GRATITUDE DAYS 24 - 30

Who am I kidding?! 

I cannot get these days posted in here in a timely fashion. So I will wrap up my November gratitude all at once.  Even though I haven't been getting on here and keeping up like I should, I have been keeping a daily list of those things for which I have been grateful.

Between life, travel, and computer issues...it just hasn't been all that easy to post. 

Our Thanksgiving was fabulous.  Relaxed. Our family was blessed to be together for the first time in a few years.  Ben and Joan's home was warm and welcoming to all of us; we spread out and made ourselves at home.  (We did clean up our mess before we left though)!

For the first time ever, the meal that I usually plan out every detail for weeks in advance, shop for during the weeks before and prep for well before the big day, I did all in ONE day!

Yes, I was one of those people out on Thanksgiving morning, grocery shopping...

incognito, of course...

It was hard for me to get up the nerve to go to the store and be one of the reasons the employees were not with their families and friends.

But I did it!

All in one day: the shopping, prepping, cooking and baking, and eating - of course!

We didn't eat until 6 PM but I never felt stressed at all. We had plenty of munchies to keep us from starving too much.  :)

Since we didn't eat until that evening, we were really lucky to have Jonathan's sister, Elizabeth, her hubby, Mark, and their twin girls, Addyson and Elyse, join us for our meal.  It made it so much better to get to share it with some of our extended family.  After inviting them to join us several times, Addyson told me she was hungry and wanted to eat with us!  I was so excited!  That locked in Elizabeth and Mark for sure and we got to eat with those cute girls of theirs!  What a joy!

And we got to see Dave, Tris and their two littles, Cedar and Clover.  They are both darling and such fun!  Clover is baby perfection!

A special highlight for me was getting to see my sister and spend time with her.  We even got to go shopping together for a little while.  It never matters to me what we do, if we get to be together at all it is fabulous!  Our families also got to spend time together on Alyssa's birthday!  It was so fun!  A parade (Jon got separated from us - not fun) that Alyssa was in and b-day cake and presents later.

On our way home to CO, we were able to do a drive by check on my mom, dad and brother.  YES!  I needed that!  I was happy to see them all.  My brother had a seizure just before Thanksgiving and gave everyone a scare.  My dad had a pretty bad TIA a few weeks before and my mom was sick. So you can imagine just how anxious I was to SEE them. We only had 30 minutes or so with them and we totally wore my mom out in that time (sorry MOM!) but it meant the world to me to have even a minute with them.

 

Keeping gratitude:

Keeping gratitude this year has been a good exercise for me. 

Since we are not settled and in our own place - and we don't know where that place will eventually be - - yet, I have felt a little off...a bit unsettled.

Yet, I have been struggling with feeling that way because I recognize all of the good in our lives and I do not ever want to be ungrateful for the blessings that our Father in Heaven has given to our family.

This has been a good move for our family. 

It has also been very difficult in many ways.

But where there is difficulty, there is always growth.

And I am excited to see just how we grow as we look back on this time in our lives.

My health has been compromised - really since the move.  It was hard on me physically to move. It really wore me down and I have been in a lot of pain since. 

But I am able to move more easily now and that is a great blessing. 

The cold has not been much of a help to me but it brings a lot of beauty, I like to focus on that!

There are things I miss about TX and will always miss: all of those people we love, love, love, the family there, Institute and the YSA's, working with such phenomenal people in the stake, the heat, the daily memories of our life and the children's childhoods there, living within close proximity to everything, the difficult situations which caused us to grow, my hairstylist (who happens to have become a terrific friend over the years), hearing Spanish spoken daily - wait, I have that here with Nathan right now, the familiarity with everything and everyone. 

We had been there a long time. 

It was a special place to me. 

I believe I grew a lot there and I treasure the memories we have made there.

For all of that I am eternally grateful.  The Lord knows what's best for us.  Our 2 year assignment turned into 11+ years in TX. I guess we needed that extra time there.  :)

I'm deeply thankful to a loving Father in Heaven who trusted me to teach the young singles. It was a humbling experience for me. Never would I have thought I would be asked to fulfill that assignment and it was the best I have ever had - outside of mother, wife, and missionary service. How I love that group of young people and getting into the scriptures with them.  Losing myself in that service was sweet!

I'm thankful that we have what we need.

A nice roof over our heads.

Good food.

Warm clothing.

Transportation (well, my transportation is working fine right now, Jonathan's is another story!)

Health.

Love.

Laughter.

Family.

Knowledge of a loving Heavenly Father's plan for us.

The blessing of a Christ-centered home.

I am indeed grateful to my Savior, Jesus Christ, for His life, love and sacrifice.

I am thankful that He died for us all and was then resurrected and has offered for us the promise of eternal life.

I'm thankful that His life began in a humble stable and that we get to celebrate that miracle at this time of year.

I have become more and more grateful as I grow older for the opportunity I have to renew my covenants with Him each Sabbath as I partake of the sacrament.  There is such beauty and promise in that ordinance.

I'm thankful for music.

Memories made with loved-ones.

Challenges.

Growth and understanding.

Education.

My children are the greatest blessing, each a miracle and I consider them my treasure.

Jonathan and I are truly thankful to have been blessed with 4 very different and incredible little people.

As I see the people they are becoming, I am so very impressed with them.  It's fun to watch them grow and change over the years. They are intelligent, spiritual, kind (most of the time), funny and fun, charitable and loving. They are also goofy and crazy at times, which makes life interesting, unpredictable and fun.

I'm thankful for what is ahead of us, the unknown.  I know the Lord loves us and that there is a plan for each of us.  There are great things in store for all of us, isn't that exciting?

Lots to be thankful for, continually.

 

Thank you to each of you also, I am thankful to those of you who may be reading this because I know you would only read it out of love for our family and for no other reason. 

Happy Holiday Season!

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Karen]

And we are grateful for you! I hope you didn't feel pressured to do your gratitude blogging, but I'm glad you shared the things that you did. I feel like I always benefit from seeing your perspective on life. Plus, your thoughts often cause me to reflect on my own life and number the blessings I see there.

Happy Holidays, Aunt Mar! I love you!

[Kim]

What a beautiful wrap up. I love having you here, but I know that the cold is not your friend. I wish I could take your pain away. While I know everyone in Texas misses you dearly, I am grateful that after 11 years, I have you nearby again.

[Jonathan]

Every day you continue to amaze me.

Thank you Marilyn

[Grandma Joan]

I loved this final post on gratitude. It says exactly how you feel. It covers the most meaningfjul and important blessings for you and your family. This is beautiful.

[Grandma Honey]

I am so sorry you have been struggling with pain. That has got to be so hard. And yet, here you are naming all your blessings.