Giving Thanks...

I love Thanksgiving. I love it with all of my heart. And unfortunately I think it is one of those holidays that doesn't get all the attention it deserves. It seems like Halloween comes into town and then almost goes directly to Christmas.

It is so important to take the time to reflect on our lives and see the countless blessings that we have. There is so much that we take so for granted. The fact that daily we have food to eat.We have a warm place to sleep. We have people in our lives that love and care about us. The list could go on forever. What it comes down to, is we are blessed, very very blessed!

There is so much negativity in this world. So much focus on what is wrong and what we lack. I love what Mary Ellen Edmunds said: "When we focus on blessings, expressing gratitude along the way, we will become increasingly aware of all that has been so generously shared with us. We notice what we are thinking about, don't we?"

I am hereby committing to focus more on the good, and what I have, and how I can share it with those who are in need.

Another thought I have had on my mind a lot lately is how blessed I am to have so many wonderful people in my life. And after reading the following quote, I realized I need to express my gratitude to them more for just being who they are and the way it blesses my life...

"A grateful heart, then, comes through expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings and to those around us for all that they bring into our lives. This requires conscious effort--at least until we have truly learned and cultivated an attitude of gratitude. Often we feel grateful and intend to express our thanks but forget to do so or just don't get around to it. Someone has said that "feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it." -Thomas S Monson

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you day was wonderful. I know mine was. Sitting around the table with 11 faces that I am so thankful for, what a delightful day to spend the day. The food was great (even the Jello salad that didn't quite set up and would have been better consumed with a straw rather than a fork), but just being together with family was even better. As dysfunctional as we might be (having dinner conversation on topics like getting felt up by TSA at the airport, feeding tubes, and faux teats) we sure do put the fun in dysfunctional and I am thankful for every warped-minded last one of them!