engagements. :)

here they are. the first pictures are not edited but the last ones are.

excellence.

Devotional yesterday: attaining excellence, working towards excellence, being excellent. What is excellence? Wordnet.princeton.edu defines excellent as "very good; of the highest quality" and excellence as "an outstanding feature; something in which something or someone excels". So I need to try and be of the highest quality, not just attain my goals, but try to excel in the way I attain them. I like this.

Today I had a hard time going to class, a very hard time. Devon forced me into it against my will and I went and as I did I thought about this very concept. Am I showing the Lord that I can be excellent? That I can be of the highest quality? That I am trying to attain excellence? and mostly...am I taking pride in what I stand for as a student? So I wasn't, but I need to. Mostly this was a reassessment, so sorry to everyone that had to read about my own reflections on whether or not I'm doing all I can, but maybe you can get something out of it. We don't have to be perfect now, but we should be on the path to perfection. So let's try a little harder, stand a little taller, and show the world what we're made of.

the produce boy.

A 16 year old girl was working her first job; she was a courtesy clerk at Albertsons and had her own busy job, friends and life. Once day in August a young produce boy caught her eye. A thin, tall blonde, who was super cute, but how should she talk to him? She got his name from her friends and realized that she could see him more if she did more things in the produce (i.e. doing go backs, floor sweeps, clean ups). Well one day when she went to grab the broom to sweep the store she saw the produce boy and it looked like he was upset; she asked if he was ok. After a few little jokes to lighten the mood they began their friendship. He asked her to the movies and her dad said no, not until he comes over for dinner. So he came, the family was met and the parents approved, so they began to hang out. After a few months of hanging out and fun dates they both encountered something they never expected: LOVE. The produce boy swept the courtesy clerk off of her feet. He was a good boy; he liked to skip with her, buy her flowers, and just hold hands. As the months went on July came quickly, time for him to leave for school for the first time. A whole year ahead of her in school, he left for BYU-Idaho, 900 miles away. Most people considered it young love, never giving it a second thought; but they thought different. They wrote, every day. They talked, every day. They were in love. As the months continued they continued to see each other over breaks and holidays and then the summer came and together they were again. When September came he left again, but this time she was with him, ready to experience new things. Well he left that March on a mission, prepared to serve the Lord for 2 years. They wrote; every week. She continued to date other people after he left but no one stuck. So life moved on, she spent time with friends, went on vacations and grew more than she ever thought possible. Soon the 2 years was up, she greeted him at the airport, shook his hand and things changed. The produce boy was different. She was different. They were just friends. For about a month they still hung out every day. One day after a long drive they returned home, after a long pause in the car he asked if he could kiss her, but she said no and he settled for a hug. Later that night he asked again, this time her answer was different; yes.
The kiss: The kiss was all it took. Things changed. They realized maybe they were more than friends, maybe things could happen. They took their time, held hands again, skipped, went on dates, went back to school, fell back in love.