(Day 14) Thankful for. . .

I'm thankful for good friends who lift me up. Even though you've all been scattered from ocean to ocean I know that you are always there for me on the other end of the phone to share in my tough days, happy moments, tears, and triumphs over difficulty. You are the stuff that true friends are made of and I am so grateful that you are in my life.

and most important of all....You know who you are!!!

(Day13) Thankful for. . .

my "helpers"

I have such great boys that are almost always willing to pitch in and help out. One of the prized jobs is taking out the recycling. I wonder if they will still prize it as the cold weather sets in?

(Day 12) Thankful for. . .

I'm thankful for toy catalogs and childhood memories!

This afternoon my boys were perusing and dreaming about what amazing things they too could purchase from the Lego catalog and from the other room I hear the Engineer say, "Wow! Look what we can have for FREE! " I knew what they were talking about because I had looked through the catalog earlier and saw the little postcard that in the fine print said if you buy this really great Lego ship for $60 $59.99 then you can also have this smaller Lego ship FREE! Of course FREE was the largest word on the page next only to the magnified picture of the small ship. I went in to help them understand what the small print was saying and crush their poor little dreams (which they actually took quite well). My Comedian wanted to know if they were trying to "play a joke on us" and then they were back to dreaming and scheming.

The experience really took me back to a time when my younger brother and I were perusing the JCPenney's catalog (we must have been around the same ages; old enough to have some concept of money and yet too young to understand the fine print) and we found several pictures of these AMAZING cars that were just our size (HA! HA!) and they only cost $200 or well probably $199.99 because that is so much more affordable. We dreamed and schemed and planned for days over those cars. I remember it was in the fall so both of us had upcoming birthdays and Christmas where we could get some of the money needed. I even remember collecting pennies, nickles and dimes that I came upon around the house (sorry Mom), in the road and parking lots. Over time he compromised and decided that the motorcycle wasn't practical because we both couldn't ride at the same time. I eventually (and reluctantly) decided that since he was a boy the Barbie land rover was probably too pink for him to be seen in. Finally we settled on some sort of green jeep looking thing because we could both drive and green could be a girl color too. I planned on how we would drive to my grandmothers (an hour away) whenever we wanted to. He wanted to go driving in the mountains and down to the "farm" (where our great grandmother, great uncle and some cousins lived--almost 2 hours away) and how we could just pack up and go camping. Oh we had amazing plans!


Based on my memory the photo in the catalog looked something like this. Except of course it was green. Now my boys own a little battery operated car. We call it the "pink jeep" because the red plastic has faded and can sadly now be called nothing other than pink. When my boys were 3 or so they would drive it all over the yard and have a blast. By the time they were 5 or so they could still drive it but their knees were all the way up to their elbows and it was much more difficult to maneuver. There is no way that either my brother or I could have even fit in one of these little darlings that seemed so big to us. At the time we were certain that the girl and boy shown must be our size. I don't remember how we got distracted from our big dream or what replaced it. I do however remember the first time (many years later) that I realized exactly how big tiny our big dream car was!

(Day 11) Thankful for. . . .

the beautiful music we have to sing as we worship

Have you ever heard of the green scriptures?

I love to read the scriptures and I love to sing from the Green Scriptures.

Many of the hymn titles start with the word "I." Using the word I makes it more personal and with that thought in mind

I offer my testimony in song titles.

I Am a Child of God.

I Know My Father Lives.

I Believe in Christ.

I Know that My Redeemer lives.

I Stand All Amazed at the love Jesus offers me.

I Feel My Savior's Love.

I Want to Live the Gospel.

I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus, I'm following in His Ways.

I Have a Family here on Earth. I want to share my life with them through all eternity.

I Need thee Every Hour, most gracious Lord.

I Thank Thee dear Father in heaven above, for thy goodness and mercy, thy kindness and love.

====================================

I Know the gospel of Jesus Christ is true.

I know my Heavenly Father lives.

I Know Jesus Christ is the living Christ.And, I know the Holy Ghost

will be my guide if I am obedient to the promptings of the Spirit.

This is my testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

(Day 10) Thankful for. . . . .

comfy beds to fall into when we just can't stay awake anymore!

(Day 9) Thankful for. . . .

the first snowfall of the season!

As you can see we had a bit of snow right before Halloween. All the boys got dressed up in their snow gear and had themselves a snowball fight after dinner one night. Even the Tiny Tyrant got involved in learning how to make a snowball. They all had a great time and played until the mean mommy called them inside for some hot chocolate and then into their warm PJ's and off to bed.

(Day 8) Thankful for. . . .

I am very grateful to those veterans, soldiers, marines, coastguard, navy airmen(and women), who have protected me, my family, and my freedoms. Thank you for being away from your families so that I can safely be with mine.

Thank you for facing things too frightening for most of us to think up on our own. Thank you to your supportive families who know that their sacrifice is part of your contribution to our country. Thank you for keeping the those who would want to disrupt our way of life away so I can take my boys school, church and the park and the doctor in peace. Thank you for protecting my freedoms to worship, to speak my mind, to vote. Thank you for doing it, even when it seems like you aren’t appreciated.

My family and I appreciate each and every one of you!

(Day 7) Thankful for. . . .

Autumn!

I am so grateful for this beautiful world that I live in! Changing leaves, a bit of frost, ducks hanging around delaying their migration south, the warm sun rising over the mountains, and the promise of winter coming...soon...but not today!



Because today we need to immerse ourselves in the joy that comes from experiencing the beauty of today!

(Day6) Thankful for....

Living in a democratic Country!

I am so grateful that I live in the United States of America, a democratic nation that gives me the right to vote! I am grateful that we have the ability to have a say in who will lead us both locally, at the state and at the Federal level. I strongly believe that if we choose not to exercise our agency in this one small way that one day we will find ourselves wondering how our town, state, and country got to a place that we no longer recognize or want to live. There is much in our world that we cannot control, that we have no say in, that cause us daily shock and dismay. However if we do not stand up and speak up at this very basic level we will come to the moment when our voices range among the vocal minority and simply are not heard any more.

I appreciate Elder Dallin H. Oak's thoughts on this topic, in a recent address delivered to the students of BYU on the "Threat of Our "Religious Freedom".

An excerpt from "The Mormon Ethic of Civility":

The political world is astir. Economies are faltering. Public trust is waning. Individuals feel vulnerable. And social cohesion wears thin. Meanwhile, stories of rage and agitation fill our airwaves, streets and town halls. Where are the voices of balance and moderation in these extreme times? During a recent address given in an interfaith setting, Church President Thomas S. Monson declared: "When a spirit of goodwill prompts our thinking and when united effort goes to work on a common problem, the results can be most gratifying." Further, former Church President Gordon B. Hinckley once said that living “together in communities with respect and concern one for another” is “the hallmark of civilization.” That hallmark is under increasing threat.

You can read the entire commentary, here: The Mormon Ethic of Civility

I am grateful for the founding fathers of our country who recognized how important it was to have a country that allowed each and every adult citizen the right and responsibility to steer the course of our nation. I am also grateful to those who took time out of their day last Tuesday to go to the polls and vote.

PostScript--I was happy to see that my precinct had a little over 3 times the voter turn out for the general election than voted in the Primary election. However I am saddened that this was still less than 10% of those registered to vote. I am trying to be happy with small changes and to any of you who did go and vote I am grateful that you added your voice to mine in speaking up for who our local leaders should be for the coming years.

(Day 5) Thankful For. . . .

Grandma Teddy!

My dear husband’s grandmother passed away October 2003. We all still miss her dearly. There are times that I get sad when I think that my children will never know how spunky and determined she was. How she would drop everything, including going to church for a chance at a good fishing hole; about the cookie jar that was always there even if the cookies weren’t always edible, how delicious her baked beans and chocolate cakes were and how she would literally give the shoes off her feet if she thought they would benefit anyone whether it be family, friend, or stranger. Her name was Winifred but don’t you dare call her that! I remember being in the hospital visiting her once when a new nurse came on shift that walked in and called her Winifred, weak as she was her voice was strong and snappy with her comeback, “Just you call me Teddy son and we’ll get along fine!”

As happens when loved ones pass away there was the inevitable dividing up of her belongings. Along with some of the items which held treasured memories for my husband there were some practical items that we brought home with us, some mixing bowls, beautiful blue crystal glasses, a few baking accessories, a cane chair (that I sit in each day as I check my email), some embroidered hankies and table runners and a few other items. Without fail each and every time my husband is home and either one of us use one of his grandmother’s possessions he makes a comment to the effect of “Thanks you grandma for sharing your love with us. You were a wonderful grandma and I miss you!” Then he will take one of our boys in his arms and tell them a story about his time with his grandmother. He has many of them as he grew up next door to her. As each story winds on to its conclusion he inevitable ends with a short lesson on the gospel and how we will one day be together again with Grandma Teddy and then the boys will see for themselves what a wonderful Grandma she is.

I love how he expresses gratitude for the role his grandmother played in his life and how he uses her possessions to teach our boys to be grateful and to love the great-grandmother that they will only remember from pictures and his stories, as well as the plan of salvation. He could focus on his grief and how much he misses her, and how painful it is to go visit his parents and see her empty home for sale but he doesn’t. He has found that “We can lift ourselves, and others as well, when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues.” Thomas S. Monson, “An Attitude of Gratitude,” Ensign, Feb. 2000, 2

I truly hope and pray that as the years go on he and I will continue to follow the admonition of the apostle Paul and “Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers” (EPHESIANS 1:16) as we teach our children about this wonderful grandmother and the ways her life experiences impacted each of us and who we are today and hopefully help them learn a little about gratitude along the way.

Note: The previous was written in December of 2004. Since that time many of Grandma Teddy's possessions have become a part of our everyday family life. The table that once graced her kitchen is where we gather for meals, snacks, homework, and art projects. In our bedroom you will find the same headboard, foot-board, and dressers that were in hers. I often use the linens on the piano, our dressers, nightstands, or elsewhere throughout our home. Although only our oldest son was ever held in her arms I'm certain that one day she will take all of the boys into her embrace and I hope at that time that through our stories they will know her and feel her love for them.

(Day 4) Thankful for.....

Sunday picnics with my family after church.

And grateful for the wonderful picnic basket we received as a wedding gift 9 1/2 years ago that makes it so easy (and authentic) to just pack up and go! Thanks Gibson's!

(Day 3) Thankful for...

my grandma! She is a beautiful and strong woman who has taught me so much! I am so happy that we get to go see her today. I often wish that we didn't live so far away so that we could see her more often.

Thankful for....

all my hard working guys!

The big willow tree in our yard was becoming dangerous. It was more dead than alive. So my sweetheart took it down and we all pitched in to get the wood stacked and ready for our fireplace this winter.

Have you ever seen such a hard working kitty cat?

Thankful for....

my sweet little boy, who gives me a run for my money each and every day. Especially moments like this when he gets his own "Skiptures" and he joyfully exults in being like the big people in his life! I love to hear his little voice during morning scripture reading repeat the words for his verse. I am so blessed!