Today I am thankful for...

1. A softening heart. We all go through phases of our life when our heart just seems to soften. Well, I do at least. And this past week I can literally just feel my heart softening, I'm not sure why, but I am thankful for this gift.
2. Rainy days. Today has been a rainy sunday & I am so thankful for the relaxing & homey feeling that it brings to me.
3. Music. After church today I was able to sit & play the piano for a bit- it was so peaceful & such good thinking time for me to simply enjoy to myself for a little while. :)

Today I am grateful for...

1. The light going through 100 South FINALLY being a green. It's a very rare occasion when this happens for me, so every time it does I almost consider a little sign that today something good happened. :)
2. Peace and hope. I am so thankful for the peace this gospel brings. Things have been kind of a little rough lately, yet I can't help but feel this overwhelming feeling of peace that everything will work out...as long I just keep going and doing my best.
3. My sisters. They are so supportive and always on my side- I love it.
4. Opportunity. In every challenge there is another opportunity and my life is so full of opportunities this semester! I am so thankful for being busy and being so productive. It makes me feel good and successful at the end of everyday. :)

Today I am grateful for....

1. acing my 1st anatomy test. And when I say 'ace" I mean it...I got 100%!!! That is a really rare occurrence for me in any class, so I am super excited about it! I should really be studying for my other anatomy test tomorrow, but instead I am using the last of my brainpower to type about how excited I am! :)
2. Rainy days. It's been overcast and cooler today, which has been a nice change for a day from the blistering sun. I love everything about rain. the smell. the feel. It makes me want to go cook something homey.
3. Good health. They were doing a health fair on the diagonal today and I got some tests done. The doctor was really impressed and said I am a very healthy girl! It made me feel good and really grateful because really...health is something that we so take for granted- until it goes away.
4. That good feeling you can't get rid of some days. I don't know what it is, but today I am just in a good mood. I have a headache and I really need to study, but I'm still just in a really good mood. It's great. :)

Today I am thankful for...

1. quiet time alone. I have a hard time getting into it, because I like to have company. But tonight I was able to just go on a bike ride and go to the temple for a couple hours and enjoy my sunday evening. It was really relaxing and peaceful to just sit and think.
2. Goals. I have been encouraging a couple of my friends to make goals, and I have been meaning to do the same as well! Tonight I finally took the time to sit and write down some of my goals for this semester. I really feel like it will help me keep my focus and have something to work towards. I'm still learning how to make good goals that are measurable and specific, but how better to learn than to practice!!?
3. My ward. I recently moved and am now in the 2nd ward- and I'll admit I do miss my old ward quite a bit. However, sacrament meeting today was so amazing. There wasn't a single silent moment because people just kept getting up to bear their testimony and share their spirit with the ward, it was great. Also I really love my relief society. It is so inspired and I love it. I love that I get to be involved with making a mormonad and that my ideas were actually listened to and taken and how inclusive the girls are. It is so awesome and makes me want to help others feel the same way. :)
4. Tender mercies. All weekend I have been thinking about Brian and tonight at the temple he happened to shoot me a quick text to see how my weekend was. I wasn't expecting to hear from him at all, but it meant a lot to know I have found a real friend in him, and no matter what he will always care about me.

Today I am so thankful for...

1. The warm weather! Yay! Finally I wan't freezing during swim lessons. It felt amazing & I really enjoyed it. St. George is the best.
2. Motorcycle rides with Brian. Tonight we just went for a ride & it was a nice time to just talk and enjoy riding a motorcycle. I honestly think I'm addicted to riding, it is just so much fun.
3. I am so grateful for the knowledge I have. Even though this is a frustrating time & I don't always have enough patience to want to wait & see what "time will tell"...in the end I really am glad I have to wait. It's making me grow so much & I know I"m learning a lot & having lots of good experiences that I need. Heavenly Father knows me so much better than I do, & he is guiding my life more than I realize. Looking back I can tell that, so I just need to trust him with my future as well.

Today I am grateful for...

1. Getting to bed earlier last night! I loved waking up at 8 this morning because I was well rested (as opposed to the other days this week!)
2. Tears. It's kind of a weird thing to be grateful for, but I honestly think they are a good thing. Today has been a teary eyed day so far, but in a good way. It's a way to release my emotions and heal. For that, I am thankful.
3. Running. I've been running more this week and it feels so great. I am thankful for a healthy body that allows me to run and enjoy moving. I think I take that for granted too much, but I really am thankful for my body.

Today I am grateful for...

1. Heavenly Father answering my prayers SO quickly to make good friends. I feel like my ward is becoming a lot closer with summer and I absolutely love it. The timing is perfect, because of things with Brian. And I am so grateful to Heavenly Father for that tender mercy in my life.
2. Dixie Rock and good chats. I had a really awesome chat with Cody Pitcher last night and we ended up talking for a good 7 hours. I really enjoyed it and I think he did too. It was kind of interesting to see him in a different light and have him open up to me a little bit. I think he is a pretty good kid.
3. Homemade bread. Need I say more? MMmmmmm! I love it. :)

Today I am thankful for...

1. my health! I'm still not completely over my sickness, but oh man- I am feeling a bajillion times better. I'm so thankful for my body and even though I can be hard on it sometimes...I really am so thankful that I can just run and talk and hear and smell and everything else. What a huge blessing.
2. I'm thankful for my family. I've been watching Paisley all weekend and she is such a bright spot in my days. I was feeling kind of down earlier, and I think she could tell, because I looked over at her & she just started being so silly! It was so hilarious, that I couldn't help but giggle. Oh how I love that sweet little girl. I'm also thankful that I could call and talk to my mom tonight.
3. An email from Trevor! All day I kept checking my email, and I was really disappointed to not get an email from Trevor. Finally around 7pm I got an email and it was SO great! :) I've been thinkin about Trevor a lot lately, especially because I haven't heard from him in awhile....so it was just really awesome to hear from him and get a personalized email. Yay!
4. The Spirit. Today wasn't the greatest day because I really broke things off with Brian, and he isn't going to try to date me anymore I think. Which is what I was aiming for, but it was still hard for various reasons. I'm a little worried, because when I met him that's when I became friends with all his friends. So I've kind of been feeling like I"m probably going to be a loner for the next little while due to this decision, but that's ok. I have this feeling of peace and happiness and I know it's from the Holy Ghost, letting me know that things will be ok. :) So I'll just trust that and do my best.

I don't write in this blog as much because I have a few other things to keep up with that help me write down my blessings as well. Nevertheless..

Today I am grateful...
1. For church. And not just any church, but MY church. I love the people. I love the Spirit. Everything about it pretty much is just the greatest. I'm so grateful that I was able to grow up as a member. I don't think I'd be the same person if I hadn't grown up with the gospel, because the Spirit teaches me so much.
2. For humbling experiences. So last night I found out we didn't have a teacher for relief society, leaving me the opportunity to teach a last minute lesson. Since I was with some friends, they helped me make some caramel popcorn & I figured for my lesson we could have a "picnic". Just sitting on blankets and eating popcorn inside, since it's been kind of rainy and stuff this weekend. My plan was to watch a general conference talk, then discuss it. Unfortunately, the internet wasn't working too well, so we had to stop the talk after about 10 min. of it rebuffering a ton. I couldn't find my lesson plan, so I was sitting there with no notes or anything and about 20 min. left to teach. Needless to say- it was kind of humbling and I am grateful for the Spirit. I'm also thankful for the girls in my ward and their kindness to me. Hopefully they got something (besides popcorn) from my lesson.
3. The priesthood. Tonight I had the opportunity to go with some guy friends to a girls apt. while they gave her a blessing & I brought her some dinner. I don't know quite how to explain, but I love the priesthood-especially when guys respect it. I'm also really grateful for the friends I have, because that's exactly how they are & it is just awesome to sit back and watch them sometimes. I look up to them & am so grateful for the amazing people they are. Which leads me to my next thought...
4. I'm so grateful for good friends. I think they make all the difference in life. literally. Heavenly Father has looked out for me so much this semester, and one of the ways he 's done that is blessing me with great friends. I can just stay up talking for hours talking or laughing or whatever with these people. I also love how having friends that just got back from missions, because we can talk about the gospel & it's not weird or anything. In fact, it's great and I love it.
5. For missionaries. And Trevor. And that his trainer is so nice & good to him. It sounds like he's having a good experience so far. That's what we both wanted all along, so I'm really glad that he is focused and serving the Lord, while also having fun. :)

Today I am grateful for...

1. The sun in St. George! Today it was nice enough to wear shorts and flip flops...I loved it. This is such a great city and I really love the beauty it has to offer. Which leads me to #2.
2. Being invited to go to the park and have a little park party. I got to meet new people and just enjoyed kind of hangin out on a Sat. afternoon. And afterwards, it was good to get to talk with Chancen and get to know him a little bit better.
3. While we were at the park there was this concert going on and it was for "born again" Christians. While I was playing catch with Chancen this guy came up and was trying really hard to get into a bible bashing session. It was a testimony builder to me though because that guy thought WE had something missing in our lives, and he doesn't have a clue what he's missing and doesn't really care to listen (unfortunately). It made me thankful for the work that missionaries do, because it must be so hard to encounter people like that. I know I was getting kind of frustrated for a minute and I wasn't even the one talking!
4. For my niece. She is so sweet. I love Paisley and going to see her always brightens my day. Lately she will come and sit in my lap for a longer period of time (like 10min or so) and it's fun that she will actually do that. I love playing with her, but I also love just hangin out and relaxing with her too when she is willing.
5. The Sabbath. In one hour it will be Sunday, and I've made the goal to not to hw on Sundays. I SHOULD be doing hw right now but my brain is just too sleepy for physiology so I think I'll just go to bed instead. I'm excited to have a day of rest where I can read and focus more on the gospel tomorrow and take some time to do that.

Today I am grateful for...

1. All the awesome people in I.F that I have gotten to catch up with over the break. It's been really fun & almost kind of centering in a way to see them again. I visited Sis. Greenhalgh  yesterday, & then my old roommates from last semester too, and then tomorrow I'll see Jordan Dennert. It's always nice to catch up with old friends & I'm thankful that I could take the time to do that this break.
2. Good smells. I went to Victoria's Secret today because they were having their semi-annual sale. I stocked up on a lot of perfumes. New perfumes, which I don't usually do but they smell good, so why not!? I'm excited that I"ll be able to enjoy them for awhile and smell good. Mmmmmm..
3. My laptop. It's nice to have a computer of my own to keep all of my stuff on. I love being able to take it with me wherever I go and just charge it. It's kind of relaxing and nice to have it to myself. Us college students are so spoiled these days. ;)

Today I am thankful for...

1. A warm house. Today it was 5 degrees....brrrr! I went outside for a total of 10 seconds and ran back inside. I'm so thankful that we have a warm and comfortable house to stay in.
2. Safety. I'm thankful that Trevor and his family have been safe while driving to Phoenix and halfway back. I'm praying that they make it the last 4 hours home in safety.
3. Being able to create things. I made my first cake out of fondant today and it wasn't perfect, but I learned a lot & I actually enjoyed doing it too. God is the ultimate creator, so I am thankful as his daughter, that I inherited a small amount of that creativity as well.