"Cherish Every Moment"

My Thankful Heart!

In my Relief Society we were given a "Gratitude Journal" and were told to write in it daily or weekly to express our thanks for things that we are grateful for that day/week.....
I have decided that my Blog would be a great place to do this and so
I am going to title my gratitude posts:
"My Thankful Heart"!!

Who is this handsome man in the photo....
my hardworking hubby, Tracy of course!!

I am SO grateful to him for being by my side during my good days and bad days and for making me the luckiest girl in the world.
My favorite part of the day is when my hubby comes home each night
and I get to give him a big hug and kiss!
My second favorite part of the day is the LAUGHTER that he fills our home with....there is never an hour of the day when we are together that we aren't laughing out loud and I LOVE that!!

And after dinner we try to go on nightly walks around our neighborhood and these are just cherished times for us as we get to talk about our day, life, etc....without noise and interruptions from the kids. Plus, we get to enjoy looking at a beautiful sunset, moonlit sky and constellations and be able to enjoy the beautiful area that we live in.

I am thankful for my wonderful sons Jade & Ethan!!
Next to my hubby they are my pride and joy and I just cherish every moment that I get to be with them.

I am also thankful for kids who are NOT picky eaters and will eat whatever is fixed for dinner, lunch or breakfast.
In fact, I feel so lucky as a mom because not a day goes by that my kids don't come home from school and tell me:
"Thanks for the yummy lunch today mom"...
"I sure did like that yummy cookie in my lunch today mom"..., etc...
*********
Being a mom to my 2 boys is such a blessing!!

I am grateful that I get to look out my kitchen and dining room windows and get to see gorgeous sunrises and sunsets....
because in these gray winter months where the sky and ground are a blanket of white and gray and we don't get to see the blue sky very often,
I am grateful for the rays of light that shine at the horizon scattering gorgeous colors of pinks, blues and oranges to brighten our day for a brief moment!

I am SO grateful for PROGRESS!!

Our basement has been in a state of disarray for years because with Tracy working full time and going back to school there hasn't been much time to do anything
and Tracy's motto has been to have FUN everyday...because you can't take any of your stuff with you...all you can take with you is memories!!

Well, anyway, Tracy and I finally decided that we needed to get our basement in order because that is the key to the rest of our house being in order
and so as you can tell from the above photos we are building in our Storage Room...
*********
we took a room with piles all over and put up some shelves
and got more order to the room.
Now mind you there is ALOT more we have to do, but I am SO grateful for the progress we HAVE made
and I can't wait to update my Blog as soon as it is finally finished and moved into!!
Progress is a good thing!

I am SO grateful for my wonderful hubby who 6 years ago built me the most beautiful entry shelf.

I wanted 1 place in my house that could have
"holiday cheer"
(so we didn't have to have holiday stuff all over the house)
and so Tracy built me the above shelf,
complete with a switch/outlet to plug my lights into on the top shelf.

It is SO much fun to decorate it for each season/holiday.
Here are photos of the past 4 holidays I put on it. I just LOVE having a place in home to express my creativity!

Notice the BLOCKS.....Tracy cut these out for me and then we took a weekend and painted, sanded, stenciled on the letters (which was actually ALOT of work)
and now I can create FUN SAYINGS on my shelf each month...
Because I LOVE quotes and sayings!!
********
I just can't say it enough how much I am the luckiest girl in the world.
I am thankful for Peace and Serenity!

My living room and my bedroom are 2 places in my house that are ALWAYS in order.

Despite what the rest of the house looks like I can always
go to my bedroom or the living room and sit
and it is tidy, orderly and a place where I can sit and meditate
and read a book or collect my thoughts.

In fact, the first thing that always gets done in my home is our bed gets made and the room tidied up in my room and then I tend to the rest of the house.
That way when Tracy comes home each night, even though the rest of the house might have chaos,
he can find peace and order in our bedroom.

Speaking of this, here is a quote that I have hanging on my Fridge from a book written by Spencer W. Kimball. It was advice given to a new couple getting married entitled "John and Mary". Tracy and I read this on our way to get married in the Logan Temple almost 19 years ago
(of course, I have put mine and Tracy's name on the quote).

"And so Mary,
you will remain at home making it attractive and heavenly...
And when John comes home tired;
You will be fresh and pleasant,
the house will be orderly,
the dinner will be tempting
and life will have REAL meaning!!