Four

Four...it seems to be quite a significant number as of late. Let me just tell you about it...

Four years ago this week I moved into my wonderful apartment, Wellington FOUR, with my best friends. (after some SERIOUS renovations so my mom would feel somewhat comfortable with her children living there! Our apartment used to be super ghetto...) 

 
Four years ago this week (yesterday to be exact) I started my employment at the BYU Key and Locker Office. 

Thank you Shawna for hiring me...even though you had already decided to hire Kristi! :) Shawna is the best boss anyone could ever have. There is no way I could have gotten through college without her. Love you so much Shawna!

My girls I started with. Love you Kristi and Charity!

The Key Office..parties every other week. Best co workers. Best boss. Best location. Overall; best place to work.

Newest batch of Key Office ladies; obsessed with these girls!

Four roommates/best friends I have seen get courted, engaged, and begin the rest of their lives with their new best friends. (Mostly devastating to me...but it is marriage, so I have to be happy for them! ;)

Cali Haynie Rutter

Francie Ludwig Ipson

Krista Isom Nielson

Taryn MacArthur Shirley

Four... so maybe that is all the things I can think of without starting to sound ridiculous and like I am just making up stuff...which I really could do, but I won't.

Can you believe that?! I have lived in the same place and worked in the same office for four whole years! With only a five week stint when I went and lived in Ghana, which was sweet. Apparently I really like my stability? Well we all know how much I hate change...so maybe that is why. Although, staying in the same place and working at the same place has provided me with a lot more change than I ever would have bargained for. Just because I decide I love a place and want to stay there, does not mean the people around me choose that way as well. People are up and moving on me all the time. Or quitting the Key Office and leaving me the opportunity to get to know so many more people. I try and love it, and usually it works!

When I think about the lasting implications on my life that have come from living at W4 and working at the Key Office...I am completely blown away. I have made the best friends ever and relationships that are going to last a lifetime. 

Sixty what?! Sixty first!!

I have been real blessed and I am real grateful for it! Love me some longevity! ;)

Shout Out to Bethany

Bethany Hamilton that is. Heard of her? Let me just tell you about her if you haven't. My obsession started when I was driving down I-15 once and I saw this:

I was beyond curious about this girl and when I got to my house googled her and read all about this girl. Here is her story: 
     Bethany Hamilton has become a source of inspiration to millions through her story of faith, determination, and hope. Born into a family of surfers on February 8, 1990, on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, Bethany began surfing at a young age. At the age of eight, Bethany entered her first surf competition, the Rell Sun Menehune event on Oahu, where she won both the short and long board divisions. This sparked a love for surf competition within her spirit.
     At the age of thirteen, on October 31, 2003, Bethany was attacked by a 14-foot tiger shark while surfing off Kauai’s North Shore. The attack left Bethany with a severed left arm. After losing over 60% of her blood, and making it through several surgeries without infection, Bethany was on her way to recovery with an unbelievably positive attitude. Lifeguards and doctors believe her strong water sense and faith in God helped get her through the traumatic ordeal.
     Miraculously, just one month after the attack, Bethany returned to the water to continue pursuing her goal to become a professional surfer. In January of 2004, Bethany made her return to surf competition; placing 5th in the Open Women’s division of that contest. With no intention of stopping, Bethany continued to enter and excel in competition. Just over a year after the attack she took 1st place in the Explorer Women's division of the 2005 NSSA National Championships – winning her first National Title.
    From a young age, Bethany’s parents instilled their faith in Jesus Christ; and at age 5, she made the decision to have a personal relationship with Him. Bethany’s foundation of faith has been her backbone; her source of truth, hope, and strength.

With the actual surfboard she was riding when the shark bit her arm off!!

 Amazing right? Well then of course you all know that they made a motion picture out of her story. Have you guys seen Soul Surfer?! It is amazing. My emotions were going a little crazy the whole day anyway, and then we went and saw this movie. I am pretty sure I cried every five minutes. For many reasons...one of them being because I wish I lived in Hawaii and grew up there and was a professional surfer... The others were all associated with how stinkin amazing she is! Everything about her story is just sweet. Maybe I have been a little bored at work and reading Bethany's blog for like the last hour or so...and she is truly phenomenal!

She is just ridiculously sic, and mostly I am just real jealous of her skill.

 In honor of the occasion, that occasion being seeing Soul Surfer and feeling inspired, I got ready for bed last night one handed. Brushed my teeth (how do I hold my hair back and brush and spit all at the same time?), washed my face (putting my hair in a ponytail?), put on my pajamas, used the bathroom, did my stretches, read my scriptures and tried (then failed) to do my push ups! It was hard. I was going to continue on to today, but typing with one hand just takes WAY too long! I think you all should try it, seriously. Bethany is absolutely amazing and I know there are SO many other motivational stories like hers around of people doing the impossible. Basically, I realized I am not that awesome and have so much more room to grow and become better. :)
I am grateful for people like Bethany who have that power to inspire and motivate.