Feeling Grateful...

This post is a couple weeks late, but I guess late is better than never, right? Here are just a few things I have recently been grateful for:

1- Family. Ryan and I got to spend our first official holiday together as an engaged couple. We spent Thanksgiving with my family along with Ryan's dad who came with us. It was fun, as always. We ate a great meal, visited, played games. I have a rather large family and so it was a little overwhelming for Ryan's dad but it was so good to have him there celebrating with us.

2- The Gospel and the Temple. The day after Thanksgiving was a big day for Ryan. It was the day he chose to go through the temple and receive his endowment. He had reached the year anniversary of his baptism on the Sunday prior (the 20th). He didn't have any of his own family who could be there so he invited a few friends from his branch and any of my family who wanted to come. It was amazing to see just how much support Ryan always has and how much people love him. Everyone in my family who lived close enough was there, as well as some friends from his branch. It was such a special day for Ryan and I'm sure it was a day he will never forget. I am so grateful for the gospel and for the blessings we receive from going to the temple faithfully. Ryan is already anxious to go back and I definitely love that about him! I don't think I will ever have to worry about trying to drag him to the temple with me. He might be the one who ends up dragging me.

3- Guardian Angels. This one I feel especially grateful for at the moment because of my recent accident on the freeway. I am so grateful for those guardian angels who are put in our lives to protect us. I'm not just referring to me, but to all those on the freeway who somehow managed to avoid my out of control car. My sister called me the other night to tell me that she told a friend of hers that I was in an accident and after asking a few questions, he told her that he was on the freeway that night and I had actually almost hit him. He saw the whole thing and it completely freaked him out. My sister asked him if he swore at me and he said, "No. I actually felt like something like that was going to happen so I had moved into the fast lane right before." Then he told her that my tires were pointed one direction and I was sliding right towards him but then at the last second my car shot off in the other direction. So see...guardian angels all around. He even told her that there were so many cars on the freeway at that moment that he had no idea how I wasn't T-boned by another car. He was quite surprised to find out I had only hit one car. Truthfully, I still have no idea how I got out of that one unscathed. I can only give credit to the one(s) watching out for me and the others who were on the road that night.

4- My health. Lately I feel like I have been falling apart. Stress tends to take a major toll on my physical well being and if it's not one thing wrong with me it's another. But despite the aches and pains that I've been enduring recently, I am gateful to know it's all just temporary and will go away when my stress level decreases. I really do have remarkable health and I am very grateful for that.