day thirty

i'm thankful for...

airplanes and the delta app

i'm not so good when it comes

to road trips

i get bored!

i love flying

i get giddy!

dad and i flew to

philly today

and because of

the fly delta app

i could see what seats were open

and i got a whole row to myself

which meant i could lay down and sleep

day twenty-nine

i'm thankful for...

family

because even when i'm 

most ornery

they still love me

and sometimes my brothers

and i may not

like each other

but we still love each other

day twenty-eight

i'm thankful for...

modern medicine

for the drugs

cause seriously,

when i'm hurt

i'm all about the drugs

but mostly for the 

amazing surgeries

like the one being performed

on my mom today

dr. leiland mcclusky

is operating on my mom's

fibula and tibula

we're so excited to

get mom on this

recovery path!

day twenty-seven

i'm thankful for...

our friends

mom is kinda of a private person

and so when mom broke her bone

we didn't make a big deal of it

but little by little

and word of mouth

our friends have lifted us up

and have been so amazing!

and are giving my dad

and i such peace

since we'll be gone friday

through sunday

and leaving my mom

alone with my brothers

is kind of scary

but we know she'll be in good

hands with all our friends near

got the next two days

day twenty-six

i'm thankful for...

Heavenly Father's timing

sometimes i don't understand it
and i like to be in control
so you can understand
my often frustration with my Heavenly Father

now this doesn't mean i don't love Him
it just means i'm frustrated

but sometimes i get a glimpse
of my Heavenly Father's timing

it's been hard for me
to understand why it was right
for me to move back home when i did
and why i haven't gone on a mission yet

but i realized why i'm still here
mom broke her fibula and displaced her tibula
late wednesday night

and with us getting ready
for BIG changes
[more on that december 1]
having mom down for the count
is no good at all

seriously,
without me to help
everything would be falling apart right now

and i'm so thankful
for Heavenly Father's timing
that i could be here to help

day twenty-five

i'm thankful for...

my talents

i know i sound so humble

[sarcasm]

but being sick for the past two months

has made many things i usually do

not options

i like to sing

in my room, in the shower,

in the car, at church,

pretty much anywhere

and i've been coughing

and hacking for months

so that doesn't really lend itself

to helping anyone sing

today i had to lead music

in primary

and i sounded like a dying frog

and i was so thankful i had a gift

and sad that i couldn't use it

and even more sad

when i realized i'd only used it

to benefit myself

but i'm going to use it to 

benefit others

so i guess i'm gonna

my ward choir

day twenty-four

i'm thankful for...

cultural customs

earlier today i was driving with zac

and we saw a funeral procession

like from the funeral home to the cemetery

and i love that people in georgia

and at least people in utah

pull over

i love the sign of respect

and sorrow it shows

i didn't notice it before nathan died

and i hadn't really gave it any thought

but now it makes me cry

because it sucks

i hate that we're members of

the dead family member club

no one should have to join it

but i love that we support others

through one of their toughest moments

day twenty-three

i'm thankful for...

service

this week has brought

additional chaos to our home

we've torn apart

all three of our full baths

like down to the sub flooring

we're pretty excited

but we knew it was going to be lots

of work and cost lots of money

but we have great friends

who have willingly offered their

knowledge and man power

right now

my dad, will, zac,

rhett tucker, and curtis allen

are upstairs

working on two of our bathrooms

we are so grateful

for our friends

and for Heavenly Father's hand

in bring us into each other's lives

in other news:

i went black friday shopping 

for the first time ever

it was so much fun!

i got such an adrenaline high

and i only bought a couple small things

i mostly went to see my friend, riley, 

and her mom, stephanie, do it

i almost body checked 

someone over a kids kitchen

steph was getting it for

her youngest girls

and i was not gonna let her down

and riley saw a fight breakout

over a regular priced vacuum

i kinda wish i would have seen it

day twenty-two

i'm thankful for...

thanksgiving

i love watching

the thanksgiving day parade

while trying to make homemade butter

and baking with my mom

and at the end of the day

i love sitting down

to a great family dinner

this year we celebrated

with other families

which was a fun change

day twenty-one

i'm thankful for...

the priesthood

and priesthood blessings

in my church

worthy men are able

to hold the priesthood

the bible dictionary defines it as

"mediator between His people and God"

priesthood holders use this power

to bless the lives of others

one of the ways they can

is by giving blessings of healing

it is a blessing with at least two

priesthood holders

and they ask God,

if it would be his will,

to heal the person they are blessing

i've been sick since about

the fifth of october

i've done multiple rounds of

antibiotics, stronger and stronger

each time

and for awhile, i feel better

and then i'm sick again

and worse this time

i finally realized

that i can't do this by myself

or with the help of my doctor alone

i needed my Heavenly Father's help

so with the help of my home teacher,

who is priesthood holder, 

generally not related to you

but also in your congregation,

to help look after your family,

my father gave a priesthood blessing of healing

i have faith
that this blessing will work
and i will get better

day twenty

i'm thankful for...

.my wonderful mother

who,

when i'm sick,

takes amazing care of me

[at least most of the time]

but no, really, she's amazing

and i don't know where

i'd be without her

day nineteen

i'm thankful for...

Moe's $5 burrito nights

because that hit the spot tonight

it was great to go out

and eat with my mom

and brothers

day eighteen

i'm thankful for...

my amazing, smart, chill

primary class!

they teach me something new

each and every week!

but i love that

if my week was crazy

and i didn't prepare

the best lesson

they roll with it

and they love playing games

and love having fun

it might help that i bribe them

and that i bring

treats almost every week

day seventeen

i'm thankful for...

glimpses into the future

when i babysit the coates

i feel like i can feel myself

being a mom one day

i love the feeling i get

after i've fed them dinner

given them baths

and i'm cleaning the dishes

and they're playing

it feels perfect

now i'm under no illusion

that life will really be like that

but i still love it

day sixteen

i'm thankful for...

photographs

somedays

i find myself forgetting

what my brother looks like

and i hate myself for it

this is why

i am SOO thankful

for photographs

i can see us

all happy together

and it feels

like i get to glimpse

eternity

day fifteen

i'm thankful for..

eternal families

it gives me such piece

to know that i can be with

my family again

that i will see my brother

and my grampa, 

and my great grama and great grampa

my grampa great

and all my other family

i never got to meet

on this earth.

day fourteen

i'm thankful for...

music

i love that i can jam out to it

and it makes me happy

i love that it can describe

any feeling i'm feeling!

i just wish i was better

at recreating it

day thirteen

i'm thankful for...

the blessing from my Heavenly Father

we've been cleaning out

our house, like majorly!

and we've decided that

we are just going to give away

things we don't want

and we prayed

that by doing this

that ways would be opened

to things that we needed

day twelve

i'm thankful for...

my many callings

primary teacher [valiant 11]

ward missionary

cub scout den leader

i may not love them all the time

but i'm thankful for them

because they give me something to do

and something to look forward to

and something to be proud of

day eleven

i'm thankful for...

the men and women

and their families

of the military

their sacrifices

make it possible

for me to have freedom

and i'm especially grateful for this one

my grampa great was set to deploy the day after d-day

he heard about the invasion over the radio

at a fairwell party