sweet serendipity

     hey guys! so these past two weeks have been interesting. i had tons of stuff to do and not enough time to do it but somehow it all worked out, i learned a lot and had a great time.
     first off, i got a ride home last weekend at short notice. it took a few stops and car changes but i eventually got home, and its a good thing too! mom had bought tickets for the whole family including daniel to go to fightmares! it was so much fun and even though daniel got a little motion sick i think he had a good time.
     another surprise came that weekend; luke called me friday morning and told me that nonna had passed away during the night. she went peacefully, surrounded by family at the ripe old age of 88. we went to the vigil service sunday night after conference then i stayed up in salt lake for the funeral on monday. it was a beautiful service, exactly what nonna would have wanted, with lots of friends and family there for support.
      dad drove me home afterwards and of course we ended up getting distracted once we got to ephraim. :D we went and got dinner and ice cream at the malt shop, walked around the pioneer memorial park, ordered the ink for my printer and talked for a while. i dont think he left till about 9, oops, sorry mom!
     so this week i had so much stuff to do! an art project, a rough draft for a huge paper, and two tests! i dont know how, but everything worked out well and even though i was really stressed out, i still had a fabulous week with my room mates. they are the best!! they could tell i was feeling a down, so they did little things throughout the week that kept me going. thanks you guys!
     thursday night the missionaries showed the new joseph smith movie at the institute building. its pretty much the same one that has been at the joseph smith memorial building for a while but little parts were added or taken out to make it more non-member friendly. it was really good, and it was nice to be able to see it again. those missionaries are amazing! seeing them makes me so proud of all my friends out there serving their own missions.
     finally, friday was the institute stomp. i decided to make it more fun this time and added a theme; NERDS! basically, everyone dressed up in glasses, suspenders, and mismatched socks then danced around like the crazy, fun loving college students we are. at first i was gonna have decorations and stuff but as the day got closer nothing seemed to be working out! no one was coming to meetings, things weren't being done on time, and only one girl showed up to make decorations meaning we didnt have any.  not to mention there was a stomp put on by the school the following night and i was worried the students would skip mine! but as soon as i got to the institute friday night, i knew everything would be fine. most of my committee came to help set up, and everyone was totally decked out and ready to party! people danced the night away and i actually had time for a few slow dances this time! all in all, everyone had a blast.

     last but not least was church today, which was amazing as usual. i was reading the story about the brother of jared (always one of my favorite stories) during sacrament meeting. ether 2:25 and 3:4 stood out to me. i compared 2:25 to life in general. christ is saying that he has prepared us for this life and its challenges but we have to have a plan and ask him for help if we fall short. then in 3:4 the brother of jared is asking christ to touch the stones and make them shine. this one made me think of our leaders as the stones, when they are touched by christ they light up and help guide us all through life.
    well those are my thoughts for this week, i hope everyone is doing well! dont forget that none of us are perfect, but if you do your best and try your hardest, the lord will make up the difference.  i love you all!

Annie