A Bunch of Gratefulness

So I'm way behind on posts... mostly because the only time I'm on the internet is when I'm at work. This would be because I don't have the internet at home.... and I've been going to places where I don't really have internet access on the weekends. So I am here, on campus, which is pretty much dead, on a Friday evening..... without having even gone home first, just so I can post on here.... and check some other stuff on the internet.

So, things I'm grateful for.

1. My students. Honestly, they make work worth going to every day. A lot of my preschoolers don't know my name.... instead, they call me Speech. It makes me smile. "Speech is here!" Is what I hear when I walk into that classroom. So good. And it's great to see the improvement in my kiddos. It's funny that hearing a student say "pink" is such a big deal... but when I've never heard the kid talk AT ALL, it's a BIG deal! So these kids teach me to be grateful for those little things.

2. I'm grateful for stress free moments. I had one the other day. I was driving home from work and the sun was shining (which means I was actually heading home earlier than usual) and I was singing along with my music.... and then had this sudden realization that I was NOT stressed out. Wow! That was awesome.

3. I'm grateful for a career that I love. See #1 if you want to know what I love the most about it. I also enjoy learning the things that I need to learn. I'm not perfect, but I'm getting better and that is wonderful! Only 200 some-odd days left until I'm done with grad school!

4. I'm grateful for crisp fall days. I really do love jacket weather. Of course, here we have warm jacket weather (or coat weather), but I still enjoy it. I think my favorite time of day is when the sun is just beginning to set and if the sky is blue or just partially cloudy it doesn't matter the temperature... it's beautiful.

5. I'm grateful for having my own kitchen. I love that I can cook and clean (or leave a mess) and it's my space and my stuff. I know this might sound selfish, but until September I had NEVER had my OWN kitchen. I had always had to share, so this is wonderful.

6. I'm grateful for music. I really love music, especially the stuff that is upbeat and fun and puts me in a good mood. I also love Christmas music.... a lot. I've been listening to it for awhile now (shhhh.... don't tell!)

7. I'm grateful for a body that works. It may not be a perfect body, but it does work. Hallelujah! I hope it keeps on working for a long time.

8. I"m grateful for my family, of course! I don't know where I'd be without all of you. I really do feel honored and blessed. I am grateful that even though we are all spread across the continent, we still keep in touch and still make it obvious that we love and care for each other.

9. I'm grateful for amazing friends. I have places to go and people to see over the Thanksgiving holiday.... and for that matter, over any weekend that I don't want to spend in Roosevelt. It's been really nice. I do have amazing people that bless my life.

10. I'm grateful for prayer. Last weekend I had a pretty good reminder about the power of prayer and the fact that the Holy Ghost is a comforter. I was driving to St. George when I got a flat tire. I pulled over and was praying in my mind that all would be well. I honestly was completely calm the entire time during this incident. Within five minutes of getting the flat, a police officer pulled over and offered to put the spare on for me. We had three different times when things went wrong. 1. He couldn't get the last bolt off the original tire (I prayed and then he was suddenly able to do it). 2. He couldn't get the car lifted high enough to get the spare on.... so he let a little air out of it and got it on. (I didn't even flinch on that one.... just stayed perfectly calm.) 3. He couldn't get the jack out from under the car (it had gotten stuck on the frame.) Again, I didn't even flinch.... I ended up just pulling the car forward a few inches and voila! The jack came right out. Then I drove for an hour on the doughnut to get to Springville, spent the night with some amazing friends, and got the tire replaced for free.... since the tire place had just put these tires on two weeks before and they are pretty sure they are the ones that ruined the original tire. So, prayer works, and the spirit will keep you calm. Lesson learned, yet again.

11. I'm grateful for the Conference edition of the Ensign. I need to get my own copy but I've read articles while visiting with friends because they had copies sitting around. I absolutely LOVE President Uchtdorf's talk from the R.S. Broadcast. I could read it over and over and over and then hopefully I'll start to apply it, right!

12. I'm grateful for hobbies. These are the things that give me a chance to remove some stress from my life and just chill. And on that note, I'm going to head home, eat, and work on some more projects. Yay for projects!

I love you all!