My Timeline

My name is Julie Candice Rice. I was born in Boise and raised in Meridian, Idaho. My father has his own excavation business that he has run since before I was born. He continues to do that for a living today.

I was raised a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was baptized at the age of eight by my brother Stoney. Even though I became a member of the church at the age of eight, I am constantly being converted and becoming a better disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. I know that He is the savior and that he atoned for the sins of the world.

Growing up, my family lived in a stucco Spanish style home on an acre plot in Meridian. It had large pine trees in the front yard. The lawn was thinned due to the large tree roots and the hundreds of pine needles that infested the ground. My dad had a shop on the other side of the rectangular plot. He had lots of equipment for his business (and still does). He has always had a dump truck, backhoe, and road grader since I can remember. Piles of dirt and gravel can always be found lying around from his work. There was one huge dirt pile that my brothers liked to use for a dirt bike jump. We had a dog named Taffy. She was absolutely the weirdest dog ever. I could write an entire book on that dog and still not explain her adequately. She was just a pound puppy. We also had a cat named Shuggy. She was quite the character as well.

My very best friend Emilee Burch lived just a couple of block lengths away. We played together often when we were little. We switched off between going to her house and mine. I remember carrying grocery bags of stuffed animals over to her house. We are still great friends today and always will be.

I attended pre-school with Emilee. Her mom Melanie actually held preschool at her own home. I began elementary school at Chaparral Elementary, but attended the new Peregrine Elementary beginning in 3^rd grade. It was built in my neighborhood. I went to Meridian Middle School for 6^th and 7^th grade, but I moved and went to Lake Hazel Middle School for 8^th grade. My parents built the new house on a five acre plot in Meridian that they had owned for years. The new house is much larger and much nicer. It also has a much larger shop for my dad and his excavation company.

I attended Meridian High School and graduated in June 2010. When I was a sophomore in high school, my family was able to get sealed in the Boise, Idaho Temple for time and all eternity. Being sealed to my family was a sweet experience that I will never forget. I gained a greater testimony of temples and the Priesthood. I know that the temple is a house of God. The temple brings me immense happiness. I feel that this happiness I get from attending the temple is like a little taste of heaven. It gives me the desire to live worthily so that I can have this joy in the eternities to come. I know that the Priesthood is the power of God. It gives people the ability to perform special ordinances that extend beyond this life.

I really like sports. I played soccer as a little girl and through high school. High school soccer demanded a lot, but it taught me a lot of life lessons. I played high school lacrosse in the Spring. I also learned to ski at a very young age. My dad would take us kids to Bogus Basin every Saturday growing up. I learned how to snowboard when I was 11 and have done it ever since. We love riding powder in the trees and bushes. Our family motto is “no friends or family on powder days,” but we all know that actually means no bringing beginners. Also, I enjoy dirt biking. I first learned on a 50. Going trail riding with my family is probably my favorite thing ever. I used to like snowboarding better, but I think I have begun to prefer dirt biking. Running has become a big part of my life. I have run almost every day (other than Sundays) since I was a sophomore in high school. I did cross country my senior year of high school and enjoyed it thoroughly. I have ran in two half marathons. I am not a competitive runner but like to do it to keep in shape and enjoy nature. Art is another hobby of mine. My mom, Sommer, and I enter something into the Western Idaho Fair every year. I typically do western charcoals, but I have been trying out oil recently. Sommer and I also would bring our miniature horses to the fair every year. She had a little stallion named Dancer, and I had a mare named Rapsody. We sold them when I moved to Rexburg.

In fall 2010, I moved to Rexburg, Idaho to attend Brigham Young University-Idaho. I roomed with my friend Emilee at the Pines. I was also able to make many more friends that I hope to keep in touch with throughout my life. Attending BYU-Idaho was a great experience. I learned so much there and feel that it has helped me to become the person that I am today. School was not easy and was a very humbling experience. I was able to more fully realize my dependence on the Father, His grace, and the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Like many people, I did not know exactly what I wanted to major in as I prepared to go to college. My thinking was along the lines of engineering, architecture, or construction management. I remember being a senior in high school and wondering what I would end up doing. At this time, the construction industry in the valley had felt the effects of the economic recession. I remember seeing an ad on TV that said health care is where the jobs are. I thought to myself “gee I wish I was interested in health care rather than construction management, but I’m just not.” A year later, I began to register for classes at BYU-I. I told my dad that I was registering for a course called Intro to Engineering so that I could find out if it was something I was interested in. He said something like “construction isn’t doing so well, wouldn’t you rather be a nurse or something?” It was funny that he had said that since a similar thing had ran through my head about a year ago. I decided to look into the nursing degree at BYU-I and register for Anatomy and Physiology—a prerequisite to get into the nursing program—just to see how I liked it. The class went well, and I decided to finish off the rest of the prerequisites to get into the nursing program just in case I wanted to possibly apply. The prerequisites took me two semesters to finish, and by the end of the second semester, I was feeling the pressure to make a decision. I had prayed about the matter but had not received the strong yes or no answer I was searching for. I applied to the program anyways and later received an acceptance letter. Now it was really time to make a decision, but I still had not received an answer. Near that time, my ward was privileged to attend a question and answer session with President Clark and his wife Sister Clark. President Clark is the president at BYU-I, and he is awesome. For the evening, my ward sat down in a room in the Manwearing Center while he and his wife stood at the pulpit. We raised our hands to ask any question we wanted, and he and his wife would answer them. Luckily someone asked the very question that had been bothering me. It was about making decisions and finding out what God would have us do. I cannot remember word-for-word President Clark’s response, but it went along these lines: “We need to put much thought into each possibility, use our worldly understanding to figure what choice seems best, and pray on the matter. If you receive an answer, act on it. If not, go with the choice that seems logical to you. Then watch for signs. Ask and watch for angels to help you in your decision.” A light bulb suddenly went off inside of my head. I had used my worldly understanding and had gone with the choice that seemed logical to me. I had prayed about it, but what I had not done was watch for signs and for angels to direct me. Consequently, I had missed God’s answer to my prayers. For one, the idea of nursing was weighing on my mind. Also, both Dad and Mom were encouraging me to do it. Not long before, Amanda— a study buddy of mine for Anatomy and Physiology—had told me that I would be a great nurse. Everything came together, and I realized that God had been answering my prayers all along. I had just failed to recognize His guidance in my life. From my experience, I discovered for myself that the Holy Ghost does not always speak to us in the way that we would expect. St John 3: 8 says: The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every on that is born of the Spirit.

I graduated with my Associates of Science in Nursing December 2012 and received my licensure as an RN in February 2013. I am currently working on my Bachelors of Science in Nursing and will graduate in December 2013. I am doing it online while living with my parents in Meridian. I am applying for nursing positions at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise.