Grateful

It’s Thanksgiving again! I love that it comes every year. This year I was lucky enough to go to Mexico with the relatives on my dad’s side. We had a wonderful relaxing, enjoyable time. I have a lot to be thankful this year, but here is a brief list of my top favorites in no particular order.

1. The atonement of Jesus Christ
2. Music
3. My internship—it has been fun, exciting, educational, and the people have been wonderful to me
4. My higher educational opportunities
5. My testimony of the gospel
6. The Book of Mormon
7. My parents. I lucked out majorly there
8. My siblings—some of the best people I know
9. Not being a vegetarian. Yay for delicious meat!
10. Living in America—I love it here
11. My BYU BS degree (bwahaha it’s so fun to have a degree called BS. I majored in BS haha)
12. Being able to play the piano
13. My guitar
14. Being a baptized member of the church
15. Colors. Think how boring the world would be in black and white!
16. My grandparents (both sides)—they took such good care of me
17. Being from Texas—it is the best place on the planet
18. My car that has done such a good job of taking me all over the country when I needed her to
19. Texas—our adorable dog
20. My computer that makes life so much easier
21. Dark chocolate
22. Raisins
23. Dark chocolate covered raisins
24. Chocolate chip cookies when they are warm and gooey
25. Automatic washers and dryers
26. Institute—lots of good memories there
27. My amazing Spokane friends who I still miss
28. Living in the MASH house—what fun we had!
29. My mission
30. Shrimp cocktails
31. Having enough to eat
32. Running races for fun
33. Christmas time
34. A break and a chance to go home for the holidays
35. The Spirit that guides my life
36. Prayer
37. The temple
38. Curly hair that is so easy to fix and take care of
39. My aunts and uncles and cousins that I finally have a chance to get to know better
40. A knowledge of the plan of salvation
41. My patriarchal blessing
42. Hot chocolate in the cold Washington winter
43. Big Texas style rainstorms
44. Dogs (but not cats—sorry for my ingratitude)
45. Piano lessons that my parents practically forced me to take
46. Good books
47. Time to read good books (or at least listen to them as audiobooks)
48. Technology to listen to and make audiobooks
49. Earrings—I feel so much more feminine wwith them on
50. Eternal families
51. The New Testament
52. The Old Testament
53. The Doctrine and Covenants
54. The Pearl of Great Price
55. The living prophet
56. The priesthood restored again to the Earth
57. Living in a place that is warm for the winter with no ice on the road
58. French toast—my favorite artery-clogging breakfast
59. Good eyesight so I don’t have to worry about glasses or contacts
60. Sunshine
61. Professors who have helped me get through grad school so far
62. Friends who are helping me find a place to live
63. The internet. What did we ever do without it?
64. Being in a profession that I love (am I allowed to say profession when I’m still in school?)
65. Genealogy chuck full of amazing people who I hope will be satisfied with the way I keep their name
66. Tulips. My favorite flower ever
67. Fuzzy socks
68. The covenants I have been blessed to make with baptism and in the temple
69. Comfortable beds—I do so much better with a good night sleep
70. Animals—they are pretty fun
71. Zoos full of fun animals
72. My body that is able to take care of me
73. Laughter
74. Smiling
75. Moltrin. What did people do before they had moltrin?
76. Mascara cause otherwise I would look like a boy
77. Fish—somehow having something small and insignificant that depends on me for survival makes my life seem so much less pathetic
78. Chick flicks
79. Living in a time and place where women can get an education
80. My amazing life! I am so very blessed!

Yay for holidays. I hope everyone had a holiday almost as good as mine :) I really have so much to be grateful for.

Because sometimes life turns into a big happy mess

So this one is cheesy and the rhymes are fair at best, but I wrote it between talks at stake conference last week because my life is wonderful but nothing at all like I planned. Bwahaha.

The Gardener

A current bush--a simple plant
but oh the tale it tells
of when with love the gardener
inflicted great travail.

For through the sun and wind and rain
the bush with all its might
had through exhaustive energy
improved both breadth and height.

The bush, once meek and unnoticed
became a sight to see.
For all who saw admired
the aspiring current-tree.

The bush-tree grew to balking size
its trunk was stout and strong,
its leaves were round and plentiful,
its branches thick and long.

The bush's height was impressive,
its width expansive too.
Never mind that the current berries
grew bitter, dwarfed, and few.

Until one hard defining day
--the day the gardener came--
the bush was pruned and slashed and cut
leaving sticks and twigs and shame.

And then, in prickly pining pleas,
with sticky sappy sighs,
the bush implored the gardener
in crinkled craggy cries;

"How could you do this to me now?
this isn't what I planned!
I did not put my effort forth
to be cut down at your hand.

I believed you loved me.
You promised me your aid.
And you've always been so generous
with water, food and shade--

I've worked so hard to grow and bloom
I long to be a tree"
the gardener said in quiet tones,
"You should not counsel me.

I am the gardener here," he said,
"I bought you at great cost.
My dream for you is greater still
than the one you say you've lost.

I know its hard to understand
I know you may not see,
but my vision for you is greater far
than any meager tree."

So when you feel cut down and beat,
and life gets out of hand--
remember, He's the Gardener
and He has greatness planned.