Sunday, November 24, 2013

With a Thankful Heart

Sunday, November 24th, 2013

My Dearest Brother,

HAPPY (belated) BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do you feel so much older and wiser now? How was the big 2-1 for you? Did you do something special on your birthday? Did your companion make you a cake and sing to you at every appointment? Because, he totally should have! We’ll have to do a celebration for you when you get home. I’ll even make the dessert of your choice!

This week…. Wow. What did we do? I honestly couldn’t tell you! Things have been pretty normal around our house. We clean up, go to work, go to school, spend time together when we can…. That’s about it.

OH!!!! I remember! We went to see the new Hunger Games movie this Wednesday night with dad. We went to a lovely little Greek restaurant for dinner. Dad introduced us to it. It is called Chicken Express. You wouldn’t think that it was anything special just from looking at it but it was very delicious and very well priced. The movie itself was also fantastic and we went home full, happy, and satisfied.

The biggest event of the week was that we got to see Zac as Willard Hewitt in Footloose at Bingham. He was FABULOUS!!!! He always impresses me but I think that this was my favorite role of his. He was funny and talented and his song was great. His voice has really matured over the years. I think he was the best part of the whole play. (I may be slightly biased).

We are looking forward to mom and Kayden’s return from Hungary this Wednesday. I can’t believe they have been gone for almost an entire month. We are all anxious to be together again and to have you join us in just 25 days from today!!!!

Since Thanksgiving is this Thursday we will be preparing our turkeys for brining on Tuesday night. It is always an adventure to do the turkeys and I look forward to seeing how they will turn out this year.

Also, since Thanksgiving is this Thursday I think I will list some things that I am thankful for:

1)      I am most thankful for my faith and knowledge of the gospel. The Lord blesses me and my family so much and I am so grateful for the peace and happiness that the Gospel brings to my life.
2)      I am thankful for Jake and for our eternal marriage. We have spent 6 ½ years together and it has been the most wonderful years of my life. I am so grateful for my best friend.
3)      I am thankful for my children. Although they are the hardest thing I have ever done they are also incredibly rewarding. They bring me lasting and continual joy and my life would not be the same without them.
4)      I am thankful for my family – YOU! And my parents (both sets) and all of my wonderful siblings and nieces and nephews and all of our extended family. We are so richly blessed with the love and support of family and I don’t know how I would get through this life without them.
5)      I am thankful for my friends and for the love and support they have given me and my family over the years. I have been extremely blessed to have relationships with people that have lasted through decades and they bring a greater happiness and richness to my life.
6)      I am thankful for my journal and the opportunity it gives me to write the words of my heart. I am thankful to be able to record my personal history for future generations, but most particularly for myself to look back and to see how I have grown and changed over the years.
7)      I am thankful for the generosity of our family. I wouldn’t have been able to go through school without the countless hours of babysitting that our moms and Alyssa and Beth have provided. They are so good to us and to our children.
8)      I am thankful for my schooling. It has been challenging but very rewarding and I know that I have been able to grow a lot through the knowledge I have gained and the people I have met.
9)      I am thankful for my health and my body. It has gotten me through a lot. I have problems, just like anyone else, but I am grateful for everything I have been able to do and the experiences I have been able to have.
10)  I am thankful for my home and our cars. Again, they aren’t perfect but they are wonderful and tremendous blessings!

Honestly I could go on forever but I think these are some of the biggest things that I am thankful for this year. I know that I have left so many things out but I am truly blessed and grateful for what I have been given. Truly we are a blessed people.

I love you, dear brother. Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that you can find many wonderful reasons to be thankful this season.


All my love, Shayla

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