Baby it's cold outside...

When Kenneth and I left the house this morning I thought I might actually freeze to the sidewalk on our walk to the car. I know -10 degrees is nothing compared to the -50 degree freeze they were feeling in Chicago - but it was still too cold for me. I realize this is my second or third ode to the cold weather of Boston - so I thought this time I would take the opportunity to make a list of all of the things I am grateful for to take my mind off of the freezing cold weather.

#1 - I am grateful for Kenneth. It may sound cheesy, but I really love my cute husband and I feel grateful every day that I have him. Who would have thought that 10 years ago when I walked into Mormon Handicraft looking for a job that it would lead to my greatest blessing. (for those of you that don't know Kenneth's mom was my supervisor at MH and it was while working with her I met and fell in love with Kenneth).



#2 - I am grateful for our friends here in Boston. We have said it before and we will probably say it again and again...we would not be happy here without the great people we have met and that we play and laugh with every day practically.





So - I don't have pictures of all of our friends on my computer - so these 2 pictures will have to represent all of our friends here :)


#3 - I am grateful for our actual family. Kenneth and I are so lucky to have the greatest parents, the funnest siblings and the cutest nieces and nephews. Being so far away from them is the hardest part of living on the east coast..

This is Kenneth's cute sister Katie and her baby Bentley:




Happy Hartvigsen Halloween Celebration:


Here Kenneth and I are with my awesome brothers and my new sister in law:



Of course, these are all things that I am grateful for all the time. Today I am also grateful for even more than that... I am grateful for my cute Penny and Amelia - because although they challenge me almost every day I really do love being their nanny. And I am grateful for Milky Way Hot Chocolate, our new band Post, winter days that are not in the negatives - hooray for 30 degrees!, Spring - which I am sure is just around the corner, the Childrens Museum, Penny and my jewish Music Together class, the movie Juno, the glorious and very retro Belinda Carlisle CD that Kenneth got for me, Arrested Development, the end of the writers strike and possible beginning of new episodes of the Office, Conversation Hearts, Propel, crab enchiladas, the book 'The Birth House', FRIENDS (both the TV series and our actual friends), flowers, crayons, water colors, construction paper valentines... and much much more!

I have also been so grateful lately for the many simple blessings in my life that come from the gospel. I realized in church on Sunday, while listening to two of my favorite people (Mike and Chelsea Strayer) commenting on how God's love has blessed their lives, that one of the greatest things about our church is that you can have fun with people and also connect and share with them on a spiritual level. And although I don't often feel like blogging is really the place to bear testimony - I am so grateful to know that God lives and that He loves us. And that He hears us and answers when we pray. It is so comforting to know that we are not alone and that we never will be.

So, hooray for today - even though it is -10 degrees outside. And here's hoping for something a little warmer tomorrow.