"Gratitude turns what we have into enough."

My Favorite

"It's not what you look at; it's what you see."

Perspective and Attitude

Today I got a C+ on my math quiz.  That's pretty rare for someone who usually doesn't have much trouble earning A's.  It was tough - the quiz and dealing with getting a C+ - but I was grateful for a broader perspective.  I knew that in 5 or 10 years (or probably a month to be honest) this quiz wouldn't matter at all.  I didn't let it ruin my day or my self-esteem.  I'm glad my self worth isn't tied to grades and that I can bounce back quickly from disappointment.  All I had to do was view this 32 point math quiz in the bigger picture to know that it was insignificant.
I've also been learning that life is all about attitude!  I wish that were easy to explain but you have to live it to find out!
"Remember that if we but have the right attitude, everything leaves us a blessing." :)

More LONG Days

Friday was opening night here at the Pageant!!  We had an approximate attendance of 6500...not too shabby!  All of us are having a lot of fun making friends with members of the cast; people have come from as far as Japan, Nova Scotia, and the United Arab Emirates to be in it.  Performances end at about 10:30 then we have to change out of costumes, having a closing devotional, and drive 20 minutes back to our hotel (usually with an ice cream stop on the way :). So it makes for late nights.  Thankfully because we have no rehearsals the second week, we can sleep in a little later.  The toughest part of most nights though is hearing the protestors while we walk to our car.  They have no shortage of bad things to say about our church and what we believe, but I often think of the scripture that says that there must needs be opposition in all things.  It's also fulfillment of the prophecy that Joseph Smith's name will be had for good and evil among all nations.  Sometimes I actually feel gratitude for the protestors, for helping me realize how deep my testimony really is.  I love being here and sharing the message of the pageant.  Really it's about Christ.  We are here to invite people to come unto him and to teach that he's our Savior.  This year is the 75th anniversary of the Hill Cumorah Pageant and it's amazing to think the grandeur of the things were doing here, the people we're reaching, and the events that happened on this hill. 

Hill Cumorah Pageant 2012

We are in New York now and will be for the next to weeks as part of the cast of the Hill Cumorah Pageant, an outdoor theatrical production put on by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  This year there is a cast of 760 people! You can go back and read my posts from pageant last year if you want to know more about it :) We got here Friday night and they cast all 760 people in about 3 hours.  If you want the run-down, here it is: I am a "spoil of war slave woman" in King Noah's court and a destruction victim, Neil and Tanner are Noah citizens, my Dad is a speaking wicked priest (it's crazy that all 4 of us are in the same scene, but it's a big one), Grant is Laman's third son, and Mom is in the restoration congregation with Joseph Smith as well as the mob that chases Lehi out of Jerusalem.  I know that if you aren't familiar with the Book of Mormon that probably makes little to no sense, but nonetheless it's an amazing show!! Some of the coolest parts are the fire and water effects and the over 1,000 costumes used.  The days are SO long here and by the end I'm exhausted and usually crabby.  Today we had church and lots of meetings and devotionals so by the time we got to the hotel the boys were so squirrely.  I will share one good quote from a talk given..."Happiness isn't external; it's a core belief.  You wake up in the morning and flip that switch and chose to be happy."
-Olivia

High Adventure

High Adventure was a little while back but it was so fun!  All the girls 14-18 in my branch (church group) went for three days to Turkey Run State Park here in Indiana.  The first day we went on a 10 mile kayaking trip...wow! I don't think you'll find anyone who thought that was easy.  The water was really low so we had to get out a bjillion times and push our kayaks, plus some people (my Dad, who went with us as a chaperone :) had their kayaks fill with water from leaks and they had to be emptied a bjillion times.  We were in swim suits so our legs were totally exposed and just waiting to get sunburned.  And they did.  Two weeks later, my legs are still peeling.  Some of us could hardly walk that night our thighs were so burnt - and of course it was the one time that I actually put sunscreen on my legs.  Right after we finished there was a giant storm so we had to set up our tents in the rain - NOT something I recommend trying.  But by that night it was clear and we slept well...except that we had a few little critter friends.  They told us a thousand time to take ALL our food out of our tents and put it in the cars, but one of my friends forgot that her leftover lunch was in her backpack.  A raccoon got into their tent, into her backpack, and ate all the food.  And just before I went to bed, a leader and I saw a skunk just about a yard away from us.  This was much more of an adventure than I thought it would be!  The second day we went hiking and it was beautiful!!  We had fun climbing all kinds of rock formations and bridges and stuff.  It was so funny, all the men that chaperoned had to point out all the ways girl camping was different from boy camping.  For example, all the girls showered regularly, all the food was organized in tubs by day, at nights we just sat around and talked for hours, and we started fires with tampons.  We know all the men had a good time, even when they mocked us about our laminated meal list ;)  The third day we went horseback riding...which was more like just a chill ride on horses through the woods.  The excitement level wasn't too high but we still had a good time :)  

Love This

This is one of my favorite poems ever. . .

A Child Asleep
By Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How he sleepeth! having drunken
Weary childhood's mandragore,
From his pretty eyes have sunken
Pleasures, to make room for more---
Sleeping near the withered nosegay, which he pulled the day before.

Nosegays! leave them for the waking:
Throw them earthward where they grew.
Dim are such, beside the breaking
Amaranths he looks unto---
Folded eyes see brighter colours than the open ever do.

Heaven-flowers, rayed by shadows golden
From the paths they sprang beneath,
Now perhaps divinely holden,
Swing against him in a wreath---
We may think so from the quickening of his bloom and of his breath.

Vision unto vision calleth,
While the young child dreameth on.
Fair, O dreamer, thee befalleth
With the glory thou hast won!
Darker wert thou in the garden, yestermorn, by summer sun.

We should see the spirits ringing
Round thee,---were the clouds away.
'Tis the child-heart draws them, singing
In the silent-seeming clay---
Singing!---Stars that seem the mutest, go in music all the way.

As the moths around a taper,
As the bees around a rose,
As the gnats around a vapour,---
So the Spirits group and close
Round about a holy childhood, as if drinking its repose.

Shapes of brightness overlean thee,---
Flash their diadems of youth
On the ringlets which half screen thee,---
While thou smilest, . . . not in sooth
Thy smile . . . but the overfair one, dropt from some aethereal mouth.

Haply it is angels' duty,
During slumber, shade by shade:
To fine down this childish beauty
To the thing it must be made,
Ere the world shall bring it praises, or the tomb shall see it fade.

Softly, softly! make no noises!
Now he lieth dead and dumb---
Now he hears the angels' voices
Folding silence in the room---
Now he muses deep the meaning of the Heaven-words as they come.

Speak not! he is consecrated---
Breathe no breath across his eyes.
Lifted up and separated,
On the hand of God he lies,
In a sweetness beyond touching---held in cloistral sanctities.

Could ye bless him---father---mother ?
Bless the dimple in his cheek?
Dare ye look at one another,
And the benediction speak?
Would ye not break out in weeping, and confess yourselves too weak?

He is harmless---ye are sinful,---
Ye are troubled---he, at ease:
From his slumber, virtue winful
Floweth outward with increase---
Dare not bless him! but be blessed by his peace---and go in peace.

So...it's been a while :) But I'm back on my blog! A couple fun things have happened in the last month or so.  The first big exciting news is that I auditioned in March for what choir to be in next school year, and I made it in to the top concert choir!  I was proud of myself for succeeding at something I really wanted.  After that was Spring Break to North and South Carolina...stay tuned for more picture/details on that one!  Right now I'm flooded with school, seminary, music, family, keeping up my hygiene, sometimes doing homework, having an extensive social life, sleeping whenever and wherever possible (which yesterday included drooling on my textbook at the kitchen counter) and doing everything else teenagers do.  The most exciting thing right now is that a week from tomorrow (next Thursday, May 3) I'll be 16! Oh, so much reminiscing....

Spring Has Sprung

The daylight savings switch couldn't have come at a better time!  The last few days have been do warm and beautiful!!  It's funny, come Monday morning all that the high schoolers could talk about was how INCREDIBLY tired they were because they got one less hour of sleep but yesterday evening it seemed like everyone was out doing something fun.  My family went to the park it our neighborhood and just hung out; it was so fun :)  We played basketball and kickball and swung on the swings.  Today was even more beautiful and all you heard at school was "Can we have class outside??" "It's so nice outside!!"  "Oh my gosh, I wish I was outside..."  I absolutely LOVE spring and the change of seasons.  When the daffodil shoots start to come up, my world couldn't be better :) 

Once on this Island

Neil and Grant were in this musical this weekend; I enjoyed seeing it so much! (twice :)  They both did SO well, especially Neil who had a lead role as Papa Ge, the god of death.  Here are some pictures

Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof if we pursue the path that leads to it.
-Joseph Smith

March!

Happy first day of March :)  In my incredibly simple mind, March-May is spring, June-August is summer, September-November is fall, and December-February is winter...which means now it's spring!  Just the other day I noticed daffodils shoots starting to pop up - love it.  Unfortunately with March comes the very slim chance that the future will bring any school cancellations or 2 hour delays, but I am okay with that!  Today I was feeling crummy and I walked outside and it was just so hard to keep being sad when the weather and the world were so sunny and beautiful!  Also, tomorrow and Saturday Neil and Grant are in a musical at their middle school (called "Once on this Island") and I'm so excited to see it! Neil has quite a big role as Papa Ge, the god of death (hehehe :) Maybe I'll post some pictures when it's all said and done.  Grant loves to sing the songs and do his choreography in the living room, but Neil just tells us repeatedly that he can't wait to be done having rehearsals everyday.  We're way proud of both of em.  

A few from our friend, Einstein

“Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.”

“You can never solve a problem on the level on which it was created.”

“I never think of the future - it comes soon enough.”

“Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.”

“Everything must be made as simple as possible. But not simpler."

“Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy.”

“If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself.”

“When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity.”