Thankful Thursday...

Hopscotch.... that was todays lesson :)It was the last day of teaching because it's the kids winter break and it went well. Slowly but surely... one day at a time. I really am so grateful for the Chinese teachers that come in and help us with the kids though. Cherry is one of the chinese teachers that speaks better english and she is a life saver during class. I'm so grateful for her. I was thinking today about this particular challenge in my life right now (teaching) and it just hit me as something I know, but sometimes we just need to be reminded that they are only here for our good...and depending on how I react to it, I can grow and become better, or not. So my goal is to embrace it, try to become better, and really just love this experience.



This afternoon we were all just kinda chatting, I had just finished talking to Mom and Dad on skype (which was so great. It was sooo good to see them and talk) and one of my roommates, Abby was talking about Thankful Thursday and how we should always just have to list off everything we're thankful for on that day or something along those lines and I loved it. So I will just start by expressing my gratitude for being here in China with such great girls. I really do love my roommates. Mikelle makes strange animal noises and always has a good guy story to tell. ha. Abby is so happy all the time, she's always smiling and I love it. It's inspiring. Jillian along with Mikelle and Abby just breaks out into song all the time, but Jillian specifically does it and it's funny because she'll be in the bathroom or have her headphones in or something and she'll just be dancing and singing outrageously loud. She also does this really funny thing where if anyone says anything funny or worth repeating, without even skipping a beat she repeats it in a loud, deep Austrailian accent as if she is some kind of Announcer. It really is quite histarical. Oh! and she pronounces her t's perfectly. That sounds normal, but try it. We either replace the t's with d's or we just don't pronounce them way more than we think and so when people do pronounce them it just sounds wierd and funny. But it's good. She's helping us all correct our lazy, sloppy grammar :)Shaila is very sweet. Her and Brianna are the logical thinkers and it's great having them around. Both of them are so much fun to talk to and I love Shaila's laugh. Jaimie just always makes us laugh. She tells great stories and is always up for anything! I'm so grateful for them. Next, I am SOOO grateful for the country I live in and the day and age that I live in. For opportunities like this one out there that we can take advantage of. I'm so grateful for my family,(and a wonderful twin sister) I can't even believe how much I love and miss them...Oooophf, and great friends that uplift me and help me be better. I'm grateful for children. They help me remember to live life as if I were a child. It is so much more enjoyable that way. I'm so Thankful for soft serve vanilla ice cream, and that I can find it wherever you go :) I'm thankful for the dying cat in our apartmet complex, and for my hands and feet. I'm grateful for music. I'm so grateful for my scriptures and for the inspiration that went into them so that I can be inspired every time I read them. I'm thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and my Savior. I'm thankful for the incredible scenery and the people here that put a smile on my face and provide incredible photographs and memories for me to look back on.I'm grateful for laughter... oh how I love to laugh! I'm so grateful that google hasn't pulled out of China yet and I hope it doesn't... (cross your fingers). AND THERE IS SO MUCH MORE... I'm just so grateful to be alive and to be living life where I am right now!

Wan an.....