Day 27--Grateful for Laughter

and a sense of humor!

Life is too short not laugh!

Here's some lighter humor...

Athena & her sense of fashion!

Mr K and his fav glasses!

Yep that's what I said!

Everybody looks good in a good mustache!

Yummmm, want some?

Bubbles in  grandma's tub----the BEST!

Day 24--Thankful for Simplicity

"Let us simplify our lives a little. Let us make the changes necessary to refocus our lives on the sublime beauty of the simple, humble path of Christian discipleship—the path that leads always toward a life of meaning, gladness, and peace."

—Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Of Things That Matter Most", General Conference, October 2010
Topics: Simplify, Disciple

Day 23--Grateful for Technology

Apple

IPad!

Yep, a luxury.  

But it makes my life easier and it keeps me in touch with the outside world!

I LOVE the FaceTime!

I love using my IPad for a radio.  It's lightweight and I carry it throughout the house with me.

When I travel I use my IPad as my television and watch Netflix.

I love being able to have the internet available quick and easy.

I love reading on my IPad.  It is always the right size and it always has the correct lighting!

I LOVE MY IPAD,

and I am grateful for it!

Day 16--Blessed with Safety

I am extremely grateful 

I was spared from the fires

 and mud slides from this past year.

I am safe, and for this I am very thankful.

Day 14--Grateful for FB

Yep, FaceBook!

I love keeping up with my friends.

I love seeing the families of those I taught in Primary.

I love seeing the graduations, new babies, wedding, and other wonderful events that everyone shares.

I love the funny saying on FaceBook!  Sometimes I need a good laugh!

I love hearing from family and seeing how they are doing.

I love reading pages that share the same interests that I have.

I love it and it is my link to the outside world and to those friends who live far away...and for that I am grateful!

 

Day 12--Grateful for the Memories

the memories!

The fun times,
The serious times,
The good times,
and even the bad times.
It all adds up to beautiful memories
of our life together.

The gifts for my birthday,
anniversary,
Christmas,
or just because you loved me.

Thank you for being you and your quirks.
The hats,
The jokes,
The crazy food,
The nickname,
The fun.

Thank you for the travels,
the hours and hours exploring the deseret.
The deer hunts for our anniversary!
The trip to Kansas and the one to Oregon. 

Thank you for the spiritual discussions and for teaching me.  Thank you for always showing Christ like love to me and our children.

Thank you for all of the beautiful memories and leaving me with so much love and the knowledge of your forever love for me.  Thank you for loving me.

I am grateful.

Day 9--Grateful for Friends

or as my heart refers to them as angels!

Over the years I am glad I have had friends who have helped me along this journey.  I am comforted to know if I need them, they will be there--through the good, the bad and the ugly.  And they have been there through the good, the bad and the ugly!

I consider each of you, my friends, a great treasure in my life.

Day 7--Grateful for Grandchildren

I love my Monkey's

 

Mr Wrecker:

The Remister

Miss Little Lilah Lou Lou

 Miss Bella Button

Matt-Matt

Mr K.

Miss RaeganRoo:

Mr Joefish:

 

Everyone!

Day 6--Grateful for my Dad

I love you, Dad!

 I am so happy and blessed that my Dad and I have had the opportunity to strengthen our relationship and spend allot of time together this past year.  I have appreciated being able to work with him and travel with him doing genealogy.  He is always so willing to help me with my newsletter and my research. 
Thank you Dad. 

Day 3--Thankful for my Children

I am extremely thankful for my children.

 I love my children and the spouses that they have chosen.
They are all great moms and dads.
They are all great citizens and contributors to society.  (Yep that means no one is living in my basement! Just kidding!)
I'm proud of them and their decisions that have made in their lives.
I am proud of the people they are and the things they do.
Thank you children for making being a mom so easy!  (Yep, with age come amnesia!)

 I love each of you a whole lot and I know your father does too.
Each of you are great and you continue to bless my life.

And ya know, it's a little crazy I miss all the little annoying things that you did when you were growing up.  I am grateful to be you mom.  Thank you.

November the Month of Gratitude

Everyday for the month I will list what I am grateful for, or post a special quote about gratitude. 
(None of them will be listed in any particular order--just my mood!)

I have been extremely blessed in my life.

I have been given much, and enough to share,

and for this I am extremely grateful.

Harvest Moon

The harvest moon rising across the lake.  

Love the view I have from my back window!

Day12--Grateful for

the memories!

I was so blessed to be married to a wonderful man.

I am grateful I have happy memories.

Sure we had our times, but they were minimal.  

So, I have many great memories, and for that I am sure grateful.

Monday,

a flock of pelicans flew over my house,

this is the photo I took with my camera:

So, I went to the local store and looked at zoom lens.

This is what I have been using:

This is what I bought!

Then I went somewhere I've never been before:

and I had this:

I'm hooked!!!

Season's

Spring has always been my favorite time of the year.  The sunlight increases daily, the blossoms and buds on the flowers and trees are bursting open and there is a general renewal in the air.  Spring holds a special place in my heart, however these past several years I have come/learned to love autumn also.  Previously, I believed that autumn represented death/dying, hibernation/sleep, cold/icy and brown/gray, but now I see it as more of preparation period--the step before full blown winter and the slumbering spring.  When viewed as a vital part of the process I have come to enjoy the colors, smells and welcome the end of the growing season.

Spring is still my favorite, however not so far in the lead as it used to be, but today, I'm glad it's spring!

My Mission

I am quickly approaching two full years as a Church Service Missionary.

And, I still love it.

It is the best of both worlds; being a missionary and doing family history research.  I have learned so much and I have been able to do so much research.  I usually average anywhere from 12  to 30 hours of family history work a week.  I average about 12 hours a week at the FHL, with the remaining hours being personal research.

One of the sweetest parts of my mission is working with the other missionaries.  There are some really sweet people I have been able to meet and become friends with.  Each mission shift begins with a spiritual thought given by the various missionaries.  After attending these prayer meetings for almost two years, I can say, I walk among spiritual giants.  I am in constant awe of what they teach me about living a Christ centered life, and the Gospel perspectives they have shared with me.

Another sweet part of my mission is the devotional and other meetings where we have the sacred experience of being taught in person by our great Church leaders.  I don't want to boast or brag, however I am grateful for being so inspired and uplifted. 

Things in the genealogical world are  quickly changing.  Records are being released online at such a fast pace allowing anyone and everyone to have access.  This is monumental and I am sure the impact will be awesome!

My advice to you, plan your life so that someday you may be able to serve the Lord as a missionary.  Plan your finances, time, and education so that someday you will be able to receive the many great and wonderful blessings that are available to you through missionary work.  

Joe's death ruined my world, but because of his death I have the blessing of being able to serve this mission at this time and for this I am truly grateful and blessed.

Family

                                  

"To us, family means putting your arms 

around each other and being there."

-Barbara Bush

Isn't that just a sweet thought!  However, I remember many days when the idea of putting my arms around my family members would have probably ended squeezing too tightly.

Crazy, but I miss those days.  I miss the business of laundry, cooking, cleaning, children fighting, and yelling.  I miss the warmth of sharing evening with loved ones, hugs, smiles, and the silly things children say.

I miss the hectic moments looking for lost items; the tired legs from baking all day; the silliness and laughs at dinner.  I miss toothpaste in the sink, dirty bedrooms and piles of laundry.  I miss crumbs on the kitchen floor, fingerprints on the windows, and lights being left on.  

I miss it all, crazy as it sounds.

I am glad I have the sweet memories.

I have been so blessed to be a mother.

Heart

"Nobody has ever measured, 

even the poets, 

how much a heart can hold."

-Zelda Fitzgerald, 1945

Because if they had measured how much a heart could hold,

they would be surprised how much love mine holds for Joe.

Out My Window

I love watching the lake out my windows.  It is ever changing throughout the day and with the weather.  It is breath taking and beautiful, even on boring weather days.

I am blessed to have this view and I daily recall these words:

Thy power through out, the universe displayed;
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee,
How great thou art!  How great thou art!
(Hymn #86)

Narcissism

The last couple of weeks I have had encounters with dishonest people.  This just really irritates me because it has cost me money and time.  Both people were avoiding consequences.    Aren't we all grown-ups.  Isn't honesty a basic "adult" concept and "consequences" are part of being adult?  Well for some people, I guess not.

This seems to be a re-occurring lesson in my life since Joe's death, and I am increasingly impatient and intolerant as these encounters continue to compound each other.   

As all of these combined incidents have soured my thoughts lately, I had an epiphany on Saturday.  For our morning devotional at the mission, we sang Choose the Right.  The song includes the words:

Choose the right,
There's safety for your soul.
(Hymn 239)

As I sang those words, I realized these people have not understood the basic concept that dishonesty is threatening their "souls".

Wow.

I am so narcissistic that I am concerned about how I am feeling about these peoples actions and how they are affecting my life, when in reality, there is a much greater and more severe issue at hand--the safety of their souls.

Suddenly, my "feelings" and "fairness" to me, pales in comparison, to people and their souls.

I am grateful for this lesson learned and guaranteed I will have more compassion and tolerance in similar future situations.