Tiffany Lee

I have a sister that I love oh so much! Her name is Tiffany Lee. Here are 10 reasons why I truly love and admire her:

1. She is so strong in the church and has a fantastic testimony that radiates through her.  Tiffany always says things that make me feel she is years ahead of her age in her spiritual strength and maturity. 

2. She is extremely talented. It seems like anything Tiffany puts her mind to, she can do. She can sing like an angel, play the guitar like Taylor Swift... and personally when she sings and plays the guitar together, I think she even sounds BETTER than Taylor Swift.

3. She is a good friend! Anyone that know Tiffany, knows how loving of a friend she is. She would do anything for her friends to make them feel special. She always has been an excellent friend and sister to me.  She is kind to everyone. That is a trait that I feel most impressed about. Even in her grade school years, Tiffany befriended EVERYONE. 

4. Tiffany has a killer laugh! She is a happy girl and is good at making any sad, frustrating, gloomy moment the best inside joke ever!

5. She is gorgeous...both inside and out! I am constantly envying that girl. (even her green eye and blue eye)-"hey Tiffany, that green shirt of yours really matches your eye well!" haha. I totally got grounded for that one!

6. She is a outstanding listener. Any time I have to vent, she is right there to listen and continues to have such good advice for me.

7. Tiffany is a remarkable auntie! Both Landon and Easton cant get enough of their Aunt Fiffy! She has such a caring heart and a love for children that surpasses any I know.

8.She is an adventure seeker. She loves travelling, visiting people and places! She makes any road trip awesome, with singing in the car, running over bunnies and good conversation. Some of my fondest memories are when we are on vacation. El Shavo...sick, Stealth... I was the best instructor!

9. Tiffany can make any ordinary day, one you will never forget! I remember when the Twilight series came out, (yes I read them, don't judge) Tiffany and I read them in her room all day while eating Sweet chilli heat chips... and I might have accidentally gotten some of the hot crumbs in her eye... I don't remember if it was her green eye or blue eye... oh well. We still laugh about that one to this day. 

10. I think that the best thing about TiFfAnY LeE HiLl, is that she is my sister! I am blessed to know her and be related to her. She is truly an inspiration in my life and I learn so much from her each day I am with her. She is one of the truest friends I have ever had. I know that it might be a little crazy, we are 5 years apart, and yet so close! We have been attached at the hip for as long as I can remember! I just love this girl!

I love you Tiffany!

24th Birthday...

Is it wrong of me to somewhat resent my 24th birthday. I swear I am 20, I don't feel 24 yet! The number 24 truly makes me feel incredibly old... But however old I feel, my birthday was simple amazing!

Let me give you some background information to my birthday.  Jason works as a manager for Vivint as you may know, and he works Monday through Saturday 9am-9:30pm for 4 months of the year. Both Jason and my birthday fall on those working months.  So making time for anything but work is extremely difficult. I was just lucky that my birthday fell on a Sunday, which is the only day Jason and I have together during the months of April-August. I am not telling you this for you to feel sorry for me. This job is amazing and has been such a blessing, but for you to understand how incredibly blessed I am to have a husband that cares for me so much!

On Saturday night, Jason got home from work at 10:00 pm, just in time to grab me and take me to a show! The movie finished a little past 12:00am... on my birthday! So technically, Jason and I were able to go out on my birthday!

I love Sundays, not only because it was my birthday, but because Sundays are the only full day Jason and I have together! He took me on a romantic birthday picnic in the park with sparkling apple juice with plastic picnic wine glasses and scrumptious supper. We played some board games together, I received an amazing back massage, and finished off the night with watching movies as we cuddled on the couch eating movie treats on my new laptop! Jason doted on me all day and thought of everything I could dream of to make my day fantastically special!

Thank you to everyone for your birthday wishes and presents! I felt so loved and cared for. I have great friends and family that support and love me! Perhaps 24 isn't really that bad...

Osama Bin Laden

So I have done lots of reflecting on the whole assassination of Bin Laden, and I have heard tons of opinions on both sides and I just wanted to share my own feelings on the death of Bin Laden.

First off, I am grateful that a man such as Bin Laden is dead. That there will be no more killing, terror and threats coming from the hands of this awful man. I think of the scriptures when Nephi goes to get the plates of brass from Laban. It says: 

"And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do.  Nevertheless I went forth, and as I came near unto the house of Laban I beheld a man, and he had fallen to the earth before me, for he was drunken with wine.  And when I came to him I found that it was Laban.  And I beheld his sword, and I drew it forth from the sheath thereof; and the hilt thereof was of pure gold, and the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine, and I saw that the blade thereof was of the most precious steel.  And it came to pass that I was constrained by the Spirit that I should kill Laban; but I said in my heart: Never at any time have I shed the blood of man.  And I shrunk and would that I might not slay him.  And the spirit said unto me again: Behold the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands. Yea, and I also knew that he had sought to take away mine own life; yea, and he would not hearken unto the commandments of the Lord; and he also had taken away our property. And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me again: Slay him, for the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands; Behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes.  It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief... Therefore I did obey the voice of the Spirit, and took Laban by the hair of the head, and I smote off his head with his own sword."

I believe the words of Nephi in that the Lord kills the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. So in that I feel it right that a man such as Bin Laden is gone.  Laban is much like Bin Laden in that he was a terrible, heartless man, who sought to kill the righteous, was not keeping the laws of God, and was taking land and freedom away from the people he was supposed to watch over. He was a tyrant and he needed to die.

What I do not agree with and what I find most shameful is the way in which the death of Bin Laden was taken by the people of America.  I do not agree with how his death was handled in the aftermath. 

America labels Palestine as a place of barbarians, who have no respect for people, country and religion. There are broadcast on T.V. of soldiers being killed in the streets, hung and even beat by the Taliban.  The Palestinians have rallies in the streets, they mistreat the bodies of the people they kill and justify it as a “Holy Cause”.

The part that I find most troubling is what America did after Osama was dead,they rejoiced in his death, America also had rallies in the streets with newspaper headlines saying things such as “ROT IN HELL", “BURN IN HELL” or “WE GOT THE BASTARD”. George W. Bush, under whose presidency the 9-11 attacks occurred, released a statement saying, "The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done." I believe God will give man justice. It is for us to forgive.

I feel we should take the higher road, and reflected upon ourselves-are we not acting just as we accuse al-Qaeda of: being barbaric, setting May 1, 2011 apart as being a holy cause to avenge 9-11?  The thing that sets Nephi and America apart is the fact that, Nephi didn’t want to kill Laban, it was only when the Spirit reasoned with him that he saw that righteousness would be brought about because of it.  He did not rejoice in his glory or killing, but knew it was the only way to bring about righteousness.  No amount of hatred and killing will bring back the victims of 9-11.  We need to take the higher road and rise above our enemies.

I believe that as Christians that we should do as Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said reacting to the news.

"Osama bin Laden, as we all know, bore the most serious responsibility for spreading divisions and hatred among populations, causing the deaths of innumerable people, and manipulating religions to this end," Father Lombardi said.

"In the face of a man's death, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibilities of each person before God and before men, and hopes and works so that every event may be the occasion for the further growth of peace and not of hatred."