Hittin' the Ground Runnin'

I've only been attending school for a little over a week and already my schedule has begun to fill up with theater, musicals, shows, etc.

What is the first you ask? When? And where?

This is our first show that we are producing this year at Staley High School. In theater III we get to produce and perform our own show with just the students in the class. The stressful part about it.... It occurs on October 1,2, and 3. AND the best part is... we don't have our scripts yet. So we haven't begun to rehearse. That means we have about 5 weeks to put it together. Oy. But we have begun working on advertisement and continued working on our theater portfolios.. so at least we are being somewhat productive.

Now some of you might be asking "What is the actual musical for this year?". Excellant question!

Yes! We are performing Little Shop of Horrors for our musical this year! Auditions are in November so we are all getting pretty excited for that!

Love, Hunter Bug

Prayer

I don't know what I would do without the simple comfort of prayer. The amount of times it has blessed my life are endless. Personal prayer is probably the greatest gift ever given to me. It's my time to ask for help; to show my Heavenly Father how much I love him.

In my prayers tonight, I will be praying for the Zink family in our stake. They have suffered a terrible loss of their son... and I ask that you would do the same.

I like to ask "why" in my prayers a lot. And I have noticed that usually when I ask "why" I don't get an answer. It's almost like He's trying to tell me even if I knew why things happened.. I wouldn't be able to change them.. So why tell me at all? I've learned to stop being stubborn and asking why, and comfort those who need it. I think tonight while I prayer for the Zinks.. instead of asking why.. I'll ask how. How can I help to comfort this family? How can I learn from this?

Please remember the Zinks in your prayers.

Love, Hunter Bug

Starts and Ends With Rain

That is exactly how today played out. Our household was a mad house at 6 this morning.. getting up for the temple trip and saying bye to Chloe before she headed off to college. And we all cried like a bunch of babies. Mom and Chloe left shortly after we did.

After all these years you would think that I would be more than happy for the day my Clo Bo left home. Exactly the opposite. She has taught me more than I ever thought possible. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done.. saying good bye to my sissy.

However, I did get to talk to them while they were traveling today. Our ward had an interesting opportunity today. One you would NOT expect at the temple.

Mhmm. And no.. I'm not joking. And yes.. I have gotten that reaction every time I've told someone. David Archuleta was in Omaha, Nebraska for a concert and attended the Winter Quarters Temple while there. Just so happens that he attended the same baptismal session as our ward. It was funny to see the different reactions of our youth when we first walked into the chapel. He sat directly behind a couple friends and me. Boy, was Brother Anderson lucky that he was able to confirm him. I can't tell you how many girls would just be happy to TOUCH him! But it was cool to talk to him for a little bit and then he was on his way.

It's raining.. pouring actually.. and it's Saturday night. Only a few more days until school. I'll take my chances.. :)

Love, Hunter Bug

Say Hello to the Good Byes

As I mentioned in a previous post, school is starting up soon. Tuesday to be exact. So it's time to start saying hello to the good byes.

Good bye to all of my great friends heading off to their fall semester of college.. including my big sister.

Good bye to summer, swim suits, and vacations.

Good bye to sleeping in until noon.

Good bye to a non-hectic schedule.

Good bye to staying out late on week nights and endless hours of Rock Band with Dad.

Good bye, good bye, good bye. I hate good byes.. well usually. :)

But now we have plently of hellos!

Hello to soccer, rugby, theater, choir, school friends, homecoming, football games, etc.

Hello to the Kissinger's Walk-A-Thon on September 19th. http://kckanenwishers.blogspot.com/

Hello to trick-or-treating and haunted houses.

Hello to NEW MOON! (Twilight.. if you didn't know that you have some serious catching up to do :) )

Hello, Hello, Hello. Have you noticed my attempt at optimism yet?

I have one last thing to share before I sign off.

The first time Noah has even said "CHEESE" to the camera for me. And with ice cream all over his mouth! How could I resist? :)

Love, Hunter Bug

Tender Mercies

Some of the greatest blessings in my life are the teeny tiny things that most people would find small or even strange if they happened upon them.

One example are the cute things the Ritter B's do for me.. that they probably don't realize they do. Everytime I see Jordie she gives me a big huge hug. What she doesn't realize is that her little act of kindness makes my day so much better, and she some how finds a way to give me these big hugs when I really need them the most. All of the Ritter B's are like that. :)

Another example occured today at a time when I least expected it. I was having one of those "down days" that everyone gets once in a while (or if you're like me.. a lot more than that!) and it came around to the time in Young Womens when we do our "spotlight" of the week; a leader describes a girl and we all guess who it is and that girl gets a candy bar. Well today I was the "spotlight" of the week, and when I got up, my Laurels teacher asked me to stand up front so she could read off some things that the girls had written about me a few months earlier. The list went like this: She is so AMAZING and so is her hair. She is like an older sister to me. She is a great role model. She is beautiful. She cares deeply for others. She is an example of spiritual strength. Hunter is so wonderful. She has such a great testimony of the gospel. She thinks about her friends and cares for them.
At that moment, I was completely flooded with joy and my heart was filled to the brim. These girls had written maybe 8 words about what they thought of me, and what they may think was insignificant meant the world to me.
My older sister, Chloe, is leaving for college this coming Saturday morning. It's the little things, like how we wrote silly notes back and forth during sacrament today, that I hold on to and hopefully never will forget.
Upon returning home from my best friend's funeral in December, I went up to my room to wash my face and looked up at my mirror, only to see the note she had written a few weeks earlier with a dry erase marker saying "I love my Hunter! Love, Megan".

A little while ago, I had a friend who was really struggling. I had a card with a strange, yet beautiful picture on the front. Inside the card I wrote to him what gets me through even the toughest times:
"What may seem small, insignifcant, or even strange in the beginning makes all the difference in the end."

Love, Hunter Bug

Gettin Ready

In the first couple weeks of August, this image can only mean one thing... Back to school time! Time to get refocused and get back into the "Staley Spirit" mood! I would say that I am pretty well prepared for this school year.. that is.. when it comes to being (as my friend Devin would say) "spiritual".

Don't you think? And this is NOT even close to everything. I guess you can say I have a lot of school spirit. :)

We went over to registration yesterday, and I'm feeling pretty good about my classes. I have a good set of teachers and I have my mind set on A's this year.. hopefully I can stick to it. Plus, (I'm going to remind my Mom about this) my Mom told me that if I get straight A's this year that she will buy me a jeep.. hmmmm.

Well today Rachel and I are soakin up the sun and trying to make the best out of our last few weeks of freedom. Aubrey Anderson!!! I encourage you to do the same! :)

Love, Hunter Bug

Home!

WE ARE HOME! It was nice to go to church and see everyone! Tons of warm smiles and welcome backs!


A couple of the cuties from our trip! Left to right: Lily, Chloe, Tonia, Melanie, and me!


Four-wheeling!

Bought new prom and homecoming dresses!

And of course spent time with our favorite Morgans! They tooks us to the 2009 MLS All-Star game! Although USA lost.. it was still fun!!

Love, Hunter Bug