'Tis the Season to be Crafty

This year we went to Arizona for Thanksgiving break and all us gals brought a craft to do with each other, which was so much fun and all were super easy to make! So here's some we did...

So cute, right?! 23 days until Christmas!!

-Cort

Sunday Thought

It's been awhile since I've posted anything, so what's better than a little Sunday thought on this beautiful sabbath day!? 

For those of you that don't know, I'm laurel president and get the opportunity to go on visits and talk to some of the girls in my ward. A couple Sundays ago, my counselors and I went to go visit a less-active girl and invite her to a mutual activity with us. When we walked up to her house, there were a couple guys standing outside. We asked if the girl was home and one of the guys said that no, she had moved to Nevada and asked if there was a message he could pass along to her. I told him we were going to invite her to an activity with us, to which he asked if it was "a churchy thing". When I told him yes, he said, "Well, she's gone, but I'm sure she'll be there in spirit with you" and laughed and rolled his eyes at me. That little encounter really bothered me, and bothered me for a week after. One day in seminary, I was assigned to give the devotional and got up and told this experience and gave a scripture that went along with it. After sitting down, my seminary teacher walked by me and handed me a slip of paper. On it, it had the scripture Matthew 5:10-12 written. 

That says:

 

10. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11. Blessed are Ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

12. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

These verses really got me thinking about Christ's life and about missionary work. Missionaries mimick Christ's life. They get up everyday, preach unto the people, and are sometimes mocked and shunned for their beliefs. But it's okay, because the gospel is true; and in the end, it will always be true. Christ suffered each and every day. He was mocked, scorned, beaten, spit upon, rejected....and why? Because He loved His father and would do anything to serve Him. Missionaries love the gospel. They love their Savior. No matter what they go through, that desire to serve and that passion for the gospel will not diminish. Even though Christ's entire life was full of being laughed at and persecuted, he never gave up. He never quit serving and he never quit loving everyone. To me, that's pretty amazing.  

One Month!

Can you believe it? Elder Crockett has been gone an entire month. Let me tell ya, it hasn't been easy. But guess what? He's doing great! Only another month in the MTC, and he'll be headed to Taiwan for the next two years! So, here's some photos of his MTC life this past month...

Levi's bed. In his words, "I often hit my head because I'm not used to a blasted bar above my head" haha, disadvantages of being 6 foot 3 right?

I told Levi I was going to mail a letter to President Monson asking if I could go paint the walls fun colors. He didn't think that was the best idea, but I'm sure he'll come around. 

Leave it to Levi to take a picture of hand sanitizer. This is his life support. 

I'm not sure what the story is behind this one...? But I feel like this would be a fun "Caption this Photo" so you tell me. What would you caption this photo?

Guess who still gets to play the organ? This guy! It was like Christmas Day for him.

I think it's safe to say he's having the time of his life :) And though I miss him more than words can express, and I literally just teared up writing that sentence, I'm so so so proud of him and for his accomplishments. He is already an amazing missionary and has had so many great experiences to strengthen his testimony, and in return, my testimony has also been strengthened. I've always known missions are part of Heavenly Father's plan, and I'm now really starting to understand why. The love and happiness that comes from serving the Lord is unmeasurable. Two years is a long time, but it's a sacrifice that blesses the lives of so many, and that makes it all worthwhile.

~Cort

18 Days Down

I know y'all are wondering how the brother dearest is doing, so here's an update! He's been in the MTC for 18 days now (holy cow), and is loving it! He really enjoys Sundays and sacrament meetings entirely in Mandarin, and learning how to sing the hymns in Chinese. Right now, he says he just hums along and is being patient. Also, he's taught two lessons in Mandarin! He has such a strong testimony of the gift of tongues and is catching onto his new language so fast. He can understand and respond to basic conversation already!

He has given a special number, in a room fitting about 2,000 people! It's great to hear he's still using his talents to uplift many. And boy, I never thought I'd say it, but I miss falling asleep to his late night piano playing (even when they weren't soft lullabies).

And even though he uses hand sanitizer and washes his hands "regularly", which really means an extremely abnormal and excessive amount (can you say germaphobe?), he still managed to get sick. He went to the doctor and had a cold and fever. He says he's almost back to normal, though. I can guarantee he's going to be washing his hands A LOT more now ;)

Other than that, he's doing fantastic! He likes his companion, even though he walks extremely slow for a guy that's 6'3", loves going to the temple every Monday, and loves the spiritual environment he constantly gets to be in!

In one of his emails he said,

"I really enjoyed this quote by President Uchtdorf yesterday:

"This is the paradox of man: Compared to God, man is nothing yet, to God, man is everything."

I was actually studying 3 Nephi yesterday too, Dad! It goes right with the quote from President Uchtdorf. The Nephites are constantly sinning then being forgiven, falling back into sin, then repenting and continuing the cycle on and on. Samuel the Lamanite teaches that they will be destroyed if they keep it up, but they keep it up. The time of the prophecies come and guess what? The prophecy is fulfilled. These people, who have been warned time and time again, and are in the middle of being destroyed cry out to God for help. He could have destroyed them but instead, "a voice was heard" and Christ invites them to come unto Him so that He can heal them. The Savior and our God are so forgiving and merciful. No matter what we do we can always turn back to them and Christ will receive us with His arms outstretched. Read 3 Nephi 8-11. It might possibly be one of my favorite parts of the Book of Mormon."

Doesn't he just sound like an amazing missionary already?? I'm so grateful for him. 

His companion, Elder Gathright, is in the red shirt.

Only 713 days until he gets home! (But who's counting, right?) 

~Cort

p.s. He would LOVE hearing from all of you! And he suggests using Dearelder.com---it's the easiest for him and he can read it the day of, instead of having to wait for P-day!

Dear Elder Crockett

Today we dropped you off at the MTC to begin your journey as a missionary. Every time I think about hugging you goodbye for the last time for two years and seeing you walk away with your three suitcases trailing behind, I get teary-eyed. And gosh darn it, why does it have to be so hard??

I remember the first time I ever really learned to recognize a prompting from the Holy Ghost, and it was with the help of you. We were 8 and 10 and at the ranch playing on the big hay stacks behind the barn. Something we did almost daily, and had done hundreds of times in the past. The piles of hay looked as normal as they ever did, and nothing seemed wrong. We were about to run behind the hay, in the small gap between the stacks and the wall, when all of the sudden I stopped in my tracks and without even thinking about what I was saying, I said to you, "I don't feel good about this." You immediately halted, looked at me with the most serious look I had ever seen you give, and said, "Okay." and we walked out of the barn and didn't go back. Later, as I asked why you hadn't even questioned why I said that, you told me about receiving promptings and that if we were to always listen to them, we would be protected. I don't know what would have happened if we had continued running behind the bails of hay, but that doesn't matter. You taught me a lesson that day, and most importantly, you became my role model and hero.

Levi, I'm going to miss you so much. I'm going to miss randomly dancing with you in stores, going on late night hot chocolate runs, and laughing until we cry. I'm even going to miss you waking me up in the morning by laying on top of me until I can't breathe. I'm going to miss the way you would always tickle my feet, even though I hate it, and the way you would call my morning hair a "lion's mane". 

As hard as it is, I know you'll do great things in Taiwan. I know you'll be a fantastic missionary, and I know you'll touch the hearts of many. I can't wait to hear about all the amazing experiences you have and watch you grow as a person. I can't wait to see you in two years.

I love you.

~Cort

It only took a year...

Today I filled the last empty frame that was hanging on my wall. It's complete. My room is finally complete! So, to show off a lil bit, here's some snaps of the finished look! :D

 Huge shoutout to my amazing mom for making the pillows on my bed and for turning my horrible sketches and visions into real things! Isn't she the best?! The headboard and bed frame used to be brown, but I repainted it with chalk paint, which is the coolest stuff ever. Seriously. Go have fun with some. You won't regret it ;)

Little corner of some of my favorite things. Way cute tile from my friend Alyssa, a Book of Mormon in French, and a couple more of my favorite books :)

 I saw painted mason jars on Pinterest and decided to make some of my own. I love them!

 I repainted these frames, and painted the bottom picture :)

 Another shoutout to my mom for making my curtains :)

 I love this thing. Two words: Super handy.

And then my favorite lil collage in my room! I painted the far left sign, with one of my favorite sayings, and the other three frames and the 'C' were all gifts :) 

One year later, and my room is done :D

~Cort

Rocky Mountain High

I LOVE the Fourth of July. Next to Christmas, it's my favorite holiday. This year, my family and I spent the 4th in Silverton, Colorado with our old ward from Arizona. It was Gorgeous! The photographer in me had a heyday. I took over 600 photos and only stopped because I filled my SD card. It was tragic...hehe :D It was a great week of camping, off-roading, eating a ton of Nutella, and admiring the beautiful area.

The crazy family photo....

....followed by a normal one :)

 So much sass in one picture

Cuties ;)