Thanksgiving Gratitudes

1. My family.



2. My parents going on another mission (to Uganda!)



3. Going back to school.



4. Good grades.



5. Fran's Dark Chocolate Covered Salted Caramels (and Zuzu the Pirate who sends them to me).



6. Grandma S.'s cookbook (especially her recipe for Date Pinwheels which I am going to try for the first time this year.)



7. St. Lucia traditions (and Miss Morgan who introduced them).



8. Decorating Christmas Cookies the day after Thanksgiving (and my mom who started that one).



9. Kindred Spirits.



10. Every single one of my Cookies.



11. Every single one of my T-21 buddies.



13. Black Licorice and the memories of Grandpa S.



14. I'm healthy.



15. A ward choir that rocks!



16. A youth ward choir that rocks!



17. A sweetheart who loves me even after 18 years.



18. Teachers and aides who influence me kids for the better.



19. Great Scout leaders.



20. Asparagus in the spring, strawberries and raspberries in early summer, fresh corn and watermelon midsummer, peaches and pears late summer, pumpkin flavors in the fall, and all other good-for-me foods.



21. Reliable electricity, clean running water, and decent roads.



22. Mr. Wonderful's job and his willingness to work.



23. Mr. Wonderful's parents who raised boys (6 of them!) right.



24. Temples.



25. The Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, and the Bible.



26. Creativity. My own and others who bless me with theirs.



27. The Love Magnet who teaches me to slow down and really enjoy the little things.



28. Singing I Am A Child Of God. I love that song.



29. Jane Austen's books.



30. Caring people.



31. Finding a jar of my Grandma's S's raspberry freezer jam just in time for Thanksgiving dinner. (Way to go, auntie M!)

32. Listening to the sounds of my children getting along with each other.

33. Spending a week alone with my sweetheart.

34. Date night.

35. Date night with one of my kids.

36. All those years of piano lessons.

37. An entire year where none of my children had to go to the emergency room. (YES!!!!)

38. The United States flag and everything it stands for.

39. Memories of Grandpa B, especially his gentle voice when he gave me my patriarchal blessing.

40. Food storage.

41. Stocked grocery stores with decent prices.

42. My sons' opportunities to play basketball, soccer, and swim leagues.

43. Living close enough to see my family for a weekend whenever I want.

44. Email

45. Really good neighbors.

46. Mr. Wonderful, especially when ignores my annoying quirks and praises my attempts at being a good wife and mother.

47. Mr. Wonderful for never failing to thank me for a meal I prepared in all of our 18 years of marriage.

48. Good, intelligent, clean movies. They are so very rare.

49. My son's willingness to help out.

50. That we aren't wanting for a single thing. We have everything we need.