Emma, Returned to the Face of the Earth

I have not posted in a LONG time. Some of you probably thought that I died, or something... ;)

Spring Break was lots of fun. I went up to Richland, WA with my dad and sisters so that we could visit my G-ma and G-pa Partridge. :)

Monday (April 11th, 2011): We stayed home- and Muffin, Smitten Sister, and I had a photo shoot. It was fun, because my grandma has lots of old and amazing dress ups. :)

Tuesday (April 12th, 2011): We went on 8 hikes, and saw so many waterfalls that all looked the same. :)


Wednesday (April 13th, 2011): We went to Columbia River Temple. (My grandpa told us to say that we did baptisms in the Columbia River..... Temple. ;) )

Thursday (April 14th, 2011): We went to Olive Garden as an early Graduation 'dinner' for Smitten Sister. Then- later that night, we went to my grandparent's stake's production of "Savior of the World" It was awesome! :)

Friday (April 15th, 2011): Muffin made Paleo crepes again for breakfast... (She also made them Monday Morning.) I think Fridays were the best... though. We put kiwi and thawed raspberries on our crepes- and Muffin and I drizzled some honey on ours. YUM. Paleo crepes are one of the only Paleo things I like- and MAN they are good!!! :D

Saturday (April 16th 2011): We went to Palouse Falls in the morning. We had cinnamon Spudnuts. (Made with Potato Flour. They are REALLY good!!)
Then- we packed. Sunday- we drove home.

And now onto the present. (ish. ;) )

Life has been pretty darn interesting.

About 8 guys like me. And out of those 8-
I like 3. :) ;)

My family says that it is good to like more than one person, and I agree. In my case- it is hard not to like the guys that I do like. :) They are all amazing, special, kind, sweet, awesome, lovable (the list goes on) in their own special way. I won't say their names, or even their nicknames. Not yet. :) ("It's good to have secrets" -Walter, Princess at the Midnight Ball)

Life altogether is good. It's amazing. No- it's better. :)

I got a perm on Friday. It's amazing. I love it. :)

Today, I went and saw "The Tempest" performed by my friends, at my school, and directed by my English teacher, Ms. Moody. The actors/actresses were/and are amazing, but Ms. Moody is not someone who should be a director. She is a pretty good English teacher, but in short- "The Tempest" that I saw tonight was... as good as it COULD be. Sad, but true. :-/ Of course, I was still the loudest one cheering at the end. I was still the most energetic, and I still love all of my friends for what they do, how they do it, and how kind and amazing they are to me. :)

Today I said, "I like having guy friends." Which is totally true. It is so nice to have guy friends.
Smitten Sister asked 'WHY' it is so nice. (After agreeing, so I guess she just was wondering why I think it is so wonderful.) I responded with, "I don't know. It's kind of hard to explain. I guess because they are so fun to be around, and they give you a change to girls." (Not that there is anything wrong with us lovely girls. :) ) "Plus-" I said, "You're gonna end up picking one as your eternal companion." Which is also totally true. Some people marry for love. Which I understand, and aim for myself. But it's not just love that you need. You should pray about the person you want to/or think you will marry. You should seek the Lord's help to know if 'he is the right one.' If he is 'Your Mr. Perfect.' But- whoever you marry should also be your best friend. Some people think that your best friend wouldn't be the person to marry- because you should search for your true love. Chances are- you'll find them faster if you look for both qualities at the same time. :) ;) This is the person you will be with forever. Don't just pick them. Pray about them, Love them, and have a great relationship with them. Let them be your BEST friend. Guys- you can still have REALLY good friend who are girls! But let the girl who is you BEST friend, and the person you love, be your eternal companion. Ladies- same for you, but switched to friends as guys. Don't get rid of all the guys in your life once you are engaged. Be a friend of many- but be and stay faithful to our spouse. (Wow- I feel wise. :) ;) )

And now that you have all read my sermon... ;)

Anyway- I just want you to all relish life as I have. (and continue to do) Life is wonderful. Even when it's gets hard or bad, or stressful- you can make it better. There is a commonly used saying that goes like this, "When life give you lemons, make lemonade." I really like that quote. It tells me that even if life is hard, even if we feel as if we can go no further, even if we can't even hear ourselves THINK, we can make it better. We can solve this. Even if it is just smiling everyday through hardships, even if we are positive about things, or even if we just STAY AWAY from the negative things- life can be good. It is our choice whether we make life sour. So- why don't you add some sugar to that lemonade? Make life sweet- even in the hardest moments.

I guess that I am full of sermons today... ;) :)

I want you to all know that I love you. My friends and family- you are amazing. You have helped me through things great and small. You are truly my mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters. You are truly those who I look to for help.

Some of you do not know this- but I do not let just anyone read my blog. I have a tight security setting. You have to be invited by ME. You few who are privileged to read this are truly my "inside circle." I love you- and could never live without you.

Thank you, Thank you. Thank you.

-Emma