Practice What You Teach

What a week it's been! My cousin/one of my best friends Matthew left on his mission this week! He is serving in the London England South Mission. On Tuesday night the whole family went over to Julie's for dinner and Grandma and Grandpa kindly bought Potbelly's for everyone for dinner. Then we all went to the stake center for Matthew's setting apart. I was so grateful that I was able to be there! I'm not gonna lie, I got quite emotional. Thank goodness it was just my family and the stake presidency there, because I am not an attractive crier at all! Matthew and I then went with Grandma and Grandpa to drive Becky home! I just love having my family so close by again and spending time with them! The next morning I stopped by and said a quick final good-bye on my way to work! He is now safely at the MTC in Preston, England! He's already sent his first letter home and his MTC president sent home some pictures! It was so great to hear from him and he sounded so happy i...

I've been meaning to write a Memorial Day Weekend blog post, but it totally slipped my mind until today! So here it is, only a week late! Last Sunday was Matthew's missionary farewell! My uncle Phil and cousin Jonathan came into town for it and we had such a great weekend! On Saturday, we all went over to the Frederickson's house and Becky bought everyone Taco Bell for lunch and we just sat around and caught up for a little while. Then, me, Amy, Matthew, Jenn, and Jonathan decided we wanted to go on an adventure. So, after a quick stop at Sweet Frog, where Jonathan kindly informed many uninterested customers that I worked there and asked them to please come visit me sometime, we met up with one of Matthew's friends at Dan Island in Ashburn. It was super pretty and a nice place to hang for a little while. Then we all went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a family dinner. Grandma had prepared the best ribs I have ever tasted! They were SO good. We had a great n...

Well it's been almost a month since I've posted on my blog. I know I should be better. Well I'm home in Virginia. I love being home with my family, but I miss BYU and my friends there so much! Here's a list of the things I've been up to since I got home. -The week after finals I did absolutely nothing. I just relaxed at home and took a week to wind down after a stressful week of finals and catch up on some sleep. -Then I started job hunting. I was fortunate enough to only have to job hunt for one day before I was hired at Sweet Frog, a frozen yogurt shop near my house where I've been working since! It's a really fun job! -I have also been babysitting a lot for families in my ward! I love little kids, and it's been a great way to earn some extra money! -I've gotten to spend a lot of time with my family! -I went to DC with Matthew to have lunch with Becky. -I've seen a few friends from high school. I can't wait until my sisters get o...

Well today I took my last two finals, and I am officially DONE with my first year of college! I seriously just can't believe it!! This is nuts. I can't believe it's over! This has been the most amazing first year of college that I ever could have asked for! I have made the most amazing friends in the entire world! Samantha, my work out buddy and fellow lover of sarcasm, The Office, and Modern Family. I love our talks and she is such an amazing friend! I'm really going to miss our breakfasts at the Cannon Center! Kaylee, one of the most genuinely kind people I have ever met! I am so excited for her to be my roommate next year! She is so much fun and I just love her. Anna, who always gives me a laugh. She loves awkward situations and is one of the nicest people I have ever met. She introduced me to Harry Potter and is always so much fun to be around! Kate, who is just the bomb. She is hilarious! She knows my Uncle PHILIP. Small world right? She is so fun to talk to and I ...

This week has been pretty anticlimactic because I've been swamped by homework, so I'm just going to skip right to Easter Sunday. I've had an amazing Easter! I thought I wouldn't because I don't get to spend it with family, but it turns out my friends are pretty fun too! :) I already knew that though of course! I started up the morning by opening up the Easter package my family had sent me! I love packages and Easter candy! Win win right there! Then I went to church! I had the opportunity to sing in the ward choir and to perform a duet with Matthew! We sang "I Know That My Redeemer Lives," which is one of my favorite hymns! I really wanted to not focus so much on sounding good as on bringing the Spirit into the meeting. I prayed and asked my Heavenly Father to help me to bring the Spirit through music on this special Sunday. I just loved that I had the opportunity to sing about my Savior! After Sacrament Meeting, a super sweet girl from my hall came up to m...

Well, I have to write two blog posts today, because last week was absolutely crazy and I didn't have time to write one! Last week, my Grandma and Grandpa Shipp were in town! I got to see them all the time when I lived at home, so it was so much fun to see them again! Nothing beats a visit from family! On Tuesday we went to a Brazilian restaurant called Tucano's with all you can eat meat! Needless to say, Matthew and Grandpa were in heaven! On Friday, we went to University Mall to get Matthew's clothes for his mission! I went off and did a little shopping while he was getting fitted and such! We got some lunch at Chick-Fil-A and then headed off to the BYU Bookstore! Early Saturday morning we headed down to Joseph to see where Grandpa grew up! It was so much fun! We saw the houses and graves of a ton of our ancestors on both sides of Grandpa's family, ate at this delicious restaurant called Hoover's, not Hooter's (as it said on the t-shirts the employees wore) and...

I don't really know why exactly, but I am just SO happy today! Well, I went to church which always makes me happy. Then I came home and Skyped with my mom and Amy, with a brief appearance from my dad before he had to leave to go home teaching. I then broke my fast with some leftover Cafe Rio, I mean what could be better right?! I then lay down to take a nap for the first time in ages. I had been asleep for about an hour when I was awakened by my phone ringing. It was a call from my lovely sister Jenn who had been asleep while I had been Skyping the rest of the family. So, I lay in bed and talked to Jenn for another hour. She was cracking me up by explaining to me how she was becoming a "Directioner" which is apparently the cool clique on Twitter for One Direction fans, and explained to me that Amy was copying everything about her love of One Direction. Not 20 minutes later, my dad called to tell me about an AWESOME job he had found that I should apply for and we talked fo...