Life lately has been good. Last night Nate & I watched the new Cinderella movie. Nate did not want to watch it & was just going to grade papers while I watched it, but once it started he actually liked it and didn't even get to grading his papers, haha! I thought it was such a great movie and really loved how the theme of it was to "have courage and be kind". It really got me thinking. First, I feel so grateful for my life right now. I have an amazing husband who loves me so much and would do anything for me. I love him so much and am so incredibly happy to be married to him. We have a comfortable, lovely home. We both have jobs we really enjoy. We live close by family and get to spend time with them weekly. We get to visit Nate's family in San Diego often. We have been able to go on trips to beautiful places around the world. I really just feel so incredibly blessed. I know that it is easy to feel thankful and happy when everything is great. I haven't had any really hard times compared to others. The time in my life that was hardest for me was probably just going through breakups during college and wondering when I would ever meet my future husband. During those times, I really strengthened my relationship with the Lord and found peace in going to the temple, doing service, and not focusing on myself.

Another thing I was thinking about when watching the movie was 2 different types of attitudes. People who see the good in everything and everyone, no matter what situation they are in (Cinderella) & people that only see the negative and let it run their life (Evil Stepmother). In the real world, it is the same, maybe not so extreme, but you really can choose to focus on either the positive or the negative. The happiest people I know don't have everything perfect in their life, but they choose to see the good and to be kind to others.

I want to make sure to focus on seeing the good and doing acts of service for others. That is going to be my focus the rest of November and all of December.

"Have courage and be kind."