Day of Thanks

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

It's finally here!

I feel like it was just yesterday that I was stuffing my face with...

Candied Yams

If there is one thing that I cannot wait for when it comes to Thanksgiving, it's the Yams.

I will eat them for weeks and weeks after!

I will eat them for every meal...and a lot of them too!

Besides the yams, there are a few other things I love about Thanksgiving as well:

....Thanksgiving is a day when we get to be with our families. I didn't realize how big of a luxury this was until I moved out this year. Now, i've moved out before but it was never like this. And yes I know..I'm still in Orem. So I don't know why this year is so different for me. Maybe it's because I've made it a bigger point to not run home all the time but to be independent. It's so nice to be able to come over to my parents and hang out with my whole family. We are all really close to each other and that makes for a good time!

....Starting around the time of Thanksgiving, we make what we like to call....SLUSH. It's frozen juice and fruit that we cut up into squares to put in a cup and pour Sprite over the top of it. We then crush it up to make it "slushy"! It's heavenly and it always disappears around New Years. It's funny that this drink is a Holiday drink and instead of making it in the summer when this cold drink would fit perfectly we always make it in the winter. It just wouldn't be thanksgiving, christmas, or new years without Slush.

....Usually every year we switch off which side of the family we visit. This year we are going to the Stallings side up in Salt Lake. It doesn't matter what side we go to, or if we stay home for our own thanksgiving, we always have a chance to sit down and write what we are thankful for. I'm going to take a chance right now and write a few things down for myself.

1. My family-

They are always there for me when I am down. They know the right things to do and say when I need to smile or laugh. They love me for who I am!

2. My Best Friend Lawren-

When Lawren moved into my ward, we became friends. Our last few years in Young Women, we were inseparable...only at church. Anything that we did as Young Women, you could count on Lawren and I being right there next to each other. A year after we graduated from Young Women she went away to college up in Rexburg, ID. After the semester was over in Decemeber, she came home. Unfortunately, while she was gone, her family moved to a different ward. So we rarely saw each other. Every night I would sit alone at my house, either going to bed at 8:30pm or hanging out with my family. I had no girls to hang out with. My parents always kept telling me I should call Lawren! Finally, one night I did. I invited her at 11:00pm to go to a boys house. We became best friends after that and were inseparable ever since.

3. My roomates-

Heather, Michelle, and Morgan. These girls are amazing. When I first moved in I was scared. I didn't know anyone and I didn't know what to expect. Little did I know, they were feeling the same way about me moving in. Heather and Morgan had been living there a whole year together, and Michelle moved in at the beginning of summer but had lived in a different apartment before that. So needless to say, they all knew Ventana a lot better than I did. They accepted me into their apartment with open arms..(once they realized I was better than their old roomate). Each one of these girls is unique in their own way. We all get along really well and I feel so blessed to be put in the apartment I was placed in.







4. The gospel-

Painting by Marcia Cox Johnson of the beautiful St. George Temple surrounded by the red cliffs

My life has always had it's ups and downs. Whose hasn't?! I've always known that the gospel can make you feel happy when you are feeling at your low. But it was always hard for me to put the gospel first in my life. I have always been a somewhat good kid. I always went to church because I wanted to not for my parents. I always had a calling in the young women that I took very seriously. I love the church. My dad sat the family down one day to have a start a new thing every morning. He promised us that if we did this thing that we would truely feel a difference in our lives. We would be happier with our friends, family and everyone around us. This thing was the "Morgan Five"

Morgan Five:

1. Read your scriptures

2. Pray

3. Make your bed/Get your house in order

4. Eat breakfast

5. Brush your teeth

If we do these five things every morning we are..1.and 2. Pleasing our Heavenly Father and Jesus. 3. Pleasing your parents/roomates/spouse. 4. Pleasing yourself. 5. Pleasing others around you.

I encourage all of you reading this to also do the Morgan Five! It can be the "(insert your name) five"!

5. A job-

In times like these, I understand how hard it is for people to find jobs and/or keep them. I am blessed to have a good job. My senior year, I got my dental assisting certificate. I've loved working right along side both my mom and dad. They have both taught me so much and continue to teach me something every day. It's tough working with family everyday. I am truely grateful for my parents to be able to work every day together and still love each other at home. I moved out because it was hard for me to want to go to work every day when I was living with my boss. So I am very envious of them for being able to do that every day.

6. A car-

The other day I had to go to a hearing interview to determine whether or not they would suspend my license. It wasn't until then that I realized how much I was dependent upon my car/license. I use my car to drive 15 minutes everyday to work. Especially in these winter days, I am thankful to have a warm car. I also realize when I don't have my car how much I love it when I do.



old picture



7. Light-

You don't realize how light up the world is around you until the power goes out. My apartment is surrounded by hotels and businesses. I never realized how bright it was down there until the power went out one day. I have never felt more alone than I did when that happened. My phone had died, and my roomates were not home. I sat in my car charging my phone in there until the power came back on. It was a very eery feeling being there when the power went out.

8. Food-

Food is amazing. Being a starving student living on my own with hardly any money. I realized how yummy food really is.

9. My friends-

My other friends besides, Lawren and my roomates. I am thankful for each one of them. Whether we are friends still or not. They all had a hand in getting me to where I am today. I am truely thankful for them. I believe very much in fate and that everything happens for a reason. They were all put in front of me for a reason and I can owe some of it to them for making me the person I am today.

10. Missionaries-

Those of you who know me, know that I have sent out a LOT of missionaries. A few boyfriends, but most of them just friends. I know how good it is to serve a mission after seeing all three of my brothers and one sister-in-law serve. It is amazing to see the growth of these boys. I may not be the best writer, but I want all my missionaries to know how much they mean to me! I am so thankful for each one of them for the amazing example they are to those around them.

Just 3 of my many missionaries! 

Now there are a lot more things I am thankful for but for now, this list shall do!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving today.

Take a minute for yourself to remember all the many things you are thankful for and why.