LOST: One serving of Christmas Spirit

I am usually the biggest Christmas person in the world! I have a really easy time picking up the Christmas spirit & just love everything about this time of year. But this year has been really hard for me, for various reasons. I had a hard time getting motivated to decorate the house, make my Christmas goodies, do Christmas cards, even shop for my family & friends. I usually am the biggest gift giver! I love to plan and get the perfect gift for people & am usually so excited to see them open it & know how much they're going to love it. This year, I could really care less. I think that part of why I'm having a hard time is because we are having a very low key Christmas around here. I feel like I'm not able to give my family and the people in my life what they deserve and because of that, I'm having a hard time finding my joy of the season. A very good friend reminded me the other day that presents and material things aren't the reason for Christmas. So I've been doing some thinking since then & trying to remember the real reason for the season and my Christmas spirit. I don't know that I've really found my spirit, but I do know that I'm so grateful that we have this holiday to celebrate the birth of our Older Brother and Savior. I'm so thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who loves me unconditionally, even when I probably don't deserve it. I am thankful for the wonderful family He gave me and the wonderful friends that He has brought into my life to teach me and help me on my personal journey. I have so much to be thankful for and have been given so many blessings in my life. My goal for the rest of the holiday season is to remember those blessings and remember to show gratitude daily for all the wonderful things in my life. To all of my wonderful, wonderful friends who will read this, thank you so very much for your friendship and love and everything that you have brought into my life.

52 Blessings ~ Week 7

I'm a week late with this, but I have a good excuse that I'll use in the next one! My blessing for last week is actually something that I am trying very, very hard to remember to be thankful for & that is trials. I get so caught up in thinking about all the bad things that I have to deal with that I forget to be grateful for the growth that my trials give me. It's hard for me to remember to be thankful for something that is hard for me to deal with. However, I had re-inforced for me at church how important it is for us to go through these things. That old saying, that which doesn't kill us only makes us stronger? Yeah, it really is true! So, even though things seem really rough right now, I am grateful for the strength & the growth that is available for me from my trials, if I will but remember to open my heart up to the learning experience.

54 Blessings ~ Week 6

Ok, so I'm a day late again! I've already mentioned that I am a dog person. This week, I am thankful for the critters in my life. Our dogs are a big part of our life & a part of our family. I am thankful for the unconditional love they give. No matter what happened in my day, no matter if it was a good day or a bad day, no matter if I have people mad at me at work or at home, I can always count on a joyful welcome when I get home from the dogs. They're never mad at me, they're never rude to me, and they're hardly every inconsiderate of me--only when there's food involved for them! Beyond that, having the dogs helped so much when James & Josh came to live with us! The dogs gave them someone who cared about them. Both of them got their own dog, which gave them someone to take care of & gave each of them instant best friends. On the way to the MTC with James, we asked him if there was anything he didn't have with him. He said yeah, the only thing I'm missing is my dog....I wish Gibson could come with me. I love that James has this best buddy that he's had for 6 years & that he missed Gibs being able to go with him. In the picture above, you see me hiding behind my book & under one of my mom's gorgeous quilts, with Hannah stretched out on my legs. I couldn't get the red eye out, for some reason.

The hard part of having dogs is that they don't get to stay with us long enough & it always breaks my heart when one of our dogs dies. But I don't think I'd ever be able to to live without the sweet soul & spirit of a dog.