Three Random Thoughts of Thankfulness

1. Thanksgiving has come rather quickly this year. We usually have a family home evening lesson about being thankful on the Monday before Thanksgiving. Somehow I forgot about that little tradition this year. Jeff was in charge of the lesson, and he taught the girls about disappointment. It seems that most of our crying around here is due to the girls expecting something, and then when life gets in the way and we are not able to do whatever it was they had set their hearts upon ... Crying. Wailing. All out emotional warfare.

I never would have thought to have a lesson about dealing with the emotions of disappointment. What a great husband I have. He never ceases to amaze me. He even had a scripture story to share along with his lesson.

I am so thankful for Jeff. I'm thankful that he is my best friend. I am thankful that he is a great father. I am thankful that we can share the best of times, and the worst of times together. Forever.

2. At church last week, I was able to attend Relief Society and Sunday School. (Between helping with the primary program, sick children, and Charlotte's need for a parent in nursery, it has been a long time since I've been able to attend both meetings). The lesson in Relief Society was about Joseph Smith's Prophetic Mission. The teacher subtitled it "and our personal life mission" (okay, so she worded it much better). She taught about how each one of us has something that we need to accomplish here in mortality. Several sisters shared their feelings about being divinely led to a specific career. Nursing. Teaching. And in my heart I added "Mothering."

We listed ways that we could seek inspiration so that we can fulfill our life mission. I felt very impressed that I needed to do better (much better) about having personal prayer and scripture study. As I thought about my feelings from the lesson in RS, the lesson in Sunday School reaffirmed my desire to improve in these areas.

I came up with a little thing to help me remember the "important" things I need to do each day. I've been using it for a week and a half, and it is working rather well.

Ready, SET, Go.

Ready: In order to be "ready for the day" I need to begin with Prayer.
S: Scripture Study
E: Exercise
T: Teeth
Go: Go to bed at a decent hour.

So, at certain times through out the day, I say to myself, "Ready, set, go," to see what I need to "do" on my "top priority to do" list. In the morning I say it to remind myself to start the day with prayer. After dropping the kids off at school, when I sit down to the computer I say it... I now read my scriptures BEFORE getting online. By saying it, I remind myself of my goal for exercise when I am tempted to drive to pick up the girls. If I walk, I get in my exercise that way. If not, I have to plan ahead to exercise some other way. And then I say it to myself as I'm getting tired in the evening hours to remind myself to brush my teeth and go to bed. Then I'm less tempted to stay up late eating that evening snack that I don't really need.

At the end of the day, if I can say that I did everything on that list, then I feel I have accomplished something important that day. You should give it a try: Ready, Set, Go!

I am so thankful for Church, and for the lessons that we are reminded of through the programs there, and through the Holy Ghost. I am thankful for my Savior, and for his ability to make it possible for me to be forgiven of my mistakes. I am thankful for the desire I have to be a Mother, and the desire I have to improve myself.

3. Many people I know are going through troubling times right now. I am thankful for the way that they are able to continue to be upbeat through their trials. These amazing people inspire me to be more optimistic through my trials.

There you have it, my three random thoughts on Thankfulness. I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving!

Dance Class Rescheduled

Savannah and Madison have been attending a dance class for the last couple of months. They love it. The teacher rewards them with a sticker AND a piece of candy if they are good. It doesn't get much better than that when you are 3 1/2 and 6.

Last week we showed up to dance class, and the door was locked and no one was around. There was a note on the door that said, "The dance teacher is out of town this week. There will be a make-up class at the end of the session." I read the note out loud to Savannah and Madison to help them understand why there was no dance class even though we had been looking forward to it all week.

Fast forward to yesterday, when it was time to get ready for dance class again. I was gathering all the dance clothes and trying to get the girls dressed in time. (Why are we always in such a rush to make it to dance on time?) Madison was extra excited about dance. Enthusiastically she said, "Is this the dance make-up class?" to which I explained that it was not. Today was a regular class. She seemed really disappointed. After a second, I realized that she thought that they were going to get to put on make-up at their "make-up class." How sweet is that?

A few minutes later, I was re-telling the story to Savannah. She also thought that a "make-up class" would include playing with make-up.

I can just imagine a little conversation between the two of them after reading the note last week.
Madison: "We are so lucky!"
Savannah: "Yeah, we are going to get to dance, and wear make up."