I'm thankful for music of all kinds! Music is a way to express oneself.  My favorite music includes hip hop, country, rap, reggae, church music, Christmas music, and much more.  I'm grateful for those who put their time and energy into appropriate music that my family and I can listen to together.  My children love to listen to the family music station on Pandora.  I have so much fun dancing and singing with them.  Our favorite times to listen to music is while making dinner or cleaning.  I'm so thankful for all the great music we have the opportunity to listen to. 

I'm grateful for my home.  It may be small, cluttered, old, and unfinished, but it is MY home! I love the warmth and shelter that it provides.  I love that my family can be a family here, we are squished, but that make us closer. I'm thankful for my yard that my children can play in.  I'm thankful for my fireplace.  We have a wood burning stove.  There is nothing like it! I love being able to wake up in the morning and know that I can heat up my house without it costing a fortune. I'm so thankful that my children have a place to lay their heads at night, bathe in the morning, eat meals, play with their toys, and make memories.  I'm thankful for my home! 

I'm thankful for my extended family.  I have two wonderful parents who would do anything for me.  I know they love me, and I love them.  They have helped me through so much.  Friends aren't forever, family is.  I learned that the hard way.  The only people who came to visit me in rehab was my family.  My grandparents, mom and dad, brothers and sister/sis-in-law.  They have all supported me when I lost everything else.  I hurt them so bad, but yet they still showed me love.  I have the most AMAZING family in the entire world! 
I also married into an amazing family.  My mother-in-law is an amazing woman.  She is so selfless, doing things for everyone else and never expecting anything in return.  She makes all of her own food, including canning, and makes quilts for those in need.  Every year she donates several quilts she made to the hospital and police department.  I love her and her example.  My sister/brother-in-laws are all wonderful too.  They have all been so nice and welcoming to me.  My nieces and nephews are all so smart and beautiful.  Each and everyone of them has helped me in one way or another.  
I love my family, I couldn't have a better family.  I am so blessed for that!

I'm so thankful for the Priesthood.  All my life I have been able to have blessings because of the Priesthood.  When I was a baby my father gave me a name and blessing, at 8 my father was able to baptize me and confirm me a member of the church. I was able to receive father's blessings at various times in my life when I needed them.  I was also able to receive my patriarchal blessing.  My husband and I have been able to receive the blessings of the temple.  Although we weren't married in it, we were sealed in it.  What a blessing it was for us to know that we are an eternal family.  I have also been able to receive priesthood blessings from my husband at various times when I need them.  He has also been able to give my children blessings.  My son was really sick for a long time.  He was able to receive blessings from my husband.  He got to the point that when he started feeling sick he automatically asked Ryan for a blessing.  
I have also been blessed by the priesthood holders at church.  The prophet teaches us the things which the Lords wants us to know. My Bishop and counselors are able to look after us and help us in times of need.  I am able to renew my covenants every week in church when I take the sacrament.  This is what the priesthood has done for me.  

I'm so thankful for sobriety! For those of you who have never heard my story I will share it.  
The first time I ever did anything was in the fifth grade. I smoked weed for the first time. I didn't really know what I was doing.  I knew it was wrong, however, all of my friends were doing it.  I wanted to "fit in."  I thought that one time would never hurt.  
When I was in the 8th grade I started drinking a little here and there.  It wasn't anything big, just "fitting in."  
I did a few things in High school, but it wasn't until after I graduated that I really fell off the deep end.  I wanted my independence, to be free to choose whatever I wanted to do.  I had a boyfriend who wasn't the best example for me.  I started going out and drinking with him and partied a lot. My parents didn't like what I was doing and gave me a hard time.  Looking back I know they were just trying to protect me, but I had the mindset that I knew what was best for me.  I just wanted to do what I wanted to do, so I moved out.  
I moved in with a bunch of friends. My boyfriend ended up moving in with me because he lost his job and didn't have a place to go.  He had just got out of jail for drugs and theft.  I caught him smoking heroin one night and was curious.  I wanted to see why he was so addicted to it so I tried it.  That was the biggest mistake of my life.  After one hit I knew why he loved it so much.  It made me numb.  All those feelings I had toward my parents, friends, and life were numb.  The problem was that once I started using it I didn't want to stop.  I didn't ever want that feeling to go away.  Before I knew it I was completely hooked.  I went broke within a month.  I had over 3,000 dollars saved in an account.  All of that money was gone.  I lost my job, I could no longer pay for my apartment, and I didn't have a good relationship with my family anymore.  I lied, I hurt the people I love the most.  I turned into a criminal.  I stole and sold everything I could just so I could get my next fix.  I was in the darkest place that I thought I could ever get.  Now instead of using heroin for the "high," I used it to feel "normal" again.  I couldn't function with out it.  If I didn't have a hit first thing when I woke up I got so sick that I couldn't even function.  I knew I had a problem, but thought I could stop on my own.  I just didn't want to.  It wasn't until I got arrested that I knew I needed to take action to change my life.  One night my boyfriend and I went to go meet our dealer.  He never showed up at our meeting spot so we decided to get a hotel.  See, we lived in Provo Utah and our dealer lived in Salt Lake City Utah.  That is about an hour drive.  While at the hotel we were arrested.  I was let go that night, but my boyfriend was in jail for 3 days. When I picked him up at the jail that third day we had a serious talk about what we wanted in life.  We each had goals, and there was no way we would accomplish those goals if we were still using.  We both wanted to get married in the temple, go to school, have a good stable job, have children, and so much more.  We both decided that it was finally time to ask our parents for help.  My parents took me to rehab at the Walker Center in Gooding Idaho.  Talk about a complete shock! That was the last place in the world I would of ever thought to go.  I was in rehab for 28 days. A few days before I was to be released my parents came up to visit and discuss where I would go after I got out.  None of us thought it was a good idea to go back to Utah.  We all knew that would be a mistake.  We discussed the idea of me moving to Twin Falls so I could attend the rehab outpatient center.  I could check in once a week and have a meeting, it was my support group.  But then the real question came up.  Where would I live? My mom and dad opened the phone book and called a LDS church office.  The first two offices didn't answer, but the third did. It happened to be a singles ward.  The bishop was extremely nice and said he had time to meet with my parents.  When my parents got to the church office they told the bishop about my situation.  He then told them that he knew a house of 5 girls looking for a new roommate.  It was perfect! Heavenly Father had a hand in this decision and my location.  This was 6 years ago! I have been in Idaho since.  This is now my home.  Those girls became like my sisters, in fact one of them set me up on a blind date with my husband.  I had a relapse in February 2008 when I went out drinking with a friend, but I have been sober since then. This whole experience has been life changing! I would never change it for anything in the world.  At times I regret some of my decisions, I have had to pay for some of the decisions I made even years later, but I have learned so much.  If I hadn't made the decisions I made I may not have met my husband, and I may not have my kids.  I'm thankful for this trial, but I'm so grateful for my sobriety so I can live life normal again! 

This is me before I got healthy again.  I was super skinny and well.... sick. 

This is me now! I'm healthier and happier than I have ever been.  

Be sure to share my story with others who may be needing a little encouragement. Thanks!

I'm grateful for a testimony! I'm thankful for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! I know this is the true church! I know that God lives! I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior! I know that the Book of Mormon and Bible are true books. The teachings in them are for me. I know that I can learn from them.  I know that Thomas S. Monson is a true prophet of God.  I know that we are on this earth for a reason, to be tested. I know that Satan is real, his powers are real, and he wants me to fail.  I know that through repentance I can return to my Heavenly Father again.  I know that the temple is the house of God.  I know the work that is done in the temple is real!  I know that through the temple my family is an eternal family, and that through righteous living we can all return to live with Heavenly Father again! 

I am so thankful for my husband! He is the best husband in the world! He works so hard for my boys and me.  I am a recovering heroin/cocaine addict.  When Ryan first found out about it he was a little hesitant to move forward in the relationship.  After 2 days of thinking, praying, and going to the temple, he knew that everything would be alright.  We met in March, he proposed in May, and we were married in June.  It took a lot of faith on his part to know that everything would be okay.  I'm so thankful for him and that he believes in me. He has never stopped believing in me.  When I hit a rough patch he is right next to me cheering me on, letting me know that he is always there for me.  He is my better half, my rock, and best father to my children a woman could ask for.  I love him so much! 

I have been doing the 30 days of Thanksgiving challenge.  It has really got me thinking about what I am thankful for.  I am so thankful for my little superheroes! They have saved me more times than they will ever know.  There are times when I feel like doing something stupid. At those moments my son always comes up to me and gives me a hug.  He may not know what I am thinking but he knows I need some loves.  It ALWAYS makes me feel better.  
I have two of the best little boys in the entire world.  They are always smiling and so happy.  I hear some mothers complain that their children don't sleep through the night, or they are having a really hard time potty training them.  I have felt so blessed because my son was so easy to potty train.  He was very responsive, it took us a long time, but he was potty trained by the time he was 30 months old, including at night.  Both of my babies sleep through the night.  I get 8+ hours of sleep every single night.  My boys are 3 and 1.  I have been so blessed! There are also those women out there who can't conceive babies, or have lost their babies. My heart brakes for them.  I can't imagine not having my boys in my life!