It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!!

Although I love summer weather, I am a fan of this time of the year.  The holidays seem to bring out the best in people, well, maybe not Black Friday, but beyond that, we tend to look more towards Christlike behavior such as charity and service during this time of the year.  I love seeing Christmas decorations and hearing Christmas music everywhere, oh it's so exciting!
This Thanksgiving I did something I have never done before during a holiday break: I did absolutely nothing.  It was awesome. Jenny, my roommate and I, just hung out and watched movies, football, ate, slept, screamed, decorated for Christmas--our place looks LEGIT, and just had so much fun doing absolutely nothing! This is a lesson I learned this semester, sometimes it's nice to not have a to-do list or a calendar filled with this and that.  This semester has been the most chill four months of my life.  It's been great to regroup in many different areas I needed some improvement on.
Yesterday, the talks during church were focused on being grateful, and I realized I have so much to be grateful for.  I decided I would make a top ten list, like SportsCenter Top Ten.....here it goes
10. The ideas and dreams of the future. I can't wait to be a mommy! I can't wait to watch my daughter have her first ice skating lesson or my son catch his first touchdown.  I am excited for when the 49ers go to the Superbowl again and I am there with my boys. I am excited for graduation. I am excited for painting my children's playroom with my husband.  I am excited for everything life has in store, ups and downs, I just know whatever happens in life is part of this marvelous plan.  I love my life right now. Being single and having fun is always exciting, but I am grateful for the thought of the future that helps keep me on the right path.
9. The luxuries of life I have. Whether it's money for food, or shelter, or being able to attend college, or my ability to walk, there are so many things that I am grateful for that many people around the world don't have.  I don't understand it, but I am so thankful.
8. I have the greatest job ever. I love everything about health. I believe in it. I love my clients. I just love it. and I'm grateful for money!
7. Contributions and hard work of others. Whether you are one of my doctors or professors or my bank teller who always knows my name and is so good to me, I am grateful. Thank you for your hard work and for serving me and being kind to me.
6. Sunshine and Country Music...no need for explanation...they both just bring me a TON of happiness and smiles.
5. Football. This year has been awesome for me in football. I have had more time to watch football this year, then I ever have had since college.  The Razorbacks have done awesome.  It's brought me so much happiness.
4. Friends.  I am so so so fortunate for my relationships with others.  There are so many of you out there that are racing through my mind right now.  Each friendship fills a different need in my life.  I am blessed with the amount of people that can not only put up with me but truly love me.  I am so grateful that as of yesterday I have a nephew.  My best friends/practically family members Jared and Brittany gave birth to a little angel named Brady Michael Evans. I think he and I are going to have a special auntie-nephew relationship.  My best friend Sarah Schow gets home from her mission in fifteen days and I couldn't be more thrilled.  There are friends that have been in my life for a very long time and still haven't left, and new ones that love and accept me for who I am.  Some friends have come in the form of a whole family, a family that I couldn't have lived in Provo without. The people who have the awful responsibility of living with me and yet many of them are now my best friends.  Talking about an old friend yesterday who I loved very much and as he is no longer a large part of my life helped me realize that we truly are all so connected and God knows what He is doing.
3. Memories.  President Thomas S. Monson said, "God gave us memories, so we might have roses in December." I am so grateful for memories. There is nothing happier than sitting around with my family and friends and reminiscing about the good ol' days. The great thing about memories is they are created everyday. For me, it's a way to enjoy the happiness of the past while continuing to create happiness for now. I am also especially grateful for memories that help us see the hand of God in our lives. Moments we did not think we could pass through, and then we see the Lord lift us up and place us in His arms.
2. My family.  There are days, and there have been days this year, in which I felt so overwhelmed by each member of my family in one way or another.  However, I would take every single one of those difficult times because the good times have always and will always outweigh the challenges.  It's a choice to love people and to be happy with them, and I can honestly say I love my family and wouldn't change a single member.  My dad and I have some incredible memories and he has taught me so much.  Anything from details of a fumble to who Osama binLaden was.  My mom is my best friend. There is not another human being like her. Michael is one of my heroes. When I was a little girl and about to go into nursery, Michael was super worried about me and whether I'd be okay and he told my mom, don't worry I'll watch out for her.  He has never stopped. I don't know what I'd do without his advice.  Oh, and my little baby RyRy.  I love this boy so much, it's crazy.  I know God meant for him to by little man. I hope to marry someone who has a lot of the qualities of this adorable boy of mine.  I am so grateful he loves me so much and we have the relationship we do.
I love my aunts and uncles and cousins! I can't believe how close I am to some of them, and I feel so grateful. My grandparents love me so much and I have really appreciated this love and their examples.
I was also given some new family members this year, and I think we will have some good times together.
1. My faith in the Jesus Christ.  I have had some particularly difficult moments in life, and some specifically this year.  Several of them have been experiences very few people know about, and some of them have been experiences I have shared with many.  As grateful as I am for my family and friends, I know the only way I truly got through the particularly difficult moments was my Savior Jesus Christ. No one truly understands us the way He does.  This is why He is our personal Savior, because He is the only one who knows how to succor us, or deliver us. Every aspect and truth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints helps me know God and my Savior better and for this I am eternally grateful.