A time for Giving Thanks

This year a lot about my religion has been brought up in the media.  A lot of things being said are not true.  Most of all is that I am not a follower of Jesus Christ.  I would hope that anyone who knows me knows that I believe in Jesus Christ.  He is the center of our home.  He is the only reason that I am able to return to my Father in Heaven.  I love Jesus.  I have been blessed to know that he knows and loves me.  My greatest desire is that my children will have this same knowledge.  I am so thankful for my Savior.  When I am facing a trial I know that He will understand me perfectly.  He is perfect in his love.  He lives, my great Redeemer lives.  Through the atonement I can be saved. I couldn't be more grateful for anything than I am for this. We all have short comings, and make mistakes.  We are not meant to be perfect in this life.  We are only meant to improve and keep going.  Because of Christ I can achieve my highest exaltation.  I am so grateful for the Savior. 

I am so grateful to be married to such a great man.  This past few months have been trying for our family.  I have been so sick with the pregnancy and Jeron has stepped up beyond measure.  He has pulled the weight of the mom and the dad.  He takes such great care of us.  He loves his children so much.  He is a great dad.  He is a wonderful husband.  I love who I am with him.  We are m.f.e.o.  Plus, he is stinkin' hot.  Can't complain about that.  I feel very blessed that we are going to be together forever.  I love you Jeron!

 I am so grateful for each of my children.  Each one of them brings a unique quality to this family.  JJ is so smart and caring.  He can do anything he sets his mind to.  He is gifted in so many ways.  Emma is tenderhearted and compassionate.  She is our child that we always say is the easy one.  She is quick as a whip too.  Ellie is sunshine.  She can turn any sky from grey to blue.  She is such a beautiful girl.  She cares with her who heart.  Elsie is spunk and charm.  She can wrap you around her finger in a matter of seconds.  Her twinkle in her eye is intoxication.  I feel so incredibly blessed that they are ours.  We re excited to see what this little bundle will bring to our family.

I am so grateful for my family.  I was blessed to have been born to such wonderful parents.  They mean the world to me.  Their advice and opinions matter to me.  They have taught me so much about how to be a good person, wife, mother... They are wonderful grandparents and my kids love them so much.  I love them so much.  I love my siblings and their spouses.  They each mean so much to me.  I am so grateful for the new little ones that are entering the family.  Lucy and Ben are darling and I love them as much as I love my own kids.

I am grateful for Jeron's family.  They are always willing to help if we need them.  The kids adore their grandparents. Even though we are not always close we love each of them very much.  It has been fun spending time with my new nephew this year.  Mac is darling and he reminds me of JJ in so many ways.  Elsie loves to help out with her Macky Macky. 

 I still totally love lotion.  I have tried to curb my need for it and I think I have done this but it still brings a smile to my face when I rub it on my hands.

 About 2 months ago this picture would have been diet coke.  But recently this has been my go to drink.  I can't get enough of my milk.  In fact we are going through about eight gallons a week compared to three two months ago. 

I love going to the lake.  The lake I love more than any other is Pineview.  My kids and I go here in the summer and we have magical moments.  It seriously is the best place to spend time with my kids.  We just have a ton of fun.  Love it.

I am so grateful for those unexpected packages that come in the mail. I don't know why but it still feels like Christmas as child when one of them comes.  This package in particular brought a real smile to my face and the face of my kids.  A act of kindness from someone who has never met us before.  So kind.

I am so grateful for my girlfriends.  I don't show it enough but they all mean so much to me.  There are the ones I have know forever that understand me perfectly, and the newer ones that I am having a great time getting to know.  Each one of the ladies in my life have taught me very valuable lessons and made me laugh along the way.  Love my ladies.  You know who you are.

I am grateful for those moments when I catch my child sleeping.  No matter what the day has been like in these tender moments I am able to see the innocence of a child.  I think for me it is a glimpse and just how perfect they are.  I love my kids but man, when they sleep I could just eat them up. 

I have found a new website called Family Volley.  I LOVE IT!  I am grateful that she takes the time to give me ideas of how to be a better mom, how to love my children better, and how to have a happier family.

 I love the beauty of the temple.  I love that when we drive down state street and my kids see the temple, they always sing "I Love to See the Temple.".  I love that this building stands out in the world.  It is a place of peace and love.  I love that there is a place we can go and feel the presence of our Father in Heaven and the Savior.

 I am grateful for all the hard work people (especially my dad and mom) have put in at the cabin.  Next year it will be such a neat place to go.  I almost can't wait.

 I love my girls room.  The PBK quilts just bring a smile to my face.  I could hang out in here all day long.  I could even decorate my own room this way if I didn't share with a boy.


I am very grateful for these little messages that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has bee putting out. It seems that every time I see one it is the message I needed to hear. This one is the one that hit close to home most recently.

I am so grateful for blogging.   I love my blog.  I love your blog.  I feel connected to people that normally I would lose contact with.  My favorite thing about it is that I now have a journal of my family going on five years.  I love it. I see my sister and brothers families and feel they don't live so far away.   I keep in contact with my cousins and feel so close to them through it.    Love my blog!

I am still grateful for my camera.  It is the best thing ever.  With the help of a cute friend that I pester often I am learning to shoot in manual.  It is slow going for me seeing that all I do lately is throw up and lay on my couch but someday I will KNOW how to use it.

I am grateful for my phone.  I didn't think I would put this this year but with how sick I am feeling it has been nice to have some games on here that I can play to take my mind off of it.  Even my own daughter last night told Jeron "The reason mom is on her phone so much is because she feels sick and she plays games to take her mind off of it. normally she is not on the phone that much."  (my poor family)

I am grateful that I have learned what a home is.  It is not the house that we reside in but where my family is.  No matter where we live we will have each other.  I am so grateful that I have my house too.  We love the neighborhood, schools, and the life we have here.

 I am grateful for brownies.  Really is there anything in this world better than a brownie...I think not.  I love how hot and gooey, that when you put it in your mouth it just makes me smile.  Mmmmmm

I am so grateful for football season.  Ha, isn't that funny.  I literally get butterflies in my stomach when I know a game is coming.  It is sad that it is over soon, but good because then I can dedicate my life to something else on Saturdays. I love the taunting I do with people on Facebook. I just love everything about being a fan and watching a game.  Pure fun!...unless we lose of course.

I am so grateful for the changing seasons.  I am most grateful for Autumn.  I love the smell in the air that comes that time of year.  I always say it smell like Halloween.  It is one of my most favorite smells next to my hubby of course.

 I am thankful for airplanes that make travel to see my sister and her family so much easier.  Surely it seems like a pain to fly to DC for 5 hours+  but when I think of the alternative this is heaven compared. 

I am thankful...so thankful for this little gummy bear that is growing inside of me.  I wondered if it would ever really happen.  I have know for a while that #5 was there.  I just didn't know if the big man (meaning Jeron) knew this as well.  I decided that I didn't want to fight for this one.  I wanted Jeron to want this as much as I do.  After waiting patiently...which is not easy for me he finally came around.  It is crazy to think we will have 5 kids but it is so right.  I am excited to meet him or her...(but we prefer HIM hahahaha.)  Love this gummy bear.  LOVE!

I hope that you know how grateful I am for you.  My family and friends mean everything to me.  I hope each of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and thank you for giving me much to be grateful for.