The Book Thief

So, yesterday I finished one of the most incredible books I think I've ever read. Seriously. Peeking between the pages, you would see the life of a young German girl during Nazi Germany. She lost both her parents, and watched her brother pass away on a train as they journeyed to their foster parents. It's a really neat book because it's not from the usual perspective. It's actually from Death's perspective.. which sounds rather creepy, I'll admit. It was very interesting though. He, Death's narrative, talks about what it's like to pick up the souls when they move on. Through his eyes, you visit everywhere, from the Germans and Russians battling in Russia, to the concentration camps, to the families back home in Germany. The way it's written is very expressive, and sad :(. Anyways, the girl is a German citizen, she's not a Jew, and it's about her life. It is a powerful book. It's aimed for young teens, but the message and experiences in it are just as moving to an older audience, if not more so. I bawled. It opened my eyes, yet again, to how truly blessed I am. As I read, I just hoped that if I was in that kind of situation, where hope seemed lost and there was so much pain, I hope that I would have the strength and faith to still be kind, and have compassion, like the people in the story.  Like I said, to really know what I'm talking about, you would have to read the book. My country is the best. The freedoms that I enjoy... I just am so, so grateful that I have the opportunities to make my own choices and live the way that I do. I'm grateful I have the freedom to speak my opinion, without fearing for the safety of my family or myself. I'm grateful to have the freedom to worship and believe how I want, without fear. I am so blessed. I love America, the Constitution and the principles the country was founded on. I strongly recommend this book to everyone. It is life changing. So good. Prepare to bawl your eyes out and be inspired.

(:

Grins (:

This week has been... what should I call it? A party week? I feel like I've done nothing productive, aside from read this incredible book - Finding Peace, Joy, and Happiness, by Elder Richard G. Scott. It's incredible. I strongly recommend it to anyone. It is fantastic.. honestly, some of the things have changed my life. Aside from that awesomeness, it's definitely been a party since last I wrote. I went on a date on Thursday with this great guy, John! It was super fun! We went and saw a movie, then had a picnic by a river in downtown Fred. I made delicious apple crisp and we had pb&j (: He showed me some songs he wrote on his guitar, and he's way good! He actually has a song on itunes - it's called lovely attraction. It's way cute, I recommend going and buying it, because it helps with his college fund and it's an adorable song! We also had a very brief photoshoot, which was interesting.. I never knew how goofy I look when I laugh, haha. I'm definitely more of a fan being behind the camera then in front of it! We got some fun pictures though!

Then Friday, it was too hot to do anything! Seriously. I walked outside, and my glasses fogged up.. it was what, 105 degrees? Including humidity, it felt like 115. It was intense. So I stayed home and read, practiced piano, read some more, drove Dexter some places with the a/c full blast.. yeah. It was great though. Watched Anastasia and A Walk to Remember (: Oh, and worked out! Finally got my kick butt workout dvd, so I've been pleasantly sore all week (: Then Saturday, went on another date with Matt! It was the one year anniversary of his baptism, which was way sweet. It was super fun. We went and toured this incredible mansion from the Industrial Revolution in Richmond, that has some of the most beautiful gardens I have ever seen! It had these cool trails and just GORGEOUS scenery. It was wow. Honestly. They also had a cute museum with fish and turtles, that was way cool! Then we went to the mall for ice cream and to chill. Afterwards, we went to the drive in movies - they played Zookeeper and the last Harry Potter. Sitting on the hood of the car, under the stars with the milky way in sight, with yummy popcorn and a fun date? It made for a fantastic night! Seriously, so awesome! We had some interesting conversations on the way back.. haha! I was kinda surprised. But it was totally comfortable and fun (: Then today, church was great! As it always is. I'm so grateful for the gospel. So.. yeah (: There's a few days in the life of Whit! Not too exciting. I'm very, very blessed! Got some great things to look forward to for this week.

I truly love life (:

A Day in the Life..

So the past few days have been great. Monday was a pool party for FHE, which was a blast! As I've said before, people here that I'm meeting are super fun and great. It's kind of funny, a lot of people are just here for the summer, and are going back to Utah for college in the fall.. Utah State or BYU I (: Those two seem to be the top two most popular wherever I go! But it was really fun. Yesterday I  babysat Adam and Peter all day, because my parents went to a conference about relationships between the USA and Israel, which sounded really cool. So I was at home with the two boys all day. Holy. Cow. I have a whole new healthy respect for parents! Every time I turned my back, they seemed to be getting into something! There is a constant mess, whether it's spilling milk, grape juice, pickle juice, or popcorn- and that's only moving into the food area, not counting toys and clothes and arguments and everything... phew! It was hard work! Haha but I loved it (: Their the funniest kids. They both have very uh.. strong personalities (: and make me laugh so hard! The messes are tough, but their definitely worth it (: By the end of the day, though, I was completely exhausted! I can't imagine having to do that every day. Yet another affirmation that marriage is likely 5 or 6 years down the road for me (: Haha. Although I did get to oil paint for a few hours, and that was awesome. I've missed being able to do artistic things because of time. As for the rest of this week, it's going to be great. Institute is today, and I give this nice girl Amanda rides, which is fun. My payback to humanity for all the mooched rides I received in my license-less days (: Institute is awesome! I'm so grateful the Church has these amazing programs wherever you go. It's a huge support. UMW is having an open house for new students, which I'm super excited for, and some more things with friends. I'm starting to miss simpler days already, and college isn't even here yet. To be honest, I'm scared. Ha. Very. But I'll pray my heart out, and things will always work out. Alright, the end for today. Peace out, boy scout (:

Wild Adventures..

Ok, little did I know when I moved to Virginia what a wild ride I was in for! This weekend has been awesome(: Thursday I went to Steak n' Shake for lunch with my new friend/twin sister Kristy, which is basically the Eastern coast version of In n' Out. It was so funny! We walked around downtown Fredericksburg for a few hours, and laughed hysterically at the funny Irish jokes and other random things (: It's so funny how many things we have in common, she is literally like a twin sister from another mister. It's wild! Then that night I went on a date with my friend, Matt! He had this genius idea of watching HP part 1 before the midnight showing, and I had this genius idea of painting our faces (: So we did both! We painted our faces half red half gold, with a gold "HP" on the red side (: We looked awesome! And it was a total blast! I would put up pictures, but my camera is broken, so their all on his :( But it was seriously a blast. Turns out both our favorite candies are Reeses pieces.. yeah, it was great! Except, so we get to the movie theatre, and unbeknownst to me I accidently leave my headlights on... for the first time EVER, I always remember to turn them off... so we get out of the movies around 2, and get to my car, and bam! The battery is dead! Crap! Haha. So we asked some fellow HP fans for jumper cables, and they were super nice and helped us out. It was quite hilarious! Very, very embarassing, but hilarious! Got home around 3, and crashed. Super, duper fun day (:

Matt and I! Huge height difference, and I did a wee bit neater job of painting (: Haha

 I can't believe Harry Potter is over! I grew up adoring the books,  anxiously waiting for the next one to come out, just to read it as fast as I could, and reread it a few times until the next one came out. It's so sad that the movies are finally over :'( The 7th is my favorite book, and part 2 is now my favorite movie out of the series. A childhood set is finally over... it's a little symbolic to me of my turning a new leaf in my life ;) Ok, that was super cheesy. Also, a call out to Steve, Amber, Allie, and the other Madrigals! Wish I could have seen your all's (uh oh, Southern accent coming in...noo!) reaction to the movie! And Steve, I thoroughly wish I could have had my wand.. alas, it was not to be! Love you guys! And love my life (: I am so blessed!

Happy Surprise (:

This week has been super fun! Where do I even start? Let's see..

Well, we went to Monticello, and that was incredible. Thomas Jefferson is awesome. It was so fun to spend time with the kids, and one of my favorite hobbies is visiting historic sites, so that day was great (:

Before you continue reading, I will apologize in advance - I'm super tired right now! So I'm not going into too many details. And I probably am not making much sense...But something is better then nothing, right? Atleast in blogging, anyways...

Back to the story

So Sunday was awesome! I adore the new ward. The descriptions of them are very cliche, being super nice, funny, and easy to talk to, but it's very true (: They've made me feel very welcome! During sacrament meeting, it was fast Sunday and I forgot to fast :(, but this random guy came and sat by me, and encouraged me to go bear my testimony! So I did! Wild, right? I totally live on the edge.. haha. Of course I got up and forgot everything I was going to say, but it was cool. And it turned out to be a great way to start a ward, by introducing yourself that way. What better way to start a new leaf? So that was way funny! The rest of the day was great too, just talking and getting to know people better, and their lessons are all awesome. I am very blessed and excited to be a part of this ward (:

So then 4th of July - woohoo! Happy Independence Day, America! I love you dearly! It was great! Pancake breakfast with the family and their home ward, then chillin' like a villain at home taking my brothers fishing, then a karaoke party and bbq for lunch.. that was interesting, haha. Kind of sensory overload at some points, my head didn't stop spinning for hours, but it was super fun (: Then that night we went to Dahlgren for fireworks! Well, I was talkin' to my new friend from Sunday, and it turns out his family was out of town for the 4th! So he came and spent the 4th of us - he missed the big fireworks because he got lost (Ok- seriously, where has this guy been all my life? Haha!) So we ended up doing our own wimpy ones on our driveway later that night so he could have the 4th experience!

Then today, I basically spent the day with my friend, Matt! It was super fun! He's a great guy - super funny and just seems like a very, very good person. We went and got ice cream, walked around downtown Fredericksburg, bought a Civil War bullet for my Dad (: , swung on swings, and watched a movie! AND we are going to see the midnight showing of HARRY POTTER! WOOHOOO!!! (: I'm SO excited!! Haha (: So it was super duper fun! I am so lucky to have such amazing people in my life, and the opportunity to get to know more (: As long as I get over the fact that I'm officially starting to go on dates with college guys... weird! Haha, I am definitely weirded out by that! I feel as young as ever (: But whatever! It's great!

So.. that's basically this past week, or the interesting parts at least! I'm lovin' Virginia. It's fun (: I just am praying a job works out soon... I don't know what I'm going to do when the kids go out of town! But, anyways, that is the end for now! The end of last week, and the beginning of this week (: Kind of.. it's Tuesday. haha, ok, enough philosophizing. Goodbye for now!