ThankFULL

Would it truly be November if I didn't dedicate a blog post to all things for which I'm thankful? Probably not. Would it truly be November if returning to work today after the Thanksgiving break wasn't completely rough + me being in dire need of a large diet Dr. Pepper? Probably not. Also, would it truly be in Shayli fashion for me to blog about what I'm thankful for after Thanksgiving? Probably definitely YES. So, here we go with another thankful post! It may be late, but I'm definitely still thankful.

BUT FIRST: A picture of Chris holding a baby, because it makes my heart melt and uterus skip a beat all at once. That is all.

... I guess Chris and baby Averi can start at the top of my thankful list.

Other people/things I'm thankful for in no particular order:

- My family. Especially my mom's side of the family that brings more food to Thanksgiving dinner than anyone knows what to do with. So much veggies + dip! So many crackers and cheeseballs! So much happiness.

- My in-laws. But if you read my last post than you already knew that! + When Tom G has a birthday and has an adult only dinner/game night! + When Chris wins the quarters game so we can have a new Swig fund.

- Speaking of Swig fund... I am always thankful for diet Dr. Pepper. Cranberry Sprite Zero is up there, too. 'Tis the season! Actually, I'm pretty grateful for almost any caffeinated beverage these days.

-Friends. This pic sums that up perfectly... best friends wearing a Friends sweatshirt. If you don't understand our sweatshirts... are we even really friends!?? Also, a majority of my Thanksgiving break may or may not have been dedicated to Season 7 of Friends so. . .

-Also, let's take this time to appreciate that my phone automatically smooths my skin in pictures ^^ #thankful

-Christmas decorations. It's like putting up instant happiness! Although, Chris may not agree with that statement. I think he's still bitter that a majority of our gift cards from our wedding were dedicated to Christmas decor our first year of marriage.

- Lupin. Who gets his own stocking this Christmas ha (another thing Chris probably doesn't agree with). I'm mostly thankful for Lupin when he's not trying to rip the ribbon off of our Christmas tree or chew on my Santa hat.

- Naps.

- Black Friday... because I'm almost done with my Christmas shopping! I'd also like to add that I don't work retail anymore so I'm extra grateful to not work on Black Friday.

- Candy Cane Kisses. Always! Why were they so hard to find this year?!

- Work, but more so my amazing co-workers. Who else can you complain to about crazy students?!

- I guess I'm thankful for my students, too... most of them, anyway ;)

- Becca's Backlight Primer + Benefit Porefessional. Mama got some big pores that need to be filled. The combo of those two primers are truly a gamechanger.

- Fuzzy socks. Mostly when I'm sleeping in them.

- My primary class. Especially when they tell me things like "Sister Gourley your hair looks weird." Way to keep me humble, kids.

- The Gospel and all the hope and happiness it brings to my life.

- Jett and Graham! Reminding me to remember what truly is important in life.

Annnd I need to mention that I'm grateful for Chris one more time! Especially because he agreed to stop at the store to grab shredded cheese on his way home from work + he stepped on the scale after this weekend and suggested we go on a cleanse + he sent a picture of him eating salad for lunch today. He is my favorite.

-

just a little thankfulness

'tis the season, right?!

I am thankful for (in no particular order)...

+ CHRIS
+ both sides of my family
+ self-tanner
+ Costco blankets (thank you, mom!)
+ the Ellen show, because feels
+ candy cane kisses
(even if my waistline ain't so thankful)
+ voicemails from Lexi
+ my students. especially when they randomly all start singing in unison Jason Aldean's "Big Green Tractor" + convince me to do the #mannequinchallenge
+ the gospel
+ my coworkers 
+ sunshine
+ friends
+ also Friends the series 
(and even more specifically, Ross Gellar)
+ High Fitness + my Vasa pass 
(literally the only reason I haven't completely given up and wanted to just waste away on these colder, darker days)
+ naps
+ skookies (the addiction is truly real)
+ the blessed person who decided mashed potatoes should be part of Thanksgiving dinner
+ zits...always keeping me humble
+ Christmas music. Ain't ashamed.

...and I think I'm just going to stop there, which I'm sure most people that are reading this list are thankful for.

Adulthood. Population: Chris & Shayli

Guys. . . that is our freaking house! What the freakity freak? Is this even real life?! It still hasn't fully sunk in that this is where me and Chris live here now. I say hasn't fully sunk in because there have been a few things that have happened this week when it has sunk in, and been like, WELCOME TO ADULTHOOD + BEING HOMEOWNERS! Mostly when we discovered that every time our neighbors would open their garage, ours would open too (especially at 5:30 in the morning!). Oh, and there was that time our microwave broke. Also, I'm not sure what feels more empty... our pantry or our bank account (which is good for telling my decorating-heart to calm.the.freak.down.)? Like I said, WELCOME TO ADULTHOOD + BEING HOMEOWNERS! 

But besides all that, the rest of it is hard to believe that this is all ours! Like, who knew that having a garage was such a luxury? Scraping frost off car windows-what's that?! And you mean there's such thing as having a bathtub separate from the shower? I can do laundry in a room that doesn't have a toilet in it?! THIS CAN'T BE REAL! 

It isn't real. These past two months have seemed like a huge blur. One minute we're talking about selling our town home, and then before we know it, we're living in Tom and Martha's basement waiting to close on our house! Speaking of Tom and Martha... huge thank you to those roomies that were more than willing to let us live in their basement + share their diet ( & caffeine free!) Dr. Pepper + let us chill in their hot tub almost every night. Wait, why did we leave that place again...? In all seriousness, though-- THANK YOU TOM AND MARTHA! We love you!

And while we're on the subject of thanking people... I need to say thank you to my in-laws Kat and Jon for helping us with the entire process of getting into this house!! We've probably talked with them more in these past two months than we have in all 3 years of our marriage combined! Pretty sure we owe them free babysitting for life and then some. 

Really, I should just say thank you to any and all of our friends and family. Whether it was helping us move, clean, or just being supportive--we've appreciated all of it! I kind of love that we got to move into our house the week of Thanksgiving, because it's given me even more reasons to be so, so thankful for our family and friends. I've found myself randomly just bursting into tears while sorting through all of our stuff just thinking, "Holy goodness, how are we are so blessed!" (okay, and maybe Ellen was on in the background...) 

But really, what more could I ask for right now? 

Celebrating Emily

It's crazy to think that it was only a month ago that my grandma passed away--it definitely feels longer. I miss her. A lot. Which is why I decided to finally look at some of the pictures my cousin, Cassie, took at my grandma's funeral.

I'll be honest...at first I thought it was kinda weird that my cousin was wandering around with her nice camera taking pictures of everyone and everything that day (Is that funeral etiquette?), but now I'm grateful she did, because they have provided some comfort. I love being able to look back on that day and see how much love and support my once basically orphan grandma had accumulated over her life! I also love that Cassie snapped some pictures of me and my sister with our grandpa--I will cherish those pictures forever! Which is why I decided to put those + other pictures from that day on the blog.

^^My absolute favorite picture^^

I couldn't help but be a little sad thinking about how our kids won't get to meet their great grandma Sanderson in this life, or have the pleasure of going to her house and being greeted by the twinkle in her eye, but I am excited to tell them all about her when the time comes. I can't wait to tell them that their great grandma was alive when Pearl Harbor was bombed, and that she thought about becoming a nurse once, and that she made yummy chocolate cake and that she always denied putting cool whip on her toast and most importantly, that she was a simple lady who found the most joy in living the Gospel and simply visiting with her family and friends... and the occasional trip to the D.I. :) My kids will definitely know who grandma Sanderson is and the love I have for her.

So while today may be kind of a sad anniversary, I want to make it a day of celebrating Emily! So be sure to eat an extra treat...or two... because that's what she did even though she was diabetic (she's the only person I'm okay with doing that). And if you're able, find a Shirley Temple movie to watch! And most importantly, stop and visit with someone and try to make them feel like the most important person in the world... like she did.

a little late, but still thankful!

I guess I missed the memo from Instagram that said I needed to post a cutesy picture with my significant other on Thanksgiving and tell everyone how thankful I am for them. So, like everything else in my life, here I am!...two days too late. But that's only because I was having way too much fun stuffing my face with food and spending time with my family and um, stuffing my face with food. 

Now I know I said you wouldn't see anymore thankful posts from me this month, but I feel like it's kind of necessary, because somehow I got skipped at the Gourley table when everyone was going around saying two things they were thankful for. Maybe being "skipped" wasn't by chance, though. You see, I'm socially inept when it comes to casual conversation and tend to yell things out like, "SEX!" while everyone's gathered around the dinner table. Well played Gourley gang, well played. 

Anyway, since I never got to tell my Gourley family on Thanksgiving, I just wanted to let them know that I am so thankful for all of them! Since the very beginning, I've been welcomed in with open arms and treated like one of their own! I love that everyone acts excited when we come over + interested in what's going on in our lives. Thank you for always pretending to be interested in my school schedule and Chris' work stories--it does not go unnoticed! Oh, and I'm thankful that Mama Gourley always has a supply of dirty diet. DP on-hand + is genuinely concerned that I didn't get enough to eat even after I've devoured 3 plates of food. 

Obviously I couldn't do a thankful post and not mention my own family. I know not everyone can say they are best friends with their family, and I definitely know not everyone can say that their only friends are their family, either ;) I'm so glad I have a family that eats 4 servings of anything like I do + makes dirty jokes while playing Settlers of Catan (Does anybody got wood?!) + shows affection by making fun of you. I love my people.

Last but not least, I'm thankful for Chris--the constant in my life. The constant teasing, tickling, sweatpants-wearing, and smiling that's become part of my life. I'm thankful he agreed to put up with me for eternity, because I don't think many others would have been up to the challenge. You're my person, Chris! Even if you don't understand the significance of that phrase.

To sum this (corny post) all up, I guess what I'm trying to say is that the things I'm most thankful for in my life aren't things.

Life is good.

Welcome, November!

Hello blog world! I've missed you so much. *virtual hug*

If I had to describe the past week in one word, it would be.... well, it wouldn't be a very nice word. I'll give you a hint: it rhymes with kitty. Last week was just the pits. I'm pretty sure I failed a test that I studied my buns off for, I didn't have time to do any kind of exercise, annnnnd I was on my period, which of course makes any scenario 13x worse (like the fact that I couldn't spike the volleyball over the net in my team sport fundamentals class made me cry). I think this was the first week this semester that I really have felt the 17 credit load I've been taking--I don't recommend it to anyone. 

But enough feeling sorry for myself! Because it's November! Which is all about being thankful! And I already have a lot to be thankful for this month, so I'm going to get it all out of the way in one post instead of clogging your Facebook feed every single day this month with posts that start with, "Day __ : I'm thankful for... " because I'm pretty sure you'd get tired of reading that I'm thankful for Dr. Pepper and sweatpants and Chris.

Ahem, anyway...

I'm thankful for:

• My cute niece, Morgan, asking me to speak at her baptism! It was nice being reminded of how awesome the Holy Ghost is. I also loved watching her be the example as the first Gourley grandchild to be baptized. My heart melted seeing all of her cousins gather around the font and watch her go under the water-so precious!

• The fact that I got 10 hours of sleep last night. Bless you, daylight savings! 

• Whit giving me The Fault In Our Stars movie for my birthday! + Chris agreeing to watch it with me, even if there was a lot of head shaking and eye rolling on his part. 

• Our anniversary coming up this month! How the heck have we been married for almost 2 years?! Seems like just yesterday we were sneakily making out in his parents' basement ;)

• The cold weather! Even if it has robbed me of any motivation I may have had to catch up on homework and fold laundry. I've been so giddy roaming through my house wearing a big fat hoodie and chunky socks! 

• Chris' new job! I love having him home an hour earlier +  knowing he won't have to clean up homeless man poo off the sidewalk at this job.

• The three rolls of toilet paper I stole from my parents for obvious reasons. Sorry, mom! IOU: 3 rolls of nice, thick, name-brand toilet paper! I wish I would have realized what a luxury that was before getting married...

• Target. Again, for obvious reasons. But I'm especially thankful because when I went to pick up this scarf, the cashier gave me some $3 off coupons because the guy in the back getting my order took forever. 

• Chris for agreeing to take this picture of me even when we were already 10 minutes late to church today. If you want to see something awkward, just watch me ask Chris to take a picture of me. But look at my scarf! Isn't it so fall and pinteresty?! It had to be documented I tell you! Had to!

• Anyone who actually read this sad post. I will say though, blogging is like exercising--so fun and rewarding the more often you do it, but not so pretty trying to get back into it after a week and a half of not doing it. And I have done neither of those things for the past week and half so...hopefully this is the only thankful post you'll be seeing this month.

I'm sure there's a lot more I'll be thankful for during this month, but we'll just leave it at that for now. I'm so excited for November! It's probably one of my favorite months of the year! Let's pray it's better than my last week of October was.

p.s. I'm thankful for people who wear things two days in a row, because I know they aren't judging me for wearing that striped dress twice this weekend. I'm sure they're the same people who don't wash their bras very much, either. You guys are my kind of people.