Merry Christmas

Alright, so I just spent the last two days stuffing my face with every kind of holiday goodie you can think of. Everything tasted too good, and you know what that means. Yup, time to hit the gym hard!

This Christmas was the first time in six years that I spent Christmas day with my dad, and I had a great time. As I have been thinking today, I was inspired to write a blog list of some of things I am thankful for during this past year. (I say some because there is no way that I can remember them all ;)
So, without further ado (spelling?), here is my Christmas "list":

• I spent the first 6 months of this year in a house by myself, in order to learn more about God and what it really means to be in a closer walk with him. I feel that this truly had prepared me for a lot of what happened throughout the rest of this year.
• I spent a lot of time with my neighbor, Leeann, the lady that I also work with, and building a great friendship with her.
• I learned what it was like to have to take care of a dog on my own, which in turn made me realize that I am not ready for one. (even though my roomate got a dog....it's still not mine)
• I got to go to Washington more than once this year by taking a flight up to Seattle in May to visit my best friend Amy.
• A month later, she got engaged to an awesome guy named John, and they will be getting married on August 25th, 2007.
• One of my very good friends and one of the most respectable women I know, Claire Cain, also got engaged this year. What an awesome blessing it is to see two people who truly love each other come together in Christ. I can't wait for August 11th!
• I was introduced to a man named Jose Corado on June 1st, and my life has been forever changed by him in so many ways. He asked me to be his friend on MySpace, I am not ashamed to say that. (If he would have turned out to be a creepers, maybe...) But in all seriousness, God has turned my heart around in so many aspects because of Jose's character, and it is who he is that allows me to feel loved the way that any woman truly wants to be loved. And though he is not completely healed, God has already done a miracle in Jose by keeping him alive for the last 6 years through batteling cancer. He is truly one of the strongest people I know, and a man who truly seeks the face of God. And I love him.
• I had an awesome opportunity to travel to Italy to see Venice, Milan, and all the beautiful sights in October. It was a trip that I will never forget, and only something that I can thank God for giving me the opportunity and the financial possibility to even do.
• I have read more books for leisure this year than I have probably in the last 6 years that I have lived in Utah. And they have all been books that have either given me more knowledge about Christ and my increased desire to seek him and his word, or it has challenged my faith in some way to encourage me to step outside the box of Christianity and seek something more bold than just a Sunday Christian walk.
• I have had the opportunity to spend more time getting to know and growing in a friendship with one of my closest friends, Kelli, and realizing how much I have learned from her in the last year we have been friends. She is an amazing person, and she even invited me to Thanksgiving dinner with her family.
• God has given me a great place to live, with a great landlord, the expereince of having roomates, and the financial stability to be able to feel secure in what he provides for me every single day.
• I have been able to see my friends step out in faith, and because of that, God has given to them as well, and that is a great testimony. And even when people don't get what they expect, they still praise God, and that is also a great witness to others.
• I am thankful for the fact that I live in a country where I can gain knowledge at my fingertips, where I have the freedom to read my bible in public if I want to and not get scowled at or beat up for doing so, and where I can apply for a higher education if I choose to do so. And I did.
• I have been able to spend the last 6 years with my family for Christmas, and to even have the ability to pay for a plane ticket to Washington every year is a huge blessing alone. Then add on to it the whole spending time with loved ones and building greater relationships on to the ones that you already have, and that is almost a little piece of heaven right there.