Thanksgiving Time

Unbelievably, my last post was on the last major holiday (Halloween) and here it is Thanksgiving already. I mentally make lists of things I need to post on my blog, but my days have been cluttered with so many to-do lists, blogging has taken a back seat for the last few weeks. Am I fooling myself thinking that December will be less crazy? Probably.

But for today, we won't worry about December and we'll talk about Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is, in my opinion, the last holiday that can't be overly commercialized, which is why I love it so much. The only people that make money on Thanksgiving Day are the grocery stores, until black Friday that is. Did you know, by the way, that the term "Black Friday" came from accounting jargon? My pop, who used to be an accountant type, told me that it was a day that, due to the large volume of shoppers, caused stores to finally operate in the "black" or positive rather than the nasty negative "red". I always used to think that Black Friday just meant that I would have a devil of a time finding a parking place at Target that day. Which is also true. But I digress.

Few people, when asked at the Thanksgiving table, to list something they are grateful for, spouts off about their material possessions, and that's why Thanksgiving is so great, because it causes us to reflect on the things in our lives that are really, truly important. Here are a few of the things I am especially grateful for today:

1. My husband John. What can I say? He completely rocks my world. I love him and feel so blessed to have him in my life, and even more blessed that he loves me too.
   
2. Addie. As this is our first holiday season with her, I'm so grateful for her, her sense of humor, her kisses and cuddles, and her all-around cuteness. I'm also grateful for the sacrifice made by an amazingly unselfish birth-mom who allowed us to have Addie as part of our family.
   
3. Freedom and Peace. I'm grateful to live in a free country and to live in peaceful surroundings. I know things are crazy all around the world, but I'm so glad we can experience peace in our lives even in the midst of turmoil.
4. Friends. Wow, where would I be without my dear, dear friends? I tell John all the time that I am so lucky to have the best friends in the whole world. Friends make the journey so fun and I've been a little overwhelmed lately by how grateful I am for good friends. You all know who you are, so I won't name names.
5. The Gospel. SO grateful for this. So grateful to know that we have a purpose here on earth, and to know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love me and are aware of everything that goes on in my life. I'm very, very grateful to have a testimony and count that among my most prized possessions.
   
6. A Living Prophet. I love Pres. Monson and am so grateful that I can follow him and be safe.
7. Education. I'm glad I can read, write and better myself. I realize that a large portion of the earth's population doesn't enjoy an education, and we're very blessed to have the opportunity to learn.
8. Health. As Count Rogan says in The Princess Bride, "If you haven't got your health, you haven't got anything." While not entirely true, it's still a good reminder to be grateful for my health and my body, while trying to not complain about things I would change if I could. The older I get, the more I am learning to appreciate my body, flaws and all. Now if I just could have appreciated my 21 year old body more when I had it....
   
9. My Job. I'm extra ultra blessed to have a job I love that allows me to work from home and be with my family while I work.
10. My Parents and Family. Gotta love my fam! They are awesome. I love that we get together for family dinners, and I'm glad that all my sibs and most of my cousins are on Facebook so we can all keep in touch.
    
11. John's Family. I married into an awesome family, and I'm really grateful for John's parents raising such a great kid, and I'm grateful also for his brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins. Very fun clan to be a part of!
    
12. Shelter, Food and Clothing. We have an abundance in this area and are very blessed. I'm grateful to have a home and to be able to make that home a refuge for our family.
13. Happiness. I am really, really happy. I love my life. I love my family. I love to laugh and to enjoy the journey, and I'm grateful for the happy circumstances that I find myself in right now. Life is definitely very, very good.
    

I could go on for hours but feel like I've touched on the most prominent things that stand out the most to me. Some other time, I'll make a list of obscure blessings that maybe we don't think about often enough.

Time to go spend time with the family. HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EVERYONE!!