Thankful....

It's been an action packed month since I last blogged with lots to be thankful for. And since we just returned safely from visiting our families in southern Alberta I thought I would take a moment to jot down some of the things I'm thankful for. So in no particular order here are my thankful thoughts:

- my calling as a seminary teacher. Teaching Doctrine and Covenants and Church History this year is really stretching me. I'm learning to study my scriptures better, to prepare better lessons, and most importantly to pay more attention to those quiet promptings that I receive.
- quiet promptings. I've had some wonderful spiritual experiences in the last month (planning on a separate blog for those) and it's truly been a blessing in my life.
- prayer. I've recently gained a strong testimony of praying vocally and continue to strive to improve on this.
- my husband. I have the best one out there. He loves me, supports me, puts up with my craziness and helps me to be a better wife, mom, person.
- my kiddos. Oh the joys of raising boys! I have such GOOD kids. We really are raising a chosen generation and I am in awe of their wonderful spirits. I'm also in awe of how loud, destructive, busy and wonderful they really are. I wouldn't trade any of them for all the pink in the world!
- that Rhett is now finally and officially going to the bathroom all the time without threats, bribes or melt downs. It did finally happen. And hell didn't freeze over - but it was close!
- for our families! We left Thursday night and got home LATE last night (Sunday). We had 5 huge dinners - chinese, 3 turkey/ham dinners and one roast beef wedding supper. We laughed until we couldn't breathe (OK, that was just me and literally, my diaphragm froze and I couldn't breathe - a little scary), stayed up late, played hard and loved and enjoyed EVERY minute of it. Minus the wind. And yes, we are central Alberta people who whine about the wind now. You love us anyway.
- for generations of great family members and their examples. We had 3 family gatherings and dinners where we had 4 generations of family members there. It's so wonderful to belong to such great people and have our kids associate with them. That's why it's worth the work and the effort to be there for these big holidays.
- for safety! Travelling on Thanksgiving weekend can be a little interesting sometimes but we were blessed with safety.
- for the gospel and all the glorious truths that it proclaims. Cliff and I watched all 4 sessions last week and we got so much out of it. We are truly blessed to live in a time of Apostles and Prophets and to be able to partake in the blessings that come through the Atonement of Christ.
- for friends that LOVE us. We have been blessed with wonderful friends who are like family to us. We love and appreciate all that they do for us!
- Cliff's good job and my piano students. Although I don't have as many as I thought would be great for our family, the students I have are a blessing to our family. And Cliff is blessed to have a job that he enjoys (most days).


And some quick things that I want to remember about this weekend:
- Brock loving chow mein noodles
- me and Brock sleeping in the bottom bunk and Rhett and Cliff sleeping in the big bed
- uncle Jamie building the boys an awesome fort in the basement
- Zane running on the tread mill
- trying to get all the cousins to hold still for a picture at grandma great Johnson's
- watching the boys run around the church foyer like crazy kids with their cousins during Paige's wedding reception
- Zane's determination to try pumpkin pie - he likes it
- Grandpa Dooley putting the mat back on the trampoline so the boys could jump - and their pink cheeks and frozen toes after they played out there
- movies watched
- conversations held
- babies cuddled
- Phase 10 games played - the longest one EVER last night - more than 3 hours!
- The love we feel for and from our families!