kacey's abc's of gratitude

I could truly go on and on about what I'm most thankful for this year. 2014 has been so good to me. Many prayers have been answered, many blessings have come my way, and surprises as sweet as honey have changed my life. 

I've come to learn that true happiness comes from expressing gratitude...gratitude to those around me who make my life wonderful and whom I love so much, and gratitude to my Heavenly Father because without Him I would have nothing.
So, without further ado, my ABCs of gratitude.
A- Apples
B- Books
C- Coloring books
D- Dan
E- Eternal families
F- Friends
G- Gospel
H- Heroes
I-   Ice
J-  Job
K- Kacey's Dance Academy
L- Lake Powell
M-Milestone moments
N- New adventures
O- Opportunities
P- Puzzles
Q- Quiet
R- Roommates
S- Sun Valley
T- Tennis
U- United States of America
V- Vacation
W- Waterskiing
X- eXamples
Y- Year 2014
Z- Zorro

(kacey.ism 357)

thoughts on happiness.

Last night when I was trying to fall asleep, all I could think was, "Thank you for the happiness, Heavenly Father".

I would consider myself to be a pretty happy person. I'm a glass half full, always walk toward the sunshine kind of girl. 

But lately, it's been the kind of happy that radiates through my fingers and toes and gives me butterflies every 5 minutes. 

It's a happiness that starts deep in my heart and yearns to be shared with everyone around me.

It's the kind of happiness that comes when you realize you haven't had a bad day in at least 100 days because the good more than outweighs the bad. 

It's the kind of happiness that I want everyone to experience. 

It's the kind of happiness that I see in those around me. It's contagious, it's simple, it's fulfilling, and it's wonderful.

I see those I love reveling in this happiness too, and that only makes me, you guessed it, even happier.

I just feel tremendously blessed. 

As I ponder on gratitude in this month of Thanksgiving, I am feeling most grateful for the precious gift that is true happiness.

(kacey.ism 356)

All Hallow's Eve

While I wouldn't say Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year, this year managed to be a pretty good one. 

We kicked off the week with my family's annual pumpkin carving extravaganza (one of my favorite traditions of the season). I live for my mom's homemade white bean chili in pumpkin bread bowls and her pumpkin bundt cake. 

I love seeing my cute grandpa carve his simple jack-o-lantern every year, and everyone squish together to get at least one good family picture. 

I decided to carve an elephant, which isn't that surprising considering my obsession with them has reached new heights this year. What was surprising was that it actually turned out okay.

I told all my students to wear their Halloween costumes to dance class this week. 

That was a blast. They were wild and crazy, but so much fun. I love to see their imaginations take them to incredible places.

On Halloween I threw on my shark hoodie, Dan turned into my shark attack victim, Ann brought out my owl costume, and we headed to the party of the year. The place was packed. 

I saw every costume in the book. It only reminded me why this holiday is so odd. But, I guess we only have to embrace it one day a year, and I can handle that. 

We ended the night by watching Psycho in my backyard. Creepy, spooky, and oh so fun. 

See ya next year Hallow's Eve. 

(kacey.ism 355)