Thanks

I like to copy my sisters posts, so here goes. I will be listing, in no particular order, things I am thankful for. In honor of my 30 posts, I will list 30 things.
1. Families. And the fact that families can be together forever.
2. Chris. I love him so much and have grown so much being married to him. His strengths seem to be my weaknesses and he has taught me so much. He is so handy and, I'd say, precise. My dad had an even better word, exact. He really is. It amazes me. Everything he does is exact. He is a wonderful father, too.
3. Emily. What a great first kid. She is so smart and fun to be around. It seems that she might be "outgrowing" her shyness. She gave a talk in Primary today and did a great job.
4. CJ. A great addition to our family. He has a great personality and smiles at just about everyone.
5. My Mom and Dad. A wonderful example of parents, especially in the arena of loving each other and the family. Our house was always full of love.
6. My siblings. All eight of them. Without them my life would have been completely different, of that I'm sure. My life continues to be enriched by them. They are a great example to me.
7. Chris's Mom and Dad. They raised a marvelous son. My family loves the time that we spend with them.
8. Chris's sisters. I can't help but think they had an integral part in teaching him. Plus it's fun to have more sisters.
9. Prayer. I love hearing kids pray. It is so earnest, so true. Prayer can work for all of us. I am grateful to have the freedom to pray.
10. Leaders of the church. From the prophet all the way down the chain. So many, many times in my life I have been blessed by knowing someone in a leadership role in the church. Mostly they have been my leader (Young Women's, Relief Society) at the time.
11. Sports. They have shaped so much of my life. I've learned a lot of valuable lessons through them. Procrastination, anyone. I've learned positive lessons too. Friendship, leadership, sportsmanship, teamwork, and many more.
12. Shelter. I've always had a nice place to live and I am very grateful for that.
13. As of today, my calling, I will be getting a new one shortly so it's easy for me to say that today I am grateful for it. I'm sure I will always be grateful for it as I will be learning and growing everyday.
14. My education. My schooling and my education outside of the classroom. My time at SVC/SVU where I feel I learned so much more than what was taught in the classroom.
15. My talents. I am working to gain new ones as well as increase the ones that I have.
16. My friends. It takes a lot to understand me. Probably even more to like me. But to those of you who do...thanks.
17. The gospel. I love my church and I love being a part of it. I love teaching it to my primary class. The lessons for six-year olds are plain and simple. Easy enough for me to understand.
18. Food. You know I love it. And soon enough I will be able to eat it again.
19. Electricity. I often tell Chris, "Wouldn't it be fun to be on one of those shows where it's like going back to 1885? I mean, for like a week or two?" I think I could rough it for that long, but not much longer.
20. Water. I, too, need to drink more of it. I also like to swim in it and play in the rain. I am very grateful for running water and plumbing as well.
21. Technology. I know I sound a little "Napoleon Dynamite"-ish but it is great.
22. The three different places I've lived, BV, Lafayette, and McLean.
23. Our land. I can't wait to get out there and live in our new house.
24. Neighbors. Neighbors of old and neighbors of the future.
25. My one "real" job. Ruby Tuesday. I feel like I learned a whole lot there. I worked there for three years. And it was quite the experience. I definitely would not change it. One afterthought I had was "Why didn't I have a real job sooner," the pay is much more stable than babysitting and the work wasn't all that hard. Especially once I became a manager.
26. Chris's job. It (at least seems to me) is the perfect job. It's a great fit for him and it is so nice to have him close. I've dropped Emily off there twice near the end of the day. She got to help Daddy "work". I mean, I think that is so cool.
27. Achievements. Whether they are mine or someone else's it always fun to celebrate and to watch people achieve things. Especially when it is your child achieving.
28. The temple. I am so glad we got married in the Washington DC temple. Now whenever we drive by it Emily points to it and asks, "Is that where you got married Mommy? When I grow up I am going to get married in the temple." It is so sweet. I know I already said families, but I think it bears repeating, I am thankful for the opportunity to be an eternal family.
29. New Years. It is typically when I set my goals for the year. And I am grateful for the chance to become a better me. I often need competition or goals or something to motivate me and New Years seems to do it, well, once a year.
30. Jesus Christ. What an example He is to all of us. My lesson at church today was on forgiving others. We can learn so much about so many different things by trying to be more like Him.
I am grateful for many other things as well. Thanks for taking the time to read my blogs. And now I can go to bed feeling very blessed.