Sunday, November 18, 2012

So thankful for all the good there is in this world!

I have been sick this week. I have been just a big pile of mush!!I haven't accomplished much which has in turn helped me to take time to concentrate on things that I am thankful for!

 14. This beautiful earth! I absolutely love this beautiful earth. I have a creek that runs through my backyard that I get to listen to most of the year. I have huge mountains out my front door that are so beautiful all year round, from their green hills and valley's of spring to the orange and read patchwork of fall to their snow capped majesty of winter. There is so much beauty in this world that I would like to see, but at least I get part of it everyday. 

 15. Time. I am so thankful that I have 24 hours a day. Some days it doesn't feel like enough, but I am so sure that if I just used my time a little better, and didn't stress out about things not done, I would find that it was plenty!! 

16. Meals with family. I am so thankful that I get to spend most Sunday dinners with my in-laws. They are so amazing to invite us over every week. They are out of town this week and we are having dinner with just our 6. I love that it has been a priority for our family to have dinner together. That was modeled by our parents. We love it! 

 17. I am so thankful for a warm home! I love our furnace, and programmable thermostat! I feel so lucky to live in a day and age where I can be warm! 

 18. Last on today's list is that I am so thankful for all of the amazing people in this world! I know that the world is filled with bad, but I believe that it is also filled with so much good!! Don't believe me? Take a look at this video!

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Thankful for great literature

I am so thankful for good books today! I haven't been feeling great today and I loved cuddling with my kiddos and reading to them and spending a lot of time in bed reading. I am especially thankful that I recently got a group of girls together to make a book club. I am excited about the books that are going to challenge me over the next 6+ months!

Monday, November 12, 2012

So Thankful

I am a lot behind on my gratitude journal for the month. Honestly, I have been reading everyone's posts on Facebook and it started seeming like a brag fest to me. I was having a hard time with it all and then I just had a tender moment at church yesterday when I realized that I truly had so much to be thankful for and I needed to praise God for it. So to catch up
1. Running water! I mean how awesome is it that I can turn on the faucet and there is water in a variety of temps. It is safe to drink. I have a drain that takes away the dirty water. I cook with it, I clean with it, I bathe in it. It really is awesome stuff!
2. My stash of material. I love my little stash of material scraps and future projects. I look at my material shelf and just smile.
3. My domestic goddessness (spell check says I just made that up!) And the women whom taught me the skills! I was able to bottle over 40 bottles of food last week.--putting away food at extremely low prices. My mom taught me the basics of canning and friends have helped to teach me more! I was also able to make myself a skirt and Max a pair of pajamas without a pattern. My mom and Shelly Gould taught me how to sew (years of sewing lessons!) There were many years where I didn't use those skills but they have become necessary and even fun the last little while (with our growing family.)
4. The internet. I can learn so much with just a quick search of the internet. There is so much knowledge on almost anything I am interested in! This is where I had help with making things without patterns. I am learning so much!
5. Today being Veteran's day (observed) I would be completely ungrateful if I didn't mention that I am so thankful for Veteran's and all our service men and women. I have two brothers that are veterans of Iraqi Freedom. My father served in the military and my grandfather is also a veteran. I feel very honored to be related to these brave men. I love and appreciate all soldiers who sacrificed so much in order to protect our freedoms. I am humbled by their valor, and honor their courage. 

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

So thankful for amazing friends

          Making friends is not a strength for me. I am pretty shy until you get to know me. If I have a "wing manwoman" then it is a lot easier for me to talk to others. Yet, luckily for me, I was blessed to grow up in an amazing town with some AMAZING girls. I honestly don't know how I got so lucky to have been blessed to grow up with the girls I did. I was blessed in college to meet some amazing kindred spirits and the blessings didn't cease when I went on my mission. The sisters that went to Montana were some of the best ladies in the world. Working after college, and now even this place we have chosen as home has delivered some of the finest women into my life. I am a collector of fine people and kindred spirits. My collection of friends are among the finest.



           I feel lucky to live in a world where communication, or at least keeping in contact with others, is easy. With Facebook I can instantly be connected with my friends all over the country--and even world.  Last night I was upset by the outcome of the election. I went to Facebook and saw some of my dear friends rejoicing, and I was happy for them. The majority of my friends were upset. The messages shared, and especially the jokes made helped me to understand that I was not alone.
          My dear friend shared a scripture with me. She said "Tiff I'm in (referring to my proposition to move to Montana and start a hippie compound) and to share a scripture I just saw... For you Tiff, hel. 5:12. I looked up Heleman 5:12 and took great comfort in the words: "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." I had a huge smile and I was grateful for wonderful friend that would share such comforting words. I went back to leave her a message and she had posted: "I meant 5:2." I went back and read 5:2 "For as their laws and their governments were established by the voice of the people, and they who chose evil were more numerous than they who chose good, therefore they were ripening for destruction, for the laws had become corrupted." 
         I was so grateful for the typo, for it strengthened me and reminded me of where I need to put my faith and trust. If it can't be in the government, it sure can be in God. I am not saying that those who voted for Obama are evil. I know people have very valid reasons to have voted for him. Yet this morning Turner came in and asked who won the election and I told him President Obama did. His reply? "Not Mitt Rom-a-ny?" "Nope not Rom-a-ny." "DAMN IT!" he exclaimed! I couldn't even get mad. The debt that had accumulated in the past four years alone will take more than his lifetime to repay. I guess that is what I am most upset about. I think it just sucks for our children. 
         So thank you friends! Thank you for loving me, and encouraging me. I went to sleep last night (finally) thinking of the great blessing my friends are to me. 
* Pictures are just ones that I had in a file. I am blessed to have many great friends and amazing experiences. 

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Thankful for my country

          I don't have very many friends that live outside the United States of America. In fact I have only ever been across the boarder to Mexico and Canada--as in I could still see the USA if I turned around. I dream of visiting the world. I can't think of a single place in this world I wouldn't like to see. In fact I had to go to the county building today and we passed the place where you apply for a passport and I almost filled one out, just because I really want to see the world.
          I have no idea the adventures and people I would meet along my travels. I love the variety of all of God's children. I have studied and learned about other cultures and can only imagine that my love would be intensified by actually meeting and spending time with others. My husband has had the opportunity to live in a foreign country for a couple of years. I love the stories he shares of the great people of the Philippines.
          Yet I do love the country that I live in. I love the heritage I have been given by those who established this country. I am deeply indebted to those who gave their lives to make mine better. I love that I can vote. I love that there are options of great men to vote for. Today I cast my ballot. My son was completely upset that there was nothing for him to do while were at the school voting. He thought that it was a waste of time and that we shouldn't have done it. I then got to spend the walk home explaining about all of the people that died so I could go cast my vote. I explained of all the women that protested so that I could cast my vote. I am thankful for those great men and women. I am thankful for the founding fathers. I am thankful for my country. 

Monday, November 5, 2012

Growing up Thomson



           When I first got home from serving an 18-month LDS mission to Montana, I had no idea how life had been changed forever. I spent all of a week-and-a-half at home before I headed back to Utah to go back to school. I came home right before Christmas so I was busy with family, holidays, and repacking. I got to Utah and I was busy with unpacking, getting my schedule to work out, and finding a job. My second day or so in Utah I sat down to make a list of everything I needed to accomplish that day. I looked at the list and started crying. Everything on that list was to benefit me. After spending a year-and-a-half serving other people, it felt wrong to only be serving myself.
           I went down to the preschool that I had worked at before my mission to see if they had any openings. They didn't but expressed that they would love to put me on the substitute list. I agreed and then left, depressed, to go to my friend Jacqui's house. Jacqui and I had meet while working at the preschool and she hadn't been happy there and encouraged me not to work there. She suggested looking in the paper to see what else there could be. I only had experience with kids. I didn't know how to do anything else. We looked over all of the options when one particular ad jumped out at me. It was an ad for an aide working with a family that had two children with special needs. The pay was better than at the preschool, so I was excited.
          I called the number right there and was asked if I could come that night for an interview. I went to the interview in Alpine which was about 25 minutes away. I met an amazing woman and had a great interview. She told me about her oldest daughter that had a condition called Rett Syndrome. I had never heard of the disorder. She explained that her daughter was born and developed very typical for about a year. She then started losing some of the skills that she had acquired  Her daughter was 19 but was developmentally a year old. She was blessed that she retained the ability to walk, and she could say a couple of words.  I was then asked it I thought I could change a poopy diaper on a young woman. Everything inside of me was screaming to say no. I did not think that I could do that. Somehow out of my mouth came a yes, and my life has always been blessed ever since.
          I was hired on the spot and had the chance to work with this amazing family for about a year. They had another daughter that had been diagnosed with severe ADHD but I have since wondered if it was really Aspergers syndrome. I loved the whole family and really felt blessed to work for them. I was most of all happy that not everything on my to do list was directly related to me. I had the chance to take my wonderful young woman on trips, to the singles ward, and spent a lot of time with her. In some ways she really was still an infant. She only said a few words, threw tantrums when she was upset, and had low fine and gross motor skills. Yet ins some ways she was a young lady. She really enjoyed the singles ward, she could swim all by herself, she would flirt with my friend Alden, and she had a thing for Vegas.
          Since I have had my own children, the thought has crossed my mind "I don't ever want you to grow up! I want you to stay ____ age forever!" Yet yesterday as my oldest "fixed" breakfast for all of the kids, I realized how lucky I am that he is growing up. I love who my children are, and who they are becoming. I thought back on my Rett Syndrome friend and had a glimpse of if my kids really didn't ever grow up. Although I know I would love/do love my children with their own special needs, I realize what a blessing it is to be able to see my kids growing up. So today I am thankful that my kids are growing up. Now if I could just make time slow down--just a little bit!

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Family time

Life gets busy and crazy. We get caught up with the work of life. Today was a beautiful Saturday and the house was a mess. We woke up and started in on the Saturday chores. I looked outside and got really sad. It was an amazingly beautiful day. I declared that we needed to spend some time outside. So we hurried and finished our jobs and went to the zoo. After the zoo, on the way home I had Josh stop and a new hiking trail the kids and I had explored earlier in the week. It was a beautiful day, we got to spend time together as a family and my heart was full of the tender mercies of the Lord.




“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.” ― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

Friday, November 2, 2012

Breaking up is hard to do

I recently learned why I was so bad with breaking up! I didn't really get into the dating game until I was 22 a lot of my friends dated way sooner and some were even married by the time I ever "really kissed" anyone. The problem is, when you are a teenager and go through your bad boyfriend stage, your parents are there to help guide you through. I on the other hand had roommates that didn't know how to tell you that the guy you were dating was a complete . . . dead end!

See, my problem lies in that I don't have the ability to see people for who they really are, I see them for who I want them to be. I use to think that I saw them for who they had the potential to become, but realized that that potential was completely based on what I wanted for their life, therefore I see people for what I want them to become.

The guy who got sent home from his mission for making out with a girl in his area--yeah I thought I could get him to be faithful to me (even though he couldn't be faithful to God.) The med student that went to Yale, but had NO personality. The guy that was really cool but didn't want to spend a lot of time together. The guy who could cook--oh could he cook! But he also had a little problem with the truth, like the fact that he told me he was friends with Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, Steve Young and he hosted a charity auction with Pamela Anderson! But he could cook!

This latter guy is actually the only guy I broke up with. I was living in Provo, UT and we dated for a few weeks and then I went to AZ to take care of my mom while she was recovering from a knee replacement. We were apart for six weeks, which was much longer than we ever dated. While I was in AZ I realized that we were two different people that wanted different things. Yet when I went back to UT I had the hardest time telling him that it wouldn't work out! I actually kept talking to him on the phone for years!

Recently I had been watching Pscyh on Netflix while I was canning, working out, sewing etc... I realized that the last episode was coming up and I was upset. I didn't watch the last episode thinking that when I finally did, the end would be easier to take. I waited weeks before I allowed myself to watch the last episode. I figured that I had moved on and was ready. A couple of days ago I watched it. Instead of being able to move on, I realized why I love the show. Nothing would ever take its place. The sadness still came.

Luckily for me, they put season 6 on there yesterday. That gives me 16 more episodes until I finally have to break up. Oh happy day!

Today I am thankful for clarity/wisdom that comes with age. And Netflix--I do love Netflix.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Spreading {Almond} Joy and Loaves and Fishes


               Last night I got to take my kids trick-or-treating. It was very interesting. Max was an eager beaver running up to houses long before I could get the tiny legs of the twins to catch up. I constantly had to remind him to wait up. Amelia and Cooper were more interested in just being out for a walk. Cooper often had no inclination to walk up to a door. He was more content to see if he could pick up the fire hydrant or push back the curb. Amelia loved seeing everyone else out and dressed up. She got excited over seeing the dogs and people she knew. And Turner discovered Almond Joys. After we had gone down a street the kids asked if they could have a piece of candy. I told them they could and Turner picked out an Almond Joy. He got so excited. He told me that they were the best thing he had ever eaten and got so excited at every door that had Almond Joys.
               What surprised me was that he loved them so much that he started giving them out to people. We had to make a bathroom stop at my in-laws and he wanted GG and Crapa to try them. He wanted me to try one. He wanted his brothers and sister to try one. He wanted his dad to try one.  Today for school we sorted, counted and grafted the candy he got last night.  9 Almond Joys survived. It was by far the most of any one kind of candy he got. I just loved that he found something that brought him joy and he wanted to share it with the world!
               I hope people don’t get offended by how much I share my faith and religion on my blog.  I feel much the same way about my Savior. I am happy and feel joy when I am following His teachings. I just want to share my feelings with all of you!!

            

         This month is such a special one—it is THANKSGIVING! Last year I tried and tried and tried to post something I was thankful for every day in November. I have to admit that I struggled with it.  I had a hard time actually feeling grateful. I knew how important gratitude was; I just couldn’t make myself really feel it. I had 1,000 things that I was thankful for, it was just the actual FEELING that was missing. Does this make sense to anyone? Well, this year my heart has been brimming with gratitude lately. I am excited to try again this year to post something I am thankful for everyday this month. I have learned a lot about gratitude and I would love to share some of what I have learned with those who care to keep reading.
               So today in school we were reading in Matthew when Christ feeds the 4,000+ women and children. In Matt. 15:36 Christ asks the disciples to gather the food and they find there are 7 loaves and a few little fishes. Christ then gathers the food and he thanks God for it. He passes out the food and 7 large baskets of leftovers are gathered up. 7 loaves and a few fishes probably didn’t seem like it would be enough food. Yet he thanks God for it.
               How many things in my life feel like it isn’t enough? My time, talents, money—yes, yes, yes. I have spent my life feeling like the talents that I had been given were not enough. They weren’t real talents because they didn’t compare to people who really had those talents like musical instruments, singing, acting, art etc . . . yet in reality it doesn’t matter how big my portion is, it just matters how I use it. I guess that takes us to another parable for another day.
               So today I am thankful for my talents. If I compare them to others, I won’t feel all that great about myself. But if I use them for good, to bless others’ lives, and to do the work of God then, it will always be enough!