Top Ten Reasons I'm grateful for my Smartphone

In no particular order, here are my top ten reasons I'm grateful to live in a time when I can own a smartphone. (By the way, isn't my new case cute?)

1. The first day here, I had an appointment to see someone about finding a place to live. We had mapped out where it was, and how to get there but as soon as I walked out of the hotel, I got lost. No worries, I just asked my smartphone to tell me how to get there and it told me every turn to take, even while I was walking. It's also super convenient whenever we're going anywhere to find directions, which buses and trains to take.  It is not fool proof, sometimes we get stuck or things don't work out how they're supposed to, but it's still very nice.

2. Even though I live on the other side of the world from my family, it isn't too difficult to talk to them. Thanks to Google Hangouts I can video chat, text and even call any number in the US for free.

3. It is very easy to check and see what the weather will be like. So I know when to be adamant about fighting with my kids about wearing a coat and when to let it go.

4. Occasionally I will find a song the girls especially like on you tube and we listen on the way to school. (Their favorites are the songs they danced to on Mom's Wii)  It is a great way to lift the mood in the morning and make sure they're happy when they start their day.

5. I can read my scriptures anywhere, and I find I'm a lot more likely to read when they are right there in my hand already.

6. I have started having my groceries delivered by Asda, and they have this great app that lets me add things to my list, compare prices and set up delivery. It's very convenient, especially because when I don't have them delivered, I have to carry them home all by myself.  You know that game you play called how much can I carry in one trip? It gets a lot harder when the one trip is a ten minute walk.

7. I have a map that allows me to follow Ben on his way home. So I can see when he's still at school, when he was at school 45 minutes ago and it hasn't updated because he's on the tube, and when he's on the bus nearly home. I love knowing he'll be walking in the door soon.

8. Most of the time when I cook, I decide what to make, or look at what ingredients I have and find a recipe on my phone. We would probably have buttered rice every night if not for that.

9. I can take pictures of my cute kids and the fun things we're doing and share them immediately with family and friends.

10. I can listen to my music anywhere, and thanks to chrome cast, I can start videos for the kids without getting out of bed.