On Dec. 5th, I became closer to 30 than to 20 :p Happy 26th to me!  I celebrated by pretty much doing nothing.  I took the day off of work and hung out around the house.  I'm pretty sure I never got out of my PJs either.  I must admit, I felt a little guilty taking a day off of work and doing nothing, but it was most enjoyable.

Lynell and John stopped by to give me a gift - a pretty sweater and some cakebites (yum!).  After Matt got home, we watched ourselves some Star Trek Deep Space 9 (cuz we're nerds).  Since it was also Monday, Matt wanted to watch Funday Monday, so I hung out in the office with him and colored. (Thanks Big O Tires for sending out a coloring page with the ads! haha)  Afteward, we read .... well, I read some Christmas stories to Matt.  It was fun and very relaxing :)

Yes, I know Christmas is almost here, but one day at work (shh...I was really working.... maybe...) I clicked on this link.  It's the First Presidency message, and it fits perfectly with my theme from November.  It was a nice culmination of what I had learned over Thankful November.  President Eyring starts off by teaching it is a commandment to be thankful.  I love that.  It can be hard, but it must be really important if we are actually commanded to be thankful, right?  With following commandments comes blessings, like being happy :)  Also, we get filled with the love of Christ and are better in tune with the Spirit.  We want to help others be lifted up.  The hard things are easier to bear.  You really should all go read it.  It's really good (naturally... I mean, the First Presidency doesn't put out anything sub-standard, do they?).  I need to work on staying thankful, I think.  Wait, no, I know I need to.  *Sigh* Okay - time to maybe start keeping a gratitude journal, eh?

So, being broke and not having a lot of gifts to worry about, I did snag a few ads from my grandma's house on Thanksgiving.  Fortunately for me, they weren't crazy Black Friday things.  One was even specifically a Saturday thing.  So on Friday, Matt and I hung out at home, and probably watched a lot of Star Trek on Netflix (yeah, we're nerds like that :)).  Although, I did log in from home and work for a couple of hours.  I'm glad I have the option to work from home for days like that.

Finally, Saturday afternoon (we were so lazy :)), we headed out to go shopping.  We took care of a few gifts, and even went to Petco for our kids' gifts.  Yay for sales!  Roberts was also having a sale on yarn, so I got some standard colors (not as many as I'd like considering they were pretty well cleaned out), and a cute purple that I have an idea for... if I can remember yet again how to crochet....and then learn something besides single and double stitching.... like following a pattern! ha!  I have about a month for my plan though, so it's all good.

Sunday, we headed north to Pleasant Grove where Matt's cousin was reporting on his mission.  It was kind of fun because they had two returned missionaries speaking.  Austin did an amazing job, and totally made me cry lol.  Matt's family ducked out at the end to head up to Plain City to hear Jackie report on her mission.  We, however, decided to go to Sharon's for bread and muffins.  Mmm - so good!  Again, we had an enjoyable time visiting with family and playing with Nicole's babies - Ruby (chinchilla) and Lily (pug).

Mostly, for the extended weekend off of work, I enjoyed spending time with Matt.  It was very nice to have a few days of nothing to do but hang out with each other and our animals.

For Thanksgiving this year, we went to my Grandma Wilson's house. We had fun adventures of searching for silverware, and Koreen spilling the drink on the floor and Elisabeth's feet - tee hee. When we did eventually get to eat, we enjoyed tasty food and catching up with family.

I promise I haven't fallen off the Thankfulness Bandwagon - it's just I was busy enjoying my time and less concerned with blogging about it.  Hopefully in the next few days I'll get a real post up and fill you in :)

Until then, I hope you all had a marvelous Thanksgiving and are enjoying the Christmas spirit - I know I am!

Today, I'm thankful for fingernails.  Actually, my thumbnails to be more precise.  They are such awesome little built-in tools!  I decided to have an orange today.  Usually I make Matt peel for me, but I decided to be a big girl and do it myself.  My thumbnail made an awesome little knife to dig into the skin.  They were also useful for prying the skin off of the tasty fruit inside.  Once all of the peel was off, my nails also did a wonderful job scoring the sections of orange so I could actually open it up and divide it into segments.  Yay for tasty oranges - and for my built-in tools :)

Yeah, I know I didn't post yesterday.  That's okay because I'm posting now! :)

Yesterday, because of the workload with the holiday, I ended up working 2 to 10 instead of my usual 1 to 9.  I used (most of) my time wisely.  I was so productive yesterday morning!  After taking care of the animals, I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher - it was a necessity since Matt actually cooked dinner last night :)

Then, I worked on sorting and putting away the kids books that are still strewn about the office floor.  Thanks to my husband, a dog, and a cat, the piles they were in were much less pile-y, so I had to go through everything again.  I'm still not done, but you can navigate around the pils again.

I may not always (like rarely) use my time wisely, but I did enjoy the extra hour to really make some headway on the book situation.

Also, because I went to work later, I got to hang out with Matt, who only worked for a few hours because of the holiday.  It was nice.  We walked Mocha together before I left for work :)

I'm so thankful to have our pets.  When I'm home alone, it's not so scary because I'm not really alone. :)  Besides, now with four of them, they force me out of bed in the morning ;)

Cinco and I don't always get along, which makes me sad because I'm a cat person. (Maybe it has something to do with living 6 months in a garage in the winter? hmm...) But he has gotten better about not attacking me always, and even letting me pet him more often now :)  Granted, this is thanks to our getting Mocha.  The cat now has someone else to pick on...

I am also finding myself spending lots more time with Mocha.  Granted, part of that is she demands it, but I also enjoy how excited she is to see us and how she always wants to play.  She feels the need to be involved in everything we do - which is quite different than the cat or the birds.  For not being a dog person, I sure love our little pup.  Yesterday, I was parked in front of our window, and as I pulled out to go to work, there was a little puppy face watching me leave.  She has done this with Matt leaving too.  It's so cute.

Let us not forget our little birdies though, either.  Bethesda is such a silly girl.  In the mornings, before she has been fed, she hops around in that corner to let us know she's ready for new food.  She also sits in her food dish to eat most of the time.  (It's easier to dig through to find the seeds she wants that way.)  It's fun because the food dish is clear, so we can see her inside her dish.  She also gets poofed up (which is normal if a bird is chilly or sleepy), but when she does it, she's this little ball of feathers. lol

Turkleton is a loud mouth.  He loves to hang out with Bethesda all day.  However, he also is getting better at being social with us somewhat too.  He loves it when we take him in the shower.  Granted, that could be because lately he has been molting.  I think the warm water helps break down the casings on the pin feathers, which probably feels a lot better than having them poke him :)  He'll also give kisses, and he will sit and chatter to himself.  He likes to talk to his reflection in the mirror and try to preen it.  He also will bob his head when he's looking in the mirror.  Silly bird :) Today, Matt had eaten an orange, and he had Turk on his hand.  Turk went to town attacking his thumb.  It was funny.  He won't actually try an orange, though.  The pieces are too big and intimidating for him.


I love our furry and feathery babies, and I'm so glad they are a part of our family.  Well, most of the time.  Not so much when the cat throws up on my lambskin rug. (Yeah, that happened :\)  I'm so glad we live in our very own house where we can have them, too.  They keep us company and share their love for us.  It's nice to be needed lol.

One of my cousins on my Dad's side, Ashlee, is getting married in January.  Ashlee is younger than I am, but it's still exciting to have another wedding coming up :)  I haven't met her fiance, but he sounds like a wonderful addition to the family :)  I had to stop at Bed, Bath, & Beyond to get Ashlee's gift.  

Sundays are good days.  We had another Christmas Party Committee meeting this morning. The story idea is in - but Santa is still out.  Now I just need to see if we have a Christmas tree at the church that won't be decorated in the foyer... oh, and to make large ornaments for the different symbols.  And finish looking at songs to possibly incorporate.  Okay, we have lots to do, but I'm super excited still.

Sharing time went really well today.  I just followed the outline, but it was really fun.  We've been learning about reverence.  The kids had to shut their eyes and hold really still to see if they could hear a pin drop.  They did so well :)  Then we learned about Moses and the burning bush.  

The really fun part was when we put up six pictures on the board.  They had to study them, and then we put up a blanket and I took one away.  When they told me which picture was missing, we talked about how we can show reverence for that place, thing, etcetera.  It was really fun because the kids were so involved.  They had to tell me which picture was missing, and then come up with ideas on how they could be reverent in that particular situation.  They came up with some really good ideas.  And really, that's how it should be, the kids thinking for themselves and putting the pieces together.  For example, we can show reverence for our families by being nice.  Yeah, I didn't prompt that one, I promise.  We can show reverence at a baptism by not jumping in the font lol.  I loved it.  But they're making connections!  Not that I think they'd have a lot of opportunity to do that unless it was their baptism, but it is a good way to be reverent :) (That was junior primary :))  

Honestly, I love my calling, and I love our kids.  They all did pretty well today in sharing time and singing time.  In junior primary, I sat with the CTR 5 class during singing time (which are the kids Matt and I taught).  One of their teachers had a family emergency, so she wasn't there.  It was nice to sit with them and get loves :)  In senior primary, one of our boys struggles a little.  I don't really know the full story, but he usually sits with his teacher secluded from the group.  At the beginning of singing time, he wandered over to play with the magnets on the board.  Even though I don't know what's going on with him, I can just wrap my arms around him and give him love.  It's amazing how well people (not just kids) respond to feeling loved.  I love sharing that with them.  And I love how willing these kids are to show love back.  I love all the hugs I get from these cute kids.  I left church on such a high. :) Really, that's probably the way it should always be :)

Sundays are also nice because (aside from not having to work - woot!) we usually spend time with family.  After church, we went to my parents' for a little bit.  I wanted to say hi before Dad goes into surgery tomorrow morning and they spend the week in Tremonton.  (I don't know if I've mentioned, but Dad has had surgery on his eye twice now - his retina keeps coming detached in different places.  And yes, this is a third place it has come detached.  The good news is, the places they've already reattached are staying put :))  It's kind of funny, we always saw my parents on Sundays because we'd go to their house to do laundry when we lived in Springville.  Once we got our own place (and their old washer and dryer), we didn't visit hardly ever.  We usually spend Sundays at Matt's parents'.  Since Dad and Gloria have been back from New Mexico, we've been visiting more often - I think we've showed up the last two or three Sundays :)  It's nice to have them close again.  Perhaps them moving to New Mexico was a good thing to help me realize I do need to put forth more effort to stay in touch with them and appreciate the opportunity I have currently to see them and talk to them often.  Also, the conversation seems to flow a little easier now.  Maybe it's just thanks to time, or maybe it was for the distance, but that makes it nicer too.

Today, we did go down to Matt's parents' for dinner too.  It's always fun to hang out with family and catch up on what's going on.  I really am blessed to have such a great family and such great in-laws.  I hear a lot about issues other people have with their in-laws, but I feel like I fit in.  I know I can count on them if we need something.  It was also nice while my parents were in New Mexico, to have my in-laws so readily available.  I'm so grateful for Larry and Carrie opening up their home and hearts to me and always being there for us to help with whatever we need.

I love my family so much, and I'm so glad that we have the opportunity to be together forever.

So, I'm posting my thankfulness right now, because I can :) So if I don't post tomorrow, this is totally counting.

Work = sucktastic (yes, I'm proud of myself for coming up with that, thankyouverymuch)

We got SUPER busy tonight and we were seriously drowning.  On top of that, Cebu was asking me LOTS of questions, which involve me calling my boss and then taking care of them.  This put me in a pretty sour mood.  Once it finally calmed down somewhat, I decided to take a break on FB - and DYAC had posted a link.  Oh my heart, I laughed so hard.  And that was super useful for lifting my mood :)  Now, I know a lot of them are dirty - but that's what makes it funny a lot of times.  And yay for laughing.  So I'm quite grateful for DYAC to help lift my spirits here at work :)

I'm also grateful for good examples at work.  In the midst of all of this, one of my Cebu editors mentioned a particular agent was struggling with a particular concept.  Thanks to my poor mood, I said I hated this agent already, and jokingly offered to drive up to Rexburg this weekend to take care of the situation ;)  My dear friend then says, "That's okay.  Maybe she's new to the project :)" Really? Talk about perspective and helping me stay positive.  Granted, we also had a good laugh about how she stays positive ("I just think of a happy place and rock back and forth ;)") lol Yay for friends and good examples. :)

I am so thankful for having a dishwasher!  Doing the dishes has to be my least favorite constant house chore.  I'm okay with laundry, but not so much with dishes.  When we lived in Springville, the only dishwasher was me.  Sometimes I really considered going out and getting a portable dishwasher, but they are kind of a pain, so I never did.  One of my criteria for moving was to have a dishwasher.  Now that we have our own place - we have that luxury.  I still hate doing the dishes, but it does make it easier when I don't have to stand at the sink for an hour to do them.  I'm glad I can rinse my dirty dishes and put them in the dishwasher.  It makes my kitchen look nicer, even if I still have dirty dishes.  I'm glad I can load it up, put detergent in, start it, and go do something else.  I don't have to stand there forever.  I'm glad also that I don't have to physically wash the dishes.  The dishwasher can use hotter water than I can stand, so my dishes are more sanitary.  I like that when they're clean, I can just put them away.  There is minimal drying needed, and then I'm ready for the next batch.

So yes, today, I am grateful for my dishwasher.

Last night, we had a Primary Regional Training.  I adjusted my work schedule so I could attend.  Since I got off at 6pm and the training was at 7pm in Payson (and I had to stop to get gas), I opted to go straight to the church.  I was 15-20 minutes early, but that was nice because I wasn't stressed.  I also got to visit with a lady from my old home ward, as well as my cousin, who is the secretary in their newly-called presidency :)

Sister Durham of the Primary General Board was our speaker, and the training was amazing.  Sister Durham was so positive and engaging.  We got to ask questions, share ideas, and work together to improve our primaries.  I took about 6 1/2 pages of notes, as well as some notes for my sharing time this week.  Probably one of the biggest themes I took away from it was how we need to be spiritually prepared, both when preparing our lessons and when giving our lessons.  We also need to be spiritually prepared as we think about and meet about ways to improve the primary, to reach out to individual children, to reach our teachers, and to help our teachers improve.  I loved the comment one sister made about how some of their teachers don't go to sacrament meeting, but they do come to primary, and that for some of them, primary is the only spiritual nourishment they get each week.  We really need to be cognizant of that fact and make sure we're not just teaching and spiritually feeding the children, but also their leaders.

Our whole presidency was there, and we had a mini meeting right after.  I think that was the best thing because we had just come from this awesome spiritual training with all of the ideas fresh in our minds, and we were able to talk about a few of the ideas that impressed us as they relate to our primary.

Sister Durham also oriented us to the lds.org primary section and the different helps available there.  She mentioned all of the lesson manuals were up in PDF, along with the clipart.  Now, I knew I could get lessons online before.  I've had to do it :)  However, I leaned over to Whitney and told her the thought I had about substitutes - if we don't lend them the actual book, but just print off that week's lesson for them - maybe that would be easier so there's not a lot of arranging to get the book to them and then back to the regular teacher.  It must have been a good idea because she was having that same thought :)

I'm really glad I was able to adjust my schedule so I could attend this training.  It was so helpful on many levels, and it truly was an amazing spiritual experience.  I knew that was where I was supposed to be.  I just hope I can incorporate some of these ideas into sharing time this week.  Guess I need to work on my spiritual preparedness some more :)

That my last title was correct.  Posting daily is apparently super hard!

So today, I am thankful for overtime.  Last night, we got slammed with work around 5pm.  I ended up working later.  Last week, I got some overtime as well.  I don't particularly like living at work (which sometimes it feels like I do), but I'm especially grateful for the opportunity this week and last because of next week.  I don't get paid holidays (lame, I know), and we aren't working Thursday or Friday next week.  We're quite broke at the moment, and Christmas is going to be a stretch.  So even though I hate working more than necessary, I'm glad I am able to for a bit to help offset the holiday next week.
 
That's another thing I'm grateful for - this Christmas, it was decided that we wouldn't do gifts at the Christiansen party.  Remember how I said we're quite broke? It's not like this was a person-to-person gift exchange.  It was entire families.  We lucked out the first couple years, getting Sharon and Greg, whose kids are grown and on their own, and then getting Tyler and Andrea, who at the time just had Kwin.  Not only was it an expensive adventure, but it was hard knowing what to do - do you do some games or movies for the whole family? Do you do individual gifts for each member of that family?  As more grandkids grow up and have their own families, it seems to be getting a little crazy.  So I'm really glad I don't have to worry about that this Christmas :)

All we really need are 3 gifts (Matt's sibling gift, and then two cousin gifts on my mom's side), and I already know what I'm doing for two of them, and they can be done rather cheaply.  I also know what I'd like to do for the parents... it will just be a matter of making sure we can afford it... And then there are the grandparents.  They may be getting a hug from us this year... Oh well.

On the plus side (that is totally unrelated) a hawk just flew past the window here at work.  I love hawks :)

Wow, talk about a struggle.  I even told Matt yesterday I still had to write a blog post, but then I didn't :)

So yesterday, we went up to my parents' house after church to pick up my sewing machine.  Nolan's friend couldn't fix it :( which means I have to pay Sears to do that, but it's okay.  Dad's eye is still giving him grief, so we hung out with them for the afternoon.  Nolan made BBQ roast that was pretty tasty, and we stayed for dinner.  It was nice spending the afternoon with my family, especially because Dad and Gloria have been in New Mexico for the last while.  I'm grateful they are close by again :)  


I'm also grateful for my step-family.  Saturday night, Makayla sent a text out for family fasting and prayers for Dad's eye.  Sunday he wasn't feeling well at all, and he could see blood.  We didn't know if blood was just moving when the bubble was shrinking, or if something serious happened.  He and Mom went to the doctor this morning, and he said things look good, so it was probably just some blood that had been trapped.  Yay for prayers :)


Also on Sunday evening, we met with the planning committee for the Christmas Party.  I'm so grateful we get to help out with the party planning!  I'm really excited to put on an awesome program for the ward, and for less active, inactive, non-members who may come to the party.  (While we're all helping with all aspects, Matt and I, along with the Butlers, are taking point for the program. I'm rather excited :))


The bishopric wants to omit Santa and bring the focus back to the true meaning of Christmas.  The Butlers (who are the committee chairs) had a cute little poem thing about different Christmas symbols entitled Santa Whispered, "Teach the Children." We talked about expounding on the different symbols, so I looked it up online because it seemed it had to come from a more fleshed out story, the way their handout was.  I found three versions, and I really like the idea of Santa being the one to refocus on Christ - that it isn't about Santa himself.  Now I just have to convince Brother Trotter on Sunday :)  Anyway, be sure you'll see pictures and hear more about that over the next few weeks (party is on the 10th).  I'm just grateful for the opportunity to participate and get to know some other ward members through this temporary calling :)

Yesterday was a pretty good day, which was a nice change of pace from the rest of the week.  After I took care of the animals and took the pup outside, I unloaded the dishwasher and reloaded it.  I stretched - which I really should start doing everyday :\ And then I pulled of the books out of the spare bedroom and spread them all over the office floor ;)  (I'm seeing what will fit on bookshelves when we can afford to get more, and then putting them back in boxes nicely.)  While I was sorting through books, I turned itunes on shuffle, and apparently a majority of the songs I have on here are LDS songwriters and Owl City, so I was thoroughly happy while cleaning :)

Today has been a pretty good day as well.  I slept in until 9am (which never happens without snoozing the 7:30am alarm, which I didn't even hear today).  Aside from having to work for a couple of hours (from home, so it didn't suck too badly), I've hung around the house with Matt.  I made french toast for breakfast, and we watched an episode of Star Trek: Next Generation before I had to work.  After work, I watched Matt play Xbox for awhile and took care of some stuff for church.  I caught up on reading blogs, and I talked to my Daddy, who still can't see yet :(  (I don't know if I mentioned, but he had surgery on his eye because his retina was detaching...again - he just went through this while they were in New Mexico.)  I've pretty much decided to hold off on my Walmart trip until Monday, and our dinner plans fell through, so we get to have a lovely evening in :)  Oh, and we just played with the puppy, both of us.  It's fun to watch her.  And I played with the kitty today.  It's fun to watch the animals :)

So today, I'm thankful for good days :)

I am thankful for Skype.  Not because I use it to video call my distant friends and family, because I don't do that.  I use it at work.  It's our chat at work, which means it is sanctioned for usage.  Granted, it should probably just be used for work-related communications, but it's not. :)  It's nice because Matt has a Skype, so we can chat when he gets home and I'm still working.  However, yesterday it was nice because I could chat with one of my work friends in Cebu.  Yesterday sucked. We were oh-so-busy and we were drowning.  My friend Rhen and I have this running joke that we'll be needing our beachwear because of 'drowning'.  So yesterday, when I was really annoyed, I messaged him about beachwear, and our joking around lifted my spirits and made work more bearable.  It's the simple things, really :)

I am grateful for the moon.  I've always loved the moon, especially bright nights.  It's a magical time.  Today is the full moon - at 3:16 in the afternoon. Aw well.  Apparently November is the Beaver Moon.  (Learn more here.)

Anyway, I usually get home from work between 9:30pm and 10pm, and then I take Mocha out to potty for the evening.  Usually it's quite dark then, and I'm checking balconies and walking through the dark spots of the complex quickly.  However, the last two nights, the moon has been quite bright (makes sense if the full moon is today, don't you think? :))  And I've been grateful for that.  I feel safer, and I can see where Mocha left her presents.... Plus, like I said, I just enjoy a nice bright night.

I failed to write a thankful post yesterday, so today I will share two things I'm thankful for from yesterday.

Yesterday kind of sucked at work.  First, my boss has severely understaffed us this week, and all of the phone centers are bulking up the work because of Thanksgiving at the end of the month.  Also, lately my boss and I are not on the same page.  For awhile we would come to the same conclusions when other editors would ask questions.  Lately, I disagree with her calls a lot.  Not that it matters, but I did like feeling like I knew how to answer questions :p

Anyway, one of our Cebu Day editors always sends their shift plan in the morning with a quote.  Yesterday's quote was something of a reminder to be happy, which I totally needed :)  I'm also grateful for Elise coming in on her day off to help out.  We were still swamped, but things got done, even though some of us worked more than we had wanted.  Shannon was a huge help as well.  And I'm also thankful for Roe, for talking to me and help keeping my spirits up when we're drowning in work.  Okay, that's kind of more than two, but that's okay. :)

On days like yesterday, I just have to remember that I'm grateful that I have a job, one that currently has plenty of work for me to get some OT by the end of the week even.

On my way home from work, I was thinking how I was not in a thankful mood and what would I write about?  Plus, when I get home late, I don't have time to write a post.  And then I was reminded of this that I saw on Pinterest yesterday.

I love alliteration :)  Anyway, on Sunday, Oct. 30th, we had a Wilson Halloween party.  We went over after church and enjoyed catching up with family and eating yummy dinner and spooky desserts.  We also watched an old production of Dracula.  It was painful, truly.  Matt and I left pretty early, though, because we were tired.  (Yes, Mocha went to this party too - she is loved.) 

Oh my, how I love Pinterest!  I am grateful for Pinterest because, even though it can be a HUGE time-waster, I love finding funny, inspiring, crafty, yummy things :)  

What more appropriate day to blog about my gratitude for the gospel than on fast Sunday?  Today was an especially spiritually uplifting and lovely Sunday.  I wore my new skirt to church, and I looked cute :)  Being fast Sunday, I did actually fast (true fasting wasn't really in my upbringing - although starving on fast Sunday was lol).  I read my scriptures and pondered November's scripture for Primary (Matt. 22:37 - ... Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.) 

In an attempt to understand the scripture more fully so that I might accurately help the kids learn it, I did some reading on lds.org and found this awesome talk by Robert F. Orton.  During sacrament meeting, I did some scripture chasing of references.  Oh, and testimony meeting was awesome.  The Workmans blessed their new baby, and they are such an awesome family!  Seriously, they're children are amazing, which says a lot about their parents :)  Isaac gave an awesome blessing, and both Addy and Isaac bore their testimonies.  I loved hearing about recent events in Isaac's life that illustrated to him that God is aware of him and knows his particular circumstances.  We also learned a sister in our ward has a terminal disease, and her testimony touched me as well. 

On less of a spiritual side, Matt and I were asked to be on the Christmas party committee.  I love planning parties :)  AND Connie and Chip Butler are the chairs - and Connie is fantastically crafty.  I'm really excited to work with them over the next month or so :)  Also, in our Relief Society bulletin, I found out my neighbor's birthday is today.  Matt had made some brownies yesterday, so I put a few on a plate and used a card I had complimentary from somewhere to write her a little birthday note and took it upstairs to her.  She's inactive, but a really cute girl.  Yay for warm fuzzies, and for doing something outside my comfort zone.  I think pondering that scripture today, coupled with the themes from that talk and testimony meeting, must have had a bit of an impact on me :)

Afterward, we went to Matt's parents' for dinner.  It is always nice to spend time with family.  I love my in-laws.  I'm so lucky to have them and to feel like I really am a part of the family.

After that, we headed up to my parents' house.  My dad and Gloria are back from New Mexico for a little bit.  Dad had to have surgery on his eye again because his retina tore in a new place.  He's currently recuperating from that.  I didn't realize how much I missed being able to go to their house whenever and hang out, even though we didn't really do it much since buying the condo. (Having our own washer and dryer is amazing!)  Nolan is also living there again, so we got to chat with them, watch some football, and eat brownies.  I'm also grateful that Nolan has a friend who can take a look at my sewing machine :)  We had Mocha with us, and I was worried Gloria wouldn't appreciate letting the dog in the house, but she was excited to see her and was fine with her in the house.

I guess this wouldn't really be a true "thankful for the gospel" post if I didn't share my testimony.  I know the gospel is true and that this is truly the restored church of Christ on the Earth.  I know God speaks to his living prophets, and that He speaks to us individually through His Spirit.  I am grateful for the peace and direction the gospel provides.  I am grateful for the knowledge it provides that we so often take advantage of.  I can't fathom wondering how I came to be or if there was any life after death.  I know it is there and that we can continue to progress in the next life if we earn that privilege in this life.

I am grateful for God's love for us, that he sent His Son to be our Savior and example.  I am grateful that Jesus ransomed us, that we may live with Him again.  I love the feeling of joy I get when I follow in His footsteps and act as a conduit for His love.  I know that by serving others we can be closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus, and that we can be tools in Their hands. 

We were recently challenged in church to learn everyone's names and greet everyone in the hall by name.  I don't know a lot, and I'm a super shy person, but today I at least made the attempt to smile and say hi to people, more so than usual.  Even though I may not know everyone's name, I was happier just showing that joy and love to others.  I can honestly say that I love everyone I came in contact with today.  I may not know their name or circumstance, but they are my brothers and sisters in Christ, and we're all here working toward returning to Him.  I enjoy the feeling of camaraderie I feel at church, and also wherever I am, just by reaching out to people and getting to know them.  We really are social creatures, and we weren't meant to go through this life alone.  We each have separate talents meant to help and uplift each other.  Together we can be whole.  This reminds me of, well, a lot of quotes I've found on Pinterest... but this is the one that came to mind just now:

This has been the Primary theme for the year.  On Oct. 30th, we had our Primary Program, of which I was in charge.  I ended up writing the parts for the kids, but I did try to get the kids involved in writing their parts.  It just didn't quite work out the way I had intended :)  It was okay though, because I think I got the flavor of the things they learned and remembered while making it a little more cohesive.

We rehearsed for two weeks prior to the program.  Being the middle ward scheduled in the building was fun.... We ended up practicing speaking parts in the chapel the first week and then having class.  The second week, we rehearsed speaking parts in the chapel, and then ran through the whole thing in the Primary room.  We even had some time to review just the songs that week. 

The morning of the 30th, we arrived early like we had been to set up extra chairs and to put the kids' names on the chairs with tape so they knew where to sit.  However, that week, the 6th ward was in the chapel rehearsing for their program :)  Thanks to Whitney's husband, Mike, for the idea to pull off long rows of tape so we could get all of the names written down by row and we could get things done quickly!  Things worked out nicely in that we had time to get the extra chairs set up and all of the tape on the chairs for the kids.  Then it was just a matter of waiting until after sacrament to have the program!

I was very impressed by the extra effort put in by the children and their parents between the 23rd and the 30th.  A lot more children were comfortable with their parts, or even had their parts memorized.  Even though some children were sick, we had a few others we haven't seen in awhile, and then all had their parts.  Like everyone had been telling me, it went off just fine.  They sang, even a few who I never see singing. :)  The most memorable for me were Penny standing up and running off her part memorized oh-so-fast and Trysten singing Scripture Power.  Trysten is a sunbeam, but he sure knew Scripture POWER!  It made everyone smile, and probably woke the congregation ;)  After sacrament meeting, I told him he did a good job, and he tells me, "I was loud."  LoL Trysten.  Yes, yes you were :)

Even though I was the one to "put on" the program and everyone was congratulating me and telling me it went well, I couldn't help but think, I'm not the one who deserves all of this credit.  There were lots of kids up there who worked hard, plus leaders and parents who helped them learn their parts and the songs.  For all of them, I'm very grateful.  Without all of their efforts, the program wouldn't have gone nearly as well.

I enjoy alliteration.  Can you tell? :)

Halloween weekend was packed with stuff to do.  Not only that, but I sewed costumes for me and Mocha! (As a side note, witch hats suck and I fail at sewing without a pattern :))  Unfortunately, my sewing machine stopped working appropriately.  Fortunately, I have an awesome mother-in-law who let me use her machine :)

I decided Mocha would make a cute witch, but I didn't like a lot of the dog costumes for sale, and then I really didn't want to buy one either :)  I bought some fabric and made her a little hat and cape.  I finished on Sunday, the 16th, and just had to put it on her to see how it looked :)

Since I had taken Oct. 8th off for the temple groundbreaking, I thought it would be a perfect day to host a little Halloween get-together.  I, of course, procrastinated my food preparations, so I didn't make all of the cute treats I had wanted, but there was plenty anyway :)

Yesterday (do you love how I always blog about what I was thankful for the day before? It happens when you get home around 10pm every night :p)

Right, so yesterday as I was driving to work, I was naturally a little late.  However, I was grateful for good timing, or my good fortune anyway, to avoid two things that would have further slowed me down.  As I pulled into the left-hand lane to pass someone, I noticed a cop car behind them, driving down both lanes.  I hate it when the cops slow traffic way down.  They usually don't even let you go the posted speed limit! (Which was 65 turned 55 due to construction.)  I was so happy I was two cars in front of him - one, because I didn't have to get slowed down, and two, because I could drive a little faster than 55 thanks to the car I passed blocking me from the cop's view ;)

Next, at Spanish Fork, there was an oversize load truck getting on the freeway with its two escort vehicles.  Those are annoying because they take up two lanes so you have to get to where it is three lanes just to pass!  However, timing worked out again to where I drove past just as the first escort vehicle was getting to the freeway.  Woot! Yay for good timing so I didn't end up even later to work :)

Can I just say I'm thankful for Fridays? :)  This week went by so fast!  Perhaps it had something to do with only working 6 hours on Monday, and doing that from home.

Yesterday as I was driving to work, I began to realize what a good idea it is to write down something you're thankful for every day.  If you're always looking for something to be thankful for, you'll find it and more.  Then how do I pick one to share with you today?  Plus, it sure is hard to be upset, angry, or sad when you're focused on gratitude.

Okay, here are two things I was thankful for on my way to work yesterday: hawks and Owl City.

I love hawks.  I think they're awesome.  I love that they perch on power poles.  When I find a hawk, I'm always so excited :)  I like to count how many I can find on the way to work. (I think there were only four yesterday.)

I also love Owl City.  (Remember this post about the concert? That's an understatement ;))  Whenever I hear his music, I can't help but smile. :)  I listened to All Things Bright and Beautiful yesterday in the car.  I love this album because most every song speaks to his testimony of the Lord.  From reading his blog, I know he's an awesome Christian, and I love that he can share that in a way that isn't overbearing or like he's using his fame as a way to push an agenda.  He's just out there, doing his things, sharing his blessings, and trying to live the best way he knows how.  Such an example. :)  Anyway, I leave you with vids from the concert this past July.

(Obviously I don't own the rights to the music - those belong to Adam :) ) Oh, and sorry the quality is so poor :\

So a few blogs I read are doing a fun little thing for the month of November - listing one thing the author is thankful for each day.  I'm not one to follow trends really, but as I was catching up, I really want to do this too.  I still have some event catching up to do, but the goal will be to include one thing I'm thankful for each day throughout the month.  Maybe this will keep me regularly posting? :)  Now, I know it's the second, so I'll leave you with two things I'm thankful for.

1 - Friends.  Because I'm a grown-up now (yuck) and I have no hobbies lol, most of my friends are co-workers.  Yesterday, one of my friends had just returned from Vegas where she attended the mission report of the missionary she has been writing for the last two years.  It was a pretty dead night, so later in the evening, pretty much everyone gathered 'round to hear how the weekend went.  It was fun to sit and gossip like I was in high school again.  I'm super excited for her and really hope things work out.  I'm also glad that everyone on our team gets along and that I can think of them all as friends.  It makes work a little more enjoyable :)

2 - Cleaning.  Yesterday, Matt messaged me while I was at work saying he had cleaned the office.  That's a scary thought for me because he's an awful lot like my dad, meaning stuff has a tendency to get thrown away when he cleans.  Fortunately, he just relocated a lot of boxes to the spare room, which is already full of boxes.  :)  It's funny because I had thought about working in the office yesterday, but ended up watching Vampire Diaries instead ;)  Today, I put most of the Halloween decorations away and worked on picking up the house a little more.  It is exciting to feel productive and the enjoy a clean(er) house.  If only it would stay that way!

So there you have it.  Tune in tomorrow for another thankful note - and maybe some more general updates of our activities this past month!

On October 8th, Elder Oaks came down for the groundbreaking of the Payson temple.  I really wanted tickets, but that didn't so much happen :)  The day of, I was rather glad.  It was rainy and cold, so it was rather nice to be able to sit in the stake center and watch the broadcast.  It was such an amazing and exciting experience.  A few people from the area spoke, and then Elder Oaks talked.  Mr. Dahlquist led the choir and congregation.  I cried when he led the opening song - I didn't think I'd ever sing under his direction again, and I'm a dork like that.  Matt laughed at me :)