An Attitude of Gratitude

Okay, I am in a really good mood today and I just needed to blog about it. I have sooo many things to be thankful for right now and my heart is full! I can't say it enough. It really is the little things that make such a significant difference in my life.

Little things like:

*Having a really good hair and make up and outfit day. I actually had several this week and it's amazing how that affects my mood for the day. When you love yourself, it's much easier to love others and overall you're a lot happier! (But be sure to remember the difference between being confident and cocky...) Anyway, now I just need to work on loving myself more when my hair or make up or outfit refuse to cooperate haha

*Skyping my family whenever I want. It was funny because the last time I Skyped they were having family council and then the usual shouting for attention, everyone talking at the same time,  and bickering over space bubbles started. So Mom asked me, "Don't you feel right at home?" I replied, "Yep and I love it! But it's even better cause now I can turn you off whenever I want hahaha :)" I love my family.

 

*Texting the love of my life Jordan every day. We don't text every second or every minute (believe it or not). But it's a nice little thing to know that he's thinking of me even when we aren't talking or the fact that he's always there for me to talk to. And then I sometimes get the wonderful blessing of Skyping him as well. When he's happy, I'm happy and it makes the biggest impact on my day :)

 

*Getting a job! Yep, I FINALLY got a job and it's at a nursing home here in Rexburg called The Homestead. Granted, the manager is still trying to find shifts that work with my school schedule. But I'm going to start training until then and I have faith that Heavenly Father will make it work. He knows my needs and wants and will help me as long as I do my part and trust Him (that's how I got the job in the first place). Plus, this job is also a nice little blessing because it will be great training and prep for working in a hospital.

*Watching my cousins play football! This week I got to watch 7th grader Kyle score FIVE touchdowns during his game! It was so much fun! And then I also got to watch senior Jason and sophomore Derek play together on their high school varsity team and beat last year's 2A state champs 36-26! They had some AWESOME tackles and plays. I am so proud of them and so proud to belong to such a talented family. I loved sitting in the bleachers and cheering with my family here in Rexburg! (I should also add that it's a nice little thing that I actually understand football now haha. Makes it even more exciting to watch).

 

*Donating plasma! Now that I'm back in Rexburg to stay for awhile, I started donating again and that's a great blessing. But let me clarify something: no it is NOT a form of prostitution. I am NOT selling my body for money. I am sharing healthy blood proteins with people who lack them and thus have life-threatening blood clotting issues. If I am healthy and have enough factors to spare, then why not share? It literally saves lives. A person who donates gets paid because it's a timely process and you end up donating quite a bit of plasma just for that small--but extremely important--amount of proteins. There are risks and not everyone can physically participate. But in my opinion it's worth it and the fact that I can personally do it without serious repercussions is a huge little thing I'm grateful for.



*Having a crazy TV show to watch. Yes, I will admit that a guilty pleasure of mine would probably be watching Pretty Little Liars every week (thank you Bri and Megan for getting me hooked). It's full of suspense, shock, mystery, murder, laughs, love and friendship... all things I enjoy in a show. But I also enjoy watching it because it's another little thing that my sisters and I can talk about together. This week was the season finale and it was ridiculous. This show drives me crazy because I NEVER know what to expect. Like, who would have ever thought Ezra would be A?? That shatters my entire universe! (Well, not entirely. I was just quoting Hot Rod cause it worked with the moment haha)

 

I feel it's important to express gratitude as often as possible because then God will continue to bless us when He knows those blessings actually mean something special to us. When we appreciate what we have, we will be given more. Counting my blessings also helps me when I'm in a bad mood because it's hard to have a bad day when I'm constantly trying to think about the good things in my life, both small and big. So it was a pretty great week, only adding more to a great life.