Happy Birthday Carly!!

I am not trying to make Carly feel uncomfortable or putting any pressure on her, because she is Sean's "friend", but hey, Carly is my friend too. I don't know what is ahead in the future and I realize that this could potentially be an awkward post, but I hope by now Carly knows me well enough and knows my heart is trying to be in the right place.


I just wanted to tell you a little more about this wonderful friend that has not only been a good influence on Sean, but has also been a good example to me.

The first time I remember meeting Carly was in a class at Weber High. I was subbing her class and I had heard about her from a friend of mine (Suzanne M) that knew her dad when they were in high school. My first impression of Carly was how friendly she was. I noticed her around school and noticed how kind and friendly she was to everyone. Then at the beginning of Sean's senior year, he had a short list of girls he wanted to ask to Homecoming. Carly was on his list. He ended up asking someone else, but by the time Homecoming came around, I think he was wishing Carly was the one he was taking. Carly was a senior class officer at Weber. At the homecoming assembly she involved the assembly and was on the gym floor and Sean was up in the audience and I had the opportunity of being a fly on the wall. I watched the two of them flirt with each other as though they were the only two in a room of 2,000. Neither of them were aware I was looking on. From that moment she had caught my attention, because I knew she had caught Sean's attention. By Halloween, Carly had asked Sean to the Halloween girls dance. I was now paying close attention. But then somehow, I felt like I started to develop a friendship with Carly. She was always very friendly with me at school and I knew she had a good reputation among not just the students but the teachers.

Carly is a good example of the scripture in 1 Timothy 4:12... "but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." Carly is the type of person that always sees the good in others. She is kind in her conversation and carefully chose her words. When Sean and Carly were seniors, it was obvious to me that Weber High had elected the right person to be an officer. It was not a popularity contest, but she was someone to serve and represent. It was at that point I noticed how charitable Carly was. She was good to reach out to help and be kind. As I write this post, she is in Mexico (like our Ammanda in China and our Melissa in Russia) serving young school children and teaching them. When Sean took Carly to Prom their Senior Year, I was so grateful to see her in her beautiful modest Prom dress. She looked like a Princess.

But I have to tell you, I personally have so appreciated her example and support of being just the type of young woman to encourage Elder Marsden in his decision to serve a mission and be a missionary. I have not taken this lightly. She has kept a smile on her face and has given Sean great encouragement with his mission. It is what she has wanted for him too.

I was talking with an old (she is my age lol) friend of mine yesterday and she was telling me about her son that just left for the MTC. She went on and on about how glad she was that her son didn't have a girl writing to him and how awful that would be. She didn't know about Sean and Carly. I just listened to her and then she was embarrassed and tried to back pedal as she remembered that I wrote to Tim when he was on his mission. I am the first to admit, that girls can be a big distraction to boys!! However, Carly has tried to do her part in helping keep Sean focused. She has been supportive of Sean in every way. I appreciate how anxious she is for Sean to keep all the mission rules and doesn't try to distract or tempt him to break rules.

A few other things that impress me about Carly is she is a very smart girl. She is on an academic scholarship at BYU-I. She is a hard worker and is not afraid to work. She is thoughtful of others and she is not afraid to have her own opinion. She is not afraid to try new things. She has high goals and aspirations. Carly...I think you are great and I hope you have a very Happy Birthday!!