Happy Thanksgiving!!

It has been quite awhile since I have last posted on my blog. Life and school just got incredibly busy keeping me away from sharing my amazing experiences. Well to sum up the past 2 weeks, life has been absolutely amazing!! School is going great! I now have about 2 weeks till finals and then winter break. I just keep on telling myself to "Endure to the End" and it will all be worth it! So much fun stuff has happened and one of these days I will take time and post little blurbs about everything I have done. But as for now, I will just post about my wonderful Thanksgiving break!
It started Tuesday night (Nov. 22) hanging out with some very good friends Noelle Boss and Chad Harris. These two people are absolutely incredible!!! The next day, I got to see a friend of mine, JM Bercerra, whom of which I met while I lived in Argentina. My family hosted him for a basketball and volleyball SAAC tournament that was in Chile. I missed that kid so much! He came over from Boston to visit Austin Argyle for thanksgiving. So I hung out with them on Wednesday. Quick funny story...JM has never had a Wendy's frosty!! So I told him that it is a must to have a frosty, so I took him in my cute little spaceship (Ford escort). I'm honestly an incredible driver, but JM would say otherwise. haha that was such a great and funny experience!! I just couldn't stop laughing! JM I had such a fun time hanging out with you and hope to see you again my friend!
The next day was THANKSGIVING!!! Sooo much fun! My favorite cousins, Courtney and Nat, came down from Idaho! I absolutely love the Lusk family!! Instead of writing about everyday, I will just sum up everything we did. Every time the Jones's get together there is automatic laughter, games, smiling, adventures, etc. We call ourselves the Jonestroops! So here is just a taste for what we did this week! Thanksgiving football game (I pretty much could be the next Riley Nelson with my QB Skills), thanksgiving dinner, mad-gab, Foosball tournament, Black-Friday shopping, volleyball, racquetball, swimming, family slides (Susie: "am I a boy?"), ice skating at the Gallivan center, Joseph Smith movie, Temple square lights, and JcPenny Shopping. Wow! that was a mouthful to write. Thinking back on this fun holiday I can't help but feel for my family! I am constantly reminded on how important family is. Not only is family one of the central themes of the Church it is also one of the main things to have to fall back on. My family is and will always be there for me! I cherish the relationships that I have with my parents and siblings. I absolutely love them and pray that they know that. Below are some fun pictures to show what great fun that I had this thanksgiving break.

A Dream of Mine has been Fulfilled

Friday, Nov. 11, 2011

Today is 11-11-11!! And I must say, it was quite a fantastic day! We had a bridal shower for Stefanie and to make everything better Nate Smith called me telling me about some exciting news. Nate bought a green mini cooper! It has always been my dream to ride, drive or even stand by a Mini Cooper! Nate came stopped by the apartment and drove lyss and I around!! It was probably the best experience I have ever had! Nate even let me drive!! YES!!! I drove a mini cooper on 11-11-11!! And to make things better, it was a STICK SHIFT!! Driving that car was an amazing experience! The shifting was so smooth and the turning was incredible! I honestly can't describe how excited I was to drive a mini-cooper. A lifelong dream has been fulfilled!
Thank you Nate Smith!!!

Bridal shower for the Bride to Be!

Today my apartment and I held a bridal shower for the bride to be, Stefanie Barker. Stefanie is an amazing girl! I absolutely love her! We all made dinner together and hung out together! This was the first time that we all hung out together in a fun setting. Stefanie told us all about her sotry of meeting her fiance and how he proposed. To help celebrate the counting down till she gets married, we made a paper link-chain. On each strip Stefanie wrote what she loves about her fiance. It was so cute!!! I am so excited for you stefanie! I feel so privileged to have met you and call you my friend. You have been and will continue to be such an inspiration in my life. You live a life that I will pursue to live. thank you stef! I wish you the greatest with the new adventure you are about to enter.
I love you!!!

Day 11 and 12: I'm grateful for...

Day 11:

Today I am grateful for the weekend! This past week was absolutely exhausting! I had three tests and a paper. My body and brain were dead by the time Friday came. It was a great week, but exhausting.

Day 12:

Today I am grateful for eggnog! There is not greater drink than eggnog. Some of the greatest memories of my childhood involve eggnog! Eggnog only comes out at Halloween and Christmas. So, I only get to have it 2 times of the year! however, I have to be extremely careful because my holiday weight last year came from eggnog. So my goal this year is to enjoy drinking it, but be cautious at how much I drink.
There are two ways that I love to drink eggnog. The first way is pouring a little bit into a cup and drinking it plain. The second is pouring half eggnog and then adding milk for the other half. This second way of drinking eggnog my favorite!

Day 10: I'm grateful for....

Day 10: Today I am grateful for Greys Anatomy!!! I absolutely love watching this tv show! Every thursday at 8 pm my roommates and I all sit around the tv with our dinners and watch Greys. Today's episode was absolutely amazing!!!! I cannot wait till next week.

Day 9: I'm grateful for...

Day 9:

This morning I woke up to find out that a missionary, Trevor Strong a dear friend to so many, past away while serving an LDS mission. Today I am reminded of the love and strength that comes from the Lord. Today I am reminded of the importance of eternal families and how blessed I am to be apart of a religion where families can be eternal.
Trevor passed away in the service of the Lord, rescuing the souls who are so desperately trying to find peace and happiness in their lives. Trevor taught the people in Texas this message, that families can be together forever. His example will live on through his friends and family.
My prayers are with him, his family and his friends. I pray that they will have the strength, faith, and comfort to help pull through this trial.

Today I am grateful to be a daughter of my wonderful Heavenly Father and to know that families are eternal.

Dear Strong Family,
you will see him again.

Day 7 and 8 I am grateful for.....

Once again, I have fallen behind at posting what I'm grateful for daily. So today I will be making up for the day that I missed.

Day 7: I am grateful for the opportunity to be able to have a living Prophet, President Monson, on the earth today to guide and lead the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He is truly inspired and is a wonderful man. I know that if I follow the counsel of the Prophet I can become more like Christ, my Savior. I love being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints.

Day 8: I am grateful for the opportunity to attend Brigham Young University. I am so bless to be getting the kind of education that I am. Not only am I growing mentally, I'm growing both physically and spiritually. Here, I rely 100% on the Lord and his strength to help get me through tough times. I love this university and I love being here.

Day 6: I'm grateful for...

Day 6: Today as I write this I'm reminded how grateful I am to attend church every Sunday. I absolutely love going to church and becoming spiritually strengthened and becoming closer to the Lord. I love being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This gospel brings such a happiness and joy into my life. I love my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and for their constant support and love in my life. Sunday's are the perfect day to prep me for the upcoming week of school and tests.

Day 4 and 5..I'm grateful for...

Well this is quite embarrassing, I did not post a "Day 4" so today I'm going to post two! So here I go :)

Day 4: I'm oh so very grateful for my wonderful roommate Laura Braithwaite! Prior to writing this post laura told me that I should write a post about her. Obviously I listened! How could I not write a post about my wonderful roommate laura! She is absolutely amazing with a voice of an angel. She is one of the nicest persons that I know. A day doesn't go by where I don't laugh at a joke she says or something she does. I love this girl! She is such an inspiration in my life. We met while I lived in Chile. I remember meeting her for the first time, it was in Choir class. She immediately came up to me and was like "Hey! I heard you are Mormon! Is that right? and what's your name?" haha from that day forward we became friends! I just love her! Laura! I love you chica! Thank you for rooming with us this year! You are the greatest and I feel very privileged to be one of your friends.

Day 5: I'm grateful for my mother! It snowed today up in Salt Lake, unfortunately we did not get anything in Provo. However, seeing the snow on the mountains got me thinking about when we get our first snow fall. That day will be so exciting and yet dreadful. Having snow on the ground brings the beginning of scraping the snow off my wind shield. Right away I texted my mother and she said "I will go and buy one for you today." My mother is incredible!!! She does SO much for me! Her unconditional love towards me is incredible. I cannot express in words how grateful I am for her. I know that she will always be there to talk to me whenever I need a venting. She also gave me a list of dinner recipes since I have been struggling to know what to make for dinner. I could go on and on about how grateful I am for my mother. She is one of my best friends and counselors. I love her so much! Thank you mom for always being a constant example in my life and teaching me how to be the woman I need to become. Your faith and constant drive to serve others is truly inspiring. I love you mom!!!

Day 3: I'm grateful for....

Day 3: I'm grateful for the gorgeous sunsets that I get to look at every night! Sunsets are probably one of my favorite things in the whole wide world! The colors that are created are indescribably beautiful! The emotions within me run wild trying to take-in such a gorgeous site. I'm grateful for the opportunity to witness such an art.

Month of Gratitude

Halloween has come and gone; it's crazy how fast time flies. Well, the month of gratitude is here! I love everything about the month of November! It's the perfect time for me to truly express my gratitude towards everyone and everything. I have so much to be grateful for! As a goal, I'm going to write on here every day and state one thing that I'm grateful for. I'm going to start on Day 2 since it's November 2nd.
Day 2: I am grateful for my wonderful roommates! They are the greatest and do so much for me! Their love and support in everything that I do is indescribably wonderful!! Thank you for making everyday an adventure! I love you Alyssa, Lindsey, Rachel, Laura, and Stefanie!

This cute pic is of Lyss and I at Rock Canyon! I love this picture for many reasons!
1- It's in the canyon!
2- The colors of the leaves!
3-Represents the beginning of November!
4-Standing next to my best friend/sister Lyssa!

Love You Kristen!

Your blog has been hacked... In case you were wondering :) I just wanted to do a shout out to this amazing and wonderful girl! I don't believe being her roommate was ever coincidence! She does so much for me each and every day and provides so much love and encouragement to me and everyone else around her! Her example is wonderful and I will always look at her with love and appreciation! Love you Kristen! You are amazing and your hard work and determination is inspiring! :) By the way - hope you like the new layout!