Be Thankful

I have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving holiday. Thanksgiving hasn't ever been the biggest holiday for me. For much of my time growing up I thought of "Thanksgiving" as the Thanksgiving paper. For those of you who don't know, that paper is usually the largest of the year. It is full of advertisements from every store, even the ones that don't exist. I remember dreading that day on the paper route. I remember my hands could barely corral the paper to fold it. It was ridiculous. How the times have changed. This Thanksgiving week was still associated with school and work however, but that's fine. I am grateful I have two jobs, a body that allows me to work, and a mind that allows me to learn. We were supposed to have this giant snow storm. It was so big they shut down campus, closed stores, and sent me home from work early. Tuesday evening (when the storm was supposed to hit) I spent time at the gym with my buddies watching the sun set. So much for the storm. We did manage to get about a skiff of snow and some really cold temperatures, but that's all folks. Also, I watched my team, Duke annihilate Kansas State, which was very enjoyable. Hopefully we'll win another National Championship this year.

I spent Thanksgiving sleeping in until 7:00 a.m. which isn't sleeping in to most, but for me it is. I had a nice Thanksgiving feast with relatives and Dub4e (my roomate) in the afternoon after completing my morning work and studies. After all the traditional festivities, this Thanksgiving turned into a bit of a Pranksgiving for us. Purivs, Dub4e, and I enjoyed many pranks to celebrate. We can't disclose all of them haha but they did include a new pick up line app for Android and a fake caller app as we played a lil dukes of hazard. It was a grand time nonetheless. We also had an intense Phase 10 game that never got finished because it was taking so long, but as always we topped it off with the hot tub and feeding the duckies. :-)

I finished my magazine article for my Mcomm class entitled "Common ¢ents." I will post it on here shortly. Purvis helped me out with the cover that legitimately looks like a "Forbes" cover. I made the rest of it in Publisher. This semester is winding down and I only have about 7 actual school days left before finals. It's crazy how time flies. I say good-bye to my Elders (kids) tomorrow. This group has been great. Elders Kariya, Loughran (lock daddy or azis), Larsen, Huish, and Gardner. It will be sad but I'm happy for them to finally get to go to Bulgaria, although, Huish and Gardner haven't got their visas yet so they may be staying a little longer.

I thought it would be most appropriate to finish off with a diddy about my gratitude.

I'm Thankful for the Little Things

I’m thankful for the little things

The not so necessarily big things

I’m thankful for the many things

that have blessed my life

I’m thankful for the trials

that have strengthened my heart

I’m thankful for the whispers of love

from my mom n dad that warm my heart

I'm thankful for my testimony

that never fails me in my understanding of this world

I'm thankful for the temple

that it's only a 3 min drive

I'm thankful for accounting

that it always challenges my mind

I'm thankful for my siblings

that are always there for me

I'm thankful for loving parents

that they are still together and love each other

I'm thankful for my able body

that all my limbs and mind are intact

I'm thankful for my mission

that I can reflect on everyday

I'm thankful for good books

that change my life and my perspective

I'm thankful for my work

that provides me a place to develop my skills and allows me to serve

I'm thankful for great friends

that love me and are there to laugh with me

I'm thankful for my heated seats

that keep my bum and back warm n happy at 6am

I'm thankful for my hands

that allow me play basketball, play the piano, and greet people

I'm thankful for my blue tooth

that allows me talk to my parents while I drive

I'm thankful for competition

that drives me to become better

I'm thankful for the little things

The not so necessarily big things

I'm thankful for the little things. . . and much much more!!