weekend catch up...

so it's been kinda weird not writing for the past few days, but honestly there were not enough hours in the day this weekend! home was absolutely crazy wonderful!

the brother...
jake is definitely my most favorite little brother, ever! he is seriously amazing! his homecoming talk was so precious! he had is guat accent going on, and even forgot some english words. it was priceless! i loved just hanging out with him for the week. as we'd just be hanging out, stories and experiences from his mission would come up, and i just loved hearing about it! it still super surreal to think that he actually did it all! he is amazing!

so the house was pretty quiet til about saturday! i left a quiet, mellow house to go recruiting for the day... yes, i drove ALL around the city and seriously went to like 7 different sites... but when i got back after a long day, the commotion had begun, and it couldn't have been better! you never know what to expect with the koelliker cousins! it was mass chaos, and just so much fun catching up with everyone! after a late night and some rearranging of the rooming assignments, we all made ourselves comfortable whether it was on the floor, couch, squeezing in a bed, but we just avoided the snorers! and all woke up early for a fabulous sacrament meeting on sunday morning!

it was pretty sweet cause the meeting consisted of kevin foutz's farewell talk and jake's mission report. so we got the best of both worlds, and i'm so grateful that jake's on the home end rather then the going out end! i love having him home! his testimony is so strong and you can just feel his love for the people, his mission, the church, and the Savior. he is such an incredible example to me!

so the meeting was great, and then it was back home to get ready for the luncheon with friends and family.

anyways, after lots of loudness, movies, laughter, story-telling, olympic watching, reality-tv show plotting, way too much food, great family times and unfortunately lots of work (living with sam and recruiting was just a joy), the wonderful week at home came to an end, and i'm back up in utah!

thank you to my amazing brother, incredible parents, family and friends who made this weekend so awesome! and i can't wait to see jake and my parents this weekend!

realization...
so after eating everything in my mom's house, literally, and seeing pics from this weekend... i need to pull myself together and get "healthy" again... aka lose like 20 pounds! i leave for new zealand and samoa in 2.5 months, and i need to get ready for those samoan beaches! so yes, i'm back on my healthy eating and work-out plan, but this time i have some more measurable goals set! hold me accountable k!?

weird dream...
last nights dream was pretty strange, and i woke up feeling so bad! i dreamed that i was hanging out with a bunch of friends. i was "together" with some guy and of course we're totally cute... but then i saw daniel amongst all the friends and he looked so hurt. so i let go of the guys hand and was trying to not show anything, but it was so awkward and it broke my heart! it was one of those dreams that i felt the heartache when i woke up! what it means, i have no idea! random!

stay the course...
"cast not away therefore your confidence"... Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
(3Nephi 1-2; Hebrews 10:32, 35-39)

"With any major decision there are cautions and considerations to make, but once there has been illumination, beware the temptation to retreat from a good thing. If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now. Don't give up when the pressure mounts. Certainly don't give in to that being who is bent on the destruction of your happiness. Face your doubts. Master your fears. Cast not away therefor your confidence. Stay the course and see the beauty of life unfold for you."

"love is never lost. if not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart"