"...that mean the most."

Sometimes I think we get so wrapped up in the big scheme of things that we forget to notice the subtle, pretty gifts of the day to day. Recently, I've been so excited about all the trips I get to go on soon, planning them and making agendas, that I became super bored with the right now. But then, something little would happen, to make me smile or laugh, that would send me right back to the here and now.

A few examples:

• Finding pastel, orange M&M's in my Peanut M&M's bag. [Such a prettier color than the one's we have in the US!]
• Playing "scare" Hide and Go Seek with my roommates and the boys room on our hall because everything is closed on Sundays.
• Having a dance party in celebration of booking our Spring Break.
• Not doing anything all day, yet staying in to have amazing talks with my roommate, Jenalee, on just about everything in life.
• Sitting on the porch, laughing about nothing.
• Answered prayers [the first day here I literally prayed for more blankets... "Dear God, how am I ever going to sleep with just this comforter and a sheet? Please, please let my Mom send me another one." ...a week later, I just so happened to find an extra, unused and unclaimed comforter in Scott's room that I proceeded to steal. I think God approved ;)]
• Spontaneously starting a rap battle that made us 30 minutes late for a lecture.
• Grocery shopping with Jessica and almost falling down the escalator/moving ramp/scariest thing ever- because our rolling baskets were pulling us down, then laughing hysterically and having all the Cypriots look at us like "those Americans"
• Consistently being woken up by my friend Morrill ringing the doorbell 9 million times then flinging herself on my bed. [Way better than waking to an alarm clock]
• Kit-Kats with Nutella
• The fact that the sun continually rises and shines through my windows each morning, making it impossible not to be happy when I wake up.
• Skyping friends and family back home, and miss them, yet being able to know that I am completely content right here. right now.

It's the little things. The smile from a stranger. The laughter that begins a friendship. The birds that sing outside. The warm sun and a cool breeze. The tingly, heart-pounding feeling you get when you realize you love someone, you miss someone, or when you find out you mean the world to someone else. Take a second to notice these things and be thankful, because these make everything else worth it.