Happy Thanksgiving!!
I have much to be grateful for this holiday! Although we have had some trials lately, I have such a fun, full, and abundant life. I have learned a lot of things that I am grateful for lately so I thought I would mention those. Here are a few things that I am grateful for....
2. TESTIMONY & FAITH- I am so grateful for my testimony and my faith in Jesus Christ. My testimony is something that I have cherished since I was in Junior High and has sustained me through many difficult times. It continues to grow and helps me understand how much Heavenly Father truly trust me. I am grateful for the faith to read my scriptures each day. I can honestly say that I have not missed a day of reading my scriptures since I was in 9th grade and the blessings have been countless. When it comes to scriptures, I always think of 2 Nephi 32:3 "Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do." This is true. My testimony has helped me to keep an eternal perspective, helped me to realize the blessings that come from keeping your covenants, to feel Heavenly Father's love more fully in my life, bring peace during trying times, and help me to know my Savior.
3. FRIENDS- I am so grateful for good friends that will and have done so much for our family. I have learned so much about what it means to be a true friend. Our friends have fasted for us, prayed for us, put our names in the temple, brought us dinner, cookies, watched our kids, gone grocery shopping for us, and have truly been angels in our lives. I truly am grateful for such wonderful people in our life. For friends that I could call anytime, drop my kids off anytime, and are constant examples in my life. I am grateful for all of the amazing ladies I serve with in the young women. They are amazing example, hilarious, and I love to be around them. I am grateful for Reese's preschool teachers, Ron's office staff, neighbors, and many more that I can call friends.
5. COVENANTS- I know this goes along with my testimony and faith, but I am so grateful for covenants. I am so grateful that God keeps His promises, which means that as long as I keep my part, blessings await. That brings me so much peace in knowing that if we stay faithful, no matter what trials come our way, blessings await us. That is awesome!
6. BIRTH MOTHERS- Birth mothers have a special place in my heart. I am especially grateful for Reese and Nora's birth mother. Birth mothers that place their baby for adoption are the definition of courage, strength, love, selflessness, and faith.
7. RUNNING- I am grateful for the blessings of exercise. I'm sure there are millions of scientific reasons on the benefits of exercise, but my reason........IT HELPS ME FEEL GOOD! Running is my stress reliever. When I am anxious....I run!
When I feel blah.....I run!
When I am happy.....I run!
When I feel overwhelmed.....I run!
I run for a lot of reasons, but running not only helps me physically, but it helps my mental, emotional, and spiritual well being. It is something that I look forward to almost everyday. I honestly love the runners high you get when you feel like you can run forever. I am grateful for a healthy body that allows me to run!
8. SECURITY- I am so grateful for security. This might seem like a weird thing to be grateful for, but lately I have realized that some people do not feel secure in their relationship, secure in their job, secure in where they live, and that would be difficult. I am grateful for security in my marriage. I never have to wonder if Ron is being honest, faithful, or doing anything that would hurt our marriage. I am grateful that Ron has a secure job and can provide for our family. I can feel secure that we are going to have the money to pay our bills. I am grateful that we have a home that is ours and no one is going to kick us out of. I am grateful that I have an education so that I can go back and work at the hospital if I needed to.
9. ADOPTION- This actually should be number 1 or 2, but I love adoption. Although, adoption has sometimes been difficult, the blessings outweigh any heartache. Adoption is truly about love and it is an amazing experience as you feel the spirit witness to you that a specific child is supposed to be your baby and the birth mother feels that same spirit as well. The love that is felt as she does the most selfless thing a person can do and gives you the baby she has carried for 9 months. Not only have I become a mother through adoption, but I have been able to have our girls sealed to us....FOREVER!
The whole process is amazing and you can feel Heavenly Father's hand involved in bringing these precious spirits to your loving family. I love adoption!
10. ATTITUDE/AGENCY- I love attitude because we have the choice every day to choose how happy we will be. I don't know if you would say it's optimism, but I have always had the opinion that if you are not happy with your circumstances, change them. If we cannot exactly change our circumstances, then change your attitude and look at the good in the situation. I have always loved this quote my Elder Holland....
Thanksgiving at grandparents house
Twinners! Love my Mama! I am so grateful for her love and example. She has always been involved in my life and is now the funnest grandma. She is the grandma that will jump on the tramp, run marathons with the older grandchildren, has sleepovers with the younger grandchildren, and finds a way to make every one of them feel special. Love her!
1.) FAMILY- I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for my beautiful family. They are mine for eternity and nothing can take them away from me. I am so grateful to be Reese and Nora's mother. They have been my little angels lately and have saved me from so much heartache. They make me laugh everyday, they are so excited to see me when they wake up, they love to cuddle, and they give my life so much meaning. I am grateful to be able to love them with my whole heart and not hold anything back. I am grateful for their little laughs and the silly things they say ("Mama, you're so full of kidding!") I am grateful for their imaginations and their kindness toward each other. I am grateful for all the little things: watching cartoons together in my bed, reading books in the rocking chair, rocking with Nora with the lights turned off as she tells me about her day, dancing with the girls while Ron plays the piano, and the fact that I am needed everyday. I am truly grateful!
I am grateful for Ron and what a wonderful husband and father he is. He is such a hard worker and is constantly doing things for our family and other people. I am grateful that he is strong when I am weak. I am grateful that he will fall asleep in Reese's room when she takes a very long time to fall asleep. I am grateful that he always calls on his way home from work to see if I need anything from the store. I am grateful for how hard he works to provide for our family. I am grateful for our eternal marriage that has brought us so much happiness. I am grateful for Ron's sense of humor. Watching pretty much anything with Ron is so much more entertaining and I flat out will not watch Modern Family without him. I sometimes laugh just because of how much Ron is laughing. Laughing until you cry is a pretty regular thing in our house. I love it! I am grateful that Ron always makes sure our family has family scripture study, family prayers, and FHE. He's awesome!
I am grateful for Ron and what a wonderful husband and father he is. He is such a hard worker and is constantly doing things for our family and other people. I am grateful that he is strong when I am weak. I am grateful that he will fall asleep in Reese's room when she takes a very long time to fall asleep. I am grateful that he always calls on his way home from work to see if I need anything from the store. I am grateful for how hard he works to provide for our family. I am grateful for our eternal marriage that has brought us so much happiness. I am grateful for Ron's sense of humor. Watching pretty much anything with Ron is so much more entertaining and I flat out will not watch Modern Family without him. I sometimes laugh just because of how much Ron is laughing. Laughing until you cry is a pretty regular thing in our house. I love it! I am grateful that Ron always makes sure our family has family scripture study, family prayers, and FHE. He's awesome!
4- LESSONS LEARNED IN MY YOUTH- I am grateful for the simple things that I learned as a child such as: good work ethic, honesty, education is important, consideration for others, how to get along with your siblings, and other things that seem pretty natural. I have recently realized that others have not grown up with those same principles and have cause a lot of unnecessary heartache in their own and others lives. I am grateful for parents that have taught me these things and I hope to teach my children.
6. BIRTH MOTHERS- Birth mothers have a special place in my heart. I am especially grateful for Reese and Nora's birth mother. Birth mothers that place their baby for adoption are the definition of courage, strength, love, selflessness, and faith.
7. RUNNING- I am grateful for the blessings of exercise. I'm sure there are millions of scientific reasons on the benefits of exercise, but my reason........IT HELPS ME FEEL GOOD! Running is my stress reliever. When I am anxious....I run!
When I feel blah.....I run!
When I am happy.....I run!
When I feel overwhelmed.....I run!
I run for a lot of reasons, but running not only helps me physically, but it helps my mental, emotional, and spiritual well being. It is something that I look forward to almost everyday. I honestly love the runners high you get when you feel like you can run forever. I am grateful for a healthy body that allows me to run!
8. SECURITY- I am so grateful for security. This might seem like a weird thing to be grateful for, but lately I have realized that some people do not feel secure in their relationship, secure in their job, secure in where they live, and that would be difficult. I am grateful for security in my marriage. I never have to wonder if Ron is being honest, faithful, or doing anything that would hurt our marriage. I am grateful that Ron has a secure job and can provide for our family. I can feel secure that we are going to have the money to pay our bills. I am grateful that we have a home that is ours and no one is going to kick us out of. I am grateful that I have an education so that I can go back and work at the hospital if I needed to.
9. ADOPTION- This actually should be number 1 or 2, but I love adoption. Although, adoption has sometimes been difficult, the blessings outweigh any heartache. Adoption is truly about love and it is an amazing experience as you feel the spirit witness to you that a specific child is supposed to be your baby and the birth mother feels that same spirit as well. The love that is felt as she does the most selfless thing a person can do and gives you the baby she has carried for 9 months. Not only have I become a mother through adoption, but I have been able to have our girls sealed to us....FOREVER!
The whole process is amazing and you can feel Heavenly Father's hand involved in bringing these precious spirits to your loving family. I love adoption!
10. ATTITUDE/AGENCY- I love attitude because we have the choice every day to choose how happy we will be. I don't know if you would say it's optimism, but I have always had the opinion that if you are not happy with your circumstances, change them. If we cannot exactly change our circumstances, then change your attitude and look at the good in the situation. I have always loved this quote my Elder Holland....
"No misfortune is so bad that whining about it won't make it worse."
I am grateful that I have 2 great examples of how happy we can be each day. Reese and Nora find joy in the little things everyday. I am grateful for their attitude and happiness. I am grateful that I can be happy every day of my life if I choose to be.
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