this young man

put your hands together for the cutest boy ever. 

i know this isn't his ideal form of attention. but you have to know a few things about Bronson. 

(oh gosh, I still can't get over how cute he was...and still is! #cheesybutdon'tcare)

-- He got a solid A on his Poli Sci test. 

-- He got a tuition scholarship!

-- He's so nice - he's walking to the gym after work so I won't have to work out alone

-- He came to the library to study with me 

-- Every run, I plea mid way through to shorten the run, and he's good about making me keep going

-- He'll make dinner when I am behind on school and work, he manages to do 100% home teaching, when he scratches my back he'll read ESPN updates, he shares his mom's homemade jam with me, share all his food with me, comes by my apt every morning to walk to school, he'll be just as happy or more when i do well on a test, he's very mindful to help me stick to a budget, he's answered every computer question I have, he cares a lot about his sister Jessica, he beats me a lot at scrabble, he makes every potential sad moment into a laughing one, he gives complements when I don't expect them, he lives to have fun. 

- Oh but he does so much more than this. One of the reasons I love Bronson most is for the person he's helped me to grow and be. I feel much more "more". Much more confident in myself, much more happy about life, much more diligent about my school and work, much more daring to be athletic, much more punctual, much more spiritually sensitive, much more everything. 

He's helped me to be more of everything I can be. 

Isn't that so wonderful that people in our lives can motivate us to do so much more good?

never too late for gratitude

i slid off my platform bed to do this one necessary act.

i needed to take a hiatus from my bittnerness and start a new attitude. one of gratitude.

i think i've unconciously been ungrateful--or just not recognizing all i have to be grateful for-- lately, just because everything in my life is going well. so here's me repenting and striving to be grateful.

so... in hopes of being a happier person:

:: be grateful for laundry because it means you have more than enough clothes to wear. 
:: be grateful for cleaning because it means you have a place to live and it is lived in
:: be grateful for being tired at the end of the day, because it means you used your time wisely
:: be grateful for a painful stomach because it means you have a working body
:: be grateful for the clothes that fit too snug because it means you have enough food to eat.
:: be grateful for the sun, because it reminds you to LOOK UP. 
:: be grateful for cell-phones so we can hear the sound of a mothers voice on the other end. 
:: be grateful for a heavy backpack because it means you are having the opportunity to gain knowledge

:: be grateful for the scriptures and always be grateful for them

to be continued....

cultivating a grateful heart

was it just me, or did the month of November pass by way too quickly. i felt like i missed the opportunity to really reflect on what I was truly grateful for. so...I am proposing a plan, that is to "cultivate a grateful heart."

"We owe an eternal debt of gratitude to all of those, past and present, who have given so much of themselves that we might have so much for ourselves. Take things with gratitude rather than for granted." 
--President Monson, "Doubt Not--Dear Not," BYU Commencement '03 

In the Book of Matthew in the Bible, there is an account of gratitude, as an expression of the Savior. As He traveled in the wilderness for 3 days, more than 4,000 people followed Him. Christ took compassion on them, as they probably hadn't eaten for those three days. (read Matthew15:32-38). Christ showed that gratitude always proceeds the miracle. And in my life, as I "try alittle harder, to be alittle better," I realized, that I want to make gratitude the pattern of my life. 


Some things to be grateful for....


:: be grateful to awake by the cry of a baby, because s/he's healthy, and depends on you to live.
:: be grateful for the clothes that fit too snug because it means you have enough food to eat.
:: be grateful for the monthly rent bill because it means you have a shelter from the storms.
:: be grateful for the mess after a party, because it means you were surrounded by friends
:: be grateful for the days that we physically suffer as women because it means we can have children
:: be grateful for laundry because it means you have more than enough clothes to wear. 
:: be grateful for the utility bill because that means you have a warm home, and light to see
:: be grateful for the parking spot furtherest away from the store, because it means you can walk.
:: be grateful for tuition because it means you get to earn an education
:: be grateful for the alarm that goes off in the early morning because that means you are alive.


must-read talks
"The Diving Gift of Gratitude" President Monson
"Think to Thank" President Monson
"An Attitude of Gratitude"


challenge: 
record 1000 things i'm grateful for in 6 months: end each day w/ 5 blessings in a journal
write 1-2 handwritten notes a week: this means cultivate a thankful heart and minister to others, we often to too much for granted, but how often do we take people for granted also.