the best is yet to come

Hello Provo! Hello dreams coming true, and hello new challenges, difficulties and opportunities to grow. I have a hard time putting into words the feelings of gratitude and joy to be living out my dreams of living so close to BYU and to be studying to become a nurse! Someone please pinch me. Walking to the HBLL yesterday to study as the sun was setting, everything just hit me and I felt completely at peace. I Know this is where I am supposed to be and what a comforting feeling it is. I am in nursing school, this is only what I've been dreaming of becoming since I would walk! I love my ward, I love my roommates, nursing school is more exciting and wonderful than I ever dreamed it would be. Even though I have a pretty hefty commute everyday, I have found a carpool system with two other people in the program at Nephi. And, like Brandon said in one of his last letters, what a beautiful drive to be able to drive everyday. The sunflowers are thick lining the freeway on my way down, bright and waving at the cars speeding by, and I can't help but smile thinking about him and our drives we would take down and back from Ephraim our freshman year along that road. I am discovering how truly and richly blessed I am.

Last week I was called as a home evening assitant coordinator. I am really excited about this calling. It struck me as funny today however, as the Lord knows our weaknesses. Home evening, for some reason, was something I just had a hard time attending last year. It was all too easy to label my busy schedule and work load as an excuse to stay home and study. I now am entering into nursing school, with the busiest and hardest school load yet and I am called as a HE coordinator :). As I was set apart though, there were things said that hit me like a ton of bricks. Our Heavenly Father Knows us and knows our schedules, our worries and I know that He knows that I can serve the ward and be a nursing student at the same time :).

I am in Nursing School!! I started last Wednesday and I absolutely love it. Sure it can be annoying having to watch my classes on the television as my classes are broadcasted via polycom from Ephraim and Richfield, but I am abolutely positive that Provo is the right place for me right now. There is a LOT of reading, a LOT of presentations and a LOT of fun involved in my nursing program. We all work as a team and we WILL pass boards next year :). It's going to be a fight to get all of the information into my brain before that time rolls around next year, but I am determined to make it happen. This next Tuesday, a few classmates and I will be teaching a second grade class on heart health. I have been working all weekend making posters, handouts and such to make it a fun workshop for them. I am excited to see how it will all work out.

Yeah, my bookshelf is a little saggy :)

Living in Provo, right next to BYU really does make me feel like I'm going there. That likely sounds silly, but I was born and raised a BYU fan. My roots are deep here. My mom, dad, grandparents, and many other family members have attended BYU, and I have always looked forward to the day where I would be a student there myself. I attended the BYU location for all three years I went to efy, and was just as much excited to be at BYU and to be staying in the dorms, as I was so be at efy. I was accepted to BYU my senior year, but sometimes our ideas of what's best for us is, isn't really what's best for us. I knew I needed to go to Snow, and I had the best two years I could ever hope to have. And now, finally :), I get to have the BYU experience. To me, this is nothing less of many prayers answered while growing up. I was accepted! And now, two years later, I get to be a part of a BYU ward, to be living in BYU's housing and to be where I have been dreaming of coming all my life. Consider the Lillies! The Lord is definitely mindful of us :).

I feel like I'm living a fairytale. I am grateful for the guidance that is so graciously given whenever we ask. I have a testimony of the Lord's timing, in all things. When something doesn't work the way you plan it to, and you feel like you are doing everything in your power to make it work a certain way, chances are, the Lord has something better in store for you. Because things have happened the way they have, I have met people that have changed my life, had opportunites that I Never would have had if I hadn't been where I've been for the past several years. I have been where I have needed to grow and change the most. And If I would have had my way then, I would have lost all of these incredible experiences and opportunities.

"I believe that in our individual ways, God takes us to the grove or the mountain or the temple and there shows us the wonder of what His plan is for us. We may not see it as fully as Moses or Nephi or the brother of Jared did, but we see as much as we need to see in order to know the Lord's will for us and to know that He loves us beyond mortal comprehension." --Elder Holland

always in my heart

My sweet mother Stacey Jo Cook Madsen passed away this day, 12 years ago. She was and is nothing short of an angel, and such a driving force in every desire I have to succeed in this life. Every memory I have of her brings a smile to my face :) ; whether we were playing with homemade playdoh in bed, or singing enya together in our apartment in Seattle, or the way she would always carry my sister Lauren and I, no matter how much it hurt her. She was always smiling, always positive, always selfless, and never complained one day of her challenging life. Her kidneys failed when she was a young girl, and she never let that hold her back from accomplishing anything she desired to. After 32 years of fighting, she passed away in Big Cottonwood Canyon during a camping trip. She motivates and inspires me, and is the most perfect example to me in every way imaginable. I am so blessed to have two of the best mothers in the whole wide world :), I love them both more than I could ever describe. Be seeing you Mommy Stacey, you're always in my heart :).

days go by

summertime

is HERE! Finally! I feel like I have had to wait so long for it to be warm! Today is a wonderful day because my sweetheart has been officially been out in the field for ONE YEAR!  I couldn't be more happy or more proud of him. He is currently serving in Santa Rita and he is district leader. Here are some pictures he's sent home so far. :)

 

 

 





Brandon's committment to serve the Lord for two years of his life has been nothing short of an inspiration for me. I see these pictures and read his letters and can't help but smile. :) This past year has been rough at times, but it has been so incredibly worth it. I have learned so much about myself and grown in so many different ways. Our friendship and respect for each other has continued to grow, and my love for him continues to grow daily as well. Way to go Elder Van Mondfrans, 12 more months. :)

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My family and I have been enjoying the summer as well. Recently, we went to the Herriman carnival and the parade the next morning. Emma was SO excited. :)



waiting for the parade



As a family, we also have been enjoying going on hikes every weekend that we can. During the week, Dad and I go on bike rides that are always so much fun, and very challenging. Dad always knows the most beautiful places to ride to. :)

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Yesterday, Tina and I went down to the Manti Pageant! It was a fun overnighter and the entire trip felt as though it were straight out of a fairytale. :) The pageant was incredible and the weather was beautiful.




this was my favorite picture i took that night

 

We stayed the night at her grandparents' house in Manti, just a short walk away from the temple. We stayed in the "blue" room. :) Their home is one of my favorite places on Earth. From the peaceful atmosphere to the color-themed rooms, to the fancy antique ivory combs and metal plated brushes at each vanity. The home was built more than 100 years ago and looks as though it has been perfectly preseved in time. I always feel like a princess when I stay there. :)

The next morning we went to the Manti Temple. There was magically a reservation cancellation and we were able to go in and do some family files. The weather was ablsoutely gorgeous. We sat and read for a while in the shade and then decided to go shopping in the cute little stores down Manti's main street. We found a candy shop that Tina loves and we both got a scoop of Huckleberry ice cream. :) It was the most perfect summer day.

More to come!  Talk to you soon :)

hello big world..

I finally cracked and made a blog. For someone who's pretty kept to herself, it's odd to find that writing my thoughts down for really anyone to see is actually quite intriguing! :)

So, I'm Meagan. I recently graduated  after my second year  at Snow College and  absolutely LOVED it. I met the best people and had some of the greatest experiences that I will never forget. Little Ephraim town will forever more hold a special place in my heart :).I am an aspiring Nursing student and I'm currently in the process of applying to a few programs. I was recently accepted to Snow's nursing program, and I was just accepted to progress to the interview stage of UVU's nursing application. I am so excited to see where I end up!

If I could tell you some of the things that mean the most to me, these would be them:
I have the most amazing Family. I learn so much from each and every one of them every single day, and I love them more than I could write in words. They challenge me, they support me in my every decision, and they know exactly how to put a smile on my face when I need it most. We play, we laugh, we learn and we love. They are my best friends, my foundation, and they lift me higher and help me reach my dreams.

I have been blessed with the most incredible Friends. They know me inside and out, and often times, better than I know myself! They know who they are, and they know how dear they are to me :). I could never thank them enough for the memories, the laughs, the late nights, and all the times in between that we just share together.

There is one incredible person who I can easily say I am the very closest to, and yet he is over 5,000 miles away from me. He's on a special mission; to share the gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and I couldn't be more happy or more proud of him. He has stolen My Heart, he makes me want to become the best "me" that I can, and loves every part of me that I haven't quite learned to love about myself. Who could ask for more? He is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

The foundation that is my family, is also my foundation in Christ, and in His gospel; Families are Forever, and how firm a foundation it is. My family has helped me to plant my roots deep in the church and I have learned for myself that my Savior Lives. There is no greater knowledge in my opinion, and there is no greater joy than the joy that His love, and our Father in Heaven's love does bring. I have no doubt that we all have the help, the guidance, and the tools we need to make it Home; all we need is to simply ask and trust. I know His plan for me is better than any plan I could ever dream up for myself, and I am learning to put it all in His hands :).

These bolded words are a few that define me; in a nutshell at least :). Welcome to my life, it's nice to meet you :).