Thankful for the blessings of Gratitude

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." --Melody Beattie

Mr. Romance

Friday night my sweetheart and I were at Target on the ultimate romantic date. After wrapping a soft, pretty grey scarf around my neck, I turned to Wayne and asked, "What do you think? Is grey my color?" Without missing a beat {& with a smile because he KNEW he'd come up with something spectacular}, Wayne said, "Babe, every color is your color."

Objectivity can be overrated.

I'm thankful for my Mr. Romance.

Sisterhood

Last night we had a preparedness Relief Society meeting and assembled about 120 72 hour food kits in just over an hour. We took a moment to snap a group picture before our dear friend, Connie moves on to Michigan, and every time I look at this shot, I'll feel the sisterhood of Relief Society. What a wonderful group of women! I feel so blessed to know each of them, and those who couldn't be there as well. After serving and love, love, loving primary for 10+ years, I never thought I'd get so attached to Relief Society....it's all about sisterhood.

{Me and my RS sisters}

Another gem from my mom....

"No beautifully sewn dress or perfect loaf of homemade bread is worth a confrontation that robs us of our compassion and our sisterhood.

...there are many things over which we can be divided, but one thing is needful for our unity--the empathy and compassion of the living Son of God. Conversely, our unity brings us closer to truly following our Savior."

I {heart} Relief Society.

So thankful for a wise mother

My dad recently sent a few Relief Society lessons my mom taught back in the early 80's. Without disregarding big and important {to me} things on my plate, perspective is EVERYTHING. This message from my mom was just what I needed to hear this week.

"I believe we can find our steady footing and stilling of the soul by turning away from physical preoccupations, superwoman accomplishments, and endless popularity activities, and returning instead to the wholeness of our soul, that unity in our very being that balances the demanding and inevitable diversity of life."- mom (Chris Ellsworth)

Thanks, mom! I miss you.

Veteran's Day

Kids are home from school today & we've got lots of work to do, but through it all, we remember the reason we're home. We're thankful for our veterans, those in our family and those who are not, for the sacrifice they've made for freedom, and for the hope we all have for peace.

I {heart} a good book

Grace didn't even bother to take off her backpack before laying down in the leaf pile and finishing her latest book, Karen's New Teacher. Grace liked how the substitute went from not-so-nice to friendly...all because of Backwards Day.

I just started reading Beauty, by Robin Mckinley. I'm enjoying it so far. Also on my nightstand...

Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson

Home, by Marilynne Robinson

Mayflower, by Nathaniel Philbrick

The Annotated Pride & Prejudice, by Jane Austen

The Devil's Arithmetic, by Jane Yolen

Until We Reach Home, by Lynn Austin

Readings for Meditation and Reflection, by C.S. Lewis....a few Karen Hesse books & a couple Richard Peck books

It's definitely harder to find time to read these days, but I do love a good book!

Happy reading,