I Am Thankful For Visitors

We all get so excited whenever we can get family to come visit with us.  Recently, we had Kezia (Rob’s cousin) stay with us overnight while she was here working in LA over a weekend.  The kids love her because she is always excited to see them, and usually has some sort of treat for them or something fun to do.  This time she did all of the girls’ hair and they looked beautiful!  Some people have a gift for doing little girls’ hair and she is one of them. It was great to stay up late chatting and catching up.

This weekend Rob’s parents are here!  They had an audiology conference in Las Vegas and decided to take a few days to come here afterwards.  The kids were jumping off the walls when they heard the news that they were coming, and it gave me a good reason to put the kids to work cleaning up this morning. (Another benefit to guests is that the kids don’t argue as much about having to clean up.) Tonight we went to dinner at Mimi’s Cafe, and hit Target to get some new shoes for Emma because hers broke today.  Even these regular things are more fun when we have visitors.  So who can come next?

I Am Thankful for a Sense of Humor

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f86qKQJg3Z8

I am thankful for the creative people of the world that can make me laugh (at the top of my list is my sweet Robby who makes me laugh every day!).  It’s easy to make fun of someone or do mean or dirty humor, but to do clean humor is the true test of a comedian. Lately we Mormons have been called all sorts of names, but if this is weird and peculiar, I’d rather not be normal.

What are you thankful for?

I Am Thankful for Nice Weather

Tonight the elementary school had a family night sponsored by the PTA.  There was a small group of guys called Street Beat that did a little show while playing their buckets and trash cans with drum sticks and even a little breakdancing.  We went there in sweatshirts, ate pizza out on the playground and sat on blankets and lawn chairs to watch the show. Hannah put on a big winter coat before we left because it was dark and “cold” outside.  She took it off after ten minutes and did just fine in her cupcake t-shirt.  I love not having to deal with jackets or boots, or wet jeans, or shoveling, or scraping…  Seventies and eighties in November? I’ll take it!

I Am Thankful for Tuesday

Yesterday was a busy day for our family. I didn’t get a chance to write my Thanksgiving post because I was moving all day long.  First thing in the morning Rob and I took the little girls and went to vote. Our poll happens to be at the elementary school, so I thought there might be a lot of parents that would come vote as they dropped off their kids.  The line wasn’t long and we had our notes to remind us how we wanted to vote on all of the issues (and we didn’t vote the same on everything) so it was pretty easy.

Next, I dropped Hannah at preschool and then went back to the elementary school to pick up Emma.  We have been excited for November 4th for a long time at our house. Not just because it was election day, but because it was the day Emma got her braces off!! She was absolutely giddy, and of course looks beautiful (pictures and details will follow in future posts).  I took her and Sabrina out for a treat at Yogurtland afterward and then she practiced talking with her new retainers in.  Having them on the top and bottom makes is tough.  Especially with those “S” sounds.  So we recited, “Sister Susie sat on a seashell,” and other tongue twisting sentences.

Then I took Emma back to her school, and picked up Hannah from preschool. We went home, had lunch and I tried to catch up on some housework and playtime with the little girls. After Hunter and Emma came home from school, I drove the kids over to the church where there was a party planned to entertain the kids while their parents worked making phone calls to get out the voters.  Rob and I along with about 35 others gathered at “headquarters” (a ward member’s home) and used our cell phones to call lists of voters and ask if they had remembered to vote.  Most of them had already voted, or said they were on their way to vote. We did that until 7:45 pm then picked up the kids from the church party and headed home for bedtime. After the kids were in bed, I pretty much crashed on the couch and was in and out of sleep as the election results rolled in.

Hunter has been reading this post as I’m writing and asked me, “Why are you thankful for Tuesday if it was so busy?”  Well, I was thankful for this busy day because it became even more clear to me on Tuesday what my priorities are and the blessings I have received from my work on Prop 8.

I did all of that work for my kids whom I love dearly, so they can have the best society possible to grow up in.  I am surrounded by others that value my children’s future as much as I do, and were willing to babysit and entertain 60 children for the afternoon and evening so their parents could go out and work on a cause we all believe in.

I took the call from the leaders of the church to heart, and did my best to write posts and provide information to the voters who were confused on how to vote and were looking for input. My testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and of His church has grown from that experience.

I have connected with people who share my beliefs. Both from the articles and comments I have read and written and from the people I have been waving signs, knocking doors, and making phone calls with.  That association has made me a stronger person.

Vote Yes on 8 this Tuesday

My final push before the election…

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBrFHC1aoWI

Tomorrow I will be working at polls, helping to make sure everyone gets a chance to have their votes counted. I know that passing this proposition is the best thing for families and children in California. I also know that even if it passes, society will continue to conform to a secular view of government and religion.  But I feel that it is important to “stand for something” so crucial to our future. Regardless of the outcome tomorrow, I will feel proud of the work I and my family and friends have done for this campaign, and I am not ashamed that I chose to take a stand.

Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes will be lost. Even in these, however, let us leave a record so that the choices are clear, letting others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel.

There will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probable, but others will step forward, having been rallied to rightness by what we do. We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds which was, till then, unconscious of itself. -Neal A. Maxwell

Vote Yes on 8!

I am Thankful for Inspired Leadership

A friend of mine, Jenn C, brought this talk to my attention from thirty years ago and it is still so absolutely relevant today. Tomorrow is election day, and with my focus on Proposition 8 due in big part to the counsel we have been given by our leaders (and in spite of the mean verbal attacks on my church’s members), I couldn’t help but think that the Lord has been preparing us for this kind of fight for a long time after reading this part of the talk:

Give it a read: A More Determine Discipleship

I am thankful for the prophet and apostles that lead our church and love all people of the world.  I am grateful for the sacrifices they make to serve and teach people of all faiths throughout the world. I am grateful for their counsel and hope that I will be more diligent in following it.

Thank Goodness!

Today the Relief Society newsletter for November quoted parts of this beautiful talk by Joseph B. Wirthlin. Of course we all want to be happy, and make others happy as well, so I decided to take action on his advice and post one thing I am grateful for each day until Thanksgiving Day.  I remember others doing this last year, and thought it was a great idea. I’d love it if you tried it along with me, or left a comment about something you are thankful for too.

Quotes from the talk that stood out to me:

Think for a moment, if you will, of someone you know who is truly happy. We’ve all met those who seem to radiate happiness. They seem to smile more than others; they laugh more than others—just being around them makes us happier as well…

Now think of someone you know who isn’t happy at all. Perhaps they seem 10 years older than they are, drained of energy—perhaps they are angry or bitter or depressed.

What is the difference between them? What are the characteristics that differentiate the happy from the miserable? Is there something that unhappy people can do to be happier? I believe there is…

Gratitude is a mark of a noble soul and a refined character. We like to be around those who are grateful. They tend to brighten all around them. They make others feel better about themselves. They tend to be more humble, more joyful, more likable.

It is difficult to even imagine a resentful person who is grateful or a grateful person who is resentful…

I believe that many people are unhappy because they have not learned to be grateful. Some carry the burden of bitterness and resentfulness for many years. Some pass their days as though suffering a deep sadness they cannot name. Others are unhappy because life didn’t turn out the way they thought it would…

Choice blessings await those who live in thanksgiving daily. “He who receiveth all things with thankfulness,” the Lord has promised, “shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more” (D&C 78:19).

Don’t wait to start. Open your eyes, open your hearts, and open your arms. I promise that as you do so, you will feel greater joy and happiness. Your life will have a new level of meaning. You will forge relationships that will transcend this life and endure through the eternities…

Today- I am thankful for the right to vote. As you can tell from my blog lately I have become very involved in the political process this election.  More than ever before I have done research and studying about candidates, propositions, and issues.  I’m grateful that we have the opportunity to voice who we want our leaders to be, and what we think our society values should be.  Although I get frustrated by the politicalness of politics, and how mean it can get, I still believe that our democratic system is the most solid base for a successful government. Remember to vote on Tuesday!