because i'm a mormon who stands up for what i believe,

i am not embarrassed, nor do i cower before my beliefs.

i plan on marrying for love, and raising eight children to be testifying, and unafraid. 

our family will own an obnoxious SUV, occasionally be loud during church, and spend monday nights learning of our savior.

we will pay taxes, celebrate the fourth of july with hot dogs and root beer, support our troops, and vote for government officials.

we'll be late for birthday parties, and catch each other's colds, but we love each other, so our constant happiness is none of your business... unless you would like to join us. and in that case, please do! 

we'll fight over barbies and legos, sing primary songs when we're scared, but we're law abiding citizens, and i don't understand the attack on our kind.

we applaud people who write articles like this; we like people who stand up for us.

...we'd deliver casserole to them if we could.

and of all these things, we are known by most as the bud of every joke. 

and we can handle that.

because above all, we are christians, and we were taught to turn the other cheek.

and that is precisely what we'll do.

no words. but the opposite of that.

hi.

i'm a republican. did you know that? because i am.
a red-blooded, george bush supporting, glenn beck advocating, right wing enthusiast.
i respect sarah palin, bill o'reilly, and will vote for mitt in 2012.
but guess what. i'm also a member of a pretty great church. which is rarely represented on fox news.
last night it was.
and i was overjoyed.
i watched this last night. and it simply brought me to tears.

i have the most respect for the nielson family. and on air last night, they told america how they really felt. all of america. topics were touched on air that never have been before, i'm sure. good people, those nielsons. i went to bed feeling like a weight was lifted from the world maybe. that there had to be someone watching that needed to hear that god is in everything. god provides hope when circumstances appear to be hopeless. when a prayer seems neglected, try again, or listen harder. this broadcast reminded me to be better--to quit whining. it was wonderful to watch this, and know that we all root for the same team. we want to share our knowledge of the plan of salvation, the atonement, and even things that may seem insignificant like a prayer. they do get answered, something you will understand if you only try.

i couldn't find the entire broadcast, but if you're interested, you can go here and read it all. do it. it is wonderful. :) 

{...that in all your recordings,

let it be recorded in heaven.}

d&c 128:7

my favorite snippet of tonight's reading.

:)

six weeks to a love affair with the blarney stone.

it's times like these where i wish i didn't have to drive two hours north in the morning.
and for the record,
elder uchtdorf said everything that i needed to hear today.
the Lord gives us answers when we pray, and i love my church for teaching me that. it was a lovely sunday, filled with words of our prophets. thirst quenching, if you will.

i hope you were in love with your sunday like i was.
that hope is co-mingled with the same hope that i wish for your monday morning.
and also, i hope your monday is full of less driving than mine.

good night. followers. and kelsey g.c. ;)

ruby tuesday.

it's like this.

if i had a wish today, i would wish to be a fly on the wall at the mtc.
and i don't care if you think that's lame.
because i think you're lame.

today i got a weekly email from the elder.
it was his best one yet! he sounds so happy, which makes me double happy to read it!

he talked about an experience he had at a devotional last week where elder holland came and spoke to the missionaries. the things he had to say about that devotional just put a smile on my face. he said that elder holland challenged all of the missionaries to stand taller, be bolder, be better, and study harder. isn't that what we all should do? it's so nice to get little reminders weekly that i should be better about doing the things that sometimes i feel are put on the back burner of the seemingly pathetic life that i live. for instance, reading my scriptures. is it really that hard? no. saying my prayers... on my knees. {not in my bed as an afterthought...} paying my tithing. harder than it seems, folks. i just wish that i could be there, studying right alongside those sweet elders, becoming better, bolder, and stronger. it always sounds better than doing homework until the early hours of morning and making the cold trek to a droning class every day.

and aside from that elder, i got a letter in the mail from a different one... whose letter i sent in september. which he got in november. which he sent five days later. which got to me today. so that was a little weird... but fun to get a letter from the past! now i want one from the future. wouldn't that be cool?

still, today i want to be a fly on the wall.
and that's my wish of the day.

so here's to you. all of you pre-elders. you're the luckiest people in the world. don't you forget that. because there are nineteen year old girls back here in your soon-to-be old life that are green with envy.


here's the rest...
you know. that part where i update you on my not-so-fascinating life.

-i bought my weight in art supplies yesterday. because yes. i am an involved participant of the art world. you're so jealous.
-i have completely shunned soda pop. that in and of itself deserves to be recognized. thank goodness for finally feeling healthy again.
-i just wish i could keep my mom in my pocket all of the time. because i call her for unnecessary things. and also i miss her.
-it's still time for a trip. ...113 days and counting. {i can count them if i want to. it's my blog.}
-this semester will be fun. challenging, testing my creative brain constantly, but fun.
-i can feel myself about to juggle five hundred different art projects, assignments, papers, and quizzes. which leads me to...

piece of the day! this piece of the day thing is a great idea i had.
sorry. but it was.

i'm dancing as fast as i can, miriam schapiro.

i really love this one.
the title alone says it all. miriam schapiro uses the best titles. they're so... obvious.
other titles include mary cassatt and me {a title given to a mary cassatt painting inside of a painting done by schapiro} and another one of my favorites, my fan is a half circle which depicts a woman holding, well... a fan in the shape of a half circle. would you expect anything else?


{have the happiest of all tuesdays. or wednesdays. depending on when you're reading...}

time is of the essence. and goals are not for wusses.

one month mark, folks.

twenty three more months, friends.
this will be cake.

the letters are coming at a steady pace now. weekly even! {relatively.}
which keeps me sane, happy, and forces me to preserve whatever writing skills i have.
and having someone to answer to when my book of mormon reading has lacked is always a plus.
also known as when i become a slacker, the elder tells me what's up.
see also: courtney doesn't read scriptures on vacation, and gets scolded for it later.

boo me.

needless to say, hello new year equals i will get through alma if it's the last thing i do.
{don't you try and tell me that it's not the hardest and most daunting one to read. we'll all know you're faking it.}

so while i hope all of your goals will stay cuddly and warm inside of your head this year, i'm starting out slow.
one book and one month at a time.
chipping away at the 15 books, and making a large dent in 23 months.

good night, kids.

happy thangts.

thank you, chuck-a-rama for providing such succulent turkey.
and honey baked ham. :)

thanksgiving, thanksgiving, thanksgiving.

i am happy to have such wonderful family and friends. they are lovely, and plus, i don't know what i'd do without them.

thank you for such a beautiful life.

and i think i should put in a plug for how i am so thankful for my traveling privileges.
because we all know that i love them so much.

i went to rome for 24 hours. and it was awfully wonderful.
saint peter's basilica in vatican city.

i'm grateful for my dad, the colonel. he works so hard.
...and then he takes me to places that i have dreamed about since i was a little girl.
he is quite the dad. and also, he's the best.

rome was just breathtaking.
i loved the streets damp with rainwater, and the italian people existing beautifully with their dark features and green eyes. and they were speaking italian. i melted a little sometimes.
it was all just beautiful.

a baroque angel in the vatican. would you believe that heavy texture?



michelangelo's pieta. i know.

the pieta.
and i saw it. with my very own blue eyes.
i couldn't even speak. though it is encased in glass, i still felt so close that i could touch it.
i am a lucky, lucky girl. really, i am.
spoiled rotten really...

we also went to the colloseum, the spanish steps, and the trevi fountain.
we ate gelato in the pouring rain, and a roman man whistled at me.
it was one of those things that i'm glad happened, just so that i can say it did,
...but please let it never happen again.

i got a small and brilliant taste of la cite eterna, and i look forward to going back again someday.


but for right now what i'm focused on is saying my goodbyes to this kid.


ohhhh prom.

it's hard to imagine.
two years without being able to call austin and tell him stories that only he'd think are funny.
that's two whole years of finding my own music and not stealing it from him.
two christmases and two birthdays with the absence of gifts that come from the classy aisles of the d.i.
two summers without del teezee runs at one in the morning.
two autumns without surprise logan visits.
two years without our best friend.
in fact, i hate imagining it.

but then i think a little harder. and i think about how selfish i am.
if he can give up his time, of course i can give him up for two years.
after all, it's only two.
and it's two years of time very well spent.

last night, we went out with all of the other crazy people in hunt for the jollyest givings in the retail department of black friday.
it sure was an adventure. and it's one i'll remember for a long, long time.
aust and i laughed at all of the moms pushing and shoving to get their sales.
we waited in line after line to purchase our spoils.
and were quite successful.
it was great.
and i'm sure going to miss him.

so here's to you, russia.
take care of my best friend, and make him be good.
turn him into a missionary and tell him to preach the truth.

wednesday's the day, folks.

i love my church. my beautiful church.

some things are on my mind tonight, and i have to write them down somewhere. i have to get it off of my chest.

i am proud to be a member of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints.

it is the greatest thing in my life. just in case you were wondering.
i love that i know who i am, i know god's plan, and i try to follow him each day.
also i love that i knew these things as a 6 year old.
i love missionaries that make this world a better place, and i love the work that they do.
i love being able to stand up for what i don't just believe, but know.
i'm grateful for my knowledge of jesus christ, and my relationship with him.
my favorite thing in the world is that i can be with my family forever and ever.
and also that i get to go inside of that big, beautiful temple someday. which is in reality the happiest place on earth. i am convinced. :)
i'm proud of the other members that stand up for the church, even when it seems too hard.
i'm thankful for the priesthood and all that it does for me.
i don't know where i would be without the book of mormon. if you haven't read it, check into that. it is my favorite book... i think you would enjoy it too! :)

mostly i'm just happy to know that no matter what the adversary tries to do to bring my church down, it won't work. i know that. if you're not sure about it, ask me. and i'll tell you all of the things that i know. and i will say them with a sureness in my voice. this beautiful church makes me the most happy. there is no doubt in my mind that my church teaches truth.

that is all. :)