- The gift of motherhood; Madeline has taught me so much in her 8 months here...especially patience but I think that will be a whole lifetime to learn and perfect that skill. She is beautiful, and her accomplishments are my accomplishments. I think Heavenly Father feels the same exact way...we add to His glory by perfecting ourselves and having children who will do the same. :)
- Marcus, the love of my life and my eternities. He has shown me what it truly means to be a wife and companion; true love gives when least expected and when most expected without expecting anything in return. My husband is the person I want to walk with hand-in-hand forever. He gives me strength and comfort, love and support, hugs and kisses, and confidence. I love him.
- The priesthood. Every time I feel alone or like a failure or ill, my husband offers me a blessing through the power and authority of the priesthood. I can't tell you how many blessings of comfort I have received from Heavenly Father through the laying on of hands and my husband. He lets me know that I am not lost, and that I am full of potential; I am His daughter, and He knows my possibilities.
- Heavenly Father. He has given me the World. Literally. He loves me, and he answers my prayers through the help of others. I like to call them my angels. He saves my life (like the one time I ran a red light and thankfully no one was going through the light in the other direction). Miracles happen every day and it is because of the omnipotence and omniscience of my God.
- Jesus Christ. My Savior and Redeemer. This is how I feel about my Brother:
"Where Can I Turn For Peace" by Emma Lou Thayne and Joleen G. Meredith
Where Can I turn for peace,
Where is my solace ,
When other sources cease to make me whole.
When with a wounded heart, anger, or malice,
I draw myself apart,
Searching my soul
Where, when my aching grows,
Where when I languish,
Where, in my need to know, where can I run?
Where is the quiet hand to calm my anguish?
Who, who can understand
He, only One.
He answers privately,
Reaches my reaching,
In my Gethsemane, Savior and Friend
Gentle the peace he finds for my beseeching.
Constant he is and kind
Love without end
- Music. There are several types of music and I love most of them. If it has a great message, I LOVE it. Here is the thing about music..it needs to be the right kind for my mood. There is "fun" music, and there is "beautiful" music, and there is "spiritual" music. I love songs about the grace of God, and I love upbeat music that makes me dance and get loose. What a stress relief! I do not like dark music or depressing music...Nickelback drives me insane. They have a couple of good songs, but they sound so mopey.. also Maroon 5...some good songs but VERY whiney. I can't take it. While Pitbul has some great beats, the lyrics to his songs are generally way too sensual for me to enjoy. The act of love needs to be kept between you and your spouse. No one needs to be sleeping around with someone they hardly know.
- Delicious Food! Oh. My. Goodness. Good food means good times. Sometimes I will eat something so delicious that I start to cry! My dream is to get Guy Fierri's "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" book and tour with it. I want to go to all those delectable restaurants and eat and eat. Mmm. *drool*
- '[,kinppppppp0m-;['\p-ju8o8900k99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999998888888888888888888888888kolbp0-k8ipppppppppppppppppp000000000000000000000000000000o (This was Madeline's little addition...she got to my computer. I am grateful for her curiosity.)
- Family. My family loves me no matter what. They call me just to talk without a "to-do" list. I get calls from people in church or school and sometimes those calls are so not genuine. I want to feel loved and needed and cared for...that's what family is for. I love my mom and her advice and hard work. I love my dad and his ambition to be a better person and a better dad. I love my sisters and their sisterlyness... who else could I call and just spill my feelings out to while ranting and crying? They help me to understand life from a different point of view, and make me grateful for my life even when it seems so difficult and terrible. I love my brothers. Both of them. I miss David terribly. Every day. He was happy and had magical hands and a warm heart. What an example of generosity he has been for me. Tyler brings me giggles and frustration, but he sees the world in such a different way and light. He loves me no matter what and he is always trying to make jokes. I am grateful for my husband's family too. They are now my family. I get to see how he was raised and take pointers for how my babies will be raised and say "no" to ways that would never work for me. I am grateful that Marcus has such a huge family compared to mine and that I get to experience what it is like to have little sisters and older brothers.
- Nap time. My nap time and Maddy's nap time. Sometimes I just need a break.
- The way my legs feel after I shave them.
- Hair Irons. If I feel like looking amazing I can do so easily with my flat and curling irons.
- Mascara. My eyes tend to blend into my face, so mascara gives them that pop that they need.
- Great eye brows. I do not have great eye brows, but thanks to makeup and wax/tweezers they can look pretty good.
- Nail Clippers. I can not tell you how many times Marcus and I have lost our clippers, but every time we have some they are used.
- Diapers. I hate dirty diapers, but I am glad that the reason they are dirty is the reason why we need them. I would not want to have the yucky all over the floor/furniture.
- WIC. If we did not have WIC we would be spending hundreds of dollars on baby food a month.
- Cell phones and email. I am glad that I can rely on a cell phone/email to get in touch with people I love.
- Computers/internet. I use my computer and the internet EVERY day. That is sad, but when you are a college student that's life.
- Photographs and Homevideos. I love reminiscing, and it makes it easier when I can see the development of my life and the life of those I love through their actual journey documented through pictures and videos .
- Journals and Journaling. Getting things off my chest and out of my mind is such a stress relief. So many times I have been bored or I have had to tell someone about what that "jerk" did without feeling like a jerk myself afterwords. Thanks to my journals, it has been easy to share my life with many other people (in the future.) Plus, I love remembering things that happened in the past.
- Dancing! Dancing is a stress relief to me. It is fun, and a workout. You mean to say you can have fun and work out at the same time?! YES!
- My Teachers. I have had several good teachers in my life, and let me tell you...a good teacher makes all the difference. When a teacher takes the times to love and care for me, I can tell that they want what is in my best interest.
- College; BYUI. My school has been a huge blessing. I have learned so much and have been able to feel the spirit helping teach me while here.
- Toothpaste. Helps with bad breath. Can you imagine what life would be like if everyone had bad breath?
- Deodorant. What if everyone smelt like garlic and onions? What if that smell emanated from underarms?!
- BROWNIES. I am not a big sweets person, but I am a sucker for brownies.
- Appliances like dishwashers and washer and dryers! Fridges and Stoves too!
- Garage/yard sales and second hand stores like DI.
- Kindess
- Talent. So many people are gifted and talented and it is just wonderful when people share those talents with me!
- Cheese which goes good on everything in varying types.
