I started a new blog for Brian and I to write all about our new life together.

emilyandbrianmontierth.blogspot.com

I'll probably be blogging more there than I will here... So if you wanna keep up with my life, probably check out the new blog. :)

ONE MORE WEEK!

It's November.

Well, my friends, I am a mess.

I just have to say...

"A few years ago, we knew our Elder Brother and his and our Father in heaven well. We rejoiced at the upcoming opportunity for earthly life that could make it possible for us to have a fullness of joy as they had. We could hardly wait to demonstrate to our Father and our Brother, the Lord, how much we loved them and how we would be obedient to them in spite of the earthly opposition of the evil one. And now we're here--our memories are veiled--and we're showing God and ourselves what we can do. Nothing is going to startle us more when we pass through the veil to the other side than to realize how well we know our Father and how familiar his face is to us. . . . God loves us, he's watching us, he wants us to succeed, and we'll know someday that he has not left one thing undone for the eternal welfare of each of us. If we only knew that there are heavenly hosts pulling for us--friends in heaven, whom we can't remember now, who yearn for our victory. This is our day to show what we can do--what life and sacrifice we can daily, hourly, instantly bring to God. If we give our all, we will get his all from the greatest of all.

Exactly ONE MONTH from today Brian will be home.

My family on the top of Rendezvous Peak of the Tetons. (LtoR) Elizabeth, me, Aaron, Taylor, my dad, and my mom.

It's October!!!

The Best of Jim and Dwight

Goal: Read The Book of Mormon all the way through again before Brian gets home.

It's pretty great. Haha.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18

I'm so glad it's September. I thought August would never end.

This picture was taken approximately 2 years ago before Brian left on his mission- I can't believe it was that long ago... at least that's how I feel today... sometimes it feels like it was centuries ago... but anyway... I love this picture for several reasons. First of all, Grandpa Montierth and his hat and his cross-leggedness makes my day. Second, I am not wearing make up. Third, Brian's head is resting on my shoulder while my legs are still resting in his lap. Fourth, I'm playing with his hair while we're watching TV, and my arm is totally in his way, but he is totally content with not being able to see the television. LOVE.

For the last year, The Stubbs Show on 101.5 The Eagle has played one of the starring roles in my morning routine. I've never met any of the DJ's in person, but I still feel like I know them, haha... they are very much a part of my life every morning at 6:00 AM as I am waking up and in my car on my drive to work. I love how down to earth and real the DJ's are, and Keith Stubbs is hilarious. What amuses me most about myself and this particular radio show is that I don't even listen to the station for the music they play. I mean, for the most part I do like country music... but there have always been and will probably always be those country songs that just really get on my nerves, and I often times find myself changing the station during the songs, and then switching back when they're talking again and aren't playing music. Ummm.... yeah. Weird.
I've seen enough of these signs this summer to last me a lifetime, thanks. I'm so tired of road construction I could probably scream, but I won't. Highway 89 in Layton is the one that is causing me the most grief because I use it to get to work every morning. I've driven it everyday for more than a year now, and I always used to complain to myself about all the cracks and bumps and potholes. I never thought about how inconvenient it would be for me for someone to fix it, of course, haha, but regardless... I'll try not to complain so much about my being inconvenienced since I complained about how crappy the road was before...

My alarm didn't go off this morning, and I woke up to my cellphone ringing. It was my boss.

Completely out of the blue, I have the day off work tomorrow.

... We live on front porches and swing life away

So busy.

I get styes in my eyes every once in a while. It's annoying and quite painful. They come whenever I've been stressed out or emotionally overwhelmed with something. Which is even more annoying. Well, this past week has been a little on the stressful side and I've found myself slightly overwhelmed with everything, and when I woke up this morning, there was a stye in my eye. I should've been expecting it, but I wasn't.  And it hurts. The end. Haha.

I have been so busy lately! And . . . I like it that way. I love being busy. I enjoy being productive with my time. I do. I don't have much time (I'm busy, remember? ha, ha) but here's a quick update on my life.

Hello, July! I'm so happy you've come so quickly, but I probably wouldn't mind if you decided to leave just as fast. Don't take it personally, though, my dear July. I do love your fireworks and parades and American flags and hot summer sunshine and your swimming pools, it's true. I will make sure to enjoy every second. It's just . . . well, I'm in love with November. . . .

is currently the bane of my existence. I'm nearly ready to throw MY OWN temper tantrum. Haaa. 

Brian has been gone 567 days. That's a cool number. How amusing. Ha ha ha. Brian is working his butt off out in the mission field... Him and his companion broke the mission record for number of lessons in one week a few weeks back... and seriously, he's working HARD. Ever since he was called to be a district leader again... which seriously was like 3 or 4 transfers ago he has gotten busier and busier and worked harder and harder. And really, he's doing exactly what I tell him to do in every letter I've written him the whole time he's been gone (to work his butt off) and I'm so proud of him. And I'm pretty sure he's grown and learned more in the last few months than the whole first year of his mission-- and he's loving it. I'm pretty sure that's my favorite part. He's exhausted, but he's excited about what he's doing and he's loving it-- totally getting lost in the work. Oh, I love him, it's true. However, the harder he works, the less time he has to write me letters, and since he can't email me... I've been going weeks at a time without hearing how he's doing or what he's up to. I'm not going to lie.... it SUUUUUCKS! But it's not his fault. And he's doing what he needs to be doing. And I wouldn't want it any other way.... except for I do. Hahaha. But not REALLY. But really. Hahaha. Man, oh man, I'm so sick and tired of missing him. Like really. If I could just stop missing him, that would be great. Ha ha ha. Alas, my heart seems to have other plans. Grrrr. Curse this stupid 2 year long heartache. Granted, it's not as bad as it was when he first left... welllll that could be argued. Let's just say it's a different kind of ache now.  Probably don't ask me to explain that, because I probably can't.  

Hooray! I am so excited! It's May. And do you know what that means? First, it means ONLY SIX MORE MONTHS until the love of my life comes home. That's right, he's been out serving the Lord for 18 months! 3/4 of the way done! Wahooo! 

My cousin, Jared Ripplinger, and I recently collaborated and created a new song. It's the first project we've done together since our album "Synergy" that came out in 2007. And just as before, he composed the music, then handed it over to me to create the melody and lyrics. We're an amazing team, I'd say. But anyway... I normally don't give an explanation to the lyrics I write... or give much background... mostly because I like that my songs are free for the listener to interpret a meaning that is maybe more personal... or I guess sometimes it is to keep the real meaning a mystery as a lot of the time the songs I write are a kind of diary of my feelings... the experiences I go through, and the lessons I learn in the process. And since I'm kind of a private person, it allows me to express myself without feeling like I've revealed too much to the world or something like that, because somehow when it all comes together in a song, I feel a sort of distance from it. Ha ha. I don't know if any of this is making sense and I'm rambling now, so I'll try to get on to the point. Having said all that, with this particular song, I want to share what this song was written about-- other interpretations be what they may-- because I feel it is a message that should be shared. You can listen to the full version of "Carry Me" at http://ilike.com/artist/Emily+Tribe. It is available for purchase at http://cdbaby.com/cd/triberipplinger2 and will also be available on iTunes in the next few weeks.  "Carry Me" was inspired by the healing, peace, comfort, strength and profound joy that we are able to experience here in this life because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. All it takes is letting go of our own will and accepting His. Of course, it is a process... one that takes time.... our whole lives, in fact. (I don’t know about anyone else, but I have a tendency to want to do things my own way... and all by myself. And though I am very aware of my shortcomings, and easily able to admit my need for help, and even ask for it-- it is the ACCEPTING of that help I need that I probably even asked for that I struggle with. When faced with heartache and it's numerous causes, if I'm not careful, I shut my eyes and plug my ears to the situation as a kind of defense mechanism, I suppose to shield myself from the pain associated with it-- I numb out. Obviously this presents a problem with recognizing the help that may come-- the help that I most likely even have been begging for...) (I am so thankful for those moments of sudden understanding that seem to come just when we are about to give up. And even if we may not be ready to open our eyes for fear of the dark-- our ears are suddenly able to hear the music, that song of redeeming love, that redeeming love that has been there all along--bringing with it hope in Christ, giving us strength to finally take action! "... the chains of hell which encircled them about, were they loosed? I say unto you, Yea, they were loosed, and their souls did expand, and they did sing redeeming love." -Alma 5:9) (Oh the sweet peace that comes when faith steps in. When we finally open our eyes and realize that we have only been in the dark because our eyes were closed to the Light. When we finally choose to accept the Lord's will-- to place our trust in Him, the composer of the song of redeeming love. Finally willing to let Him carry us and allow his light to fill our souls. "...the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his mind, which was the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness—yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul..."- Alma 19:6) (Back to reality. It happens. When we've finally made it through a trial-- overcome some hard thing-- when we finally reach the top of the hill, when we feel like we're on our way again... that's when we see the even taller mountain beyond the one we have just climbed... and we feel so small... inadequate... and impatient. And even though we've come so far and learned so much, we nearly fall into despair again... but if we choose to turn to the Savior and fall to our knees... in Him we regain strength and hope to keep moving forward.... trusting in His will as we let go of ours once more....) (When we hold on to the past, we limit ourselves. There is a big difference between a handshake and an embrace. We don't need to carry the burden of the past, Christ has already done this for us. And once we let it go, Christ comes and heals our souls. And then with free hearts and hands we are not only able to see the light, we are able to embrace it.) I have a testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I know that He lives. I know that He loves me, and I know that He loves you. We don't have to go it alone... He is always right there waiting for us to open our eyes and let go-- to allow Him into our lives-- to put our faith and trust in Him... to accept His will.... so that we can be filled with His light and joy as we journey through life. After all, "men are that they might have joy."

I just sang Ledger to sleep. I haven't done that since he was sleeping in a crib. Lately we just read a story and then he goes to sleep, but today when I went to leave the room he said in a sad, tired voice, "Emmy... sit bed, pease?" as he pointed to the edge of his bed. I definitely couldn't say no to that, so I went and sat on the edge of his bed, and he just looked up at me and smiled gently, and then closed his eyes. I asked if he wanted me to sing him a song, and he nodded his head yes. I quickly ran through a list of songs in my head that I could sing to him. Of course, they all were primary songs. I love primary songs, though. So much, in fact. Such beautiful melodies with beautiful little lessons to be taught. I sang "I'm a Child of God" first and he just stared up at me the whole time I was singing. I love that little boy SOOOOO much. And as I sang, I realized that God loves that little boy WAY more than I could ever imagine, and was reminded that He loves me, too. That we are all Children of God who loves us SOOOO much. When I finished "I'm a Child of God," Ledger closed his eyes and I decided to sing one more song. So I sang a song my mom always used to sing to my brother, Taylor, and I when we were little. I think the title of the song is "My Heavenly Father Loves Me", but I know it as "the bird song"... because that's what we always called it. Ha ha. "Whenever I hear the song of a bird, or look at the blue, blue sky; whenever I feel the rain on my face, or the wind as it rushes by; Whenever I touch a velvet rose, or walk by a lilac tree; I'm glad that I live in this beautiful world Heavenly Father created for me. He gave me my eyes that I might see the color of butterfly wings. He gave me my ears that I might hear the magical sound of things. He gave me my life, my mind, my heart: I thank him reverently for all his creations, of which I'm a part. Yes, I know Heavenly Father loves me." By the time I was done singing, Ledger's breathing was slow and deep. There are not many things more beautiful than a child who is sleeping peacefully, I have discovered. And as I quietly got up to leave the room and caught view of the scene out the window-- blue sky, green grass, white snow still left on the tops of the mountain, and beautiful sunshine-- and heard the birds singing songs of spring, I said a silent prayer of gratitude. Yes, I know Heavenly Father loves me. :)

This is a perfect example of the simple things in life that just make it so great. Enjoy. :)



Put The Big Red Button on your site

I love sunsets... and sunrises... and sunshine. Yes, I love the sun. BUT, I also love the rain. *happy sigh* Yeah. Anyway... I don't know what is wrong with me these days, but I'm... SO emotional. I don't really even know how to explain it to you. I'm not a girl who cries normally-- I mean, we're talking extremely rare event. So yeah. It's very uncharacteristic of me to be so... emotional. Ba ha ha. FOR example: I was listening to a cute song on the radio the other day on my way home from work and I've heard it a million times before... but all of a sudden the tears came... and there was no stopping them. Ha ha. Oh! This one is even better: I watched High School Musical 3 for the first time... and I cried. Several times throughout the movie. Yes. High School Musical. Made. Me. Cry. Ba ha ha ha ha! TV shows have had the same effect... or things I have read... or pretty much anything... even just my own thoughts sometimes. And we're not talking about extremely sad or depressing scenarios here. Happy, sad, bittersweet, even funny... doesn't matter. It's like I'm pregnant or something. Ba ha ha! No worries. NOT possible. But it is quite amusing to me... and to others probably. My dad has even been like, "stone cold Emily?" Ha ha. So yeah, I'm not quite sure what is up with that, but that is what is up. All I know is that all these over-flowing emotions are driving me cuh-razy! Ha ha ha! Well, that's about it. Apparently I cry now, and there's really only one thing to say to that: just let it rain. :)

 

A watched pot never boils. True statement. Nor does the mail come while you watch for the mailman (or mail lady in my case). Nor does a letter come when you REALLY want one when the mail finally does show up. After all my experience in letter writing you'd think I would have accepted those 2 facts. Nope. And today I was reminded of the truth of those statements. In my defense... it isn't very often that I get THAT obsessed with the mail... but I just... bah... really wanted a letter today. Oh well... it will probably get here on Monday. That's usually how it goes. Patience is a virtue... and I'm DEFINITELY learning it. 

So... I grew up a little bit more over the last few weeks. I finally bought my own car-- all by myself (with a LITTLE bit of guidance from my parents, of course)! I'm a big girl now! Ha ha!