Three good things

Recently I had an experience that inspired an idea, a hope, for my blog…

My family came to visit my husband and I, and we decided to go on an adventure. We took them to the Provo river to tube and splash around. What started as a seemingly fun and lighthearted afternoon turned into a hurricane of disaster in a matter of seconds. About a year ago my mom was in a bad car accident and walked away with a serious concussion. We later found out her concussion was more then just a light bruise on her brain, but she was suffering from a traumatic brain injury. While we were tubing down the river, my mom fell backwards off her tube, and smacked her head on a rock. If you know anything about brain injuries…you know that is not good!! After helping my mom to get situated back on her tube, and make sure she was still coherent we kept going. As we were continuing down the river, my little sister’s tube popped. Causing her to have to hang to the side of my tube, since the tubes were small and only fit one person. I went to jump off my tube and give it to her, but she wouldn’t let me. Like she physically pushed me back onto my tube. I tried to hold her up as best I could. I kept wiping her tears from her face while her knees were getting banged up on the rocks beneath her. My littlest sister’s tube popped shortly thereafter and she had maneuvered her way on top of me and my tube by climbing over family members who were safely on their tubes. While she was on top of my tube we passed by a branch that was lingering on the top of the water. As we passed by this branch, my sister’s life jacket caught hold of that lingering branch. Before I knew it my tube and I were coasting down the river while my sister was caught in a tree, face down in the water. She had a little bit of room to lift her head up and breathe, but not much. The current was pushing her little ten year old body, which caused for her to have no control over herself. She was flailing around and scared out of her mind. I leaped out of my tube, and I credit this to adrenaline rushing through my body, pushed back through the current to get to my sister. Hearing her screams, and trying to ignore my heart leaping out of my chest, I finally made it to her, threw my arms around her and had to push her back against the current in order to get her released from the tree and back to safety. Once I had her in my arms I swam with the current to my husband, who was holding my tube and trying to calm my mom down. From that point on, there were still some bumps and bruises along the way. My oldest younger sister and I ended up walking the rest of the way since 2 tubes were down. As my sister and I were walking back towards our cars, it got me thinking…

There were two options my family and I had at that moment. One was to cry, freak out, be mad, and wish a drought to be cast upon the freezing river. The second was to by grateful that none of the injuries that occurred that day were fatal, especially my mom’s. To be grateful that my littlest sister was able to be released from the tree, and that it wasn’t any scarier then it already was. The world today is a really scary place. So scary that children can’t play in their front yards without being suspicious, and teenagers have taken bullying beyond the hallways of school to behind a computer screen. It seems that everywhere I turn there is another tragedy, heartbreaking loss, devastating destruction, unnecessary act of violence, or malicious argument taking place. There is a argument for the idea that there is more to fear then to love in this world. But I strongly disagree. While there are valid fears to have, there is grateful heart each one of us can grow. I choose to be grateful that my families injuries from that day at the river were not as serious as they could have been. Granted, our little excursion on the river was no where near some of the tragedy individuals face today. But my experience can be used to illustrate a lesson that I believe is much needed in this scary world. I’m not saying an attitude of gratitude, or a grateful heart, will solve all of the world’s problem within the next few days. But a heart of gratitude can lead to a heart filled with kindness. I don’t think anyone would disagree that this world could use a bit of kindness. So here is my proposition to you, find three things everyday to be grateful for. Wether it be that you made it to work on time after a crazy and rushed filled morning, or that you were able to chat with a friend you hadn’t heard from in a while. There is so much to be thankful for, and most of the time we take daily life for granted and forget to realize the impact the smallest things can have on our lives. Or in this case, the world.

Share those three things you have to be grateful for, using the #threegoodthings and #alexandriakrystine and you will be entered for the COOLEST GIVEAWAY YET!! In honor of finding three good things to be grateful for, I am giving away three good things, for three straight days!

Day #1 giveaway: My friend Mckell owns the cutest custom jewelry shop and makes amazing custom bangles! I have ordered several bangles from her (including my bridesmaids gifts, which were a crazy big hit!) that I LOVE, and pretty much wear everyday. Check out her instagram page to see her work! @mcustombangles. Mckell has kindly offered to give these custom rose gold bangles to the winner of #threegoodthings giveaway for day #1!

Day #2 giveaway: Who doesn’t love to shop? How does a $25 gift card to amazon sound! (PC: turnerduckworth.com)

Day #3 giveaway: Hand lettered pieces are one of my new obsessions. There is a too die for shop on Etsy called ILovePrintables. The winner of day 3 will get an 8×10 print of the pic below! I love this quote, and how it ties into the purpose of #threegoodthings!

All you have to do is post on instagram three things you have to be grateful for, and use the hashtags #threegoodthings #alexandriakrystine. This giveaway will be going on for THREE STRAIGHT DAYS! There is no limit to how many entries, just make sure you use the hashtags so we know you have entered.

Day #1 giveaway: Starts RIGHT NOW! And ends tomorrow (August 29th) at Noon MST.

Day #2 giveaway: Starts tomorrow (August 29th) at noon MST, and ends August 3oth at noon MST.

Day #3 giveaway: Starts August 30th at noon MST, and ends August 31st at noon MST.

Winners will be selected at random, and announced at the end of each giveaway day on Instagram. Let’s blow up this attitude of gratitude like crazy on social media, and promote a little more kindness in this chaotic world! #threegoodthings