Only 5 days....

I am grateful there are only five days in a school week. I am humbled my the amount of energy it takes to teach every day. Thank goodness tomorrow is FRIDAY!!!!

Blogstalking.

Yep, I admit it. I am a very devoted blogstalker. I think it ties in to my great love of reading and my fascination with people and their stories. It is almost like a book that just never ends! So I am grateful for all the amazing people whose blogs I read faithfully. There are so many brave, wonderful people in the world. And so willing to share their lives so that maybe somebody else can learn something.

Thank goodness kids grow up!

 Oh my goodness. Am I glad my kids are growing up. This whole week I get to sub in a sixth grade class. They are wonderful! But I am tired, and really didn't have to do much, but it can be a long day on your legs. Plus I am taking some medicine that can cause a bit of tiredness and achiness at first. Today I am grateful my kids are growing up....how in the world did I ever have the energy to have seven kids. Those first five came in 7 years. Wow!

Day 17

 I gotta say, some days are easier than others to be grateful. Not because I am ungrateful, more because I am tired. Today I am thankful for my calling teaching the Laurels. They are smart, beautiful, fearless girls. I love them!

Sew what!!

 When I was in 7th grade I took what must have been a home-ec class. I remember learning to cook and to sew. I don't think I sewed again til high school but I am grateful that I had the chance to learn to sew. One summer I made it a goal to only wear what I had sewn, I even made myself one of those shirts with ruffles down the front that were so popular in the 80's. It was red with a gold metallic thread in it. And a bright blue terry cloth shorts and jacket set. I only wish I had them, or at least pictures! I learned I could make a cute skirt out of a yard of fabric and made a ton of those for me, my sister and friends. When my first two boys were little I made them matching shorts several summers in a row. I even made pants out of old sheets! While sewing is quite painful on my back now I am so grateful for my long ago home-ec teacher and my mom who patiently taught me how to sew. 

Good stuff!

  Hannah told me about this awesome story about a little boy who had his a wish come true. He is five years old and has battled leukemia since he was 18 months old. I believe he has beat it. That wonderful "Make-a-wish-Foundation" granted him his wish to be Batkid. And San Fransico was turned into Gotham City. I tried to link an article here, but I don't have any idea how. PLEASE GO LOOK IT UP!! It will be worth it. I am grateful for people who care. 

There are those days.

    I am president of our high school Booster Club. Not because I am particularly qualified, but because I was available. And after three years, well this is the last one. Last night was the Fall Sports Award Night. We are in charge of that. Before the dinner I had a meeting trying to recruit more people and discuss business. It was a long evening and I came home EXHAUSTED. Just as I walked in the door my children........ages 12, 17 and 20......started some crazy LOUD argument about cleaning and computer using and a bunch of other nonsense. It was ridiculous and discouraging. I couldn't believe the dumbness of it all. And I felt like I must have failed in some major way, that they would be arguing like little toddlers. So, I was not feeling very grateful about anything at all.

    Today is a new day, although it is nearly over. Tonight was Parent/Teacher conferences, I figured out in my parenting career so far, I have had 155 conferences with teachers. Every year I am tempted to just skip them. Generally speaking I know what my kids are doing and what their grades are. But then I worry that the teachers will think I am a bad mom or my kids will think I don't care, so I end up going. And the whole point of this was to express my gratitude for our schools. The great majority of my children's teachers have been dedicated and amazing people. And I am so grateful. I am grateful we live in a small enough town that I know their teachers. I know they are people who live good lives. They work so hard to ensure that my kids learn and achieve all that they can. They give them knowledge and skills that as much I wish I could give them, I can't. And it is always a bonus for my kids to have a variety of really awesome adults in their lives. But I am also grateful that P/T conferences are over for the semester!!!!!

11-12-13!!!!

  I wish I was getting married or having a baby today! It is one of those really cool numerical dates. It was a very long day. Not bad, just long. So I am grateful that even though it is only 8:38 pm here, well, it's 10:38 pm somewhere and I am going to bed!

Veterans Day

  Our gratitude can never be enough, but will have to do. Thank you.

Relief

  There is a boy from my ward, Joseph, who is serving the Phillipines. In the city that was hardest hit by the typhoon on Thursday. I have known him since the day he was born, he is the same age as my son Nathan, who is serving in Paraguay. His family had no idea if he was safe. There are still about 80 of the 200 missionaries in that area unaccounted for. But last night his parents heard he was safe. I am so deeply grateful for that. And now I will continue to pray for the other missionaries and their families. It is an act of faith to send your child out on a mission. Sometimes we forget how much courage it takes to do that.

Bazinga!

  Well, it's been a long Saturday. Trying to clean and get my family to clean. And now no one likes me!! Luckily for me TBS has been showing The Big Bang Theory all evening. I am grateful for humor and the chance to hide away in my room for a couple episodes! And I am grateful that for at least a couple of hours it looks like normal people live in our house.

My health.

    I had uterine and ovarian cancer three years ago. I was so lucky...and blessed that it was all able to be removed through surgery. Since then I have had to see the doctor every three months, then every six months. In the beginning there were a few scares, but finally last week I was cleared to return to a normal, yearly exam!! And I had an EKG, chest X-ray, Pap smear and mammogram done. ALL CLEAR. I need to work on my weight. And there are a couple issues relating to my weight. Blah, but I knew that was coming. I am so deeply grateful for my health. That the cancer is gone and I am clear. And now I am going to work on getting more physically healthy. Doing things that are in my control. I kinda figure I owe it to myself. 

The happiest place on earth!

I am grateful for Walt Disney and his creative genius! Not only his movies and the legacy he left behind but ESPECIALLY Disneyland. I haven't learned how to put pictures on here very good so I am pretty sure only half my family is showing, but we took this two years ago right after World of Color. It was so amazing and so fun to be all together. We are going again this year, but will have to attempt to have fun without Nathan. I am grateful for a fun and happy place to visit with my family.

My son.

    From the time I was a little girl I wanted to be a mom. And I wanted to have eight kids. My Barbie dolls were divided into families and I created a home/neighborhood for them in my closet. I would often draw pictures of families and the floor plans of their homes. And then one day I found out I was going to be a mom!! I remember thinking that I would never be alone, that I would always have my baby. Even when that baby grew up, he/she would still belong to me! Today is that baby's birthday. Twenty-five years old. Or as his little brother Brigham said, a third of the way to dead. Oh those funny little brothers! I am ETERNALLY grateful for Bear. He made my fondest dream come true. He is funny and bright and so kind to me. He is a hard worker. This is a picture of him with his girlfriend Talisa. She is wonderful and just so good for him. I am grateful for her too.

It's our right!

  Today I am grateful I have the right to vote. It was a small election here in my hometown. It was an unopposed election for the mayor and 3 council seats. I was able to be a poll worker and heard a lot of "it doesn't really matter" and "it's just a waste of time." And so on. BUT IT ISN'T! People died to give us the right to vote. And today people are dying in the effort to gain the right to vote. Several years ago one of our hometown boys died in the war in Iraq. His family lives in my precinct and every election when they come in to vote I have to fight the urge to hug them and thank them for their son's sacrifice. Ok, I do thank them, but I resist the hug! Today when his dad came in it became clear again why we should vote EVERY election we are able to. If we ever become so complacent that we will only vote in a "big" election or an "important" enough election we may find we will lose our right to vote. 

Ummmm.

  Feeling a bit tired tonight. I subbed in the bands today. High school and junior high. WOW. This morning I vaguely remember having a very profound gratitudal object. That's a real word, right? Anyway, after a fairly loud afternoon with preteen and newly turned teenagers, well, I can't remember what it was. Can you believe we actually give them instruments that make such a racket? And some of them have actual sticks!! Tonight I am grateful for my ability to read music. I am grateful that I do get to sub in the bands and be a witness to the AMAZING and MIRACULOUS progress these kids make. I am grateful for our phenomenol band teacher, Matt Bennett. But MOST of all I am grateful I am NOT a band teacher.

This is an obvious one.....

I am grateful for these eight people. I love them more than anything else. It had been said that the only job that never ends is being a mom. Or a dad. I am so glad. They are funny, smart, sometimes obnoxious people and I feel honored to be their mom. And Gary's wife.

Day 2

   I am grateful for this boy, um, man. He has been a joy and a balm to my soul. He listens, he counsels and he loves me. I have missed him since he left for Paraguay. He is doing great work, learning the language and learning to serve. He expects so much of himself. The first week in the field he had five baptisms and has had others, but worries when he doesn't have some every week. I am grateful for his desire to improve and hold himself to a high standard. He loves the people he is serving. I would never want him to be anywhere else, doing anything else. But I miss him, so much sometimes. And I am grateful for him.

A month of gratitude.....

So I am going to attempt a month of posts full of gratitude. I am thinking I might have two readers...Robin and Connie....but they are important people!!! And here goes post number one

I am grateful for the beauty of nature. That is not to say I love camping, I admit to loving nature from a comfortable place. Or to spend a day outside and be able to return to a clean place with soft seats, electricity and running water! 

  When I am surrounded by the wonder of the world I have no doubt that there is a God. I can feel Him in the air and the quiet and the amazing colors. The top picture is a view of one of my favorite places in the whole world. Estes Park, Colorado. Oh man do I love it there! The middle picture is the view out of one of the bedrooms in my parents cabin in the mountains above Estes Park. And the bottom is a picture taken from a boat on Ashton Reservoir this summer. We were in a little cove and when the sun began to set I felt surrounded and painted all of those colors. I love that when you are on that reservoir you can see the Tetons in the distance, beautiful fields all around, some come almost down to the water! We even see deer sometimes. If more people could leave the cities where all around are man-made objects and go out and feel God's creations maybe society would reflect more of His care and concern.