Truly Beautiful

Yesterday, Justin and I went to the temple with Kara and Isaac. It had been a while since we last went and it felt so good to be back in the house of the Lord. I love going to the temple, especially with my husband. I always leave loving him so much more than I already do. I love feeling the peace and joy inside. I love basking in the beautiful light and warmth of the Spirit. And I always truly feel beautiful. I feel like a lovely daughter of God who has so much worth and potential, so much light and truth, so much love and happiness. I love wearing temple clothing. It is the only outfit that brings out my true beauty inside and out.

Thanksgiving (Part 3)

Thanksgiving was great! It was so nice to be with family again--I especially missed my little sister and my nieces and nephews. I enjoyed cooking dinner and I stuffed myself silly. I'm grateful the roadtrips there and back went safely. And I'm glad to be back home with just my husband.

Thanksgiving (Part 2)

Blessings I am thankful for:

• my husband and his fun, thoughtful, sweet personality
• my family and their love for me
• our cute, little apartment
• my education
• the scriptures and all the truth, hope, and comfort they provide
• the beauty of autumn (and all of God's gorgeous creations)
• sales on needed clothing
• my safety and health
• proximity to the temple and other religious places
• my job
• lost items that are recovered
• my true friends
• people who have been answers to prayers
• warmth in cold weather
• good books, movies, and music

The list could go on forever because Heavenly Father will never stop blessing me! Remember to count your blessings daily and sincerely thank God for them.

Thanksgiving (Part 1)

I know it's not Thursday yet, but I'm not going to have any time to write then, so...

I am so excited it is finally my favorite holiday! Thanksgiving makes me happy. Everything about it is wonderful and uplifting:

• fall weather with cool days and red, orange, and yellow leaves (especially crunchy ones)
• loud, lively family all together
• yummy food that I enjoy cooking
• roadtrips home listening to music, talking, and laughing with my husband
• movies and board games
• the turkey wobble!
• Thanksgiving decorations of turkeys, Pilgrims, harvest foods, leaves, and cornucopias
• the history behind the holiday
• the countless ways God has blessed me

This last one I would like to focus on. Gratitude is necessary for lasting happiness. It dispels envy and covetousness, anger and malice, depression and insecurity. It brings peace and contentment, joy and optimism, love and admiration. And it invites even more blessings from the Lord! Let gratitude fill your heart while the turkey fills your tummy. :0) Happy Thanksgiving!

"And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more." --D&C 78:19

Motherhood

Francine asked me today, in response to me asking her, how I feel about having children. I cannot wait!! I cannot wait to have a living human, something that Justin and I created, grow inside me. I cannot wait to feel our baby kick and to have Justin rub my tummy all the time. I cannot wait to play classical music all the time to help our baby develop. I cannot wait to hold our baby in my arms and kiss and kiss and kiss every part of our baby's little body. I cannot wait to teach and care for and love our baby. I cannot wait to laugh at and record every cute thing our baby does. I cannot wait to watch our baby grow and learn and become a wonderful person.

And I cannot wait to do it all over again...

Harry Potter

So I just finished reading the final Harry Potter book...and I am in complete awe!!!! I can't believe the series is over. That's it. No more books. No more adventures. No more Voldemort (I guess that's a good thing, though). I'd have to say that the first two-thirds of the book were hard to get through, but the last part was AMAZING!! I love the detail and mystery interwined between all seven books. I would place J.K. Rowling beside another great female British writer of intrigue, Agatha Christie, whose mysteries I love. Both of these women exhibit brilliance, creativity, and ingenuity in their writing. Such talent!

I'm kinda sad there is no more Harry Potter. At least I still have the last two movies to look forward to.

Sweet Surprises

Justin is so thoughtful. Our aparment has not been cleaned for a long time. It's neat and tidy but not clean. So he cleaned the bathroom today. I was planning on doing the kitchen when I got home this evening, but I when I walked through the door it was already done! He even unloaded the dishwasher, mopped the floor, and cleaned the microwave. He left me a note saying he did it since he knew I was crunched on time and had a lot of homework to do. Now that's a great husband!

Language

I love my major! I'm working on my take-home midterm (the one mentioned before) and I'm actually enjoying it (except for the part where it's due tomorrow). Language is so interesting! It is so fascinating to analyze and dissect. All my favorite classes have been those in which we discussed and analyzed language: Discourse Analysis, Semantics and Pragmatics, Varieties of English, Empirical Methods in English Linguistics. There are so many aspects to language; it's a miracle that we can communicate!