A Week to Laugh

 24 October - 30 October 2022

Hola, mi amigos. My tender mercy of the week was that I got to go back to work! I only work 12 hours a week now, but better than nothing! It has been nice to go into work, where it's pretty chill and quiet, and have time to do some homework. I've also made sure to have better scripture studies in the morning. It really helps if I read before I get up to exercise. I've also been studying by topic, which has been super cool. I think of some words that describe my problems or concerns for that day and then search for them and their synonyms in the scriptures and read verses about it. I've gained a greater appreciation for the Bible and how many emotions are expressed in its pages.

Monday night for FHE, we played glow in the dark Frisbee. It was pretty fun, and I even caught and threw the frisbee a couple of times without dropping it or messing up too badly! I was very happy about that! Tuesday was pretty productive because I went shopping after work and got new garments and things. Doing homework this past week has been tough... and by "homework" I really just mean trying to get ahead on all my essays that are due in three to five weeks. I want to get ahead on those so that I am not weighed down by them right before, during, and then after my trip to Chicago mid-November for my Track 2 Residency. But I'm doing my very best, and I did pretty good working on one essay on Saturday and felt so accomplished afterwards, for doing something I'd been DREADING but making progress anyway. Just so much pride and joy and encouragement. So I think I will be okay.

I have also started working on writing letters for my coworkers and giving them the best book recommendation EVER!! (aka, The Book of Mormon). On Wednesday evening, I drove Dana to ministering night and then back home. I was not in the best mood that night, but I am trying to be positive. At work on Thursday, I made a bunch of Gracelyn memes! Everyone loved them.

Then I snagged a quick pic of this cutie just chillin' while dad voted:

On Friday, I went to the temple and had a class meeting in the afternoon, and then we had friends over for dinner. I invited Jasen and Lucy invited her friends Ezra and Adeline. They all LOVED the pizza. Jasen and I then went to Elder Cook's devotional, and my favorite part was hearing him testify of his SURE witness of Jesus Christ's voice and face. I'd had a sacred and special experience at the temple earlier that day that brought me such a greater appreciation, love, and gratitude for my Savior, Jesus Christ, and I kept almost crying every time they talked about Jesus Christ.

I felt so calm on Saturday. I slept in almost until noon!! (I did get up at like 7:30am for almost an hour to talk with my dad and mom, but then headed back to sleep). I was so exhausted for whatever reason, and it felt amazing not having anything to do. I attended my family's ward Halloween party. They had chili and treats. Lucy got to be a swamp monster in the "haunted house" the YW put on inside the church. That was a hit. Seriously though, what would the ward do without the Burnhams? My mom seriously brought half of the carnival games, and then Val and I and mom did a lot of grunt work for helping to clean up at the end. We went home and then me and Lu watched Merlin until we fell asleep.

Can you spot the swamp monster??

Idk why they trusted me with the job of handing out candy... a few pieces may have gone missing...

Sunday was good. I picked Dana up for church and took her home. We had some good talks in the car, and I even made her laugh and smile big with my sound effects while turning corners and stuff. Sacrament meeting was really good, and Valerie did a great job teaching part of second hour. The other teachers weren't as good, but it was still good overall. My other highlight of the week was holding Gracelyn while she was in a really good mood and was actually snuggling with me! It's amazing how you can look for and create light and laughs during weeks when you otherwise don't feel all that great.

Love,

Emily Burnham

Time Out For Woman

 17 October - 23 October 2022

Oh what a week! So much to write about... guess I better get right into it!

Monday was supposed to be my last day at work, so I went early into the office and packed away all my personal items and the Halloween decorations I had put up. It was kind of a bittersweet day, and it was ironically super busy. I spoke with Chris about what he wanted from me, and he was super unclear (typical). The message I got was, "If we're busy, we want you here. If you're not, we don't need you." Well, how am I supposed to predict when it's going to be busy or when they are going to want me, especially if I'm not coming in every day and watching the calendar. Chris said to come in on Tuesday to feel out the pace of how things were going since Monday had been so crazy busy. So Tuesday ended up being my last day. After that, I didn't feel a point in coming back because it was super dead and I don't imagine it picking up before next year, when I will start my internship. That night for FHE, Val booked us a racquetball court to play as a family because the YSA ward was planning a movie night with the cheesy Singles Ward 2 movie, which we both didn't want to do (but I guess her more so than me). So I went along and had fun with my family... even though I did get hit by the racquetball a couple of times! I am legit a magnet to that ball. 

Tuesday was a little rough for me. I went to work in the morning and then left around noon to pick up my order from JC Penny. When I got home, I had to participate in a meet-and-greet Zoom call for my Track 2 Residency course from 3pm to 4pm, but we'd planned to go horseback riding at Uncle David's house at 4pm, and I couldn't get the audio to work through my ear buds on my phone, so I missed getting to ride with my mom and Lucy and was getting a little frustrated and antsy. Then right after the call ended, I drove madly to Dave's house but got stuck in a dumb detour that added 7 minutes to my trip and I was getting mad. But it all turned out okay because it took them half an hour just to saddle up all the horses! We ended up just riding around in the fenced area and not on a trail ride. But my horse, Wild Fire, was NOT having it. She kept trying to run with me on her, which Dave said would be risky cuz the ground was muddy from all the rain and the horse would stop suddenly and slide in the mud and I'd go flying off. So I had a couple of scares. The second scare ended in my breaking a nail as I yanked on the reigns to slow the horse down. Then I quit riding her after that... hehe. I got to ride Ginger next, and it was hard to get her to WALK, so there was no risk of her trying to run and knock you off.

On Wednesday, I didn't have work, so I was able to get a lot of errands done, like filling up my gas tank and doing laundry. I've been fixing up my new room. It's been kind of nice to have my own room, but I'm still not liking my bed too much. I wake up sore pretty much every morning, though part of that could be from the gym. I overstretched one morning this week and was SOOOO sore! I didn't go to work on Thursday either, since I was waiting to hear back from Jill about whether or not I was needed anymore. I did school work and am working on finalizing things for the upcoming internship due date. Thursday night, I went to institute and ate some yummy snacks after and got to wave at Jasen and everyone else in the institute choir. Jasen asked me if I'd like to go to the play Oklahoma with him and his parents, and I was happy that he asked me and have been looking forward to it... except then Lucy went with her friend Wednesday night and said it was terrible. The only way to improve the play was to bring a sleeping mask and ear plugs... I didn't know how to tell Jasen that the play had been modernized and was going to be inappropriate without it sounding like I didn't want to go with him, so I just decided to go along without saying anything. Aaannnnd... they play was absolutely terrible! But we had a fun time laughing at it and making jokes. So it was still a fun time. The play was on Saturday night... sorry for jumping ahead in the week... :). Here's a pic of us from outside of the bldg next to the sign for the play.

On Friday, I went to the temple, and then we went to Time Out For Women in the evening. We got pretty good seats and it was good, though two hours of devotional turned into a five hour ordeal because we had to leave at 5pm to get there even though it started at 7pm, and then it took us an hour to get home. On Saturday, we had to leave at 8am in the morning and didn't get back home until 5:30pm. It was a long day, and while it was fun to spend all day with my sister Valerie and my mom, it was a LOT of sitting and my bum kept going numb from the hard chairs. But there were so many nuggets of truth and insights that did build my faith and testimony. One of my favorite quotes was from Brooke Romney: be easily and loudly amazed. There is so much light in this world if you just look for it. It was also Brie's bday, and they came over for dinner later that night, but I missed it because Jasen picked me up at 6:15pm for the musical. It was cool getting to know his parents and we played a game while we were waiting for the show to start.

We took a walk during our lunch break and found this cute mural.

The Bonner Family's last song. We all lit our flashlights and waved it. It was so pretty in person!

On Sunday, I got to teach Relief Society, and while I'd sort of planned out what to say beforehand, it was during sacrament meeting that some ideas come into my head of things I should say to make it more real and applicable to the sisters. I had this epiphany that being real and genuine and authentic led to deep connection and friendships. However, how can we "be real" when we hate ourselves? When we don't even like or want to be ourselves? This is a major reason why Satan attacks a woman's self-worth and identity so much. He knows that as women embrace themselves and love who they are and wouldn't want to be anyone else, they will be distinct and different in happy ways, which has been prophesied as the way that people will flock to the church in these latter days. I am so glad that I love who I am and can be that example for others and help them love themselves. Three people wrote me a nice-note, which made me feel so good! Come, Follow Me study group that night was a bit weird because it was me and six boys! All the girls cancelled. My own sister ditched me to go to a tamale party, and my younger sister had stake hang-out. It was harder to stay on topic and get people to open up, but everyone did end up talking and sharing something, even the really reserved ones, and they had a fun time chatting afterwards. Jasen was only able to come for a little bit, but he texted me later that something I shared was what he needed to hear.

Also, I have the cutest pictures of Gracelyn to share with you this week!

She's smiling!

Look, she's winking!

Also, here is a quote from the week (from me): "I believe that even on their worst day (or especially on their worst day) people are worth loving. It takes the pressure off of trying to be "perfect," you know? We're all just doing our best and some days are harder than others, and if we all just kept loving each other no matter what, we'd have more room to grow to become like Christ."

Best,

Emily Burnham

Many Missionary Moments

 10 October - 16 October 2022

This past week was great! I was low-key dreading school starting back up again, but it hasn't been awful. My classes and professors seem pretty great this quarter, and it doesn't seem like as much work/studying as previous courses (knock on wood). On Monday, I had an appointment with my care counselor, who I just now realized is not a licensed therapist, which makes SO MUCH SENSE. I can't go into detail, but she just doesn't implement the interventions and types of questions I'm learning about in my graduate program. Annyyyway, at the end of our chat, I had a feeling to share The Book of Mormon with her. I hesitated, but, knowing it was our last time together, I said, "If you're interested in learning more about why I am so spiritual, you should read The Book of Mormon." I told her how to find it online and she said, "Yeah, I'm definitely interested in checking that out." She had said in a previous session that she was interested in learning more about my spirituality. I really hope something comes out of it. I did sent a link to her on the messaging platform to the BoM and also to a site to request a copy delivered to you by missionaries.

Sean moved out. We found out that he dropped out of school without telling anyone and mom was sooo disappointed. They told him no more gaming allowed in the house. He lasted two or three days after that before he blew up and left home, saying all these rude things (I was at work during this and found out by text from Valerie). Apparently his parting line was something along the lines of "I'll have a better life without you peasants!" So that was a bit heartbreaking, but we are coming to recognize that it is for the best. He wasn't progressing here and he needs to go out and find his own path. He changed his phone number and we haven't heard directly from him since he left, but he was in contact with Aaron, so we got to hear that he as okay second hand. Then today Symantha called and said Sean had contacted her and asked if he could stay there, and she said, "Yes, but not long-term." So she's going to give him a place to stay and help him work out a plan for his future. One of the perks of Sean moving out is that I now get my own room... Lucy kicked me out. I went to work one morning and when I came home, Sean's room had been cleaned out and half my stuff was moved in! It was so bittersweet. I've been struggling this past year with feeling like I have no place of my own, no place to go to for quiet and peace, no place to put all my stuff. I've just had to put it around the house in random places. Well, now I have a place of my own and can fit all my stuff there and have a quiet place to go to do school work. I was really sad and cried the first night I slept in my "new room" because it was a reminder that Sean was really gone and that he didn't even say goodbye to me. But I've worked hard this week to really turn it into "my" room, down to the decorations and scents. I have a ways to go, but it is starting to grow on me and I love having my own space. All of this happened on Wednesday before 3:30pm. The best part is I got my own bookshelf, and I went to DI and bought 27 books to add to my collection. 

On Wednesday after work, I drove straight to the gym to play racquetball with my family and Jasen, who also really loves to play. We had a fun time and I was very impressed with how quick Jasen was at getting the ball. He's such a gentleman and always builds the people up around him.

On Friday, Dad taught me how to change the oil in my car. I don't think I could do it alone because everything was screwed on so tight, there was no way I'd get it free without my dad helping. But it was cool to learn about the process and how easy it really is... if you're strong, haha! The sad part of my day was that my boss called and basically laid me off and said that now that things are slow, they don't need both me AND Denae (the woman I've been training to take my place), and so instead of leaving in December, I can make my last day on Monday. Two months earlier than I planned for!!! EEK! So my bank account is not going to be happy, and I'm trying to figure out if I should get a seasonal job or just try to babysit or what. But, on the bright side, I've enjoyed getting to know Denae. She's very sweet and a genuine person. I've been open talking about my religion and she texted me and asked what denomination I was because she's been looking to get back into going to church. I told her I was Christian, but specifically The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and that I'd love for her to come to church with me! So she did :D She came to sacrament meeting this morning, and she said it was different than what she was used to, but she enjoyed it and said, "I definitely could just feel the love and happiness in there today." People have been saying, "Wow, you're such an amazing missionary!" And I've pondered about that because I haven't been doing anything differently than I have for the past year. I'm living the same lifestyle, talking about my religion to coworkers, being inviting, etc. The only difference is that God placed someone in my path that was actually interested and has wanted to know more. With my other coworker who I've invited to church activities and given a Book of Mormon to and has had dinner at my house when the missionaries were over--nothing. He is just not interested. He likes the social aspect but shuts down with the religion stuff. So I'm just truly grateful for God giving me these moments of joy and happiness in seeing some fruits of living a righteous and missionary-minded lifestyle. It's such a joy that he trusted me with these people.

Another funny thing that happened this week was that Gracelyn's diaper leaked and left a poo-stain on Lucy. Poor girl!! Haha. It was right after I held her, so I barely missed the blast... *whew* Gracelyn makes funny faces with her eyebrows drawn together a lot. She sure brings a lot of joy to our family, and I love the soft and happy smile on my dad's face when he looks at her and interacts with her.

Look, mom and Gracelyn match with Mandalorian shirts!

Now I am going to backtrack to Saturday. I got ready for the masquerade ball. I went with Jasen. Originally, I'd asked him if he wanted to play pickleball with me and Elizabeth and Spencer, but then the plans changed because Elizabeth wanted a back-up plan in case it rained (which, good thing, because it rained HARD on Saturday!!!). So I told her about the ball and she thought that sounded more fun anyway. So it changed from a chill, relaxed date to a very formal date, which was a little nerve-wracking, but Jasen was super chill about it and made it so fun. He had some great dance moves and I got to teach him how to waltz and the basics of country swing dancing. It was a really memorable night. The best part was that Jasen really loved his mask, which Valerie had given me to bring for him, since she'd bought a two-pack of masks on Amazon. I also bought new shoes that turned out perfect and were so pretty (which of course you can't see in the picture, but I wasn't even wearing them anyways. I wore old flip flops and then changed into my sandals once we got to the dance because I didn't want them to get wet and muddy from all the rain). Valerie also went and she looked stunning! I just got a pic of her trying on everything to see how it went, not after she'd done her hair and makeup.

This was a pre-dance pic at Jasen's house:

Come, Follow Me study group on Sunday was great. We have a pretty big turn out now coming pretty consistently, and everyone seems open to sharing and I really enjoy it. Today, Spencer brought his nonmember roommate, which was so cool! He said he wanted to come because he'd been looking to join a bible study group, and he even spoke up and gave comments throughout the evening! It was so great. I love all of these missionary opportunities that are coming to me. I am so grateful for my relationship with God and the love He freely and unconditionally gives me.

Much love,

Emily Burnham

Baby Blessing of Gracelyn

 3 October - 9 October 2022

Last evening for CFM, we had a great turn out, and I asked Jasen if he could play pickleball with me and my friend and her date. I also invited him to play racquetball with me and my siblings, so we are going to play this next week on Wednesday. 

On Monday, we had a crazy rain storm. It took down an electrical wire from the power lines and it landed across our driveway and across Valerie's car! We lost power for a couple of hours. I got Costa Vida for dinner because everyone else was ordering pizza, and I couldn't cook anything with the power out. We went to FHE and played General Conference trivia, and I rocked all the questions about what color ties people were wearing because Lucy had to guess what they'd be, so I was paying extra attention to that.

I've been training my replacement this past week, and it's been both good and taxing. She is very kind and capable, and I've been battling my own insecurities of what I'm going to do for the next couple of months now that there are two of us, and thinking they will like her more than me. But whatever. I recognize those are normal thoughts that I don't need to give more power to in my life.

Tuesday, I went to the doctor's and scheduled a blood test for Friday to get my blood drawn and tested. I also had my tithing declaration meeting with Bishop Rollings and ate a bunch of his chocolates from the chocolate jar... hehe. That man gets me because he said that a meal doesn't feel complete unless you eat a little chocolate after it! Thursday night, Val and I watched Hocus Pocus in preparation for seeing the new one that came out.

On Friday night, I went to the Keadle's house to celebrate Brother Keadle's birthday, and they fed us dinner! I enjoyed going and talking and eating. Afterwards, Val and I went home to watch Hocus Pocus 2 and mom and dad joined us on the couch to watch it. Mom loved it! It was pretty good.

On Saturday evening, I noticed how hard it was raining and pouring outside, so I called Grandpa Jim to see if the old man was snoring. He was not amused by my phone call. Oh well, I thought it was hilarious! Fortunately, our power did not go out again.

School is starting up, and my prayer and hope and fast is that I'll have the strength and motivation to do well and succeed in my courses. I'm also finalizing things for my internship. I'm striving to have deeper and intense scripture studies. I'm also enjoying spending time with others and building relationships better. I'm enjoying spending time and serving my family members and loving on them.

Gracelyn's blessing was great. Aaron did a great job blessing her to be healthy, to stay close to the Savior, to have unconditional love for others and serve them, and to walk the covenant path and be married in the temple one day. She looks a little grumpy and tired from all the attention she got. Her little eyebrows were furrowed and she was crying a bit when we were taking the group picture.

Much love,

Emily Burnham

General Conference

 26 September - 2 October 2022

Last Sunday evening, Briesa and Aaron and Gracelyn came over, and it was so fun to hold her because she was wide awake and looking all around. I love when she interacts with us. She sure is getting heavier! She'll be one week tomorrow. I took some cute pics of dad (or should I say, grandpa) holding her. She's so stinkin' cute! Mom is obsessed with her. Whenever dad is talking to Aaron on the phone and we hear a baby crying in the background, mom goes, "Graaaaclyyynnn! Grandma's here!"

This past week at work, I decided to spend time applying for scholarships since I'm still on break from school. I'll keep doing that this week, though I may not have as much time because a new girl (my replacement for next year) will be starting and I'll have to train her. On Monday for FHE, we played marshmallow baseball. I was very skeptical about it, so I wore sandals thinking that would get me out of playing... but then it was so fun and I was sad I didn't wear better shoes. Karma!! It was a good time. Also, this week I woke up at 5:30am every day to go walking with Lucy, because she's really unhappy about her weight and how she looks. Poor thing. I just want her to feel supported and loved in her goals, and mostly I want her to know how precious and amazing she is. I increased my scripture study this week and felt increased power to resist the temptation of eating sugar. On Wednesday, I went to ministering night and visited one of my ministering sisters who I haven't met, Jasmine. She wasn't home, but I met her parents. Thursday night, we had a Relief Society craft night and I made a Fall wreath. I wrote a note and left it and the wreath on Jasmine's doorstep. I finally heard back from her after inviting her to CFM study group. She said, "Thanks for the invite, but I'm moving soon. Take me off the contact list." So... I guess she didn't like my wreath. But oh well! Haha. :)

Also on Thursday, I had my work meeting. I had a lot of feedback and wasn't feeling that great this week (like every little thing was getting on my nerves), so I decided that at least I'd look cute. I'd went shopping with mom earlier to buy more professional clothes for when I start my internship as a therapist in three months (yeep!). So I looked goood! It went fine, and they liked my suggestions but then basically said, "Yeah, go research some more options and get back to us with the best one and then you can train us." Haha, so I gave myself even more work. 

 General Conference has been really good. I feel joy and pride to be part of the Lord's restored church. I'm not alone and I'm part of something amazing. I'm so happy and grateful for that and for my testimony and love of God. In order to follow the directions of the prophet, I'm going to spend more time in the temple by going to the Celestial room after initiatories or spending longer in there after endowments. I also decorated the front part of my office at Sun Income Tax in preparation for Halloween, which makes me happy--getting to bring parts of home to work and decorate, not necessarily Halloween itself. I'm not the biggest fan of dressing up... ha...ha...ha.

Funny moment of the week... I guess I broke my sunglasses by dropping them or something, and one of the lens came out, but I didn't notice when I put them on. It seemed a little weird, but I was like, "Oh well." But then I looked in the review mirror to back up and saw my reflection... HAHAHA!!!!

So, yup, I ordered new sunglasses :). You can tell how happy I was about that ordeal... ;). Aaron and Bri are coming over for dinner tonight. Yes, that means we'll get to see the baby again! YES! And then I have a Come, Follow Me study group coming over at 7pm, which I'm looking forward to!

Best,

Emily Burnham