Christmas (In April)

I figured it was time for me to start updating my blog. These pictures are from Christmas of this past year. The thing that made this Christmas so special was that my brother, sister-in-law, and nieces came out from New York to be with us, so we had the entire family home. We had so much fun watching the little girls open their gifts! It was neat to see them get so excited! Of course having Glenn and Spencer together is always entertaining and makes life all the more fun! It was just wonderful to have everyone there, especially after not having seen them for 4 months after being over in Jerusalem. Here are some cute pictures of the wonderful time we had together.

Miracles Do Happen

Yesterday I experienced a miracle. I was on my way up to my clinical up in Salt Lake with two other girls. The roads were horrible because of the huge snow storm the night before. As we were driving, a huge semi-truck pulled next to us and started to drift into our lane. The girl driving tried to move over a little, but hit a patch of ice. We were headed toward the median. She tried to correct herself, but ended up overcorrecting to right underneath the semi. That is as much as I remember. Apparently witnesses told the police our car was spinning UNDERNEATH the semi, and just as the rear tires were about to come up over the top of the car, the car shot out from underneath the semi. We ended up spinning a few more times, but miraculously didn't hit the median. The car ended up between the carpool lane and the left lane, facing ongoing traffic. We were all in shock, but managed to get our stuff and get out of the car. The lights on my friend's car didn't work, so it is a miracle no one hit us as we were getting out. We headed over to the middle of the highway next to the median. The two girls who sat in the front seat had scratches all over their faces from the shattering of the winshield (a part of the semi had crushed most of the winshield and there was a big hole). The driver had some cuts on her hands, but other than that, they were fine. I managed to walk away with one little cut on my face, and my glasses flying off and losing a lense. It took a while for the police to get there. Apparently there was a line of accidents, and we had to wait our turn in line. A really nice guy stopped and asked us if we were alright. He had a first aid kit and then he began directing traffic away from the car and where we were standing. The next person to show up was the driver of the semi we had hit. He was very apologetic and began helping with directing traffic and making sure we were okay. The tow truck came next and helped to steer traffic away from the car by blocking the lanes with his car. The girl who was the driver of the car was frantic. She just kept apologizing over and over again. We all called family members to tell them we were safe. Mom had been really worried something like this would happen. She hadn't wanted me to go up to clinical because the roads were so bad. But rarely do they cancel clinical, even for a snow storm. Anyway, Mom took it a lot better than I thought she would. I was surprisingly calm, although whenever I would straighten my legs they would start shaking. I knew it was the adrenaline pumping through me that was keeping me upright and for the msot part pretty calm. The ambulance came and we got in the back so they could check our vital signs and make sure we were okay. I realized at this point how cold it had been standing outside in the snow storm. Our vitals were all within normal limits (I won the blood pressure contest with a 106/67--the lowest;)), and none of us had any serious injuries, so we elected not to go to the hospital. The ambulance took us to a gas station where one of the girl's husband came to get us. We had to wait for the police to come so we could fill out an accident report. After that we were on our way home. As we drove home, I knew within my heart that we very well could not have survived that crash. If that semi had come up on top of us, it could have been fatal. I know there was truly divine intervention.

This accident helped me put my life in perspective. It made me recognize that my priorities have been off. I really need to live life to it's fullest and not waste a moment, because you never know what life will throw at you. I am so grateful for miracles. I know they happen because my family has experienced them first hand. The Lord is truly watching over us. I am so grateful to have a loving Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ who love me so much and protects me. I know He is there and watching over me. I am grateful to be alive.Miracles Happen! I truly have a testimony of that.

Hello Again!

As most of you probably know, I am back from Jerusalem. Sorry I didn't post pictures from the last couple weeks I was there. I'll be sure to do that when I get a break from my hectic nursing schedule this semester.

Christmas was wonderful! My brother and sister-in-law and nieces came in from New York and spent the holiday season with us. It was wonderful! The time went by way too quickly.

I am now starting my 4th semester in the nursing program at BYU. It is definitely going to be a tough semester, but I'm excited to practice my skills again. I am currently living at home, as my housing fell through. I am currently looking for an apartment, so we'll see what happens.

That's about it for now. My life is pretty boring compared to when I was in Jerusalem ;), but I look forward to the new opportunities and experiences I will have this semester.

Temple Mount

On November 7 a group of us decided to try and get up on the Temple Mount to see the Dome of the Rock. Many of us had tried several times to get up there, but every time it was closed. The hours are not set, so it's lucky if you find a time it is open. Today was apparently our lucky day because we were able to get up there! All of us were really excited! In getting up on the Temple Mount we got to see the 3rd Holiest site for Muslims. The two holiest are Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia, and non-Muslims are not allowed in the cities. Anyway, we were able to get up and see the outside of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the famous Dome of the Rock. It was really beautiful, and actually seeing the Dome of the Rock up close was amazing!! The designs and colors are gorgeous! When we got up there and were walking around, we discovered many people from the Jerusalem Center were up there too. There were at least 35-40 of us up there. It was a really good experience! I am glad I got the opportunity to get up there!

Jordan!

On October 29, we left to spend 4 days in Jordan. Our first stop was Mount Nebo. It is revered Holy Site by many because traditionally Moses spend his last days upon the mountain. Many believe this is where he died and was buried, but we know from latter-day revelation that this is not the case. We visited a couple other sites (mostly national park-type) and then stopped for the night in Petra. We relaxed a little and spent some time out by the pool (which turned out to be pretty cold according to the people who were thrown in ;)). After dinner a group of us went out walking, but there really was not much to see. Fortunately, a group of us followed our professors to this 5-star hotel at the end of the street. We got ice cream and enjoyed just talking and associating with one another. It was Craig's birthday, so we bought him ice cream. That night a few of us stayed up late playing games and talking. It was really a lot of fun! I got to know some people better who I don't normally associate with.

The next day we got up early so we could make our way to Petra! I was really excited to see this place! There is so much history there and so many cool things to see. Of course the highlight of the trip was seeing the ancient treasury, which many people will recognize from the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. A few of the boys in our group dressed up as Indiana Jones, and one even had a whip. We all had fun taking pictures, and even got a big group picture together in front of the treasury. The rock formations and the buildings carved into the rock are absolutely breathtaking! I marvel at how these people built them. Towards the end of our tour we hiked up to a monastery. It was beautiful! We had lunch there and then made our way back to the buses for the drive to Amman where we would be spending the rest of our time. That night a group of us (Caleb, Kendra, Lauran, Sarah J., Courtney, Nick, and Greg [and a couple I don't remember]) went to the Mecca Mall in Amman. It was cool to walk around and browse in the shops. We got amazing gelato and kind of just played around. We got back pretty late, and I had "girl-talk" with my roommate and a couple other girls. It was a lot of fun!

October 31 our first stop was the Jabbok River where Jacob wrestled with an angel. We had some pretty entertaining guys who attempted to re-create that scene. It was pretty funny! The rest of our day was spent at an ancient Roman city called Jerash. It had to be one of the coolest cities we've visited! The ruins are absolutely amazing! We stopped in the hippodrome, where the Romans held many of their athletic events. We recreated some races there and some of the guys even acted as the chariots/horses. It was very entertaining. After seeing the colonade and a couple other sites, we were left to our own devices for a little over an hour. We had a blast climbing up on rocks and also taking pictures. We even took Muse pictures on several of the pillars located there. This has to be the funnest site I've been to! It was so relaxed and I really enjoyed intermingling with the other class. We don't often get a chance to do that, so that was really nice. After we left Jerash we had lunch. Then we had the opportunity to go to the Amman Branch! It was really a neat experience to have a meeting in one of the only branches in the Middle East. We met with the branch president, his wife, and some of the members of the branch. It was cool to see a branch of the church here! Hopefully there will be the opportunity to have more in the future. That night was another free night, so a group of us decided to go to Fudruckers. We were all looking forward to having American food for a change. The food was delicious, and we all had a lot of fun! After dinner some went to the mall, while I went with another group back to the hotel. I played games and talked with people until pretty late.

Our last day in Jordan we went to some ancient ruins and then to a small museum. The coolest part about the museum was it had parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls that we got to look at! You hear so much about them, but it was surreal to actually see them. We spent some free time taking pictures and then got back on the bus for a bus tour of Amman. It is a pretty cool to see the sites, and we even got a peek at the American Embassy located there. Our final stop of the day before returning to the Jerusalem Center was the Jordan River Baptismal site. It was a really neat experience to be there and think about what happened at that site.

Jordan was amazing! I think I actually enjoyed it more than Egypt. It was much more relaxed and the associations with people were wonderful! I am having such a great time here!

Seder Meal

On October 25th, we had a traditional Seder (Passover) meal led by our Jewish history teacher Orphir Yardin. Normally, Passover is in April, but since we aren't going to be here our teachers thought it would be a good experience for us to have. I got to sit at a table with Lauren Timmons and President Hayes. We had some really good conversation and heard some great stories. We went through the traditional rituals, with washings, readings, and eating the traditional food. Passover passages were read throughout the meal. There were groups who sang traditional Passover songs (I was in three of them), and even a couple boys in our group who put one of those songs to a rap. ;) It was a very good cultural experience. I think we all really enjoyed ourselves!

City of David and Hezekiah's Tunnel

On October 24, 2007 we went to the City of David and Hezekiah's Tunnel. The biblical City of David situated on the southern slope of Mount Moria outside today's Old City wall. Underneath the city of David is Hezekiah's Tunnel. It was built by Hezekiah in 701 BC. It was designed to get water into the city of Jerusalem as the city was preparing for war with the Assyrians. The tunnel was so much fun! There were points where the water was up to our knees. We had a couple water fights in the tunnel, which was really fun! At one point in the tunnel we all turned off our flashlights and sang "I Am A Child of God" and "Lead kindly Light". It was a really neat experience. As we got outside the tunnel there was a huge pool of water. We got into another water fight and had a lot of fun! It was a great day!