Thanksgiving

As Thanksgiving has come and gone, I feel a need to give thanks for all of my many blessings.

1. The Gospel of Jesus Christ- Lately, with all the changes and debates going on in our country over moral issues and who is the best person to lead our country, I am so very thankful for the knowledge I have of what is right and wrong. I am also thankful for a leader that is not chosen by the people, but by God. It was such a refreshing difference between all the debates and speeches we have been hearing from our politicians and the talks we heard from the brethren at General Conference. I am grateful for a living prophet who leads us and inspires us. I am thankful for the scriptures and I am thankful for prayer. Without them, I could not receive my own personal knowledge of the truth of this gospel. I am grateful for the knowledge of who I am and what is most important in this life. I am grateful for the knowledge that I can see my parents again some day and that my family, generations past and generations to come will always be a family.

2. Family- I am grateful to my parents who raised me up in the ways of the Lord. They taught me the gospel and they taught me how to love and laugh. They gave me a great childhood which has prepared me for a great adulthood. I am grateful for my brothers and their continued friendship and for my new sister-in-law. She fits in so well with our family and is a wonderful addition.
I am thankful for my husband who puts up with me and can't be praised enough as a husband and father. I am thankful for his family. Especially his parents who have acted as wonderful parents to me with the loss of mine. I can't relate when I hear stories of not getting along with the in-laws and I am grateful for that. I am very blessed to have them. Tim's brothers, and sister and their spouses are always a pleasure to be with and talk with as well. I am grateful for the sisters his family has provided me with. It is fun to be the big sister in his family while I am the little sister in mine.
I am thankful for my wonderful children. As they grow older they become less work and more friends. I know this will probably change in the teens but I hope not too much. They bring so much joy to my life. Of course there is opposition in all things, but from those occasions , I learn valuable lessons of patience and understanding so I am grateful for those moments too.



3. Friends- What would life be without friends? I am thankful for my life long friends that I have way back from my school days. I am thankful for the ones I have made in my adulthood, on my mision and with my new family. I am so grateful for the support they lend me as a parent. It is so nice to have someone to talk to who can say, "No you are not crazy, because I have the same problem." At least I am in good company with my insanity right? I am grateful for the friends my kids have too.
Friends make the hard times easier and the good times even better.


4. Books- I love a good book. I love it's ability to put me in someone else's shoes, in a different place, a different time. I love the knowledge that if I have free time I know exactly how I want to spend it.





5. My home- This includes my neighbors, my ward, our kids school, our yard and the rec-center and park behind us. I have lived in this home for a year and two months and I love it as much if not more now for all of its hidden pleasures. I love everything about it. It is when I am with the people in our ward that I feel the most like this is home to me. What a group of wonderful people.

I have many more things I am grateful for but these are my top 5.