Being the mom and wife of the year that I am (wishful thinking I know), I thought I would try a new project during November to remind us of all the things we are grateful for and at the same time, to decorate our non-festive house. So a few Fridays ago, Pearl and I made a tree and cut out a bunch of leaves. Then we, well I, convinced Jeff that after dinner we would think of a couple things we were grateful for, write it down on a leaf, and then tape it to our "Blessing Tree." I'm pretty sure Jeff and Pearl didn't see nearly the same sentimental value in doing this as I did, but they did help color all of the leaves and gave suggestions for most of the blessings on our tree. My original plan was to do a leaf for every day until Thanksgiving but we ran out of leaves and some nights didn't get around to writing anything down. But hey, it was good to reflect for a few minutes on what our Heavenly Father has blessed us with. Here's what we wrote on our leaves, plus a few extras I threw in there today:
- "A". Yes it's that time of year again...USU Basketball season so of course Jeff had to make a leaf that had a big "A" on it. Go Aggies!
- Nursery. Thank heaven for nursery!!! Pearl isn't officially nursery age yet but I think the Primary Presidency got sick of me leaving class to keep her quiet or maybe the fact that she would run up to the front of sharing time and distract all the other kids who were trying hard to sit still and be reverent. Either way, they gave me permission to take her to nursery early and we all love it! Her teachers are great and I actually felt bad after the first week she went because I realized just how crappy of nursery leader I was all those years. Hopefully I didn't ruin any of the kids for life.
- Little blessings. So I must admit all the news about the economy has really freaked me out. As Jeff will tell you, I have no economic/accounting knowledge whatsoever, which you would think would be an advantage in a situation like this but no, I freak out even more. I'm terrified of losing our jobs, losing our house, losing our savings (oh wait, it's already gone!), not having enough to eat, you name it. But the other day at the peak of freaking out, I found out that Pearl's daycare expenses drop $100 in July when she's 2!!! I thought it was a mistake but nope, starting in July we might actually be able to build up our savings accounts again. Guess Heavenly Father figured he better calm me down with a little blessing like this before I really went crazy!
- Recipe books. Try as I might, I'm a horrible cook. Ask Jeff...every time he eats ANYTHING I cook, he gets sick. But I have been trying harder and am so grateful for cookbooks and recipes! I even made a couple of meals that Jeff said he would like again - I'm pretty sure that's the first time in our married life that he's told me that.
- Pearl Jenette. Do I really need to expound on why Pearl is the greatest blessing in our life?
- New shoes. My last post with Pearl walking around in high heels inspired Jeff to buy some new shoes. They aren't his favorite but they were really cheap online so as of yesterday, he is happy as can be.
- Grandpas. Who doesn't love grandpas? And after Grandpa Great made a new table and chair just for Pearl, we couldn't not be grateful for our grandpas!
- Food. This must have been a good recipe day for me, or else Pearl was starving and I figured she was happy to eat just about anything. Seriously though, we have never gone without, minus the stint in college :).
- Washing machine that works. My washing machine took a turn for the worse earlier in November and died, and right in the middle of laundry day too. So we spent a few days at the laundry mat which really isn't too bad considering you can wash, dry, and fold all of your laundry in about an hour. We were dreading the news from the repair man (which by the way, is a great career to go into - he charged $60 for just diagnosing the problem plus parts) but luckily it was a quick fix and saved us from buying a new washing machine.
- Good health and good health insurance. You would all be sick to know how little we pay for our health insurance and I am just so grateful to know we can get sick and can get good care. Luckily though, we're pretty healthy and haven't had any major illnesses to deal with.
- Library books. Pearl and I go to the library every Friday and we love it! Not only does she get to run around and pull hundreds of books off the shelves, but it's a great way to save $$$ by not having to buy our own books. We check out a huge bag of books every week and then read 4 or 5 before going to bed. It really is one of my most favorite times of the day.
- Nice weather to play at the park. Despite the 80 degrees one day then snow the next kind of weather Utah has, it really has been a beautiful month. We've been able to play at the park almost everyday, bundled up of course, and I'm just not sure what we're going to do when it really gets nasty out there. And bonus that we have three parks within walking distance of our house.
- Snow pants. Pearl desperately needed some new fall/winter clothes and Jeff found a great deal at Old Navy a week ago. I can't believe I'm doing this to my child, but we bought her the puffiest coat and snow pants we could find and yes, she can't move in them and looks like a chocolate marshmallow in them sort of like the younger brother on the Christmas Story movie. She is mighty cute in them though and won't ever get cold!
- America and freedoms. We live in a free and blessed nation!!!
- Pearl isn't sick anymore. Pearl had just gotten over the barfs and a sick tummy the day we wrote this.
- Neighbors. Our neighbors are the greatest! Jeff told David and Vickie that he couldn't find any fun Thanksgiving decorations and the next day they came over with a ton of stuff. Now, you have to understand one thing, these are the same neighbors who decorate their house and yard for every single holiday and I mean they deck the place out! Plus, they bring us cookies every Sunday, love Pearl to pieces, and are some of our best friends.
- Daddy. Pearl kept saying "daddy" so I figured that was what she wanted me to write on her leaf. Too bad mommy didn't make the list.
- Weekends. Ah, the weekends! A time for relaxing, napping, football...wait a minute that's what Jeff does on the weekends. Mine usually consist of cleaning, folding laundry, homework, and all that fun stuff.
- Trips to Logan to see our family. We wrote this blessing down after visiting our family for my little brother's 14th birthday. Our families are the best and do so much for us, I can't even begin to list everything they do to make our lives easier. One thing I will mention though, my dad slipped me $20 for "gas money" when we went up. How cool is that!!!
- Good jobs. Not to get too down about the economy but we can't help but thank our Heavenly Father for providing us with good jobs. I admit I do worry about losing our jobs if things continue to plummet but for now we're OK. A quote comes to mind "Sometimes the Lord calms the storm and sometimes He lets the storm rage and calms His child." I just hope I am receptive to the Spirit and allow Him to calm my worries.
- Coloring books. Having a kid is a great reminder of all the things you enjoyed, like coloring. I was lucky enough to marry someone who loves to color (and is a fantastic at it) and so we have only the best crayons and coolest Sesame Street coloring books around. I'm not sure who gets more excited to color, Pearl or Jeff.
- Internet. Minus all the bad stuff one can get into online, the Internet is a remarkable blessing. I mean, what would I (or you reading this) do without a blog or Facebook to keep in touch with family and friends and document our life? Jeff's been talking crazy like...cutting our Internet to save some money but I think he knows how grumpy I would be without my blog! Plus he's addicted to Facebook, ESPN, and shoe perusing online!
- Long naps. Well this blessing is officially over because Pearl's awake. But for all of you moms out there, you know how wonderful a blessing this one is. I like the really long 2 or 3 hour naps myself.
