9. Watching one of my Roommates meet the love of her life and get engaged
Over the summer, I dragged my roommate roller skating - why I still marvel because I never go to ward activities. It was lots of fun, up until she fell for the tenth time and experienced great pain.
Unfortunately, that fall led to her fracturing her ankle. It was a rough go as she suddenly faced all of the challenges involved in that pain, but in the end it turned into a blessing. Because of this, I was able to take her out to my hometown where she met a boy. She and this boy hit it off and ended up getting engaged and is now married!! I was able to watch their love blossom and it was beautiful.
10. Starting a new Job - Loving it!
In August, one of my friends tipped me off that the family history lab was hiring the day before applications were due. On a whim, I submitted my resume and miraculously I was hired! I love working at the lab. Here I get to help students who are in the basic family history class. We teach workshops on family history tools and sit one on one with them as they work on assignments. It has helped me tremendously in my own research and was a insane blessing for me.
11. Getting Engaged
Less than three months after he got home, Riley finally popped the question. We both knew it was a long time coming, but it was still so nice to have it finally be official. That spurred the intense wedding planning with just over a month of time.
12. BYU Bucket list
This year was AMAZING as far as football was concerned. Years ago, I always said 2015 was going to be our year for BYU football and things just fell together in such a way that it really was. My dad and I were able to attend all 12 games in the season - both home and away.
This was such a phenomenal experience! Some games were insane with great endings, others didn't end as we wanted them to, but we still enjoyed it all.
We went to stadiums across the nation and interacted with some kind fans.
We even made it onto TV once! This was just a special time with my dad, it ended up being a final hoorah as this was the last major trip that we would take together before my wedding.
13. Getting Married!!!
November 24, 2015 was one of the greatest days of my life. I was able to enter the Salt Lake Temple and be sealed to Riley for all time and all eternity. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I believe that life continues after death and that through the priesthood power of God we can be sealed together as a family so that our family relationships last beyond death. Knowing I get to be with my dear husband beyond this mortal life gives me strength to get through the trying times.
Our wedding day was an exciting time to celebrate this joyous event with our immediate families with a luncheon. What was also wonderful was our choice to forego a reception leading to us getting to go straight to our honeymoon after the luncheon.
14. Moving into another new apartment
Getting married meant moving into another apartment. I hate moving, but this was one move I really didn't mind since this meant moving in with my "eternal roommate".
15. Gaining a greater Understanding of God's love for us
Finally one of the biggest things from 2015 was the growth of my testimony in how much our Heavenly Father loves us. I believe that God is my Heavenly Father and that He plays a large role in my life. This year, despite the ups and downs, I have constantly witnessed His love for me. I've seen His love in how things played out in my life and the lives of those around me. Looking back I am able to see a bigger picture of how all the little things led to the great things. I saw this in watching my roommate experience an extremely difficult trial which led to her finding her husband and experiencing the joy that brought her. I saw it in my life as I went from doctor to doctor in search for an answer, but instead developed a greater relationship with my parents. Bonus, I now rock at filling out medical information.
Things may not seem like they are good right now, or they may seem to be falling apart. This isn't so. Everything happens for a reason and most often we won't understand that reason while we were going through that experience. Yet that doesn't mean we can't enjoy each moment. If we take the time to look for the good, we will find it. And as we go through life, we will later be able to look back and see that God knew exactly what we needed at that time. His love for us is amazing and He will never abandon us.
