Count Your Blessings!

So, I was inspired yesterday to focus more on all of the blessings that I have in my life. I know that it will make me happier and I know that by focusing on all of the good, more good will come my way. So for this past week, here they are:

1. I'm thankful for cold medicine. Jame was kind enough to share his cold with the rest of us, but thankfully we are getting over it and we are all beginning to feel better. He was only sick on his days off which was good because he didn't miss any work.

2. I'm thankful that I got my first cupcake order and that I was able to fill it and that the customer loved them.

3. I'm thankful for my fun family and the joy that I have from being with them and talking to them. I only wish that I was closer to my parents and my brother, maybe someday :)

4. I'm thankful that my brother found a beautiful, caring, genuine woman that he gets to spend the rest of his life with and that he truly loves. I hear the happiness in his voice ever time I speak with him. We love Jess, she's so great and perfect for him.

5. I'm thankful that Addy has taken it upon herself to sleep all night for the past two nights. Especially since I think that it's helped me mend faster.

6. I'm thankful that I have the scriptures to read everyday and the time to study them. I love reading the scriptures and learning new things and trying harder to be more obedient to the Lord's commandments. The scriptures truly inspire me everyday.

7. I'm thankful that I get to stay at home and raise my children. I love that Breckin will give Addy kisses on her nose and say what a cute baby she is. I love that Ashlyn will dance with the Wiggles and put everything into it. I love that Addy wakes up and is so happy and smiley. I would hate to miss out on these small moments.

8. I'm thankful for the warm weather that we have been enjoying lately and for some of the rain that we have recieved. I just bought some galloshes, and I just want some more rain so that I can go and jump in some puddles. I do however, like the sunshine and playing outside with the kids.

9. I'm thankful that Jame has a really good job that enables us to afford for me to stay at home and that doesn't cause him a lot of stress. I'm thankful that he goes to work and does shift work so that we can have a roof over our head and food in our bellies.

10. I'm thankful for Zumba! It has been so much fun going to Zumba classes with Calli and being able to workout without really feeling like I am. It's just dancing and the time goes by so fast. I do, however, feel it the next morning though. It's a good kind of sore :)

There you have it, the things that I am most thankful for this week. Hopefully I can locate our good camera and post some pictures of the things that I'm thankful for each week. Here are just a few final thoughts to ponder:

"This is a wonderful time to be living here on earth. Our opportunities are limitless. While there are some things wrong in the world today, there are many things right, such as teachers who teach, ministers who minister, marriages that make it, parents who sacrifice, and friends who help.

"We can lift ourselves, and others as well, when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues" (Thomas S. Monson, "An Attitude of Gratitude," Ensign, May 1992, 54).

"As with all commandments, gratitude is a description of a successful mode of living. The thankful heart opens our eyes to a multitude of blessings that continually surround us. President J. Reuben Clark, formerly a First Counselor in the First Presidency, said: 'Hold fast to the blessings which God has provided for you. Yours is not the task to gain them, they are here; yours is the part of cherishing them' (Church News, 14 June 1969, 2)" (James E. Faust, "Gratitude As a Saving Principle," Ensign, Dec 1996, 2).