Does This Sound Like Me?

All too often I look at my calendar and think, "No, it can't be that day; this month just started.... how is it already over?" For the past three months that phrase has been popping into my head almost daily. I swear, after September the year just disappears! At the end of September I create a giant list of activities to do in the Fall; I go to sleep, and when I wake up again it's Christmas! It's a crazy thing, and something that has confused me greatly, which is why I haven't written in... over a month! Oh wow. Life has been crazy good! That's my excuse! So much excitement, so many adventures, so little time.

This year, there was a lot of excitement - from buying my first car, to traveling to Washington, New Mexico, Idaho, Tennessee, and all over Utah,  to perfecting my IT skills, to moving, to starting to work in the temple, to watching so many of my best friends get married, to gaining a sister-in-law ... So many fun times! I have grown so much this year, and I've been so grateful for the opportunities that have presented themselves to me to grow into the person I have become. I wanted to take this opportunity to write about a few of the big things that happened this year - sort of like my Christmas letter to you guys, since I won't be sending one in the mail. I'll just highlight the top three things - trust me, there's dozens more!

Let me start out by talking about work. My job.... is stressful. I could leave it at that, but I guess I'll go into some detail. I'm an IT person (The Assistant [to the] Registrar for Student Systems and Technology just sounds too fancy, so I like to say I'm an IT person. That sounds more down to earth, right? Also, it throws people off, because I do not look like I work in IT, haha). Let me show you what my LinkedIn account says concerning my job:

Yeah, nice, professional, and to the point. And.... weird, right? Does this sound like me? No, no, I never once thought I would be doing a job like this, and it has stretched me to limits I never thought I could go. I never, ever pictured myself in the IT world, and it shocks me to this day that I can carry on a conversation with my programmers, and then confuse the rest of the world when I start talking about Webi and the query tool and upgrades and coding... it's so weird. And it's been hard! I had a huge learning curve, because I only knew a tiny portion of PeopleSoft before I took this position, and I am supposed to know the whole thing! That's crazy! It's been so much work, and I've published so many projects, it's just crazy. I have loved it, though. I have grown so confident and have adjusted to this position, and it has helped me see that I really can do anything. I know I'm constantly learning that lesson, but every time it shocks me that I can do it! This year has been a blast, though stressful, and I cannot wait to see what next year brings! Also, I just moved to a bigger office area, because I'll be doing more one-on-one trainings with a lot of our SDW users, so I took a few pictures to document this move. They're putting a higher wall up, and I just barely moved over, so it might change, but this is what I have for now: 

I was super sad to leave my old space; I'd really grown comfortable there. However, I really needed a new space, because my mind has been freaking out about being stuck in the same spot for over a year now, and I was super stressed with all the people who would talk to me - it was such a hard balance to do my work and to interact with my coworkers. This should help me find that balance, so I'm excited. 

The biggest excitement of this year was buying Belle, my car. She's the best. She loves going wherever I go; for instance, I can say, hey Belle, let's go to the temple, and she's like, heck yes! Or, hey Belle, let's go to the bookstore, and she's like, I love books! I absolutely love having her, and everyday when I drive her I just get all excited all over again to be so blessed to have the best car ever. She's traveled thousands of miles with me already, and we're already planning more road trips for next year. 

Having Belle has been such a confidence booster, and allowed me to become more involved and independent all at the same time. I absolutely adore her, and all the freedom she brings. Because of her, I've been able to travel more, which has helped me discover that I love traveling! I love adventures! I love road trips! Here's a picture from when I bought her back in March:

Finally, I started working in the temple. Here's how it happened: I was sitting in the temple back in February, right before I moved, and I had this thought go through my head that I would be a great help working in the temple. I sat there and thought, yeah, that sounds fun! I'd rock at it! I basically have everything all memorized, so it would be easy to switch over! So, I started thinking about working in the temple... and then I moved... and then I bought a car... and then I started planning my summer.... and then I wanted to wait until I hit my one year mark... and then I met with my Bishop - back in May - and told him I wanted to work in the temple, but I wanted to wait until the end of the summer, since my summer was so booked! And then.... summer ended.... and life got so busy! And I started thinking, when would I have time to work in the temple? 

See, I work M-F, 8am-5pm, take institute classes, have a busy calling, go on dates, go to FHE, and attend the temple twice a week.... I didn't have room in my schedule to work there! Especially when I wanted to be an ordinance worker, and the only time that would fit into my schedule would be Saturday's.... and did I really want to give up my one free day???? I mean, sure, I usually spend my Saturday in the temple anyway, but this would be a commitment! I started dragging my feet, and then at the end of September a guy in my ward bore his testimony about not postponing a prompting... and I'd been searching for answers and direction for a while and just didn't seem to be getting anything, and when he bore his testimony, it just clicked! I had received a prompting about the "what's next" part of my life, and I had been postponing acting on it! So, right away I told my Bishop to move forward with the paperwork, and a few weeks later, right before Halloween, I met with the temple president and his wife and was set apart. 

I'm so excited to be a temple worker! It is fun to see the other side of the temple - the side that keeps everything running. I feel so much love for all the workers, and love seeing so many friends while I'm in there! I've changed so much because of the temple, and I can't even begin to say how much I love it, and how much peace, joy, and happiness it brings to my life. 

I was feeling nostalgic, so I wore the dress I wore when I went through the temple on my first day of working there:

Day I went through the temple

First day of working in the temple

I love the Salt Lake temple. It has truly become my home away from home, and is always the first place I want to go when I'm having a stressful day, am pondering on a question, or am worried about my family. It's a place of refuge in this stormy world, and I know if you make the temple a priority it will change your life.

Those are just a few highlights from my year. It's been crazy busy, and super fun, and of course it's been such an amazing growing experience! I've learned a lot about myself, and have grown even closer to Christ. I'm so grateful that Christ was born, and that we get to celebrate the birth of our Savior this time of year. Christmas is just so great, because of Christ! I know He lives, and I know we would be nothing without Him. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DRLmrboGK4