Week 8

50) I am grateful for books. I love watching my kids just soak it up. I love to read myself and getting lost in them.

51) I am grateful for missionary work. I was able to go on a couple of visits tonight and could feel the Lord working through me.

52) I am grateful for dance parties. They are pretty much one of my favorite things ever. And dance parties with cousins? Yes, please!

53) I am grateful for traditions. the best things in my life are memory filled and with my family. Holidays mean lots of traditions. They also mean extra family time. I love it! We got our Christmas tree Thanksgiving morning and had a blast! 

54) I am grateful for cuddles with my kids. We have been battling a little flu bug and the result was an entire day of cuddling and napping with Anderson. Bummer that he's sick, but moments I wouldn't trade for anything! 

55) I am grateful for the gospel. What a wonderful gift from a loving Heavenly Father! I can't think of anything better to give my children, either. 

56) I am grateful for hard things. They make me stretch and grow and develop in ways that I never imagined I could. 

Week 7- With a few pictures, even!

43) I am grateful for Family Home Evening. What an incredible blessing to have several hours each week blocked out as family time. Tonight we built an igloo fort and Briggs taught us(with Jared's help) about facing our tent doors toward the temple and what that means for us.

44)  I am grateful for our washer and dryer.  It has been 10 days without them working and they were fixed today.  It was weird to be so excited about washing a load of laundry!  I'm also grateful that Jared's mom has done so much laundry for us while they were broken, that has made all the difference.  This is what we call a "first world problem", as I realize that the majority of the world would love to have magical machines with running water and I was grumpy about not being able to have them fixed immediately.

45) I am grateful for food to feed my family. I am grateful to be able to buy groceries. I am grateful to know how to cook. I am grateful for new recipes. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/pasta-with-tomato-cream-sauce.html

46) I am grateful for my calling as a visiting teacher. What an inspired program! I learn so much from the amazing women I visit and my incredible partner. Tonight I spent some time exactly where I needed to be, doing and saying what Heavenly Father needed. 

47) I am grateful for cousins. My brother's kids were able to spend a few hours at our house this afternoon and it makes me so happy to watch and listen to them.

48) I am grateful for date nights with Jared. Tonight we went to a Roaring 20's birthday party and dressed up. It was so much fun! 

49) I am grateful for the holidays. With Thanksgiving this week, and Christmas only about a month away, we are all getting caught up in the magic of it all. It is so fun to see it through our children's eyes. 

Week 6

36)  I am grateful for this gratitude journal.  It entirely changes my perspective to be thinking of things to be grateful for each day.  I am grateful for Monday nights, that they are treated differently, that they are special.  I love my family and love spending time with them.  For the lesson, they like to act out scripture stories.  Tonight Maddie had the lesson and we acted out the story of Moses and the burning bush that she learned about in primary yesterday.  I know it was good for her, but it was good for me, too.  It helps to have a visual of the story to help cement it in my mind.  We also made a video for Jared's brother Kyle's birthday tomorrow.  Always a fun time when things are being recorded!

37)  I am grateful for my mom.  It has been fun to talk to my mom more than usual the last few weeks.  We always talk a lot, but they recently became temple workers and with things on the farm being crazy, it seems like we hadn't talked much for several weeks.  With all of the holidays and with Kelsi's wedding coming up in January, there was been a lot more that has needed to be talked about and it has been fun.  Today we talked a couple of times.  It is just fun to have such a good example, great friend, and someone who understands motherhood and what I believe so much.  I am lucky.

38)  I am grateful for date nights.  It can be so easy to get caught up in the day to day busyness, and it is so important for us to go on dates.  I love Jared, I'm so grateful to have my best friend to talk to every day and to share in all the fun(and frustrations) that go along with this journey through life.  He helps me be better and sets such a great example to me.  He is amazing.

39)  I am grateful for snow. It is so beautiful and sparkly and softens everything. My kids absolutely love (well Anderson isn't sure about it yet) and I'm looking forward to playing in the snow this winter often.

40)  I am grateful for the Savior.  His birth and His life are so amazing and I am grateful to be celebrating Him.  My goal this December is to really focus on Him and learn more about Him.

41)  I am grateful for a good friend who was exactly what I needed today.  I'm grateful that Heavenly Father places people in my life when I need them.  We learn so much from each other and have helped each other through many different aspects and stages of our lives.

42)  I am grateful for the words of the prophets.  Today I found several answers and lots of inspiration in just the way I needed them.  I am also grateful for the talks in Sacrament meeting today, I didn't get to hear all of them, but the parts I did felt like they were just for me.

Week 5

29)  I am grateful for our neighborhood. The kids have good friends to play with, carpool to school and soccer/t-ball/swimming, there is always someone willing to lend a hand on projects, good conversations and examples are all around us. I feel safe here. I like to walk/run/bike around the neighborhood and it is great for that, too.

30)  I am grateful for election day.  I enjoy working at the polls while my awesome husband takes the day off and takes care of the kids.  I am pretty lucky.  I am grateful for my right to vote and participate in our local government.

The things I'm grateful that my body does:

-Run and exercise.

-Lift and move things.

-Cook and prepare meals.

-Hold/kiss/cuddle my babies.

-Serve others.

-Sleep restfully.  

-Heal from sickness and injuries.

-Work in my home and yard and anywhere I'm needed.

-Throw balls to my kids.

-Jump- on the trampoline, in workouts, for fun.
-Dance parties.

31) I an grateful for goals. Big and small. They help me get on track and stay on track. There really is no standing still, we are always in motion. 

32) I am grateful for the moon and stars. Tonight I walked home from a meeting at the church. It was cloudy, but the wind shifted and suddenly I could see a very breathtaking view of the stars and an almost full moon that bathed the whole street with a soft glow. I'm grateful that I live in a place where I can see the stars. 

33) I am grateful for Anderson. He is such a busy little guy, so playing in toilets, climbing on furniture, emptying cupboard and making messes are common occurrences in our home. But I love watching him learn new things and new words. He gets so excited and is so proud of himself. He is constantly laughing and smiling and teasing. He loves to cuddle with me. He melts my heart. I sure love him! Tonight he had a hard time falling asleep so I sat by his crib and he just talked and smiled and rubbed my arm until he was out. So sweet. 

34) I am grateful for Briggs. He is hilarious, and his grin and laugh keeps me smiling. He is also respectful and kind to us. He likes to tease his sisters mercilessly and tackle poor Anderson (he can't wait until he is big enough to REALLY play). He patiently throws balls back and forth with Anderson, sit next to Emma while she so slowly reads to him, and plays pretend dress ups and house with Maddie. He gives me the best bear hugs and cuddles. He always tells me how much he missed me. He and I took a two hour nap together today, and he was just so sweet, rubbing my arm, face, etc. I'm a lucky mom!

35)  I am grateful for Jared's parents.  They do so much for us and for our children.  Today they happened to be driving past our church building as our Sacrament Meeting finished and stopped to pick up Anderson and take him to their house for a nap.  He was exhausted and it was just so nice.  They often do things like that for us.  Yesterday afternoon I went out to borrow a couple of tools to work on our barn and his parents just came over to help.  His dad always jumps into any projects Jared is working on.  My washer and dryer are having some issues and she asked me to just drop off my piles of laundry tomorrow and she will wash, dry and fold them all since it is her day off and she loves doing laundry.  Seriously, she loves it.  Jared's dad saddles up his horses and takes my kids for horse rides every single week, rain or shine.  He also takes them on 4-wheeler rides, even if they have to wear 4 layers of clothes.  We are very blessed to not only live less than 10 minutes from his parents, but to have a good relationship with them and benefit from their example of service and love.