Childhood Memories

I thought I would share with you some of my childhood memories! :)

1. When I was the age of 2 or 3, I got into my parents car and somehow made it roll backwards out of the driveway.

2. My oldest sister always wrote these plays and made me be in them. Somehow I always ended up being the Male role...

3. When I was in the 2nd grade, my older sister Heidi who was in the 5th grade wanted me to catch her as she was hanging upside down from the tree. She landed in my arms and rolled out so fast, her face landed on the trunk of the tree. Wasn't funny back then, but now we think its hilarious.

4. I used to play with bugs and worms. And I used to chase other girls with worms too. Yes, sounds mean, but it was fun at the moment...haha.

5. My everyday attire would consist of sports apparel of some sort. Whether it was a jersey, hat, shoes etc...

6. I pretty much convinced myself that I would be a Professional Soccer Player or WNBA player. Didn't happen.

7. One of my favorite memories was when I was at a family reunion. My cousin and I would sneak off early in the morning and go to the lake and watch the sunrise and skip rocks. Later we fell asleep in the hammock and woke up after everybody was already up.

8. In the 6th grade, I joined the City league for soccer. Started off as a midfielder then ended up being goalie. My team went to the playoffs and I was chosen as one of the two goalies for the All-Star team. Most memorable game was when my All-Star team beat this other team who were twice our size via penalty shootout at the end of the game. I made the last save. It was awesome.

9. My favorite pair of shoes were of Jurassic Park. They lit up cool colors.

10. Basically, everybody that knew me can confirm I was a tomboy. Hated curls, wearing pink, loved playing in the dirt and being outside pretending I was a ninja of some sorts.

You Just Never Know

A lot has been happening in the past little while. I only had about 2-3 semesters left to graduate with a BA in Sociology from BYU-Idaho. I had to differ several semesters due to some circumstances. To be honest, I wasn't motivated at all with my major after my first year. In my eyes, I just wanted to graduate quickly so I can go and serve a church mission. While I was at home differing a semester, thats when I realized that Sociology wasn't for me. So I tried to change my major to Exercise Science. They rejected my petition. So that left me in a hole. What was I wanting to do now? Finishing the Sociology degree was out of the question. Then the school changed my major to General Studies without my permission. So thats when I knew my days at BYU-Idaho were over. I didn't want a General Studies degree. It wouldn't help my future career goals one bit. Then I started to look at different schools to transfer to, so I can study in my field that I wanted to be part of. I was literally lost and confused. Where was I supposed to go? I had no idea. Then the thought of serving a church mission came to mind. But I ignored it, because I wanted to finish school first. Then the thought kept on coming back stronger than ever. I thought to myself, "No way. Not yet. Its not my time to serve a mission yet." Then again, came back even more stronger. Then I finally had the urge to pray about and to see what happens. I always wanted to the Lord's will in my life. Thats when I got the answer. This is the time for me to serve a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Its amazing to me how my desires and the Lord's will for me goes hand in hand. Its a perfect fit. The last piece to the puzzle. I learned in my life, that my timing in things are different than the Lord's timing. The Lord knows us in every way possible. He knows of our sorrows and happiness. He is always near even though you can't see Him. He is always there to help us. He wants us to succeed. He would never lead us astray. I learned how to put God and Jesus first in my life. I do everything for them for they are the ones that gave me gifts and talents to become what I have wanted to become.

Now starting on September 19th, 2012, I will be a full-time missionary. I am so excited. I chose to serve a mission, not because I was told to, but only to serve the Lord and the people in the California, San Diego Mission. I am willing to put my life on hold and set everything aside to serve. I have been blessed in so many ways that I see it fit to give 18 months out of my life to serve. I will always glorify in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and Their work to bring souls unto them.

Live, Laugh, Love

Love,

Laurel G.

Random Facts

I'm kinda bored right now, so I thought I would share some facts that people may or may not care about me. Here it goes:

1. I absolutely love musicals. Mainly to see men who can sing and dance!
2. I was inducted into the Thespian National Club in high school. (For acting)
3. I love sunrises and sunsets.
4. I don't talk much in large groups, because I like to hear what people have to say. But I talk more if it is more on a one on one basis.
5. Soccer is my favorite sport. The USWNT and RSL are my favorite teams.
6. I love watching scary movies. It brings adrenaline rushes.
7. Speaking of adrenaline rushes, I love extreme rollercoasters. 6 flags is now on my top 2 favorite amusement parks.
8. I will be serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints starting in September.
9. I was part of a Comedy Improv group at BYUI. Its like Whose Line is it anyways tv show.
10. People often mistake my ethnicity. Such as, hispanic, native american and polynesian. I'm just caucasian blessed with tan skin. ;)
11. I'm the tallest girl in my family. I'm 5'11 1/2.
12. I have an unofficial twin. My sister Ali is a year older than me, but we are meant to be twins. We look a lot alike and think a lot alike. Only difference, I am 5 inches taller than her, yet people still get us mixed up.
13. My career goal is to become an Athletic Trainer/Fitness Coach for a womens soccer team.
14. I always wear a special ring everyday. Got a good tan line on my finger now.
15. The #15 was my All-Star Soccer team number, but not many people know that since I wore a goalie shirt over it.

Live, Laugh Love

Birthday/Mission Call

Yesterday was a day I will never forget. I received a lot of love from people wishing me a happy birthday. I loved it. I had delicious cake, icecream and cool gifts too. Not to mention it was my golden birthday. A golden birthday is when your age and date are the same. For example, I turned 23 on the 23rd. Crazy how time flies. Yesterday, I also received my mission call. I will serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the California, San Diego Mission. I report to the MTC on Sept 19th. I am so excited! Funny story time. This whole time I thought I wasn't going to California, because I was raised there half of my life. I didn't want to go to California to be honest. Let alone being next to the ocean, because I love swimming in the ocean and missionaries are not allowed to swim during their mission. So one thing I mainly learned, never say never. I got called to a mission that I thought I would never serve at. To be honest, the more I think about serving in San Diego, the more I come to realize and know that San Diego is perfect fit for me. Can't wait!

Live Laugh Love

Love,

Laurel Greathouse

Mission Decision

As some of you may know, I will be a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints this fall. I would like to share with you how I made a decision to go on a mission.

It all started when I was in middle school. When I was living in California, we had sister missionaries over often. I loved these people. I looked up to them. But I never thought I would become a missionary. I had my eyes set on playing professional basketball or soccer. But things changed. Those missionaries asked if I ever wanted to serve a mission. I said, "Yes." Being a 12 yr old kid, of course I still had a long time even before I could serve. I had to be at least 21. Throughout my teenage years, this desire of mine grew bigger each year. I couldn't wait to turn 21 to serve. Then when I turned 21, I wanted to go on a mission, but the time didn't feel right. So I just continued with school. Throughout school, I suffered with illnesses and other things. It was very hard. Little did I know, these experiences in college would prepare me to serve a mission. By going through the hardships in college, it made me realize how important life is and how much I have a deep love for people. By loving people, it made it that much easier to make the decision of serving the Lord and His people.

If I had it my way, I would wait to go on a mission until my education was done. Then comes the next experience. I wanted to change my major from Sociology to Exercise Science. My university wouldn't let me, because of credit restrictions. I wasn't motivated and didn't like Sociology anymore, so there was no way I would finish that major. So I was looking at different schools to transfer to. I was way beyond confused of which direction to go. This whole entire time, the thought of going on a mission was coming up in my mind. But I just brushed it off, because I still wanted to finish schooling first. After a lot of thinking of praying, I felt that it is best for me to put my education on hold right now, and go on a mission and teach people about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And hopefully next Wednesday I will get the anticipated letter in the mail telling me where I will go and serve. I can't wait! :)

Live Laugh Love

Love, Laurel

Learning through Life

There had been a lot of experiences throughout my lifetime that has helped me become who I am today. I will share some of these experiences, then I will share with you how these have helped my life for good. (On a side note, don't feel bad for me. These experiences have taught me so much in a good way). Okay, here we go. :)

Throughtout my childhood, I have received a lot of teasing and discrimination. I was the new girl (I moved around a lot). I was taller than everybody else (At least for the female gender). I often was teased for being part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Many people call this church, "The Mormons."

I often asked myself, "What did I do to deserve this? I don't want this. This is too hard for a kid like myself to handle. Why am I being teased and discriminated for living a good life? I just want to have a friend and be somebody's friend."

It was definately a hard thing to go through. I thought something was wrong with me. I had low self-esteem for awhile. Then came the next experience.

For those of you that know me, I loved sports ever since I was really young. I convinced my parents to sign me up for soccer. I never really played soccer before except at recess. It was a type of experience that I will never forget. At the first practice, I felt that I wasn't good as the other girls. I heard some say that I wasn't good. That only pushed me harder as a player. I first played Center-Mid, then moved to Goalie. It was the game changer for me thats for sure. Being Goalie helped me boost up my self-esteem. By playing this position, I helped my team go to the playoffs. And I was selected being one of the two goalies for the All-Star team. I was more than thrilled. One of the All Star games eventually came down to Penalty Kicks. When my coach told me he wanted me to be goalie, I was like no way. I can't do it. Then he looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Yes you can." By having a coach have faith in me changed everything. My team ended up winning that game.

High school was difficult. Going to 3 different schools was hard. I first attended high school in California. I played JV/Varsity basketball there in the 9th grade. Then in the 10th grade, my family moved to Utah. It was super hard. I basically had a culture shock. Then a year later, my family moved again to another place in Utah. It was hard being the "new girl" quite a few times.

In the late high school years and college years, I suffered a lot. The teasing never stopped. I got sick a lot to the point where I had to differ from college for awhile.

Also, in college, I was part of this Comedy Improv group called, Academy of Comedy. If you seen the TV show, "Whose Line Is It Anyways," then you know what we do.

I can go on forever, but I know these experiences gave me my life's greatest lessons.

All of these experiences have helped me and taught me so much. Here is what I got out of these experiences:

1. I learned how to stand up and believe in myself. Have faith in yourself. People often told me I wasn't capable of doing things. I am grateful they told me that, because that is what made me push myself even more. Don't let others get you down. You know that you have a lot of strength within yourself and have a lot of potential that can inspire others. :)

2. I learned that if you are being teased/bullied, it will get better. Just be patient and be believing.

3. I learned how to love ALL people. No matter who they are, where they come from or what kind of life they live. Accept people for who they are and love them anyway. Life is that much more amazing when loving people know matter what.

4. I learned to see people the way God and Christ sees them. Seeing the good in people is incredible. No bad judgment here. It breaks my heart to see other people tear themselves down or tear other people down. Not worth the pain. My wish to everybody would be to have them see how much they are worth it.

5. Meeting new people is a blessing. This is something that I got to do very often since my family moved around to different places. If you truely want to get to know somebody, just listen. Its cool to see how much we can learn from somebody.

6. I have gained a lot of compassion through suffering (illnesses). By suffering a lot, it has brought me so much perspective. Life is to be enjoyed, not endured. Live every moment, Laugh often, Love beyond measure. Tell your loved ones how much you love them. Don't assume that they already know. Don't take life for granted.

Our lives are full of happiness and sorrow. It is our choice of how we want to live it. Is your glass half empty or half full? By living our lives with the glass half full, it brings so much happiness and joy. You never know who may be watching. You may be an example for good to some person. You just never know.

With me, I learned to live life with no regret. Just learn through your happy times and sad times. People often ask me what I would change about my past. As I come to think of it, I wouldn't change a thing. I wouldn't have it any other way. I am grateful for my different experiences and opportunities, because I learn so much. I am grateful for trials, not because it is desirable. Only because it taught me to love people unconditionally.

*I hope you got something out of this post. Please feel free to comment if you like. Much love. :)

-Laurel

My Incredible Friends

I thought I would make a blogpost dedicated to those friends who have made a real impact in my life. I will add more people to the list later. Its getting late. And yes, majority of these people are those I met at college.

                                           Ana is one of my great friends. I have known her since I was a Junior in High school. When she is around, be prepared for a lot of laughter and a night of craziness and adventures. I love her so much.

Lindie is a bundle full of sunshine. She is my little sister that I never had. We have so much fun together and be prepared for our next epic foreign accent days..hehe.

 These guys are all my brothers. They are the ones that saved me from insanity in college. From ping pong tournaments to pool tournaments will always be a highlight memory with these guys. When you hang out with these guys, you are guarenteed to have a good time and laugh until your ribs hurt. I love these guys very much!

 Laura (on the right) is way awesome. You never know what she will say which will make you laugh histerically. I love this girl to pieces.

Sarah is way way way awesome. She has taught me so much in life. She taught me how to be positive in every possible way. She is one of the happiest people I know. She is very loving and caring and she will let you know that you are loved too. I cannot thank her enough of how much she has inspired me to become the best person I can be. When I am around her, I can't help but put a smile on my face because she is just that amazing person and friend that everybody would want. Love you Sarah.

Mayra and Kim are some of my faves. I love them to death. They always make me laugh. We all share love for theatre and music all the way back to the 6th grade. Wow, time sure does fly. I can't thank them enough for being such great people. Love you girls.

50 Questions

1, What color is your toothbrush?
white and blue

2, Name one person who made you smile today:
My sister, Alison

3, What were you doing at 8 am this morning:
Sleeping of course

4, What were you doing 45 minutes ago?
depositing my check

5, What is your favorite candy bar?
Snickers

6, Have you ever been to a strip club?
ummm no and will never go

7, What is the last thing you said aloud?
"Cool"

8, What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
That is impossible to answer. Thats like asking me who is my favorite person in the world.

9, What was the last thing you had to drink?
Milk?

10, Do you like your wallet?
Yeah, its helpful

11, What was the last thing you ate?
A brownie with cookie dough on top.

12, Have you bought any new clothing items this week?
Hmmm...no. But i did several weeks ago.

13, The last sporting event you watched?
Soccer online. Team USA

14, What is your favorite flavor of popcorn?
Caramel/Kettle Corn

15, Who is the last person you sent a text message too?
Alison

16, Ever go camping?
Every summer

17, Do you take vitamins daily?
I try to remember

18, Do you go to church every Sunday?
Yes and I love it!

19, Do you have a tan?
Of course, I was born with tan/olive skin. Its great.

20,Do you prefer Chinese food over pizza?
Neutral

21, Do you drink your soda with a straw?
yup

22, What did your last text message say?
"Have a great night."

23, What are you doing tomorrow?
Church and hang out with my family.

25, Look to your left, what do you see?
A wall, lamp, pics of me and my sisters and blinds.

26, What color is your watch?
silver

27, What do you think of when you hear Australia?
Really want to visit there.

29, Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru?
Inside

30. What is your favorite number?
22 or 7

31, Who's the last person you talked to on the phone?
Alison

32, Any plans today?
Clean before Alison comes home. Take the boys to the park and play kickball.

33, How many states have you lived in?
Colorado, Utah, California, Idaho and Arizona

34, Biggest annoyance right now?
NOthing

35, Last song listened to?
The Melody Within

36,Can you say the alphabet backwards?
Not a chance. I was delayed learning the alphabet anyways..lol

37, Do you have a maid service clean your house?
I WISH!

38, Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time?
My skater shoes or converse

39, Are you jealous of anyone?
Nope

40, Is anyone jealous of you?
No idea

41, Do you love anyone?
Yeah, my friends and family are pretty awesome

42, Do any of your friends have children?
sure do

43, What do you usually do during the day?
wake up, go to work, come home, chill, eat, sleep. Repeat

44, Do you hate anyone that you know right now?
No never

45, Do you use the word 'hello' daily?
No, not really

46, What color is your car?
don't have one

47, Do you like cats?
depends

48. Are you thinking about someone right now?
Yes

49, Have you ever been to Six Flags?
Yes! My favorite place ever next to Disneyland

50, Something unique about yourself?
I moved 17 times in my 22 years of life. Imagine that.

Joys in Life

Here are some things that simply bring joy into my life.

1. Sunrises and Sunsets. Something about these just put me in another world. Most beautiful site ever.
2. The ocean. For those that know me, I am in love with the beach and the ocean. Its my paradise.
3. Family and friends. I am so grateful for them. They are the ones that helped me become who I am today. I can't thank them enough. I love them dearly.
4. Church. I love going to church and be uplifted. Sabbath day is my favorite day of the week.
5. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. They are always there for me.
6. Serving others. Nothing like the feeling you get when you are selfless and serve those around you.
7. Seeing other people happy. Nothing makes me more hapy than seeing other people happy.
8. Laughter and Smiling. A smile is a curve that sets everything straight!
9. People that inspire me to become a better person. I.e: The USWNT team. Amazing people.
10. The Beauty of this earth. This world is just beautiful with all the nature.
11. Having shelter and clothing.
12. Learning about people and their different walks of life. This has taught me to love and accept people for who they are. I'm grateful I have the habit of always seeking the good in people. Only use good judgment! :)
13. I love it when I feel loved by other people.

What are some things that bring joy into your life? Think about it! :)

From the Heart

A lot of things are going through my mind right now. A heart full of love and gratitude towards those around me. Things have changed in my life so quickly and I have recognized so much support from those I love. This means a lot to me. I have come to recognize that I am loved more than I thought. Also, my love for people has grown so much. Almost to the point of tears of joy, because its just an amazing and heart-warming feeling. I love everybody no matter who they are. I believe everybody should be loved. I want the best for others. I want them to be happy. I want them to succeed. I want to help them out in any way I can. Living the life of loving others and serving them is the best life for me. To those who are reading this, remember you are loved always.

"Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. The consciousness of loving and being loved brings a warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring"

Remember to Live every moment, Laugh often, Love beyond measure.

Love,

Laurel Greathouse