Wise words

Today I had one of the moments when you realize Heavenly Father is trying to teach you something.

I read the First Presidency message before church and afterwards prayed that I can keep a positive attitude and focus on the good in my life.

"It is one of the great ironies of our age that we are blessed with so much and yet we can be so unhappy...

Happiness doesn't come from external circumstances. It comes from the inside--regardless of what is happening around us"

-President Dieter F. Uchtdorf 

Then in Sunday School someone made 

a comment that I knew was just for me:

"Too often we focus on the hole 

and sometimes even pray for the hole to be filled. 

When what we should be focusing 

on is the rest of the doughnut"

#24

I turned 22 AND 23 in Minnesota...

it turns out spending your birthday with your husband 

is much more exciting than spending it as missionary.

Trayco took the morning off 

and a day together was much needed!

We went to the mall 

and Trayco bought me a 

Zagg glass cover for my phone. 

Then we set out to Furniture Row and he bought me a pillow!

Yes a pillow!

Trayco bought a really nice pillow when 

he worked at F.R. in Utah. 

It's wavy and stays cool all night and it's oh so nice. 

It often goes missing from his side of the bed 

 so he thought it was about time I had my own :)

We went to Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch and 

then spent the rest of the afternoon

 watching The Office and napping. 

It was the perfect day! 

Strides for Epilepsy

Barb invited me to walk a 5K 

with her in Denver for her friends 

niece who suffers from Epilepsy.

It was a good time and who doesn't love a free t-shirt!

Barb & Tegan

Happy Birthday Elder Szabo!

The last birthday I spent with Drew, he was turning 16. 

Now look at him, all grown up in

 a foreign country preaching the gospel!

We love you Drew and although we know you are exactly where you are supposed to be, 

we miss you! 

Keep up the good work, we are proud of you! 

THANKFUL.GRATEFUL.BLESSED.

Trayco and I, read a talk together that led us to take on a challenge and only say prayers of gratitude for two weeks.

"After months of praying for help, I began thinking of ways to pray more fervently. The Spirit brought to my mind counsel from priesthood leaders and scriptures that taught the importance of expressing gratitude to Heavenly Father. These promptings helped me realize that I needed to express deeper appreciation for my blessings and ask less for the things my family and I needed. I decided that I would try for one week to let go of my daily pleadings and express only gratitude in my prayers."

-Christie Skrinak "My Prayers of Gratitude" Sept 2013 Ensign

For two weeks we have been studying Gratitude and have only been expressing thankful prayers.

At first it was hard not to ask Heavenly Father to 

"keep Trayco safe and help him to have a good day" or to 

"please protect my brother in Albania and guide him to those that are prepared." 

Instead of asking it has been an act of faith to say 

"I'm grateful Thou will watch over my husband" and 

"Thank you for blessing Elder Szabo with a portion of Thy spirit to bless Thy children in Tirana" 

My faith has increased as I have watched day in and day out as Heavenly Father has blesses us and acknowledge our prayers of gratitude.

"The thankful heart opens our eyes to a 

multitude of blessings that continually surround us."

 -Elder James E. Faust "Gratitude As a Saving Principle"

Our new family motto:

"My newfound testimony of gratitude 

is that it inspires humility, 

humility encourages faith, 

and faith brings miracles."

-Christie Skrinak 

free shoes = happy husband

Proud of this good looking husband of mine. 

Trayco has been working hard and got a 

free pair of Nike's for selling
45 accounts in the first month