Jordan's Visit to Rexburg

Today I had to say goodbye AGAIN to my best friend after an amazing week together in Rexburg. (And if you aren't sure how I feel about goodbyes, please refer to my last post). Anyway, this post will thus consist of the little things I'm grateful for that happened this week.

Jordan drove the 3ish hours from Salt Lake City to Rexburg last Monday morning and arrived a little before 2 PM. We just kind of relaxed for awhile and watched TV--specifically the Ellen Show since it's a favorite of mine haha--and then decided to go to a baseball game with my grandparents in Idaho Falls. We ate at Carl's Jr. (a favorite of ours) and then enjoyed the game together (baseball is another favorite we share). Sure, maybe the Chuckars lost 11-4 and maybe they didn't play so well. Oh and I might have also told Jordan that I could throw a baseball faster than him... and then backed out of the challenge because I didn't want to embarrass myself haha. But we had fun and made memories. It's the little things. And that's what matters, right?

Tuesday I made him run errands with me. I needed to pick a few things up from the college so
he probably thought it was torture to walk on the ridiculously strict BYU-Idaho campus. But he's sweet to go with me anyway and support me, even if he doesn't necessarily agree with my choice of schools ;) After that we ate lunch at the hospital. I know that sounds really messed up or strange, but the food is delicious and super cheap! Definitely a good deal. If you ever come to Rexburg, I DARE you to eat there. You'll love it. Anyway, we met up with my aunt who works in the Labor & Delivery department. She gave us a tour and then we talked for awhile. It was great. And I have a lot of good memories about the Madison Memorial Hospital, considering that my Dad worked there, 4 sisters were born there, and my aunt works there. It's a great place. Then we went over to her house, played with the animals (they literally have a farm out there: 2 dogs, 1 goat, 1 bunny, and a million chickens), and played on the Wii where I then proceeded to kick Jordan's butt at Mario Kart. It was great. We also played Super Mario Brothers together as a team. Who knew a little thing like video games would strengthen our relationship? Haha we always have fun together no matter what we're doing. After eating dinner at Pizza Pie Café (also a great deal for a buffet), we walked around the temple together and had some good conversations. It's such a nice "little" blessing to have a beautiful temple so close. I can't wait to go in and receive its promised blessings. Then we finished off the evening with "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone." Hilarious movie for sure.

Wednesday was great too. We spent most of the afternoon in town doing various things. Like going to the DI. That is one of the crazy random things we like doing together. Every couple has something right? It's just fun to build traditions. But I wonder if the workers there ever consider that sometimes people like us come just to laugh at the things we find... oh well haha. We ate lunch at Artic Circle (the place where I first fell in love with fry sauce as a child) and then walked around Nature Park, throwing rocks and mocking the ducks. I also showed him the apartments where my family lived about 15 years ago. Crazy how fast time goes and how many memories you can make in that amount of time. More little things I'm grateful for. Once we got home we started playing volleyball with my cousins using a laundry clothesline but then somehow got involved in a water fight... and of course I came out more soaked than anyone else. But it was fun and another little memory we'll treasure. After cheering on Megan at her soccer game, we went to Costa Vida with Grandma and Grandpa since they were having a BOGO salad deal. And let's be honest, as a poor college student, free deals are little things I genuinely appreciate. Then Jordan and I went to the cheap theater (cheap is also a word I like to hear) and saw "Grown Ups 2." Super super funny. We were definitely laughing. (We also share a love of movies that involve Adam Sandler).

Well, Heavenly Father definitely answered my prayers because Thursday was the day we planned on floating the river and the weather was PERFECT. We even got a little sunburnt. We met Janell, Jason, Kyle, friends Cole and Grady, Megan, Marina and Grandpa at the river in Ashton around 12 and started the float. Jordan and I shared a giant tube tire and it was SO MUCH FUN. Honestly, he makes everything a blast. I've never had so much fun with one person. Overall, we spent about two and a half hours trying to steer with one paddle, avoiding giant rocks (even though I came out with some battle scars on my knee...) aiming for those few wakes that would appear, making up and singing songs, splashing anyone who got close to us, and sneaking in a few kisses when no one was looking. I loved every bit of it. It's also so great to watch Jordan goof around with my family. He fits in so well! That's another little thing I love :) After finishing the float, retrieving the cars and loading everything up, we were starving since we hadn't eaten all day. So we went to Mandarin (our favorite Chinese restaurant in the Burg) and then came home to relax. We watched some TV and then ran to the store to buy ice cream and drinks--another little tradition we have. So that was Thursday!

Friday we had to wake up early since I had an appointment to get the antenna on my car fixed. (About a month ago, I went to a dealership to get an oil change and they broke my antenna off when they were washing the car. So thankfully they were replacing it for free.) We made the appointment early since the guy said it was going to take a few hours to install the antenna... right. But we dropped the car off and then bought donuts for breakfast. Just as we were about to take a little nap (8 o'clock is early for us okay?) the guy calls. 45 minutes after I dropped the car off. A few hours huh? Oh well, it didn't cost anything and I finally had a radio again! Which is a huge little thing I'm grateful for! Then we decided to go fishing.

I caught one right away which was strange for me, and then we picked everyone else up and went to the river. Everyone caught a fish except for Megan and Grandpa. I ended up catching 2 fish and a crawdad haha. But it was still fun!  Plus I got to see a side of Jordan I hadn't yet and was really impressed by his knowledge and skills in fishing. He really does fit in with my family. After eating dinner, we went to Jason's and Derek's football jamboree. That was awesome. I'm so proud of my cousins! Then we all came back to the house to Skype with my family since Alex was opening her mission call! We did a four-way Skype call with my family and friends in Richland, in Texas and in Olympia. Let me tell ya, that was crazy. Everyone was talking, making crazy faces, laughing, yelling out their guesses and fighting for attention. So I felt right at home haha. After a long wait, she finally opened it and announced her assignment of Salt Lake City, Utah! Here's the crazy part though: she'll be in Jordan's ward boundaries! He reminded me of something my Dad told him while he was a missionary in Richland. Since my family fed him and his companion dinner quite a few times, my Dad made them promise to feed any of his grandchildren if they ever ended up crossing paths. Well, it looks like he might not have to wait that long haha. Amazing how the Lord works, right? This Gospel is so great and Alex will be a great missionary. We ended the night with a bunch of story-telling and laughing at the ridiculous things my cousins were saying. It was such a good day.

Saturday was his last day in Rexburg. We relaxed a little in the morning, watched some football and then ate lunch at Jack in the Box since he doesn't have any in Salt Lake. After that we went out to my aunt and uncle's and hung out with everyone. We rode the four wheeler together, played some more Mario Kart (where I also kicked his butt), shot the BB gun at random targets and then played some Guitar Hero. We ate dinner at Gringo's, had some more good conversations, and then drove back out to Newdale. By that time, the weather had done a complete 180 and started raining hard, thundering and lightning-ing. It was so cozy. Plus, Jordan and I finally got to kiss in the rain like we had wanted to. (Cheesy, I know, but get over it cause this is my blog.) We also watched Despicable Me together for the first time since Jordan had never seen it! He thought it was pretty cute :) The minions make the movie if you ask me. Then we played some more Guitar Hero and said goodbye to everyone. Love my family. Saturday was filled with a lot of little blessings :)

Well, this morning came and Jordan had to leave early so he could make it on time to teach Elders Quorum in his ward at 1 this afternoon. Talk about dedication! I should have been happy that he was determined to teach and fulfill his calling. To be honest, I wasn't at the moment. I wanted to be selfish and keep him all to myself. But once I wiped away my tears, I realized it was for the best and there's nothing to be too sad about because I'm going to see him again in a few weeks. And my love for him grew stronger because I knew he loved the Lord and wanted to be obedient. Could I ask for a better guy in my life? Let me answer that: NO! I loved this week with him. We had so much fun and made a million and one memories (or more... who knows). And it's only gonna get better :)

Saying Goodbye

I honestly think the hardest word to say EVER is "goodbye." I hate saying that word! To me, it just carries a negative connotation with it. Yes, saying goodbye can be a good thing sometimes. Like when you say goodbye to a bad habit, or a sin, or a bad memory, or a destructive "friend," or a bad attitude, etc. You get the idea. But in most cases, saying goodbye is usually sad and hard to do. And that's a good thing.



See? Isn't he adorable?

Today, I said goodbye to my parents, my sisters and my dog (trust me, it's hard to leave that fluffy ball of cuteness). And for me personally, it doesn't get any easier no matter how many times I have to leave. The longer I stay, the harder it is. I even get emotional the night before, while I'm still at home! That's how much I love my home and family. I even told my sisters to start arguing and fighting so it would be easier to leave hahaha. Too bad it doesn't work on demand like that...


To be honest, I'm not exactly sure why it's so hard or why I get so emotional. I think it's because I get really comfortable and attached to the situation. And then suddenly I have to leave and everything changes. That's probably it. I'm not a huge fan of change. I get used to being with the same people that I love everyday and then we're separated for weeks at a time. But I truly believe that distance makes the heart grow stronger and that you don't really know what you're missing until it's gone. It's sad that sometimes we have to wait to appreciate someone or something until it's finally missing but that's just part of being a stubborn prideful human being. I'm learning now to never take things and people for granted. We never know how long we have so we should enjoy each and every moment to the fullest. NO REGRETS.


I'm also grateful for that fact that I'm living with my grandparents in Rexburg while I go to school. It is a HUGE blessing and it makes it so much easier to leave my home in Richland when I know I have a home and family to return to. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by wonderful, selfless people who love me and are willing to help me in any way. God knows that I tend to feel lonely easily and so He blessed me with this priceless opportunity. I know He is blessing me more than I probably deserve, but I still appreciate it nonetheless. I love my Grandma and Grandpa Warren so much and I will never be able to repay them for all they've done for me. So now it's a little easier to say goodbye to Richland since I have welcoming faces to say hello to in Rexburg :)


Saying goodbye is just one of those things we will have to do for the rest of our lives, because things will change. I love that paradoxical idea that change is the only thing we can expect to stay the same. But it's so true. We NEED change. We NEED to say goodbye sometimes. Without these two moving things, we would never be able to progress or learn. And isn't that the reason we're here on Earth? To learn and improve ourselves? To progress towards becoming gods and goddesses?

As my Mom and I were hugging and crying goodbye this morning, she said, "Don't you want to just stay here and go to CBC?" I chuckled (nothing against CBC, I promise) and told her that I needed to go back to Rexburg because that's where my path was taking me. I know it's different for everyone. But for me personally, it's more beneficial to move away from home and experience this phase of life somewhere else where I can discover myself and learn tough lessons. Yes, this requires saying goodbye more often. But in the end I know it will be worth it.
I already miss my family terribly. But I'm focusing on the positive (like seeing my family again when they come down for Conference in October) and looking to the future with optimism and a determination to kick nursing school in the butt. Heck yeah it's going to be a lot of work and I'm probably going to ask myself over and over again why I didn't just stay home like my mom suggested. But like I said, change is good. Saying goodbye is good. Because eventually--thanks to the Gospel and Christ's Atonement--there will come a day when we will never have to say goodbye again.

More Little Things

So I just wanted to record a few more "little" things that happened this week.

I guess one of the little things that I really appreciate right now is just having a break from school. Well... kind of. It's hard for me to completely take a break from anything because I'm ALWAYS worrying or stressing about something. Seriously. I can always find something to worry about. And it sucks because then I can't ever completely enjoy something. But that's another story. Anyway, sometimes it's nice to have nothing to do. No plans, no appointments, no promises. It's definitely something everyone should experience because it's good for the mind to s l o w  d o w n. Yes, I have nursing assignments and tests to take before the semester starts but I still have 4 weeks and I'm procrastinating as long as possible haha :) So free time is a little thing I'm grateful for.

I'm also grateful for those few solid friends leftover from high school. Bri and I haven't seen each other for over 2 months and yet we got together and acted like it had only been hours since our last adventure (cause trust me, it's always an adventure with Breezy Beezy Buttface. Sorry Bri I couldn't resist). And I'm grateful for the fun traditions we share, like eating fried pickles whenever we get together. I also had the opportunity this week to eat lunch with another friend that I've known since middle school. Melo and I played volleyball and had a TON of classes together since 6th grade.
Honestly, I don't keep in touch with very many "friends" from high school. But these are two ladies I never want to lose (the rest are on missions and I email them every week so don't worry). It was a nice blessing to just catch up on life. She told me all about her adventures in Africa and I told her all about my adventures in Rexburg and Utah.... not really comparable I guess but they still make me happy haha. So good, solid friendships are little things I couldn't live without.

And then there's technology. Really though, I don't know how I would survive. Technology is how Jordan and I built our relationship for heaven's sakes. And that's how we get along when we aren't together. I was able to Skype him a few times this week and text him everyday. Maybe it is just a little thing to be able to communicate with the love of your life 3 states away but I certainly appreciate it. So technology is a little thing I love because it connects me to the people I love. Oh and I also love teasing Jordan about his birthday presents even though his birthday is still a month away. Now he knows what it's like to wait for something you REALLY want... hint hint... haha :)

Another little thing I love is weddings. They're just so happy and full of love. I went to a friend's reception last night (can I also point out that it's really weird that my friends are getting married already? crazy) and it was beautiful. I seriously can't wait to be married to my best friend for eternity and start officially planning the wedding. Attending receptions makes me extremely grateful for the Gospel and the knowledge that I can eventually be sealed to Jordan for time and all eternity. Who wouldn't want that?? But it was nice to visit with good friends and eat good food last night and celebrate with Kaloni as she moves on with new and exciting adventures in life. So love and weddings are little things that make me happy.

 Finally, church is a "little" thing I'm grateful for. I actually went to 6 hours of church today because I had three different friends giving their mission farewells. It just reminded me of when Bri was investigating the church 2 years ago and I went to 6 hours of church every week. I absolutely loved it. My entire Sundays were filled with spiritually uplifting lessons and I was so happy. I really can't think of a better place to spend my Sundays than at church with people I love and the Gospel I love. And missionary farewells are so great. I always come away encouraged to be a better missionary and more grateful to belong to this church. And yes that usually involves some crying because the Spirit is really strong. I'm incredibly proud of all my friends (most of them are pictured below) who've chosen to serve missions. I know they will be blessed for their sacrifices. So church is a little thing I've been blessed with.

   

And that was my week in a nutshell. It's hard to be disappointed with life when you look for the good.
Plus I get to see Jordan in a week so how could I not be happy? God is good :)

Silverwood Shinanagins

They say that pictures tell a thousand words. And that is true in some cases. But when it comes to my family there are usually at least a thousand STORIES behind each picture. And so I'm writing this post just to tell some of the stories and provide a few more details about our Silverwood adventure this week :)

It all started on Monday. I heard Mom and Dad's alarm go off at the wee hour of 6 in the morning because they wanted to leave at 7. Way too early for my taste. I haven't woken up that early since school. Yikes. Anyway, everyone slowly got up and took their sweet time getting ready. So needless to say, we didn't leave until 8. And that's actually on time since we're usually always an hour behind. Oh the joys of a big family. Well, we loaded the BMW (Big Mormon Wagon) and took off for our two-day family vacation in Coeur d'Alene and Spokane, keeping our annual family tradition of a day at Silverwood and then a day of shopping.

Now I want to give you a description of what our car rides consist of: first, we start off with family prayer. Next come the 10-15 minutes of trying to find a comfortable position in the car and marking your territory so no one invades your spot on the bench. (There's usually a little arguing involved in the process.) But by the time we leave Pasco everyone is pretty much settled. And then starts the singing. Sometimes we'll listen to the radio. But most of the time we'll put in a CD choosing from our wide variety of 80's and 90's music. Our parents raised us well. So on Monday, we started off with a Chicago CD, a definite favorite of everyone's. I LOVE SINGING WITH MY FAMILY. Because there are plenty of us to go around, there are always a few people harmonizing, a few people singing the melody and then a few more singing a descant or the background instruments haha. No joke. Everything in the song is covered. We'll skip the songs we don't really know and then move onto another CD. Most of the CD's we listened to were mixed CD's of a bunch of 80's songs. We love them. And then we'll throw in the random Josh Groban, Earth Wind and Fire, Celine Dion, and other various artists. Sometimes the singing gets interrupted by  brief quarreling or napping. But that is basically a day in the car with the Warren's.

Well, once we arrived at Silverwood (after waiting in LONG lines of cars), we changed into our swimming suits and hit the waterpark. We headed straight over to our favorite waterslides and stood in longs lines once again. When we reached the top, we split into 3 separate groups and enjoyed the rides. (We usually try to mix up the groups each time we go on a different ride so everyone gets a chance to go with everyone they want to.) Turns out, we actually waited in lines for 2 hours just to go on 2 rides!!! It was that crowded. But we had a ton of fun in the lines too with Lydia doing the "creep" (It's a hilarious SNL skit. Look it up on YouTube) and the rest of us people-watching. Never a dull moment with my family. After the slides we decided to go to the wave pool. I volunteered to be in charge of Lydia (not that it's really a job or anything haha) and take care of her in the pool. We started up in the front. But the waves pushed us all the way to the back! Holy cow they were strong. But I would lift Lydia up each time a wave came or even threw her at the waves so she would come floating back to me. It was a blast. The rest of the girls stayed up in the front and actually rode the waves. It was hilarious to watch. By that point, the sun kept hiding behind clouds and we were getting worn out so we decided to change back and take a lunch break.

Mom had bought croissants and made chicken salad that morning so we could have a cute little picnic outside the park :) Part 1 of the day = awesome.

After lunch, we went over to the rollercoaster side of the park. We started out with the Spin Cycle. It was ridiculous and I refused to go on it. But everyone else was going and I didn't want to be the only one watching and waiting (yeah I know that's a dumb excuse) so I went. And I loved it! At one point of the ride we were completely upside down 104 feet in the air (I looked it up). And I wasn't scared at all! That's a lot coming from someone who is TERRIFIED of heights. After that we went to Timber Terror and I rode with Shonna. The whole time she kept jokingly saying "I'm gonna die!" It was hilarious. Then Alex and Jenna convinced us to go on Aftershock. Please keep in mind that these are all rides I refused to go on at one point. But I decided to do all of them so I could somehow overcome my fears. It was a great decision because I ended up enjoying every single one of them. I sat next to Sammie and kept comforting her the whole time because she was extremely nervous. But she did it! Then we went on Tremors and Jenna, Alex, Shonna and I all sat together. It was a blast. After that, we met the rest of the family at Corkscrew and I convinced Lydia to go with me. (How can you refuse that? hahaha jk jk) When we asked Lydia what she thought she said, "I didn't even have time to scream." Hahaha what a cutie.

Well, by then it was 7 o'clock and we were pretty hungry. So we decided to get some ice cream. Note: if you want a TON of ice cream and a lot of choices, go to the creamery in the park. "One" scoop is 4 small scoops and "two" scoops is 8-10 small scoops. It is MORE than enough and you won't be able to finish it. Plus it's only $5 for "two" scoops. Great deal. Anyway, then we went on more rides until the park closed at 9. We went hard all day long and we were all so tired by the time we got back to the hotel in Spokane. (We ate Domino's pizza at 10 o'clock at night haha. Gotta do what ya gotta do. So there ya go. Silverwood never fails to please my family!

Tuesday was shopping day. We woke up at 8 since the hotel breakfast closed at 9. Then we got ready, packed up and left the hotel at 11. Before we hit the mall, we just HAD to go to Krispy Kreme's because their donuts are delicious. Then we went to JC Penney's first and started in the dress section. You can seriously find so many clearance dresses for awesome prices. We love it. Mom and Grandma were even looking at possible dresses to wear to my future wedding! Haha it was awesome and made me so happy. We ended up spending  2 hours in that one store. But that's what happens when you have 7 girls to shop for. We found a ton of great stuff. Then we stopped at a few more small stores and finally went to lunch at Chili's. The goal for the day was to go to places that we couldn't in the Tri-Cities. And since the only Chili's in the state of Washington are all in Spokane, we couldn't pass that up. We ate our chips & salsa, our soups and salads, and then all of us were full even before our meals came out haha. It was funny.

After our lunch break, we went back to the mall and continued our shopping. But we were definitely starting to slow down. That is, everyone but Jenna was getting tired haha. And my stupid knee was killing me so I didn't really want to walk around as much. But we kept going. We went to Kohl's, Sears, Rue 21, Claire's. Barnes & Noble, Payless, Downeast and I think that's it. Yeah it was a busy day. By the end, most of the family just sat on benches and waited for everyone else haha. But we found a lot, and it's probably because we prayed to find good deals before we started.

Then we left around 7. We ate our leftover Chili's for a dinner snack and headed home, listening to more 80's music. The car ride home had more arguing than the car ride up but it also had a lot of laughing and singing too. What else can you expect when 10 people are trapped in a 15 passenger van together for several hours? At least everyone made it home alive. We stopped at Jack-in-the-Box before we got home and ordered a million tacos for a late-night dinner.

So there you go. My family is crazy, funny, loud, big and one-of-a-kind. You will never find another one like us. And that's probably a good thing because the world only has room for one Warren family haha. Yes we have our fights and say stupid things that we know we shouldn't. But deep down we really do love each other and would do anything for each other. I wouldn't trade my family for anything because I feel so blessed. We can be the worst of enemies and the best of friends. But that's just how families are. I know we'll always be there for each other. I can't wait to spend an eternity laughing and singing with the greatest people on earth.

Blessings in Disguise

Well, I'm writing this blog post at home sweet home. And it's so true, there really is no place like home (two clichés in a row. Boom.) But let me clarify: there's no place like your ORIGINAL home, cause honestly I have three homes now. One in Idaho, one in Utah, and one here in Washington. And I love each one for their own different but equally wonderful reasons. (I'll go into detail about those reasons in later posts.) But needless to say, my sisters are my best friends and I'm so glad to spend time with them these next two weeks.

So in this post, I want to write about some of the "little" things that happened this week. And I say "little" because when compared to other blessings they may seem less miraculous. But that is not true at all. No matter how "small" they may be, they are miracles nonetheless and I am just as grateful for them.

I spent this last week and a half with Jordan and his family in Salt Lake City. Holy cow I loved it and learned quite a bit about myself and my life while I was there. Since Jordan had to work sometimes during my visit, I got a glimpse into what married life consists of, with me hanging out waiting for him to come home from work. Honestly, I hate being separated from him. But those days made me appreciate all of his hard work and more importantly, his willingness to work (something I personally struggle with) and prepare for our future . That is a blessing. It also helped me gain a little more patience (I still have a long way to go) as well as give me a more realistic perspective--rather than a rose colored "we-will-spend-every-second-of-every-day-together-doing-whatever-we-want" perspective--on what marriage is going to be like. That patience was truly a "little" blessing. I also need to add that I was able to spend time with his Mom and Sister while he was at work and I think that strengthened my relationships with them, as well as create long-lasting memories that I consider blessings. Seriously, I love his family and couldn't feel more blessed.

And then other little blessings came when we were able to spend time together and make memories. Like, having the money to eat at restaurants together.

 Or good weather that let us go throw a baseball around in a park. Or good friends who lived close enough that we could spend an evening and go stargazing until the sprinklers came on unexpectedly haha. Good times. Or clean, funny movies/TV shows that we could watch together and add to the list of movies we want to own in the future. And he may not agree, but I also considered it a "little" blessing when he cut his head at work and was sent home two hours early from work, giving us two extra hours on our last night together. Don't worry he's fine :) When I look back, we really didn't do anything huge like travel to another country or climb a mountain (even though we did take a small hike in the mountains...) but you get the point. It really is the little things.

And then there were other blessings. Like one of Jordan's neighbors bumping into my car and scratching it. Honestly, the scratches were barely noticeable and didn't make much of a difference. But I accepted the neighbor's offer of $300 in cash and now I can use that money to help pay for school expenses that have been a big worry to my parents. So that was definitely a blessing in disguise. The Lord really does work in mysterious ways and we can't even imagine what He has in store for each of us. (See, you can't even tell there are scratches on the car. Blessing.)

And here's another miracle: I made it home safely to Washington after driving 9 hours from SLC by myself on Saturday. Trust me, that is a HUGE blessing when you ask my Mom. The fact that the car functioned perfectly, that other drivers weren't that big of idiots (although I had plenty who made me question their intelligence and brain capacity), that I stayed awake even when my eyelids felt heavy, that the weather was cooperative and finally, that my sisters were actually happy to see me home! Haha well, at least I personally consider that a miracle.

We may not always recognize these situations as miracles or blessings, cause I don't think many of us wake up thinking that something tragic like a car accident could happen to us personally... those are accidents that happen to other people and we only hear about them. At least that's how my mindset is. But just the fact that we live through each day and wake up every morning is a blessing we sometimes take for granted. So pulling up to my house yesterday alive and well is a "little" blessing I am extremely grateful for.

Okay one more. So last night my body kind of went into stress overload and I got sick (I must have been subconsciously stressed out from my first long roadtrip by myself. That's the only thing I can think of. Or maybe I ate too many starbursts... that is also a possibility haha. But I also consider it a blessing that I didn't get sick on the trip. That would have been bad.) Anyway, I didn't feel well at all and it didn't go away when I woke up this morning. But then somehow I was healed enough to where I could go to church and enjoy the meetings without any discomfort or worry. I was even able to fast without any complications. Those are huge blessings in my book. Or blog. Whatever you want to call it.

So there ya go. Those are the "little" miracles and blessings from this week. It's amazing how many I have been able to recognize now that I am actually looking for them. Imagine how many more there are that I still haven't figured out! And when I focus on the positive, the negative just doesn't affect me as much as it used to. Trust me, I still get discouraged and upset with frustrating things (just ask Jordan. He's such a good guy to put up with my bipolar emotions and help me figure everything out. He's a keeper, no doubt about it). But it's much easier to move forward when I understand that there ARE good things in the world. That things DO work out. That overall, life IS good. There are too many blessings (many of which we don't always see) to waste life sitting around discouraged and upset over things we can't change. This is a concept I have struggled with and am still working on. But I'm getting there. And trying to find the "little" things has made a huge difference.