What is better then homework

Spent yesterday watching STAR WARS  <3  also did a bunch of photo editing here are photo shots from our roommate picture night. 

Happy Daddy Day

Happy Fathers days to my one and only daddy! I love and miss him soooo much!! 

And cannot forget the newest Elliott daddy I big brother Jonathan and his sweet little 4 day old Orry! Happy first daddy day Jon with many more to come!

<3  Erin Christina

I have a Nephew

Orry William Elliott was born on June 16, 2011.  7lbs 10oz and 19.5in long.  I am so happy for Jonathan and Courtney.  I get to meet this sweet little boy in 6 weeks.  I cannot believe I have 6 weeks left of school!! CRAZY!  <3

Pictures dad sent me to my email.  I have some on my phone but it is a hassle to copy off the internet and save then upload so it was easier tot use these.  Orry and Grandma Elliott (my mom!!)

<3  Erin Christina

I am Loved

Saturday June 11th I retook the Praxis PLT but that wasn't the only thing that happened that day.
Jenn had come up to visit me so her and I woke up on Saturday morning and got up and ate and watched cartoons because we are cool like that.  There was a knock at the door...it was a package for me that should not of gotten here for another week!!  It was from my aunt in Canada with candy and a Canadian Flag.  It made my morning.  I went to take the PLT and while I sitting there waiting for the 1st section to be done I met another girl that had failed the PLT by 3 points too.  While taking the test I noticed two of the scenarios were the same from the last test..this time I made sure to kick its butt!  I left the test feeling good.  When I got home there was a letter from Kris!! I was so excited and happy!! and inside the letter was $3 with a sticky note saying this is for pictures..or milk and eggs if you need that more.  So later that day Jenn and I went around town and got some pics to send to him.  I went to my neighbors apt to return a movie I borrowed the night before and my visiting teachers..who live there..told me they had a surprise for me.  I didn't do anything but they gave me something for just making it through my Praxis. 

When I went to upload the cd into itunes it was going in as just tracks so I put a title on the cd as I am Loved and the first song that played was You Are Loved by Josh Groban.  I wanted to start crying.  I really felt totally and completely blessed and the whole cd is of songs that remind me that I am loved and that people are there for me and just happy amazing songs.  

The whole day was just a wonderful day.  I loved having Jenn visit Friday-Wednesday.  I don't know what I would of done without her here.  She really helped me through a lot and I know that I do have a best friend and that people do love me and I can always get through anything and everything.  I really do love my life.  It can be hard at times but we can always get through them. 

I know my Heavenly Father loves me. 

PS.  I got my student teaching placement.  Temple View Elementary School in Idaho Falls.  3rd Grade.  I am pretty excited!!

<3  Erin Christina 

I know that my Heavenly Father Loves Me

My home teachers just came over and gave me a blessing of comfort and of strength.  A reminder that Heavenly  Father has never and will never leave my side.  He has been with me through every decision I have made and will continue to do so through the ones I have been making.  A reminder that everyone around me does love me and cares about me.  A blessing of a sharp mind to remember all that I have learned.  The comfort is amazing.  The strength is amazing.  The Power of the Priesthood is uncompilable to anything on this earth.  It isn't just some guy telling me everything will be alright but a blessing directly from my Heavenly Father to me.  I know my Heavenly Father loves me.  I know that the church is true.  I know that with faith anything is possible.  So many of those fears of Saturday are long gone.  I know I can do this and my Heavenly Father wont leave me alone on this.  He will be there with me on Saturday, cheering me on. 

<3  Erin Christina

Tears

..of stress
..of pain
..of fears
..of doubts
..of what ifs
..of everything that Satan wants me thinking of.
Where is the happiness that I know I should have in my heart.  The care free feeling a Senior should be having.  I should be excited about graduation and yet I am doubting and fearing and asking what if I don't make it.
This Praxis has a grip on my heart that I keep trying to get away from.  Bawl my eyes out every night just thinking about it and all the effects that it will have whatever the out come may be.  I have taken it once already and failed by 3 points.  What if I was Lucky it was only three, what if I just had an unreliable grader and I should of passed.  I should not be thinking of these things but I am a pro at beating myself up from the inside out. All my life educationally there have been a few things I struggle with. We all know I cannot spell to save my life and I cant take tests and more so then just tests timed tests, pressured tests.  I hate taking tests in the testing center.  I am out of my environment.  Timed tests I don't have time to think I think I have to finish this or I am screwed.  I barely finished the Praxis last time.
It is just not that either.  Though this does make or break everything I have planed for my future.  But Ryan and Ashleigh had their 2 year anniversary on Monday.  Jonathan and Courtney are having little baby Orry William Elliott any day now.  Then there is me.  single, alone, far away, and may not even finish college because of one test.  Everyone is getting married, having babies, falling in love and I hate that I have a sinking feeling that I just might not get that in my life.  I have already started copping with that fact.  You know it is so scary that Heavenly Father knows everything and I don't, I know nothing.  I have plans that keep getting changed on me.  I threw my motto out the window and opened my heart back up, opened my back up to everyone and what do I find..pain and tears.  I was doing so much fine hiding.  Nothing has changed at all.  Yes I feel a huge weight lifted off.  Like Mike can't hinder me anymore.  But here comes the real Satan in to manipulate the scares deep inside.
Needless to say I feel so afraid and lost in the dark.  Praying and pleading for the help but feeling like this has to be something I have to get through on my own, He knows that I still wont listen.  It is me that will forever beat myself up for everything and anything I can find to put on myself.
I asked my home teachers for a blessing on Sunday that I will be getting either tomorrow night of Friday afternoon and really that is what I am holding on to.  Knowing I will get that and a blessing from my Heavenly Father for comfort and strength.  I can't take this test and get on with the semester on my own.  I feel like even with just my prayers there is still too much fear holding me back.

<3  Erin Christina

It really is the Small and Simple things

I gave a talk on Sunday in church.  I thought I would share it with you all.  It was about the small and simple things and how it really are those that lead to our Heavenly Fathers great and eternal purpose. 

By Small and Simple things

So there once was a father having a talk with his son.  He told him that he needed to keep a bunch of records safe and take care of them.  These records were to be passed down through generation and generation.  The son was probably like what is so important about these it is just about of writing and history because the father went on to tell him..

Now ye may suppose that this is ^afoolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by ^bsmall and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.  And the Lord God doth work by ^ameans to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very ^bsmall means the Lord doth ^cconfound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.

And well the son simply did the small thing that his father asked him to do and the writings were kept and they retained their brightness.   Many, many, many years later these writings were found by a young boy who simply knelt down and said a simple prayer.  And because of these small and simple things that were done the great thing of the church being restored happened. 

That is what as a teacher on my lesson plan I would call an anticipatory set.  Are all of you engaged in what my talk is on today?  I hope so or I have been hanging out with 2^nd graders too much...it is not my fault I have been taught to teach little kids not big kids. 

SO!  Any guesses on what my talk is about?  ..Sigh...My best lessons are with less talking from me and more from the students figuring it out and talking.  So guess I have to keep talking since this isn’t a class.  (Please laugh at my unfunny attempts at jokes they are here to make me feel better and give you all and excuse to laugh at me.)

You can find the scripture I referenced in Alma 37:6-7.  Alma is probably the most quoted from me and the most colorful book in my scriptures.  I love reading Alma and applying the things he says into my life or taking what is said and asking is this happening in my life.  So when I read about small and simple things what are the small and simple things he is talking about.  I use the foot notes and everything basically says doing what I am supposed to be doing.  But when I think of small and simple things I kind of feel like it is more than just doing the small and simple things like praying and reading my scriptures and going to church.  So I went to lds.org

When you type small and simple things into lds.org you get talks and whatnot about charity, being an example, service, small and simple things.  This made me feel much better because service and charity are what I normally think about when I think of small and simple things so I was relieved that I am not scripture stupid and interpreting the scriptures totally and completely wrong. 

Small and simple things bring great things.  For some reason we always tend to think that we have to something huge and important and show off how righteous we are and things like that.  But it is the small things, the simple things.  I love how the scripture says that it will confound the wise.  Why how could something so small and simple be so important...Bigger is better right?  This really could be confusing.  And by these small means the great things that come to pass are the things that are working in bring to pass his eternal purpose. 

At a WoMANs (see for you too boys…men…) conference Elder Bednar talked about small and simple things…though there is not the address he gave on line but kind of a report on what was said and quotes from him.  He talked about patterns and how we need to have patterns of doing the things we need to be doing in our lives.  You know as you do those small things faithfully we will have great blessings in the end. We are bombarded constantly with messages from a multiplicity of sources promoting speedy supersizing, instant gratification, and outstanding performance that will impress our families and friends.  Heavenly Father works in His own time and way and typically brings to pass great things through small and simple means… no matter how much you ask (believe me I have tried.). 

So it brings me back to the thoughts of well we do the small and simple things now and get great blessing later isn’t only related to reading the scriptures and living right.  Service is the big thing that comes into my head when thinking of the scripture.  How do you feel when someone does something nice for you, just something small and simple?  What if it was a bad day and you went home to a made bed.  I know that has happened to me and it totally changes my attitude.  That can lead me to help someone else…and down the line someone might do something that can help someone.  The person doing the first act might not be directly blessed for their small and simple act but great things can really come from something like that. 

Heavenly father loves blessing us!!  What about another kind of simple act?  Inviting someone to church?  If that person joins the church the effect will forever continue down the line of their family for generations forwards and backwards.  Or maybe inviting an inactive member back to church?  They become reactivated.  Then by the change in their life styles they invite a friend to church and that friend joins the church.  A simple act and changes in many lives.  A simple blessing, doing your priesthood duty, to a sick pregnant mother and giving comfort to her to continue through the next several months of difficultly and bringing a life into the world.  A small and simple thing but great thing that would come from it.

I have another story to share.

There was a family that lived outside of the United States that were not members of the church but had missionaries that came knocking on their door but the father of the house would not let them into his house at all always turning them away.  One day on the news there was word that the president of the US was shot and killed.  The missionaries showed up at this family’s house that night and this father let these young men in to watch the news with them.  That small and simple thing of inviting them in to watch the news helped the family to join the church.  The grandchildren of that man were born into the church and baptized as well and the great grandchildren will someday too.  I never knew my grandpa but I am so grateful for his small and simple act that has changed and affected my life and my brothers.  Both brothers sealed in the temple to their wife.  In two weeks give or take someday my oldest brother will have a new born son who will be raised in the church and enjoy the blessings that my Grandpa Elliott gave to us.

(I shared my testimony)

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.  

<3  Erin Christina