Gratitude

(photo credit: unknown)

I was reading a friend's blog the other day...she was complaining how Christmas music is already playing on the radio and Thanksgiving is still a while away.
This really got me thinking a great deal. Don't get me wrong, I am looking forward to Christmas just as much as the next person...it is by far my favorite holiday. But it seems like more and more these days Thanksgiving is pretty much being by passed by as just a day to enjoy turkey and pie...at least commercially it seems that way.

I think we are selling ourselves short. We aren't allowing ourselves to focus on the meaning of Thanksgiving. The meaning that is too often over looked...gratitude. It is a simple word that we hear all the time...but the meaning to me is not simple. Gratitude. Something not expressed nearly enough.

Well, here are a just a few things I am grateful for...

I love how the sky looks the morning after a storm has cleared the air and the sun is shining. Everything is so in focus and sharp...almost hyper-focused. I am grateful for that.

I love driving down Freedom Blvd by the high school on a Friday night during football season...the Y is usually lit up...the high school band is beating their drums...the hum is the air is Awesome! I am grateful for that.

I am grateful for drive-up pharmacies...enough said.
I am grateful for my garage, especially in the winter when I don't have to scrape snow and ice off the car.
I am grateful for the internet...for so many reasons, but one being the ability to reconnect with old friends.
I am grateful for music and books...two of the best things in this life.
I am grateful for the view of the mountains off my back deck.
I am grateful for Dr.Pepper...yes, I am serious...it always puts a smile on my face.
I am grateful for the ability to capture the little moments in life on film...I need to spend more time on my own kids before its too late.

I am grateful for my eight year old and the one liners she blurts out in her pseudo southern accent...priceless.
I am grateful for my seven year old's little brain...oh if I could spend a day there...just one. :)
I am grateful for my almost twelve year old's creative spirit. Her imagination amazes and inspires me.
I am grateful for a son with a firm knowledge and foundation in the gospel. He teaches me many things.
I am grateful for my oldest child. She is a bright light in a sometimes very dark world.
I am grateful for a husband that loves his children and shows them through his actions not just words.

I am grateful for family and good friends.

I don't express emotions verbally too well...I think my emotions run too close to the surface and so many times I just don't say anything at all so I don't end up a blubbering idiot. I want to tell them...and they all know who they are...how much I love and appreciate them. Their love and support is a beacon to me. Their unwavering kindness means more than I can ever express...they are all an example to me of true Christlike love. We are truly blessed to have these people in our lives. The words thank you will never be sufficient.

I am grateful to know there is a purpose in this life and for the direction and focus that gives me.

And finally, I am most grateful for my Savior and the perfect gift He has given to me. I am grateful for the knowledge that through His Atonement we can all be clean and whole again. I can only hope to learn and appreciate more of what He did for all of us and never never take it for granted.