, ID. I was blessed to work there among friends for the last year. They gave me the rose plant as seen below and I hope that I will be able to keep it alive. It was very thoughtful and I am grateful for their friendship while working in the pharmacy. I will now be working closer to where I live which will save a lot on gas.

April already!

So last month on the day after my birthday I drove home to meridian to see my family. It was a weekend that was needed. I had not seen my family for over a year. My parents are moving to the Portland, Oregon area since my dad has a new job there now. My sister is back in Rexburg attending BYU-Idaho and will have a terrific semester.
As for myself, I am now divorced and living in my own place in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. I am still working as a pharmacy technician for Wal-Mart. Currently I am trying to figure out the next step in my life. I thought that my marriage would last forever but due to reasons that even I don't understand completly it ended. I am waiting on the Lord and making the decision as to where I am needed next. I have options but not sure which one will be the best for me.
After the 4 1/2 years that I was married, I have learned many things and I do not regret my decision to marry Charles. I knew that it was right to marry him and I know I listened to God when I made the choice to say yes as I knelt across from him. Now our lives are heading in different directions and the marriage did not make it.
For now I keep in touch with friends and family. They are my strength and the Lord is by my side. I will keep praising my Heavenly Father for the wonderful things he has done for me.
April is almost over, and the trees outside are beautiful. I am grateful to live in such a beautiful place with mountains and trees.

Hard times...what do you do?

5 years ago when I met Charles I knew then just as much as I know today that I love him.
I know that it takes two to make a marriage wonderful and happy when you are both on the same path. After a long road and many struggles, my husband is currently living with his mom and step dad. He is making the choice to end our marriage. I am not sure of all his reasons, nor to I believe that it is the best thing for us at this time. It is really confusing when he still tells me how much he loves me but wants to live away from me.
Over the last year we have lived in Northern Idaho and I have had the chance to get to know his family. It has been a great experience to feel the love of a large family. I grew up with a small one- just my parents and my sister along with extened family around until I turned 15. So being so close to his family was really nice. We still struggled with many things- such as finding good employment or even going to school. It is hard to imagine that we have come so far, only to have it thrown away by a series of choices.
We all have the ability to choose what to do in our lives and how to be happy. Let alone- the choice to be happy no matter what is going on in life. Even through the hardest times when tension seemed the highest I still tried to find joy in it. The journey of marriage was never intended to be easy, but it was intended to be worth it as we cling to each other and live the Way God intened a married couple to live. It reminds me of a song that I never knew until I met Charles- "Perfect" it talks about the fact that life doesn't have to be perfect and if one day I feel like doing something but the next I don't just to remember that it was not intended to be perfect.
Looking back over the last 5 years I have learned so much from my husband about enjoying life. I have also learned to love him no matter what is going on. I have come to a decision that it was worth it to marry him and if he still wanted to be with me and work through issues I would love to continue. The pains of divorce is a horrible thing to even fathom. It takes your life and turns it upside down. It makes you have all kinds of feelings that you never really want to have.
The biggest thing I have learned is that you start your marriage on the same path and you are happy moving in the same direction. Should one begin to choose other things, the path divides and it is harder to move together as one being equals. It takes 2 to make a marriage glorious and beautiful. It takes 3 to make the marriage be what God intends it to be-- it takes the husband, the wife, and God to become the man and wife he wants you to be.
God is there and he leads us. He loves each of us enough to allow us to make our own choices even when it hurts another one of His children. He has been lifitng me up through this whole time and allowing me to have people surround me to keep me from falling down.
Whatever the choice is of my husband I will always love him. I will always have the desire to make our marriage better and to be faithful to my covenants with him.

New Year with changes

Lately I have been thinking a lot about changes in our lives. We celebrated Christmas and Thanksgiving with Charles' family. We have been living in Coeur d'alene since the end of September last year. Times have been tough for us finanically and in our relationship. I have come to learn that the Lord does not want marriages to end, but we have to trust Him that the best things happen for us. Marriage is to one other person- our spouse- and we are only to be there for that person and lock our heart to all others. The covenants that we make to our spouse are very strong and the consequences for breaking those covenants are nothing that I would want. We each have our agency and choose what to do with it.
The gospel is so important to me and I am so grateful to have a loving Father in Heaven that is watching over me. I realize how important it is to be completly faithful to your spouse- in thought, word, deed, and action. I promise to be the best wife and companion that I can be- even though I am not perfect at it I know that with the Lord's help I can be what he wants me to be.
This new year brings a long drive to work until I can transfer to a Wal-Mart that is closer. I am also working wth the census again. I can only hope it is enough to help us pay all of our bills.
Welcome to 2010!! I hope that any one who reads this will know of my conviction to marriage and to the Lord. He lives and I am grateful to know that.