Couldn't have come sooner

Thanksgiving break...finally. I love, love, love the Holidays. Not so much for the holiday but for the break from school. Can you believe it is Thanksgiving? Time just flies and I am EXHAUSTED! I am most excited about sleeping the next few days. It is that tired time of year. Too many three hour basketball practices; but the games started today so we won't practice quite as much. We lost, so maybe we should practice a lot but we won't.

Anthony was here visiting last week. He is so funny. Funny with his beard, funny outlook on life. He is fun to be around but also kind of hard to take serious.

Anthony loves to give hugs. This is him comforting Dan while Dan is driving. I believe Dan said "get off of me" so funny.

We hung out together a few nights. Dan commented today that it was nice because Anthony actually hung out with us while he was here. It was fun to see him more. I guess that is what happens when all your friends work and go to school, you get stuck with your siblings.

So Anthony was out here last year shortly after returning home from his mission and I came home from a hard day of work wearing this:

Cute and comfy, right. Professional as far as a PE teacher is concerned. The problem is is that now it is associated with this:

Glee and stupid Sue Sylvester, meanest teacher ever! Anthony made so much fun of me. I didn't wear my three Adidas outfits for a long time but the problem is I have owned them since my first year of teaching, yes all three of them. They are comfortable, professional, in good condition and most importantly I like them. And so now I am just wearing them. I have been rock'n' them longer than Glee has been around and so now I must embrace them. GO ADIDAS!

I was so excited when my general conference Ensign came in the mail. I love reading conference talks. I especially loved Elder Uchtdorf's talk in the Relief Society broadcast as well as his talk in the Saturday morning session. He said, "Never stop striving for the best that is within you. Never stop hoping for all the righteous desires of your heart. But don't close your eyes and hearts to the simple elegant beauties of each day's ordinary moments that make up a rich, well-lived life." I love that quote. I loved his Forget Me Not Talk. It reminded me of all the good I can do everyday even though it is a different good than what I anticipated when I was 8 or 12 or 16 or 20 or even 25.

And then in the Saturday morning session he said this really long quote:

Third, no matter where you live, no matter how humble your circumstances, how meager your employment, how limited your abilities, how ordinary your appearance, or how little your calling in the Church may appear to you, you are not invisible to your Heavenly Father. He loves you. He knows your humble heart and your acts of love and kindness. Together, they form a lasting testimony of your fidelity and faith. Fourth and finally, please understand that what you see and experience now is not what forever will be. You will not feel loneliness, sorrow, pain, or discouragement forever. We have the faithful promise of God that He will neither forget nor forsake those who incline their hearts to Him. Have hope and faith in that promise. Learn to love your Heavenly Father and become His disciple in word and in deed.
Be assured that if you but hold on, believe in Him, and remain faithful in keeping the commandments, one day you will experience for yourselves the promises revealed to the Apostle Paul: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” Brothers and sisters, the most powerful Being in the universe is the Father of your spirit. He knows you. He loves you with a perfect love. God sees you not only as a mortal being on a small planet who lives for a brief season—He sees you as His child. He sees you as the being you are capable and designed to become. He wants you to know that you matter to Him.

I love General Conference and am so glad that we have living prophets and apostles to guide us everyday! It is something that I am truly grateful for. I have also been grateful for the protection Heavenly Father offers. Four members of my family were in an automobile accident last weekend and it was just a reminder to me of how fragile life is. No one was really injured but it could have been so much worse. I am so grateful for my family. I love them. That evening I went to bed so grateful for the Lord's protecting hand and the feelings are still so strong. I know they will fade with time but for now I just feel so much gratitude. This special season truly is magical as we reflect on all the blessings in our lives.