Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!  I'm so grateful for a warm home, loving family, beautiful children and grandchildren, goodly parents and a strong faith.   Speaking of beautiful grandchildren:

We took these last summer, wish we could have all the kids together all the time.

Thanksgiving A B C

Just a short list of things I'm grateful for:
A--Andrea, Addie, airplanes.
B--books, berries, baseball.
C--Cori, Chloe, Caleb, chocolate.
D--Dave, Deanne, daisies, doctors.
E--Eli, earrings, eggs.
F--family, friends, feta cheese.
G--Gideon, grass, gum.
H--Hillary, home, honey.
I--India, ice cream, idiosyncrasies.
J--Jake, Jesse, Joe, Jeopardy.
K--Kristen, Kennedy, kindness.
L--Larry, Livy, laundry, laughter.
M--Mira, mountains, Matt.
N--nights, noise, needles.
O--oranges, origami, oxygen.
P--pie, people, perfume.
Q--quiet, quarks, qi.
R--rain, roofs, roses.
S--Sophie, Sarah, sunshine.
T--Tyler, tulips, television.
U--umbrellas, unicorns, umbilical cords.
V--violets, violas, Velcro.
W--water, watermelon, wishes.
X--x-rays, xylophones, xi, xu.
Y--yellow, yogurt, yarn.
Z--zest, zeroes, za.

Leaves

My childhood home was on a large lot with great big trees. In the fall, all the kids in the neighborhood would come over and play in the leaves. We would rake mazes and then chase each other though them. We would outline elaborate houses with many rooms. We would make huge piles that reached the lower branches of the trees and then climb the trees and jump, becoming buried in scratchy, soft leaves. I don't remember actually helping get rid of those leaves, but I probably did.
Then I grew up, got married, moved around some, and my husband and I bought a home and planted our own trees. It took many years, but now our maple trees are finally big enough to fill the yard with leaves. It's not the same. The grandkids enjoy them, but not often. Larry spends countless hours filling countless bags so we can donate them to my sister's compost heap. Its hard work.
The magic is gone, but like wood smoke in autumn, the memories live on.

Water

Oh the wonder of water! When my houseplants are near death, a drink of water miraculously revives them. It cleans our clothes, our floors and our bodies. Soaking loosens baked-on grime and makes dishwashing a breeze. Summer rain settles the dust, greens up the grass and makes the world smell wonderful. A long hot shower soothes the body and mind. A cold shower invigorates. (At least that's what I hear--I've never actually had a cold shower.) A tall glass of ice water is bliss on a hot summer day. When I was a child, our epic water fights quickly cooled us off. Water makes puddles for splashing in and turns sand into a building material. It's a big part of who we are, as one Star Trek alien put it, "ugly bags of mostly water." As we count our blessings this season,let's not forget water!

Why Vote?

It's Election Day next Tuesday, so I want to suggest a few reasons to vote:
1.  It's a responsibility inherent in our form of government.
2.  It's a right that a lot of people in the world don't have, so we should treasure it.
3.  If only a small minority vote, that small minority will determine the outcome.  Do we really want that?
4.  Maybe most important--even if no one I voted for gets elected, the fact that I voted gives me the right to complain about the government.  Why would I give that up?
GET OUT AND VOTE!!

More To Be Thankful For

This morning several army helicopters flew over my house. Whenever that happens, I think of how many places there are where that sight brings fear, and how grateful I am to live where it's just interesting to watch. Hooray for America!

Gratitude

     It's a while until Thanksgiving, but I was thinking of all the things I'm grateful for.  I'm so glad fall is here--for a while I thought we might go straight from summer to winter.  The yard looks better than it ever has (thanks Larry), in fact Tyler said the back lawn looks like it's been spray-painted green.  The roses are stupendous, and nearly all the plants in the front have taken root and look great.  The mountains are full of color, and I love watching the cloud variations.
   I'm also very grateful for my wonderful family.  Larry has to be the most thoughtful husband on the planet, and I have five amazing children and thirteen incredible grandchildren.  I'll just briefly mention some great things about my kids.  Cori is so patient.  When they were her for two months this summer, I don't think I heard her raise her voice once.  She's the YW President in her ward, and I love playing word games with her across the miles.  Tyler can learn how to do anything by reading and experimenting, and it's great fun watching him sing with the Tabernacle Choir.  Andrea is creativity personified.  She truly does make trash into treasures, and her blog is gaining new followers daily.  Sarah is the most Christ-like person I know.  People with problems seem to be drawn to her because she really listens and cares.  Kristen is our performer--she sings and dances, and she touches countless lives in her youth theater work.  
  In the beginning of The Book of Mormon,  Nephi says that though he has seen much adversity, yet he has been highly favored of the Lord.  I can echo his sentiments without reservation.