So much to be thankful for

"Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings, but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God's love."

-President Thomas S. Monson

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”

-Epictetus (Greek philosopher)

I am so blessed. But I sometimes forget. I was sitting here thinking how tired I was and how I wished Eric and I could both just quit studying already and just watch a movie. (Obviously I have stopped studying, but Eric is stronger than me and is still going strong. He is planning on going right up until it is Sunday- one more hour!). And then sometimes I think how nice it would be to go to a nice restaurant and splurge on all sorts of yummy foods, or go the the grocery store and buy all the fun foods I love to look at. And sometimes I wish I had the money to run in all the races I want to (oh, to do another marathon...). And then also I look at my sisters with their babies, and watch all the young mothers in the ward and think- Oh, how I want that so much. All the things- big and small that I don't/cant have right now.

And then I have to stop myself, take a step back, and realize that I couldn't be happier with where Eric and I are at this point in our lives. I was participating in an open house about a week ago that my internship was giving for prospective applicants and as I answered their questions and saw the anxiety and stress in their faces, I started to have flashbacks on where I was a year ago. I was just like them, spending hours researching and applying to internships, of which there are only enough for less than 50% of applicants. The hours I spent, the years of preparation, the rejection from the first internships I applied to, and then the little miracle of finding the one I am in now. And I got in. I still don't know how, but I am here. And now I am having this amazing experience that I didn't really think I would be able to have.

I think I have got to be the luckiest girl around with the most amazing husband ever. He works so hard and is so focused on his responsibilities, but he always takes time for me. He is the happiest, most optimistic person I know and he just makes me smile. He makes us take time for fun, from taking a short break from studies to look for seashells to just dancing around the living room as he sings to me. He is honest, kind, faithful, and just so wonderful.

We have our own apartment that we can call home. Since we have been married (1 year and 5 months today!!), Eric and I have not have a even semi-permanent place with our own things in it. We sub-leased an apartment for the couple months after we were married before heading for China in which everything from furniture to silverware was furnished. Then off we went to China with only our suitcases and lived in two tiny apartments where we bought only what we needed to get by. (Which, at first, we thought we extremely little. Like the time we cut a watermelon with a metal spatula because we didn't want to buy knives (we figured out pretty soon that those were kind of a necessity) or how we went the entire time freezing in our Nanjing apartment, refusing to spend money on blankets) Then this last summer we stayed with Eric's parents- so fun, but still not our own. So this little apartment here in San Diego is really our first home. It has our books, furniture, pictures. I love it.

We live right by the beach. Ok, maybe a 10 minute drive, but that is still pretty close! And we are close enough that on my long runs, I can make it to the beach. San Diego is a beautiful place and we are enjoying so much being here. We love just walking through the neighborhoods here and looking at the old homes and little shops.

We are healthy and strong. I see so many sick, weak people every day with my internship. People who can't eat the foods that they want to, people who don't have the energy to stand up and walk on their own. It makes me so grateful for my health, that I can run for miles and miles and still feel good. And it makes me even more dedicated to taking care of myself. Eating healthy and staying fit. Eric has even started to go running 3 days most weeks and, some days, he even eats three fruits. :)

I have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. With two sisters on missions (Eric's sister Brittany and my sister Lilly) I have been thinking even more about what this means to me. President Brigham Young said, "Mormonism has made me all that I am..." That is how I feel too. The knowledge that God lives, that he has a plan for me, that he speaks to me and everyone else through living prophets, that the power of God is on the Earth, that families can be together forever has shaped the person I have become and has influenced every decision I have made. I would not be here married to the most amazing man ever and so incredibly happy if I hadn't done everything I could to do what I should, to follow the prophets, to live the way I have been taught to. I am so grateful that I am a Mormon.

I love life and I love the experiences we are having. Even if it means that right now I can't have all the things I would like, thats okay. Some of those will definitely come later and if some of the others never do, it doesn't matter. I have all the important things already. I couldn't ask for more.