This One is for You, Sister Hamilton-

Not only is Autumn Alyss Hamilton one of my roommates, she is one of my best friends.

Dearest Autumn submitted her mission papers almost a month ago (geeeze louise, right?!?!) and got her call TODAY! Since we all suspected that her call would be coming during Thanksgiving break and she would not be here in Provo to open it, she so kindly asked me to open the call for her and read it to her over the phone! I was so completely nervous to open her call for her, but knowing that she trusts me enough to experience such a life-changing moment with her made it all better :)

We tried to FaceTime, but our iPhones decided to not let us (thanks Apple...) so we reverted to over the phone! I taped the call opening on my computer so she would be able to see every little detail of the opening! Go ahead and watch the video of the opening, it's a gem! The other voice in the background is our other equally amazing roommate, Amanda! Excuse the voice/live-action delay, I am not sure why my computer did that!  ENJOY!!!!

Sister Hamilton's Mission Call! from Emily Cutillo on Vimeo.

Oh, and be sure to watch ALL of it! There is an unexpected twist that isn't in most mission calls. Can you pick it out? :)

Autumn, I can not even compile into words how amazing of a missionary you are going to be! To know that you will be a mission nurse specialist for the lucky people of Santiago, Chile is such a comforting thought to all who know you because we know just how passionate you are about the cause of nursing and being a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am humbled by the thought that you would give me the privilege of experiencing this with you! I am so completely excited for you and the gals of Madison 4 are going to miss you dearly, but we know that you are going where you are meant to go :) LOVE YOU, AUTUMN!!!!

Good in the World

I stumbled upon this while wasting I was being productive on Pinterest from my fellow blogger and great pal, Madi!  I just love how this quote made me change my perspective on on life in so few words. Simple really is powerful!
I feel like in today's world we often assume that everyone has ill intentions and are only out to get us. Let's be honest here, that's no fun for anyone! I don't know about you, but frankly I am spiritually exhausted from the mistrust, disbelief and pain that is within the world. You and I, let's make a change! Let's heed to these wise words and try a little harder to be a little more optimistic each day. And by the end of it, we will see how great of an impact we made on not only ourselves, but most importantly others.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland is one of the most inspirational and wise men in my eyes. He is an apostle of the Lord and if you would like to find out more about him/modern-day apostles, go here!

monday surprises

as you know, a couple of my dearest friends are serving their missions right now.

i've learned to deal with the fact that they are no longer a phone call away (more like oceans apart now...) to do something when i am bored or there to talk to when no one else quite understands. and as of late, i  have come to the realization that my friday nights just aren't quite the same without these blokes.

thankfully, letters and emails make the distance more bearable.

it's odd to think that there are tiny pieces of my heart scattered in different continents right now.

"it is a long way off, sir"

"from what jane?"

"from england and from thornfield: and ___"

"well?"

"from you, sir."

-charlottle brontë, jane eyre

i left my heart in colorado

this past weekend i had the opportunity to go up to colorado springs to campaign for mitt romney! instead of writing a novel about how amazing it was, (because i totally could...) i decided to post all of the random pictures i took! beware, there are a lot! but if you want to see some embarrassing photos in the name of all that is political, keep scrolling down!

the victory office headquarters. i felt so official sitting in there, you don't even know.

the hallowed call board! many try, few get there names on there! i'm one of them....

we had the privilege of meeting david dewhurst, the lieutenant governor of texas! such an honor.

coloradan's car stickers are my favorite. that's all.

this is rachel. only meeting her this weekend, it feels like we've known each other for a long time! she's my favorite :)

i became quite the door-knocker. this might be in my near future? who knows!

this is brutus. aka the the biggest dog ever! we should have brought him around to defend us from some lovely citizens... cough cough.

i don't think i can explain this picture to you all.. just admire it, as rachel and i did. you're welcome.

a beautiful view coming home.

california sunsets have always been my favorite, but colorado is a close second.

this is jeff and lee. they were the older brothers for us during the trip! they are **so funny and were always there for a good talk whether it be about the titanic, chinese history or ronald reagan, we talked about it all!

this is daniel van oaks the III. he was a hoot. i feel like this picture is self-explanatory of him during the trip....

danny boy had a thing for my girl rachel, so he put on a ring on it.....

not without some hesitation though...

getting denied can be an embarrassing thing. it's okay, danny. it happens to the best of us.

after the failed engagement i danced the pain away with danny. i'm such a good friend, i know.

all giggles! he must have forgotten him getting denied a couple of minutes earlier....

i wanted a thhhuuper (said with a lisp) cute piggy back picture too......

but i should have known that placing my precious life in danny's hands was a bad idea... you live and you learn right?

**i have a two minute video of jeff talking about a "smiley piece of meat" that makes me laugh every time i watch it. you might not get it, but just imagine the funniest thing in the world and that's what the video is. maybe if you're good little boys and girls i'll share it with you. mayyybeeeee.....