Thankful Thursday: Sleep, Support, and Changes

It's thankful Thursday time! We all have so much to be thankful for and we love to take this opportunity just to write down each and everything that comes to mind. Please take this time to share with us what you're thankful for as well. If you have a blog expressing your thankfulness, please share the link! 

I'm thankful for sleep. After Fol, I haven't quite been able to catch up on sleep with work and getting ready for school, which has made me appreciate sleep even more. After unloading and doing Tobi once I came home from FOL, I crashed into what could have ended up in a coma. That's what eating a lot of food and only sleeping for 4 hours a night several nights in a row after preparing, teaching, and playing each day can do to you. Time for Tobi (and, coming up...school work) can also zap sleep, which makes me thankful for it even more.

I am thankful for the support that strangers and new friends show, especially for CF. I already posted the video of one of my new friends I met at Fol camp trying on the vest, but everyone in the large cabin was so positive about CF. We all laughed and joked about the vest, since it is always entertaining to people who have never seen it before. We had a blast! Me fellow peer mentor was patient as I would come a few minutes late to teach our group after completing treatment, not to mention my voice would be hoarse at times from Tobi. The leaders were also extremely supportive, making sure everything was taken care of and were more than willing to make accommodations so I could get my treatments done and responsibilities taken care of. There are such great people out there who show the importance of supporting each other in different circumstances.

I am thankful for change in my life. I have thought about how much things have changed over these past few years, regarding family situations and struggles, going to college for the first time, roommate struggles, moving, a new job, new decisions for my health life, and more. There have been so many changes and I would not be who I am without each occurrence. Sometimes I feel so blinded in my own perspective as I'm never sure of what may happen, but by setting goals, I know how I want my future to play out along with some things I want to do in this life. I have been blessed to have our Heavenly Father step in and guide where my life is supposed to go, and so far, in the long run, things are going so well!

That's all for now folks!! What are you thankful for today?

Thankful Thursday: the Temple, Air Quality, and Being Close to Home

It's thankful Thursday time! We all have so much to be thankful for and we love to take this opportunity just to write down each and everything that comes to mind. Please take this time to share with us what you're thankful for as well. If you have a blog expressing your thankfulness, please share the link! 

I am thankful for the temple being so close by. Some mornings I decide to run up to the temple, and let me tell you, it is hard. It is all uphill for about 2 1/2 miles, and the incline keeps increasing. The hill next to the temple is brutal, as it takes extra effort and determination to get to the top of it. My muscles start burning even more, my head starts to spin, and my excessive, very heavy breathing sometimes throws passerby's off-guard. After reaching my goal, I can see a wide stretch of the Utah County valley, and it is such a sight to see. Even more than that, I can see the brass Angel Moroni statue on top of the steeple below. I love the incredible, peaceful feeling that stays close to the temple grounds. After moments of stress or worry, it brings comfort and assurance that everything will work out well. It's always quiet and unlike any other feeling. I then pull out my headphones in respect, and slowly jog down the hill right next to the temple grounds, thanking our Heavenly Father for the ability to run, good health, and much more.

Not only is there a temple about 2 1/2 miles away, but there is another one that is being built closer to my apartment.A cool experience was back when I carried the desire to run to the temple, and I did not feel like I would ever reach the temple more north.. I was running south of campus one morning amid the strangeness of Provo that I usually can't stand, the busy traffic, narrow streets, and construction.However, as soon as I looked up at the stoplight I was at, there was the new temple being built.

Not only are there temple runs, but most importantly, being able to go not far to the temple to do the Lord's work is special. I swear that the past few times I have gone, it has been busier and busier, filled with more people, no matter which temple it is (whether or not it's in Provo). After talking about this to my mom, we decided that the Lord's work is picking up, and it's exciting.

As simple as it may seem, I am thankful for when the skies are clear. Lately, there has been so much inversion. (On a side note, here is a funny story--when my mom came to pick me up from Provo a couple of nights ago to go back home for my CF appointment, I pointed out how it smelled like fires and how the sky was an orange, brownish color. She then casually said, "Well, I think there is a bbq over by the church." She was being serious. Ha ha very funny...) Anyways, the inversion this summer has kept me inside more often, which can be lonely and boring. I can't wait for this pollution to clear out!

Last but not least, I am thankful that I live close-ish to home. I have had the opportunity to go to Brandon's and tonight, my dad and step-mom's birthday parties. I also had a CF clinic appointment, which really doesn't take long to get to comparing to if I lived in another area or state.I have been back and forth from Provo to Salt Lake a lot this week, but am glad that I live close enough to home where I can do so.

Thankful Thursday

I have been following up with Ronnie and Mandi Sharpe's blog Run Sickboy Run  (runsickboyrun.blogspot.com), and something they do every Thursday is Thankful Thursday. I decided to start it on here right here and right now. Here are a few things that came to mind today:

I am thankful for my job and being able to work with such great people. Yesterday, my supervisor told Alisha and I "Hey, I need help with a research project at the Cougar Eat." So we followed him to the cafeteria circle, where we thought we were going to meet up with the manager or someone of the Cougar Eat. Instead, Jim said, "Ok, which place's food would you like to try?" He ended up buying us large wraps and drinks and we just had lunch and talked. Today (Alisha was gone since it was her birthday) I had a sort of similar experience, where he said, "Hey, have you been partying? Would you like to right now?" I wasn't sure what exactly he meant, but he lead me around the corner to the other side of the office filled with people. In one room they had delicious food such as bbq rolls, lobster rolls, fruit, and a cheesecake bar. Yes, I am also thankful for food, but I feel so blessed for such a great job! (P.S., I also found out that a girl who works right next to me is good friends with a few of my high school friends. Connections are always a bonus.)

 I am thankful that things do work out. Lately I have been stressed with finances. Seeing the amount of money in your bank account, including all you had in savings, to pay for food and rent, drop dramatically in a short time can be stressful. However, I signed up for taking surveys on having CF to earn some extra money, so I earned $50 today by being eligible, I sold a textbook through Amazon a couple of days ago, and will receive my pay check tomorrow for work. Yes, I am still living on a tight budget, but things do work out as they always have.


I am thankful to be able to be a peer mentor for incoming freshman at a camp in a week, and to be attending Byu. In some ways I am nervous and trying to figure things out for this camp, especially with treatment time (will most likely have to wake up at 5 AM and possibly (hopefully not) go to bed at midnight each day because of Tobi), but I was excited to read the packet on what we will be doing. I am looking over the lessons that the other peer mentor and I will teach our group, and by only reading one or two of them so far, I have already felt inspired. Only through Byu can you teach leadership skills using our Savior's life as the ultimate example.


There is a lot to be thankful for, so, what are you thankful for?