for mike

I've known Mike for more than half my life now (20 years last September!), and I am grateful for him. I am thankful for the friends who inspired him to apply to BYU at the absolute last second, grateful that we kept running into each other at the beginning of our freshman year, and grateful that my sister made me ask him to dance the night we met. I am thankful that he remembered my phone number and called me for a date a few days later, and grateful that he called me again when he got home from his mission, even though I had stopped writing to him. I am grateful for everyday we've spent as husband and wife. Last night, we were talking about how well we know each other now verses when we got married, or even just a few years ago, and the more I know Mike, the more grateful I am for him. He is steady and calm and tender and so funny. He is the best part of my life.

for staying home

I always wanted to be a stay at home mom. I never had lofty career goals or plans. I still don't. Staying home looks different than it used to, now that my kids are getting older, but this quote from Linda K. Burton still rings true:

"Mothers decide to stay home not just because they are tired of juggling family and career; not just because they want to 'be there' for the first word and the first step; not just because they have found that a rich home life requires persistent personal investment.

"They want to be home because in some quiet moment caring for their children, they have suddenly experienced the vastness, the intricacies, the delicate nature of this work. While performing some entirely routine act of nurturing, they have unexpectedly stumbled on a moment of insight so luminous as to reveal with imposing clarity that the greatest opportunity for success they might ever have is nestled right there in their arms.

"And in the midst of a thousand previous assumptions about life and love, in an instant that no one else can measure or see, they decided that this uncertain business of trying to guide childish innocent into adult wisdom is an art worth of extraordinary exertion and time."

I am thankful that I am able to be home for my family. It is what suits us best, and I am grateful that we have the means and resources to make it possible.

for good genetics

I hadn't been to the dentist for years and years until today. I had some sensitivity on a back molar and was worried that I had a cavity (I've never had one before, so I wasn't sure what it would feel like), but I don't! Besides my five years of braces as a teen, I've never had dental issues, and I am so, so grateful for the good genetics that blessed me with these strong teeth.

for kids who like each other

I heard laughter coming from the living room as I was in the kitchen working on dinner. After a long day of fasting, my kids were waiting to go to Nana's house to eat. They could have been grumpy with one another but they weren't. They were having fun together. I am thankful for kids who genuinely like each other. I love that Mabel will come home from a stake dance and stay up late telling Oliver all about it, and that Elliot wants to sleep in Stella's room any night that's not a school night. They will have each other much longer than they will have me and Mike, and so I am grateful for their friendship.

for a freshly cut lawn

Our winter grass was ready for its first trimming today. I was sort of dreading it, as it is hard, sweaty work with our old push mower. But! Then Mike reminded me that we have Oliver, who is fully capable of mowing the lawn. And my sister-in-law let us borrow their electric mower, which made the job so much easier. Today is a beautiful day, and I am thankful for hardworking kids and generous family (and really pretty grass, too).

for sleeping in

We celebrated having no school today by sleeping in. I woke up two hours later than I normally do, and as I type this, half of my children are still asleep! It feels really good. I think we are all sleep deprived this school year. A day without our alarms is a luxury and a blessing and I am grateful for them.

for success at the store

When I go to the remnant fabric store, I always have a list a mile long. I don't always find everything I'm looking for, but I did today! And then tonight, while I was waiting for Mabel's choir practice to end, I popped into Target and found the most Stella pants I've ever seen. I can't wait to wrap them up for her birthday next week.

This sounds so silly, but I am grateful for successful shopping trips. I could look at my luck today as a coincidence, but I'm going to look at it as a blessing instead.

for enough

I don't really like cooking dinner. It is one household chore that I'd gladly skip if I could. But tonight our young women's group went to Feed My Starving Children to pack meals for impoverished people in the Philippines and it was a good reminder of how blessed I am that I am able to feed my children every day. I don't know why I was born into this place and time, where I have enough while so many others in the world do not. But it's good to remember and hopefully in the remembering I will be more generous with my own resources. And maybe I won't mind cooking dinner so much anymore. I am feeling grateful to have enough and some to spare tonight.

for skills

"Being creative will help you enjoy life. It engenders a spirit of gratitude." - Richard G. Scott

I'll go weeks without an alteration job. And then sometimes it feels like I'm drowning in them. They seem to come in waves. I'm in the middle of one of those waves right now, trying to keep my head above water and finish all of the work I've agreed to do.

I am thankful for my sewing skills. My mom sent me to sewing classes when I was 10 years old and I haven't really stopped since. So even though I don't necessarily want to spend my day hemming pants and adjusting sleeves, and mending jeans, I am thankful for the skills to do it. There is quite a bit of satisfaction and joy to be found in the work, and I am thankful for the opportunity for it.

for convenience

Laundry is one household task that I don't mind. I like taking a pile of dirty, wrinkled clothes and turning it into a clean, nicely folded and stacked pile. But I think if I had to wash them all by hand or go to a laundromat, it would be a different story. Ha! I did six loads of laundry today (including all of the sheets), and I am feeling really grateful for the washing machine and dryer that sit in my laundry room.

for a regional conference

Today we joined with members of our church from all over the southwest in a regional conference broadcast. I am thankful for instruction from our church leaders. It blesses my life and helps me know how to be a better wife, mother, neighbor, and daughter.

My favorite thing that I heard today came from Elder Wakolo. He said that we need to act in doctrine and principle over personality, and that we can't be casual in our obedience to the doctrine. It is easy to let our natural tendencies determine our actions, but those tendencies don't always align with the doctrine. One of the reasons we are here on this earth is to overcome natural tendencies that lead us away from our Father in Heaven. Keeping our devotion from becoming casual helps us keep those tendencies in check. I am thankful for this reminder.

for our neighborhood

Our neighborhood had our annual chili cook off tonight at the elementary school, and I had such a fun time that I forgot to take a picture of it, so I am inserting this one of my boys walking out of our church building (which happens to be in our neighborhood) instead.

I am thankful for our neighborhood! It is filled with good, hard working people who genuinely love and care for each other. When Mike and I moved to Arizona almost 12 years ago, we felt really drawn to this area, and I am so glad. It has been the best place for us to raise our children, and I look forward to spending many more years here.

for the temple + happy weekend

Earlier this year, our stake president challenged us to attend the temple often enough that it felt like a sacrifice. I had been trying to attend once a week, but his encouragement helped me to step it up a bit and be sure to not miss. I am lucky that I only live a few minutes from the Mesa Temple, and I am grateful for the time I spend there each week. This morning while I was there, I felt peace about something that has been troubling me, and inspiration on how to move forward in my assignment at church. I know inspiration and peace can come anywhere, but I think they come more easily in the temple. Through my regular attendance, I have learned more about our Savior and gained a greater appreciation for His role in our Heavenly Father's plan. Attending frequently has given me better perspective and an increased desire to be a better wife and mother. I am thankful for the counsel I received to attend more often.

Another plug for this month of gratitude: President Monson said in 2001, "Think to thank. In these three words you have the finest capsule course for a happy marriage, the formula for enduring friendships, and a pattern for personal happiness." We all want to be happier, I think. Gratitude is a sure way to find that happiness.

I took Mabel and Oliver to see Borns perform last night (on a school night even! but we couldn't pass up a free concert and Electric Love is my guilty pleasure), so I am hoping for a nap later today. And maybe a batch of healthy cookies. I'm looking at this recipe. And then maybe dinner out with Mike. Ok, lofty goals for a Friday afternoon, but I think it's doable!

I hope you have a good weekend!

for forgiveness

You know when you are angry with someone and you don't want to be angry, but it's like there's a heavy, hot stone inside you of you that is weighing you down and burning you up inside? But then all of a sudden the stone is gone and you feel free and light and full of love? It's like a switch gets flipped and all of those angry and hurt feelings vanish. That is what forgiveness feels like to me.

I am grateful for forgiveness- for the forgiveness of my family and neighbors, but mostly for the forgiveness offered by our Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ. I will fall short much of the time. We all will. Heavenly Father knew this, and so He gave us a way to overcome our shortcomings through the atonement of Jesus Christ. I am grateful that I can repent and try again and again and again. There is joy at the end of all of that, and I am grateful for it.

for the opportunity to serve

Welcome, November!

It is my favorite month of the whole year. Not only because the weather here in Arizona changes overnight from hot to perfect (our air conditioner didn't turn on once today!), but because Thanksgiving falls in November, and there is nothing better to brighten spirits and bring joy than focusing on gratitude.

I know I hardly ever blog anymore, but I didn't want this month to pass without doing my traditional daily gratitude posts. I look forward to it every year! I hope you'll follow along and think about what you are grateful for each day, too.

I spent the afternoon and evening working in our local soup kitchen with a group of teenagers. Our ward's youth are invited to help there a few times a year and today was one of those days. I wish you could have felt the energy in that kitchen! It was buzzing with work and kindness and so many smiles. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve with the youth and to serve good people in our town who need a helping hand. 

President Gordon B. Hinckley said, "The happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others." I have a testimony of this!