money, money, money, money

I am so, so very grateful for my parents and my family and that they take care of me. I'm kind of a black hole for money at the moment, what with going to school, living out of state, and not having a job, and my wonderful parents are currently paying for pretty much everything. In my defense, I did give them almost all of the money I made over the summer, but that was just about enough to cover the independent study courses I enrolled in.

I'm so grateful for the sacrifices my family makes for me, especially my parents. No matter how little we had growing up, they always made sure that we had enough, and never let us know how little there really was. They always made me feel that a roof over my head and food on the table would be a constant thing and, despite wearing hand-me-downs and rarely going out to eat, I never felt as if I was at a disadvantage.

I'm grateful that even in our time of greatest need my father still showed compassion to those who had less than us, and gave all he could to anyone he met in real need. He is such a good and kind man, and has the biggest heart.

Missionaries: still grateful :)

Once again, I am so grateful for missionaries. One of my oldest friends left on his mission yesterday, and although it was hard to say goodbye for two whole years, I am so proud of him. He is going to be a fantastic missionary and I can't wait to hear from him (we will be able to write letters while he is serving.) After preparing for several weeks in the Missionary Training Center in Provo, he will go to Stockholm, Sweden and the surrounding area to serve teach the people there about their loving savior, and offer them the opportunity to come into the fold of God. For more information about LDS missionaries, click here.

I am so grateful for this gospel and the peace and assurance that it brings into my life. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church of God on the Earth today, and that through the teachings and ordinances of this church, we can be saved and return to live with our loving Father in Heaven. I am so grateful for the knowledge and testimony that I have of my Savior and his plan for me. I love him so very, very much and I know that he loves all of his children individually more than I can possibly hope to comprehend in this life, but I hope that some day I can greet him face to face and thank him for the amazing sacrifice he made for me.

For more information about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, go to mormon.org, or click the pink button to the right that says "my faith".

It's the little things

I'm grateful for the little things in life that make me smile. Dance partners that show you super-cool moves when you're practicing for a competition, sun on a cold day, a boy that walks around campus with a HUGE boom box on his shoulder playing happy songs at obnoxious volumes, people dropping candy tied to mini parachutes off of tall buildings, you know, the little things.

One little thing I've loved seeing the last few days is the motivational quotes written on the landings of the 4 story-ish flight of stairs I have to walk up in order to get to campus every morning. Let me tell you, when you have a backpack full of books and a laptop it is not very much fun. Some sweet soul, however, wrote really nice things in chalk on the ground, making the climb much more pleasant. I unfortunately didn't have my camera with me, but they had phrases like "great job!" " lookin' fine." "Almost there!" and it made me smile, which is not something I usually do when I'm climbing those stairs.

Men's Chorus

I just realized that even though I love them so much, I have yet to write about the wonderful Men's Chorus here at BYU. Why do I love them so much? Not only do they make beautiful music, often incorporate dance, drums, organ, cello, and other of my favorite things into their performances, but they have the spirit. And really ladies, what could be better than 200 righteous, singing men with beautiful voices and testimonies to match?

(me with the oh, so fabulous president of Men's Chorus,

wearing our respective choir t-shirts)

Women's Chorus

Once again, or I suppose as always, I am ever so grateful for Women's Chorus. I love the music that we make, the sisterhood we share, and the strength we can offer each other. I very, very rarely leave feeling down or upset with myself, although I'm generally kind of sad to leave. All of these are wonderful, but my very favorite thing about Women's Chorus is the spirit and the testimony that each girl brings that allows us to have the Holy Ghost with us as we sing, and to share our testimonies with others.

This past week we were blessed with the incredible opportunity to sing with all of the BYU audition choirs at devotional when Thomas S Monson, the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Prophet of the Lord came to speak. It was such an amazing experience. The spirit was so strong, and I received a stronger testimony that Thomas S Monson is in fact a prophet of God who receives revelation on our behalf and who loves us. I love him, although I have never had the opportunity to meet him in person. I am so blessed to be a part of this wonderful community at BYU, and to interact with the people in the choirs, and to sit at the feet of prophets and apostles and be taught the words of God. I am so grateful that I was able to get in to this university and Women's Chorus and to have all of these wonderful experiences.