My opportunity to serve & my priviledge to share!

I have been CALLED to SERVE in church!!!! 

I am super excited to be the Hallmark Ward's new GOSPEL PRINCIPLES teacher! For those non mormons out there, A calling in church is when you are asked to volunteer your time and talents to help serve the congregation by teaching, leading, and serving those who live in your area. EVERYONE in our church is a 100% volunteer. NO ONE IS PAID. All the leaders and teachers in our churches and temples are there because they want to be. So now every Sunday for one hour I'm going to be teaching a class for those who are interested in the church, newly baptized members, and those who have recently become active in attending church again.

I am so grateful for this opportunity and I am striving to learn as much as I can each week to prepare to teach those adults in my class! I love serving and have definitely seen the blessings that it brings into others lives as well as my own.

I have now been teaching for two weeks and I am still as nervous as ever during my entire lesson. I feel like I learn more from my class than they learn from me, hopefully I can return the favor someday. For now though, I will soak up all the lessons I can! I love having my Testimony of the Savior and my Heavenly Father grow each and every week. I have already had many answers to prayers come from stories, comments, or a scripture that is shared during my lessons.

I love the truths that are taught in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Honestly they are so simple and clear. It is insane how twisted people can make it seem, but when I am reading the words of the prophets & scriptures, I feel in my heart a comfort and peace that can only come from the light of my Heavenly Father. It is through these sweet and tender experiences that I know that God lives and He love me. I know that Jesus Christ is my elder brother and that He loves me. I know that I am a LITERAL daughter of God. I know that God has not forsaken this world and that He still gives us guidance and instructions through a prophet today. He loves His children and wants us ALL to live with Him again through the power of forgiveness and through the atonement of Jesus Christ. I feel both of their love every single day. I know that through making and keeping sacred covenants with my Heavenly Father that I have the potential to be with Him again after this life. I also believe that through the power of those same covenants I will be with my family FOREVER. I know this life is hard sometimes and it is easy to complain, but I know that by letting Heavenly Father and Christ into my life I have felt miracles lift my heart and it has made even my biggest trials seem small. I know that my Church teaches truth,  not because I have been told, but because I have asked God myself. I have asked Him through the power of prayer and I testify to you that I received a very clear answer to that question.

I invite everyone who is feeling lost, afraid, confused, or like something is missing in their life to let God in. The peace and joy you will feel is unparalleled by anything the world can offer you. If you have questions about anything I have previously mentioned PLEASE let me know or search the answers to some previously asked questions at this website, or better yet, ask the Lord for answers and He will answer them.

Utah. the Good, the Bad & the Pretty

Okay so I just moved back to good ole California from Utah. There are things I miss about Utah and things that I am glad to leave behind, but honestly the transition has been a lot harder than I thought it would be. Here are some things I loved and hated about Utah, if you have ever been or lived there then you will understand.

UTAH PROS

-better looking people, BYU is the highest ranking school of brains mixed with beauty according to college prowler and business insider, seriously check out this article on it. For some reason almost everyone up there is GORGEOUS and health is a big thing as well.

-clean cities, not much trash or graffiti. Alot of homeless people, but even they seem to be cleaned up compared to other cities I have been to. 

-FRY SAUCE. I am literally having withdrawls. I went into five guys in California and instantly wanted to return my fries when realizing that there was no fry sauce to dip them in.

grass and greenery. The mountain views are AHHHHMAZING!!! 

-BEST SHOPPING EVER... 

Here are a few of my favorite places that I shopped at, most being just a block away. 

Nordstrom Rack 

Plato's Closet, a clothing exchange where you can sell your clothes and buy clothes at a discounted rate. 

Hobby Lobby.. nuff said

The Wood Connection

Tai Pan

My Quilt Shop.. little old ladies and the most adorable fabrics ever. I miss you.

Deseret Book/ Distribution Center, ordering church books and g's just aren't the same online.

ULTA you are DEEPLY missed, 

Walmart ... I know everywhere has them but in Utah it is NOT ghetto and is open 24/7 at every location which they are all Supercenters... Price matching on groceries is the best thing ever! I went there WAYYYYYY more than I did Target and Target was closer.. that says A LOT about Walmarts there.. seriously it was the BOMB. Black Friday's will never be the same for the Judd Family.

DI, or Savers, Basically they are thrift stores but HUGE and have the BEST stuff, not your grandma's stuff. We got 28 classic disney movies like Cinderella and Toy Story for $1 a piece.

9 malls in a 50 mile radius two being outlets,

1. Provo Towne Center Mall **

2. University Mall***

3. Traverse Mountain Outlets**

4. South Towne Mall***

5. Fashion Place Mall****

6. City Creek Mall***

7. Gateway Mall***

8. Park City Tanger Outlets***

9. Mall in West Valley that I can't remember the name of 

because it is an awful Mall and no one should go there.*

Shopping just isn't the same. *tear*

Sorry for that random rant... back to the list. 

-KSLclassifieds, like craiglist but not sketchy and ghetto. 

see ksl here.

-Mormons are majority, this is a con as well but honestly it was nice not having to explain my beliefs to everyone and having people who aren't Mormon understand as well. It was kind of cool sometimes.

To learn more about Mormons and what we believe click here

-People are nicer and more trustworthy. We never locked our cars or home. (we didn't have a house key) and they were always there when we got back. I lost my phone, I.D and wallet all numerous times and they were always found and turned in.. I was not ready for that. I will miss it..

-Easy to find a job. See KSL job postings. 

-School is cheap. With the Pell Grant that I received I paid -$500 a semester to go to school.. that's right I made money going to school. Low tuition will do that for you. 

See if you qualify for the Pell Grant.. married people usually do. So do single Moms..

-Movie theaters ALL have reserved seating, (including Cinemark, they are screwing us here) You can buy your tickets for a midnight premiere from home online and reserve your seats!! So there is NO sitting outside the theater like an IDIOT for hours. You walk in have them print your tickets and walk right into the theater to your PERFECT seats 5 minutes before showtime. IT ROCKS.. oh and they let you bring your own food in with no questions.. they even have unlimited refills on drinks!!! (Larry H Miller Megaplex is where it's at!!)

UTAH CONS

-people are SUPER FAKE, you never know if they are really nice or not because they all look like someone you can trust. 

-NO Diversity.. pretty much white bread and polynesians.. a few black people in salt lake city and a few mexican communities in West Valley, but there is NO other languages anywhere... There are alot of international students from around the world living everywhere, but they are all headed straight back to where they came from as soon as they graduate. Oh and there are redheads everywhere!! Driving around BYU campus in Provo you are GUARANTEED to find at least one redhead on every block. Dead serious we played a game.. hahahahhaa Don't get me wrong I love Gingers and Redheads, but they are a rare sight in other places. It is like Utah is their home. 

-COSMETIC SURGERY and ENHANCEMENTS are EVERYWHERE!!!! It was hard to meet a good looking confident woman who did NOT have anything done whether it was laser hair removal, breast implants or reduction or lifts, botox, eyelash extensions, fake tan, or some other type of surgery fix. It was kind of crazy. You just begin to expect it. It is not a bad thing there. 

-COPS pulling you over for meaningless things like going 1 mile over the speed limit on the freeway, yes this happened in Utah and I was given a ticket.. law enforcement is a joke in Utah.. at least on traffic violations.. CA = 1 ticket in three years of driving (in high school), UT = 4 tickets in 1 year..  something isn't adding up.. unless we are talking about my insurance payments... DUMB.

-SNOW and everything that comes with it.. shoveling driveways, scraping your car off, driving in snow and on ice,  slipping on ice, runny raw noses, salt on the roads, chapped lips, frozen ears, gloves, freezing outside and Sweating once indoors, and never seeing the sun all winter.. It is depressing. The inversion during winter is so bad kids can't go outside to play because the air is dirty. GROSS and only more snow or rain will make that go away.. never ending cycle of DOOM

People who rarely see snow's idea of snow.

What snow is really like.

All in all, I miss Utah and it's quirks. I am very glad to be home and warm though. I would rather sweat in my car than freeze when  i get out of it. The grass is always greener on the other side, but truth be told where you are is how you make it. I was so excited to be moving out of Apple Valley and up to Utah. The first year was great and then I chose to be a negative nancy the last year or two while living there, now that I am gone I wish I would have appreciated it more. While there are somethings I will always dislike, Utah was my home for a little while and hopefully I will be able to visit there often. Utah is wonderful and will be missed.

Father's Day

Father's are the best! Especially both of mine. 

I myself have always been a Daddy's girl. I was his only daughter until I was 11 years old. I will always remember going on Daddy daughter dates with him. He taught me the important things like that I should kiss on the first date if I really liked them... he will deny that until the grave. hahaha We started Andersen T-Shirt Factory my junior year of high school and I will always have good memories in that garage. It was times like these that I started to recognize the sacrifices that he made and love that he had for our family. His words of wisdom at those times helped me love who I was becoming and know that I deserved the best.  He is my go to guy when I need some advice about life. He always played the "tough dad" to my boyfriends, except when he met Conner he hugged him immediately and the "tough guy" was out and the bromance was in. He denies that too.. I love my Daddy and I will always be his little girl. Father knows best.! 

BEST PICTURE EVER!!! My parent's engagement picture. He still talks about how hot she is in the this picture. 

Me and Dad on top of the empire state building in 2008

Right before Nate left on his mission.. Is little Sadie not the cutest little girl ever here?!?!

Jake and Dad at the Pirate Party for our ward!

Father-in-law Darin Judd is a great example of a great Dad. He loves everyone unconditionally. He taught me to love people, even when you feel like they do not deserve it. This was a lesson that will stick with me for the rest of my life. He's also HILARIOUS. Every time we visit we come back with a few more family jokes from the one-liners that he spits out. He is also a great minute to win it partner and will heckle people with me until the cows come home. This luckily has been passed on to my husband! Despite being a busy lawyer and stake president, he always makes time for family and makes sure to always be there for his kids. I see more of Darin's example in Conner every single day and I am so grateful :) 

LOVE this picture.. Darin and Jennifer with baby Conner. 

The whole family when Preston got home from his mission

photo cred and Idea cred: Erin.. Parent easter egg hunt. 

Thank you both for all the laughs and lessons that you have shared with us! We wouldn't be the people we are today without you.