Giving Thanks

It's been a while since I have written and I truly have so many good things to be thankful for. But first, a book quote. I just finished reading "One True Thing" by Anna Quindlen. The main character, Ellen, has moved home from a very successful job in NY to take care of her dying mother whom she never really knew. One passage reads:

"If I knew you would be happy I could close my eyes now and rest." Her voice was beginning to sink and die, as though it was going down the drain, rush of words to trickle of whisper. "It's so much easier."

"I know it is. I wish you could."

"No, not that. The being happy. It's so much easier, to learn to love what you have instead of yearning always for what you're missing, or what you imagine you're missing. It's so much more peaceful."

I love that passage. It's the essence of what so many of us are trying to be.. happy, but failing at because we are searching for it in the next phase of life that is always so unreachable. I'll be happy when... You fill in the blank. Don't we have a right to happiness now? Haven't we all worked too hard to not enjoy what we have? I give you my incomplete list of thankfulness.

1. I have the best husband ever! Caring, kind compassionate, and he makes me laugh.
2. I love my in-laws complete with quirky behavior! yep, all of them!
3. I love my new snowflake Christmas lights. They cheer my spirit.
4. I love my calling. There's nothing like children to lift the spirits, even if they try them at the same time.
5. I am thankful that I get to read so much.
6. I am thankful that Heavenly Father is very much aware of me and my needs.
7. I love my family! I love get togethers, chaos, and the peace of knowing you belong.
8. I love that my parents stay at my house sometimes, even if we aren't there. I'm getting to know a different side of both of them.
9. I love that God gives us so many chances to try again, to learn, to grow, to little by little become like him.

An incomplete list. Feel free to start your own. By small and simple things are great things brought to pass... and great happiness achieved.

(By the way. We are approved for adoption! Someone thinks we are fit to be parents! Now we just get to wait to be chosen. If any of you know of someone whom we could help out of a tough situation, please pass our info on to them.)

Little of this, little of that

So I have been meaning to blog all stinkin' week, but alas... I had excellent topics of conversation for it as well. For example, at work we got a flier in the mail from the "be well, sustainability, can't we all just get along" group here on campus. It said:

Slow Food Movement at USU

followed by:

Gentle Yoga

Then we got a package delivered from Ultimate Support

The rest of the day went downhill from there. I couldn't control my sarcasm to save my life and had to run around pointing out how funny it was much like a 13-year old boy who's main sense of humor hovers in the bathroom. Perhaps it's a blessing that I didn't blog about it sooner.

Well, enough of that. Life has been, in a word, busy. Extremely busy. I would love to cut things out but I simply don't know which activity I would give the axe to. I enjoy the newly started book club and am half-way through the book already (thanks to the elliptical at the gymn, one of the many skills I picked up in college was reading while exercising. It may be my most profitable skill yet!) I enjoy knitting and hope to someday finish the hat I started. (Who knew that a hat would be so difficult!) I love my Primary calling. That is never made more manifest than when a child you thought could care less about you gives you a hug at the most unexpected moments. I thoroughly enjoy the "scheduled creativity" of my the stamp club that I'm part of. I even enjoy my job despite some, shall we say temperamental co-workers. I don't even mind cooking. It's good on our budget and I think that David likes me more when two Banquet beef pot pies and a baggie of veggies don't have to be his lunch of choice. I have even taken on a few other projects to round things out... you know, to fill up my spare time.

My family is having a big Christmas party with my mom's side of the family. It's become a much loved tradition and despite all efforts, it can't be put to a stop. It's really like a big family reunion at Christmas time. The problem is finding space that is "homey" for 65 people and counting. We usually have it at my parents house but not this year. Instead we are doing it at Jarom and Melissa's. They have an attached garage that is going to be the staging area for the food. The big basement will house the hordes of children and the adults can talk anywhere, appropriate or not. Should be fun. My job in all of this is to put together a Christmas Song book that can be copied and distributed to all for our singing session. It is the thing that we love the most. There is just something magical about gathering around as a family and singing Christmas carols. Makes everything worth it.

So, onward and upward. This season of magic is almost upon us. For some it's already here. I kind of like to warm up to it a bit though. Getting hit in the face with Christmas, especially in the form of mobile displays on the lawn and blow-up figures of Santa getting chased up a Christmas tree by a dog (and thus revealing is blue boxers with snowflakes on them) is just a little much for me. I prefer something a bit more simple. Less Santa, more feeling. The peace of the birth of our Savior that comes with the season is often forgotten in the shuffle of holiday shopping and gaudy lawn displays. I feel like it should come gently... like falling snow. Providing a hush in the world and a little bit of magic.

October 28th. Happy Birthday Babe!

Better late than never right!

This is David who wakes in the morning..This is the house where David lives...

This is the the wife that David loves...

This is the car that David drives...

This is David after school...

This is David after food...

This is David...How I love him.

At Peace

I have had odd feelings of peace lately. I almost don't understand. When I think of everything that has been laid on my plate lately I feel that I should be having knots in my stomach and stress over how I'm possibly going to get all of this done. Normal Lora mode would be waking up at 3 am, not be able to go back to sleep because I'm worrying about everything and anything that can't be taken care of in the wee small hours of the morning. But I don't feel that way. I feel pretty darn good! All I can think is that the Lord must be sending blessings because I certainly can't be doing all of this on my own.

It feels good. I feel good. I'm excited about the coming week and all that is brings. It's extremely full but I'm actually looking forward to getting things done.