The ACT stinks.

A Lot.

Love,

Sunshine.

Deep in the Hundred Acre Woods . . .

Dear Pooh Bear,

I just want to say thank you for your wonderful personality.
Sometimes I wish I could just sit down and have a small smackerel of honey with you at your thotful spot.

It must be wonderful to be a stuffed bear because you know that someone will always love you. Someone always cares about you. Just like you said, "A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference." Yes, Pooh Bear, it does. Save me a spot on the bridge to come sit by you, for I dearly long to dangle my feet in the water and talk with you about honey.

Dear Tigger,

Thank you for your sense of adventure. There's never a day when you don't have fun. You're always out there doing something. Maybe someday I'll come bouncing with you. So save a couple bounces for me. I'll meet up with you soon.

Dear Piglet,

I know how it feels to be the smallest one. And maybe sometimes you feel like your potential is restricted because of how big you are. But in the words of President Hinckley, "The time has come to stand a little taller." It doesn't matter how tall you are but rather how tall you will stand. And people will look up to you for who you are on the inside. Thank you for being so kind all the time. And thank you for your height :)

Dear Rabbit,

You know what? You sure are an awesome fellow. What with your snazzy little garden and your orderly food storage . . . you're quite admirable :) Thtanks for teaching me to find what is most important in life; that it’s not so much what you grow, but how you have grown and who you have grown with that count J That was a very lame attempt at being prophetic.

Dear Owl,
You're an inspiration to us all.

Dear Kanga and Roo,

Its such a wonderful thing to realize that your mom is your best friend. I love my mom and I'm pretty sure she loves me as much as your mom loves you. At the end of the day, it's nice to know that there will always be someone at home waiting for me. Thanks for being such good examples of how much a family should care for each other.

Dear Eeyore,

I know there are some days when it seems like that darn storm cloud just won't go away; or maybe he won't stop raining on you.

But I know that the sun will come out again. It never hurts to look for that sunshine because that one ray of hope will help you can make it through any rainy day. And hey, it's never as bad as it seems. Especially with friends like Piglet.

Thanks for always being there for your friends. And thanks for showing me the importance of a tail. I wish I had one.

 

Dear Christopher Robin,

Thank you for your example of a good friend. You always leave a note and always come looking for your friends when they are lost or are having a hard time.

I'm so glad you believe in imagination. You know, it's hard sometimes to leave that part of life. But I guess I never really leave it. There will always be a Hundred Acre Woods where I can go and be myself; where Pooh Bear will always be being chased by honeybees; where all the others will be scavenging for the Backson; where Tigger will be bouncing off the trees and the sky. And while I never want to leave the Woods, I can always come back because I know I can find find Rabbit tending his garden, Owl reading a book, Eeyore looking for his tail, and you walking with Pooh by the bridge. That's the best part about an imagination, I guess. It's there when you need it.
Thanks for all you are, Christopher Robin. I'll be back soon.

love,

Sunshine

Some things in this world . . .

just make me laugh.

For example:

1. when you and some other stranger are walking down an empty hall and all of a sudden they become very interested in their phone, the bricks, that hole in the roof, their shirt, etc. They look everywhere except at you. The best thing to do in this instance is to put on a smile and stare at their face. And if you're me, you start laughing inside because you know they are avoiding looking at you.

2. When people don't stop at stop signs but do stop at roundabout entrances. ???? How much more obvious can it get when you see a red sign that says STOP and a yellow sign that says YIELD???? ha.ha.

3. When you're making odd noises with your mouth while sitting at the dinner table, and your dad turns to your youngest brother and says, "Say excuse me." Oh how I wish I'd had a camera.

4. When your cold catches a cold and you can't yell or talk loud. It's the worst when you're walking behind your best friend and you say her name to get her attention but all that comes out is some kind of croak. I won't try to explain the weird looks I got.

5. When you get a drink from the focet and then go to blow your nose and all of a sudden you have to burp and sneeze at the same time. So you do. Yes, this did happen to me and no, I'm not going to tell you how it sounded.

6. When it's fall break but all you've done all day is homework, and the ACT is at the end of the week. This is when I laugh tears of sadness.

7. When I wear a short sleaved shirt on the first A-day, nearly freezing to death, and then come to school the next A-day wearing a sweatshirt. It turns out to be the one day the district decides to crank up the heat.

8. When your friend wants to give you a high five but you are carrying three textbooks in one hand and a violin in the other. So he decides to give you an elbow-five so you both stick out your elbows. Unfortunately, neither one of you realized that a student was walking by . . . Yes, both of us just kinda parted, walking in different directions.

9. When Mr. Hanks makes up a joke in the middle of class. It went something like this: "So now you multiply both sides by sinx to get rid of sin. I call this clearing your sinex-es :) good times. good times.

10. When you sign the "Graduating Class of 2012" poster and you realize that now you have to graduate.


All in all, this week was the longest month of my life. And I loved it because I learned to LaUgH :)

love,

Sunshine

Radiant Tales: Chapter Fifteen

"Hi Grandma!!"

"John."

"Yeah wewll, I don't know. Oh yeah!!  . . ."

"We did 400 gawens."

"uh huh"

"oh, and I ate the best raspberries today! After I ate them I got on my pwasma car and they made me go wike [like] vroom vroom! I was soooo hyper!"


This is John's conversation with Grandma. The 4oo gallons part is a little exaggerated . . . but today we bottled 32 quarts of grape juice!!! Yum. I was listenting to John talk on the phone while I did the dishes. He just didn't know it. :) Can I just tell you how much I "wove" him?

Well, not really. Some things just can't be put into words.

In fact, many things can't be put into words.

For instance.

How do you explain to your friend that you are grateful she hasn't ever given up on you? Because no matter how many times you go to the library to study instead of eat lunch by her she still loves you.

How do you express your love for your dad who basically gives every ounce of energy he has, every single day, for you?

How do you tell your mother she is your hero? How do you put into words the gratitude you have for her unselfish, completely willing, and unquestionably unconditional love for you?

How do you thank your Saviour for everything? How do you tell Him that if it weren't for Him, you'd have failed your test, missesd early morning seminary, and wouldn't know what to do with your life?

The only answer I have is to serve them.

Because really, actions speak louder than words.

And you don't have to talk to give someone a hug or clean up the kitchen or read your scriptures.

I think a lot of the times we feel the Saviour's love and feel the Holy Ghost's comfort because words are said and sometimes forgotten. But feelings . . .  I remember how I feel when the Saviour has been there for me. I remember how I feel when people are kind to me.

"You must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right." Doctrine & Covenants 9:8

"I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart." Doctrine & Covenants 8:2

"I feel my Saviour's love in all the world around me. His spirit warms my soul through everything I see. He knows I will follow Him; give all my life to Him. I feel my Saviours love; the love He freely gives me."

Anyways, I hope you all have a wonderful sabbath tomorrow!

Love,

Sunshine

Believe in Good Things to Come.

You should go here.

http://lds.org/media-library/video/mormon-messages?lang=eng#2010-05-12-good-things-to-come

It's awesome. And I love the message.

Love, Sunshine

How do you go on, when in your heart you begin to understand there is no going back?

Frodo: I can’t do this, Sam.
Sam: I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was before so much bad happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you; that meant something even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.
Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam?
Sam: That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo… and it’s worth fighting for.

Maybe school is hard. Maybe I am 100% lost in my history class. Maybe I will fail the ACT. Maybe I make too many mistakes in orchestra.

Maybe I pushed out the thought to go and sit by someone who needed a friend today. Maybe I slept through my alarm...(I really did). Maybe I wish I could see my sister again. Maybe it's raining. Maybe I can't see the sun right now.

I'm not good at speaking in french. I stink at memorizing vocabulary. And I usually always fail my english quizzes.

But.

I can think. I can write. I can breathe. I can hear the rain. I can see the sun. And sometimes, I'll catch the glimpse of a rainbow.

I can hear my friends' laughter and I can see their smiles. I can touch the keys on the piano with my fingertips and play to my heart's content. I can gracefully slide my bow accross the strings and create emotions that can't be replaced; not with one thousand chocolate bars. I can tip my head back, look at the stars, and see evidence that God lives and loves me.

I can pray.

I can recieve personal revelation.

I can feel my Saviour's love.

And that, my friends, is what helps me to go on, "when in [my] heart [I] begin to understand there is no going back."

Maybe I can't go back. But maybe I don't need to.

Maybe I'm sad right now, but as Elder Holland says:

"Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead. Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven. But for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come."

Sometimes it's hard to go on and move on. But it's worth fighting for that hope. It's worth holding onto.

It's worth it because it's what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is all about: Faith in Christ, pure love like Him, and hope through Him. He will "be a Light for you when all other Lights go out."

There were good times in the past.

:)

And there are good things to come.

In the words of my best friend, "Chin up, pip pip!"

Let us all press on. And the end will be better than the beginning.

After all, it's never as bad as it seems :)

Love,

Sunshine