Christmas time is a time for Crafts...

So here I am, it's 1:40 am and what am I doing? Sleeping over at my best friends house (aka my cousin, mi sicolega) Cheri! We have been watching some good movies- Hallmark movies - Mrs. Miracle and Borrowed Hearts! Well I just so happened whipped up a little craft while I am here. Mostly after the holidays you have to take down all the decorations, so I decided to make a craft to last through the cold. I didn't even spend a cent - these were all leftovers from other craft projects. I think they turned out pretty well! 

They've called me on a mission!

Hey friends!
It's been a long wait....but I got my mission call!!!!

I'm going to.........drumroll..........

SALVADOR BRAZIL! I leave April 24th to fly to the Brazil Sao Paulo Mtc. I am so stoked. (a beautiful/historic city!)

I should have known I'd get called there seeing the follow reasons ...

-My older sister served in Brazil (and everyone says we are so alike)
-My roommate this semester Jari is half Brazilian
- I made a great friend last spring who was from Brazil
-Both my home teachers this semester served in....guess where? Brazil!
- My little brother Elder King? Oh yeh he's serving in Brazil right now! (a few more weeks left in the MTC)
- 2 of my cousins also served in Brazil.

I wondered and wondered where I would get called to. I should have realized Heavenly Father was giving me clues all along! I am so excited. - I am the 5th grandchild on my dad's side to serve there and 3rd in my family!

A few fun facts:
-According to wikipedia  " Salvador features a tropical rainforest climate with no discernable dry season.."
-Salvador is the first capital of Brazil (very old and historic)
-nickname is the Brazil's Capital of Happiness because it is of the people are easygoing.
-It  was the center for the slave trade. Hence it is the home of African Brazilian Culture.
- I've heard the people speak a lot slower there! ( It a more relaxed and laid back culture- so hopefully this will help with my speaking)
- The people are very ready to hear the gospel. A sister missionary I spoke with said that you have the opportunity to teach many people and they are so kind.
- My mission is very close to my brother's mission. As in, we are pretty sure they share a border! Also did I mention that because I am waiting for my visa, I am not leaving til April 24th? I did mention that but did you realize that because of this, my brother and I will return back at nearly the SAME TIME? I am so excited to share mission stories and experiences when I get back! We will both return from a country and people we have grown to love. Can't wait to have share this similarity with my brother!

When I went to the 1st Presidency Christmas Devotional I saw this front license plate. I'm going there in 128 days!

Estou tão animado para servir em Salvador Brasil!

I hope........

THEY CALL ME ON A MISSION!

I know I have been missing in action the past little while, but I've decided what a better time to post than this exciting one. I've decided to go on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! It has been on my mind for the past little while and I finally decided about 3 weeks ago to go. Then with a skip, hop and jump I filled out my mission papers very quickly and turned them in last Thursday! I cannot wait to serve my Heavenly Father and testify of his son Jesus Christ and the wonderful gospel that I have been blessed to grow up with. I can't wait. Under two weeks and I'll know where I am going! I cannot wait to share this wonderful message with all of God's children! And how awesome that I will be serving at the same time as my sister Sarah and my brother Michael! I cannot wait!

If you want to guess where I am going, simply follow the next steps....

1. go to calledtowhere.com
2. search for Hollie King
3. enter the code -TnYYc
4. make your predictions of where I will go!
5. wait in anticipation to find out where I will serve!

There's nothing like a good day in Virginia!

I am absolutely in the best place right now for me! I got to Virginia last Friday (which was perfect!) I was able to stay with some counselors that night. However, they were at EFY so I just went to bed because I got only like a few hours of sleep the night before. Saturday morning was filled with fun adventures! Whitney, the health counselor at EFY invited me to go to a waterfall with her and some of the EFY counselor gang. It was absolutely beautiful. I became instant friends with Whitney and also her friend Kristen...who is a building counselor. Kristen is fun loving, loud, and makes me laugh so much! We totally hit it off. Afterwards I moved into my dorm room and then a few hours later we headed to Indian Food. It ended up being around a 35 ish minute ride, but was my first experience with Indian Food. I ordered some yummy chicken Tiki Masala and Naan. (This delicious flat bread!) Natasha, I thought of you and took a picture for you! During dinner I was laughing so hard, making connections to all the counselors, and I was honestly SO HAPPY! I can't really describe the feeling other than saying I was seriously almost in tears because I was feeling so happy. I know this is where I'm supposed to be for these next few weeks! On the way my leftover container spilled all over my shirt so I was smelling Indian for the rest of the night! Oh well, you win some, you loose some!  We went out to get some delicious Italian Gelato afterward. The drive back lasted over an hour because we missed the exit. However, I didn't mind because I was seriously riding with some very fun people! And lovely Whitney, when she came to come get me, she said "We'll have to squeeze in because all the cars are full...but I promised you could come so I still came." What a sweetheart! Sunday was a great day too! We had church and a lovely fireside with our session directors. I made some more friends as well.  I have met so many fun people and have awesome experiences here. EFY CRAZINESS started on Monday. I am seriously so busy every day! From 6:15 in the morning until at least 10:35 at night. It's so crazy. We have devotionals, firesides, free time, classes, variety shows, lunch duty, dinner duty, scriptures study...and let's not forget the crazy dances! We had a dance Tuesday which was a blast....but the downer is we have to wear pants...no Shorts. And believe me when I say I love my shorts! Wednesday was a fun day because that's when my girls and I started really bonding...along with the rest of my company.  Today was a wonderfully spiritually uplifting night because we had a fireside and testimony meeting. And I had the privilege of singing with two wonderful girls this song called he is the one. It strengthened my testimony of Jesus Christ and his love for us.  I also loved today because we got to dress in Sunday clothes. Yes, no polo for today! I cannot wait for tomorrow, another dance and fun activities. The time is warped her at EFY. I am making great friends and I feel like I've known them for so long, yet it's been less than a week. It's refreshing to meet people from all these eastern states and hear of their lives and their stories. Here are some pictures from my adventure so far!

PS. Let's just say one more thing...remember how I love to talk in accents? Well I've been picking up a southern/gangsta accent. So don't be surprised if you hear me saying ya'll or sounding a bit different when I get back. It's becoming a part of me. And I love it!

 BEAUTIFUL PANTHER FALLS!

 delicious indian experience!

 yaya... my first day as a couselor!

I be loving the free ice cream at lunch....delicious! It reminds me of my days at Cherry Hill....

My old roommate Jessica and I waiting to be stage crew for the variety show.

Hello Summer...

Let the packing begin. Let the goodbyes commence. Le the summer fun begin....

 4 days until my adventures back East  for EFY  in Virginia and visiting friends and family in Washington DC, NYC, and Boston! I can't wait! Stay tuned for more adventures:) 

Break the Silence

Hey to all of you readers out there!

The Center for Women and Children in Crisis is a center for those women and children suffering  left their home because of domestic violence. Several tap companies have agreed to perform for this cause in Salt Lake City on August 12th to help raise money to help secure the center with safety for those women who have already suffered so much. Please check out their website Break The Silence to find out more information on tickets or if you would like to donate, to help for this cause. You can also search for the group "Break The Silence" on face book for more info. Let's unite to BREAK THE SILENCE.

What Spring Brings...

Take time to smell the flowers....but Hurry!! That is how I have felt lately during this Spring term. It's a great time to take classes- only 7 weeks and your done with the subject. However it means that you move extremely fast and spend a lot of time in class. I have been going to school during this Spring semester which I have absolutely loved! I am in some wonderful classes. First, my Doctrine and Covenants class (which may i add is fabulous!)  My teacher is a visiting professor and get this...she lives in Palo Alto California and flies here every week to teach! She comes Monday through Wednesday and goes to live at home for the rest of the week. She is so enthusiastic about the gospel and I am just loving my class. I am also in a geography class. My other two classes: tap dance and piano. It has been so fun to lace my real classes with these fun ones.  I am learning so much with my tap class, it's so cool! I really am a tap dancer! Other than that, just one cool thing: I got to go repelling last weekend! Some boys in my ward have really gotten into rock climbing and so I went with them last Saturday. So much fun!  Life is busy, but so great!

crayons, eggs and life's secrets...

You may be wondering what the connection is between these two seemingly random items. Well here it is! Tonight my friend Travis and I decorated Easter eggs...solely with Crayon! Now these colors may or may not rub off a lot quicker than dye, but it was so much fun designing them. We got very creative might you say!  

 

 Can you see that zebra!

 "The big question. Are zebras black with white stripes or while with black stripes?"

 Proudly named Spot the Egg.

 8 ball anyone?

 Double Rainbow!

 The first egg....a tester and not as cool as the others...

 This egg needed three shots to captivate it's full meaning! 

Be the change! (that you want to see in the world - Ghandi)

One of my favorite quotes and I think what I am going to designate as my life mantra is

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Isn't that great? We really just need to find our passion and live it! That's how we can make a difference in the world. Tonight after decorating eggs Travis showed me this: 

 

50 Life Secrets and Tips | High Existence - StumbleUpon

 

and I loved it! It has some great ideas on how to live life more to the fullest. Check it out if you've got a few spare minutes, it will be well worth your time!

meet my niece....emmeline!

Emme is so adorable! I was babysitting her today and she put her pajamas on her head and was running around like this! 

 Then at the bowling alley earlier today, she couldn't get enough of the wind blowing on her.

 Plus, listen to how she says octopus. She's just too cute!

I love my niece! She's adorable!

feast or famine.

No. I'm not talking about the olden days in the bible, but my dating life! Say hello to one of my favorite principles:  Feast or Famine. How is it that you can go from having no plans, no dates in months and then BOOM. you have so many plans that you have to say no to some! It's crazy how it works at times. But this week has been my time of Feasting! Casual dates are a fun way to get to know each other. Listen to these fun date ideas!

- Painting with Bob Dross- my date Tyler looked up youtube videos and got paints/brushes in order to paint a wonderful landscape! We learned how to paint "happy trees" and what Bob says is the favorite type of mountains..."snowy mountains".  So fun. We finished and then played a game of chess. Surprisingly a way fun board game- I've never known how to play so the strategy was fun to learn!

- Racing Ducks down the stream on the BYU campus. Travis had a few rubber ducks that we raced down the stream on campus. So fun because we just got to casually stroll and get to know each other. Afterwards, we went to Earth Fruits, a delectable frozen yogurt company. Because Travis was one of the first 100 people in line when the shop opened, he got 52 frozen yogurt coupons...free frozen yogurt for a whole year! So we enjoyed a delicious cup!

- This saturday i'll get to go with Jonathan to Comedy Sports- I'm looking forward to this good, clean fun comedy show!

- Date with Tyler- frozen yogurt at the gas station with his 40 dollar gift card won randomly in one of his classes and then talking for like 3 hours afterwards!

I don't know if it is because of all the talks during conference about the importance of guys dating or what, but I have enjoyed getting to meet new people and go on some dates!

giraffes.

 I'm not sure why. But I love giraffes. They are my favorite animal, here's a few great pictures of these lovely animals.

I

just as it's meant to be.

i wrote a song this week, hope you enjoy!

it's been a good week.

Rundown of my fabulous week:
- went running 4 days- the most I"ve been in a long time. Thanks to my buddy Taylor, we keep each other motivated by getting up @ 6:15 to go running. It feels so great to have completed a 6.2 mile run and it's only 7 am in the morning!
-  my bestie cousin Cheri came to visit!
- celebrating st. patty's day with green waffles in the morning!
-seeing Disney's Tangled-two times actually. Such a wonderful movie! Gotta love the dollar theatre:)
-going to BYU'S 21st annual hunger banquet. For those of you who don't know what it is, we got separated into classes by the world's population. I (along with 2 friends) ended up in the poverty section. We had to sit on the ground, eat rice/beans/tortillas and drink dirty water. (don't worry, just water with chocolate powder). There are so many people who go without, I am grateful to live in a wonderful country and surrounded with so many blessings.

-BYU'S DOMINATING BASKETBALL GAME! need I say more?
- Bling Date  - each girl in my ward put in a piece of jewelry and each boy drew one out. The boys did an act of service for the girl and then met them at a specific time (wearing the piece of bling they had chosen). Ours was Saturday afternoon. We had a great picnic followed by an even better game of ultimate frisbee.

What a wonderful week it's been, full of adventures and great blessings!

getting rid of all those shoulds....

Let’s face it. We are all distorted in some way or another with our style and type of thinking, even if we can’t identify it right at first. My “favorite distortion”  happens to be one I feel that most people identify with: say hello to the Should Distortion of Thinking. How many times can we fall into the trap of thinking, I “should” do this or I “should” do that? There are always so many “shoulds” that will make us the perfect this or the perfect that. Everyone strives to be perfect and that comes with a list of shoulds, correct? NO! This is what those who suffer from the “should” distortion are thinking, including myself. Here’s a piece of fresh air, one that I need to be taking along with countless others. Throw off the norm, be your own person. Be the unique individual you were meant to be! If you spend all of your time planning how you “should be” there is no time to discover who you CAN BE! Let’s be honest, I spend a lot of time thinking of the things I should be working on, but I never get around to them. Sure these “should” goals have good intentions, but that will not get me anywhere! I am realizing I  don’t have time to live because I spend my time planning what I should do and become. And it’s simple, there is not time to progress in the things we could be accomplishing because our minds are focused only on the unreachable should list. How many people are known in history and had their name remembered because they thought “ I should make a difference?” None. It’s those who throw out the should list and find their unique role that lets them make a difference. So here’s a challenge to myself and to you: get rid of all those shoulds and you’ll make time for what you actually CAN BE!

a summer of adventures.

Projected outlook for SUMMER:2011

* ROAD TRIP to California for my friend Brianna's wedding in the Redlands California Temple.

*  EFY COUNSELOR. I'll get to spend 3 weeks @  this lovely campus: Southern Viriginia University.

* WASHINGTON DC - after EFY, I'll get to visit friends and family at our lovely nation's capital!

*NYC- after DC, I'll get to visit my sister and hubby in the lovely New York City!

I can't wait for this summer full of aventures! It will be so much fun to see new sights, meet wonderful people learn new things, and grow a lot. I cannot wait!

a tribute to my new and improved blog.

3 words. Sunday Family Rocks! Thanks to Melissa and Brandon, I now have a new and improved blog that is much easier to read and much more aesthetically pleasing (if you ask me!) Now that I actually know how to blog, expect at least 3 a year from me, maybe even a few more!

grateful.

No more promises to blog all the time! Let's face it, I'm not always up for the blogging world. But sometimes I want to take a minute to express how I am feeling. And right now, I am feeling grateful for all I have!

1. My family- my sisters for letting me call and chat with them, my brothers who I get to visit and BYU and for my dad who is always so selfless.
2. all of the good friends I have made at byu.
3. A good run!
4. having the freedom to be the person I want to be
5. The opportunity we have to change.
6. My sister Hermana King's letters - she is such a good example to me. She is serving a mission and I just love her, she is one of my best friends!
7. For the days when I have a chance to make a good dinner
8. Rediscovering my love for reading as I read for my children's literature class.
9. For my roomie, Christine who has become one of my best friends.
10. TO BE ALIVE!

A step into 2011

So I've decided I can't make new year's resolutions to blog, they just fall through kind of like last year's! But I am going to try and update some of the little things that go on in my life lately.
A summary of 2010...
- finished 1st year @ BYU
- had lots of friends leave on missions-fun they are scattered across the world!
- substitute taught for Provo School District
- roadtripped with my bestie, Cheri Peacock from North Carolina to DC (and loving every minute...well mostly!)
- got a job on campus for Byu Freshman Mentoring
- traveled and toured New England with my family. (I loved seeing Palymyra, Niagra Falls, New York City to stay with Em and Kyle, Boston, the lovely coasts of Maine, and Vermont)
- my first love
-getting my wisdom teeth out (ugh, first and something I'm glad I'll never have to repeat...)
- starting my 2nd year @ BYU
- decide on a major- Elementary Education
- meet lots of new friends in my ward and classes
- took a wonderful New Testament class where I learned so much about the life of Christ
- served in a Relief Society Presidency and came to love the girls so much
- my first break up
-Christmas with lots of family
But mostly I learned that even though things don't always go as planned, I can always trust my Heavenly Father's plan for me because he knows what is best for me and will help keep me on track!