Day Thirty: What Matters Most

I'm grateful for my relationship with my

Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Without Them, none of these things or people 

that I am thankful for, would exist.

Ok, so I know I said that these posts were in no

particular order, but I have to say that I saved the best posts for last.

The posts about my family members could have gone on FOREVER!

This post is no different.

So as to not go on forever, here are a couple of songs:

(You'll have to pause the music at the bottom)

My Heavenly Father Loves Me
(Mormon Tabernacle Choir, reason for this video)

Jesus Christ - His Hands

I find that music is one of the

greatest teachers that we have.

I love these two songs.

They truly reflect how I feel.

I love my Heavenly Father, and I'm so thankful

for all that He provides for me.

I know that He continually blesses me.

I love my Savior, Jesus Christ.

He suffered in Gethsemane and died for

me on the cross, and I am forever indebted to Him.

I know that when I suffer or have trials,

He understands and He will always understand.

I know that They live and They are always there for me.

I'm so glad that I took on this challenge.

It truly helped me to look at what matters most,

and let me count my many, many blessings.

It was difficult to narrow it down to just 30 things. 

Throughout this month, there have been many

instances where I would realize how thankful I

 am for simple and silly things like:

paper towels, scissors, a car, light, color...

and this list would prolly never end!

But I'm grateful for all these things and so much more!

I hope you were able to reflect on some

of the things you are grateful for as well.

Thus concludes November! December = tomorrow.

Woah! Where did this year go!?

P.S...in coming attractions:

my 100th post!

oh yes...be very excited.

Day Twenty-Nine: My Dad

I'm grateful for my

Dad

How cute it this!?

Can I just say it is just about impossible

to get a picture of him?

It's worse than finding a good one of Seth! haha

Not only is he the hardest worker I know,

he truly is the hardest worker there ever was or will be!

Sometimes he stays up all day and then works

that night....not an easy thing to do!

In the winter he works all night,

then comes home to feed cows, or he will

harness the team before he leaves to work that day.

There's one word that does NOT and NEVER will

describe my dad and it is lazy

Prolly one of the hardest "switches" I have

to make when my summer ends is when I stop riding

to work with Dad.  For four months we drive

back and forth together from work.

It's kinda hard to just stop.

He is selfless, in that he does everything

for his family. Though, I still think he

would be a hard worker if he didn't

have a family.  I hope my spouse is like him,
in that he is a hard worker, and loves his family.

Love ya Dad.

Day Twenty-Eight: My Mom

I'm grateful for my

Mom

Mom...Best Friend...Same Thing.

She always knows what to say.
She can tell when something is wrong.
You really can't hide much from her.
I tell her EVERYTHING.
I don't think I have a secret from her.
If I do, you know I'll tell her eventually.

She shares silly moments with me.
(sometimes I catch them on camera)
She's the BEST!

My hero.
(from the scary santa claus! ;)

A hard worker.

Completely selfless.
Does everything for us kids.
She brought me into this world,
and (as she says) "can take [me] out if necessary!" ;)
I can't wait to become a mom myself,
because I've got the greatest example!

I love you Mom!

Day Twenty-Seven: Megan

I'm grateful for my sister

Megan

Teensy weensy from the start.

Megan Evelyn

Incredibly Awesome Singer...always has been, always will be.

An SSHS cheerleader! (she's in high school. bizarre.)

She was recently introduced to Seminary,
and is loving every minute of it.
(only been once haha, but she'll love it)
She's a strong girl, and will just continue
to grow and learn from it.
A Friend to everyone.

Meg was Gabriella in "High School Musical"
(in junior high) and did a super job.

Has a lead in the upcoming school musical
"You're a Good Man Charlie Brown" as Patty.
Can't wait to see it, she will be spectacular!

Love you Meg!

Day Twenty-Six: Shelby

I'm grateful for my sister

Shelby

I always thought her expression here ^ was

really funny.  You can almost see her thinking

"I have to live with THESE people!?" haha

Shelby Morgan
The baby of the family.

She's a smartie.

Constantly reading and learning.
She's in Young Women, finally! (as she would say)
She is full of faith and loves the gospel.

She's the peacemaker of the family.
She's a 7th grader. Junior High! Crazy.

Played volleyball and is now on the basketball team.
She's still shorter than me! haHA! (though prolly not for long)

Love ya Shelb!

Day Twenty-Five: My Second Parents

I'm grateful for my Grandma and Grandpa Petersen.

They have literally been my second set of parents.

I've been so thankful to Mom and Dad for

taking the opportunity to move back home.

Because of that decision, I have been able

to develop a really close relationship with all my

Grandparents. Whenever my siblings and I have had

extracurricular activities, my Gma and Gpa Petersen have

been so willing to let us stay at their place.

In payment, we tried to supply the freezer,

and do the chores inside and out.

But Grandma's only "required" payment was a card game.

Many, many card games :)

Grandma Weekend =
Quilting, Lots of Laughs, Chocolate Strawberries, Cards...FUN

bahaha, katie captured this moment...i don't think
he'll ever pose like this for the camera again!

Grandma supporting us at the fair

They are always there, supporting

us in all we do. You can see how proud

they are of Jake in the top picture.

I love 'em and I'm so

grateful to truly know them.

Today, I'm off to spend the weekend with them

and a bunch of my other awesome family members!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Twenty-Four: Reflecting

(Ok Emma, guess I'm mooching from you now! haha)

I'm grateful for memories and reflecting over them.
These are some pictures that I have:
-I have many other memories, but no pictures
to go with them so here's what I've got-
My first fish, a catfish from Alexander Reservoir!

(with my mickey mouse fishing pole, i might add)

I can still remember how excited I
was to have a little sister.
This is one of those silly memories that I have:
I remember Mom putting the pillow
underneath Megan's head right before she took
this picture.  Weird how I can remember simple
instances like this, and not other important things.

Here's our family right before we
moved back home to Idaho.
We were all so young, but it doesn't
seem like that long ago.

Rainbow cast...ya, I thought it was sweet :)
(p.s. isn't this the best outfit ever! haha)

No teeth! and on my way to Barrick Gold Strike
to take a tour (unless I'm wrong...Mom?)

On the ferry (finally haha) 2008

I want to go back when the whales are there :)

I wish I had pictures on my computer.

These are just a few, but I love

to think back over all the great things we've done,

the places we've been, and the people we were with.

I can't wait for Thanksgiving with the family tomorrow!

Twenty-Three: Roommates

I'm grateful for MY Roommates.

I couldn't have picked better!

cheesy 90's family picture

"be funny..." and thus you get:

It doesn't get better than this! lol

So today starts Thanksgiving Break.
Unfortunately for me I am stuck here
in my apartment until it stops snowing and
they open up the roads!
Everyone else booked it outta here quick,
and all made it home except Sierra.
She and her friends turned around and came back.
They left just a few hours after the others,
but decided it was too dangerous.
I didn't know this until I texted her and
she told me she was upstairs! haha

I know it is kinda silly, but even on these short
breaks, I miss them!  They have all become
my friends and just like sisters to me!

"Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave,
and impossible to forget."

I'm grateful that I've had the opportunity
to get to know all these girls.
You know that saying that "those people you pick
to be with are the ones you become like", well this
quote totally fits my roommates.
I look up to them, and they are great examples.
They've changed me for the better, and I'll
forever be indebted to them for that.
So roomies, I love ya to death! and I hope
that you have a great Thanksgiving Break!

Twenty-Two: Sethy Poo

I'm grateful for my brother.
Seth

cute huh? haha

So 22 is Seth's Basketball number.

No better a day to say I'm grateful for him,

than on the twenty-second day right?

well here's a freaky part:
he guessed it.
I was texting him last night when he said
"You haven't got a blog done for today,
oh and tomorrow's about me right?"
mind reader i swear!

This is a pic of our cousin Hunter. So cute!

I don't know if he know's how much kids look up to him.

But a little bit bout Seth:
He drives me crazy.
He's a very hard worker.

He thinks he's a chick magnet.

He's a senior at SSHS. Weird.

Around this time next year, he'll be close to 

a mission or even on it...weirder.

Seth and I have this innate ability to telepathically connect.

(no really,...it's kinda freaky)

He can look at me, and I know exactly what he is thinking.

But Seth is a great example of a strong son of our Heavenly Father.

Whoever gets this guy for eternity is going to be a pretty darn lucky gal.

Day Twenty-One: The Prophet

I'm grateful for our Prophet Thomas S. Monson.

President Monson is the mouth piece of our Heavenly Father.
I trust him, just as I trust Heavenly Father.
This man instantly brings a smile to my face.

Whenever I see a Prophet of the Lord,

I can feel their love for me.
You can just see it in their eyes.
I feel the same with all the leaders in the church.
They all radiate happiness and I love it!

Day Twenty: Ice

I'm grateful for Ice.

This is a picture from last February

out the back window.

Isn't it sweet lookin!

Then there's always 'the big one' out front.

I don't care for ice when it is all over the road.

That is no fun.

I also don't really like it when it sends me

spinning around and down to the ground

as I'm trying to get to class.

Definitely no fun.

But there's nothing quite like coming

in the house to get a drink of ice-cold water

after working out in the hot summer sun.

Or having 'sword fights' after we're done feeding.

And I really can't wait to do this again:

I'm not sure why I find this

 absolutely hilarious, since Seth is just trying to

take us all down, but I do. haha

Now that I know where the ice skating rink is,

I think you'll find me there a few more times

this coming winter :)

Day Nineteen: Shoes

Day Nineteen

I'm grateful for Shoes.

I love shoes.

I'm not one of those insane girls

that has a different pair of shoes for every

day of the year. (how many do you really need anyways?)

But I'm thankful for the shoes that I have!

Why?...well:

They keep your feet dry
(I wish I had the personality to wear these)

Protection

(Who wants to walk over pointy rocks? Not me!)

Fashion
Pfft, but I'm not that concerned

yikes...but maybe these count as pants???...

If I had to pick a favorite item of clothing,
it would definitely be shoes.
There's a day..or maybe week, I don't remember...
that the Aggies for Africa group
doesn't wear shoes all day long.
I didn't do this, but let me tell you:
It made me sit down and think about how I
need to be grateful for something as simple
as shoes.

Day Eighteen: Sense of Humor

Day Eighteen

I'm grateful for those who have a 
Sense of Humor and are Sarcastic.
They keep me laughing which I love!

No, sarcasm and a sense of humor are not the same.

Sarcasm, can be mean and ugly.

But not in my family. It's clearly just funny,

and let's face it: my family and friends are 

just about as sarcastic as they come.


Plus:

we ain't dummies ;)


I saw this the other day:

Makell (one of our roommate for last fall semester)
and her friend came up for a visit yesterday.

It was so good to visit with them!

I think many people wondered why we kindof

hit it off, but I can tell you it is because we

share the same kind of sarcastic humor.

Then I was looking back through my journal,
and I had written this in it:

Facebook status last year:

"Oh my heck!! I'm never going to Walmart after 9:00 again! 

BEWARE: if you do, old men will flirt with you! ugh!!!!! yuck!!!!!!!"

Shawnae's Answer:

 "Mara....they are just looking for

someone to help them with their dentures, diapers, and

diets of Ensure.  Give them a smile and flirt back.

Ha Ha JK!"

oh my...haha

Day Seventeen: Blogging

Day Seventeen

I'm grateful for Blogging.

Maybe it is just a way for me to:
express my opinion,
vent, share my life,
point out how awesome life can be,
keep a "journal"...whatever!
But in the end, you are reading it!
So it must not be that awful.
And if I can help somebody else learn something,
while I'm at it, how great is that!?
Right now I've decided that I'm grateful for this
blog because I've learned lots.
I've really enjoyed this month, and being
"forced" to look at what I'm truly grateful for.
In fact, I've been changing post after post,
cause there are just SO MANY things to be grateful for!
I can't believe the month is practically half over.

But I've decided that I love my blog.
And was I ever wrong to think that blogging
wasn't for me!  You do not have to be married,
or have kids, or sell things to be a blogger.
All you have to really be is a semi-interesting person
with a story to tell.