Joy in Each Day

One of my favorite videos to watch this time of year is this one:

I shared it with my night class earlier this week on a day that I needed some extra encouragement to look for the good around me. This was me as I was leaving the doctor who told me to not move my shoulder for two weeks. (Yeah, no big deal I just have 3 small kids and one sleeps in a crib.)

I sent this picture (sorry this was real life) to the Smart One and told him the diagnosis of waking up with shoulder pain and not being able to lift my arm. The doctor called it Bursitis, to me it just feels like I'm old and not even 35!

I went home overwhelmed at the thought of my to do list. I had school stuff to get done and my house was a wreck (it was the day after Halloween after all). Of course the Smart One immediately calmed me down and helped me prioritize, he's good like that. He and the kids cleaned up while I taught my class. 

As I showed the video to my class I was reminded of some great blessings I had at that moment.

1. How great of a blessing our bodies really are, I still have my health and can function ok.

2. Freezer meals are perfect at times like this, so glad I did a bunch with one of my besties last month!

 3. I have a pretty amazing husband and pretty great kids! Truly, I'm not just saying that. 

4. A season in which to strive to focus on those things I'm grateful for.

Yesterday I started looking for some quotes for Thanksgiving and came across this talk that Pres. Uchtdorf gave 4 years ago in general conference, Of Regrets and Resolutions

My favorite part was this:

"Brothers and sisters, no matter our circumstances, no matter our challenges or trials, there is something in each day that can bring gratitude and joy if only we will see and appreciate it. 

"Perhaps we should be looking less with our eyes and more with our hearts."

I look forward to being able to stand up straight to do my hair and put on makeup in the (hopeful) near future. Until then my goal is to try harder to find gratitude and joy in each day. 

Christmas of Peace!

I have had a lot of thoughts going through my mind the last few weeks. I have thoroughly enjoyed this Christmas season and I was trying to figure out yesterday what the difference was. Last night my extended family gathered for our traditional Christmas Eve program/evening. My mom gave the Christmas message. She told several stories and talked about different messages of Christmas and how they can vary each year. As I contemplated on this I realized my personal message of Christmas this year has been peace. As soon as I write that I automatically think of the countless moments and days that were not peaceful in my house leading up to Christmas and I'm sure will continue in the future. I am a mother of two young boys with a little girl on the way. That is life and so much craziness comes with that, at least in our household!

I have tried to be really organized and not stressed out. (Being pregnant has caused me to, perhaps, over plan things.) I have tried to focus more on the Savior and not on all the projects and things I need to do. I started a tradition in our family last year that each day for family scripture study we read a story about Jesus starting with his birth and Christmas Eve is His resurrection. I tried to not pack our days but do several meaningful things. Was this really the difference? Honestly I am not sure. My visiting teacher came to visit last week and the message she shared was the Savior being the Prince of Peace. This part specifically touched me:

"'The Savior is the source of true peace,' said Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. 'Even with the trials of life, because of the Savior's Atonement and His grace, righteous living will be rewarded with personal peace.'"

As she shared that with me I immediately reflected on my day. The Smart One was working late, again, the boys were at that moment being crazy/loud and running, and I was tired. There was no peace surrounding me and yet I felt it through the spirit.

I am grateful for this wonderful Christmas Season to learn about and celebrate the Savior. He truly is the way to find joy and peace in our lives. Merry Christmas!

More than a Holiday

Today I attended Time Out For Women with my Mom and one of my sisters. It was a nice break and there were some wonderful messages. I saw this video and I feel it explains exactly what I was feeling last night and what I have a goal to accomplish. 

"Giving thanks isn't a holiday. It's how people live."

Happy Thanksgiving!

Forced Thankfulness?

I started a blog post about a month ago after the first ER visit with the Small One but didn't like the direction it was going so I never finished it. I haven't even blogged about that kid's birthday on our family blog. It has been a hard month for us, I won't go into all the details. The quick facts: the Small One ended up with a skull fracture, the Silly One got 5 stitches in his chin after crashing on his bike and the Smart One was in the ER earlier this evening and ended up getting a gastroscope. (Hence I referenced the "first" ER visit.) After the first incident I had a huge wake up call as to how precious life really is, things are fine one moment and can be gone the next. Thankfully everyone is fine, even as I write this. The boys are healed and back to their normal (crazy and wild) selves. 

The Smart One is sleeping it off and hopefully will be back to normal tomorrow. I thought about writing a blog post about being thankful for modern medicine and the wonderful things they are able to do and discover in an instant, it is Thanksgiving in a week after all. I thought about writing how thankful I am for my wonderful little family and how each of them mean the world to me. I could go on and on about the thoughts I had about being thankful but as I was thinking I realized it is more than just being thankful. I need to live that gratitude. 

My greatest blessings, as silly as they are!

A few years ago at a large Thanksgiving dinner (my favorite way to have it) there was a particularly poignant thought on the favor that year. I liked it so much it has been stuck to my fridge ever since. It spoke of not just giving thanks but in actually living it. We shouldn't have to be forced into thankfulness as I feel I am at times. And yet here I am overwhelmed by my feelings just for 3 people, not counting the many others who impact my life for good. My goal this Thanksgiving season and moving forward is to not just be grateful and thankful for the bounteous blessings I have been given but to act on that gratitude. To show those people that mean more to me than anything how wonderful I think they are. To strive to share the blessings I have with others around me.

"Gratitude is expressed in prayer and thanksgiving, but more so in living lives of honor and integrity, of kindness and compassion, in awareness of others and their needs, and an honest expression of gratitude for all those who bless and affect our lives for good. Thanksgiving is best expressed in thanks-living -in lives of goodness and obedience and love and service."

- A. Theodore Tuttle