America, The Land of the Free, the Brave, and the Loved

Hello!! It's been an exciting two weeks in Provo. Yesterday was 9/11 and we had our first home football game. With the stadium almost full (which is saying a lot since it seats over 63,000), there was tons of support for what was about to happen. Not only were we about to play Houston, but the school had something special for that night. Before the game started, the school's Army ROTC brought out the flag that covers the entire field. They and both football teams held it as those in the stadium sang Proud To Be An American. Then we kicked butt. Actually we weren't playing too great but we were definitely winning! Next, between the first and second quarters, there were card stunts on the east side of the stadium. Behold...
The Card Stunts

After this, we welcomed home a soldier from Iraq that wasn't supposed to be home until December. No, his wife didn't know that he was coming :) They found her in the crowd and brought her and her daughter down to the field before her husband made his appearance. She is due within the next couple months so Daddy will get to be home for his new baby to get here.

Not only am I proud to be an American, I am proud to be a BYU Cougar. It was the last place that I wanted to be but now that I am here, I can't imagine being anywhere else. Everything we do here only reminds me of how important and loved I am and how blessed we really are. We live in an amazing country, it might be going downhill but the night is always darkest just before the dawn. We've been told that things would get bad before the Second Coming. It's to be expected. But when you see the smiling faces and feel the love of those around you, how could you not love the place that we call home? America, the promised land, on the earth created for us.