Enough Reasons to Smile

For some reason, I can't keep from smiling today. During the past week a new baby has come into my family (through my brother and his wife). To share time with one of our Father's purest creatures fills my heart with love and happiness. Isn't it interesting that we always have enough love to share as our circle of family and friends gets larger? But somehow there is always enough to go around. If we choose to give it!The weather is still beautiful!! It is November and people are still golfing outside my office window. Most of the leaves have fallen from the trees and I know snow is right around the corner. But the crisp fall mornings and warm afternoons....still make me smile!I have started to count my blessings every day. Each night as I get ready for bed, I think back on the day that has just finished and count all the good things that happened to me. The good is outweighing the bad! And I am discovering a theme.....my children! I will never be a perfect mom but the love I have for my children has taken on new meaning. They are my life, my everything! I am finding I have more patience than I once thought. They are fun, smart, capable, obedient, silly, and they are mine. I love spending time with them. There is a feeling of love and understanding in our home. How long it will last, I am unsure....but I want it to feel this way forever. I know how it got there and I know how to keep it! It is up to me!There are so many reasons to smile! Some are obvious and out there where everyone can see them-others I keep close to my heart. Things are starting to fall into place for me. I know that I am on a long road but if I keep moving and take the right turns - - one day I will look back and know I am where I am meant to be. For now, I will just keep moving and keep smiling....I have a lot to smile about!

Autumn....time for reflection....time for change

No spring nor summer beauty hath such graceAs I have seen in one autumnal face.---John Donne

Autumn is the time of year when the earth prepares for its winter slumber. Everything is changing-the leaves are falling from the trees, we wake up to crisp morning air, everyone is doning sweaters and earth tones. The World Series is upon us. For me it is a time for reflection. I time when I can look back, evaluate where I am now, and prepare for the future. This is the time of year when I think back on successes and failures-judge whether or not I have grown- -But, it is also I time when I look at my life and express thanks for all I have.

This year my list is lengthy but here are a few of the big ones:
1) I have two great kids who love and support me. They are my motivation to search for a better life.
2) I graduate from USU in December. As my days of higher education wind down, I am thankful for the knowledge I have gained, those who have touched my life through this experience, and the satisfaction of completing a long-term goal!
3) I have a deeper appreciation for my true friends! They have listened, talked, gave me a shoulder to cry on (a lot), supported, and simply been there when I needed them. I could not ask for better, more loving friends.
4) I am closer to my parents and family than ever before. I have spent too many years at arms length. My parents continue to give me unconditional love and provided me with a foundation for who I want to become. They raised eight children who all understand the importance of family. I am thankful for my sisters--those I was raised with and those who I have been given throughout my life.
5) Most of all, I am thankful for the chance to begin again. To take my life experiences , really take the time to find out who I am now, with the hope of finding who I want to be. Through hard decisions and work, commitment to my children, and a renewed promise to become who I know I am inside, the chance to find a deeper level of peace and happiness has been out right in front of me! And I am taking it!I have so much to be grateful for and I can't thank anyone more than my Heavenly Father-who gave me the courage to do what I have known was necessary to save myself and my children; who prepared and lighted so brightly the path for me to follow; sent me comfort (in so many different ways) for the times when I didn't think I would make it through the day; and has lead me to what I have been looking for-for such a long time!I look ahead with Peace in my heart and mind....a stronger Faith....Hope for the future....and Strength to hang on to the things I love most!