Gratitude--Day 5

Today I'm thankful for:

1) Attending the temple TWICE.  Craig and I went in the morning with the Stake High Priests, and then again tonight with our family.  The temple is a play of peace and happiness and the Spirit.  It teaches me of Christ and our Father in Heaven and their wonderful plan for us here on the earth.

2) Righteous Youth.  Even though I didn't get to see it (or even have a child participate in it), I was thrilled to watch the excitement of the local youths (on either the news or Facebook) who performed in the Ogden Temple Cultural Celebrations.  The Spirit shone from their happy faces and gave me hope for the future.

3) Reading my scriptures.  I've fallen out of the daily habit of reading scriptures and I miss it!  I need to recommit to finding a set time for reading and doing it regardless. But I am thankful to have read tonight and have been fed by the words of God.  I especially love the Book of Mormon. It is permeated with truth, and I love reading it. 

Gratitude...and life all mixed in!

I started the 5 day gratitude thing, and then life got in the way.  Family visitors; wedding open houses; this, that and the other stuff.  So, I never got the gratitude posts all finished.  I feel that a lot lately...I've got plans, great plans, things to do, and all sorts of other things get in the way.

But, today I saw a Mormon Message that reminds me that at times that might be ok.  I am still accomplishing things, and sometimes they mean more than I think.  Take a look and see:

So, I guess here are some things I'm thankful for today:

1) For making a difference, even if I don't feel like I do at times.
2) For others who are willing to sacrifice to help me.
3) For health (first cold of the season hit hard yesterday, and I had to substitute today...not a good companionship.  So, even though I am not healthy today, I am thankful for mostly being healthy.)

Gratitude, Day 3

Today I'm thankful for...

1) My parents, who made it into town for the weekend's festivities and a nice visit!

2) Yummy Smoked Ribs for Dinner.  If you want the delicious recipe, check it out here.

3) Watching Melanie and Jacob interact together.  I think Jakey really misses having a sibling around!

3 Things I'm thankful for, Day 2

(Or early on Day 3...whatever.  Too busy last night working to write!)

Today (or technically yesterday, as I type this) I am (was) thankful for...

1--Melanie coming for a visit.  I always like to have my kiddos around, and I enjoy spending time with another girl.  I especially like that when she comes we go on walks together in the morning.

2--Serving others.  I made dinner for a neighbor who has a young daughter with cancer.  Although (for some odd reason) fixing dinner for a neighbor seems to take 3 times as long to me as normal dinner to fix, I am always grateful for the chance to serve.

3--Friends who are willing to help me!  In working on getting things ready for the Open House this weekend I have been thankful for others who reach out and ask "What can I do to help?"  (Especially because it's really hard for me personally to ask for help.)

3 Things to be Grateful for, Day 1

Since I have been terrible at blogging this year I'm going to use the Gratitude Challenge as 5 blog posts.  The challenge is to say three things you are thankful for each day for a total of five days.

Each night our family does a gratitude journal, where everyone says one thing they are thankful for.  I love the chance to reflect on the day and the blessings therein.  There is much to be thankful for!

In the April 2014 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf gave a wonderful talk on Gratitude.  He reminds us to be satisfied with our blessings with this humorous story:

 There is an old story of a waiter who asked a customer whether he had enjoyed the meal. The guest replied that everything was fine, but it would have been better if they had served more bread. The next day, when the man returned, the waiter doubled the amount of bread, giving him four slices instead of two, but still the man was not happy. The next day, the waiter doubled the bread again, without success.

On the fourth day, the waiter was really determined to make the man happy. And so he took a nine-foot-long loaf of bread, cut it in half, and with a smile, served that to the customer. The waiter could scarcely wait for the man’s reaction.

 

After the meal, the man looked up and said, “Good as always. But I see you’re back to giving only two slices of bread.”

 

And now, without further ado, here are my 3 things to be thankful for:

 

1)  Beautiful stars in the sky this morning as I went out for my morning walk (yeah, it's dark outside when I go!)  There seemed to be more stars in the sky this morning than I have seen in a long time.  I love star-filled skies, they are beautiful.

 

2) A passionate kiss from my hubby when we came home from running to the grocery store for some after dinner treats. Sigh! :-)

 

3) A letter from my missionary!  Usually we get those on Monday, but this week there was no letter on Monday.  I wasn't sure why we didn't hear from him, but it turns out it was transfer week, and we luckily got a letter today so I didn't have to wait 'til next Monday to hear from him.

 

 

New Art

I was wandering about a local store the other day when a piece of art caught my eye.  I looked at it, walked away from it, then came back and looked at it again.  I picked it up and kept browsing through the store; stopping every few minutes to place the picture down on the floor, step back and study it, and ponder whether I thought it would work in the family room.

I finally decided I would get it, rationalizing that I could always return it if it didn't work.  However, when I got it home and took it into the family room it worked even better than I hoped.  The colors in the picture work perfectly with the colors in that room, and I have decided, even more than when it first caught my eye, that I love my new art.

 

What I love about it, and what drew me to it in the first place, is how it makes me think of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

 

First, I love the light that seem to be streaming from the left side of the tree.  That makes me think of the First Vision.  In the spring of 1820, as a young teen, Joseph Smith went into a grove of trees to pray to know which church was true.  In answer to that prayer Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ appeared and told him to join none of the churches that existed at that time, as the priesthood authority and Church as Jesus Christ had organized it when He was on the earth had been lost over the centuries. Joseph, in describing his vision said, "I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me...When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!"  Can you just see that pillar of light coming down through the tree in this art?

 

The second way that this art makes me think of the gospel is in the way the tree is painted.  The way the artist made the tree leaves gives them a rounded shape, and it is easy for me to start picturing fruits with those rounded shapes.  My eye was drawn to the white "fruits", which made me think of the tree in Lehi's vision in the Book of Mormon.  From 1 Nephi 8:10-11, "And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy.  And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen."

 

So there it is, my new art for the family room.  It makes my heart happy!

 

(I don't know who the artist is that painted the picture.  It's not signed at all.  Chances are, given that I bought it at Ross Dress For Less the art is mass produced in China. But, I still love it, and that's all that matters, right?  Well, that and I bought it for $35.  I love a bargain too!)

Hawaiian Cruise

Recently Craig and I celebrated a quarter of a century of marriage.  Sounds like a long time, doesn't it?  It hasn't felt that long, I don't think!  To celebrate that milestone we decided to go on a Hawaiian Island Cruise.

We spent a week in Hawaii, cruising to the following islands: Oahu, The Big Island, Maui, and Kauai.  We sightsaw (sightseed? saw the sights?), shopped, kayaked, snorkeled, biked, hiked, and enjoyed a luau.  It was very relaxing, and very warm.  It was NOT very sunny, however.  Surprisingly that wasn't depressing to me (about this time of year I usually get really antsy to see the sun.) 

It was really nice to spend a week away with my sweetie.  One evening I sat out on our balcony on the ship and pondered just how lucky I am to have such a great husband.  He is loving and kind, and takes great care of me and our family.  He is righteous, and a worthy priesthood holder.  He helps me be more adventurous.  He's patient with my weaknesses.  I am thankful not only for 25 years with him, but the chance for an eternity more through our temple marriage.

Since they say a picture is worth a thousand words, I think that I'll just use pictures to tell the rest of the story of our cruise:

Lush and green

A little bit of sun

Toes in the sand!

Cruising around Oahu

Our cabin

Maui jungle area

Iao Valley Needle

Heading out for snorkeling.  We saw sea turtles,
lots of colorful fish, and whales.  We were supposed
to go to the Molokini Crater, but didn't get
there because of the weather.  We just
snorkeled just off the coast of Maui. 

Mountain biking at the Kilauea volcano. 
I was on board the ship sick all that day, so I
didn't get a chance to go, but Craig said it was really cool.
 I was just thankful that Iwas only sick one day!

More views from the mountain biking trip

Kona Temple--It was great to get to take in
a session at this sweet little temple.

Our ship, docked at Kona.  We had to tender in on
shuttle boats this day instead of just
pulling up to the pier.

Kauai, if I remember correctly...

At the luau

Yummy dinner.  Although the food
was all good, our favorite of the night
was the dessert: cheesecake and a
kabocha squash and macadamia nut tart
that tasted like pecan pie. 

Fire dancers at the luau show

After our kayaking trip, a hike through
 a jungle-like nature preserve area.

60 foot waterfall on our hike

A little lighthouse, but I don't for sure remember
where.  Kauai maybe?

A Pineapple plant--Dole Plantation, Oahu

Diamond Head Crater

Another view from Diamond Head

Craig's size compared to a Polynesian. 
Just kidding...this is the Hilo Hattie Store's
giant Aloha Shirt.  It's in the
Guinness Book of World Records!