thanksgiving

Thank-ful

the definition...

1. Aware and appreciative of a benefit; grateful

2. Expressive of gratitude

We're sitting around the table, and it's my turn to share. So many thank.ful.ness... 

• family - everyone before me and everyone after me!
• grandchildren and being a grandmother
• children
• brothers and sisters (especially sisters.. now that parents have passed away)
• parents
• hubby 
• grandparents and ancestors
• good examples
• home 
• food (too many to list -- I love the taste of food!)
• Thanksgiving dinner... especially turtle pumpkin pie and bread and butter pickles
• clean sheets on my bed
• my body; ears to hear, eyes to see, nose to smell yummy stuff, taste, the feel of things, ten fingers, ten toes, a mind to think, and everything else that keeps me alive... wow! the body is truly amazing.
• my spirit
• clothes
• shoes
• p.l.
• relaxing
• holidays
• running water
• hot shower
• engagement calendar (can't live without it!) -- I haven't converted to i-phone, nor do I have future plans to do so. I like to write things down on paper, see it, and check it off!
• talking to my children - prefer in person, but on the phone will do
• heat
• air conditioning
• a clean house
• order (not chaos)
• inspirational and landscape paintings
• faith & testimony
• temple
• scriptures
• Jesus Christ
• prayer
• family history books
• forgiveness
• sun
• rain
• snow
• good hair days
• hair color
• flowers - tulips, daisies, roses
• chocolate anything!
• microwave
• orchard
• garden
• health
• computer
• blogger
• scrapbooks
• journals
• telephone
• financial security
• quilts
• socks on my feet
• talents
• children who are good citizens
• Utah
• mountains
• ocean
• America
• constitution of the United States
• the right to vote
• American flag
• soldier - especially mine!
• freedom of religion, right to bear arms, speech
• family heirlooms
• family outings & adventures
• week dates
• coke 
• Suzie Q's and Snowballs (sad tears)
• holidays
• no schedule!
• yard 
• trees
• living in the country
• being able to see the stars in the night sky
• a good book
• a good doctor
• breathing in clean air
• color; bright colors
• snuggles and cuddles from grand babies
• nature
• protection
• safety
• personal history books (parents, ancestors)
• thoughtful gifts
• daughters that are nurses
• friendship and companionship with youngest daughter (lives close by and doesn't work outside the home)
• work
• humor
• laughter
• kindness
• compassion
• thoughtfulness
• quiet
• beauty 
• peacefulness
• respectfulness
• comfort
• education
• great ideas!
• memories of home
• creating something
• my own office
• space (like not in my face kind of space)
• alone time
• having someone else cook... that means eating out! 
• visiting historical sites
• taking trips in and out of the country (that doesn't mean I'm thankful for airplanes.. I would rather not fly)
• car
• light
• my bed - heavenly!
• old, worn, and loved again treasures!
• sunset
• sunrise
• Sunday drive
• inspirational music
• Christmas music
• Christmas lights on Temple Square
• LIFE!
• LOVE!

I think a grateful journal sounds like a good thing for next year to help remind me of all the blessing I have in my life. 

Thankful Notes

Here's a Thanksgiving tradition we do at our house. I have slips of paper and pens set out for family members to write down something they are thankful for. When we are eating pie, we  take turns sharing our thankful notes. It helps us more fully recognize and count our blessings and prepares our hearts for the Christmas season.

What are you thankful for?

Writing prompts:  #2 - Share what you are thankful for

#3 - Tell us about a favorite Thanksgiving tradition

Books

I have some books, or rather treasures. A history that great grandmother Richardson wrote and a history that her grandson, my father- Jim Bates, wrote. Mother's is in the making now, and there are many other ancestors that have left behind life sketches and journal writings that give me a clue to who they are and how I fit into the family. I feel very blessed to have them. I also feel it a duty and a privilege to do the same. I am working on it. My children, my grandchildren, my great grandchildren will know me... really know me. As they turn the pages one by one to reveal my life story, as I have seen it and lived it, they too, will recognize their own faces in mine.

My father said it best....

Write one experience at at time. A birth certificate proves you were born. A personal history proves you lived - really lived. A pedigree chart proves your ancestors lived. A family history proves that they lived and because of them - you are now alive.

My face is really not mine alone. It was not shaped by my victories or defeats, joys or sorrows alone, but was designed before I ever drew a living breath. It began with my great grandfather, grandmother - or was it their parents - or theirs? I'm made up of a peculiar blend of an ancestral reservoir - little bit of him, a touch of her!

As I look at and examine my life I look for the best, the glorious, because glorious things have happened. That doesn't mean I have to leave out the heart aches and the heart breaks, somehow there's something glorious in every event.

                                                                                            -Jim Bates 

I come from an ancestry line of good writers. Their personal stories are full of color, adventure, wisdom, humor, and inspiration to do better, live better. There are examples to learn from. Faith to build on. I hope in time, my posterity is able to say the same thing about their mother, grandmother, great-grandmother. And, in turn, I hope it inspires them to write, too!