Thanksgiving

Well this is a little late.... but this year we had our annual Thanksgiving dinner with friends from our ward and friends from Jeff's class.  Like always, it turned out great.  Lots of great food + Lots of great friends.  What's not to enjoy??

I love Thanksgiving.  Not only because I love the food, but each year I am reminded how blessed I truly am and how I have so much to be thankful for.  It's too bad that it sometimes takes a holiday for many of us to sit back and reflect on the things in life we are grateful for.  

I loved President Monson's message in general conference on The Divine Gift of Gratitude.  Because of his wise counsel, I have been trying especially hard lately to focus more on the things in my life that are going well, rather than on the things that aren't.  

He reminds us that, "Regardless of our circumstances, each of us has much for which to be grateful if we will but pause and contemplate our blessings."  In the Book of Mormon we are told to “live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which [God] doth bestow upon you."

He goes on to say that although material possessions can make us happy and grateful, that is only temporary.  But those things in life that provide deep and lasting happiness and gratitude are things that money cannot buy.  Things like: our families, the gospel, good friends, our health, our abilities, and the love we receive from those around us.  Unfortunately, these are some of the things we often allow ourselves to take for granted.

We need to refrain from the realm of negative thoughts and "cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude."  

I'm going to make it a personal goal of mine to try a little harder this next year to focus on the things I have to be grateful for and express gratitude to the Lord each day for all of my blessings.  Along with that I'm going to try and be more positive.

I am especially grateful for many of the things that President Monson mentioned above.  My Family.  The Gospel.  Good Friends.  Good Health.  And an unconditional, loving Heavenly Father.  What would my life be like without all of that?  I'm glad I don't have to know.  And living so far away from home, I have gained a huge appreciation for technology, of which I can communicate with my family daily.  Mainly the computer, webcam, and my phone.  Thank heavens for all of those things.  I don't know that I could have survived back in the olden days before all of that.  And most of all this year I am grateful for one little person in particular... who I can't possibly imagine my life without.  This little guy brings me more joy than I ever could have imagined.

Thank you Heavenly Father for blessing us with such a beautiful, happy, little boy.
Happy Thanksgiving to All!  Hope everyone had a good holiday!

Now in Other News.....

Jeff's semester is coming to an end which means I lose my husband for a couple of weeks to his darn textbooks!!  He has nine finals in one week.  NINE!!!  That is one more thing I am grateful for, GLAD it is him and not me!  I would have a mental breakdown.

He is becoming more and more confident in his dental abilities and has had LOTS of experience pulling teeth.  So if you need a tooth pulled, he's your man.  It seems that most of the people who come to the dental school have either waited far too long to get their teeth fixed to the point where there's no other option but to pull it, or they just don't have the money to fix it so they make it easy and get rid of the tooth all together.  Seems crazy to me but I guess, "to each his own."

Despite all of his school work, Jeff still manages to be an excellent husband and daddy.  I am so lucky to have married such a great guy.  Both Trey and I can't wait for him to get home everyday.

Today is December 1st, marking the first snow fall of the season.  Seems quite fitting.

Poor Trey has been battling a cold for the past month.  He seems to finally get over one, just to catch another.  And let me tell you... a sick baby is miserable.  As I'm sure most of you can attest to.  Here's to hoping his current cold is the last one for a while.  I'm ready for a break.  And so is he, I'm sure.

I am getting so excited for Christmas, mostly because that means we get to go home.  You better believe I am counting down the days.....