Sunday Grains of Gratitude.......

Yayyy - it is Sunday!!!! I have never been so grateful for a weekend as I was for this one!!! I don't know why - but it was just really a very very long week - and I am so glad it is over!!! Not that the week coming up is any less busy (isn't January supposed to be slow and boring??? What happened to that????) but it was just nice to have a couple of days at home, and to be able to sleep in a bit and recharge my batteries. And - in some ways I am loving the 1:00 church time - although it really does kind of take up the whole day :) It is one of my new years resolutions (to be formally written down tomorrow at our New Years Family Home Evening ;) to really get back to my blog and especially my grains of gratitude posts :) I miss them, and I know that expressing my gratitude weekly really helps put perspective on things, and I also know that I am so blessed that it is my RESPONSIBILITY to express my gratitude :) So - here goes nothin ;)

This week I am grateful......

for Brady's aide. She has been wonderful for him this year, and I am grateful for her patience and positive attitude with him. He has made some real gains this year over last year, and I know she is a big part of that, and I am grateful each and every day for her. She is an answer to prayer - we love her!

for my kids hard work yesterday to get all of Christmas put away!! I was so sad to take it down, but it was time. It is always such an ordeal, and the fact that we got everything down and put away and UP in the garage in one day is nothing short of a miracle. I have the best kids and husband in the whole world. I am grateful for each and every one of them - they are amazing and I am blessed to be their mom.

for friends who listen and love me :) Sometimes life is hard - which is good - because that is how we grow. But - it is still hard, and I am grateful for friends who listen to my problems and help me work through them. Sometimes it is just not enough to work through things on your own and you need the perspective of someone else. I've always said a good friend is almost better than a good therapist :) I'm grateful for the amazing women that I am blessed to call friend - for their love, support, and patience with me.

for my warm house. It has been soooooo chilly here this week, and I am grateful that my family has a nice, warm, safe place to sleep at night. Protected from the elements and sheltered from the world. I know that not everyone has that - and it breaks my heart :( I pray that everyone will have the shelter from life's storms that they are in need of.

for teenagers :) I know a lot of people find them frustrating. And - I do too. But - they are so funny and insightful and fun to talk to :) I love babies and little kids, because I think they are much easier than teenagers, but I really have loved having my kids grow up, because we have so much more in common as they start to understand more complex things - and I love to hear their thoughts and ideas about things.

for my faith and community. I overheard a cashier talking to a man moving into the community the other day and she asked him if he was ready for the "culture shock". It made me think a bit about our community and culture. I have never really thought of the way people of my faith live as a true "culture" - but I guess it really is. The membership in our church is so prominent in our neighborhood, there are families here and there that are not members or who are not active members, but the majority of the people in the city I live in, belong to the same faith as I do. I think back to when I came here 24 years ago (can it really be that long??) and I do remember feeling a bit of a culture shock - because I was used to a much more diverse culture growing up - and being very different life-style wise than most of my friends and neighbors :) I am grateful always for the gospel in my life, for my Savior, Jesus Christ, and for the emphasis and importance my faith places on my family. There are some not so nice things that happen in our "culture" and communities sometimes - but overall - I have felt that this community has been a wonderful one in which to raise my children, and I am grateful for the opportunity I have to live in it :) I have some of the best neighbors anyone could EVER ask for - and Brady is so included and loved in his primary class, and with many many members in our ward. Yes - I am grateful for our community and faith.....

What are YOU grateful for today????