On social media so many post each day for things that they are grateful for during this month, some things small, some big. I love the holiday season because of what it does to people.
It makes people grateful for the small things, have a more giving heart, and spend quality time with their family. (It can also bring out the worst in people; crazy holiday shoppers, gluttony, and family drama). I love that opposition, during a time when people are remembering the important things they also spend more time on the materialistic (unimportant) things. It just goes to show how opposites, despite their polar differences, tend to be very similar, at least in timing and strength of emotion.
Getting back to the point...
Thanksgiving is the start to the holiday season, followed by Christmas (and other religious holidays), and then the New Year. How great that we start out the season remembering the things we should be grateful for; focusing on our blessings, then celebrate the birth of the Savior of the world who represents love, peace, charity, and hope, and finally we have a new beginning, a time to reflect on the past year and decide to make changes to improve upon ourselves in the coming year. It is a great cycle that forces us all to be grateful and try to be a little better.
This year I have so much to be grateful for. There have been a lot of changes in our lives this past year, Olivia, moving states, and law school to name a few.
I am so grateful for...
John.
He is determined and hard working. Also, he is so fun and my best friend. He is seriously so in love with Olivia. He's listens to my rants and eats my food, usually without making any faces. He has great hair (and eyebrows), even if his hairline is receding, it still looks really good all the time. He's the best. Oh, and he got BOTH of the internships he applied for! We will be spending the summer in San Antonio, Texas! It is going to be hot and he is going to do great!
Olivia.
She is definitely a high maintenance baby but she is so incredibly cute and very determined just like her daddy. She has been months ahead on her milestones since just a few months old and she is just so adorable. She made me a mother and while it is probably one of the most difficult things I have ever done, she really does make it worth it. (Even at 5 am when she has woken up for the 3rd or 4th time that night and thinks it is play time).
Our Apartment.
We live in the basement of a house. It is literally a 5 minute walk to the law school, it has covered parking (a must for the snow), it has a washer and dryer, and while it has its quirks (tiny stove that I am pretty sure hates me), it is home. When John found it we actually had already put a deposit down for another place (smaller, no covered parking, no washer and dryer, farther from school, and that hard carpet that had no padding) but when he found this one and all its perfectness we decided to take the loss of the deposit on the other place.
Our car.
When we moved here my car had a lot of work needed done on it. the move almost killed it (pulling the trailer John could only go about 45 mph the ENTIRE way). SO we decided to sell it and get a different car, we looked and looked, we actually had been looking for almost a year back in California but nothing. Then while we were out looking at another car, that happened to be a dud, we randomly went to this one car lot and found the perfect car. They had only had it a day or so and after driving it and talking it over we decided to get it. It was a little out of our budget but it was such a great car, and John was sick of bad cars (his old car always had something wrong with it). So, we bought it, and we took it to a mechanic who said it was a good car, and when I went to get the oil change a month ago the guy said he doesn't think he has ever seen a used car in such good condition. YAY! Plus it is a Subaru, all wheel drive, so hopefully we will survive the snowy season.
BYU.
Well J. Rueben Clark Law School really. While we are NOT die hard cougar fans and we HATE the football games and all the chaos it causes in the streets in the ENTIRE city, I am so grateful John is going to law school here. For one the tuition is SO SO cheap compared to other law schools, I mean we are paying undergrad prices thanks to it's affordability and John's scholarship. Also, it's very "family centered". For example, one guy in his class, his wife is pregnant and she is UBER sick and he wasn't keeping up with the work load, so he talked to them and they let him drop one of his classes and he's going to take it next year, that way his load is less and he can take care of his wife. Seriously, what other law school would do that?
The weather.
I lived in Southern California for my entire life. 24 years I lived there. So moving to another state, one where it is SUPER dry and there are actual seasons, oh and with an elevation of 4,500 feet compared to 0, well it is a big change. Actually having a fall is the most amazing thing ever! Really, it is so fun to see all the leaves change color! Winter though, winter scares me. Snow scares me. But while I guess usually by now the snow is starting to pile up, it has only snowed twice, and both times just for a few hours. And while I know that won't last forever I am grateful the snow is waiting a while longer to make its appearance.
Our ward (church congregation).
We attend a student married ward. Which means everyone in our ward are all in the same boat as us! One or both people in every couple is in school. We pretty much all live in tiny apartments and we are all poor. There are a few other babies and I think we are pretty much all in our 20s. It is great to be surrounded by people all at the same place in life. Plus, there are some pretty cool people too.
I am so grateful for so many things, I could probably go on for a really long time but I'll stop here. So in the spirit of Thanks Giving let's eat some turkey!
