More Notes on Gratitude

THANKFULNESS
By Oprah Winfrey

I live in the space of thankfulness - and I have been rewarded a million times over for it. I started out giving thanks for small things, and the more thankful I became, the more my bounty increased. That's because what you focus on expands, and when you focus on the goodness in your life, you create more of it. Opportunities, relationships, even money flowed my way when I learned to be grateful no matter what happened in my life.

"Say thank you!" Those words from my friend and mentor Maya Angelou turned my life around. One day about ten years ago, I was sitting in my bathroom with the door closed and the toilet lid down, booing and hooing on the phone so uncontrollably that I was incoherent. "Stop it! Stop it right now and say thank you!" Maya chided. "But - you don't understand," I sobbed. To this day, I can't remember what it was that had me so far gone, which only proves the point Maya was trying to make. "I do understand," she told me. "I want to hear you say it now. Out loud 'Thank you'." Tentatively, I repeated it: "Thank you - but what am I saying thank you for?" "You're saying thank you," Maya said, "because your faith is so strong that you don't doubt that whatever the problem, you'll get through it. You're saying thank you because you know that even in the eye of the storm, God has put a rainbow in the clouds. You're saying thank you because you know there's no problem created that can compare to the Creator of all things. Say thank you!" So I did - and still do. Only now I do it every day. I kept a gratitude journal! As Sarah Ban Breathnach suggests in SimpleAbundance, list at least five things that I'm grateful for. My list includes small pleasures: the feel of Kentucky bluegrass under my feet (like damp silk); a walk in the woods with all nine of my dogs and my cocker spaniel Sophie trying to keep up; cooking fried green tomatoes with Stedman and eating them while they're hot; reading a good book and knowing another awaits. My thank-you list also includes things too important to take for granted: an "okay" mammogram, friends who love me, 25 years at the same job (and loving it more than the first day I started), a chance to share my vision for a better life, staying centered, having financial security. I won't kid you, having money for all the things I want is a blessing. But as I look back over my journals, which I've kept since I was 15 years old, 99 per cent of what brought me real joy had nothing to do with money. (It had a lot to do with food, however.) It's not easy being grateful all the time. But it's when you feel least thankful that you are most in need of what gratitude can give you: PERSPECTIVE. Just knowing you have that daily list to complete allows you to look at your day differently, with an awareness of every sweet gesture and kind thought passed your way. When you learn to say thank you, you see the world anew.

Eight is Great

Mirror Mirror on the wall Tell me how to slow it all . . .

Tell me how to slow it all. . .

She is growing up way too fast! Does anyone know how to stop it? We keep threatening to put bricks on her head and we forbade her to have another birthday, but it happened anyway.

Brooke is already making plans for her 6-year-old birthday party (we do parties every other year), which isn't until Sept. I told her she's not allowed to turn six and she very matter-of-factly informed me that it was going to happen and there was absolutely nothing that I could do to stop it. Remember those days of looking forward to birthdays and getting older? Now it seems they come every few weeks rather than yearly. I'm OK with it slowing down just a little bit.

Nice Friend, Thoughtful Person

A friend from my ward brought this beautiful bouquet of flowers tonight as a nice surprise because I was missing my husband so much. What a sweetie! A lovely gesture to help us get through the next week while he is away on a business trip. Ten days is way too long to be gone! Thanks Jennifer!

Celebrity Look-alikes

I am totally cracking myself up with this:
I have never seen this Celebrity Look-Alikes before until I saw it on Pixy Stix and thought I'd give it a try . . . pretty funny!

Then I thought I'd see what it did if I put my little guy in there . . . now this is funny:

Michael Jackon and Kelly Hu? Whatever!

One is Fun!

Here are some of Ashlyn's First Birthday portraits. I'm surprised we were able to get as many as we did since she just wanted to take off and explore.

She is super excited to be walking!

A Sibling is a childhood playmate that grows into a forever friend. Siblings are forever.

Gratitude and Appreciation

My lesson today was on Gratitude and Appreciation. I made the girls (14/15 yr old) these Gratitude Journals. Inside I put several quotes from Presidents Benson and Hinckley along with a scripture. The lesson went really well and the girls loved them. They had no trouble at all filling the first page with things they are grateful for. The book is to be used only for things in which they are thankful, and not to vent or gripe - - that's for their diary. When times are tough, or you think your life is down in the dumps, reading a compilation of your blessings is a great way to focus on what's important. I also brought stationary for them to write someone a thank- you note, or since it's Mother's Day, to write their mom a note if they hadn't already.

Five Steps to Becoming a More Appreciative Person:
1. Express Thanks Aloud
2. Keep a Gratitude Journal
3. Write a letter
4. Appreciate even the trials in life
5. Make it a habit

If You Give A Mom A Muffin

One of our favorite books in our home is "If You Give a Moose a Muffin" and this is a fun spin on it:

If you give a Mom a muffin, She'll want a strong cup of Diet Coke to go with it. She'll pour herself one.
Her three year old will spill the Coke. She'll wipe it up. Wiping the floor, she'll find dirty socks. She'll remember she has to do laundry.

When she puts the laundry in the washer, she'll trip over boots and bump into the box of D.I. items. Bumping into the D.I. items will remind her she has to get these boxes in the car and out of her basement.

When she puts the boxes in the car, she'll find a bag of groceries and this will remind her she has to cook dinner. She will get out the chicken defrosting in the fridge. She'll look for her cookbook (101 Things To Do With Chicken).

The cookbook will be sitting under a pile of mail. She will see the Netflix movie she's meant to mail and the preschool bill, which is due tomorrow. She will look for her checkbook. The checkbook will be in her purse that is being dumped out by her one year old.

She'll smell something funny. She'll change the baby's diaper. As she finishes up, she'll realize she brought the hand sanitizer down to the kitchen. While she is throwing away the diaper and searching for the hand sanitizer, the phone will ring.

Her three year old will answer and hang up. She'll remember she wants to phone a friend for lunch. Thinking of lunch will remind her that she was going to have a Diet Coke in order to stay awake for the rest of the day.

And chances are...If she finds her Coke glass (which she has to pour again), Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

Happy Mother's Day to all you busy moms - especially those who never get to eat that muffin (muffins have too many calories anyway!).

God and Science

God is sitting in Heaven when a scientist comes to Him and says, "Lord, we just don't think we need you anymore. Science has finally figured out a way to create life out of nothing. In other words, we can now do what you did in the beginning."

"Oh, is that so? Tell me..." replies God.

"Well," says the scientist, "we can take dirt and form it into the likeness of You and breathe life into it, thus creating man."

"Well, that's interesting. Show Me."

So the scientist bends down to the earth and starts to mold the soil.

"Oh no, no, no. . ." interrupts God. "Get your own dirt"

Einstein the Alligator

Meet Einstein, the 6' Alligator . . .

Einstein is a famous alligator, beloved by all at the elementary school. Each student gets to take Einstein home for the weekend when they are "Student of the Week" in the kindergarten class. They have to write about what they did with Einstein, and include a picture. The funny thing is to watch these little munchkins carrying a huge stuffed alligator out of the school.

On Friday, we had a couple of littles come over after school for a playdate and they put Einstein on their heads and walked out of the school. It is even funnier to watch people's reaction to a huge alligator being walked up the street for our little "hike". We have a trail behind our house that we enjoy walking and the view is usually fabulous. It was a bit cool and cloudy this particular evening, but Einstein had to go on a hiking adventure before he had to go back to school.