Oh my, I haven't posted at all yet in November. Wow, another busy month and time has gotten away from me. Even though I haven't been a very good blogger this month, it doesn't mean that I don't have much to be grateful for. It is high time that I express gratitude for some of the great blessings that I have recently experienced.
Next on my list is gratitude for living close to the Gilbert Temple and being able to spend time there on a regular basis. No matter which temple I attend, I always find peace, comfort and inspiration to deal with life's many challenges.
I am grateful to have my youngest, Joshua home from his mission in Mexico, safe and sound. This will be our first Thanksgiving with him in two years! He had many memorable experiences in Mexico and has grown and matured so much. I recently made the final entries in his mission blog.
I then created a hard-bound book of the blog at so he would always be able to read his emails home and see pictures of his friends and associates in Mexico. I am quite pleased with the finished product.
I also printed off original, unedited copies of Josh's weekly missionary emails. and put those, along with pictures and other keepsakes from his mission in these binders, which as you can see, are pretty big. There are sure a lot of memories from the last two years!
Josh said that when he was on his mission, he looked forward to walking here with me and telling about his missionary adventures.
I am thankful for this park that is across the street from the Gilbert Temple. It is one of my favorite places around here, and it is lovely to see the temple as we walk.
At church, I am now a teacher for the 8 and 9-year-old children every Sunday. In addition, I am one of the Activity Day leaders for the 8 and 9-year-old girls. This is one of the display tables from a Recognition Night activity we had last week. The theme of the night was "Who I Am."
We meet every couple of weeks, usually after school, and have a gospel-oriented message and then do some kind of craft or service project. At Recognition Night, which we have twice a year, parents were invited to join with us.
Of course, I am thankful for all of my "stuff" - especially books and dvds that I enjoy, but I am also grateful the I can go through my things, and let go of things I don't need and share them with others. Recently, I purged my books, combined the contents of two shelves, moved this bookshelf into another room and reorganized it.
I am also grateful that I have enough to share with others. This little bookshelf, which I emptied out went to a friend who lives in a small apartment with limited space. She loves to read and still had some of her books in boxes. Now she can enjoy having all of her book friends out where she can see and love them. :-)
This is our Thanksgiving turkey, which my husband will be cooking tomorrow for our very traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Although we won't have a crowd around our table (just Charly, Josh and I) I am thankful that I will be with those I love tomorrow, I am also that I have many more people I love who will be celebrating a day of gratitude in other places. We may be far apart physically, but our loving thoughts will be with each other. We will be going to friends' house later in the day for dessert and I am thankful for those good friends we get together with every Thanksgiving night. I am also thankful that Charly takes over and does most of the cooking and meal prep on Thanksgiving. He will even be baking pumpkin pies tonight!
These are only a few of the things I am grateful for as a reflect on this day before Thanksgiving. I have so many blessings and so very much to be thankful for that my cup truly overflows. I will close this gratitude post with this quote. I believe that being grateful is not only healthy, it is vital to our personal peace and happiness.
"Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings, but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God’s love. "– Thomas S. Monson
Since Josh returned home, he and I walk here at this lovely park almost every day. I injured my left foot a few weeks ago and walking hasn't been the easiest for me, but I am glad that the pain is lessening as healing takes place. I am very grateful for the health and strength to do my daily walks. My walks are not only the time when I work out and get exercise which helps me mentally, emotionally and physically, it is also the time when I talk and connect with whichever family member or members I am walking with.
Here the girls are reading a poem another one of the leaders wrote for the occasion.
The girls also made a "time capsules" with pictures, letters and other "personal memorabilia." They can open the time capsules when they graduate from high school and remember what they were like when they were 8 to 10-years-old.
Later, the girls identified, on a world map, the countries their ancestors came from.
This is my friend Annette who is another one of the leaders/teachers for the young girls. I am enjoying teaching this age group and working with the girls, after working with and teaching the women in our congregation for years. I am grateful to be able to help and serve and make a positive difference for these girls. I am also thankful for the kind and creative women I get to work with in this calling.
Everyone have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!
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