Giving Thanks, Days 1-15

Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.
-Henry Van Dyke


Oh, my, this month has been a busy one! I want a pause button so bad--pause time with my Gram, with my baby who is growing way too fast, with my girls who will all -too- soon be teenagers and want less and less to do with me, with my scriptures & other good books, with the amazing friends who cross my path with whom I want to just sit down and visit for hours but scarecely get in a "HI!" and a hug, with beautiful doumentaries on BYUTV & Netflix, with James and his kindergarten tales & questions & lovey hugs. And how about some time to BLOG? I am trying to MAKE time. I promise I have been making a November Daily Gratitude list in my head because gratitude is kind of My Thing, and Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I need to take November by the horns and get the upper hand and start doing the things that matter most, so I am catching up with my thankful list TODAY. Well, I might not finish it til tomorrow because I THOUGHT all the kids were asleep but have just learned otherwise, but that is neither here nor there...so let us begin to catch up with 14 days of giving thanks (I promise to keep up on the next 16!).

FIRST, a quote that motivated me to write this stuff down:
"A grateful heart, then, comes through expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings and to those around us for all that they bring into our lives. This requires conscious effort—at least until we have truly learned and cultivated an attitude of gratitude. Often we feel grateful and intend to express our thanks but forget to do so or just don’t get around to it. Someone has said that 'feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.' "
- Thomas S. Monson (in THIS talk)

So it's time to take this exquisitely-wrapped gift and give-oh-give away! In no particular order or significance (except the first 2, I suppose):

1. The Atonement, Life, and Love of Jesus Christ and His Restored Gospel--central to every breath I take and every choice I make; It shapes the way I experience life and the way, in turn, life nearly drowns me in hope & joy.

2. A kind, pure, devoted, thoughtful, consistent, strong, patient husband & bff. I would have a completely different and certainly more hollow life without him. Seriously--if I'd stayed on the path where I was when we intersected--ugh, I shudder to think! In a nutshell: no children, no Montana, no "zion perspective", no teamwork, no sacrifice for the greater good, and no one to love me unconditionally and motivate me to be better, to be his equal--pure lameness! Thank you, dear hubs, for taking me up to the higher ground. [please oh please click on that link. you will laugh.]

3. Electricity & Indoor Plumbing. I get that the day may come when I don't have these things. I rue that day, and until then I savor my fridge and microwave and I flush my toilet with utmost gratitude!

4. Motherhood: I get why parenting is part of God's plan because I have truly been schooled by my children. And we're just getting started! I am also grateful to know the depths of emotion that one can never know any other way than to have and raise a child--it's a wild ride. Mind you stay strapped in.

5. I am so thankful for my minivan. I wish it came in all-wheel drive cuz if it did, I would never drive another car. It's like my little home-on-wheels, perfect for our family. Nice and cool in the summer, cozy and comfy in the winter, space to stash so much stuff AND to safely transport the fam where ever we need to go. When we go on long trips, I never stop being amazed that we can just get into this little mechanized bubble--watch movies, eat snacks, do car-karaoke, all in relative comfort--and end up anywhere we want to go (AND I always think, "if I were a pioneer, that woulda taken three months and only 2 of us would have survived!"). It's amazing and I am so thankful for it (also, shout out to the Grand Caravan because in 130K miles we've never had any problems. knock on wood).

6. ChocoLove Dark Chocolate with Almonds and Sea Salt

7. To live in such a beautiful, clean, free state (Montana)--with four distinct and breath-takingly beautiful seasons. After nine years I am still thrilled with every change of seasons (It's so stimulating for my monkey mind)

8. Living Prophets and conferences twice a year. Keeps me close to My Father, keeps me focused like nothing else. Like I said to a friend back in October, conference is like a homecoming and, conversely, the close of conference feels like getting dropped off at an orphanage. *heavy sigh* Can't wait til April...

9. Alternative news sources. I cannot bear to watch any kind of regular news anymore. They all make me sick. Which is why I am thankful for All Things Considered, Morning Edition, The EIB network, National Native News, and last but never least, Stewart & Colbert.

10. ipods. Thousands of songs on my hard drive. Playlists created with the click of a mouse. New music available with another click or two. Anything I am in the mood for, all of it portable. Steve Jobs, you read my mind!

11. Moisturizers. I have terribly dry, cracked, itchy skin. I require several layers of moisturizer per day just to move around or wear clothes. I am thankful for lotions of all viscosities and have gallons in my storage room because I'd be so uncomfortable without it.

12. Along the same vein, with the itchy skin, I am so thankful for soft cotton, the fabric of our lives.

13. I am so thankful for the spiritual gifts and strength that I have been given from My Heavenly Father. I have realized more and more as time goes by that so many things I have taken for granted--a testimony, for one--are GIFTS, endowed by my creator to help me through my specific life challenges, that not everyone has. That's special and I am thankful. I'm also thankful for my daddy, who turns 67 today.

14. Human love. Like the song says, "brother sister, parent, child; friends on earth and friends above, for all gentle thoughts (and actions) and mild." I truly believe that God has sent some of his finest children across my path and I have been saved and blessed and comforted by relationships all throughout my life. It's just beautiful and I am so grateful for my friends and family.

15. Which brings us to TODAY! Half way through November. I am feeling really thankful for clean, potable water today. It is such a blessing to live in a place where I can go to my faucet and get a glass of cold, clear, clean water that helps my body do its work. So many places around the world have unsafe or just plain gross-tasting/smelling water which you wouldn't want to drink. I am thankful for our good tapwater.

I'll be back tomorrow and try to do some daily thanking. Here's a closing thought:

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend."
-Melody Beattie