12 days of Thanksgiving : What are you thankful for?

I've spent the last 11 days telling you all about what I am thankful for and what my family is thankful for. I guess this only leaves one question, "What are you thankful for?"

The following video asks that very question...


From Our Family
to yours
Happy Thanksgiving!!

12 Days of Thanksgiving : Day Eleven : Liam's List...if he could talk

Today I turn the blog over to LIAM for his list of the TOP 5 THINGS HE IS GRATEFUL FOR....sort of. I'm just gonna take some creative license here since he can't actually sit here and tell me what he likes (although he is sitting on my lap at this very moment so maybe he is telepathically giving me his list...you decide)

I'm thankful for my mommy, she is the best mommy in the whole wide world and she loves me lots & lots...


I'm thankful for my daddy, he is a funny guy, he makes me laugh like crazy and I love him alot, too.


I'm thankful for Yo Gabba Gabba, specifically Brobee who I like to call "BroBro" because he makes me laugh when there's a "party in his tummy...so yummy, so yummy..."


I'm thankful for bananas, they are my favorite fruit


I'm thankful for my mommy...did I mention this already?? I love her.

12 Days of Thanksgiving : Day Ten : Julianna's List

Today I turn the blog over to Julianna for her list of the TOP 5 THINGS SHE IS GRATEFUL FOR....

I'm thankful for...

My family


my friends


my home


my baby brother Liam, I love him alot


and

my mommy


Thank you.

12 Days of Thanksgiving : Day Nine : Elise's List

Today I turn the blog over to Elise for her list of the TOP 5 THINGS SHE IS GRATEFUL FOR....

I'm thankful for my mommy & daddy


I'm thankful for my brother & sisters


I'm thankful for Ice Cream!!!


I'm thankful for Heavenly Father & Jesus


I'm thankful for Joyfulness

12 Days of Thanksgiving : Day Eight : Brinton's List

Today I turn the blog over to Brinton, 8 for his list of TOP 5 THINGS HE IS GRATEFUL FOR...

1. I am thankful for the gospel. I like having the spirit in our home.


2. I am thankful for a home because we have a place to live.


3. I am thankful for my family because they love me and care for me.


4. I am thankful for my life and that I can live on earth.


5. I am thankful for food that I can eat.

12 Days of Thanksgiving : Day Seven : Ashlynne's List

Today I turn the blog over to Ashlynne for her list of TOP 5 THINGS SHE IS GRATEFUL FOR...

Hi Everyone Ashlynne here, mommy wants me to write a list of things I am thankful for. So here it is:

First, I am thankful for Freedom. Freedom in our country and our rights that we have.

Second, I am thankful for the true Gospel and the Church that we go to. Check it out here.

Third, I am thankful for my wonderful Family. How they take care of me and help me.

Fourth, it seems fitting that my fourth thing is my awesome FOURTH GRADE Teacher! She is always helping me when I need it.

Lastly, I'm thankful for doctor's and hospitals. Doctor's save peoples lives and that's a wonderful thing.

12 Days of Thanksgiving : Day Five : Scouting

8
more days
until
Thanksgiving!

Today I am grateful for Scouting.

Our stake president in Las Vegas once gave a talk about the current "wussification" of boys and that scouting was the answer. I remember thinking...ummmm...ooohhhh kayyyyy...but then again at the time I did not have a boy in the scouting program yet and did not understand all that it had to offer him.

Brinton began scouts at age 6 as a Tiger scout...we took a break for awhile when we moved away from his troop in Vegas and joined again when he turned 8 and could be part of our church troop. Brinton is a very fun kid, outgoing in some respects but not so much in others. He has a difficult time making decisions and at times he dilly dallys way too much. Through scouting Brinton has really learned a sense of self...he is making and keeping goals...he is learning, growing....he is reaching out to friends, learning how to be a leader and has broken out of his shell. My son earned his Wolf Badge recently and I cannot explain the joy that it gave me. Not only did he reach the rank of Wolf but he also earned 6 Sports/academic belt loops, a pin for basketball, and a gold arrow. He worked so very, very hard to earn each and every one.

I have seen a joy in my son, a change in him that has made me so proud. I am grateful to the scouting program for all that it has done for my son and I hope that he will continue striving to make and keep these goals through out the rest of cub scouts...boy scouts...and his life.
Today I am thankful for Scouting.

12 Days of Thanksgiving : Day Four : Earth Movers

9
more days
till
Thanksgiving

Today I am grateful for earth movers....you know the big yellow trucks with the dirt digger, shovel things on the front or the dump truck thingys...

Sounds like kind of a silly thing to be thankful for, huh? But really it isn't.

*photos from this website

See to me an "earth mover" signifies progress and specifically these earth movers signify one of the greatest blessings we will soon receive here in Kansas City. These earth movers are on the site of the new LDS Temple in Kansas City, Mo and only 45 minutes from my home!! YAY!! We recently took a drive up to the temple site to show our kids the progress and we were so excited to see the earth movers there.

Having lived by a temple most of my life I took for granted the safe haven that it is and the opportunity that I had to go and enter anytime. Gone are the days I can take a quick trip up the mountain and return within a couple of hours renewed and full of spirit. Now I have to plan lengthy trips to St. Louis or Omaha, 3 to 4 hours away. The temple is seriously worth the sacrifice and the planning but not being able to attend as frequently as we used to in Las Vegas & Utah is a pretty big downer.

But soon we will have our very own Temple, Right.Here. and right now those earth movers are making it happen. :)

12 Days of Thanksgiving : Day Three : SNOW!!!

Only

10

more days until

Thanksgiving!

Today I woke up to my children jumping up and down, dancing circles around my bed.

"It snowed! It snowed!"
"Mommy, can you see my face without your glasses?? Mommy, I'm smiling so big!"
"Snow, snow, snow....snow, snow, snow"
"YaaaaaaaaaaaaaaYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!"

Usually I hate snow. While it's really pretty looking as it falls from the sky and clothes the world in a blanket of white...it's cold & wet.

Snow and I aren't friends.

But today as I was trying to think of all the many things I'm grateful for, I kept coming back to those smiling faces jumping around my bed this morning.

So Mr. Snow if you have the ability to make my children so incredibly happy then I guess you're alright by me.

Today....I'm grateful for the first snow of the season and the joy it brings my children. :)

...and I'm even more thankful that within several hours it alllllll melted. hee, hee

12 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 2 : Faithful Examples

Only

11

more days until

Thanksgiving!

I am grateful for faithful examples.

I am so very grateful for the wonderful, strong women in my life. Yesterday I mentioned how grateful I am to have had such a wonderful mother who gave me a wonderful example of what motherhood is all about. Today (and everyday truly) I am grateful for my wonderful Grandma Lucy, my mommy's mother. She has always been there for me. She is an incredibly strong woman of faith. She is amazingly independent, even in her older years, and she has taught me so much about what it means to be a woman of God. When I was younger I would spend summers with her and I often could find her on her knees knelt in prayer...much like my mother. I hope that as they grow my children will also know of my love for my Heavenly Father, the way my grandmother & mother exemplified their love for Him, to me.

*My Grandma Lucy & I, after my mother's funeral*

Next, I am grateful for my Grandma Julia, mi abuela, my father's mother, for whom my Julianna is named.
She had 11 children and growing up I always aspired to have as many as she did...probably not now that I have 5 and I can't imagine having 6 more...maybe 3 more....but that's another topic for another day. :)
There are great things that I remember about her like the way she always gave me soda crackers and hot chocolate for breakfast. How she alwas smelled so clean. How beautiful her skin was. How she always had a Bible on her night stand. When I was 14 mi abuela passed away. She was 93 years old. I was in 9th grade at the time, it was just after Thanksgiving Day. I returned to early morning seminary that Monday morning and as I sat in class and we sang the Christmas Hymn "Away in a Manger," I began to cry.

The last verse says:

Be near me Lord Jesus; I ask thee to stay
Close by me forever, and love me I pray.
Bless all the dear children in thy tender care,
And fit us for heaven to live with thee there.

In that moment of sorrow for the loss of mi abuela, I needed him near me. By the end of the verse I realized that she was fit for his kingdom and He had welcomed her home with open arms.

Thanks to the wonderful example of motherhood, faith, and strength that my grandmothers provided I am continually striving to better myself. They have given me amazing qualities that I am passing on to my children. For that I am grateful.

12 Days of Thanksgiving : Day One : Family

Beginning with today there are only

12 days left

until

Thanksgiving Day.

I am so grateful for all the wonderful many blessings that I have and I thought I would use the next 12 days to blog about something I'm grateful for each day up until Thanksgiving. I may even have each of the kids write a special Gratitude post.

I realize that this really isn't something that should only be reserved for Thanksgiving time, we should be gracious & grateful everyday. What better way to spend the next 12 days then remembering that very fact.

Today I am grateful for FAMILY....



...for parents who have taught me so much.

...for my mother, my best friend. She was a perfect example of a loving, selfless mother...I hope I can become more like her. Oh, how I miss her everyday.



...for my children that make me very proud. They make me laugh & smile. They are my joy and my life.

...for my husband who works so hard to support our family and who honors his priesthood. Who loves me very much and is a great father to our children.

We give thanks...

Thanksgiving 2008 brought us many wonderful things to be thankful for. It was our first Thanksgiving celebration in our new home in Kansas and it was the first year we have ever hosted Thanksgiving in our home. We were extremely blessed to have my parents visiting from Las Vegas and also Jeremiah's mother and stepfather with us as well. My mother has terminal cancer and there were times during the past few months that we were unsure if she would be able to make it so it was certainly special to have her here.

Being the crazy perfectionist that I am my goal was to have the most perfect Thanksgiving dinner ever! Everyone pitched in with the cooking, decorating, I made coloring books to keep the kids entertained at their table before dinner was served....let's just say that everything came together perfectly and I could not have asked for a better Thanksgiving.

In our family we have a tradition where we go around the table and each say all the things we are thankful for. Generally for the adults it becomes somewhat of a testimony meeting around our table. The spirit was felt strong by all as each of us related the things that we are thankful for. Each of us around the table have gone through big trials this year and have consistently felt the Lord's arms around us every step of the way and for that we are grateful. It was an amazing opportunity for all of to reconnect, share some good times, love, laugh, and enjoy each others company. y only regret is we didn't take as many pictures as I would've liked to...too busy making memories to photograph them.