I am behind in this blogging every day of November thing. So let’s catch-up (once again) and get November taken care of eh?

November 22. Thanksgiving day. Today I am grateful for my knowledge of and opportunity to have an eternal family. My extended family is just awesome and I love spending time with them, especially during the holidays. They are wonderful people who make me laugh, sympathize when necessary, and never fail to ask what’s going on in my life. I wouldn’t be who I am without them and I am grateful for them all, from Grandpa down to little Lindsay.

November 23. It’s the day after Thanksgiving, also known as BLACK FRIDAY. So today I am grateful for all the wonderful service workers who provide many services for me, and you, each day. From doctors, to firemen, to retail clerks, to lawyers, to police officers, to the computer guy, to the dentist, to cooks, to teachers, and all the other professions that allow me to live the way I live, thank you for all you do.

November 24. Today I am so grateful the talks I can have with my parents. I’m not perfect (mom can attest to that eh?) but I am so grateful my parents overlook that about me and always find the time to sit up and chat with me about anything even though I was rude ten minutes earlier. They’re the best, and I love knowing they’ll listen to me and also give the best advice about everything. So thanks Mom and Dad. Love you!

So many things are happening that make me unable to blog! So here’s the 20 and 21, and tonight I will post the 22:)

November 20
I am grateful that I have such a wonderful place to call home. True, Kaysville is funny and small and everything, but the memories I have here are amazing. I love my house here, my neighbors and especially my family. I love that I can walk around the corner to my Grandma’s house. I love the high school and the theatre and the ballet studio and everything. I don’t miss Kaysville as much as I miss the people, the memories, the little things. So here’s to being back in Kaysville and having such an amazing place, and such amazing people, to call my home.

November 21
Today I am grateful for mission calls. Randy got his call today and I am a basket case of emotions. The whole day was long and dragged out and I’m sure it was fifty times worse for him. And then we were sitting there and he was reading it and I still think it all may be a dream. And I heard the emotion in his voice, and saw his face when he read it, and I knew he was going to Japan. He wanted to more than anything in the whole world. And he’s going there, to Fukuoka to be exact. And when he said that I knew it was perfect. I’m not sure what kind of sound escaped from my mouth but I am so happy for him. Then he picked me up and spun me around and it was so perfect. I am so proud of that boy I can’t even explain it. So today I am so grateful that the Lord knows us so well to know exactly when Randy needed to go, to know exactly where he needed to go, and to allow me to be a part of his life for so long. Here’s to my best friend and the many lives he’s going to change with the help of the Lord.

Happy Thanksgiving all….another post to come after the festivities of the day!

Today I am grateful for books. I love reading more than just about anything. I love words and I love writing (see I’m writing a blog…weird right?) I can’t get enough of A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, or Pride and Prejudice, or A Tale of Two Cities, or Harry Potter, or any fiction novel full of cheesy lines and predictable plots. There’s something to me about losing yourself in someone else’s life, someone else’s story. I can’t tell you how many times I find myself writing a sentence about things that are going on in my life, snippets of a possible story that I’ll probably never get around to writing. So as I am grateful for books and words and writers, I would like to share a few of these sentences or snippets. Here goes nothing.

She couldn’t help being beautiful. There’s just something about long eyelashes and deep blue eyes, framed under raven black hair that call up memories of princesses and dragons.

She didn’t know if today was upside down or if she was. She just knew that for some reason, she couldn’t move her mouth properly.

There’s something exciting about a Monday, something unexpected and yet so mundane and ordinary you can’t help but laugh about it.

The crisp air felt like September. It tasted like September. It smelt and felt and sounded like September. It was like sharp pencils and squeaky desks, new clothes and no scuff marks on the gym floor. That’s what the wind was today.

Normally snow was her least favorite thing, but on a night like tonight it was too perfect. It fell softly like too much whipped cream, and was the most mesmerizing color under the street lights.

He sang songs, took out the trash, rubbed her feet, brought ice cream instead of flowers, shared his soda and popcorn, and always let her choose the movie. He was perfect.

She loved the way her high heels sounded on the pavement. A woman never stops traffic in ballet flats or tennis shoes; it’s in heels.

Well enough for tonight:)

Be prepared for a HUGE post. I haven’t posted in far too long and I have three days to cover!

November 16. Today I am grateful for the things that make my house, my house. I love the beautiful piano and the computer room and my bedroom and our kitchen and flopping on the living room couch and my chair in the basement and my closet and fold out mirrors. There’s something amazing and wonderful about going home.

November 17. Today I am grateful that I had the chance to do Musical Productions. I am so blessed to have spent two years working with some amazing people and learning so much. I wouldn’t trade my time in Productions for anything in the world. Curtains and Fiddler and the Revue’s that came after were so perfect and I can’t even explain it. There’s something magical about showing up to the empty auditorium at 6:00 AM and dancing your heart out while trying to sing at the same time. There’s something wonderful about sitting in Bonnie’s basement and going over lines and songs and crying with everyone. There’s something fun about staging the show and watching it fall together right before your eyes. There’s something incredible about opening night and the anticipation before every single show. There’s something amazing about singing and acting with your best friends and knowing they’re right behind you. And something perfect about the flood of emotion you feel when you have to walk off for the last time and leave everything. So today I am grateful for every single person involved and every single memory I have of my time on that stage.

November 18. Today I am grateful for sleep. I didn’t get a lot of that today. And then I took a nap. On Rachel’s bed. With Rach and Sar and Al. And then Lau came in and promptly left again because we were all asleep. So today I am grateful for realizing how important sleep is and the fact that in two days I get to go home and do a lot more sleeping.

Today I am grateful for ballet. My sisters opened The Nutcracker tonight and I couldn’t be more proud of them. Dance is a huge part of who I am, and I know I would be totally different without it. There’s something amazing about being on the stage, about dressing up in the pretty costume and wearing makeup, about putting on pointe shoes for the first time, about putting your warm hand on a cold barre, about taking that final bow before the curtain closes. I can’t even explain it. I miss it more than words can say and I am so grateful my mom was inspired to enroll me in ballet when I was three years old. It was literally the best thing she could have done for me. So today, as my wonderful sisters open a show, here’s a shout-out to the art form that literally shaped who I am today. Here’s to every plie and tondue and pirouette and fouette and corset costume and burned toe shoe ribbon and baby powdered gel pad and the thousands of bobby pins and the girls who became my family as we spent 5+ hours together each week. Here’s to dance.

So today I am grateful for church callings. I had the opportunity to go to a training meeting yesterday where Sister Burton, the Relief Society General President, was speaking. She was so amazing and it was incredible to get to learn from her. We are so blessed to have the church leaders that we do, and it was such an eye opener to me of all the things they do for this gospel. Sister Burton and Elder Lund of the 70 spoke about the Lord hastening his work, and how every single thing we do in the church is a manifestation of that hastening. Elder Lund talked about striking the set for a play, something I can relate to 100%. He talked about how the old set is being taken down and a new one is being put up for us, the actors. He told us that it’s up to us to make sure the new “set” is ready and that we’re ready for that new “set.” I can’t even explain the Spirit that Sister Burton brought to the meeting. It was amazing. I learned so many valuable things not only for my Relief Society sisters but also for the rest of my life. One of the final things she told us was that callings are a gift, and when we start viewing them as a gift that Heavenly Father has given us, they will truly become one. So today I am grateful for the calling I have right now and the callings I have had and will have. Every single calling is a gift, and I’m so grateful for the trust Heavenly Father placed in me to have church callings.

Oh my WORD I am a day behind. So here is November 13—

Today I am grateful for simple things that make me happy. We rented a puppy today and he was literally the cutest thing in the whole world. We got to play with him for an hour and AH I can’t even explain how amazing he was. His name was Wesley and he’s a baby goldendoodle. Just getting to run around with him for an hour was one of the highlights of my week. I got to have mac and cheese and watch my favorite British sitcom, I got to go Spark for a peach ring drink with my best friends, and spend some time with the nicest guy in the world. Basically I am realizing throughout this month that there are so many little things that I am grateful for and that make me happy. So today I am just so grateful for those simple pleasures.

Don’t worry, today’s post is still to come!

So I’m a day behind. SO I’ll post for the 12th right now, and the 13th later tonight 🙂

So November 12.
Today I am grateful for a clean house. We had cleaning checks today, and everything is one million times nicer when things are clean. I’m grateful for my parents for teaching me how to clean and always having a clean  house, and my roommates who all worked hard so our house is clean and wonderful. It seems super weird to be blathering on about how nice it is to have things clean…but it literally drives me crazy when it’s not clean. Anyway that is what I am grateful for today 🙂

Today I am so grateful for those who gave their lives so that I could live here where I do today. I couldn’t enjoy the freedoms I do today without those brave men and women who lived and died for my rights. I am so blessed to live where and how I do.

Today being Veteran’s Day makes me think of the opportunity I had to be in Europe this summer. In Europe I went to two American military cemeteries, one in Italy and one in France. I can honestly say being in both those cemeteries, I felt the Spirit stronger than I did in any of the churches or cathedrals on the whole trip.

In the cemetery in Italy the groundskeeper talked about the campaigns in Italy during WWII and how many graves there were and such. The thing that struck me the most was when he talked about all the graves that are marked, not with a name, but with “Here lies a comrade in arms known only to God.” Then the groundskeeper said, “Think about this. Not only did these men get their future taken away from them, they had their past taken away too.” After he said that and we spent time walking around, I sobbed.

So I didn’t do November 9th and I need to do today before it’s tomorrow! If that makes any sense. So here we go!

November 9th
Today I am grateful for the chance I have to go to BYU. I love Provo and this school and just the whole feeling here so much. I love going to games and feeling a part of something huge. I love everyone being so sweet when they see you on campus, guys opening the door for you, being around people I love and everything else. I’m learning so much from BYU and I am so glad I get to be here!

November 10th.
I am so grateful for music. It is one of the most wonderful gifts Heavenly Father gave us. I can’t even express the emotions that music brings to me, all I know is that I am who I am because of music. It is so easy to get lost in a melody or completely relate to the lyrics of a song. AH I just love it 🙂

Also, this weekend I got a visit from Jackson and Dylan. Which was awesome. I haven’t seen all the people from the good old days for a while, and it was nice to catch up. I have missed them and I’m so glad I have awesome friends who take time out of their busy lives to see me 🙂