A month of Gratitude~November

November always makes me think of gratitude. How can we cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude? President Joseph F. Smith, sixth President of the Church, provided an answer. Said he: “The grateful man sees so much in the world to be thankful for, and with him the good outweighs the evil. Love overpowers jealousy, and light drives darkness out of his life.” He continued: “Pride destroys our gratitude and sets up selfishness in its place. How much happier we are in the presence of a grateful and loving soul, and how careful we should be to cultivate, through the medium of a prayerful life, a thankful attitude toward God and man!”

I am a grateful woman.  I see so much in my little world to be thankful for!.  These are just a few of the things in my world that make me grateful:
We had the opportunity to deep clean our church building one Saturday morning.  It made me grateful for a building to meet in and worship how I wish.  It made me grateful for a family willing to give up their Saturday mornings to work.  As I look at this picture, it made me grateful for my kids good friends who made the time go by quickly and offered good conversation.  

I am grateful for the opportuities my kids have and take advantage of in the public school system.  Taz has so enjoyed another successful season of marching band.  We were able to go support him at his last competition at Las Vegas High school. 

It was a great way to spend a fall afternoon and they bands were so fun and cool to watch. 

I'm grateful that my kids let me document their lives.  Taz ripped the phone book with his bear hands while cleaning the church the day before and he wanted a picture of it to preserve that memory. 

I'm grateful that Mikel came into our lives and that she and Cynjyn have so much fun together.  They baked and decorated cupcakes one Sunday and made cookies together one Sunday.  She has been a blessing to Cynjyn and our family.

I'm grateful for a husband who refused to spend $10.00 on a funnel cake at the band competition, but came home and made us all one the next day for pennies.  They were delicious and he spent his time doing that for us. 

I am so grateful for my kids talents.  Cynjyn had to do a project on Brazil and make a box with things that represented Brazil's culture.  She made a mask

and a puppet with a Brazilian samba costume that she came up with on her own.  We also made some ham and cheese empanada's to  share with her class as she presented.

It just so happened that I went to school with her that day as it was take your mom to school day and I got to see her present her project and present a dance she made up for PE

We to to each lunch together provided by the school and it was so interesting to spend a day in her shoes and go to school and see what she deals with everyday.  I am grateful that she let me go.  She didn't want me to or so she says and I really enjoyed it and I loved spending the day with her and her school.  She also made a fleece blanket at YW one evening. Boy has she had fun with that as she left a top portion untied and uses it as a sleeping bag snuggie!

I am grateful for my kids friends.  Taz had fun bringing his nonmember best friends Andrew and Ryan to Stake Dodgeball.  Here they are on the Saturday morning of the tournament where they took 1st place.  I love that Taz stood on his tiptoes to be the tallest of the three in the picture. 

I love that I can go into my bathroom on a given Saturday morning and find Becca and Cynjyn sitting on the floor listening to music.  I asked them why they were in the bathroom on the floor and their answer? "We got tired of standing!"  How obvious is that duh?!!

I am grateful that I was asked to be on the Relief Society enrichment Christmas dinner committee.  We ended up doing an angel's among us theme and one Sunday after Stake Conference, we go together and my house and started making 200 angels to hand out to those that come and as Christmas presents for the RS sisters.  I love doing things that get my creative juices flowing and allowe me to create.  It was a fun afternoon and even though we worked straight for 2.5 hours.  We didn't finish. 

I am grateful that we can go to stake conference on a Sunday in November and take a Sunny Sunday Selfie.  I love that Cynjyn was mortified that we did that in the parking lot with people around and possibly watching  GASP!

So grateful for the chance we've had to have Talon back home with us this past year and a half.  So grateful for his new job and his girlfriend Mikel and super grateful that he's willing to make dinner on his two days off a week.  This day we were blessed with Kaluah pig!

Super grateful for my book club and when we go to movies together when they are based on a book we read for book club.  Grateful for my good friends and the fun times we have at dinner afterwards.  Mockingjay and dinner did not disappoint even though a lot of people couldn't make it. 

So grateful that Trey and David stop by and spend the night when they are going back and forth between college and Shoshone.  They are fun to spend a few days with and this was fun teaching David Hand and Foot the night before Thanksgiving. 

Sad that Talon had to work on Thanksgiving, but thankful that I could make him some ham and mashed potatoes and stuffing and rolls to take with him. 

I super thankful for family traditions.  I suggested that we go to a buffet this year for Thanksgiving dinner since it was just the four of us and these two said no way...we'd miss our traditional Thanksgiving punch!  What??  Your favorite part of dinner is the slush punch?  Well then, bring it on, we will have dinner together and we will enjoy every drop of that punch!!

Cheers to Thanksgiving. 

Even more cheers for naps after dinner on Thanksgiving!

And yet even more grateful for Heavenly Father blessing us with the beauty of nature seeing the sunset on Thanksgiving evening. 

Grateful that Taz asked me if I got a shot of the beautiful fall trees in the park by our house as I shot this picture off our balcony.  

I guess I'm thankful when I try something different and my kids tell me it's a fail.  I made Taz a ham and cheese sandwich and had a bright idea to add cheese, ham, cheese, ham cheese so that the ham wouldn't slide around.  Taz said "It's pretty cheesy mom!"  I asked if he liked it and he just smiled and said it's different.  At least he was attempting to be polite. 

Loved seeing Trey again on the way back to school from Thanksgiving break.  It was a great month and made my heart full of gratitude for all my blessings and family.