Thai Food Wins!

23 June - 29 June 2025

The number of clients I'm getting is finally picking up! I had SEVEN in a row on Thursday, and it was huge progress just because I wasn't as nervous leading up to it and wasn't hoping that someone canceled. Then, no one canceled, so I spent the day having an hour of supervision, then an hour gap, then seven hours of clients in a row. I wasn't even completely spent and dead at the end, and was able to watch a bit of a show but then go to bed. I thought to myself, "Hey, I don't know why I was so worried. I can do this!" And it was kind of nice to have my whole day taken up so I didn't have to be worried about how to fill in the gaps in my day with productivity, which can be even more draining. Next week, I have 21 clients on my schedule. And maybe I'll get a couple more (though of course some could cancel as well). So I'm feeling really hopeful about that. I will have to make some decisions though, about switching fully to one practice so my focus isn't divided and extra draining, which is sad because I love having the support of both supervisors but it makes sense that it needs to happen, plus it is what I agreed to when being hired on at Restored.

Well, I got my hair done for the second time and realized that I did not like the hair cut. It was super uneven, and this picture below just goes to show how awkward and uneven it falls. And the color is starting to fade so fast, turning to a copper in the light that I don't like. So, I am going to have to go back on the hunt to find another hairdresser whose haircuts I like and hopefully they can also work with me to figure out a brown color that won't fade so quickly that I like!

Also pictured below is a screenshot of my Instagram feed, which I've been working hard to rebrand. I am still at it, but it is at least looking improved little by little. I'm getting there. It's recently been brought to my attention that I have some ADHD-like tendencies, such as the desire to keep my options as open as possible, which can lead to me struggling to make decisions that shut doors, leaving me conflicted and divided and overwhelmed. I realized this has been playing a huge factor in social media. I didn't know if I wanted to use it to build up my career as a therapist and get new clients, or if I wanted to use it as a hobby/passion project, or to use it to become a popular influencer but not care as much about local clients. I've been low-key trying to do all of them at once and it's just been a lot of unfulfilling effort, anxiety, and frustration. So I decided to really hone in on ONE focus area and then use the other "passion" areas to support and add to that topic only. Plus, reassuring myself that my niches can change overtime, and my followers will go along with it because we've built a connection and it will add to their knowledge too.

On Friday, I went with my Restored team to visit Aurora Behavioral Health, and it was fun to drive over there and bond with my team. It's part of our efforts to branch out into the community and network/build up a referral base. Afterwards, I had a meeting with the owners to talk about how to help improve my client build-up and retainment so I can be more financially secure, then I had a client. I got to spend the night eating food and watching some episodes of Demon Slayer with Sean.

On Saturday, after my temple shift, I went out to lunch with Kat. She recently went through a divorce and has been struggling with some things. She knows some of my family members and is always so sweet and outgoing to me at the temple. We got to hang out and have a really good conversation. She said there were things I said that were helpful and insightful to her, and I was grateful for the chance to share some thoughts and insights. She was so kind and built me up, saying she is excited to see where I go in life and that I am so wise for my years. She hadn't really had Thai food before, but she really liked the curry! So I was pleased to convert her over the the Thai cuisine ;). She was able to share some tender things on her heart and mind, tearing up, and I was grateful for the opportunity to help bear her burdens, mourn with her, etc. God is good, giving me opportunities to love and serve as I am intentionally trying to prioritize him.

Love,

Emily Burnham

Journal Catch Up

28 March - 22 June 2025

I realized just how terrible of a long-term memory I have! I worked as a temple worker at the Provo City Center Temple, but for the life of me, I cannot remember when or how long. It struck me the importance of this blog I keep: I will be able to go back through I remember when different things happened when my own memory is super faulty! I will really appreciate that I've kept track of things on a monthly (if not weekly like I used to) basis. So, I have a couple of months to play catch up on, but better late than never!

Starting in May, I was asked to come in extra early on my temple shift on Saturdays for three months so I could help with the patrons who are coming to the 6am endowment session or for patrons who come to do baptisms at 5:30am. I've been having to get up an hour earlier, and it's definitely started to take a tole on me, but only one more month left! So I'm hanging in there and working to remain positive. One cool thing that has come of it is that I am relying on the Lord more to sustain me, so I feel and witness more of his tender mercies. This past Saturday, I got to participate in two initiaries were sisters were getting their own endowments, and I got to anoint them. One of the sisters started tearing up and crying, which made me start to tear up too, and I was just flooded with God's love and with reverence as I saw how sacred and meaningful this was for her. I really needed that moment. And at the end of my shift, I was working the front desk, and the recorder started talking about the second coming and millium, and how it is closer than we think or realize, and it was just the reminder and refocus I needed. I feel like I put a lot of my life "on hold" and have a list of dreams that I'll "do later" when I'm older, more financially stable, married, smarter, more established, etc. But I realized that this may be one of Satan's tactics to keep me from doing more good than I am capable of, because "later" may not actually come. The second coming could happen before I'm married, before I'm old enough to be a senior missionary, etc, etc. So I want to be more intentional that I'm making the most use of my time right now and not just "getting by" while I "wait."

When I first got home from my trip to Korea, I felt amazing physically (gut health wise) but then I became lax and started eating whatever (still not gluten, but dairy and sugar) and wasn't careful to monitor. My stomach started hurting a lot, and I am still trying to note and keep track of things. I've noticed I do a lot better when I stay off of dairy and sugar. I've also been working out at the gym still, and trying to build up my arm muscles and stretch so I can do the splits. I'm making slow but steady progress there.

I've also been noticing a lot of growth in myself, especially in what we call "self of the therapist" in therapy. I've noticed some areas where I get anxious or self-conscious or worried and then overcompensate or make it about myself before I even realized it, and I was able to catch those moments and work through them without any prolonged spiraling into shame or beating up on myself or shutting down or blaming or anything like that! I was able to see things more clearly, process through it, figure out how I felt and how I wanted to feel, and then it didn't linger. I feel in a much better place and have felt so grateful that I can take feedback better without going to shame, because I realized that in my relationship with God, if I was too sensative and stressed if He gave me feedback of things to work on, then I wasn't able to hear as much as He wanted to tell me, because He'd then have to spend time comforting me and waiting for me to heart Him better, but I was too busy spiraling into self-shame. Now, I can notice things I should do better and not feel overwhelming shame or guilt that keeps me from being kind to myself in the process of improvement. I even had a quote come to mind this past week as I was thinking over my past struggles with impostor syndrome. The thought came to me, "Yes, anyone could do what you're doing... but they're not. You're the one putting in the time, the effort, and the sacrifice. If they want to do it too, let them, but that doesn't take away your right to also do it and it can't replace the unique things you have to offer." God has called us each to a work, and He needs us to be us. He needs me to be Emily, not some shrunken version of myself because I was given messages from others that certain parts of me were not appreciated or valued or liked.

I rebranded my Instagram! I also created a new logo, and it feels much more meaningful and congruent with my brand. It's a butterfly, which symbolizes evolving, transformation, and growth. And also height and elevation. But within the butterfly, there is a hidden "E" and "W" and "E" for "Elevate With Emily" (which is my brand name). I simplified and made it look more grounded and professional, and I am really trying to create a niche of religion, therapy, and K-dramas, though with time, I may just focus on fatih and religion. But for now, I'm working to combine three of my favorite things, passions, and hobbies. But I still want to be fully grounded in Jesus Christ and not be distracted or pulled in a million different directions. I hope to make an impact and influence for good, starting now! I want to start asking myself more frequently, "What do I really want right now?" As in, what can I do right now to lead me towards what I really want for my future instead of getting sucked into distracting things that are not contributing to my overall goals and the bigger picture. I was thinking how ever since learning about how the natural man is like our survival brain, everything else has been clicking so much clearer for me, including how to conceptualize EFT and where mindfulness fits into the picture and how change works. I keep thinking I need to make a journal/workbook with these lessons in there, so I want to prioritize that, and I also have thought about how my old dream of being an author is still there, but it got put on a "wait for the future when you're more popular or skilled" burner, and how I don't need to be any better than I am right now to create meaningful work. My little sister told me that the first book I ever wrote is one of her favorites and she brought it to college with her and rereads it frequently. So, I want to really prioritize my time to make steps in doing these things.

Today at church, I felt so blessed because I had the opportunity to minister to and share love with a girl in my ward who heard some challenging news with work and had something weighing on her heart that brought her to tears. I was honored for the opportunity to love and serve, to be God's hands. It feels amazing, my whole body thrums with lightness and fulfilling energy and purpose and my eyes tear up in gratitude as I think about how God is speaking to me and directing me and that I am useful and doing good. I still feel lonely from time to time, but I am continuing to keep connections and continue to grow and work towards the healthiest connection with myself that I can have and a stronger connection to God. It continues to strike me that this is all His work, and He has a plan for me, and I truly want all I do to glorify Him and to be done with an eye single to His glory.

Love,

Emily Burnham

Me still living the high from my South Korea trip, rocking the swag!

This mother of mine brings me laughs and joy! Love her silly and playful side:

Gracelyn really liked Hanna!

We found this Indian Buffet and LOVE it!

Tried making Kimbap... it turned out a bit dry, but was fun!

Easter egg coloring! I won "Overall Amazing" for one of my eggs I did! We got $5 prizes :)

My dressed matched the color and vibes of my Alchemy of Souls soundtrack, so I wanted to take a selfie and loved how cute it turned out!

This little one LOVES playdough! She's adorable, in case you couldn't tell ;)

Random reminder that I'm still putting out YouTube videos! This is a picture for a cover I took, but I don't know if I'll ever use it (I think I deleted and redid the video that this picture goes to).

Sean, mom, and me stopped for acai bowls on our way home from the gym. Mine came with SO many raspberries and was soooo delicious and definitely hit the spot!!

On June 8th, Aaron got into a wreck on his electric unicycle and called us to come over to help clean up his road rashes.

On June 14th, we went with Hanna to "The Street" in Mesa, where they have a Korean dessert shop, and we got Patbingsu, which is like snow/fluffy ice with red beans and condensed milk and fruit on top. Plus me and my mom got boba, which was so delicious! I had to take a picture by this because it said "Emily" lol.

I had updated headshots taken for work since I got my hair darkened. I didn't LOVE how they turned out, but you know what? I am just my harshest critic and plus, pictures can't capture your full essense, so whatever.

On June 21, my mom took me on a date to see The Scarlet Pimpernel. We went out to dinner at Zinburger and got icecream at Topo beforehand. It was a wonderful evening! The show I went to before with her at the Hale theatre was called "Kiss and Tell." I'd forgotten, so I guess I just want it in writing somewhere in case I forget and again and wanted to remember ;)

As a side note, it's been fun having Sean home. He moved back in with us a couple weeks ago, well technically with Grandpa, but he comes over to eat and chill. We watched the anime "Solo Leveling" together and I try to spend some quality time with him. We went to two FHEs together, one was a trivia night and the other was a stake swim night (where he actually jumped from a 16 foot platform and landed his flip wrong and had nasty red bruises on his side for a week). And he's a pretty good wingman for me, too!

South Korea Trip - March 2025

13 March - 27 March 2025

I figured it was about time to write about my trip! I have some core experiences I want to keep as memories. I left my house Thursday morning around 2:30am (bless Valerie's heart for coming to get me) and I arrived at my hotel in Seoul, Korea 25 hours later. My first four days in Korea were on my own before my tour started. During this time, I actually did feel very alone, but not too scared. But ordering food was scary, so I would just buy some things at the convenience store across the street. I definitely feel like I didn't do as much when I was on my own compared to being on the tour group. I was grateful I got to meet up with Sister Lee at the temple and have her show me around afterwards. It was SO nice to have someone to talk to that I was so chatty. I missed hearing people speak English! There were a lot of foreigners around, but when I eavesdropped, they were speaking German or French or other languages. Riding public transportation is super quiet, since people don't really talk, and plus I didn't have anyone to talk to when I was alone. The tour was eight days, from the 18th to the 25th, and the night the tour ended, I took the subway to Incheon and was picked up by Hanna's sister and her husband, taken to my hotel, and then spent half of the next day with them. My very last day, the 28th, I walked around and explored on my own and went shopping, then took a Taxi to the airport. Again, I felt like it was hard to know cool spots to go to or fun things to do when I was alone... plus being alone and not having someone to share the experience with automatically makes going to do some things a bit harder. But it was still fun and an incredible time, even the parts where I was alone, but I just definitely noticed a HUGE difference when I was with other people. Hanna's sister and her husband were so sweet and kind. The language barrier was greater than I thought it would be, so fortunately I was able to use Google translate to help us communicate about the details. I just made sure to smile a lot have have a cheerful countenance and look like I was enjoying everything (because I really was but I just wanted that to translate even without words). I wanted to show my immense gratitude and joy in being able to meet and connect with them. When they heard that I really like Korean BBQ, they changed the place they'd picked out for lunch and took me to a great spot for grilling up steak and it was SO good! I really enjoyed the food and made sure to let them know, and I ate everything they got me! I don't know if they were surprised that I ate everything, but I think they really enjoyed seeing me eat. Then the husband had to leave for a business trip, so me and Hanna's sister went to a cafe and she ordered me this shaved milk/ice dessert with red bean sauce on top. We took a picture of us all eating together, and then Hanna's sister turned it into a cartoon using an app, which was super cute!

When I visited the Seoul Korea Temple, I got there much earlier than my appointment, and I followed the signs to the Family History center. I went inside and there was a senior missionary couple from Utah! This was their second or third senior mission to Korea. It was so nice to be able to connect with them, and they were incredibly friendly. I also got to walk around the temple grounds (I could circle the temple in less than 2 minutes) and I passed by these two ladies with this toddler girl who was adorable, so as I passed, I said "cute" in Korean while pointing to her and they laughed and said thank you (I'm sure my pronunciation was not the best, since that's a hard word for me to say, but I think they appreciated the effort and it made their day). Inside the temple, the changing room was so small. The stalls were short, so my entire head stuck out and I accidentally made eye contact with another lady walking into the dressing room! LOL. As I waited to get my new name, one of the temple worker ladies gestured that I was really tall, so I told her my height in Korean (which took me saying 2-3 times before she understood, but probably because she wasn't expecting me to speak Korean) and she looked so surprised and impressed, her face was like "No way!" During the endowment session, it felt a bit foreign, because it was so much smaller than any temple I'd ever been in, and was in a completely different language, but afterwards as I was standing and pondering in the celestial room, I had this overwhelming sense of rightness and truth pierce me. Even though it felt a bit weird/foreigner, I felt the Spirit telling me it was all true. It made me think about how people hearing the gospel for the first time might think it sounds weird, with angels appearing and gold plates, but how the Spirit will testify that it is true and touch their hearts even if they don't understand everything. I was also strongly overcome with the Spirit as I looked around and saw all the temple workers and thought about these faithful saints from across the country dedicating their time to serve the Lord in His house.

I also went to the English Military Branch, and there were people there from all over. I got to meet some girls who were doing a semester abroad, and we decided to all go together to the Seoul YSA Branch (I was so happy because I'd been planning on going by myself and was so happy to have some company). We traveled almost an hour by subway to get there. We went to Sunday School first, which was on the third or fourth floor, and there were only three or four others besides us. It was so cool to meet people from Switzerland and other parts of the world, and to see us all communicating in English. There were also some native Koreans who spoke English very well, either from serving missions or just studying it in school. There was a girl who had been living in Korea for over five years and her Korean was really good, so during sacrament meeting, she live transcribed into zoom, and fortunately I had my Bluetooth ear buds, so I connected to the zoom call and could listen to the translation... because unfortunately, my Korean was not as good as I'd hoped, and I really understood next to nothing :(. Then they had a Relief Society linger longer after, with hot dogs, and watched a broadcast (but we'd already seen it in the branch before that one) so we dipped out and went down to the YSA gather place room on the first floor (it was so different to have the church buildings look like office buildings on the outside and then to have to take elevators to get to the chapel vs sunday school etc. The gathering place room had a foosball table, tons of games, a kitchenette with snacks, and a stage. I stayed for at least two hours and chatted with other YSAs and played Jenga... I was the youngest one! The others were into their early thirties, even though everyone looked so young.

When we first started the tour, as I was meeting up with my tour group, I ran into Pavy. She was the next youngest one on the trip besides me. I was the "maknae" aka youngest in the group. She has over 400k followers on her K-Drama account so she was invited on the tour for free as a way to promote the tours to her followers (I believe she still had to pay for her flight). We sat next to each other on the bus and became good friends, along with the third youngest, Tori. The three of us hit it off well and called ourselves the "Maknae Line" iykyk ;). Anways, so I bumped into her and we hadn't eaten yet. We had an hour until we could check in and then go to orientation, so we went to lunch together. We were supposed to meet up with some of the other ladies in our group, but we could not find them! They sent us the address of where they were meeting, and for the first and only time on my trip, Google maps let me down! It took us to the completely wrong place and we kept getting so turned around. It was quite comical and bonding. We ended up just heading back to the hotel and stopped at a kimbap store on the way for lunch.

On the tour, we attended a Traditional Korean Drum class, and at the end of it, they had some people perform for us. After the performance, we got to take a group photo with them, and one of the drummers was very short compared to me, so when he noticed how tall I was standing next to him and looked amazed/envious, I told him my height in Korean, and he looked surprised and then gestured to his own height and said playfully "No comment" and then then went to the front. It was so funny. Me and my nearby tourmates were laughing so hard.

I cried two times during my trip to South Korea, and both times involved food. The first time was because we were left to find lunch on our own at a market. Sophy, our awesome tour guide, had shown me around to two places I could try to get something gluten-free, and then she left. I went back to the first place she had shown me and ordered, but they said that actually there was gluten because of the soy sauce. So then I felt overwhelmed because that was really the only place I could have eaten at (the other one she showed me was cross-contaminated, not really going to work), so then I felt like there was nothing I could eat, and I couldn't communicate well with any of the people to try and find something on my own, and it was super crowded and noisy, and I was SUPER hungry, so I got overwhelmed and emotional and started crying. I ate a granola bar out of my backpack, which helped tide me a bit, and then I got a cup of fruit to eat. I ran into the male tour guide, and his English was not very good, so we had a bit of a hard time trying to communicate, but he felt bad that I had been crying and wanted to help find me something to eat. He said there was a stall that sold "live beef" that would be gluten free... but when we got there, I realized he meant RAW beef, and the poor lady got her hopes up that we were buying from her but I shook my head "no thanks" and backed away when I realized it was raw meat (which fortunately she thought was amusing) and then I told our tour guide I would be okay and went to search for food on my own. I found some packaged snacks and nuts, reading the ingredients to make sure they were safe, then bought and ate those instead. The second time I cried was on my last day in Korea. I had been touring around all morning on my own, and knew I needed to grab some lunch before heading to the airport, and I didn't want to have to deal with the hassle of finding a place that would be safe for me to eat at, so I decided to go back to the restaurant where Hanna's family had taken me the day before. I was familiar with the menu and how to order on the kiosks on the table. But I didn't realize that to order the Korean BBQ, there was a minimum amount you had to purchase (close to $40-$50 worth), so they wouldn't let me order just one or two. At this point, I'm sitting down at the table, and they've already brought me water and side dishes, so I feel stuck. I can't just get up and leave at this point. And it took a while for them to communicate the minimum requirement because my Korean is very poor and they did not know English very well. So I'm trying to look through the menu to find something else, and I'm not really seeing anything else, and I'm trying to ask if there's wheat/gluten in them, and I have to use Google translator, and I am hungry and overwhelmed, so they leave me alone to keep looking and I start crying. Then one of the waiter guys comes over and types out on his phone into Google translate, "Why are you crying?" and I type out that I was having a hard time finding something that wouldn't make me feel sick because of my food allergy, and he finally understood and sat down and went through the whole menu with me and pointed out things I could eat and said my best bet would be the bibibap (which I grew SO sick of. I can't have the pepper paste that goes with it because they add a bit of wheat to it, so it's very plain and bland), but I was over it at that point, so I just said "okay" and ordered it. Little did I realize.... (karma, yall...) that the beef it came with was RAW. So I had to eat raw beef after all! I didn't want to be offensive and I need my protein, so I just mixed it all up and sucked it up and ate, with only the slightest urges to gag. It tasted fine, and the texture was okay, despite being a bit slimy/chewy, but just knowing it was raw made me want to gag. But I didn't get sick from it or feel bad after I ate it. Also, the waiter was very attentive and brought me more side dishes and another sauce to flavor it with since I couldn't have the red pepper sauce. He was more communicative and attentive, and I was really grateful for his help because I'd felt so overwhelmed and lonely. When I left, I made sure to bow and say thank you to him.

When I was traveling from Seoul to Incheon to meet up with Hanna's family, I looked a little bit lost as I was looking at maps and trying to figure out which train to take. I had taken it quite a few times before, so I did know what I was doing, but I was still slow and just triple checking everything, and probably tired too, so just being super cautious. But an older Korean man noticed and came up to me and asked where I was headed and was able to help me. This reminds me of a previous experience I had of when I was first using the system and a Korean gentleman noticed I looked lost and directed me to the right way to go. But this time around, this other man said he was heading in the same direction and said to follow him, so I rode the train with him to the next stop and when we got off, we were going separate ways, so he gestured for the way for me to go and then before we parted, he asked if we could take a picture together (he was actually really tall, but I had maybe 4 inches on him, and he wanted me to stand up very straight, not bend forward). He said he was Christian and asked to pray with me before we parted. He said a prayer in English and had me repeat after him. I also left him with one of my WWJD bracelets. This was such a cool experience, because literally the day before, I had been praying for a missionary opportunity. The Lord is SO good and truly does hear and answer prayers. When it is on our mind and we seek it, He helps line things up for us. I felt so happy and grateful. Well, lo and behold, I got on a train that ended right before the stop I needed, so then I had to transfer to another track, and as I was standing in front of some seats waiting with my luggage, more and more people came and stood around me. Two young Korean girls approached and I heard them speak in Korean, and I thought I heard the word for "sit" and I immediately thought that they were saying they wish they could sit down and I realized I was standing in front of the only seats left, so maybe they were complaining about me blocking the way, idk, but I immediately moved to the side and gestured for them to sit, and they looked suprised/taken aback, and one of the girls gave me the deepest bow I saw while there and said thank you. It made me feel good that I was able to understand and help them out.

I didn't really talk about my tour experience, but that is because I took SO many pictures of everything (and even created a picture/video slideshow of my experience on YouTube). The itinerary was so well planned out and I feel like every meaningful moment is pretty much accounted for! Overall, I had the most fabulous experience. Even when I came down sick and lost a lot of my youthful, giddy energy, I was still able to relax and enjoy and go-with-the-flow. The days passed by so quickly, and on my last day, I remember just wanting to touch everything I passed by to help it stay more concrete in my memories. For me to leave a trace of myself being there (like my fingerprints on the sides of buildings) and to remember the texture of how things felt so that when I went home and watched K-Dramas, I'd be able to more fully be submerged because I'd be able to say, "I've touched those types of signs or plants or stone before!" I know that sounds a bit silly. But I was just so incredibly present and mindful during the experience. I didn't have to worry about any of the logistics and was just able to sit back and enjoy. I didn't even know how much of a break I needed until afterwards. It helped put things into perspective, and when I went back to work afterwards, I just felt more grounded and confident and relaxed. Work wasn't as stressful or big of a deal. I'd traveled across the country by myself! I got to see all these new things and it put into perspective how small my worries were that I wasn't a good therapist, etc. I also loved that I could just be myself on the tour. I didn't have to pretend to be a professional (how I felt the first year or two of practicing therapy, like I had to pretend I was a real, legit professional even though I was a real one. Imposter syndrome for the win). And the people I was with were truly incredible. They were kind, uplifting, encouraging, fun, funny, and supportive. We bonded over K-Dramas and never ran out of conversations. I didn't have to be on guard or worry about people saying hurtful things or me not being enough. I felt accepted just as I was and was so uplifted by all the kindness around me, including the natives serving us meals and the people we ran into as we traveled around. Like when we wore Hanbok at the temple/shrine, an older man spoke with me and was impressed with my Korean and I was impressed with his English, so we shared a bit about how we learned each other's language. I felt very emotionally safe among my tour group and didn't even realize how relaxed I could become/how stressed and tense I was before this trip. It was an expensive trip, but truly healing and so good for my mental and emotional health, and the memories and connections are lasting months after the trip.

I also love how the connection has continued since I've been home. Not only is our tour group chat still active and we update and talk to each other from time to time, but also I invited over friends and family to come watch a slide show of my trip (link included below) and have been able to share it with lots of people and basically get to relive my trip!! It's awesome :)

YouTube Video Link: https://youtu.be/8iJympbK_hA

Birthday Triplets At It Again!

 6 January - 23 February 2025

So much has happened since I last wrote, which is probably why I skipped doing the end of January/beginning of February (aka my birthday weekend), but here I am to give you a quick catch-up on life these past two months. Which, spoiler alert, has been marvelous!

To start with, I began working as a temple ordinance worker on January 11th, and I have been loving serving in the Gilbert temple each Saturday morning. It has brought joy and an increase of the Spirit into my life, plus I love feeling the belonging that comes from joining a shift. I spent a lot of January trying to figure out why my stomach was hurting so much even when I ate "safe" foods, and I consulted with my doctor, who recommended I take this liquid compound that helps soothe people's stomachs when they present with IBS symptoms. I took that for about 3 weeks, and I didn't have any stomach pain during that time or right after (and the only stomach pain I've experienced since was when I ate too much sugar... thanks birthday and then Valentines. The holidays really get you!). 

I'm fortunate to say that work is going well. I am still building up a caseload, but it is increasing week by week! I'm so grateful to say there is no drama or stress on that end for me. And of course, at the end of January, I had my birthday. I went out to lunch with mom to Cup Bop, a Korean fast food chain. Then for dinner, we met up with Valerie, Symantha, and Grandpa Jim for dinner at Chiles (Symantha picked) and then went home and had cake and opened presents. Mom made me a lemon raspberry cake with cream cheese frosting. Delish! In fact, I ate too much and then had a stomachache for the rest of the night. But what was incredible was that it did not ruin my birthday (as my dad jokingly said, "Way to ruin your birthday). I just accepted that I overate, that this pain was a natural consequence of that and a message from my body, and I laid down and listened to an audiobook until I felt better and could get ready for bed. 

I also purchased tickets to visit South Korea! I'll be going for two weeks at the end of March, and I signed up for a tour through Noona's Noonchi, which combines mental health with K-dramas. I'm so excited to be going! I felt so good about it when pondering if I should go. It'll be my first time traveling abroad by myself, but I'm not feeling scared (though perhaps some nerves may come when I'm dropped off at the airport... but we shall see). I met up with three different friends who have all lived in or visited Korea to talk, and they gave me some helpful tips. Plus, they're always the best of company! I also had a K-Drama evening with a girl from church, and we were able to chat and connect, which I really enjoyed.

I've been attending YSA events, doing my calling, obtaining further training in mental health, loving on my family (spending time with my niece is one of my favorite things. She is SO cute and we all love obsessing about her), and living my best life. No complaints. I am just filled with so much gratitude as I write this today, because I feel at peace. It's been a long journey to arrive here, but every step was necessary. I am in the best place I've ever been mentally, and I've been focusing on my health and improving my diet and just overall, trying to take the best care of myself so I can better love and serve others. I also had a cool experience serving in the temple last Saturday. I was blessed to help in initiatories with a lady in a wheelchair who hadn't been in a while, and there was such a special spirit there. I have the best sisters in the world, the best family, and am blessed to be in such incredible work environments and meeting incredible clients, seeing their growth and progress.

Much love,

Emily Burnham

Photo dump:

Office selfie, cuz why not?! ;P

This little cutie is getting so big! Look how long her hair is getting!

A pretty sunset that I snapped a photo of to send to Lucy to make her jealous ;)

FHE lego car derby race. We did not come close to winning.

My mom sure spoils me. I love her SO much!

What makes this picture so funny is that it looks like I'm for "pick up" lol. Mom did not intentionally take it that way XD.

My gift from Valerie! It made me smile so big! I'd been really wanting a necklace with my name in Korean and my sister really came through! She knows me too good!!

I've never known differently, but it sure is fun sharing a birthday with these two! Can't believe how old we are all getting!

And, we can't forget our unofficial birthday quadruplet who missed out only by a day!

I've been wearing my necklace a lot, hehe! It's so cool when people can recognize it's Korean or when it is a conversation starter!

While shopping, I saw this aile and it made me think of Lucy (whose current obsession is Cheez-Its... literally people buy them for her up at BYU) so I took this selfie and sent it to Lucy.

At a FHE event, my two friends invited me in for a quick selfie!