Gratitude

Not only is it the Holiday for Gratitude, but I was supposed to give a talk on Gratitude as well (it was postponed). Due to both of these things, I have had this topic on my mind a lot. Obviously. In a world that tells us that we should want more more more, I find myself very thankful for what I have. Yes, I am human. And yes, I do want things. But honestly, I feel so grateful for what I am given on a daily bases that I don't WANT for anything. I feel like I am provided for what I need. Heavenly Father knows my wants and needs.

I am grateful for a mother who I can call a friend and a wonderful example. I am grateful for the blessing of having the gospel in my life. I am grateful for having a job and a roof over my head. I am grateful for being able to eat food when I need nourishment. I am grateful for health and the ability to explore the beauty that surrounds me here in Utah. I am grateful for the freedoms we enjoy in this country. I am grateful for the people I have in my life who help me to be a better person. I really could just go on an on.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving with the ones you love!

Bless u YouTube

As many of you know, I am actually a pretty sensitive person. I REALLY hate to watch uncomfortable situations. That includes awkward moments in movies, clips, real life, etc. I just don't love it. Well, I'm gonna toss out a thank you to youtube despite all the awkward stuff out there. Yes there is a lot of crap that is posted on youtube, but there is also some really funny stuff too. As many of you also know, I LOVE to laugh. I really believe that laughing makes for a very healthy life. If you know how to laugh, it says a lot about who you are. Don't ya think? :)

I definitely believe there is a time and a place for laughter and last Wednesday in the ER was definitely one of those times. I know what you are probably thinking. Honestly, laughter was definitely the way to go. Last Wednesday I was eating dinner and my phone rang. It was my sister. Love my sister but sometimes she's what you would call a 'talker' and I had a meeting for my church calling. I figured I'd let it go to my voice message and I would just call her back. But as soon as I thought that, I had the feeling that I should answer her call. As I answered, I realized immediately that something wasn't right. She was really out of it and wasn't making a whole lot of sense. Finally she told me that she was in the ER and could I come. She had just had a Grand Mal Seizure. As my sister and I spent the next 5 1/2 hours in the ER together, we had a lot of time to talk. What an eye opener. Yes, we took our moment to cry in each others arms. But honestly, we only cried for a few minutes. Rather than have a pity party, my sister almost immediately said "I'm so thankful I wasn't driving!" There ya have it folks. Here my sister is laying in the ER after experiencing this horrible thing, and she expresses gratitude. All I can say is our parents taught us right. Even though we experience things that are terrible, there is always something to be thankful for. I too, am thankful she wasn't driving. I am also thankful that my niece was calm enough to take charge of the situation and have her friend get help while she stayed with my sister.



Well, as you can imagine, 5 1/2 hours in an ER is a very long time to be couped up in a fairly depressing environment while you await the 'bad' or 'really bad' news. I opted to keep our mood light and my sister went along with it. We watched YouTube clips on her iPhone. Let me tell ya, I am also grateful to all of you for forwarding me all those funny youtube clips so that I could pull them up for her. We were laughing so hard that the tears were no longer from sadness or worry. Poor neighbor fella. I'm pretty sure the grouchy fella was not happy about our outbursts of laughter. But I know that it was the laughter that helped us through that long night.

I suppose I can't just end my story here. My sister is home and doing ok. She couldn't move very well for a few days and is walking with a cane again. But we are grateful. So many blessings occurred. Though my sister may use a different analogy or phraseology, it goes back to my favorite quote. "Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly. Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain." It is better to move our feet and dance, then stand idly by, wishing for a different outcome. It is up to us to make what we will with the storms that come our way. It is up to us to dance when there are storms about.

Love Hate

What can I say about the Winter/Snow season here in Utah? Well, we pretty much have a love hate relationship. I believe it is a mutual feeling, but on that count.. I cannot be certain. We just had our first snowfall yesterday. Word on the street is that it hit my homestead a little harder than most, but again, that was just word on the street. As I was shoveling my driveway (yes, I said shoveling), I came to a few conclusions. I REALLY dislike shoveling snow. Or at least my muscles do. It always makes me feel like I need to call in a professional massage therapist and lets face it, I can't afford that! So as I was contemplating this and growing shorter on time (as I had somewhere to be), I realized that not only is shoveling a back breaker, but it is a major waste of time over a full snowy season. Sigh. I only got half my sidewalks and half my driveway done. Double sigh. My only hope is that the sun will do me the honor and melt away most of what's left. The Sun and I are friends, so I'm counting on the melting. Smiles. Now that I was a complete downer and complainer, I actually do really like many things about this season too. Let's see. Let's do a Love Hate list, shall we?



LOVE hot chocolate and/or hot caramel apple cider. HATE burning my tongue.
LOVE cute scarfs to accessorize the outfit. HATE having to layer 3x's to keep warm.
LOVE going sledding. HATE skidding in the car (my tires are bald, need to fix that!).
LOVE cuddling in front of a fire. HATE the no fire days.
LOVE snow on the trees. HATE snow on my driveway and sidewalks (Darn the shoveling!)
LOVE snowball fights with the kiddies. HATE whitewashing (you meanies).
LOVE snuggling deeper into my covers. HATE jumping out of bed as the cold air hits.
LOVE soup on a cold day. HATE .. nope I just love the soup. :) I make good soup!
LOVE driving/walking around and seeing Christmas lights. HATE traffic to get there.
LOVE the mountains in winter, they are beautiful. HATE driving in the canyons, scary.

Ok, so I know there are so many more things that I love about Winter, but I think this is a good start. I am excited to welcome in this Winter Season. How am I gonna do this? Totally gonna break out my winter wardrobe tonight. Officially saying goodbye to my summer clothing. Sad to say goodbye to the Summer stuff, but it's like I'm getting a whole new wardrobe. What's not exciting about that?

Anyway, on a totally random and different topic, I think I'm gonna try to ski this year. I'm a little freaked out about it. We will have to see if it ends up on my Love or Hate list. I'm just not sure if I can wrap my mind around being excited about having slick pieces of wood strapped to my feet as I'm going down an icy mountain. How is that a good idea? I hear that people really enjoy it. I'm not sure I'm going to be one of those people, but we will see. Yikes. :)

Halloween Visit by the Kiddies

This year a few of my kiddies came trick-or-treating to my house. Oh how I just LOVE Halloween for that reason! Ha. The kids are so stinkin cute when they are all dressed up and excited. Ok, clarification. The kids (when they are the age that they are) are so cute. They aren't into the gross, nasty costume stuff yet. Thankfully. :) As I opened my door, my nephew slammed into me with a big hug and exclaimed "I Thomas" since he was dressed as Thomas the Train, one of his favorite toys. It was so stinkin cute! Then there was Snow White. I am sure Madison was more excited about being able to wear grown up make-up, but she was adorable! Lastly, was my kitty. She was more concerned about the candy then anything else, surprisingly. Usually she's such a ham with pictures but she really wasn't having that. She just wanted the candy. Good thing I was prepared with all the good kinds. Of course. :)