Merry Christmas!

 18 December - 25 December 2023

Some highlights from the past week include... playing pickleball with Andrew, Valerie, and Porter after FHE! FHE was a white elephant gift exchange, and I got a giant pack of ramen noodles, which I regifted (along with the pooping dog calendar) to my brother Sean, who seemed to like the gifts! Saturday morning, I had a great time in the temple morning because I got to be sealed in behalf of two Korean girls to their parents, and then one of the ladys in the room was also an MFT, so we talked for a bit after, then I got to see Val and Porter in the celestial room! Saturday afternoon, I went to As You Wish Pottery with Valerie, Lucy, and Porter. Us girls made cute little tea cups, but I'll have to upload the pictures next week because they'll be ready for pick up sometime this week. Christmas eve dinner was delicious! We had tamales, chili, and nachos! Christmas day, Valerie officially got engaged to Porter! We had our Christmas lunch with three sets of missionaries and played the "sounds" game. The morning was really relaxing because we got to sleep in, then watch the Christ child and eat a yummy breakfast! I have been eating too much junk food and sugar lately, but I enjoyed it while it lasted, and now I'm on to a healthier diet. Some of my highlights of the past week were sitting in my room on my cozy chair, wrapped in a blanket, eating yummy treats, while watching a Kdrama! I am continuing to slowly and surely study the Korean language. Also, I joined a little exercise group at the gym consisting of Cindy and Hana. Hana is from Korea but moved here 25 years ago. Cindy is a temple worker, so it's fun to see her at both places. We work out our leg muscles, and I've been getting super sore from it, which is a good thing I guess. Lucy has also been super excited to see Gracelyn! She sure missed that little thing while she was away at college! 

On our way to As You Wish Pottery.

Christmas Eve selfies with the Dad

Plus the Lu

And Seany Sean Sean

We played a Jack Box game that was pretty funny!

I'm excited to dig into my new Christmas presents to further my studies in Korean!

Mom went on a shopping spree for clothes for the babe. She looks French in that hat!! Haha, she is sooo cute! We all adore her.

Much love,

Emily Burnham

Korean Skin Care

 11 December - 17 December 2023

On Monday, I attended a live zoom meeting for a course I bought to help me prepare for the MFT licensing exam. I have tons of hours I need to put into studying, and I'm not looking forward to it, but once the exam is over, I will never have to take it again! I am just thinking of this as like one more semester, of studying and then a giant exam, and THEN I'll officially be done and graduated (though I am technically already graduated. I just finished my last day of class this past Friday!). I'm going to get hired on as a BHT until I pass the licensing exam, so I won't be making too much money, but oh well. I have realized this past week that my anxiety and depression has crept back into my life because of these ridiculously high (and arbitrary) standards/expectations I have for myself. 

We watched Gracelyn for three days and two nights! It was a lot for my mom, who came down sick after, but my dad was super involved and helped, and I tried to pitch in as well. Val also came over and helped. So it was truly a team effort! Her parents drove across the country to pick something up and my dad didn't want her to be stuck in the car all day. We had lots of fun playing with and holding her. She is absolutely adorable and has started walking a lot more lately!

Wednesday evening, I met with a member of the stake presidency to talk about struggles I was having with my stake calling, so it's looking like I will be released soon. Then I had a meeting for the regional YSA AZ conference that we are planning for next year. If you think about it, I have three callings now, one on a ward level, one on a stake level, and then one on a regional level! It has been a lot. 

Thursday evening was our ward Relief Society party, which was really chill and relaxed. I had lots of meetings on Friday with my clinic, then I crashed my parent's date night and we went to Thai Peppers, which actually really hurt my tummy the next day :(. And poor dad was already not feeling very well.

Then on Saturday, it was our ward Christmas party, which was a blast! We sponsored two families, so we split into two groups and went to drop off the gifts and visit with the families. Then we headed over to the Hansen's house for catered tacos that were DELISH and lots of desserts and fun. We did the white elephant gift exchange, and I surprisingly kept getting my gifts stolen... until I finally unwrapped a "Pooping Dog" calendar. Then I was stuck with that. But it was quite hilarious! Sunday dinner was small, just me and my parents and Grandpa Jim. I went to bed super early (literally 7:30pm) because I'd stayed up late the night before watching Kdramas... so then I was so tired all day Sunday. Also, dad has taken an interest in my skin care routine, and mom as well, so I outlined the order to use the products for them, and my mom just ordered a bunch of them. Haha, so I'm setting a trend in my family ;).

Much love,

Emily Burnham

Christmas in the Air

 27 November - 10 December 2023

Wow. I was just looking back through all my old posts and realized that I've been posting consistently for the last SEVEN years! Like, wow. Lately, writing and posting has felt like a burden. I've been very overwhelmed by life. But even though I've missed a few weeks here or there, I've still been consistent. There was a three month gap between getting home from my mission and then posting, but otherwise it's been pretty much weekly (with the exception of the last couple of months), with me posting the highlights of my week and keeping track of my life. Even if no one reads it but me, it's so worth it because it helps me to go back and reflect and remember my strengths and the progress I've made. I have learned so poignantly these last two weeks that I am my worst critic and truly need to reign in the negativity and give myself more grace and seek for the positives. Doing this really helps with that, even though it's sometimes hard to get the motivation to write when I'm struggling with already feeling super overwhelmed. 

Anyways... some quick highlights of the past two weeks include:

-I've had three or four people ask me about my skin care routine because they notice my skin is glowing and want to know what products I use! I took a picture of all my products today to send out, and this isn't even all the products I have (but is most of them). It feels good to know what I've been doing for the past month (or two?) has really made a difference in my skin. It has definitely become part of my self-care routine, a moment to focus on the sensations of cleaning and caring for my face, though it does sometimes feel like a chore. What really helps is good makeup products. I've found some good foundations I like, and applying it on moisturized skin really makes a huge difference in how well it covers and makes your skin look flawless!

-I attended a 14 hour training in Tempe for Core Skills. I have three more of them left to get EFCT (emotionally-focused couple's therapy) certified. I learned a lot and made some great connections. One girl in my group was also a student and we bonded, and I learned she Korean, which made me really excited. I'm still working on learning Korean! Slowly, but surely! I do have school to finish up because... I'm graduating THIS MONTH!!! And a huge licensing exam to prep for (um... yeah. I buckled down and bought a $300 study prep course... bleh. But I'm gonna do it!!) So I've been busy, but I'm trying!

-I gave a short talk at our stake Christmas devotional and got TONS of compliments! All the speakers were truly fantastic, and we had some great musical numbers. I got to sing in one of the choirs too. And I felt very pretty that night. I've been filming lots of YouTube videos, so here's one I did about children's books, and that's how I also looked that night at the devo. But along the lines of YouTube, I started going in a new direction, focused on specific activities/exercises to do with kids and teens that are therapeutic and help kids grow. So far, I think my view count has gone slightly up than before, and it seems to have a more positive outcome. And the videos are so much easier for ME to film and feel confident about. I really like this new direction a lot and it excites me, which is really good since I had begun to feel a bit burnt out from doing my channel. 

-I attended the CLEAR Counseling work Christmas party, and it was the first time in a long time that the time passed without me noticing it. I didn't think or feel like I'd been there very long, but almost 3 hours had passed. It was incredible to be able to just sit in and enjoy the moment.

-Valerie and her boyfriend are getting pretty serious, already discussing rings and honeymoon locations! So we will see if she gets a ring by the end of the year or not!! I'm just so happy for her. Her being happy makes me feel so happy and blessed. And I love how she can be more of herself with him. 

-Gracelyn is cute as ever and growing so fast! She is so good at imitating words, so we've been getting a kick out of her saying "I cute" and our names. She is walking more and more, but she still prefers crawling or being held (especially by grandma). 

-Work gave me a $1,000 Christmas bonus!! They really love having me there and are sad that I'll be leaving soon to start working full-time as a therapist. I've been helping them expand their business with social media, marketing, and vinyl. We put vinyl all around my cousin's truck!

Much love,

Emily Burnham

Thankful for Thanksgiving

 13 November - 26 November 2023

I took off the week of Thanksgiving (Wednesday - Saturday) and it was such a nice stretch to not have any clients or work. I was able to relax and feel peace without any worry of upcoming obligations. I got to spend lots of time watching K-dramas and practicing Korean! Thanksgiving day itself was so peaceful and restful. We played racquetball as a family, ate delicious food (I did not feel left out at ALL for once. Thank you, Trader Joes! I got pie crust, stuffing, and gravy from there, so it was easy to make it all up). On Friday, I got to go with Val to watch the Hunger Games prequel movie. It was so dark and twisted, like how the world would be without God in it. I am so incredibly grateful for an all-powerful, just, and merciful God who will conquer all evil! Saturday night we had the elder and sister missionaries over and it was super fun. I talked with one sister about my love of Korean shows and culture, plus my YouTube channels. Gracelyn was sick on Sunday, running hot with a fever! Her eyes were so groggy and tired, the poor little thing. But yeah, overall, it was a great and relaxing Thanksgiving week! I'm a bit tired starting this week back to regular life/schedule because I kinda ruined my sleep schedule while on break, but it's been okay! I did have a cool experience on Saturday at the temple. I got a Korean name to take through my endowment session, and I felt seen and loved from God. It was so cool since I've been studying hard and practicing! I also had a really good phone call with Lucy. She listened to me and validated me and we talked about things we had in common, and it just made my love for her grow and also made me miss her! But I'll see her in a month!

Much love,

Emily Burnham

Gracelyn stealing Grandpa's ice cubes out of his big bubba and munching on them!!

I made homemade Thai Pad and ate it with chopsticks! I was so proud!

No foundation or makeup, my skin after a couple of weeks of doing a skincare routine:

Lol her hair!!!! XD

Pumpkin and blackberry pies! (I had extra pumpkin puree and crumble topping, so I made two small pumpkin crumble dishes. Delish!

I think I played my best yet!

We had a RS activity and learned how to make a sheet pan of Korean Chicken Rice bowls that were DELISH! Plus, good company :)

Glowing Inside and Out

6 November - 12 November 2023

Wow, can't believe I graduate next month! I have all the hours I need, with just four more classes and some discussion posts to finish up. I've felt like I've been in limbo for so long, and it's finally starting to feel real that I'm graduating and then starting my career full-time! I'll get to start saving money to travel to places and be ready for the next phase of my life. We have a sister missionary serving in our YSA stake, Sister Lee, who is from Korea! It was so fun to see her on Sunday and exchange "hellos" in Korean! She said I can come visit her in 2025 (she gets home in a year) and I don't know if she is really serious or not, but I'm gonna keep working on my Korean and save up money to go visit! That would literally be a dream come true! To go and experience their culture and get the insights from a native!! Half of the things on my Christmas list this year are books to help me learn Korean... hehe. So this past week, we had a stake devotional for FHE about the temple, which was really good. I did sealings on Friday and really felt the Spirit and felt peace in the temple. I know I need to continue to go often. I enjoyed going to help out at my cousin's wedding reception Saturday night. My mom is such a trooper and was there for hours helping, and I stepped in during the reception to make sure food was stocked. I really felt a wave of the spirit so powerfully on Sunday at stake conference when they had the service missionaries sing "I know that my Redeemer lives" and then had the congregation join in on the last verse. I kid you not, it felt like angels were singing with us, it was so loud and powerful, and I couldn't even sing because I was overcome with emotion and tears! And I know others had that experience too. It was incredible. Sunday night, we made pizzas. I had been craving them for a while. They were pretty great. Gracelyn made an absolute mess of herself! It was a lot of work to entertain her that night. Also Sean dropped by this week to give me his old microphone that he doesn't use anymore, and I just feel so grateful and blessed that all the things I am wanting are happening. I love seeing my older sister feeling and acting so happy lately. I'm grateful I get to work out my body and be healthy. I realized I am actually super close to being able to do the splits! I went to a girl's night last week and got pampered and got all these free skin care products that the girl was trying to get rid of because she had a lot left over from when she used to sell them, and I've been looking into taking better care of my face and skin, and she probably gave me a hundred or more dollars worth of products to use. And I notice a difference in how nice my skin has been since doing a skin care routine. And I'm just so grateful for Korean dramas and their culture. It has been so motivating and exciting for me, even as my family... Valerie... kind of make fun of me at times for it. It's endearing. So I just feel incredibly blessed. And I set my alarm this week to 6:15am to give myself extra time in the morning to try and have a better and more deep scripture study, so I am sure that is also a reason why I've been happier and feel so blessed. God is good. 

Much love,

Emily Burnham

I've also been doing more with social media for work, so here is one pic I took of the outside of our shop. I created a virtual tour for clients. I think my bosses are really sad that I'm leaving them soon to do therapy full-time, but they are so sweet and will find a good replacement.

See the glow?? No filters, just a good skin care routine ;)

Look at this cute mess:

Chili Cook Offs and Lots of Laughter

23 October - 5 November 2023

Monday night we had a chili cook off and it was a really fun activity! We had a good turnout and some pretty delicious chili. I made some chocolate chip pumpkin cookies that were a hit. The best part of this week was I got to take off from work and clients Wednesday - Friday for a AAMFT conference training I signed up for. I got to choose between different presentations to virtually attend, and I heard some things I really needed at the time, especially regarding burnout, imposter syndrome, and motivation. I've been in a pretty low spot with having energy and motivation and capacity to keep doing all the things I need to do. I've felt myself coming down sick a bit and feeling super down. It was a blessing to have a bit of a break and to be reminded and recentered. The following week, I briefly dropped by a combined FHE activity that was also a chili cook off, but it was not as well done as our ward one. I did stay for a bit and chat with friends, but then went home. I've been watching lots of K-dramas (probably spending way too much of my downtime watching them, but I don't feel super guilty about it because I count it as part of my studies of learning Korean! Which, during ads/commercials, I pull up DuoLingo and practice new words and phrases... most of which are actually completely useless, as pictured below). I will honestly say learning Korean kinda started on a whim, but it has become a huge part of my motivation. I think because a lot of the progress I make in life is so hard to measure or see, it's so intangible. With Korean, I can concretely see myself making progress, and it is very exciting and rewarding! And, the more I learn about the language and the people, the more I fall in love with it. I recently started listening to President Nelson's new book out, "The Heart of the Matter," and he talks about how learning lots of different languages has brought him greater love and understanding for God's children, and I totally feel that way with learning Korean. He went on to study 17 different languages, and though I'm sure his proficiency in each one varies greatly, it's amazing that he puts in the time and effort to learn the basics, and I'd absolutely love to do that too! I would love to continue to learn various languages so I can work in the Lord's world wide church and be able to visit different people and talk to them in their own language. It is so humbling and awe-inspiring to learn about these people's cultures like that. 

The Saturday before Halloween was our family ward's Halloween party, and they also had a chili cook off! I cam straight from finishing a workshop with a couple, so I stopped by a thai food place and got it to go so I could eat it there with my family (I wasn't sure I'd be able to eat anything there). It was delicious! Plus, I wanted to carry on my obsession with Thai food. Lol, maybe that's the next language I learn ;). Gracelyn was adorable. Briesa and Aaron were Velma and Shaggy, then Gracelyn was in a Scooby Doo costume. She is getting so big! She is going to be walking very very soon. On Halloween night, I went to a party with some friends, and I dressed up as Minnie Mouse. I looked super cute, if I do say so myself :). There was a photobooth there, food, and yard games. It was an enjoyable evening, and I got to talk to some new people and strengthen friendships. I also felt like that week, I got a better handle on therapy sessions. My workshop on Saturday went SO good. I've felt more confident and assured in my sessions with clients, like I kinda actually know what I'm doing and that it's helpful. It's been helpful to realize that my profession is not unique. Many other people struggle with imposter syndrome, might not be the right fit for a client, and may struggle to know what to do. There's always so much we are expected to know, but it's okay to not be an expert right away, and to just have a game plan and goal to be continuously learning with clients and expanding skills and knowledge. What you have right now is enough, and you are continuously improving, and that's the whole purpose and point. I had to spend lots of money to get my oil changed this week, and I got a new air filter! My old one had leaves in it!! Haha. On the first Saturday in November, I went with my parents and Val to the old Ghost Town to tour it, and then we got to go on the zip line! It was such a serene moment, zipping along through the air with a gentle breeze and the pretty mountain scenery right before your eyes. It was short, but still good and fun. I attended a meeting on Sunday to begin planning for our New Year's Eve dance, and I hope it turns out super fun! I'm worried that it'll be ruined for me since I'm on the planning side of things and may even have to help out at something all night, so I won't get to just enjoy it. Or even if I'm able to go without any duties, I'll be ready for it to be over since I put so much time and energy into making it happen (kinda like what happened with Castles and Coasters, lol). But I'll try to keep my strength and energy and optimism. Oh, and the most exciting news is that I finally FINALLY discovered my niche for YouTube. I've been wandering around for the last couple of months, not really knowing what theme or topics to do, trying to scrounge together videos to be consistent, but starting to dread it and feel disheartened by the decline in views, likes, and subscribers. But I attended our work meeting this past Friday and one of the therapists walked us through activities we can do with our child and teen clients, and it sparked the idea to start making videos on activities/worksheets that parents can do with their children or that teens can do on their own. I'll have the activity and explain the purpose of it and how to do it, or I'll make videos that have the viewers follow along and do it while watching so that parents or teachers can show those videos to their kids/students to do art therapy or CBT activities. I think this will draw in an audience of parents, young adults, teachers, and even other therapists who are looking for ideas to do with their kids or clients. Plus, it kind of reminds me of the object lesson vibe I had going with my Missionary Approach YouTube channel!

Much love,

Emily Burnham

Sunday evening "snuggle buggle" pic.

Cassidy and Grant Duclos' wedding reception photo booth:

Valerie told us all to hide behind something. Mom did not get the memo... You can kind of see dad behind that middle bush, then me behind the barrel, and Val popping out of a bush on the right side. Mom is doing some sort of sneaky ninja walk, so... we'll count it.

Be honest, y'all. When would I ever need to say this? Ants don't have newspapers! And foxes don't have cucumbers! It seriously has me learning weird things... lol.

I've been planning making healthy meals! And they have been very delicious!

Even mom was super proud of herself for eating the Salmon!

Scooby with her scooby snacks! ;)

Okay, so I bought these headbands and ordered some Korean facial products, so now it's a joke with my family that I'm turning Korean. But look how smooth my face is after a week of doing a skin-care routine!

My sweet friend Abbie sent me a postcard from where she's doing her internship in Washington, and it came on a day I really needed a boost. So sweet!!!