Gratitude

I want to do the gratitude thing, so I'll be updating this entry throughout the month for what I'm grateful for daily...

Day 1: Good Jobs. Very thankful to have a good job, good coworkers, and a good working environment. I really love my job.

Day 2: My family. From the moment I woke up today to the moment I went to bed, my day was spent with my husband and daughter. Working together on our house, reading books, and running errands. It was a heavenly day. 

Day 3: I am grateful for the Sacrament and for the chance I have to be molded into a better person.

Day 4: I'm thankful two-fold today. First, for a good ER doctor who has taken care of my family twice- once for me this summer when I had chest pain and then again today when P was lethargic and sleepy at school. There's something about a familiar face in a moment of crisis that helps me feel at peace. And second, (and this is a repeat) my job. When I needed to work at home today and take care of my daughter, my job was amenable. I had the technology to get stuff done and I was able to work hard! Thankful for a job that supports me in nurturing my family when there's an emergency. So grateful today for these two things and many, many more.

Day 5: I'm thankful for a GREAT husband! I look back at how we ended up together and it seems to have been fate- if you believe in a thing like that. Anyway, I'm thankful that he makes me laugh everyday. He doesn't always intend for me to laugh as hard as I do, but it's like he knows my funny spot. Last night for example (The dryer is going)
R: "What's in the dryer?"
Me: "P's clothes"
R: "Did you put rocks in pockets?"

I probably laughed for 3 minutes. The dryer was loud. He makes me laugh, makes me relax and have fun while I could just work myself to death, and he gets stuff done around the house. He also keeps me updated and totally hip about what is going on in the world. I am quite thankful for my other half. Being on the same team is the best!

Day 6: I am thankful for our home! I feel safe here. As I clean I have moments where I love it- instead of thinking of how I can change it. I even love the parts tht are carpeted (which I thought I would hate). But that carpet feels dang good on this poor old ballerina's feet! Mostly I love who I share it with. And the family I will share it with in the future. My heart is absolutely in my home.

Day 7: Considering Baylor and OU are playing right now, it's only appropriate that I am thankful today for Law School. BLS trained me to be a "Don't Back Down" attorney. To be honest, frank, and to not 'hide the ball'. I love what I've become thanks to this fantastic law school and it doesn't hurt to cheer on a undefeated football team this season. Sic 'em bears!!!

Day 8: I'm grateful for sleep. 

Day 9: I am thankful for Saturdays and for time with my family!

Day 10: I am thankful for a healthy body- just yesterday I started exercising to prepare for the looming delivery of #2. I'm about 5 months late... but life has been busy. Grateful to be able to walk 2.5 miles everyday!!!

Day 11: Days off that I get to spend working on my house and playing with my daughter.

Day 12: Thankful that every day ends and a new one begins... Tuesdays that are Mondays are hard!

Day 13: Thankful to work in a great legal community- I have many colleagues/defense attorneys that are pleasant to deal with and are not jerks! There may be a lot of jerks in the legal profession, but thankfully most of the jerks live out of town!

Day 14: I am thankful that although I come from a strange family, we are not the craziest family I've seen. My job is good to remind me that my family may be weird, but it is not abusive or destructive. I'm thankful to be able to create my own version of "normal" and to raise my family in a safe environment.

Day 15: I am thankful for Friday! And the weekend! And to busy myself with being busy at home. No offense to the great wide world, but I look forward to the years ahead where my hobby is in my home, my greatest efforts are in my home. I don't need a bunco night or a scrapbook group or whatever. I've got my family and my best friend in San Antonio and my other best friend right down the street! See you later social life! I've got more important things to do!

Day 16: Thankful for old friends. I think my new year's resolution this year is going to have to do with being a better friend.

Day 17: Thankful for sick days and a chance to get my little girl feeling better... well I think she feels fine but to get her voice back!

Day 18: I am extremely thankful that Phoenix is such a easy-going, happy girl. Tonight she wanted to watch "Signing Time" again (she'd watched one episode). I told her 'no'. 30 minutes of TV is enough and it's time to read. She began reading. Oh, how wonderful!

Day 19: The Book of Mormon! I got to teach seminary this am and I love making it real for those early morning seminarians!

Day 20: Today I am thankful for Baby #2. I'll be honest- I am holding my breath to hear something wrong or that #2 will not live... to put it nicely, quit the team. Today we had another doctor appointment and everything was fine! Best part- #2 would kick the little sonogram monitor where-ever the doctor would put it. Ninja kid!

Day 21: I am grateful for good friends! Life has a way of bringing those you love back into your life. Tiffany, Shelly, Victoria, I am grateful for you today!

Day 22: Double gratitude today! 1. For JFK. 2. My mom, who arrives today!

Day 23: Living close to 2 great cities with good food! Spent today in Austin and loved the tastiness!

Day 24: I am grateful for quiet Sundays- church was quiet, dinner was wonderful, making cookies was relaxed and fun. I even got a nap! Such a good Sunday!

Day 25: Grateful to have my best friend so close and that our families get to spend time together! And that my mom was gracious enough to babysit so we could go on a double date!

Day 26: I am grateful for my mother-in-law. She never ceases to amaze me and she arrives today! Hooray!

Day 27: I am grateful for a husband that cooks and bakes and is basically a culinary genius. he spent much of today cooking and I spent much of today enjoying being off work, watching "The Book Thief" at the Drafthouse, and then spending time with my family and some friends that stoppped by for a visit. Such a wonderful time of year!

Day 28: LAST DAY! Today we shared what we are grateful for around the table as we ate. I am grateful for mercy beyond what I deserve.

Happy Thanksgiving to ALL!

Revelation While Doing

There are essentially two situations in which revelation comes organically to me in my life- and by organically, I mean I get revelation when I'm not praying about it or seeking it out.

1. When I am serving other people

2. When I am running/doing yoga- working out

I had one of these organic revelatory moments today while running.

It feels amazing to suddenly understand and have clarity in an area of my life I hadn't really considered or thought about much.

Thank you Heavenly Father!

Thank you running shoes!

Thank you alarm clock for getting me up this morning!

And... (sort of) thank you to my dog for coming with me. Albeit my dog ate a dead frog on the run... YUCK!

Goodbye 2012...

Goodbye law school.
And bar exam.

Goodbye Waco.
Goodbye stress and worry and studying every night.

Thank you, 2012, for the lessons and the memories. I am grateful for all I learned, for friends I call dear, for family and unconditional love. I've grown, learned, and changed. I am a better person than I was when 2012 started. Thank you...but let's not do it again!

Gratitude- Day 9

Last Day. I think I'm thankful for life. My life. MY life. The life I have had the joy of living. The American side. The Canadian side. The Hawaiian side. The Texan side. I'm thankful for all that I've been through, all that I've been able to do, and all that I've struggled through. I have a friend who calls life "a beautiful struggle". I think that's true.

And I am thankful for it. It's been a wonderful adventure. I can't wait to see what comes next. Thank you for being my travel companion. Whether it be for a moment, for a short time, or for the whole journey.

So friends, be thankful. Family, I love you. And always remember:

Gratitude- Day 8

What am I grateful for today? Hmm.... Let me think back on the past weeks. Well let's look at this past year. I'll be honest, it hasn't been a 'golden' year. There's been some rough patches. There have been tears. There's been a lot of good times too. But when I think back to what has gotten me through it all, today I am thankful for the Gospel. I am thankful for my Savior. For the knowledge that I can be forgiven, change, and become better. LIFE IS WONDERFUL!

Gratitude Day 7

I've been thinking a lot about what I'm thankful for today. I've been thinking about why I am grateful for it. And I've been thinking about how abundantly blessed I have been with this in my life. It's one of those blessings that I often feel thankful for, but I feel like I don't ever express my thankfulness adequately. And I think I'm often told, implicitly, that I don't express it well. But the truth is that I am very THANKFUL for it. For how abundantly blessed and for a lot of very good reasons.

Alright I'll tell you what it is...

I

AM 

GRATEFUL

FOR...

I am so grateful for them for so many many reasons. First of all, I have a large family. And I am thankful for that. I feel I have an abundance family. I am so grateful for that! They are wonderful! I love my siblings, my siblings spouses, and my in-laws. Yes, I said it! I think I have the best in-laws ever.

Friends come and go as the seasons of life do. But your family is there through it all. They love you through your junior high mishaps, your glory days, and even just your regular days. I don't think I could live so far away from them without modern technology. If there was no Facebook, Skype, or Yahoo, I would struggle to be so far apart from them.

I'm so thankful for my family every day.
But today, I'm saying something about it.

Gratitude-Day 6

Today I am thankful for good friends who stick by you come cute outfits or bad hair days. Every Monday I breeze into the law school tired, grumpy, and looking like I just rolled out of bed. But my law school classmates don't judge. Or least, they still talk to me and we're still pals.

I'm also thankful for my friends in San Marcos who've been there through the good the bad, the thick and the thin, the joy and the pain. I'm thankful to know that come what may, we're friends.

And the same goes to my mission friends. They're always there to write a quick note or e-mail to cheer me up or just to say hi.


And the same goes to my high school/childhood friends! I always appreciate the nice things they have to say. I love to see them succeed!

So thanks to all my friends!

Gratitude-Day 5

Remember how I was going to list something I was grateful for, for ten days prior to thanksgiving? I was on day 4 last. There are 5 days until thanksgiving. For all those arts & crafts majors out there- that means I am one day short. So it is now the Ten Nine Days of Gratitude. But I'll name two today to make up for the lost day.

First:

I am thankful for my neighbors, and that I live in a neighborhood. I often lament urban sprawl and the suburbs. But I grew up in a really great neighborhood. A neighborhood that was safe for kids to run around in and a neighborhood where kids actually ran around. Every Sunday we would play 'night games'. On Christmas we had neighbors come in and out all day well-wishing and just having fun. I remember countless moments of calling our neighbors, the Dukes, for everything and anything (eggs, sugar, a pan, etc.).

When I grew up, got married, moved to Texas, and bought a house I thought, "that's it, I'll never have another neighborhood like that again!" Well, I was right... at first. I never saw my neighbors. I didn't know who they were. But at Christmas time we brought cookies around to all of our neighbors. And then last year we did it again. And last year, our neighbors reciprocated by bringing us cookies. We know our neighbors. We are building that love and relationship I remember from when I was a kid. Why, just yesterday I saw my next door neighbor using a hedge cutter and I asked him if we could borrow it. Without hesitation he said, "sure." It took me back to memories of my childhood neighborhood and made me happy.

A neighborhood is really what you make of it. I am thankful that we've made our neighborhood a place of love!

Second:


Now, this is a weird one. I am often a HUGE fan of the state of Texas. And let there be no doubt- I still am. But today I am also grateful for my Utah childhood. Yup, I said it. I found a reason to like Utah. I am grateful for the foundations I learned growing up there. For the opportunity to know what it's like to be part of the majority in the religious area. I am thankful for the great leaders and good examples I had who taught me to be better. I am thankful because now when things don't go perfectly and there are problems, I can look back to my childhood and separate the gospel for the culture- the personality from the principle. So when I get frustrated with how Relief Society is going, or I feel weird asking people to stand and sing in sacrament meeting, etc. I know that it's going to be okay! That my way of doing things is not the only way of doing things. And that is alright.

Until tomorrow....

Ten Days of Gratitude-Day 4

Blog Short Version: Today I am thankful for Russ.

Blog Long Version: No, I'm not just picking to be thankful for Russ out of mechanical duty. But because last night, I had a moment when I felt very grateful for him. A moment when I really thought about how easy it would have been for us to have never met, or to have met under different circumstances.

How did I meet Russ, you might ask. Although, I bet most people don't care. That's fine. This is more of a journal blog than anything else. (footnote: the other day I looked at an old blogpost of a day I forgot happened. I'm so glad I blogged about it!) 

Anyway, how I met Russ. One night in January 2004, I was walking to the SUU library to study. For some reason, probably because it was cold outside, I cut through the university ballroom to get to the library.

As I walked into the ballroom, there was an event going on- a extracurricular fair for students to get involved. I ended up talking to a friend and from there I met Russ. Our interaction was super cute, but I'll save that for another day. That's not important for the sake of this story.

So last night, as Russ and I watched a movie with some law school pals, I realized how blessed I was to meet Russ at just the perfect moment. Sure-we may have met later on, or under different circumstances. But I think if we had, that my heart would not have been open to dating him or eventually to loving him. I was a bit of a hermit; I had no intentions for love or marriage. I really think I met him and the perfect time, in the perfect way, so that I would be willing to let him into my heart.

Anyway, it just made me grateful last night. That I cut through the university ballroom to get to the library on a cold January evening. I'm even more grateful for the years with Russ. This February is 7 years from our first date. SEVEN YEARS! All from taking a shortcut to the library!

 I am grateful that I get to share this Thanksgiving with Russ, Bonnie (Russ's mom), and Randy (Russ's brother). I can't imagine being anywhere else and being as happy as I am.

(Took this last night after the movie)

Ten Days of Gratitude-Day 3

Where would we be today without the outstanding individuals of the past? Would we have a Constitution without John Locke's 2nd Treatise on Civil Government? History again and again shows us that an idea, a life, a decision of one person can influence the future. My life has changed, who I am has changed, thanks to many people gone before.

Today, I am thankful for people who do good things, make tough decisions, and make the world a better place. It makes me want to be better.

"All you need is LOVE." -John Lennon

"In deep disappointment I have wept over the laxity of the church. But be assured that my tears have been tears of love. There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love" -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Every calling is great when greatly pursued."- Oliver Wendell Holmes (Supreme Court Justice for all my non-law school friends)

John & Abigail Adams

"If Hitler invaded hell I would make at least a favorable reference to the devil in the House of Commons"- Sir Winston Churchill 

(recently read a biography about him. He's amazing)

Ghandi- "Be the change you wish to see in the world"

Ten Days of Gratitude- Day 2

The Fall Season.

❉ I love the fashion; I just bought this coat from Target: ❉

[source]

❉ I love the fall colors- yes we do get fall colors in central Texas: ❉

[more Central Texas fall photos]

❉And let's just take a minute to ponder fall food. I have a new favorite this year: ❉

Pumpkin Spice Hershey Kisses

SOOO TASTY!

What do you love about fall?

I got served

Today I had a unique experience. It was quite unexpected. I'll leave out names and there are no photos to respect my dear friend's privacy.

So Russ and I moved to Texas and I had few friends. Often the only ones I knew were from church, and more often than not I got along better with the new people at church than those who were deeply rooted in the area, or that had a lot of family here.

I met one lady and we became great pals. Actually there were three of us. We enjoyed lunch, games, movies, etc. for about a year. Then one moved away. A month or so later I returned from camping in Navasota, Texas to find the other one was gone. 

It broke my heart that she was gone. Mostly, that she had to flee with her children, from domestic violence. I thought I would never see her again.

Today that changed- but not on the happiest circumstances.

She and I kept in touch over the phone. In January, after the children's father had a visit with her kids, he never returned them. 

I don't know how she did it, how she's lasted this long. But today she had her day in court. 

She'd asked me many times if I would testify in court that she was a fit parent. I thought sure, but it won't ever come down to that.

It Did. I realized last night that it was all going down at 9 am just North of where I lived.

I was nervous. I hadn't told my job about it. I hadn't planned on it.

But there, at 6:30 am, driving down the freeway it was all about to happen.

Russ grilled me on questions. I nervously called my boss at 7:15 in the morning. And then we were there.

I saw my friend. I saw the nerves, the stress, the strength. 

We paced the halls, we searched for cars, we talked with lawyers and staff from the Attorney General's office. 

We paced more. Many times I thought the building would just shatter because of how thick the air was. 

Then, he was there. It was about power. It was about putting my friend in her place. The children were not there. 

MORE stress. More nerves, and tears, lip-biting, hand-wringing.

We were in the middle of talking. The doors to the elevator opened. Out walked the angels. My friend screamed and ran to her children, but stopped. The lawyers al gave nods that it was okay. She knelt down and hugged her babies.

I am so glad to have seen such a tender moment. I don't have kids, I don't think I understand the depth of suffering she had suffered. 

The children went to a conference room. Lawyers talked money, visitation, and taxes. Back and forth, back and forth. Then an agreement. 

In the courtroom with a judge, lawyers, my friend, and the scumbag kidnapper and spouse abuser.

Her lawyer talks, judge responds. His lawyer talks, judge responds. Lawyers call people to question and question. Yes, sir. Yes, ma'm. My name is ....

Then arms raised, oaths taken. We are done.

Back outside to wait for the kids. Little steps come down the hall. And it's done. It's permanent. 

I was served with a great lesson in parental love, of parental suffering, and oh yeah, a subpoena.  

Thanks

It's been a great year and we have a lot to be thankful for. Jobs, our
home, family and friends. And to top of all off I think the turkey I
brined turned out great.

Unlucky 7's

Well the stock market tanked, tomorrow should be interesting. Part of
me would like to see the markets just take care of this "crisis" on
their own, but I'm sure the powers that be won't let that happen. I am
glad for two things... One that my condo in St. George sold when it
did. Second, we're in a house and not looking to sale. This weekend
should be interesting.