Thanksgiving Catch Up

So, the holidays are here upon us once again as they tend to be every year that goes by. I can't believe the year is coming to an end. 2008 is almost over and I swear it seems like it has just begun. Where has all the time gone. So, in thinking back through the past year my life has changed a lot. The beginning of this year I was at BYU, planning on attending nursing school there and working at the hospital and also in a serious relationship that I had been in for over a year. Now, just a short 10 months later I'm living in St. George going to nursing school here and single (for those of you who didn't know, yes Jeremy and I broke up). Life has thrown a couple curve balls for me this year. It's amazing how much can change in such a short time. One year seems like so little time, yet so much can happen. I haven't updated in a while but not much has happened. For a while my St. George family (the Evans, the house I lived in when I first moved down here) were here over Halloween time. I went to a halloween/birthday party for Lindsey and dressed up as an olympic badmitton player with my friend Daryl. I spent a lot of time with their family while they were here, but worked Halloween night and so I missed all the dressing up. I missed seeing all my cute little nieces and nephews dressed up but enjoyed their cute pictures. Also, about 2 weeks ago I watched Derek and Lindsey's kids (ella and dylan) for 2 days while they went on a cruise. I have some cute pictures of them that I need to post since they are now my adopted niece and nephew, but I'm at work so I will have to post them later when I can hook up my camera. I've mainly just worked and gone to school and studied. Sadly, but truly, I still don't have some super fun social life, but to be honest, I never really have. My hobbies lately are looking at plane tickets all over the place because I feel a very needed vacation, sad isn't it. Life has been pretty stressful down here. The past 2 days have been really rainy and hazy, which seems weird for St. George since the one really good thing I've found down here is that I've still been wearing my shorts and capris and it's almost december, kinda cool, gotta admit. Life always throws curve balls, but eventually they straighten out and all things work out for the best. Today was such a interesting day, since it was Thanksgiving and I was away from my family since I had to work. Derek and Lindsey were kind enough to invite me to spend it with Lindsey's family in Cedar City. The food was delicious, and their family was wonderful and inviting and so kind to have me there, I was very very grateful. I missed my dear family though, especially since I never see any of them being down here.
Even though life has thrown a lot of twists and turns my way I feel that I need to express my gratitude, since it is Thanksgiving and all. I am so grateful for my family, I don't even have words to express my love for each one of them. I miss seeing them so very much. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. I'm so very grateful for the friends I have made down here thus far, cause there are some in particular that have been such a blessing in my life. I'm grateful for the whole Evans family that have helped me feel like I do have family close by, it has helped me so much. I'm grateful for all my friends and I look at their pictures everyday (along with those of my family) and look at the smiles and our faces, and how happiness just radiates from those pictures and savor so many fond and wonderful memories. When life gets rough, I look at how happy I look in those pictures and know it's in me to get through. I have great friends and I love them dearly. I am so very blessed for the gospel in my life. Words cannot express how I feel about the gospel and my Savior and Heavenly Father. Ya know when you just have those days when it seems like everything is crumbling around you....well, since being down here it has seemed to be a more regular theme in my life. Yesterday was one of those glorious days and so I went and read my mission journal, and some talks from the church website and ensign. In my mission journal one of my dear investigators wrote and bore one of the most beautiful testimonies I have ever read and it just reminded me how amazing this gospel is, not just for me, but for so many others. When she wrote it she hadn't even been baptized yet but had felt so much allready that she knew it was true and had an amazing testimony. I read about specific days when it was so hard to serve and have faith to continue on but as I would read on I would see just how much the Savior was helping me out day by day. I'm so grateful for so many of my experiences that I have gone through, it has made me who I am, and is continuing to mold and shape me, which turns out to be a pretty painful experience at times. The Atonement is what I am most grateful for in my life, for the fact that without it I don't know where I would be, or what I would be doing. I have purpose and meaning in my life and I know the church is true and has blessed my life and changed me forever. I think I am very ungrateful at times and just felt that I needed to express my gratitude outloud for some of these specific things since Thanksgiving is all about being thankful, which I really need to be more often. This last sunday it was obviously the main theme and I really knew I needed to be better at it(oh and PS I finally got a calling in my ward, Relief Society teacher, little bit of a change from teaching primary, but I still plan on using lots of candy =-)! I really do have so many amazing and wonderful blessings in my life and I know I need to be more grateful for them, not just on good ol' Turkey Day! I know I could go on and express so many things I'm grateful for, but this post is allready getting a little on the rambling side so I will end it here. I love you all so much and am grateful for you all. I'm so grateful for this time of year and the reminders it brings into my life of how many blessing I've been given. Know I think fo somany of you so often and am grateful for the part you play in my life. I can't believe Christmas is right around the corner. I hope to see as many of you as possible when I finally get to go home in a couple weeks, but until then I will try to post some pictures and keep you updated. Nursing school is a little boring to keep you updated on but I did score a 93% on my last test, so things are going good, just busy!! Well, love you all!