On This our Day of Thanksgiving, give I this thanks...

Okay so technically it's now Thursday November 26th, 2009!!! I'm writing this a little too late at night, or way TOO early in the morning. Take your pick. Needless to say, I've had a bout of back pain, and a headache, that make it a little difficult to get to sleep. So I thought I'd take the chance now, and update my blog, seeing how on Thanksgiving Day I will be a busy MAMA!!

This year I might seem to be getting a little sentimental, but these are my thoughts, and feelings, and I want them down for my posterity. And for the rest of my family too!!

A lot has gone on this year, but at the same time, I've managed to recognize a lot of blessings that have come into my life that I'm incredibly grateful for.

In the last few years I've done an ABC Thanksgiving list type of thing but this year there are a few events that I want to express that make me very Thankful. It might seem weird the way in which I recognize the blessings, but I have been on a journey lately where finding the little blessings in every situation really helps keep me focused when BIG and TRAUMATIC events take place and I feel like I'm at the end of my rope. (If you don't want to read on, I don't blame you, but then again, you might be blessed in a way you never thought possible if you read on!!)

I'm thankful this year for my husband having been put on reduced hours at the beginning of the year. Not any one's normal thing they are grateful for, because that means a reduction in hours to work which also means less money. All of which we experienced but, one day earlier this year he had one such day off and we decided to stumble into the local D.I. (Deseret Industries) which happens to be a thrift store, and we found our next table!!! We got a very nice looking, real wood table that will seat our whole family of seven and then some!!! It was such a blessing, since we were elbow to elbow on the old one, and have the chance to have our Thanksgiving dinner served on this table that has been a great addition to our home this year.

On the other hand I'm thankful that my husband ended up getting the flu back in October and happened to miss work yet again for a few days because of the sickness. Again we didn't get all of our hours, but he did manage to still get his work done, and used some personal time so we could still get money in our paycheck. But at the same time, within a few weeks or less of this illness, he was talked to by his boss, and given back ALL of his work hours. So now we have a full paycheck, and not a minute to late either!!! Thanks Solution Services!!!

I'm thankful for a ROCK!!! And not just any rock, but the one that caused us to have a flat tire just two feet from the driveway of my Uncle's house. Read that story here.
That rock just may have saved our life, and allowed me to spend my Mother's Day on a beach in California watching the sunset and witnessing the beauty that I don't get to see while living in Utah.

I'm thankful for my friends!!! I have quite a few that are dear and near to me, and set great examples, and really help motivate me to be better, and be the kind of WOMAN that I KNOW I can be. I'm not naming any names, but you ALL know who you are!!! Thanks everyone!!! I consider my friends pretty much my sisters!!! I can talk with them just about anything, and when I need a shoulder to cry on, I have one. If I just need to VENT, I get to. They are great people in my life.

I'm thankful for my family!!! The one that I have right now, and the one that I married into and certainly for the one I grew up with. Being the oldest of 8 kids, I was in my Senior year of high school when my youngest sister started Kindergarten. So I missed a lot of their years going through school, and playing sports, and couldn't be there for them to come and talk to when they may have needed the older sister type of moment. (Although I never had an older sibling period) But as I heard the troubles they went through, and some that are still going on, it breaks my heart, but the most that I can do now is to pray that everything will turn out in the end. We were all in the same place this last May as my grandfather passed away. And it was FUN, to see everyone come together, despite all the CHAOS, and noisy, messy kids everywhere.

My extended family ROCKS!!!! We haven't all been too close in recent years, well at least the communication between me and them was very minimal until just recently. And I'm glad that I have them in my life on a nearly daily basis now. Cousins, aunts, uncles --- EVERYONE!!!
So many different talents are shared in the family it's just great!!

I'm thankful for this computer I'm on, even if it's a dinosaur!! I've become quite fond of this machine, and am every grateful for the minds behind the inventions to come this far in the world.

I'm thankful that I have my sight so that I can see my beautiful children, and their wonderful creative pictures they draw just for ME!!! I'm grateful for my hearing, so that I can hear their giggles, and be able to hear their crazy jokes, and ideas of how things are. I'm grateful that I can READ!!! I love reading, and books are my best friends!!! Well, not really but they are up there high on the list. I'm grateful that I can touch my children, and be able to hold my husbands hand. And that I get to KISS him, and feel the kisses back!!! I love you sweets!!!


I'm thankful for the GOSPEL Of JESUS CHRIST!!!! I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and it's a belief of ours that Families can be together FOREVER. Only through being sealed to our spouse in the Temple of the Lord and only by someone who holds the priesthood authority to perform that special and sacred ordinance!!! I'm glad that I can be with my family if I live a life of keeping the commandments and being the best I can be!!

I'm thankful for modern medicine, and the help I've gotten to heal my children of their illnesses and broken things through out their lives.

And there are lots of other things I'm thankful for, but this is already a novel.. (I wonder what the word count is??? hmmm. Hold on a minute .... 1186 so far)
But the last thing I'm thankful for is CHOCOLATE followed by working out!!! Because as long as I work out after I consume it, then I can certainly indulge in it. Don't you agree!!

Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving!!! Don't forget to count your blessings, and tell your family members that you Love them, because hopefully you do!!!

Signing off....