I'm grateful for my sweet husband who is my best friend. He is always supportive, kind, caring, will talk to me for hours about nothing and everything, and can always make me laugh. He works so hard to support our family, and is such a great husband & dad! I'm so grateful that I get to spend my life & eternity with him!
I'm grateful for my kids. Growing up, I didn't have any younger siblings or cousins to babysit, I wasn't around kids much & had very little experience with babies or little kids until I became a mom. But I figured it out and learned as I went, and I continue to learn all the time, from my 4 wonderful kids! Being a mom is the greatest blessing in my life & nothing could make me happier than raising, teaching, caring for, & and loving these precious kids that I've been blessed with!
I'm grateful that I've been able to stay home with my kids all these years. I know not everyone is able to do that, so I am SO very grateful that I can. I worked until PJ was a year old (that is when Neil graduated from USU with his Bachelor's Degree). It was so hard going to work every day & leaving my baby, but we needed the income to help pay for Neil's education (without going into debt), and we needed the insurance coverage from my job. We decided that once Neil graduated from college & got a job, that I would quit working to stay home full time. We didn't have a lot of money at the time & we scrimped & saved & pinched every penny just to make ends meet, and I did a few jobs from home (babysitting a couple days a week for a while, then doing some online data entry), to help pay for groceries & necessities. Even though I could have gone back to work & we could have postponed having kids, to wait until we were more financially secure, I'm so glad we made the decisions that we did. I would never give up the many blessings that we've received because of those decisions. I'm so grateful that I've been able to stay home with my kids, to always be there for them (even now that they are older--which is still SO important)! And those times where we had to be so careful with every penny taught us a lot about budgeting, saving, planning, and faith.
I'm grateful for old friends & new ones. I talked with a good friend the other day, who I met about 10 years ago in Utah, when our oldest boys were in first grade together. We lived in the same area for a couple of years & became good friends. Then they moved to Florida, and we moved to Arkansas. Then they moved to Colorado, and we moved to Canada. Now they are back in Utah again. We don't talk often, but when we do, we just pick up where we left off. We can relate & understand many of the same struggles & frustrations & life experiences that we have both gone through. I'm grateful for good friendships like that! And I'm grateful for new friendships too! Good friends that we met during the 6 years we were in Arkansas, and the new friends that we've met here in Canada. It's so nice to know that there are people that you can talk to, laugh with, cry with, and can understand & sympathize with similar life experiences, or can give advice, suggestions, or stories from THEIR life experiences.
I'm grateful that Neil has a great job that he loves & that can provide for our family, that he has a boss that is so great to work for & work with, who is supportive, positive, appreciative, & encouraging. I'm grateful that we found a home in a nice community, close to our church, the kids schools, shopping, doctors & dentists offices, etc., and that I have this awesome thing called a GPS, that has helped me find my way around as we've gotten settled here. I'm grateful for the Canadian healthcare system, that I can take my kids to the doctor & not have to pay anything.
I'm grateful that we are so close to a temple now, that Neil & I can get up Saturday morning, go to a session at 7 a.m., and be back home by 9:30 a.m., and still have the whole day to spend with the family! AND that the youth can go to the temple every other month, on a weekday evening, and be home by 10 p.m. When we were in Arkansas, we were 4 hours from the temple, so after we drove there, did a session, stopped to eat, and drove back, it was about a 12-hour day!
I'm grateful for our family's health, safety, and happiness. I'm grateful that our family is close & our kids are best friends & support & encourage each other, as well as having a great time together, laughing, hanging out, playing games & creating lasting memories together, and that no matter where we move, or where we are, they have each other.
I'm grateful that there are other great kids in the world that share the same beliefs & have high standards that can help our kids to stay strong, whether they are from Utah, Arkansas, Canada, India, China, Africa, or anywhere else (this is a very culturally diverse area, so the kids have friends from all over the world and have met a lot of youth at regional church dances & activities from all over as well). It's fun to see our kids making friends with kids from all over the U.S., Canada, and othe parts of the world. They've met a lot of great friends in all the places we've lived, and have been able to stay in touch with them through the internet.
I'm grateful for sunshine, warm weather, beautiful flowers, music, chocolate, good books to read, relaxing with Neil in the evenings, the smell of fresh cut grass, freshly baked bread, and new babies. I'm grateful for my electric blanket & a warm coat in the winter, fuzzy socks, a comfortable bed, listening to my kids laughter, seeing their smiles, feeling their hugs & kisses, and hearing "I love you" from Neil & my kids every day! I really am SO very blessed!
I'm grateful for the experiences that I've had in my life that have made me who I am today, and most of all, I'm grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ, the scriptures, the power of prayer, & the peace they bring into my life. Life is good & I'm very grateful! :)
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