Thanksgiving

The day before Thanksgiving James and I went out and did a whole bunch of Christmas shopping. We got some good sales, but also avoided black friday madness, it worked out perfectly! The next morning we woke up bright and early and James played in a Turkey Bowl [yes it was 6 degrees, yes I know my husband is a stud]. I went all bundled up with my hot chocolate, I couldnt miss an opportunity to watch some football :) Then we came home and defrosted ourselves, cooked our homemade apple pie and went to an amazing turkey feast at James parents Jim and Juli's. The food was so delicious I was literally stuffed to the brim. The brothers then played "lets wrestle till we almost throw up" and when Jim threatened whoever threw up had to clean it up they promply wrapped it up. Of course we could miss out on a turkey day nap all snuggled on the couch just like when we were dating :) watched a few Christmas movies followed by some Dominos. It was a great Thanksgiving!

Yummy in My Tummy!

Today I am grateful for food. This is one of those things that I might say and James responds with "uhhhh...honey that's a fat girl comment, good thing your not a fat girl" I love food. Sometimes it the thing that comforts you, "hits the spot", brightens your day, or is just simply fun to bake. I know it sounds silly, but I am especially grateful for food around the holidays because it brings families together. I am grateful for the meals that my family ate together every night around the table. Some of my favorite foods are ice cream, mac and cheese, orange chicken, raspberries, and anything mexican. And as for James...his answer is meat! which is true. Every meal I always save a little room for some sweet dessert, but James eats meat for appetizer, main course, and dessert. I am grateful to have a husband that will eat just about anything and love it!

Family

I am grateful for families. Imagine if we weren't sent here in family units...now that would make life ten times harder. I am thankful for my family that I can always count on. No matter how busy they are or how far away they are I know they are always there for us! It is such a great feeling to know that no matter what you do you know that your family has your back and loves you. I know I am so blessed to be in my family (and have added more people to my family this past may :) I am grateful for family traditions, the good morals I was taught in my family and the things I have learned from each and every person in my family!

                                                         [plus a few :)]

                                                          [plus a few :)]

So Easy to be Grateful

Lately it has been so easy for me to look at my life and realize all the things I have to be grateful for. Over the past two months there have been 9 people who live in our current town, or my hometown that have lost their lives or have been seriously injured and are fighting to recover. My heart and prayers go out to their families and friends. I am so grateful for my life and the opportunity I have to live here to grow and learn and experience so many things. I know I have it lucky to have such an easy life that is going so smoothly. I know there will always be hard times that come in the future, but no matter what I will always be grateful for this life that I am having the opportunity to experience and enjoy every moment of it!

Update :]

So this weekend was really fun. We went out to the cheesecake factory for my Mother-in-laws birthday. It was soooo good, but the portions are SO big there. We also got to play more with our new kitten. She is extremely playful. I have scratches all over my legs from her climbing all over me. She is still learning how to walk around with her claws in. We named her Mallie :] like Mr. O'Malley from the aritocats. We love our new little addition to our family! Today I am grateful for our wards. I am grateful that we have a ward family that we assigned to where we can get to know people and serve together. I love my calling. I am the Beehives advisor and get to teach them every week. I know that it is only an hour for them on Sundays, but it makes my whole week!

Kitty

I am so spoiled. James knows that I am lonely when he is gone at work and we wanted to get a dog, but because of where we live that isn't an option right now. Sooo...instead he took me to get a kitten! She is so cute. She's 10 weeks old, black with a little white on her belly. She is a playful little kitten! We are still workin on a name. Pictures coming soon!

Music

Today I realized how grateful I am for music. Listening to music always lifts my spirits, but my favorite part of music is jammin out to it singing at the top of my lungs. This is almost always my case as I do my drive to Provo twice a week, espeically with the new Taylor Swift CD :] Listening to music always makes my drive go by way faster. Besides in the car, I always listen to music while running. If I didnt have my Ipod I doubt I would last one mile. haha! Doing dishes, folding laundry, and cleaning the house are also things that have to be done to music. I love music!

Fall

   My favorite season will always be summer. I guess my California roots just run too deep, but I absolutely love the fall. I love seeing all the changes. The change in leaves from green to red orange and yellow. The change in people as they start being filled with the holiday spirit. The change in clothes, when you get out all your warm sweaters, jackets and boots. The change in food to big warm meals, baking treats and hot chocolate. (well that isn't really a change for me im always baking treats ;] I love Halloween watching all the cute kids get all dressed up and having every excuse to eat all the leftover candy. I love Thanksgiving and how it spills over to make a whole month of focusing on what we have to be grateful for. Even though fall means that school gets tougher, that doesn't take over all the wonderful things that come with it. I figure I can jump on the bandwagon and start saying something everyday that I am grateful for. I figure that will be good way to remeber to blog. haha.    Today I am grateful for my husband. He is so fun. We are always being silly, laughing, and just enjoying each other every second we have together. He is so hardworking and responsible to be the provider for our little family as I finish school. He is constantly serving me and attentive to me. I came home yesterday from a 14 hour day at school to find a clean house all tidy and vacuumed. I am so grateful that we were sealed together for forever :]

Alright...I caved...Im gonna start blogging!

James and I have been married for over six months now. We already have so many memories and have grown together. I can't wait for forever that we have to spend together. I couldn't ask for anything more. It seemed like right after we got married there were two things people were concerned with. One, when are you going to have kids and two, when are you going to start blogging. The answer to both of those questions was...uhhhh...later. haha. Well, Im giving into the blogging. I figure that it is a good way to keep track of our crazy fun times all in one place anyways!