Baby Chaffin

Say 'Hello' to my new nephew, Tanner Clyde Chaffin. We are so blessed and thankful to have this beautiful bundle of joy in our lives.

 It's hard to raise a baby and be a parent for this little guy, but I'm positive that Nina and Andrew will be great parents. They love him so much!

Breana, Mama J, José and I feel lucky that we got to hold him on our visit at the hospital the day he was born. We just have to wait for Lexie, her family, and Grandpa Jones to come and have their turns to hold him. Small, but CUTE!

Congratulations, Nina and Andrew on the new baby!

Great Things Come To Pass

"By small and simple things are great things brought to pass," (Alma 37:6). Good things have happened since my 4th semester at BYU-Idaho has ended this past Wednesday. I've made a list of them.

1. Yesterday, a miracle happened. While I was traveling home on the bus, it broke down before we even reached the Utah sign. It was unexpected because I only planned on coming home for summer vacation. The driver pulled over once and examined the bus, only to find nothing wrong with it. Nobody had any idea what happened. The driver called the mechanic and was assured that the replacement bus would be on its way and was encouraged to keep on going for at least 20 miles. He followed that counsel. We were then asked to pray for the bus to function well and safe arrivals to our destinations. I was one of those who prayed and our prayers were answered. After we passed the Utah sign, the bus started working again. We were blessed!
2. This morning, we welcomed a beautiful baby boy to the Jones family. There's no name for him yet as the new parents are still deciding. Nina went to the hospital last night after she was given the signal that it was time. Mom went with her and Andrew to the hospital and was up all night with them. The labor was painful for Nina, but the delivery was successful and the baby made it safe and sound, including his mama. We are so thankful for his arrival and that he could be a part of this family. I don't have pictures yet, but I will take them and post them when I have the chance.
3. I received a tender mercy of the Lord on Thursday, besides the bus incident. I didn't pass my final for my science foundations class, but my grade is still a solid C. I have passed all of my other classes and I'm proud of myself. I may not have passed the science tests or been able to complete or pass all of the assignments for my class, but I know that I've done the best I could and passed. It's not just getting the right answers for the assignments that matters the most, it's also the amount of effort that we put forth in the hard things.

Life is neither easy nor perfect for everyone, not even me. But, I can have a good, happy life depending on the choices I make. I have a family who is loving, supportive and respectful; friends who I can look up to for guidance to making right choices and want me to feel included in the things we do; a home with a roof over my head; clothes and shoes to wear; food and water to eat and drink; and the Gospel. These are the important things in my life, plus many others that I could think of.

Finish Strong

Today was one of those crummy days when I didn't feel good about myself. I don't know why, but I think it's from the stress that I've been going through since the beginning of this week. There's this stress from homework, a big paper, waking up early, not exercising enough, walking to and from school in the blazin' hot weather, and getting the semester over with.

Maybe I'm just putting so much pressure on myself where everything has to be perfect and that has been my only focus.

After I ate dinner, I did my first attempt on making brownies. As you can see the baking tray was a little messy, but the brownies were still delicious. I was starting to feel pretty good about things when I was working on them. I felt like I'd forgotten about everything else that don't seem to really matter at the minute. When the brownies came out and tasted really good, I think it was a reminder for me that nobody is perfect. But, we can still do the best we can in things. My parents have taught me well; just finish things strong.

That's what I'll do.