Giving Thanks for Thanksgiving

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! Here are some of the highlights:

• Running the 10K Turkey Trot (so I could eat all the food I wanted and not feel guilty). I hadn't trained for it, or so I thought... apparently living in 7,000 ft elevation automatically prepares you for some things because I ran my personal best! (One of the perks of living here!) My dad ran it with me this year too! I am so grateful that he did! I have now done it for 3 years but it meant a lot to have him there with me this year! My dad is seriously so amazing! He is such a hard worker, has such a vast understanding of the gospel and does so much for our family! I love him so much!

• The most perfect weather EVER known to Thanksgiving in the Valley!!!
• Spending the holiday with most of my dad's side of the family! It was so much fun to see all my relatives that I have missed while up here at school. It's so fun to sit and talk and laugh with them and feel the love of a wonderful family!
• Eating TONS of yummy food: homemade rolls, mashed potatoes, turkey, ham, every kind of fruit dreamed of, jello (of course), and enough pie to make one sick with joy! YUM!
• Family Traditions: air plane contests, bubble gum blowing, etc.
• Seeing this wonderful family one last time before they flew back home. They came over and hung out for awhile! I cannot believe how big all the kids have gotten since I saw them last time 6 months ago! Best part - they ALL remembered me, even the twins! It was so wonderful to spend so much time with them over my break! They came and played over at our house, we went to the zoo, AND they came for a bit on Thanksgiving! I am so thankful to have them in my life!! Thanks for spending so much of your break with me! Love you Horlachers!

• Card games galore: Rook, Liverpool Rummie, Rook, and more Rook!
• Scouring the Black Friday ads with all the family as we mapped out our early morning shopping. This year, A got to come Black Friday shopping for the first time! It consisted of getting up at 2:30am and shopping until about 2pm! We all came home and crashed for a good 4 hour nap afterwards!

I am so thankful for Thanksgiving! I am grateful for the reminder of how blessed I am. I am thankful for our living prophet who has reminded us that we can always live in thanksgiving! I hope that I can be more grateful this time of year and always.

Good Gifts

So... my birthday was awhile ago, but I have to tell you about some of the pretty awesome gifts I got... you'll see! :)

#1. Since I was a VERY little girl, all I wanted for my birthday was an ice cream cake from 31 flavors. I HATE other kinds of cake (except carrot and cheese... cakes). But my parents thought a $30 cake was a waste of money growing up, and being on a tight budget meant that "waste of money" things NEVER happened. So... 15 years later, look what my parents bought me for my birthday... an ice cream cake! And it was delicious!!! Thanks mom and dad - my life is complete!

#2. Anybody who has ever spent early rides in the car with me knows this next one ALL too well! I eat breakfast out of a Dixie plastic cup almost every morning of my life. I fill it full of Frosted Mini Wheats, pour milk on top, and grab a plastic spoon as I run out the door. It's a sad way to live, but sleep far outranks breakfast and so my sad tradition lives on! Here is what my roommate got me for my birthday! She is amazing! I was so happy... and even early to class because of it! :) Thanks Cami!

#3. I love music and in 6th grade Paige and I jammed out to lots of really cool music (don't judge us)! This cd happened to be one of our favorites but it broke about halfway through the year and I haven't heard most of it since! Yes, this is what she gave me... I laugh every time I walk in my room and see this cd on my dresser. Oh good times! Just you wait, this Friday will be a night of reliving 6th grade dance parties! :) Thanks Paige!

Oh, and today happens to be my 14th Re-birth birthday! I was baptized on this day, my great-grandfather's birthday, 14 years ago! What a blessing being a member of the church has been in my life! I am so grateful that I have the gospel to guide my life and I am especially grateful that 14 years ago, I received the gift of the Holy Ghost as well. To have a member of the Godhead with you always is a very special gift - one that has blessed me with peace, comfort, strength, understanding, happiness, truth, and love (to name a few). I am truly blessed to have been given this gift at such a young age!

Although gifts like ice cream cakes, muffins and cd's were my favorites because they had special meaning behind them, it is truly the gifts from my Heavenly Father that are my absolute favorite. As the scripture Matthew 7:11 says, "If ye... know how to give good gifts... how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" I am thankful for my Heavenly Father who knows exactly what I need and blesses me with the things I need when I need them most. Of all the gifts, these are the best kind of gifts!

Perfection

Today I am grateful for this...

SNOW!! It's absolutely gorgeous! It makes the world look so clean and new and...perfect! Yes, it's cold, but, oddly, I have enjoyed it more than I ever thought I would. I am fascinated by it! We watched the snow fall all Sunday and, to our surprise, it stuck! What I love most is that it seems to quiet the world. It's peaceful! And it makes it feel like Christmas time!! I'm in love!!

This past week has consisted of waking up at 4:45am to do homework a few times with some days of staying up until 3am to do homework and plenty of skipped lunches to work on group assignments. (In case you are ever wondering, chocolate and jumping jacks seem to be the key to staying awake when needed! If that doesn't work, resort to running around in the cold to get your heart pumpin'!) Needless to say, I have been hungry and sleep-deprived for about 2 weeks straight now, which is why I am looking forward to this...

Now if that isn't perfect, I don't know what is!!? I look forward to my time off from school and work to enjoy the hammock-worthy weather that I got a quick taste of when I went home last weekend! Oh, how I am thankful for Thanksgiving BREAK!!!

Clean Freak

I thought I was about the craziest clean freak the world has ever known! I like things in their place. I like order and cleanliness and plans and categories and lists and such! I make my bed everyday! I have to have my bedroom floor clean before I can go to sleep! I have to wash the counters off like 10 times a day and I still put everything away in my backpack at night just to pull it out the second I wake up the next day!

BUT, I believe I might have found someone worse than me! The lady who lives above us is much worse than me! I hear her vacuum her apartment about 3 times EVERY DAY!! Also, their washing machine and dish washer is always running! I think she turns on a load every time they use one towel or one fork!

Um... confession, although I am a clean freak, we are lucky if we vacuum once a week.

We only turn on the dishes once our cupboards and drawers look like this...

and I only do laundry once I completely run out of clothes that keep my even remotely warm! I won't even show you what my laundry basket looks like once it hits this point! It's scary! :/

Maybe our neighbor would like to come and help us out!! Haha! I guess I am just grateful to know that I am no longer the world's biggest clean freak... but I'm probably still a close 2nd!!

A Privilege Indeed!

I got an email from my ASU institute teacher earlier this semester informing me that he knew a girl who had recently been through a similar situation as I was earlier this year! The second I found out, I quickly began emailing her in an effort to "comfort those who stand in need of comfort." I honestly cried in the middle of class because my heart was breaking for her as I read about the situation! I have an entirely new understanding of compassion after all of this. I never thought my experiences this year would give me the opportunity to help others, but time and time again it continues to bless my life despite the trial it started out to be!

I love the quote from Pres. Monson, "We have no way of knowing when our privilege to extend a helping hand will unfold before us. The road to Jericho that each of us travels bears no name, and the weary traveler who needs our help may be one unknown."

It's so true. We have no idea when such a privilege will present itself and so we must always be prepared. I am so glad that I was given this opportunity, because it truly has been a great privilege to get to know Stephanie!

This past weekend, she decided to take a quick trip up here to take a break and have some fun! That is exactly what we did! We...

--walked around downtown and soaked in the old town feel

--stuffed ourselves at IHOP with friends from my ward

--stayed up WAY too late just talking about all the things

that we have learned through our experiences

--made muffins for breakfast in

--attended stake conference which happened to be amazing!

(It was a state-wide broadcast and President Monson

spoke! How lucky are we?!)

--shared many laughs over a yummy "linner"!

Let me just tell you, Stephanie is a phenomenal person and I am so grateful for her example!! She has such a strong testimony and a love for those around her and I am so grateful for the privilege it is to know her! What a privilege service can be in our lives! What a blessing friends can be! Thanks for coming Stephanie!

Saturday is a Special Day

Today I am grateful for Saturdays because I can...

Sleep in

Workout

Take as long on my scripture study as I want

Finally clean up my messes from the past week

Wash my hair AND dry it right away so I don't freeze

Do homework without a fried brain

and...

Walk around in clothes that don't match!

Happy Thankful Month!

You Know You are in Grad School When...

1. You go to school on Saturdays

2. People call you a "fun-hater" because you study on Friday nights... and every other minute of the weekend

3. Bedtime is at 10:30pm

4. Hours of work on an assignment is only worth 10 points

5. You go to school on Veteran's day so you don't have to go the day after Thanksgiving

I know you are all SO jealous that you didn't have school today! It's ok. :)

Ordinary Miracles

It's 1:14pm.

I am still in my pajamas.

It's 40* outisde.

I don't have school today (but I do on Thursday - Go Figure!)

I am sick.

But life is absolutely the greatest miracle!

The past week of life has been a struggle, but I honestly can say that I am grateful for it! I have been so busy and so stressed and so anxious and so sleep-deprived, that I think I have hit a new record! (And I wonder why on my day off I wake up sick!?!? -Hmmm!) Regardless, I have learned some amazing lessons this week!

Lesson #1: I was reminded of how real Satan is. How much power he has. How much he sneaks little lies into our thoughts if we let him. How crapy he can make you feel. And how much I whole-heartedly HATE him! I stumbled across this quote today from Elder Holland's talk, "Cast Not Therefore Away Your Confidence." It says, "Fighting through darkness and despair and pleading for the light is what opened this dispensation. It is what keeps it going, and it is what will keep you going. With Paul, I say to all of you: Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward."

Lesson #2: Prayers are answered! When we pray for specific things, we are more likely to get the answers we need. Prayer takes faith and real intent.

Lesson #3: Fasting adds to our prayers. It enhances our faith. It helps us to receive revelation.

Lesson #4: The priesthood is real. It's here on earth. It gives righteous men the ability to give us priesthood blessings. I received a blessing on Sunday that was such a gift. The words spoken were EXACT answers to my prayers. Ok. That is not always how quickly answers come or nearly as direct as they come, but on Sunday, answers came. And they came quickly! WHAT A MIRACLE!!!

Lesson #5: Be still! I came across the scripture Exodus 14:13-14 that says, "Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD... the Lord will fight for you." As I have sat here sick today, I have been compelled to be still. I have been compelled to put my to-do list on hold and just rest. I have had plenty of time to just stare out the window at the clean, fresh world after a night of snow (it melted before we woke up). And despite my lack of "to-do list accomplishments", I have felt Heavenly Father's love and awareness of me! I have thought about my family and how much I love them. I have spent unhurried time reading the scriptures. I have marveled at the fall leaves as they are blown off the trees. Pres. Uchtdorf's most recent conference talk titled, "Of Things that Matter Most" is a talk I need to learn to live by! He says, "we would do well to slow down a little, proceed at the optimum speed for our circumstances, focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most."

Being sick today is what helped me recognize all of this and so I am grateful! The lyrics to the song, "Ordinary Miracle" by Sarah McLachlan pretty much sum it all up! My new goal: Work on being still and focusing on the everyday, ordinary miracles - because they are there!

It's not that unusual

When everything is beautiful

It's just another

Ordinary miracle today

The sky knows when it's time to snow

Don't need to teach a seed to grow

It's just another

Ordinary miracle today

Life is like a gift, they say

Wrapped up for you everyday

Open up, and find a way

To give some of your own

Isn't it remarkable?

Like everytime a raindrop falls

It's just another

Ordinary miracle today

The birds in winter have their fling

And always make it home by spring

It's just another

Ordinary miracle today

When you wake up everyday

Please don't throw your dreams away

Hold them close to your heart

'Cause we are all a part

Of the ordinary miracle

Ordinary miracle

Do you want to see a miracle

It seems so exceptional

That things work out after all

It's just another

Ordinary miracle today

The sun comes out and shines so bright

And disappears again at night

It's just another

Ordinary miracle today

It's just another

Ordinary miracle today

Happy Halloween

Want to see what I ended up being for halloween?!................

A bug. A lady bug to be exact. (I felt like I was 5 years old in my costume and LOVED it - carefree and happy! Haha!) And my roommate was a bumble bee!

We went to the institute dance and had a blast! There were so many creative costumes there! Good times!!

Happy Halloween!

I Love to See the Temple

While I was down for Paige's wedding, I was finally able to make it to the temple to do baptisms again (longest time I have gone without the temple in years!!)! I ended up going at one of the busiest times and was there for 2 1/2 hours, but it was soo nice to finally be able to go back!! The peace that you feel in the temple is something that cannot be duplicated anywhere else. It is evidence that it truly is the Lord's House and that He dwells there! I absolutely love it there and I miss being able to go more often!

Since I have moved up here, I have realized that I will never willingly agree to live this far from a temple ever again! On those days where you just need some peace and quiet and a reminder of who you are and what you are doing here, it stinks to not be able to just hop in the car and drive over to the temple!

No fears though, that is EXACTLY what I did yesterday, I hoped in the car and drove home. I got to go to the temple and I practically had the baptistry to myself. I was able to ponder and think and receive answers that I needed! For the other 22 hours that I was home, I spent every second of them with my family! Man, I love them and I am grateful that it is because of the covenants that are made in the temple that we can be together forever!

Oh how I look forward to moving closer to a temple once I am finished with school. And don't even worry, I am already counting down to when I get to go again... :)