This is the day I prayed that he would make it to see. I wish he were here. He would be so proud to see his youngest daughter graduate from high school, so excited for her future.

blessings of today:

1. Seeing my younger sister in her last choir concert. You were amazing, Bugs! So glad to see the amazing friendships you've made through choir.

2. Getting to Skype with the bestie while she's in Chicago living out her dream momentarily. I feel loved when she makes time for me (okay, maybe it was for my adorable dog Chaya) despite being so busy and happy elsewhere.

3. Sunshine AND warm temperatures. What is this, spring?! Thank you, God :) Wisconsin appreciates the gesture.

4. Skipping through Copps with my mom, begging for ice cream toppings and laughing at all the funny birthday cards. I can always be a little kid with her.

5. Watching Chaya try to eat bubbles. Few things can make me laugh as hard as I do when I see that.

blessings of today:

1. Dinner with the ladies. So nice to get out of the apt and laugh. A lot.

2. Good conversations with a lot of different people.

3. Finally getting back to a somewhat normal sleep schedule.

4. Being able to wear shorts without fear of frostbite!

5. Getting my grades and knowing that I did fine in all my classes.

blessings of today:

1. Feeling and smelling the spring air. Finally! Yesterday felt like winter.

2. Getting to spend the day in bed after getting sick last night. So glad that I had the day completely off to recover.

3. Finding perspective. I'm not the only one who has lost a parent. Sometimes I need that reminder.

4. Hearing my friend talk about the job she loves. It makes me so happy to hear how happy she is.

5. Getting a message from my roommate and laughing about memories we have at this apartment. Gonna miss it...

blessings of today:

1. Getting dinner w/ two of my really good friends from Marquette. One of the girls is graduating from grad school here and is looking for a job, so she may not be around much longer. So glad to have the chance to hang out with her while she's still here!

2. Not having to study or even look at a textbook! Although it did leave me kind of lost and wondering what to do at work...

3. Having a warm shower and a warm bed to crawl into after walking in the rain.

4. Re-realizing that my best friend is someone who doesn't judge me no matter what, and that may be one of the biggest indicators of friendship in my book.

5. Having the chance to start reading "The Reason for God" again. For some reason it's a challenging read for me, but very interesting and very worthwhile.

blessings of today:

1. ALL 9 FINALS ARE DONE!

2. Breakfast w/ PT girls - omelets and Irish coffee and celebrating the end of our first year of PT school! I love those girls.

3. Getting to nap. I feel like this is a trend lately. But that's probably because I haven't been sleeping at night... darn exams.

4. Texting with my brother while catching up on Parks and Recreation. a) hilarious show and b) hilarious conversation.

5. Seeing that the APTA is still working hard to get legislation passed to have loan repayment for working with underserved populations. This is what I ultimately want to do and I'm glad that its importance is recognized.

blessings of today:

1. Crashing after my final and having my friend cover for me when I was 45 minutes late to work! This never happens and I was so embarrassed, but she was so kind about it and didn't even mind.

2. Doing well on my cumulative kinesiology final, because it means that I actually am learning the material, not just memorizing it for the exam and forgetting it.

3. Talking to one of my coworkers/friends for a while at work today who is graduating and moving back to Chicago. She is one of the sweetest and most genuine people I have met at Marquette, and I can really say that I am better for having met her.

4. Having a therapeutic venting session with 5 other PTs. Hilarious and necessary. I haven't laughed this much in a while! And it's good to hear that I'm not the only one just trying to survive.

5. Having Jessie J's "Do it Like a Dude" stuck in my head all day and dancing to it not caring what anyone thought :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOf3kYtwASo
(caution: some profanity)

blessings of today:

1. Having a quiet day at work so that I could study for my exams.

2. Making it through my practicals!

3. Receiving encouragement from my mom when I was frustrated about grades. That will never get old, no matter how old I get :)

4. My roommate started on her journey to grad school. Although the empty apartment makes me miss her like crazy, I'm so excited for her.

5. Knowing that God has blessed our family beyond what we would ever need. It's so hard for me to see my friends' families go through financial troubles, so the least I can do is be grateful for what God has blessed me with.

blessings of today

1. Sitting outside in the sun while eating breakfast this morning. It was beautiful weather! ...Until this afternoon. But that's okay, the rain made studying easier.

2. Getting extra help in the kinesiology review session. Practical's going to be tough tomorrow!

3. Having my good friends text me "Good luck on finals!" today. Made me smile.

4. Talking to two of my classmates that I rarely get a chance to talk to while waiting in line for free snacks at the library tonight.

4b. Free snacks at the library tonight!!

5. Sitting outside at 2am (yes, there have been a lot of late nights lately) this morning jamming out to my music because there was no one outside when I got back from the library and it was SO nice out. Sorry to anyone who might have heard me sing.

blessings of today:

1. Writing at 2am. It was really cathartic and I haven't written in a long time, so it was good to know I still can articulate what I'm thinking.

2. Getting to talk to the roommate a lot today since we both hung out around at home. She's moving out in two days! I can't believe it. The apartment is starting to look different already, with her packing everything up. I'm so excited for her to start this next part of her life, but I'll miss her so much.

3. Still not feeling stressed about finals. Honestly don't know why. Thank you, God.

4. Getting a huge hug from one of my friends in the library! (Technically 3 huge sneak attack hugs... even better!)

5. Skype date with Mom for Mother's Day! I love talking with her, she's so fun and encouraging. And she is an amazing mother, I hope that I'm half the mother she is someday :)

blessings of today:

Today has been stressful and unhappy, and these are the days when this becomes the most necessary. God is blessing my moments even when I am unaware, so that's the whole reason I'm learning to recognize it!

1. Not having to work at 7:30 and getting to sleep in.

2. Seeing a party next door where the girls wore dresses and hats and the guys wore suitcoats. Finally, something interesting!

3. Digging out my iPod and rediscovering all my old music! Some really great songs, and some songs that make me wonder what I was thinking! :)

4. Getting a table in the library during the weekend before finals. This is nearly impossible!

5. Finding out that our IV end of the year picnic is on Friday, and I have something to look forward to after finals! I can't wait!

blessings of today:

1. Being able to ask questions in the pharmacology review session without worrying about sounding dumb. Sometimes I let that get in the way.

2. More sunshine! And I got to wear the new sunglasses that we got for senior week. They look like this:

Except they say "MU Senior Week" on the side.

3. Half off frappucinos at Starbucks!

4. Finally being motivated enough to sit down and study for more than an hour at a time. About time! Finals are in 3 days... yikes.

5. Beginning to move on from a really hurtful situation.

blessings of today:

1. Cinco de Mayo! I may have a very basic understanding of the actual significance of this date, but I'll take advantage of any excuse to eat Mexican food w/ my coworker.

2. Hearing about my coworker's upcoming year. He'll be graduating, getting a real job, moving, and saving up money to go to PT school next summer. I'm so excited for him and I'm so blessed that we were co-mentees freshman year; his friendship has been one of the best I've had here at Marquette.

3. Getting a chance to reflect on my 4 years in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship here at Marquette and a chance to thank those who've influenced me more than even I know. InterVarsity was absolutely the most influential experience in my relationship with God, and I can never express my gratitude fully.

4. Laughter. Thanks to my professor's mullet (though he'll deny its existence to the end), my staffworker's stories about his inability to stop talking, and Cougar Town (a seriously underrated show, check it out).

5. Having 5 of my friends be in the weight room during my shift today! It made my day. I'm so glad that my friends take care of themselves and most importantly take breaks between runs/sets to come chat with me :)

blessings of today:

1. Good friends that listen, empathize, and don't judge even when I'm telling them things that I'm not proud of. And especially those who encourage me to be a better person, and who believe I can be.

2. Skype date with Mom. I love being able to see her smiling face when I talk to her. Until the yawns become contagious and one of us goes to bed :)

3. SUNSHINE!

4. Finding out that not only is Anberlin playing at Summerfest this year, but so is Sara Bareilles! Despite only knowing and loving one of her songs, I will still make it my mission to go see her.

5. Realizing that seeing Dad go through what he did is going to make me a better physical therapist. And I am so grateful for that. Thank you, Dad.

blessings of today:

1. Laughing so hard my cheeks hurt in Kinesiology when we watched a video of our classmates finding out whether or not cats have tenodesis (they do!).
Note: tenodesis is when you relax your hand and bend your wrist backwards, and your fingers bend too, or when you relax your hand and bend your wrist forwards, and your fingers straighten out. Try it... pretty amazing, huh?

2. Getting to work with patients with spinal cord injuries in lab today. Their attitudes toward their situations and what they have done and continue to do with their lives was inspiring. And so incredibly cool! It was so great to find joy in what I'm doing despite it being a stressful time of year.

3. The fact that I still have full use of all of my limbs. I'm grateful for what God has given to me and I won't be taking it for granted! Can't wait to go for a run :)

4. Not stressing about finals. Even though maybe I should be!

5. Seeing that my best friend from childhood is my first "follower." Hi, Natalie! I loved your card/letter and am working on a reply. Miss you!

blessings of today:

1. Getting to rest when I needed it. Thank you to my friend who took notes for me during our review session and my coworker who helped me out with my shift.

2. Finding chicken in my freezer! Thank you God for providing when I haven't been able to go grocery shopping.

3. Making jello for a study snack tonight. Now if I could just get myself to study... :)

4. Getting to see my roommate. These moments are rare, and in two weeks she'll be in grad school halfway across the country!

5. Realizing how blessed I am, how wonderful my God is, and how necessary it has become for me to be aware of these things moment by moment.