Today I am feeling especially grateful for the many blessings I have and I thought I would just share with you (whoever you may be) some things that bring joy to my life.
Clouds. No matter what mood I'm in, if I go outside and I see clouds, it makes everything better. And the clouds around St. George are the best. White clouds, blue sky, green trees, red rocks. There's so much color around here and the clouds are the best part!
Swimming. There's nothing better than squeezing into my racing suit, putting my goggles on, pressing the air out of my cap and diving into cold water and feelings the air bubbles wash over my arms and legs as I streamline down the lane. There's no feeling like it. I love the way the water sounds and feels and yes, I even like the smell. (Chlorine... Mmmm!) I love that my whole body gets sore after I work out in the pool. It's great to know that the simple streamline, stroke, flipturn, streamline, stroke, flipturn gives me a full body workout and it's really not that hard.
My cello. When I was in 4th grade, my teacher passed around a piece of paper that described the music program Debbie Thornton has established in Hurricane. It explained the group practice schedule and explained a little about each instrument. I was interested and I thought about playing the violin, but I saw "viola" and "cello" and I remember thinking that I had never heard of either of those instruments before. So I picked the cello because it was different. Best decision of my life!! The cello is such a beautiful instrument. I've always said (always as in since I started playing great cello music) "If you're watching a movie and the director wants you to cry, you'll often hear a cello in the background." It's a deep, emotional instrument and it goes straight to my heart when I hear it. Playing the cello has added so much to my life. I can't watch a movie without hearing the score and it's made me much more aware of the smaller, beautiful things in life. I miss playing in an orchestra. Playing Hebrides along with a recording just isn't the same as playing with a symphony. Hopefully someday (soon) I'll get back into playing. I miss it.
The Gospel. The temple is a beautiful place and I love living so close to it. It reminds me of the potential we all have of returning to live with our Heavenly Father. No one is perfect. I'm so far from it. I have a lot of learning and growing left to do, but it's great to know that we all have the potential to be perfect and that if we do our very best, God will recognize that and we will gain all that he has. I love being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It's the greatest blessing in my life. I love the perspective it adds to my life and I love the positivity of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
My family. What can I say to describe how grateful I am for my family (including those not pictured)?? It was (and sometimes still is) hard to come from a "broken" family, but through every trial there's something to be learned. Now, instead of 2 great parents, I have 4, and with that, another 10 plus siblings. (I lose count, don't judge, ha ha.) My family has more than doubled and I have had the time of my life getting to know every one of my new family members. I am so grateful for the happiness I feel when I am home and around my family. I love them all very much and am so grateful for each one of them. I love you guys! 
Kappa Delta. I remember walking around the Quad at Utah State with Tierra during Welcome Week our very first year of college. There were tables all over the place, each group looking for potential members. I passed tables from each department, sports team and group available at USU and I remember thinking as I walked past the "Greeks" that this was straight out of a movie! It was so surreal. Little did I know being Greek would mean so much to me someday. Kappa Delta added so much more to my college experience. I couldn't have asked for a better opportunity. It was perfect for me at the time and I am so grateful for KD and the sisters I met up at Utah State. I miss so much about KD and I can't wait to get back up there. 
My journals. Where do I even begin to express how much I love writing in a journal? I know it's not for everyone and I definitely know it's not an easy habit to get in to, but it's been a huge blessing in my life and I'm so thankful for it. I started keeping a journal when I was 14 and I've been pretty consistent since. It's so much fun to read back through my journals and relive the experiences I wrote about. It's especially great when I go back and read through spiritual experiences because I feel like my testimony grows all over again when I read through the words I wrote. I hope my future children will benefit from reading through my experiences and that they will come to know who I was and who I am. They are who I write for.
And last, but not least, I am so grateful for Ian. He is my best friend; the best friend anyone could ask for. He is one of the few people who can really make me laugh, he knows me better than I know myself most of the time and he's the most amazing guy I've ever known. He is so sweet and funny and charismatic and I love that he is just as stubborn as I am (except, of course, when it drives me crazy. Ha ha) I love the way he loves his family and the loyalty he shows for his friends. He has taught me so much about love and he definitely makes me a better person. I love you, Ian, and I thank God every night for your love. I don't know how I got you, babe, but you are the greatest. I love you!
1 comment:
I love the smell of chlorine too. I tell Colby all the time he fell in love with me because I always smelled like it when we were dating. He says he loved me in spite of that and that it was the smell of sunscreen that got him. Haha. Gorgeous pic of the temple. Did you good buddy take that?
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