a 2014 objective

Here I am on New Years Eve, just chillin by my lonesome. 

And guess what.

In less than 2 hours, I can officially say that I'll see my best friend next year.

GAHHH!

Anywho, I'd just like to thank everyone who has stuck with me through this past year, it's funny how days seem to drag on, but years fly by.  It just makes me glad that we can live forever.  Although our time on this earth is limited, we'll still be able to live for eternity.  I love that, and I'm so glad that I have the gospel in my life.  Without it, I don't even want to know where I'd be.  

Now for this new year, I'm going to make a resolution.  Actually, let's not call it a resolution, because those never seem to stick.  I'm going to call it my objective for 2014.  And that objective is to enjoy every moment that I'm given.  Whatever life throws at me, I'm going to get through it with a smile on my face and the Savior by my side.

2013 has been good to me.

Now I'm going to be good to 2014.

xoxo

brookelle

Why The Wait?

I promised myself I would never do a cheesy post like this..

but here I am. 

Christmas is in 4 days.

And I've always thought it was super lame when people complained about not having a significant other to kiss under the mistletoe, to go sledding with, to go to temple square with, etc.

That's what you hear being a white Mormon girl on any social networking site.

And that's not a bad thing.

Just the norm.

Aaaaaaand I miss my best friend.

THERE

I said it.

I miss him like crazy.

I think it's making me crazy, actually, because I've suddenly become capable of relating to that annoying Mariah Carey song, All I Want For Christmas is You..yeah it's a little sad.  But I'm not here to tell a sob story, I just thought I'd clarify a few things.

For those of you who don't know, I'm waiting for a missionary.

I've had people ask me, since I haven't come out and said it officially or anything, but there it is!

His name is Adam, and he's my very best friend.

He's been gone for a little over 8 months now, which seriously feels so great. 

But I won't lie to you, it's not easy.

I do get a lot of crap from friends and family that think I need to be "having fun" and going on adventures and living the college life, etc.  (I'm not even waiting and not dating anyways, though..) "People can change a lot in 2 years", yeah I know.  That's the beauty of it all though, isn't it?

Change is a necessity to life, and sometimes it's good, and other times it's not.  Everybody says that you never know what could happen, which is 100% true.  I've accepted that, and I know that things might not turn out exactly how I expect them to.

Does that sound familiar?

That's life.

We don't quit living life just because we don't know how things are going to turn out, we keep going, and keep the faith that things will work out the way they are meant to in the right time, as long as we are on the Lord's side.  
There's not that big of a difference, really, when it comes down to it.

Most people don't quite understand how it is to experience this, but that's not a bad thing.
I know why I'm doing it, and the Lord knows why; and that's all that matters.

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Anyways, I miss him.  A lot.  Especially during this Holiday season.
But I've grown immensely in the past 8 months and I wouldn't trade this experience of growth in the both of us for anything.  This is the right thing, and I'm so proud of the work he is doing, and the man he is becoming.

I also got to make this ^^^ adorable Christmas package for him. ♡♡ 

 I hope you all have a very merry Christmas!

xoxo

♡brookelle♡

a wonderful day

I'm sorry, I know I just barely posted yesterday, but it's just too good of a day to not post about!  It's only 11am, but today is a special day!  First of all, I just finished my first final!  I felt pretty good about it, which can be a bad thing..but I'm going to take it as a good thing, because nothing can ruin my happiness right now!  :)  

Secondly, my best friend has been out in the mission field serving the Lord for a whole 8 MONTHS!  Wow.  Wow is all I can say right now!  I can't believe that time is flying by so fast.  Days feel like months, but the weeks fly by.  This is one of the hardest things I've ever done, but I know for a fact that it's going to be so incredibly worth it.  And to all of you fellow missionary girlfriends out there, KEEP WAITING.  

You can do it!  

♡♡♡♡

 (Us last Christmas break at the Riverwoods ^^^)  

I'm so excited to see this handsome boy of mine in 16 months!♡

And the most important reason today is such a wonderful day....(drumroll please)....

It's these goofballs birthday today!!!  

Tyler and Andrew are a couple of the coolest cousins.  I still see these two as little boys, and can't believe that Tyler is already 14 and Andrew is 15! GAHHH you two are making me feel so old!  I'm so grateful to have them in my life, and I love them so much!

Happy birthday, guys!

Today is just a great day.

♡brookelle

Blessings

Time to catch up on the past few weeks!  

This past month has seriously FLOWN by.  Actually..this past SEMESTER has flown by.  It's crazy to think that I'm almost done with my first semester of college.  

SO MUCH has happened, and I've learned SO MUCH.  I honestly think I've learned more in these past 5 months living on my own than I ever have before.  

Here are a few things I've learned:

        You cannot (I repeat) CANNOT be a fence sitter.  You have to choose what you're doing, and DO IT.  If you don't make a choice, life will make a choice for you, and I can guarantee the result will not be what you want. 

        Don't settle.  Ever.  Don't even think about settling.  Have high expectations for yourself.  If you don't like the path you are on, get on a different one.  If you're not happy with your life, do something about it.  You have more control over your life than anybody else.   So use it.  

       Don't be afraid to care.  Care.  Please, CARE.  Contrary to popular belief, you cannot care too much.  In fact, you should care.  Carelessness is glorified in our world wayyyy too much.

Anyways, here are some of my adventures from this past month:

It was Thanksgiving a couple weeks ago!  I got to spend some quality time with my favorite people.  

HAPPY SPANKSGIVING! ^^^

I cut my hair!

It snowed AND I got a letter from Adam in the same day!

As an institute choir, we got to sing at Manti Seminary's morningside.  I walked all the way across campus from my apartment to the institute building in below zero degree weather.  That was arguably the worst decision of my life.  I sure do love these quality people though.

This weekend, my roommates and I have been studying for finals nonstop.  So we took a break and went sledding last night.  We didn't exactly have a sled..or a hill, so we used a car hood and a road.  I seriously love these girls so much.  I've been blessed with these beautiful roommates! 

To end this wonderful week, these beautiful girls and I all went to church together.  ♡ 

Anyways, these past few weeks as well as this past semester have been a grand adventure, I've really come to know how blessed I truly am, and I've been able to recognize the Lord's hand in my everyday life. :)  

Now it's time for finals week, BRING IT ON!

♡brookelle