Today I am grateful for BOOKS!---Post 20

I don't think I can adequately express how much I LOVE to read.  It is by far on my top ten list of favorite things to do!   No matter the mood, if I'm bored, tired, restless, happy I almost always will CRAVE reading a book.

 I have some all time favorite books, but I couldn't list them all if I even tried,  but I also love to read a really good fiction book.  I love fiction.

Some of my all time favorite books are The Anatomy of Peace,  The Book of Mormon,  & Habits of Highly Effective People and Meeting Amazing Grace.  I actually could add more to this list, but right not I am forgetting them.  

 I actually keep  a list on Shelfari of all the books I have read because sometimes I forget and go to the library and pick up the same book again.  

  I love that I live close to a library, since I read books so fast.  I love that their are electronic books so that when I travel I don't have to carry a huge stack of books.  

I love that in our family I have two authors.  HOORAY!!!!

I am grateful to my dad, for teaching me and instilling in me a love of reading.  Both my parents were readers, but I don't think I ever saw my dad go anywhere without bringing a stack of books.   

I am grateful for the authors who  spend so much time sharing their talents.  Thank you, thank you!!!!

I feel so grateful and thankful for.......

Every year for the month of November I try to make some kind of list or decoration where each family member will be able to write things they are thankful for.  It is a little sparse this year with only 4 members living at home.  It is really fun to look at the list on Thanksgiving day, to see all the vast things our family is grateful for!

 Here is a list of some of the things our family listed they were grateful for:

1. Christ.  He. made. it. possible. for. us. to. live. again.  We love our Savior, very much and we are grateful for His atoning  sacrifice for each of us.  We have been fortunate to feel his love for us and because of that we are able to love all of Heavenly Father's children because we know He loves each of His children.

2. My Husband.  I am grateful that I married such a good man, who treats me with kindness, love and respect.  We will be married for 25 years in a few months and I am grateful for my decision to marry him each and every day.
3.  My children.  They have given me a lot of joy and purpose for living.  I feel like my life is enriched because I have them.  I have learned to be better at being selfless from the experiences with them.
4. My parents, I am grateful for all they did for me now more than ever. I realize their sacrifices in my behalf and I feel a tremendous amount of love for them.
5. My sibling,  I have some of the best brothers a girl could ask for.  And then I was blessed with a sweet sister years later. 
6.  I am grateful for the gospel and how it has influenced my life for good.  It truly is "good news."
7.  My extended family-they make our lives complete. They have given us  support, a listening ear, and help in more ways than I can ever express.  
8.  My home! I am so grateful for a warm place to live!  We have all the comforts of life and have never wanted for anything.
9. My husband's job. We have had a couple experiences where we are unemployed and it is no fun.  I am grateful that my husband works hard for our family and never complains about having to do so.
10.  A car!!!  I am so glad that we don't have to walk everywhere.  Matt always keep my car maintained and very safe.  I am grateful he knows so much about cars.
11. Friends!!!!!!  Friends truly make life complete. I love my friends from high school, early married years, and friends in Sandy. I am grateful for the opportunity we had to move because I have met some amazing people that I love and adore!!!
12.  Lynn, my hairdresser!  I love Lynn and can talk to her about anything.  She is so good to me about my hair. She colors my hair ever few weeks at her home for a small amount and for that I am so grateful.  She can work magic when she does my hair.
13.  Food,  I love food!  I love how food can bring families together and help create better memories. I hope when I die that we will be able to still enjoy food!
13. Traveling!!!!  I love to explore new places and to see parts of the world that I haven't experienced before. I am blessed that my husband loves to travel too and because of that, we have went to some amazing places!
14.  My job!!!  I love where I work and I have the best boss anyone could ever ask for!  She is kind, caring and wants what is best for the students at our school.  I have become friends with some very incredible people that will be life  long friends. 
15. Books!!!!  I love to read. I have learned so much from my love of reading.   There is nothing better than having a good book to curl up with. 
16.  The YW's program!!!  I love how inspired it is and I love being able to work with the young woman.  It is my favorite place to work in, in the church. I am grateful I get to work there now while my daughter is in Young Women's.
17. Music!!!  Do I need to say more?
18. The telephone! I am grateful that I have ways to communicate with my son, Coby who lives far away from our family right now.  
19.  Cell phones, facebook, texting!!!!!  I  love being able to communicate with people that I haven't seen for a long time.  I love being able to get information very quickly! 
20.  Health.  I have had times where I had health problems and so I grateful that I am blessed with a healthy body and so are my children and husband.  I am grateful that I am able to keep up with the demands of life because of the body I have been given.
21.  Exercise!!!!  I have always loved to exercise. It make my body feel more energized so I can accomplish a lot in each day.
22.  Washing machine and dryer!!!!  Yay!!!!! So glad I don't have to wash my clothes the old fashion way, by hand.
23. Freedom,  I may not know what it's like to live without freedom, but I do know what it feels like to have choices taken away from you. I may not know what death during war looks like, but I do know what it's like to have someone you love taken without your permission. So, when I think of patriotic liberty within the frame of what I can relate to, freedom becomes more tangible. Easier to hold and appreciate.

 24.  The scriptures!!!!  I love having easy access to what Ardith Kapp called, "letters from home."  I feel the spirit when I read from them.
25.  Prayer!!!!!  I love being able to talk to God like I would a real close friend.
26.  The spirit!  I am grateful to have this positive influence in my life that will never lead me astray. I have been richly blessed by the promptings I receive. 

27.  Nature!  I love the beautiful world that I have the privilege of living in!   There is so much beauty and goodness to enjoy.
28. I am grateful for the little things.  A smile from a stranger,   someone stopping to let me in the lane when traffic is heavy,  kind words,  a warm bowl of soap on a cold day.
29.  Smiles!!!!  I love to smile and I love to be around people who smile. I love to smile at the cute kids that I work with.  It is so cute to see them go from  despondent to all of the sudden happy.
30. Service!!!!  I am grateful to be able to serve others  because it blesses my life abundantly!!!  I am grateful for the small and big acts of service I have been blessed to be a part of!!! 

Week of 4-11 to 4-17

On Sunday April 11th Coby performed with the German Choir from BYU for a German ward in downtown SLC. Matt and I raced to the sacrament meeting because it was right after our sacrament meeting. I have never been to sacrament meeting where the meeting was in an entire different language. It was a very unique experience and we both LOVED it! The majority of the performance was the choir's which was on Easter. The choir was beautiful and did an amazing performance. Our family went to their performance in December at the Provo Tabernacle and it was very well done, but this was even better. Coby has such a beautiful, rich tenor voice and I am grateful that he loves to sing.

Also, on Sunday night I performed in The Messiah by Handel. It was a very rewarding experience. It is amazing to me that during the summer of 1741, Handel, depressed and in debt, began setting Charles Jennens Biblical libretto to music in just 24 days at a breakneck speed. When you are singing the music you feel such peace, love, and joy for our Savior, Jesus Christ and feel such gratitude for all that he has done for us. I am grateful I had the opportunity to participate in this. The practices were long and took a lot of time, but it was soooo worth it.

Kara became the sickest she ever has been. It started on April 8th and lasted for a whole week. She still has a lingering cough from it now on 4-27. Kara was pretty miserable and sad about missing school, especially since she hadn't missed a full day of school this year. She had an extremely high temperature and it was still at 102 with Tylenol. She was pretty upset because she had planned to try-out for the School Districts National Anthem and also get prepared for the School Talent show, but she couldn't because she had no voice so she didn't even try out for either. The doctor treated it like swine flu! Poor girl!

Colton had a stake court of honor and got all the merit badges he hadn't received in a long, long time and he got a total of 9! We are so grateful for Scout leaders. He is beginning to work on his eagle project right now, which is very exciting! Please ask him about it.

Also, I had book club Thursday night and I was in charge of picking our groups book club and I picked the book, "Same Kind of Different as Me." I had a friend just randomly recommend it on Facebook and I decided why not. I got it earlier and loved it so much that I chose it. I highly recommend it as a wonderful Christian true story of two men's journey of hope and love to find friendship and hope. It is inspiring! On Saturday, April 17th, Matt and Colton went on a 20 mile hike for Boy Scouts. It was the one thing that Colton still needed to accomplish in order to finish his hiking merit badge. They left at 7:30 am and were gone all day long. They did not make it home until 5:30 pm because they went quite a distance to make it there and were with a large group. They were both very dirty, sun burnt and tired when they made it home. During that day Kara had a cast party from her play she did "The 12 Dancing Princesses" and she had a lot of fun. She also had a soccer game. This year her soccer games are much longer and they do not have any extras on her team, which means she plays the whole game.

Colton's 1st Novel--Standing by at Lulu's

Colton's 1st book is written and published. He wrote it when he was 15 for his creative writing novel class and he also wrote it in a month. We are really proud of him because when he was a young lad writing was one of his worst subjects in school and he really struggled with it. One day with determination he decided that he was sick of this and he wanted to make this one of his best subjects so he just started writing and writing. And boy is he extremely creative. Now writing is one of his best subjects in school and he writes with ease. This is his first book and he has several others he is working on that are very well done. So Congrats to Colton on a job very well done. Way to go bud!!! We love you Colton!

Just wanted to let you know.....

I just wanted to let you know about a wonderful book that I recently read that I am certain you will LOVE!!! And it just so happens to be from a former member of our ward and one of my favorite bishops I have ever had. He recently wrote a book called, "Sliding into the Millennium." I finished reading it and it has been one of my favorite reads. I loved the book because it really made me think and it inspired me and has caused me to ponder my life and re-prioritize my goals and direction. I love any book that makes me think long after I finish it. One of the things that I loved the most about the book is that it was written with characters that were that served in the bishopric of this former bishop, Jerry Hirst. For example he has the characters Doug/Janet/ Bob/Alice and James/Angie who were members of the bishopric along with their wives. It was really cool to read and I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. There are two ways to purchase the book.

One way to purchase it is to buy it off the Internet as an e-book for only $3.20 (it is listed as $3.99, but to get 20% you need to enter the discount code listed below in the red) and also you will save trees in doing so! :) To get it this way go to his web page at www. jerryhirst.com and then put in the discount code VJCbc20 to get 20% off. Then you can either download it to your computer or put it on your hand held device. Or if you prefer to get a tangible copy you can get it through Lulu and have it sent directly to your door by going to http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/sliding-into-the-millennium/7182796 It is $11.42 through Lulu. I know you won't be disappointed when you read it. Let me know what you think or let Jerry know. Happy Reading! OK, for some reason the links aren't working that well no matter what I do so maybe you could just cut and paste them? Sorry. I will keep working on them, but if they still don't work if you could just try that instead! Thanks!

A novel writer in our family!

I just wanted to share with you that Colton decided to become an author. About three weeks ago he had this great idea and decided to write about it and kept writing and writing and has LOVED every minute of it. He talked of nothing else and the more he talked about it the more his novel came to life. He was telling me last week how the story changed because the characters started doing things that he didn't want them to do. How upsetting it was to him! It has been so fun watching him write and see how excited he can get. It has been quite an adventure seeing the smiles on his face and the happiness he has felt from writing. He has written 100 pages so far and he has discovered that he has a talent for writing! What makes this really cool is that he has always disliked writing! Way to go Colton!!!!

Book Club

I love belonging to a book club. I highly recommend becoming a part of one if you can. I have been in my book club for over a year or more and just love it. It is so fun to discuss books and hear other peoples input of things I never would have thought of if they hadn't brought it up. How did they get so wise? I also love how I have the opportunity to read books that I would have never read if someone else hadn't picked it for our months book. What is really cool about this is often books you thought you would never like become your favorites. Who would have thought? Another thing we do in our group is we go out for a meal each month so we get to add food into the mix too. And anyone who knows me knows how much I love food.

This month we are reading, "Bringing up Geeks" So far it is a great book and very validating.