Isabel

     My niece Isabel is one of the happiest, strongest little girls you will ever meet.  Let me give you some background information on my fighter.  Isabel Marie Hadley was five years old when she was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma.  It was discovered after a softball sized lump appeared on Isabel's upper thigh.  A few days later, we heard the chilling news that she had cancer.  She was taken out of school and started her chemotherapy, unable to play and be active like she used to.  But she fought it.  A year later, after being a poster child for Primary Children's, she was declared cancer free and we thought that was the end of it all.  She was happy, her hair was growing back, and it seemed that her trial was over.

 Before treatments, six years ago.

     And it was.  But five years later (almost a year ago) during one of her routine check ups, they found another tumor.  Isabel was now a happy fourth grader, loving life and enjoying what it gave to her.  But once again, she was diagnosed with cancer.  This time, it was Ewings sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer found in her pelvis.  I got rather emotional when she diagnosed again, as I questioned why my sweet niece had to be submitted to cancer once more.  But Isabel wouldn't lose the fight. She has battled every treatment and once again, is victorious over the disease.  Her little body has endured almost two solid years of chemotherapy treatment, feeding tubes, and constant illness.  She has missed almost two years of school and two summers where she was not able to play as much any normal child. But she is not normal. She is special and will forever hold a place in my heart.  I love you Isabel!  You are one of the strongest people I know and I'm proud to be your aunt.  You give me so much hope and strength.  And hopefully this is the last time you have to kick cancer's butt.

Just Call Me Sister Hadley

     It's weird to think that five months ago, I had just graduated from high school without a care in the world, and five moths from now, I'll be living at the MTC.  Last Friday, I received a text from my Stake President telling me that my mission call had been assigned and I would be getting my call on Wednesday.  As the days passed, I slowly became more anxious and my mission was about the only thing I could think about.  I couldn't concentrate in class (well...  if I had actually gone to class, I wouldn't have been able to concentrate.  But hey, I'm transferring to BYU anyway).  Finally, Wednesday arrived and I could hardly function.  I was soooooooooooo nervous and really, I'm way too young to be going on a mission, right?  I just barely graduated from high school, I've only had a job for 3 years of my life, the biggest calling I've ever had was seminary council and that was five months ago.  How on earth can I, Megan Hadley, be ready to go on a mission?!  As I tried to swallow my inadequacies, the clock seemed to have stopped.  Time was moving so slowly and I just wanted to get Layton to see where I was going.
     Finally, it was four o'clock and I was able to leave work.  I briskly walked to my car and sped away.  Luckily, the stop lights were on my side, which never happens, and I was able to make it out of Logan quickly.  I made it to Layton in an hour and picked up the very beautiful Hunter Jensen.  We then traveled together to my grandmother's basement apartment where my call was waiting for me, serenely sitting on the couch.  Finally, the time arrived to make it to my stake center to open the call (I'm currently homeless, so the bowery was the next classiest place to open it.)
     All seemed to be going well until my brave band of BYU bookworms (sometimes I enjoy alliterations) got stuck in traffic and I had to open it 20 minutes after schedule, which I guess is okay.  It was worth it having them up there because really, where would I be without Devin Anderson, who is the boyfriend a girl could probably ever want, Amber Wise (the fiery haired goddess, best friend, and beautiful ballerina,) Austen George (best friends since the second grade, subject of really creepy pictures drawn by yours truly,) and the rest of the amazing people who were there.   I was doing pretty well until I had to stand up on the table and started to pull out my letter.  That's when it hit me.  Hard.  I'm going on a mission.  (The parts surrounded by * are my thoughts.)  I read out loud "Sister Hadley...  *my brain started going fuzzy and the next sentence was a blur as I started to cry*...  You have been assigned to labor in *is that what I think it is?  No.  That's not at all what I was expecting.  Maybe I should actually read the place out loud so it seems real.* the Denmark Copenhagen Mission.  *NO!  I'm going to Denmark?!  WHAT!  It has to be real.  Everyone's talking about it.  I have to keep reading, but geez, pull yourself together!  You don't have to be shaking this much.*  You will be speaking the Danish language.  *Woah, Danish.* You will leave on April 10, 2013.  *April 10?!  That's pretty much ten years away.  How can I wait that long?  Ah well.  I'm going on a mission!  WHAT?!  Who do I hug for first?  Can I hug myself?  DANG IT LEGS, STOP SHAKING!* At this point, I had to stop reading and I got down off my pedestal, still shaking.  I was swarmed by hugs and I was in shock.  I'm going to Denmark.  The words still don't seem real, but they are. I leave in five months.  WHAT THE?!  Just call me Sister Hadley.

 My mission presidents are super cute!  I already love them!

The beautiful Denmark Copenhagen Temple.

 The beautiful Denmark flag.

My mission.  My area also includes Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Iceland.

Future Missionary

    That's right world, this girl is going on a mission.  Here's a little background information to get you caught up on my life.  So, I had pretty much decided I wanted to go to BYU next semester, which seemed like the perfect decision for me, and I still think it is...  But not next semester.  When President Monson announced that every worthy young woman would be able to serve at 19, my heart stopped.  Never in a million years did I think I would serve a mission before I was 65, but here was a perfect opportunity, a blessing actually.  The prompting that I needed to serve hit me strongly and I knew Heavenly Father was answering my prayers on what do with the next few years of my life.  I called my bishop that night and started my papers on last Monday.  I get to turn them in some time next week!
     As I think about serving a mission, I feel so incredibly blessed by my Heavenly Father.  He knows my heart perfectly and knows what I can do.  I am so excited to preach the Lord's gospel to all the world and hopefully touch the life of someone while I'm gone for 18 months.

 Here's my new life plan:.

1. Finish out the Fall 2012 semester at USU (time needs to move faster!)
2. Work until I leave on my mission.
3. Go on a mission (hopefully I'll leave in March.)
4. Come back in time for Fall 2014 semester at BYU (by the way, I was admitted yesterday and I can officially call myself a cougar!)
5. Study and work as hard as I possibly can and hopefully graduate in 2016 or 2017.
6. Hopefully get married somewhere in there.
7. Start a family.
8. Live happily ever after.

Can you believe that I actually grew up?

Me neither. 

God is Good

     Over this past week, I have felt alone.  Not just the normal homesickness, but a feeling that there is no one in Logan that I really trust and love like I have at other places.  I felt alone in a big school with lots of people who didn't care about me.  It was easily the most lonely I've ever felt in my entire life.  After having a bad day at work, I came back to my apartment at 11 and laid on my bed and prayed that I might feel some sort of love that day.  After finishing my prayer, I started listening to the conference talk by Elder Holland from April 2009 about how Christ completed the whole atonement completely alone and that he will never leave us.  This was already brightening my spirits as I heard a knock on my door.  I opened it to find Keeton, a friend who lives up stairs, who came in and gave me a hug and said he was trying to find his computer cord.  Right then, he was an answer to my prayers because I needed someone to be with me.  I left my apartment to institute feeling fairly happy again and my day seemed like it was looking up and it did.  I got a haircut and I had a nice chat with my roommates, but I had to do some laundry before I left to BYU, so I set off to the Laundromat, once again alone.
     It hit me there again.  I was alone.  Devin is two hours away, my family is one hour away, Hunter and Gage are both one hour away, and Amber is two hours away.  I had no one with me in Logan and I finished my laundry to come back to an empty apartment.  So I prayed again and listened to another conference talk, this time by Elder Scott from April 2011... I think.  This is my favorite talk of all time.  He speaks so tenderly of his wife and it just reminds me of what I can have someday.  And then I took a nap because they only thing I wanted to do was escape from inside my head.  I woke up to a missed phone call from my mom, who told me she loved and she thought she should call me today.  Once again, Heavenly Father proved how much He loved me and wants me to be happy.  He's always there for me and I know that now more than ever.  Throughout the day, I also called a few friends who made me feel happy about life.  I am so excited to move down to Provo eventually and see Amber Wise, who might just be the most amazing, beautiful girl to ever walk this earth.  She has always been a blessing in my life.  Another is Hunter Amanda Jensen, who is the very best friend a person could ask for.  I can always feel her comforting touch to my face whenever I talk to her and seriously, girl, I MISS YOU.  And I can never forget Gage.  He is seriously one of my very best friends and our almost daily conversations leave me laughing and looking like a fool as I wander campus during common hour.   If you ever feel insecure, call Gage.  He'll make you feel amazing inside.  And I could never forget Devin.  We have nightly conversations that last anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours!  They are easily the highlight of everyday for me.  This night, I was feeling particularly low when he called me and by the end of the conversation, I was laughing and smiling.  He knows how to make me happy and I hate having to wait a week at a time to see him.
     By the end of the day, I felt good about my life again.  I am determined to feel happy under any circumstance and I am so grateful to Heavenly Father for showing me so many tender mercies.

So Basically...

     I haven't posted in quite some time.  I guess you could say college life is keeping me busy, but truth, I'm just terrible at this whole "blogging" situation.  Here's what has happened since I last posted.  I have enjoyed my time at Utah State, but as time has passed, I've realized that this really isn't the place I want to go.  I don't know if it's the fact that people openly smoke all over campus or that I haven't gained any good friends yet and it's already been a month and a half.  So, last Friday, I decided that I should apply to BYU, the enemy to anything Aggie.  A month ago, I would never have considered going to "temple tech", but now I'm beginning to see what a wonderful place it is.  I'm down there almost every weekend anyway and I would absolutely love being a full time student as a cougar!  Currently, I'm waiting to see whether or not I'll be accepted, so cross your fingers!  

 This is just an old picture from the summer.  I like it though.

 Austen...

 No big deal, just chilling on the Y.

 I miss this kid more than I can even express.

 

Labor Day Weekend

     This has been one of the greatest weekends for so many reasons.  I started out the weekend with an institute party that was a blast!  Then my parents drove up with Devin to go to Bear Lake until Saturday night.  I loved it!  Bear Lake is my favorite place on earth and I was so excited to spend it with him and my favorite cousin Savannah!  Unfortunately, the weather was super stormy at the Lake and I didn't get any wakeboarding in, but the trip was still fun!  After leaving the Lake, Devin and I went to my apartment for a little bit before driving back down to Layton to meet up with the rest of our friends.  I always forget how much I miss them.  Then Sunday rolled around and I realized Devin once again had to go back down to BYU.  Lame!  It's like I'm waking up from an amazing dream every weekend.  

     But on Sunday night, I drove back up to Logan to go to Bear Lake again on Monday.  This time the weather was beautiful and we had such a good time!  We piled ten college students into a mini van and although it was tight, none of us seemed to mind.  The Lake was a blast!  I went wakeboarding with my parents and then learned how to Jet Ski with Travis and Keeton.  It was so much fun!  I wish it all didn't have to end, even though I am so sore!

 

Devin's Birthday

     August 25...  Perhaps the greatest day of all time, for many reasons.  First, my very best friend, Devin Anderson was born.  Let me tell you a little about this boy.  We've known each other since sophomore year in high school when we had English with good ol' Lear Dog.  I would say hi to him every day and give him a high five, but apparently, I wasn't a memorable person as a sophomore (which is good, because that was still during the 'awkward stage'...  I haven't grown out of it yet, but oh well...)  We didn't really associate after that until we were both called to be on the LHS Seminary Council.  That was a blessing in so many ways.  I truly believe that we were meant to meet and become better friends through council.  We started hanging out more in December and we've become close ever since.  I can truly say he is my best friend for so many reasons.  He's smart, funny, trustworthy, kind, courteous, caring, and always helps me with whatever I need.

     It was so unbelievably hard to leave him for Utah State...  One of the hardest things I've ever done.  But luckily, his birthday was a week after I left and it was a perfect excuse to go see him at BYU.  

 We like pictures...  Awkward pictures, preferably...

 Landon and Aysia are fairly cute.

 I saw BYU's campus...  It was disgusting.

 Aysia's gorgeous...  She's also my best friend. 

Be jealous.

Landon is strapping young man.

     When we arrived to Devin's and Austen's apartment, I realized that they lived in a palace while I deal with prison.  Their apartment was beautiful and a wee bit chilly (they think they're cool because they have AC.)  Just to spite Devin, I wore my new Utah State game day shirt to BYU.  Let's just say, I got some pretty nasty glares, but I loved it.  I owned the bookstore and actually got a few compliments on my shirt.  Take that Devin!  

 

 Devin's actually we way jealous of my Utah State shirt.

 He's 18!

 Way cute picture.

You'd think he wasn't happy to see me...   Ah well.  I was happy

to see him!

     All in all, I thought the day was a success!  I was able to see Devin and all of my other friends that I've missed over the past few weeks.  Happy 18th birthday Devin!

And then Gage and I had a photo shoot to take my mind off of leaving.