Day 8--What I'm Thankful for...My Profession

This week is 

National HIM Week...

so today I am grateful for a profession that continues to grow and evolve as the health care world does.  

I am also grateful that we have the opportunity to celebrate and educate others regarding what we do.  

(It is not just filing, ya know ;)

It's been fun so far.....we had a Get to Know You Scavenger Hunt that started yesterday...I'll get to see the answers tomorrow.  :)  I can't wait.  

Day 7--What I'm Thankful for...Technology

Today I am grateful for the technology that allows me to work from home as needed.  

I am on call pretty much all the time, and I get paged often during the wee hours of the morning.  I can generally take care of what is needed in less than 20 minutes (usually), which is just a quarter of the time it would take me if I were to have to actually go in to the office.  

It is also beneficial on the rare occasions that I am sick and unable to go into the office or days that I have appointments that require me to leave early...I can finish my work without losing any work hours.

Day 6--What I'm Thankful for...Testimony of Others

Today I am thankful for the testimony of others.  

For the strength and hope that I get from listening to others share their thoughts.  

I gain so much when others share their struggles and triumphs....additional insights, hope, and just  a more personal sense of who they are and why.  

Day 5--What I'm Thankful for...Sharing My Talents

Today I am thankful for the opportunity to share my crafty skills.  I attended a baby shower for a young couple at church....here is my gift:

It's a little misshapen, but you can see it's a star

And I made the card as well..... 

I love sharing my talents with others!!

Day 4--What I'm Thankful for...Being a Mom

Today's thankful post is easy....sort of.  It's my two youngest sons' birthdays, so while I am always grateful for the opportunity to be a mom, on these days, I am especially so.  But today, as odd as it sounds, I am thankful to be a mom to an angel.  You see, today is not only their birthday, but it also the angel day for one of them.  You can read their story here.

I cherish the time I carried the both of them in my womb.  It is the only time I ever "held" them together.  It is the only time they were together.  Being a mom to an angel is bittersweet, and believe me, it took me a while to get to the point that I can find reasons to be thankful for it.  The primary reason I am thankful is it gives me hope.  I have a reason to live my life in the gospel because I know that if I do, I will see my son again and raise him in the next life.  There is little that is more powerful than that.

Here is the display I made for him..

A close up of the card...

A close up of the flowers...

We also release balloons for Kyle and for my niece, Mallorie, who died in 2001.

And we make either cupcakes or cookies each year, decorated with a K.

This is Kraig holding the flowers at Kyle's gravesite.  

Day 3--What I'm Thankful for...Fall Colors

Today I am thankful for the colors of fall. 

I was driving home, and was again struck by the awesome beauty of the fall colors in the trees.  

The shades of red, orange, yellow, green, brown.....all mixed together like a collage.  

I wish I could take pictures as I'm driving...but I'm thinking the drivers around me might frown on that.  

There are several stretches of road that are tree laden....

and this time of year they make a glorious masterpiece.  

If I get an opportunity to take any pics before the leaves fall off the trees, I will come back and post them.

Day 2--What I'm Thankful for...The Temple

Today, I am thankful for the Temple.

My son went with the youth group to do baptisms for the dead....he performed baptisms for 10 family names.  And my dad attended with them as well to administer confirmations.

I took a name through another temple ordinance as well.  A family name.  Up until tonight, I have just accepted whatever card/name was available.  This was the first time I took a name of an ancestor.  It was pretty cool to know that somewhere way way way back I am related to this person.  I'm going again on Saturday...and I will get to take my grandmother's name through.  What an awesome blessing!

This is the Portland, Oregon Temple...I haven't been inside....yet.  I have plans to do so at some point in the future, with my best friend, who lives near there.

This is the entrance to the Memphis TN Temple....which is the only one I have been inside as an adult. 

This is the Memphis TN Temple from the parking lot. 

Day 1--What I'm Thankful for....The Lord's Hand

This seems a really good time to bring this blog to life.  November is notably the month of Thanks and Gratitude, and while I seem to often have to seek diligently to find things to be grateful for these days, I am trying.  So, for November, I am going to try to post at least 1 thing I am grateful for each day.

The hand of the Lord is often at work even when we don't see it.  But sometimes, His work is very very visible.

This past September or so, I learned that my AC compressor was going out in my car.  So I stopped using the AC (it was still hot, but not triple digits any more).  Saturday a week ago, the car started making a funny noise...my daughter's boyfriend said it was the water pump going out.  So I spent the week believing the water pump would be fixed this past Sunday, watching the temperature constantly, and praying that it would get me where I needed to be until Sunday. About Wed or Th, I started noticing an odd smell when I turned on the defrost.  So I would only have it on long enough to clear the windows, then turn it off.  Saturday night comes and my dad starts the car to go to work....there is a horribly loud squeal and smoke pouring from under the hood.  (NOTE:  Perhaps my prayers should have been to get through Sunday, rather than just to Sunday.  :)

Turns out my water pump was never going out...it was the AC compressor the entire time.  Apparently, it does more than just run the air conditioner.  Who knew.  The smell, the squeal, and the smoke were from the belt finally breaking.

I had it towed Monday to the mechanic shop that I use to have an AC bypass installed.  If you don't already know, it is expensive.  Very.  It's a 4 hour job....so most of the cost was labor.  They looked at it, quoted me the price of $621.53 to fix.  Told them to go ahead, even though I had absolutely no idea where the money was going to come from.  My mom found a coupon, which took $40 bucks off, making the total $581.53.  Together, we were able to come up with $582.00.  Seriously.  Gives me goose bumps still to think about it.

I went to get my car today....I paid $577 and some change.  So it was still less than what we pulled together.

The Lords hands....right smack dab in the middle of my life.  Yes indeed.

Grateful?  You have no idea....

A (brief) hiatus....

Hello...again.  It's been awhile since I've found much to be grateful for, but I know that there have been many blessings in my life.

There are two very recent events that I am grateful for....

          1  --  I got my Temple recommend!!!!  I have waited many years for that moment and worked very hard to get it.  I can't even begin to express that brief moment of pure joy that i felt while the Stake President was signing it and then gave to me.  Few things before or since have made so overwhelmed with emotion that I didn't know whether to cry or jump for joy.  I've already orderd and received my dress...and have ordered and am waiting for the other necessary items to come in.  I can't wait to call to make my appointment!!

This is my dress (skirt and shirt actually)....this picture does not do it justice...it is SOOOO much prettier than this.  

         2  --  a much anticipated visit from family (those still considered as such, anyway).  My soon to be former brother in law, his wife and their daughter came to visit for the day on their way to New Hampshire.  It was nice to see them and not feel quite so ostracized by that side of the family as the others have made me feel.  Kraig had a great time playing with Ginger too....

This is Kraig and Ginger playing in the pool at the Y....

And then we walked around Town Square...

This is Rick and Elise..

till next time....hopefully, it won't be as long until I write again....

        

It's been awhile....

and, honestly, I haven't really felt like I've had much to be grateful for recently.  But I am trying to find the blessings amongst the trials. 

A few things I have acknowledged in recent weeks:

          *my husband's trip to visit his family in TX was not coincidental...it was planned and orchestrated by the Lord to allow me to take the steps I need to for my future and that of my children

           *my tail light had gone out, went to AutoZone, bought a new light, but they couldn't replace it...when I left, it started working

           *free consultation and discounted fees for my lawyer though my employer's EAP...a legal program I didn't even know existed

          *i now have a tire that is losing air...or thought it was...haven't had to put air in however since the first day it was low.  Even if I do have to change out the tire, we have one that will fit, and the place I use will replace it for 20 bucks..how sweet is that?!

          *I have the most amazing friends...without them I could not walk this path; they give me insight and strength I might not otherwise have

An Attitude of Gratitude

I am starting yet another blog (an ambitious task, since I can't seem to keep up with my others, but I am hopeful).

I've heard and read that gratitude journals are helpful to identify blessings in your life when life seems to not be going so well.  I've also recently started reading a book I bought at a sale at work called "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin.  It's been quite enlightening, and I've only read the first chapter.

This is the first step to my  own happiness project..I started it in part last year without realizing that is what I was doing.  I am happier than I can convey that 2010 is over, and hopeful that 2011 will be much improved.  What that improvement will entail remains to be seen.

I can't promise to post daily (tho I may try) since I can't even keep up with my other blogs, but I will try to post at least weekly.

Today I am grateful for healthcare and doctors that truly care for their patients.  Our healthcare delivery system may not be the most ideal, and it certainly has much room for improvement, but the technology and access is much better than other countries.