Once There Was a Snowman

Carefree: Without anxiety or worry

Yesterday my cousins came over.

We rarely see them because they live so far away.

They are ten and seven, and have lots of energy.

So me and Alaina tried to find something to do with them that they would have fun with.

What was the solution?

Makeovers!

It turned out to be a lot of fun.

Is she not darling?

I have such a pretty little sister.

She makes the best faces.

Morgan (bottom picture) also somehow talked me into making a snowman. (Er, excuse me, a snowWOMAN)

In the dark.

We named her Sheela Snowden.

Doesn't get funner than this.

Then we played games with the whole family and ate pizza.

Which was fun.

It was nice catching up with my Aunt and Uncle who I haven't seen in a while.

On a side note, the ACT scores are supposed to be posted.

And they're not.

And it is KILLING ME.

It's not like it'll help  with college applications since I already turned them in.

But it could help my scholarships.

And my self esteem.

So I'm 

Waiting.

Hoping.

Praying.

Cheers to first world problems.

Have a lovely day.

♥ Bekah

Days Like This

Serenity: The state or quality of being serene, calm, or tranquil

The title of this post is a song by Kim Taylor. It basically hits my mood for the day right on a tee.

Days like this.
You look up at the sky above you.
Days like this.
Yeah, You think about the ones that love you.

And all I wanna do is live my life honestly.
I just wanna wake up and see your face next to me.
Every regret I have will go set free.
It will be good for me.

Days like this.
Yeah you think about the ones that went before you.
Days like this.
Have you ever seen the sky such a clear blue.

This is how I feel today.

Relaxed.

Reflective.

Peaceful.

Grateful.

Happy.

It's a nice change from the usual stress I've been feeling lately.

I really don't know what I'd do without Christmas Break.

Yesterday was a great "Day After Christmas." Or Boxing Day, as England calls it.

I went shopping with my mom.

She went into Walgreens to buy some medicine while I waited in the car.

I thought she'd only be five minutes.

Oh, how wrong I was.

So, to entertain myself, I took some pictures of my wait.
For your viewing pleasure

                           

Started out with taking a cute picture of myself.

Okay, getting a little bored. Where is she?

                 

This is getting ridiculous. Come on mom!

That's it. I CAN'T TAKE ANYMORE OF THIS NONSENSE.

Oh she's back! Okay, let's go.

Yesterday was also the birthday of one of my best friends, Miss Bailey Tuttle.

She's now officially EIGHTEEN.

So grown up.

We even put fishnets in our hair, like cafeteria ladies.
Does it get cuter than this?
I don't think so.

I love you, Bill.

I hope you had a magical birthday.

Last night my grandma took us to see the one, the only,

DONNY AND MARIE CHRISTMAS CONCERT!

Exciting, right?

I'm ashamed to admit that I wasn't very excited.
At first.

Let's just say it wouldn't be my first choice for a concert.

BUT, my grandma did probably spend her life savings on the tickets.

And I knew how excited she was.

So I put on an excited face.

And truth be told, it exceeded my expectations. 

Those two Osmonds have accomplished a lot in their fifty-ish years of being alive.

And they performed for two hours.

I was pretty impressed.

And it was nice to spend time with my dad, cousins, and grandma.

Just Grandma and the girls with Donny and Marie.
They were actually cardboard cutouts. Crazy, right? 

It was such a beautiful night in SLC.

We got home around midnight expecting all the kids to be in bed.

Instead we came home to my cousin, Wyatt, with his head and face covered in Duct Tape.

Shocked, we asked what happened.

His reply?

"I don't know."

Boys will be boys, I guess.

My aunt spent the next hour removing the duct tape from his head, using some orange cleaner stuff to remove some of the stick, trying her hardest to inflict the least amount of pain.

"Here we go..."

Half-way done.

Such relief that IT'S OVER. Only a few hairs were ripped out.

So that was really fun.

Then we went sledding today.

And I felt like I was ten again.

Oh, I also wrote a Haiku: 

Today is Thursday

It is also Christmas Break

I really love cows

Have a lovely evening.

♥ Bekah

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Christmas: The annual festival of the Christian church commemorating the birth of Jesus.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I will never tire of my siblings coming into my room in the morning to wake me up.
Then we open the stockings together which is always a good time.
(No underwear for me this year. But there was deodorant.)
Then we each take turns opening presents. With seven kids, this has the possibility of becoming a chaotic mess.
It actually wasn't too bad.
And, of course, it was really fun.

Brayden was probably the cutest present opener this year.  He only opened with one hand, so it took him a long time to finishing opening a present. But it was worth the wait because he is so dang cute.

After our present opening extravaganza, we went to the Michaelises house for the annual Christmas Breakfast.

Christmas would not be the same without the french toast, cinnamon syrup, bacon, sausage, eggs, and oranges that is shared with our neighbors of twelve years.

And this year definitely did not disappoint.

Then we met up with my mom's family and went caroling at an Old Folks Home.

When we asked one man what his favorite song was, he decided to sing it for us.

He sang:

"Adolph Hitler was a man.

He killed all the Jews..."

Funniest moment of my day.

Shocked, we immediately started singing, "Oh Come All Ye Faithful."

I REALLY enjoyed singing to those beautiful people and doing it with my family made it complete.

Then my dad's side of the family came over and we spent the rest of the evening with them.

We ate dinner.

Then opened presents.

Just my mom modeling my new hair-dryer-towel-thing.

Then took awkward family pictures.  (Truth is, she isn't technically related to me.  This is Alaina Lynette Larimer, my best friend since we were babes at the tender age of 2.  We have grown up together so we usually just say we're cousins. And I was lucky enough to spend Christmas with her.)

No shame.

And of course we sang Christmas songs.

Such fun.

//REALLY QUICK RECAP OF CHRISTMAS EVE.//

Night in Bethlehem was amazing.

The food was DELICIOUS.

We gave Grandma a shirt covered with the hand prints of her grandchildren.

I think she liked it..

SUCCESS.

BCF (Best Cousins Forever.)

Grandma with all her grandchildren. AWWWWW.

//TOLDYA IT WOULD BE REALLY QUICK.//

But really, it has been such a great Christmas.  I received so many amazing presents.  (My mom bought five different pairs of boots just to make sure I got my favorite pair.  Like really, does a mom get cooler than that?) I spent time with my family, which I was so grateful for.  I served, I felt the spirit, and I remembered the birth of  My Saviour, My Redeemer, My Brother, My Friend.

Merry Christmas.

♥ Bekah

Twas the Night Before Christmas

Magical: Mysteriously Enchanting.

Christmas Eve never loses the magic.

The anticipation.

The excitement.

The possibility of tomorrow:

of Christmas.

But what is my favorite part of Christmas Eve?

(Other than our "Night in Bethlehem", acting out the Nativity scene, and watching "Breath Of Heaven"?)

It's going into the Living Room when everyone else in bed.

And no one else is stirring, except for myself, and maybe a mouse.

And looking at the beautiful tree glowing with beautiful lights.

And seeing the many, many presents that my family is spoiled with.

I think about the past year.

Of blessings I have been given and the things I have learned.

The worries that seem so big to me, seem to disappear.

Or at least become much smaller.

I remember how good life really is.

And how blessed my family and I are.

For me, that is the magic of Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas, tomorrow.

I hope everyone is snuggled in their beds,

while visions of sugar plums dance in your heads.

♥ Bekah

It's The End of The World.

Apocalypse: Any universal or widespread destruction or disaster. 

I never thought it would come to this.
Blogging about the end of the world.
But it's 12/21/2012, the day the calendar of the Mayans ends.
How could I resist?
The different reactions to this day are pretty interesting.
I know one girl and her group of friends who actually went "apocalypse caroling." Yes, they sang songs to people about the end of the world.
Another friend has a mom who is convinced that the sun is going to explode and the only way to avoid to that disaster is to hide out in the basement.
So they've spent the last few days cooped up in their basement.
THIS IS NOT A JOKE.
There have been a few facebook posts, but not as many as I thought there'd be.
Which is okay with me.
To tell the truth, there was one moment of panic when I thought of the possibility that the world could actually end today.
I mean the Mayan calender did end on today.
That has to mean something, doesn't it?
But then I remembered that in my church, I've learned that certain things have to happen before the 2nd coming.
And many of those things haven't happened yet.
So I heaved a big sigh of relief and said a prayer of thanks that I have the knowledge of that safety.
And I pray for the people who truly believe the world ends today.
I pray that they can someday find comfort in the knowledge that I have.

Enough about the end of the world...
Hi,
IT'S CHRISTMAS BREAK.
Hallelujah.
Thank goodness.
Finally.
I was at the end of my rope.
But I made it.
Wednesday was the worst because I had a math test (Calculus, mind you) that I was really not ready for.
And I scheduled my final for Online Financial Lit for after school.
What was I thinking?
But I survived.
And passed my Financial Lit test.  (Crossing my fingers about the Calculus test!)

I hung out with some friends on Wednesday night and it was my last time seeing Josh Black before he goes home to Texas.  Then in a month, he'll come back and go to the MTC then on to Korea.
We've some good times in the last year and a half, and I'm going to miss him!
The weirdest part about saying goodbye, is the idea of the unknown.  If I leave on a mission inn the next year or two, I wouldn't see him in two or three years.
Who knows where we'll be in that amount of time.
And where our lives have taken us.
Growing up is weird.
So goodbye Josh Black.
You are going to do great things with your life.

Me with The Man of The Hour at New Years last year.

Yesterday, Student Council members went to sing carols at the Old Folks Home.

What an amazing experience.

It was just another reminder that everyone lives their own lives.

And everyone gets old.

The stories of the people we sang to and talked to intrigued me.

How old were they?

What brought them to that place in life?

What had their life been like?

What made them who they are?

It was a nice home and I could tell that they were all taken really good care of.

One lady, Gay, who was such a sweetheart, walked around and sang with us. 

Another lady, Carol, told us that she thinks she has, "Youth Deficiency."

I'm going to use that line when I'm older.

I hope when I'm old, I can find the peace and be taken care of like those lovely folks were.

Had so much fun caroling with these cute girlies.

I spent most of my day today watching TV and practicing the piano.

Those are the joys of Christmas Break.

I do have homework and memorizing and room-cleaning and christmas shopping to do.

But today I spoiled myself with a little bit of relaxation and procrastination.

Tomorrow I promise I'll be better.

Tonight I am going to "Auntie Claus"- The annual cousins sleepover where we watch "The Polar Express", drink hot chocolate, and wait for Auntie Claus to bring us our presents.

It's a tradition that I look forward to every year.

I'm so thankful for wonderful family members who I can spend time with.

//This really is the most wonderful time of the year.//

Have a great day.

It could be your last, seeing as it's "the end of the world."

But I doubt it.

♥ Bekah

Genius Next Door

Luck: Good fortune; advantage or success, considered as the result of chance.

Have I mentioned that my dad is a genius?

Well he is.

He wrote this story

(Go ahead, enlighten yourself.)

It is entitled:

The Lucky Duck

there once were two ducks
larry and jerry
jerry thought larry was a lucky duck because he always got lucky
"you're a lucky duck, larry" he would say
when larry won the paddling competition in the annual duck olympics, jerry said, "you're a lucky duck,"
when larry got picked to play the lead role in the school play, jerry said "you're a lucky duck."
when larry got picked as student

 of the month, jerry said "you're a lucky duck."
one day they decided they wanted to tryout for the "dangerous ducks" baseball team
larry got up and practiced his pitching by throwing a ball at the fence 500 times a day
jerry got up every day and thought about what it would be like to play baseball as he floated on the lake
larry got up every day and practiced hitting 500 times a day
jerry dreamed about being a great hitter while he went water skiing
larry practiced catching fly balls by catching 500 balls a day
jerry imagined catching the game winning fly ball to win the quack river championship as he went fishing
the day arrived, and they both went to tryouts - they were both so nervous
larry had a great day - he hit, caught and pitched like a pro
jerry had a bad day, he struck out, missed balls, and couldn't throw straight
larry got a call later in the week saying he made the team
jerry got a call later in the week saying he didn't make the team
jerry waddled sadly over to larry's house and asked if he got a call yet
larry said "yes, I made the team."
larry asked jerry if he made it
jerry said "no, I must have had a bad day at tryouts."
larry said "i'm sorry jerry, I must have just gotten lucky again."
then jerry said, "man larry, you're a lucky duck."
"I guess so." said Larry

Brilliant, right?

Sometimes I feel like Jerry.

And I feel like everyone else is simply a lucky duck.

But the truth is, I'm not giving the effort or putting the work in that I need to.

My new goal is to give that effort and put that work into everything that I really do want to succeed in.

This includes my math homework, my piano playing, my photography, my piano, my kazoo playing, my communication with God, my spiritual nourishment, etc.

Just a thought for this lovely Monday.
Have a great day.
Or morning.
Or evening.

♥ Bekah

Gravity

Peace: A state of mutual harmony between people or groups.

It's been a great Sunday.

I gave a talk in church.

Gotta love "tag-teaming" it with a soon to be missionary.

Needless to say, the chapel was full.

After church we went to Chris' house and ate some delicious food.

Don't worry, I said goodbye to him too.

It's hard to believe that we're not all five again,

trading pokemon cards or having bike races or playing nightgames anymore.

Instead we're going to college, leaving for missions, or (heaven help us) getting married.

Oh, I painted my nails today.

WRINKLES.

Morbid thought for the day:

We're all really just pumpkins.

We're carved so beautifully, but what we don't realize is that oxygen is slowly rotting us.

It is slowly eating us from the outside in.

The longer we're on this earth, the wrinklier we get.

Until we can't survive in our mortal bodies anymore.

And then we die.

I'm SO GRATEFUL for the knowledge I have that 

"The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame." 

-Alma 40:23

The scars we have,

The pain we go through,

The hair we lose,

The wrinkles we develop,

These imperfect mortal bodies can someday reach perfection.

What a comforting feeling.

Tonight we went to Grandma Vicki and Grandpa Charles' house to watch "A Wonderful Life" with them.

I've never realized how much I've been missing out.

I LOVED IT.

It's definitely going on my "top ten favorite movies" list.

This week, my heart is breaking on behalf of the families in Newtown, Connecticut who lost beloved family members in the mass shooting at the Elementary School.

I know that those perfect little angels are sitting on God's lap now, watching their grieving families, wishing they could tell them that it's okay.

They're in a perfect place now.

Why one person would commit such an act of wickedness stuns, baffles, and confuses me.

Someone posted this song on Facebook and I think it is truly inspired:

//And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.”//

God bless those courageous, brave, and inspiring families who are suffering beyond belief right now. ♥

Have a lovely evening.

And don't forget, life really is good.

God is watching over us and guiding us on this journey.

♥ Bekah

Never Too Late

Homework: schoolwork assigned to be done outside the classroom.

Well,
I have NO desire to do my homework right now.
Which is very bad because I have two Chinese quizzes tomorrow AND math homework due.
But I really don't want to memorize dialogues or do calculus right now.
So instead, I will blog.

Guess where I get to go tonight?
TO THE WRESTLING MATCH.
Mmmmmyeah,
Every student council member is required to go to at least one sporting event for each game. So tonight is my  turn to watch short, stocky guys in tight outfits wrestle each other.
What more could I want to do on a Wednesday night than that?
Maybe I'll try to memorize some 中文 tonight while "watching."

We had callbacks for MDT today.
kejskbliej;lc;ljireiiasdkfejadk
Holy cow, I was SO NERVOUS.
I don't even know why. I guess mostly because I want a lead. Or at least a person that has lines, danget. Is that too much to ask?
But I also want Rach to get a lead. And we got called back for the same people.
So I just have to remember that I already have Ophelia which is literally the best.
And I am lucky just to be able to be a part of P.O.W.

Today is also 12/12/12.
Which is kind of a big deal.
Today at 12:12 it was 12/12/12 and I was in 12th grade.
Is no one else freaking out about that?
I will never forget that life-changing moment in my life.

Audrey and I said goodbye to Kolton yesterday.  He went to the MTC today and then from there is going to Argentina. We brought him donut holes (that we went to the bakery to buy and Danielle, the lovely worker, gave them to us for FREE because she is so nice and it was the end of the day!) and a blue balloon.
Because I love balloons.
I think he liked it, too:

ILOVEHIMSOMUCH.

Goodbye Kolton.

You are going to be an excellent missionary.

And I will miss you.

Kaya had a birthday on Saturday.
Unfortunately I wasn't able to hang out with her because she was busy all day, but I did give her a present and some BALLOONS. (They even had notes inside of them. Creative, huh!)
Gosh, I just love balloons so much. Can you tell?

(Those two-day old balloons are really ugly, but I decided to give them to her anyways. I mean, it's the thought that counts, right?)

Let's not forget Bethany's birthday on Monday, either.  I mean it was her first birthday for goodness sake.  I cannot believe my baby (and she literally is a baby) sister is already one.  Where has the time gone?  It seems like just yesterday I almost had to ditch Josh at the Winter Ball because my mom went into labor.

And I WAS NOT going to miss her birth.

Thankfully, the little angel came just in time, and what an amazing experience it was.

Even though we are 17 years apart, I feel a connection to her that only sisters have.  

We are so blessed to have this little angel in our family. 

She has brought nothing but immense joy and happiness to us.

Happy Birthday Bethany.

   I know I am biased, but is she not the prettiest baby you have ever seen?

And,

I guess that's about it for today.

Time to go support some sweaty wrestlers.

So excited.

You have no idea.

Have a lovely evening. Or morning. Or afternoon.

It just depends on when you happen to be reading this.

♥ this silly eighteen year old, Bekah

Are We There Yet?

Friday: The sixth day of the week, following Thursday.

Well it's Friday.
FINALLY.
This is my favorite day of the week.
What a relief it is to hear the last bell at 2:15 ring and I know that I have a whole weekend to relax.
Or do homework.
Or both?
Friday is what keeps me going through the week.
It's what motivates me to get up at 5:45 every  morning.
It's what gets me through a hard homework assignment, or a bad day at school, or worries about the future.
It's the light at the end of the tunnel.
It's the sun coming up tomorrow (or at the end of the week.)

Just a little review of the big week I had:
Monday after a long break, specifically after a long break that includes my birthday, is always hard to adjust to.  School was, well, school.  We finally started rehearsing Hamlet during class.  I am really excited about that. Then I had work and I watched My Fair Lady with my favorite elderly couple. Couldn't help but sing a long.  We had Family Home Evening when I got home. I can't remember what it was about.  (SORRY MOM.)

Tuesday was Evening of Excellence.  I was able to talk about a project I had finished. (Because I finally finished my first project. YES.) I may or may not have sluffed third and fourth period to write a song.  But the important is, that I wrote it.  I'm pretty proud of it too. I only have six more projects to do. In six months.  Perfect.

//The spirit was really strong as the Young Women sang "I Will Live It."
I wish I could describe the feeling I felt while singing it.  It felt so true.  I love the line, "He is counting on me to arise and shine." And the line, "It's more than just something I read, the gospel of Christ is a part of my life, I am acting on the things that the Savior has taught me." I know that I need to live the gospel in my life.  I know that the Lord needs me to shine with the beautiful knowledge I have been blessed with. I hope people can see that.  My desire to serve a mission grew even more while singing this.  I want to bring this gospel to others so they can live it.  And so they can be blessed with it too.//

Wednesday my grandmother took me, my twin, my mom, my aunt, and my great uncle to The Met Opera.  Now I am a theater kind of girl, but I was really worried.  I thought it would be boring and I was sure I'd fall asleep.  That sounds horrible, but it's the truth.  Surprisingly, I really enjoyed it.  We saw "The Tempest" which is really modern. In fact, the composer was the director in the pit. (Spoiler alert. We didn't actually go to New York City to see the Met Opera.  Instead, we saw the broadcast of the actual Opera in a movie theater. It was just as good.  Plus we were able to see close ups that the real audience couldn't.) I also found at my Great Uncle Florin was a drama teacher for twenty-five years.  Well glad someone finally told me.  Goodness.

I had Hamlet rehearsal after school on Thursday.  And we're coming up with really cool tech ideas. I also sang at the Live Nativity last night.  Jacob, Chad, Mike, and I sang songs from seven-thirty to nine.  It was cold, exhausting, but really fun.  After that, my mother helped me finish my essays for BYU. I am so relieved that they are done.

And then that brings us to Friday. To this lovely, lovely day.
I woke up at four o'clock this morning to write my book report. Bad idea.
We never really do anything in photo.
So I slept.
And it felt so good.
Definitely going to bed early tonight.
Today also ends the infamous month of "No Shave November." I am proud and slightly embarrassed to admit that I did it this year.  And dang, my legs are Very. Unattractively. Hairy.

For your viewing pleasure:

Really though, who wouldn't want to date this?

I am happy to say that tomorrow I will have beautiful, smooth, shaven legs again. Thank goodness.

And that's about it for today.  

It's been fun.

Here's a few of my recent instagram pics. (This will hopefully distract from my hairy leg.)

Have a lovely Friday. 

♥ Bekah

My Dad

Father: A man who exercises paternal care over other persons.  A male parent.

This entry goes out to my dad.
He is the best.
Literally.
Tonight I was feeling really overwhelmed
With life.
With college applications.
With a ridiculously messy room.
With lack of sleep.
With homework.
With a personal progress project in progress. (Say that five times fast.)
With a desire to prepare for my Patriarchal Blessing that I am receiving next week.
With the crazy little brain of mine.
In the midst of all this, my father decided to help me.
He led me to my room (as though I was eight years old, again.)
While I was crying.
And helped me clean my room.
He helped me make different piles of clothes, papers, shoes, and trash.
I LOVE HIM.
My room is now clean.
And my feeling of desperate anxiety has passed.
I can breathe again.
For the time being at least.
Tonight I am thankful for the incredible, amazing, spiritual, inspired man that I am lucky enough to call father.

And this lovely creature ^^^is him.

(What is not to love?)

Thanks daddy.

I love you.

Love, Bekah

Birthday Girl

Birthday:The day of a person's birth.

Today is my eighteenth birthday. 
(Wow, I never thought I'd get to this point in my life.)
Crazy.
Unreal.
EXCITING.
I feel so old, and yet so young.  Life as I know it is ending, and yet it is just beginning.  To document this journey in my life, I've decided to start this little blog of mine.  Just for funsies.
I'm starting it on the first day as an eighteen year old: as an adult: as a person able to by dried ice.  I don't know where I'm going to end up in life. But I do know one thing: that I want to remember how I got there.
I want to remember the things that made me laugh.
That made me cry.
That made me pray.
That gave me faith.
That made me smile.
That gave me strength.
That changed me.
That made me who I am.
And if this silly little blog of mine can help me remember even one of those things, then I'll be happy.

So my birthday? Well, it has been AMAZING.  I'm not going to lie, I was actually dreading the birthday party part of my birthday this year.  I didn't know what to do for it, or who to invite.  I mostly felt like staying at home and reading a good book or editing pictures or writing a song or something else introverted, but then my mom said I should go ice skating.  And I was like, "What the heck. Why not?" So I picked up my home phone the old fashioned way (my cell was dead, you see) and I called some friends up.  And you know what's crazy? Most of them said yes! So then we went ice skating today.  For my eighteenth birthday.  And I had a really enjoyable time. I actually forgot how much I enjoy ice skating.  I went for my eighth birthday then for my thirteenth or fourteenth birthday and then for my eighteenth.  You might say it's kind of a tradition for me.
(I'll know a man is really serious about me when he takes me ice skating and holds my hand and tries to catch me when I fall.)
Then we came home and Sierra, my cousin, and I took pictures of me with my eighteen balloons.  (I REALLY wanted eighteen balloons for my birthday, but my dad didn't want to buy them for me. I begged and begged this morning until he finally agreed to let me go buy some for myself if I bought eggs too. So I took my cousins and little brother and sister and bought eighteen colorful balloons.) I LOVE THEM. Here's my favorite two pictures:

(Do you like my new polka dot sweater?? My mommy bought if for me. She's the best.)

So that was definitely a highlight of my birthday. Then I created this lovely little blog and had Cafe Rio for dinner.  It was the first birthday dinner where we haven't gone to Timpiniaki (is that how you spell it?) but you know, it wasn't even that bad.  Just different.  And I LOVE Cafe Rio, so I wasn't complaining.  While my steak burrito was digesting, I opened my presents from the fam bam. (Other than my twin, the other five siblings are ten and under, so most of the presents are home made or re-gifted.) Nick, the ten year old gave me a paper that says, "Kisses" on top with a box under it.  Apparently he kissed the paper so whenever I get lonely, just put my cheek against it and it's like he's kissing me. GENIUS.  Then Nathan (the four year old) gave me a very special walking duck.  The only problem is that one of the legs is broken, so after winding the duck, it awkwardly stumbles in a circle.  He's very thoughtful.  And Samantha gave me a hug.  (But a very special one!) My wonderful parents gave me earrings that say "Dream" on them because I'm, well, a dreamer.  They also gave me a certain amount of money for clothes, camera equipment, books, etc. BEST PARENTS EVER.  Then over chocolate cake and mint ice cream, we played the "no smiling" game where my dad can literally make anyone smile.  It's ridiculous.  And hilarious. I haven't laughed that hard in a really, really long time.

Today I've been really grateful for all the truly amazing people in my life.  My friends (facebook, neighborhood, and school who are so so thoughtful), my family who continue to bless and strengthen me in this journey called life, and God who gives me infinite blessings, makes it possible for me to get through day to day trials, and helps me see who I really am: a Beautiful Daughter of God.

Well, I hope I don't make all of my posts this long or else I'm going to write a novel before long.  But that would be okay too, I guess.
Have a lovely_____(Fill in the blank to whenever you're reading this.)

(I really wanted to find a way to tie in my title "The Way I Am" to the end of each post, but I couldn't think of any for this one.) Oh well, I guess that's just the way I am.

Love this silly little birthday girl, Bekah.