"...all these things..."

Nothing like a Redwood to keep things in perspective.
Hazel, Lilie, and me 2006

I've had such a beautiful life. I'm so thankful.


This Thanksgiving we are too far away to go "Home for the Holidays," but one of the perks of living in the Northwest is that we are now much closer to Nels's sister Tracy and her family. It's about a 2 1/2 hour drive to go visit them in Colfax, WA and they graciously invited us to join them for Thanksgiving.

We drove down Wednesday evening after stopping for a few Christmas presents in Coeur d'Alene and Spokane. {Can I just tell you how strange it is after years and years of living in the "city" to live an hour or more from any stores beyond the grocery store, Walmart, and Home Depot?? Reminds me of growing up in Coalville --- except Coalville only had the Summit Merc. and a gas station . . . and no stop lights.}

The girls were SO excited to go visit their cousin Winston, who is only a year older than Hazel. The girls had SUCH a good time. Thursday they pretty much disappeared into the Moore's barn, playing and playing and playing --- only to reappear for Thanksgiving dinner and then to vanish for the rest of the day. By Thursday night they were tired and incredibly dirty. :) The barn is a magical place with a full basketball court filled with wonderful toys and games, space to run, and a TV. I think Hazel and Winston played FBI most of the day -- complete with costumes made of black garbage bags and paper plate IDs (taped to their backsides). :)

Dinner was wonderful. Tracy made a beautiful and plentiful spread. Violet enjoyed it most, I think. She happily sampled each dish within her reach. :) The rest of the day included some nice naps, rousing games of Sevens and Catan, a movie, and lots of good company. We are so thankful to be close enough to spend more time with all of the Moores in the coming years. Nels's two oldest nephews are great boys . . . um, young men? Weird. Preston will be 20 next year and Keaton will be graduating. In my mind, they are still the little boys that I met 10 years ago. :) However, if they were, they never would have been able to pick me up a new printer at Walmart on Friday morning at midnight while I was sound asleep. :)

Friday morning we got up early so we could head back to Sandpoint for Nels to work. That evening Nels's other sister, Kendall, and her family came to visit us! My girls could hardly contain their excitement at having Tyra and Shelby come spend the night with us. :) They have family up in this area that they get together with every Thanksgiving, so they swung by on their way home to visit. It was great. I'm so thankful to have married into such a wonderful family.

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I'm just thankful for a lot of things this year. We are truly blessed. Sometimes in the conflict of daily life, it's so easy to overlook the incredible blessings that the Lord has given to us. And seeing His hand is genuinely the key to happiness in this life. What a wonderful time of year to be able to slow down and think of all that we have.

I'm so thankful for my sweet family. We are healthy. We are happy. We have the things that we need. The Lord is guiding our lives and wherever he takes us, we can have joy. My job is not to plan out everything in my life. My job is to ask the Lord each day what I need to do today. He'll take care of the rest. He always does.

As I've spent a lot of time recently contemplating what it is that I can learn through this period of my life, I am brought again and again to the thought that this life is so short. That the things that we worry about so much here are so temporary. Our job is to allow the Lord to help us see the beauty of our experiences and learn to rely on him to bring us through. How sad if we spent so much time worrying about what is NOT that we don't see the beauty of what IS. There are just so many things that really don't matter. Not in the end.

It seems each time my life starts getting too scary, somehow I am always brought to one of the several places in the scriptures that we are reminded to have faith in His loving care for us. I came across these verses this morning:

Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. 

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, even so will he clothe you, if ye are not of little faith. 

Therefore, take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithall shall we be clothed?  For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.  

Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.        {3 Nephi 13, also found in Matthew 6}

Now, we may not always be worried about food or clothes, but our heavenly Father knows how to take care of his children.

[What] man is there of you, who, if his son ask bread, will give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give a serpent? 

If ye then being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?     {3 Nephi 14, or Matt. 7}

He has truly given me good gifts.

2006

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2011

I think this picture is hilARious!