Giving Thanks...G

Talk about four eyes

I have a wonderful sense of direction that I contribute to being observant to the things around me. I can't tell you street names but I can give you landmarks.

But sometimes you need to know street names. And I have a hard time seeing those little letters, especially when it's dark. So while I was driving in an unfamiliar neighborhood earlier this week, I was so grateful to look over and see my glasses sitting in the center console of my car.

Looking back at blog posts from 2009, I realized it's been almost four years since I've had my eyes checked. I can certainly tell my vision is changing, too, by the squinting I've been doing. Plus I'm getting a little bored with my plain black frames.

I'm thankful for Optometrists that prescribe me glasses, Costco for selling me cheap glasses, and the actual glasses so I can see where I'm going.

I feel like I'm channelling Thelma in the picture above

Giving Thanks...F

It was at our pre-Labor Day weekend festivities where I snapped at my mom. Everyone was getting ready to leave but we hadn't devoured the dessert that my sister and I brought. LaVor mentioned that I needed to tell people to wait and start serving but they weren't listening. As I went back inside to get something, my mom suggested the same thing LaVor did and I was pushed over the edge. "I KNOW!!!" is what I told her. She looked at me, shocked, and said I didn't need to get upset. I replied with, "LaVor just told me the same thing!" Really sweet, eh?

It's a good thing she's a forgiving person and I finally learned how to apologize. I cornered her later on that evening and told her I was sorry for biting her head off. She shrugged her shoulders and said not to think about it for another second.

There's been a gazillion moments where I've had to seek forgiveness. And that is not something I enjoy doing.

Except once.

I had done something awful and could not shake the dreadful feeling that I dealt with for days until I succumbed to the promptings that I needed to humble myself and ask for forgiveness. I knew it was something I had to do but that darn thing called pride kept getting in the way. Literally, the second the words "I'm sorry" left my mouth and I heard "it's okay", my heart no longer ached, my mind was cleared, and I could move on.

President James E. Faust said, "If we can find forgiveness in our hearts for those who have caused us hurt and injury, we will rise to a higher level of self-esteem and well-being. Some recent studies show that people who are taught to forgive become “less angry, more hopeful, less depressed, less anxious and less stressed,” which leads to greater physical well-being. Another of these studies concludes “that forgiveness … is a liberating gift [that] people can give to themselves.”

I am grateful for people who forgive me for my shortcomings, no matter what pain it might have caused them. I am thankful for a Savior who suffered for my shortcomings. And I am thankful for a Heavenly Father who forgives me and takes another chance on me, each time I ask for his forgiveness.

The chalk drawing my mom did at Chalk It Up!

Giving Thanks...E

I've heard it my entire life..."Be prepared. Have a 72-hour kit. Have a years worth of supplies. Have at least six months of living expenses saved."

I will be the first to admit that we have a little emergency stash of goods but nothing like we should have. So when the storms hit the East coast last week, I got to thinking that we really need to get our rears in gear.

I have a friend who is a consultant for Shelf Reliance. If you've ever watched BYUtv, then you've probably seen their commercials. I called Shauna up and told her I wanted to start building up our food storage and such. She directed me to the Shelf Reliance website, where I got a great deal on the Expedition Basic pre-assembled kit. I added up the cost of each item if I bought it in a store and the total came to roughly $195.00. The website is offering it for $137.99! I was so excited with my purchase that I decided to host a Shelf Reliance get together, to further my emergency kit as well as helping others with theirs.

So keep Tuesday, December 4 at 6:30 open. E-mail me at popiespastries (at) yahoo (dot) com for details.

Giving Thanks...D

When people ask us where we got The Lime's name, we tell them he wasn't named after this man but it certainly inspired us.

It probably isn't the most reverent or respectful thing to do but in our house, we refer to him as Big Dieter. And he holds a special place in our heart.

When The Lime was born, we sent him a birth announcement. We thought nothing of it but about six weeks later, we received a handwritten letter from President Uchtdorf. In it, he wrote, "He looks like a healthy and happy child, and I am honored to share his name". I cry each time I read it. I hope The Lime will value it, as he gets older, as much as I do and have.

Not only do we admire his love and compassion but his ability to tell it like it is without coming across as condescending. Whenever LaVor comes home from the Priesthood session of conference, he always says he thoroughly enjoyed Big Dieter's talk. I get goosebumps when he says, "My dear brothers and sisters". Maybe it's the accent or maybe I just really feel like we are spiritually connected.

Whatever it is, we sure love Big Dieter and appreciate the impact he has had on our little family.

Giving Thanks...C

I don't get to watch much television around here...unless it's Caillou, Curious George, The Ultimate Fighter, or anything on Discovery or National Geographic. When we got married, we agreed to only have one television. That way we wouldn't be leading separate lives with one person in the bedroom and the other in the living room.

So last year, when The Chew began, I was thrilled to finally have my own show! Especially because it was on at noon and that was around the time The Lime goes down for his nap. So my routine is to put him down, make my lunch, and eat it in peace while I laugh my head off and get good ideas for recipes.

This cast is hilarious! Michael and Clinton pick on each other like brothers, Carla and Clinton have a grand time dancing together, Daphne and Michael flirt, and Mario just sits back and observes it all. I loved Clinton, Carla, Michael, and Mario prior to the show but especially love them all together. Daphne is interesting.

I especially love their show during the holidays! So many yummy recipes and cute/creative/cheap gift ideas and decorations.

And the icing on the cake? If I have to record it, it's a show that LaVor and I can agree to watch together. Yippee!

Giving Thanks...B

I've never been a big fan of reading. So when The Lime started asking for bedtime stories, I've got to admit, I wasn't very excited. Especially since he wanted to read the same tractor book every.single.night.

While at my parents' one day, I found our old stash of Berenstain Bear books. I had kept a couple but my mom had the mother load. There was enough that we could read a new one each night for almost a month. Perfect for my "I get bored easily which is why I don't watch movies" attention span.

And can I please mention how perfect these books are?! Prior to The Lime's first visit to the dentist, we read "The Berenstain Bears Visit the Dentist" and I think it really helped! They have a book about strangers, trouble with friends, the gimmes, lying, fitting in, going to summer camp, visiting grandparents while parents go out of town. Any issue that a child could face, they have a book to take care of it. Do I dare mention I cried when I read the one where they move from their cave to their new home in the valley? The illustration of Brother Bear standing in the doorway, looking at his empty house, broke my heart.

I loved these books growing up, love them even more now, and am hopefully passing on the love to The Lime.

Giving Thanks...A

Prior to being married, my family and I went to San Francisco right before Christmas. We browsed through the Metreon (b.o.r.i.n.g.) and ate at their food court. There, I was introduced to an arugula and prosciutto pizza. I was converted from that point on.

Why hadn't anyone told me about this little secret called arugula? So much pow packed into a little leaf.

When we make pizza at home, I add arugula. If I see a salad at a restaurant with arugula, I order it. If we do another garden next year, I'm hoping to plant this fine specimen.

Add this to my list of ingredients to thank Heavenly Father for (potatoes and water already included).

from health.com