Friday, December 05, 2008
The Abundant Life
My favorite phrase in this talk is "create of your life a masterpiece." I love that idea. It is up to us to do with our lives what the Lord would have us do. It is up to us to work hard an see the rewards and blessings that come. It is up to us to have a good attitude and look at life as the beautiful gift it is. I have that phrase posted on the mirror in my room and I read it a lot. I wish I put it more fully into practice.
When I heard that Elder Wirthlin passed away I was so sad, but then thought of the joyful reunion that I know he had with his wife. I'm sure he was thrilled to be with her again. I will miss his talks at General Conference (who didn't cry when he barely made it through his talk in October 2007 as Elder Nelson had to help him stand at the podium) and the humility and kindness that he shared through his sermons. I am grateful that I have been able to learn from Elder Wirthlin and know that he was an Apostle of the Lord.
I encourage all of you to read "The Abundant Life" and hopefully it will bless your life as it has blessed mine.
"The abundant life isn’t something we arrive at. Rather, it is a magnificent journey that began long, long ages ago and will never, never end."
Saturday, November 01, 2008
I'm baaaaack...
I am currently in Rexburg, Idaho visiting my awesome little sister. It is so weird to be here. I left Rexburg 7 years ago. And it was still Ricks College when I was here. Crazy!!! It is cool though and we are getting ready to go to the Rexburg temple. So yes, this post is short, but it's something. Give me at least that much credit. I'll update my adventures when we get back tonight. :)
Thursday, September 11, 2008
9/11
I'm sitting here seriously sobbing. I just watched a few videos on You Tube about 9/11/01 and I was doing ok until I watched one that a little girl is narrating. There are pictures of that day and the song Heaven playing and the little girl is talking about her dad who died that day. I can't get over it. It is heart breaking.
Even after 7 years, the events of that day still impact me greatly. I remember exactly what happened that day, where I was and the sick feeling I think most of us felt as we watched our country come under attack right before our eyes. I think of all those families who lost loved ones and all those kids who miss their moms and dads. I also think about all those who have lost family members in the war that we have been fighting since then.
Monday, September 08, 2008
I Heart Archie!
Anyway, we had so much fun and I ended up losing my voice because I was screaming so loud and K and I sang along with everyone. Such a blast! The crazy thing was when David Archuleta came out...I have never heard anything like it. The screaming was incredible. And he was so cute about it all. You could tell he really loved being in his home town.
(I borrowed a couple of your pics Jam...I wish I had that good of seats!)
Saturday, September 06, 2008
but first...
I moved into a new ward and stake in the last few weeks, so this is the first occasion I've had to listen to the Stake Presidency. All I have to say is WOW! I am so impressed and very grateful for what they taught this evening. The talks generally revolved around sustaining our leaders; local and general. But what I loved the most were the first two talks given by women in our Stake. They spoke on being examples. Here are some of my thoughts from their talks...
- we set examples for those around us whether we realize it or not, whether are examples are good, or not.
- we are blessed for doing the right things in the right place at the right time
- we cannot fall when we build our foundation on the Savior (Helaman 5:12)
- EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY! life will not be perfect, but as we follow the Brethren and the Lord, everything will be okay.
- we cannot pick and choose the commandments and counsel that we live
- don't delay following counsel!
It was a wonderful meeting and I am looking forward to tomorrow to hear from the general leaders of the church. I am also getting really excited for General Conference. Can you believe it is in just four weeks?!?
Anyway, I hope you don't mind me sharing my thoughts with you all and you'll just have to wait until tomorrow for more posts. Sorry. So I will sign off tonight with one of my favorite quotes from last October's general conference.
"When we choose to follow Christ in faith rather than choosing another path out of fear, we are blessed with a consequence that is consistent with our choice."
so sue me...
*American Idol concert
*family vacations
*the Olympics
*moving & my new apartment
*Grey's and Veronica Mars
*my new bed!
*shoe parties
*BYU FOOTBALL BABY!!!
so get excited and when i get back from stake conference tonight i promise to at least start working on that list.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Baby Tsunami
All three of those babies were born within one week of each other, all were baby girls, and they are all absolutely precious!!!
Watt Reunion
There are a ton of grandkids on the Watt side and since I am the oldest they are all pretty young. I feel more like their aunt a lot of times, especially since I have a niece and nephew that are the same age as some of my cousins.
The theme of our reunion was the Olympics and each individual family represented a country and made food from that country for the meal that they were in charge of. We learned facts about how many members of the Church live in that country and some general information regarding the country. We also had "olympic events" at the lake with some fun games. My uncle Marvin's favorite event was "flipping the raft when Jen is in it". Fun game for him. Not for me. The water was freezing!!
Filichia Fam
Sunday, July 27, 2008
4th of July
The whole gang (almost) watching the parade.
My trooper of a sister-in-law sat through the hot parade while 8 1/2 months pregnant!
Lots of aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents....and my dad, the gimp. ;)
Easton used the spray bottle to make sure everyone stayed cool. He was a little too good at that job. The part of the parade that gets the biggest applause. Hmmm....I wonder why?
After the parade we walk around all the booths that are out around Center Street and enjoy blow up rides, snow cones, and funnel cake!
Me and Wardy. I think this is the first normal picture I've ever gotten of him. And of course, I'm being retarded!
Crazy kids! Lauren, Ward, me and Matt
My beautiful sister and I waiting for the fireworks to start.
It was such a wonderful day and I am so grateful for the blessing that we enjoy by living in the United States. I'm grateful for the freedoms we enjoy and the peace and happiness that is ours!
Playing catch up...
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Cousins
This is a hysterical picture of 5 of the cousins (Brittany, Jason, Tyler, Camrie and Eric). They crack me up!! The boys all went shopping together and bought matching pink shirts. They thought they were hot stuff, and the girls really are hot stuff. ;) I love my cousins!
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Addiction
I am addicted to Deseret Book. Seriously. I should just avoid it at all cost, but I can't. I'm even a platinum member because I spend so much money there. It is pretty ridiculous. This is the spoil I got on my last visit to Deseret Book last week. But I got a great deal on it all...these 6 books and CD only cost me $45. Only problem is that I do this once or twice a month.
And just in case you were wondering, no i have not read all the books I have bought. I wish I were a Maria Cutler and could read a 500 page book in 1 hour, but I'm not so I have a ton of unread books on my bookshelf. Someday I will read them all...
Monday, July 07, 2008
Steph's birthday!
Anyway, back to Steph...she is one of the most amazing girls I know and I am so lucky to count her as a friend! She is so great to talk to and always lets me vent to her. She is from Tulsa which is a place close to my family's heart. She is hysterical and she is gorgeous!! Love you Steph! Hope you had a fantastic birthday!!!!This is right after we woke Steph up at 8am by pounding on her bedroom door. She was a little surprised. This is a picture of Steph with her roommates Amanda, Sun Hee, and Carolyn. Steph, Carolyn and I were all roommates last summer.
Me and Stephy at Magleby's. Not pretty so early in the morning!
Park City
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Sorry 'bout that...
Saturday, June 21, 2008
I'll be back...
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
PROUD
PROUD
I look into the window of my mind,
Reflections of the fears I know I've left behind,
I step out of the ordinary,
I can feel my soul ascending,
I am on my way,
Can't stop me now,
And you can do the same.
What have you done today to make you feel proud?
You could be so many people,
If you make that break for freedom,
What have you done today to make you feel proud?
Still so many answers I don't know,
Realize that to question is how we grow,
So I step out of the ordinary,
I can feel my soul ascending,
I am on my way,
Can't stop me now,
And you can do the same.
What have you done today to make you feel proud?
It's never too late to try.
What have you done today to make you feel proud?
You could be so many people,
If you make that break for freedom,
What have you done today to make you feel proud?
We need a change,
Do it today,
I can feel my spirit rising,
We need a change,
So do it today,
'Cause I can see a clear horizon.
What have you done today to make you feel proud?
So what have you done today to make you feel proud?
'Cause you could be so many people,
If you make that break for freedom,
So what have you done today to make you feel proud?
What have you done today?
You could be so many people,
Just make that break for freedom,
So what have you done today to make you feel proud?
Aren't those incredible words!?! And what a poignant question. What have I done today to make myself proud? Recently I have reflected on this question as I write in my journal each night. I ask myself what I've done to make myself proud and write what happened that day. It has been a good way to make sure I'm doing the things that are the most important.
I hope we each do things every day to make ourselves proud!! What have you done?
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
it's been a bad day
but i did get to go to 7 peaks this afternoon and went to a play with the fam tonight, so it did get better.
i really do have some good stuff to blog about, so hopefully tomorrow is a better day. wish me luck.
the end.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
NKOTB
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Happy Birthday K-Dub!
Now the countdown is on until July 15th!! And just wait until I blog about the excitment that is going to happen tomorrow!!!!
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Beautiful Sabbath
I want to share a talk that I really studied today. It is The Great Commandment by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin from October 2007 General Conference.
What an incredible talk! I don't know who remembers this, but this is the talk that Elder Wirthlin began to shake really badly and Elder Nelson got up to help him. What a great example of exactly what this talk is about - charity. I love so many parts of this talk, but I just want to share one part that really hit home with me.
Elder Wirthlin said, "Sometimes the greatest love is not found in the dramatic scenes that poets and writers immortalize. Often, the greatest manifestations of love are the simple acts of kindness and caring we extend to those we meet along the path of life. True love lasts forever. It is eternally patient and forgiving. It believes, hopes, and endures all things. That is the love our Heavenly Father bears for us."
What a beautiful thought! I hope you can all read (or re-read) this talk. Or even better, watch it. And while I'm promoting Elder Wirthlin, I would also encourage you all to read my favorite talk EVER! The Abundant Life. Read it. Let me know what you think.
Friday, May 30, 2008
the end
it's been a really long day! i think everyone in the office was watching the clock all day long and it wasn't moving at all!! ugh. i hate when that happens. it was even a short week because monday was a holiday, but sometimes that makes friday go that much slower! so pretty much i'm just done with this day and with this week.
and can you believe it's the end of may?!?! oh my goodness, where does time go? (i know i just said that i was so slow, but you know what i mean...) this year is almost half over. crazy!! it's a good time to kind of reevaluate the goals i've had for myself this year. i'm definitely not where i want to be, but that's ok, i'll adjust and work harder the next few months.
so even though it's the end of today, and this week and this month, it's the beginning of a new day, week and month that will be even better than the last!!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Wordless Wednesday...kind of
Friday, May 23, 2008
Hello Family and Friends! Just wanted to let you all know that we appreciate your love and support and prayers. For those of you who haven't heard, Rafael is lacking attention at home and has had another bad accident. He went four wheeling with Shane and Marvin on Tuesday and was within 200 yards of the truck after riding about 20 miles when he got bucked off the machine. He still doesn't know how it happened. We took him to the doctor and none of them there had ever seen a break like this. They sent us home with a splint and an appointment with a orthopedic surgeon today and some really good drugs! Today the orthopedics physician assistant looked at it and said, "WOW!" He had the doctor come in and look at it and he said, "WOW"! There are several people in this world that you don't want to hear that word from, and one of them is an orthopedic surgeon. He said it is a very bad break of the "glenoid" portion of his scapula. Basically that means the pocket the humerus arm bone sits in that is part of the shoulder blade is broken off and is in two or three pieces. Tomorrow we will go to have a CAT scan and Tuesday we go back to the orthopedic for him to decide if he can operate, or if he will send Raf to another trauma specialist in Salt Lake. He might have to have a complete shoulder replacement from what they said. FUN TIMES!! In spite of it all, we are still grateful it wasn't worse or life threatening. Your prayers are needed and appreciated and we will keep you all posted. Thanks again. Love, Marinann
So, it's been a crazy one and we would appreciate any prayers in behalf of my dad and also my mom. She's been a little stressed out. We are so grateful that this is all we are having to deal with, it could have been SO much worse. I just want to beg everyone to be careful. Please!!! Today's Oprah was about car accidents (falling asleep at the wheel, drunk driving, running over kids, etc) and I hope we can all be very cautious and vigilent in our driving. Be aware and safe.
Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend!!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
The New American Idol...
DAVID ARCHLETA!
What a great kid and what a fantastic ride he has had. I am so proud of him. I don't know him, but I sure feel like I do. He put his soul out there for everyone and I think it absolutely shined through. What a great representative of my home state Utah! I will definitely be supporting him in his career also.
WAY TO GO DAVIDS!!!!!!
You are both incredibly talented and will do amazing things! Thank you for sharing your talents with us! Congratulations to both of you!!
Finally...Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES AND WICKED!
Me in front of the Panteges Theater in Hollywood. Wicked was absolutely incredible!!!!! I loved it the first time I saw it in Denver, but I can't even describe how much I loved it in LA. The cast was phenomenal and I had to pick my chin up off the floor on multiple occasions. If you have never seen it, I would recommend it to everyone! And we have finally found confirmation that the touring compay will be coming to Salt Lake the spring of 2009, so look for tickets. It is totally worth the money!
On Sunday afternoon Jessie and I went back to Hollywood to walk around and see the sights. Jessie had never been there before so it was fun to show her around. This is a picture of us in front of the Kodak theater.
I had never been in the Kodak theater before and it was awesome. There is a huge mall-like area that was lots of fun to walk around and go shopping! :) This is me in the atrium area.In front of the Chinese theater.
These are the hand and footprints of the stars of Harry Potter. It's right in the middle of the chinese theater entrance. Totally cool.
My feet and Jessie's hand in Matt Damon's. Love him.
My feet in George Clooney's. Also love him!!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
The Davids
Sunday, May 18, 2008
#3
This was a hysterical shirt that my Grandma Castillo gave to East. If only it were true... ;)Shell and I gave Easton this Cars table with little chairs that are absolutely adorable!! He loved it and I LOVE HIM!! Notice his gladiator gear also. He is obsessed with swords these days. I love this picture and am so glad that I get to be his aunt!
Thank you George W!
So, you might be hearing from me a little bit more now that I have this pretty little thing. Are you ready for that???