Day 25, 26, & 27

November 25th- I'm grateful that Rachel and Mike live so close. We had them over for dinner tonight. Then played a "quick" 3 hour game of Monopoly. Fun, fun, fun.

November 26th- Christmas decorating time! Today I am especially grateful for Adam's patience with me. We seriously went to 3 different Walmarts before we found a Christmas tree that we liked. And then to Hobby Lobby twice before finally having everything to decorate. Ridiculous. I wanted to light the whole thing on fire by the end of it all. Ha! I was just so frustrated, but Adam was so sweet and got us the perfect tree even though it was six inches taller than the one we had originally planned on (it almost touches the ceiling and takes up most of the little free space that we have in our living room). But it looks great! I love it. Also, I made the tree skirt for $5 instead of paying $10.50 or more for one. How awesome?

Our first Christmas tree!

November 27th- Whew! What a day to be a primary teacher! I'm not sure if it was just because the kids have been out of school for a few days, therefore lacking structure, or if it was because we weren't there last week so we forgot how crazy it got sometimes, but the kids seemed extra wound up today! I mean crazy, crazy! But, I am still so thankful for them and their sweet spirits. I'm just the one who needs to remember patience and that these children are more Christlike than I am. So grateful to be one of their teachers.

Day 23 & 24

November 23rd- I am grateful for my kitchen. Adam generally does most of the cooking (lucky me!). I'll cook sometimes, but I'm more of a baker if anything (that does not mean I'm great at it!). So, in preparation for Thanksgiving, I was able to bake three pies. Yum!

My first race number!

November 24th- I'm thankful for my physical body. I don't always take the best care of it like I should, but without it I wouldn't be able to: run a 5k, eat delicious food, hug and kiss my husband, or talk with my family and friends.
Its never fun to be away from my parents and younger siblings, especially on holidays. But, today I'm especially thankful for the family that I do have here in Utah, and the time that we are able to spend together.

Day 21 & 22

It seems I'm only blogging every other day now, huh? Well, even if I don't blog on that day, I'm still grateful.

November 21st- I am thankful for the gym. I don't always have the best relationship with it, but I always feel tons better after going. I signed up to "run" my very first 5k race on Thursday (yes, Thanksgiving morning). I kinda got talked into running it with a couple other friends. Since I just signed up for it last week, I haven't really been training for it. But, I figure that since I'm not really trying to run it in a certain amount of time, then I'll totally be okay. I just hope that this is the start of the journey toward one of my biggest bucket-list items; a marathon!

November 22nd- I'm grateful for days like this when Adam and I just laugh the whole evening away. He's my very best friend and we have so much fun together, but unlike the romances in movies, things aren't always perfect. We have more good days than bad, and without the bad ones, days like today wouldn't be so great. So, I guess in a way I'm thankful for those bad ones too.

Day 19 & 20

November 19th- I am grateful for the medicine that the doctor gave to Adam because it helped him feel much better. Hopefully that will continue! I am also grateful for my VT companion who agreed to teach our primary class.

November 20th- I'm grateful for a good night's rest. I went to bed last night at 8:30 (extremely early for me!) and didn't wake up until 8:45 this morning! Usually if I sleep for that long I just feel groggy all day, but apparently my body needed it because I felt completely refreshed when I woke up. I still don't feel sick yet, so I'm not sure why my body needed all that sleep. Either way, I'm grateful.

Day 18

November 18th- It turns out that Adam does indeed have the flu. No bueno! So between his sickness and my late night last night, we spent most of the day sleeping. This means that I am extra grateful for our comfy bed, doctors, soup, and the pretty snow falling outside. (Adam claims that the snow makes it the worst day ever, but I think it's beautiful) Now let's keep our fingers crossed that I don't get sick too!

Day 17

November 17th- Adam has been feeling yucky all day. All his symptoms point toward the flu, but I'm praying that it's just a 24 hour bug. So, in the mean time, I am grateful for medicine to help relieve his fever and his pain.
I am also grateful for super fun nights with my sister, Rachel. We saw the new Twilight movie tonight and we had so much fun! I'm so glad that she's out here to do silly girl stuff with me.

Day 16

November 16th- Today I am grateful for small acts of kindness. Just a simple 'hello' or 'I've been thinking of you, how are you doing?' can instantly make my day better.

Day 15

November 15th- Okay, so this one might be a little weird, but today I am grateful for fun YouTube videos. I was able to find great music, and plenty of things to laugh at today. Enjoy!

I love Karmin so much that I have to post one of their original songs too...

And then one of my friends shared this adorable video via Facebook

I hope you all at least got a little smile out of these! Happy Tuesday!!

Day 14

November 14th- I am grateful for long walks, and stores that acknowledge that Christmas is after Thanksgiving.

Day 12 & 13

November 12th- Today I am grateful to have the opportunity to babysit. My cousin Savannah and her husband Jay and their daughter Karlee have been coming down for quite a few of the home BYU football games. Adam and I watch Karlee while Savannah & Jay are at the games. We have a lot of fun spending time with her and I love seeing Adam interact with her. I can't wait to have kids!

November 13th- Again, I am especially grateful for the children in our primary at church. Today was their presentation and they did fabulous!  They were so cute and funny, and they helped everyone to feel our Heavenly Father's love. Absolutely precious.
Oh, and one of our students leaned over to me during the program and she said, 'I love you as much as I love my mom.' I said, 'oh, you do?' She said, 'Yes, I love you as tall as 100 giants... I think that would be taller than heaven.' So darling! She's got me wrapped around her finger! Although, I feel a little awkward about how she said she loves me as much as she loves her mom. At that age, isn't your mom supposed to be the person you love the absolute most? I'm sure I'm probably just a close second.

Day 11

November 11th- As you may have guessed, today I am especially grateful for the many men and women who have served, and are still serving our great nation. I am also grateful for their families as they are also serving in their own way. We really do live in a wonderful country and I am so grateful for that privilege.

Day 10

November 10th- Today I am especially grateful for my friend, Aubrey. We started living together at BYUI after her roommate's (Amy) brother (Jay) married my cousin (Savannah). Aubrey always makes me happy. I can't help but laugh when I'm around her. I remember the second semester that we were living together, I was having a really hard time handling some things that were going on in my life and Aubrey was always there to let me vent my sorrows and frustrations, completely free of judgement. I also remember coming home from class one day and on my desk sat my favorite cupcake from The Cocoa Bean just because she knew I was having a rough time. How great is that?!

A couple summers ago, she and I went to the open house of the Oquirrh Mountain temple. Gorgeous! And today we had the opportunity to do an endowment session there before she enters the MTC next week. She will be a full time missionary in the Everett, Washington mission. I am so excited for her! She is going to do such a great job in helping to bring people closer to Christ.

The Oquirrh Mountain Temple

From learning the Hoedown Throwdown with me, to spending a peaceful afternoon in the Lord's house, Aubrey has always been a wonderful friend and I am thankful to have her in my life.

Day 9

November 9th- Today I am grateful for the temples. Beautiful, peaceful houses of learning where I can be close to my Father in Heaven.

The Washington DC temple where Adam and I were married for time and all eternity.

Day 8

November 8th- Today I am grateful that I'm not in Covington to listen to all the bickering about today's vote. I love my hometown, and am so grateful to have grown up a "small town girl." But, I wasn't sad to leave the small town drama behind.
I believe that doing at least a small bit of traveling is part of the whole "growing up" process. For me at least, I know that each time I ventured into an unknown surrounding, I got to take a good look at who I really was, and am, as a person. And often times, I changed and grew into a new me. When I was in Idaho for school, my testimony of the gospel grew immensely. When I was in China teaching English, I gained a refreshing sense of independence (ex. a fresh break-up, not being able to speak the country's language, witnessing God's tender mercies numerous times, etc.). And then moving here to Utah, I grew into the person that I needed to be in order to be ready to find my loving husband.
I'm not trying to say that my hometown is a bad place. Or that I never want to go back. It is my home after all. I'm just grateful for the few opportunities that I've had to travel in my life's journey. And even more grateful for the change in perspective that each place brought.

I hope that at least some of that made sense. I will now step down from my soap box. Happy Tuesday!

Day 7

November 7th- I'm grateful that my Heavenly Father blessed me with such a wonderful eternal companion. Today marks the sixth month anniversary of when Adam and I were sealed in the Washington DC temple. He is so good to me. I know that he loves me and accepts me completely for who I am, no matter what. He is my best friend. He treats me like a princess. I know that sounds cliche, but it's true! I never knew what true, genuine, pure love was until I met him. All you women out there who think that the chivalrous man is a dying breed, rest assured that they still exist! You just need to be the type of person that you want to attract. It took me 22 years to be the kind of person that Adam deserved, and it took him 28. Be patient. Grow into the person you need to become. You'll find your happily ever after.

So grateful for my Adam!

Day 6

November 6th- Yay for an extra hour of sleep! Although I am grateful for the hour, I am especially grateful for our primary children today. Adam and I teach a group of 5 year olds. But, today the entire primary (70+) class practiced for their upcoming presentation next Sunday. I loved hearing each of them share a small piece of their budding testimonies. They have such sweet, pure, and strong spirits. It wasn't hard for me to start getting teary eyed as they sang reverently (most of the time) about Jesus Christ and about our Prophet. Our church calling can be extremely exhausting at times, but it is absolutely worth it to be around these little spirits that were with our Heavenly Father not too long ago.

Day 5

November 5th- Today I am grateful for the cooler weather. What?! I know, normally I don't really like winter all too much. Yeah, sure the snow is beautiful, I just don't really like being cold. But, the reason I am grateful for it is because it reminds me of when Adam and I fell in love. So what used to be a bitter and dreary season, is now wonderfully beautiful!

Day 4

November 4th- I'm grateful for nice, quiet nights at home with my husband. Especially when he agrees to watch a romantic comedy with me because he knows it'll make me happy. He's so great!

30 Days of Thankfulness

Quite a few of my FB friends are doing this, and I know that I'm a few days late, but I'd like to do this as well. 

November 1st- I am thankful for my wonderful sisters. On this day I am especially grateful for Samantha. Today is her eighteenth birthday. I can remember when she first began Pre-K! Time flies by so fast! I'm a little sad to see her leave childhood, but I'm so excited to see the person that she will become. She's looking into schools out here, and hopefully it works out so that I can spend more time with her!

November 2nd- I am grateful for Adam's secure job at Tahitian Noni International. He's been working super hard this past week and I am so thankful for that. I feel bad because I'm not bringing in income for us, but he is so great. He tells me that he loves taking care of me. Our country is in a tough economy right now, so I am very thankful for Adam's great job.

November 3rd- The women in our ward are fabulous. I haven't become very close with many of them just yet, but they are always so sweet. I am grateful for their kindness.