A Grateful Heart Is A Happy Heart~Thanksgiving Blessings For All!

I do believe that a grateful heart is a happy heart. I have so much to be thankful for. The picture above shows only a few of my many blessings. I live in a comfortable home, I have a wonderful eternal companion, a large and wonderful posterity, the scriptures, our Prophet and my Savior, Jesus Christ. Then there are countless extended family and friends.
 I wishing for you all to have a sweet Thanksgiving Day with family and friends. May you all have thankful hearts.  

Here is a very endearing Thanksgiving story of an experience our Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson had as a youth. Perhaps share it with your family this Thanksgiving day. 
"Occasionally, I ponder an experience from my boyhood. I grew up during the Depression. These were difficult times. My Father was a craftsman, a printer and he always had employment. Although others were not so fortunate. 
I remember the boys whom I went to school. Many had clothing bought at rummage sales. The same size jacket was to fit four boys in one family. The father did not support the family. The mother worked nights as a telephone operator in Salt Lake City. The thing I remember most about this family was that when I would call upon the boys to go to school, they would be having breakfast - cornflakes with water. There was no milk, there was no cream, there was no sugar - only cornflakes and water. 
One particular Thanksgiving Day there was, as usual, turkey dinner for our family, along with all the trimmings. As I waited for the feast to begin, I heard my name being called by one of my friends, Charlie. In those days we never knocked on the door; we would just stand outside in the back and yell. I heard Charlie call, "Tommy!" I went outside, and he said, "It sure smells good in there. What are you eating?" 
I said, "We're eating turkey."
He said, "I've never eaten turkey. What does it taste like?"
I said, "Oh, something like chicken."
"I've never eaten chicken," he said. "What does that taste like?"
I told him to wait a minute, and I went in the house and got a piece of turkey for him to sample. He chewed it for a minute and then said, "Boy, that's good."
I said, "Charlie, what are you having for your Thanksgiving dinner?"
There was a silence, and then he said, "Nothing."
I remembered at that moment my mother, who always fed the transients who came through, riding the rails from east to west. When Mother would welcome them, she'd open the back door and have them sit at the table. Then she'd make them boiled ham sandwiches, give them potato chips and glasses of milk, and ask what they were doing riding the rails and why they didn't go home and settle down somewhere. She was quite a philosopher and had absolutely no fear whatsoever. I thought of her when my friend Charlie said he was not having Thanksgiving dinner. 
At that moment I remembered I had something. I had no money, but I had two white rabbits. They were the pride of my life, beautiful New Zealand whites. I said, "Charlie, you come with me, because I've got something for your Thanksgiving dinner." We went into the backyard, and with tears in my eyes I opened the rabbit hutch, took a gunnysack, and put first one rabbit and then the other into the gunnysack. I said, "You take these home, and your mother will know what to do with them. They taste a whole lot like chicken."
Charlie was up on the fence and over the back yard to his home as quick as a flash. He later said they had the best Thanksgiving dinner they  had ever had. 
I loved the rabbits, but the feeling that came into my heart on that occasion, when I had given all that I had, when I had followed the counsel and the training of my mother, was superior to any love for those rabbits. I thought of the poet's expression: "The smile of God's approval is the greatest of all gifts." 
("Consider The Blessings - True Accounts of God's Hand in Our Lives". - Thomas S. Monson. "The Best Thanksgiving Ever"  Pg. 67.")
There is nothing sweeter than to have an opportunity to care for another person who is in need. Give the gift of your selfless service this Season and feel the true spirit of Thanksgiving. A favorite hymn is "Count Your Blessings" One of the lines is "Count Your Blessings Name Them One By One". Take the challenge to count your blessings on Thanksgiving day and then remember them always. 

"I Want To Be Baptized" - by Annalisa Hall & Corey Egbert - A Blog Tour~

               

Review:

I have always enjoyed reading children's books and looking for good stories for my grandchildren. I absolutely love this book: " I Want to be Baptized" by Annalisa Hall, illustrated by Corey Egbert. I would have loved to have had this book to explain the importance of baptism when I was preparing my own children.  As a Grandmother, I intend to share this book with my Grandchildren. 

Annalisa did a suburb job explaining the different reasons for being baptized, and becoming a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She used some fantastic analogies to explain this important ordinance in children's terms, using everyday life situations.

The following questions are answered in this book. 

Why Do I Need To Be Baptized?

How does Baptism and the Holy Ghost work together?

How does Baptism wash away sin"

What promises are made at Baptism?

I loved Cory's illustrations. The book is colorful and engaging. The delightful artwork and story are perfect for explaining the importance of baptism in a child's life.

This book is a prequel to another book by Annalisa Hall entitled; "The Holy Ghost Is Like A Blanket". These books can assist you in teaching your children the importance and blessings that come from ordinances.

About The Author: 

Annalisa hall is an author, blogger, LDSBC and BYU Graduate. She was born in Rochester, MI. She received a merit scholarship to the LDS Business College graduating with honors. She transferred to BYU in Provo and worked in the Harold B. Lee Library and graduated from BYU with a BA in English. She currently lives in Poway CA, with her husband and three children. 

The Book has been published by Cedar Fort and can be found in LDS bookstores. 

The Simple Woman's Daybook Entry - A Moment of Celebration~

For Today

November 18th, 2014

Take a moment and visit other Simple Woman's Daybook entries; Enjoy!

Outside my window... It is a beautiful sunny November day with very cold temperatures~

I am thinking...  that it is time to get my Christmas list together. I have some items to mail to Australia for my daughter and her family for Christmas. It is expense to mail packages so I will need to send them at snail pace. 

I am thankful.... for a very kind and loving husband. Yesterday, we celebrated our first date. That date was 52 years ago and we went to the movie; "Longest Day" with John Wayne. It was a memorable date and I loved that he held my hand during the movie. 

He took the afternoon off and we went to a movie to celebrate. What a good man he is. 

A Picture of us as teenagers - We did talk on the phone a lot. 

I am wearing... a green silk nightgown and a red bathrobe with black slippers; Christmas colors for today. 

I am creating...this post.

I am going... to lunch with a dear friend. Her name is Christy Monson. She is the author of a new book entitled; "Family Talk". I did a book review on her book here.  Check this one out; it would make a great gift for a birthday or Christmas. After lunch I am meeting my dear friend Toni for a few precious moments. 

I am wondering...how to accomplish some of my goals. I can't seem to find enough time in a day to get done what I really need to do. I need to clean and organize my home before the holidays. I did get my pantry and some other kitchen areas organized and cleaned last week. I just feel so busy all the time. I really just want to go in by the fire and read a good book. 

I am reading... the Doctrine and Covenants  daily. Here are a few thoughts from the introduction to this powerful book. "The Doctrine and Covenants is a collection of divine revelations and inspired declarations given for the establishment and regulation of the kingdom of God on the earth in the last days. Although most of the sections are directed to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the messages, warnings, and exhortations are for the benefit of all mankind, and contain an invitation to all people everywhere to hear the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ, speaking to them for their temporal well-being and their every lasting salvation". 

I  am studying The Book of Mormon, also. I do love this book and have enjoyed doing a more in depth study of it. 

I am trying to find the time to curl up and read my novel. I manage a few moments here and there. I am reading "Come To Zion - Fresh Courage Take" by Dean Hughes. I love this book and continually marvel at the stalwart pioneers that made such tremendous sacrifices for us to have the Gospel of Jesus Christ today.

I am hoping... to have a sweet day with dear friends.

I am learning.... how to make Green smoothies. Yesterday, I attended a demonstration on making Green drinks.
 My husband was recently diagnosed with Diabetes. It is mild and we think it can be controlled by diet. I would like to get more fruits, vegetables and protein into our diet; so learning to make green drinks and fruit smoothies is a good goal. We are working hard to have better health. 

Around the house...I am working on a few home projects before the holidays. We will have family here for Thanksgiving; probably about 14 of us.

I need to get my list going for the food and decorations. I am excited to have them here.  

In the kitchen... is nothing going on there today. I will be gone most of the day; so I it will be an easy dinner tonight. 

I am pondering... alot on Christmas right now. There is always so much to do and I would like to have a stress free holiday. Is that possible? I really want to focus on the true meaning of Christmas. I love the Savior and love the story of his Birth. I really enjoy Christmas music and I found one radio station that is already playing it. I love to decorate our home and I would like to get that accomplish after Thanksgiving. I enjoy good Christmas stories and always try to read a Christmas novel each year. I want to simplify our Christmas celebration with year. I  love having friends and family over; but I would like it to be less complicated and more of a small simple celebration with them all. 

A favorite quote for today... 

One of my favorite things...is to go on dates with my husband. We especially love going to the temple together. We also love to go out to eat and go to movies.

A few plans for this week: Time today with my sweet friends - Catch up day tomorrow and hopefully clean my home - Thursday, a sweet birthday celebration with my husband - Friday, another home cleaning day - 

Saturday, our temple shift in the morning and perhaps an easy going day afterwards - I always love our Sabbath Day together~

A peek into a recent day~

A selfie of my granddaughter Taylor Jo and I last week when their family came for a short  visit. I love this girl. Of course, I love all my dear grandchildren and great grandchildren. I love it when they visit.

My Grandpa, My Hero - "Somewhere In France"~ In Honor of Veterans' Day

 

My Grandfather  Herbert F. Gledhill was killed in the trenches of France during World War I.  I grew up not having a grandfather on either my Mother or Father's side. I did have a sweet step-grandfather that eased that need for one. 

Here are some thoughts written by my grandfather's aunt shortly after his death. It is written for all those out there that have given their lives for the cause of Freedom and also all that have served so valiantly for us. I have kept true to her original script. 

SOMEWHERE IN FRANCE
By Pearl Ivie~
July 1st, 1918

To Those Who Give Their Life In Freedom's Cause

Evening approached, the evening of life;
Soldiers of ranks in the midst of the fight.
In the midst of the shot and shell;
Looked westward at evening glow,
At the close of another day. 

Soldiers, these were, from all lands
Who were fighting for justice and truth,
Daily paying the price, the price of their blood on the surf.
Not wasted, they gloriously fought
Giving their life and their all
For the sake of freedom and right. 

In the golden clouds of the west;
In the luminous smoke o'er them cast,
Came visions of Mother and Home; 
Of Mother, in glorious light,
Smiling, saying, "Fight on My Boy,
T'is  you who will help win the fight;
T'is you who will do all you can
To bring us Democracy.
So bring about the great plan;
New life and new hope, to mankind".

And the answer, a prayer in their hearts, 
A prayer, that God will protect;
A blessing for Mother and Father
Brothers and Sisters and loved ones.
But a prayer, that is strongest of all -
Perhaps their own little children
Will live, sharing the glory,
For which their life has been given.

And the answer, a new field of action;
A new field that tests their brave colors,
That bids them night's darkness to enter
And pay the price if it need be:
Suppressing the world's greatest evils;
Bringing union and peace to all people. 

And the dawn, the bright dawn of morning, 
As the light spread over the heavens;
Disclosing the night's compensation;
Disclosing the scenes of the battles
Where the breath of life had been given.
The spirit of life had departed, 
Returned again to the Maker,
In sweet reunion with loved ones

In time that has passed on before them;
There in new life to continue;
T'ill the morn of the sweet resurrection 
T'ill the time of the dawn of Millennium,

Disclosing sons of the nations;
Noblest and truest and foremost, 
That have died in the battles seclusion.
Bravest deeds unknown and unspoken,
Passed on with these heroes of action;
Gone, life has gone with them
Valiant, noble, heroic.

Mortal life's but a passing existence
Leading to life that's beyond
we all go sooner or later
Following each in our turn.

Sons that have passed on before us,
Giving for liberty's cause
May we be as worthy in living
In that for which you have died. 

You can find his story here as written in the Richfield Reaper June of 1918.

"Family Talk" by Christy Monson~

I am friends with Christy Monson and an avid reader of her books. She is a fantastic author who displays great wisdom in her writings. Family Talk is marvelous; fun to read and will be a must have book. 
When raising my own family through the years, I read numerous child rearing and family oriented books. My family members may re-call the many changes I made in work charts, activity schedules, money management, etc. This book covers many of the subjects of child rearing and family life that I wish I would have had available during that time. 
The book is based on establishing Family meetings or councils. These meetings can be formal or informal, but are nevertheless extremely important in organizing, working together, solving family concerns and having family fun. 
Her introductory story was just so poignant. Her family cared for her 97 year old grandmother in their home. What they did to care for her, by working together, and creating treasured moments with her, was very touching. I think I cried all the way through those experiences. I related to this story because I too had my Mother in our home during her declining years and my children and grandchildren were blessed to have opportunities to serve her. 
I loved the following thought expressed by Christy at the end of the Introduction: 
"Our lives haven't been perfect. We've had our problems, but incidents like this one have infused our lives with positive energy, and we are all stronger for having worked together."
That is the premise of this book; to work together to strengthen your families.
Her stories are real and needed in our era of raising families today. As she shared the success of redefining troubled families through the method of Family Councils; I could see how relevant this book is.  There are delightful stories of  families who made significant progress in just everyday circumstances through these meetings.  Her stories come from her own years of raising 6 children, friend's stories and those families she worked with on a professional basis. 
Here are the Chapter Headings that she writes about. 
How To establish a Family Council -
Teaching Your Children through Family Councils - In this section she goes into children issues and covers Name-calling, Bulling, Communication, Sibling Competition, Temper Tantrums, and your children's friends - 
Parental Roles in Family Councils - 
Nurturing Messages for your children -
Learning, Playing, and Growing Together as Part of Family Council -
Fostering Maturity -
As you can tell I loved this book. It would make an excellent Christmas gift for your children or grandchildren. I believe this book can make a significant difference in your family. I highly recommend  "Family Talk" by Christy Monson
Here is a Praise for Family Talk as found in the book:

Praise for Family Talk
The Family Council Guidebook is a vital and necessary addition to every home. In this day and age when emails, chat rooms, and staring at computer screens are rapidly replacing real-time human interaction, what better corrective could there be than a guidebook to how to talk with one another in meaningful, productive and healing ways. Christy Monson knows what she is talking about. It is a great blessing that she is sharing it with all of us.
—Ben Bernstein, PhD, Author of Test Success! and A Teen's Guide to Success

Christy Monson is a friend and a marvelous individual. I have loved every book she has written. I have given many copies to family and friends. My children and grandchildren have enjoyed receiving and reading her books. 
About the author: Christy Monson established a successful counseling practice in Las Vegas, Nevada, as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Her books, Love, Hugs, and Hope: When Scary Things Happened and Becoming Free: A 
Woman's Guide To Internal Strength are published by Familius.

Links to buy Family Talk
Buy on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Family%20Talk%20by%20Christy%20Monson

Buy at Familius
http://www.familius.com/family-talk

Buy the book on my website
http://www.christymonson.com/familytalk.htm

Fall Moments - Cherished Experiences~

I love the Autumn time. The Utah mountains are abounding in the rich colors of fall. We have been enjoying what is often referred to as an Indian Summer. The months of September and October were very busy ones for us. We had some delightful days with family. 
We were so blessed to have our  daughter,Jenni and son in law Michael here during the month of August. They left the 2nd of September. Here are some photos of our goodbyes. They were moving from Texas to Arizona and we were happy to have some time with them before they settled in their new area. I was sad to see them leave. We had such a good time with them all.

Upper left - Irene Thomas, Michael's Mom, Michael, Alyssa, Roger and our Jenni

Lower Left - Jenni, Michael and Alyssa

Upper right - Irene and LeAnn

Lower right - Irene, Michael, Alyssa, Jenni and Roger~

Here are our adorable grandchildren - Left picture - Emma, Alyssa and Benjamin. 

Upper right - Emma, Benjamin and Alyssa

Lower right - Alyssa and Benjamin~

On September 5th and 6th we had our 50th High School Reunion. Here are pictures of our ladies luncheon that I attended. There was around 40 High school friends there. We had so much fun catching up with one another. We talked, laughed, and reminisced the afternoon hours away.

On Sunday, September 7th we attended the Blessing of our newest Great Granddaughter, Myah. Our son Sean gave sweet Myah a lovely blessing. Afterwards we enjoyed lunch with the families. 

 Top picture Jessica with baby Myah, Jed with great granddaughters, Jadyn and Lilly -
Middle left -Grandparents, Sean, Mary and baby Myah -
Lower left - Baby Myah - Middle right - Great Grandparents, Roger, LeAnn with baby Myah
Lower left - little Myah - Lower right - Aunt Gillian, Great Grandmother LeAnn, Jessica with Myah, Grandmother, Mary and Great Grandmother, Virginia

 Top Photo -Jed, Jessica's parents, Carolyn and Kelly Giles and Jessica

Middle left - Jessica and Myah, Jed with Jadyn and Lilly

Middle right - Jadyn,  Aunt Gillian with Myah and Lilly

Lower left - Myah's Great Great Grandpa Calvin Giles with Myah

Lower right Myah's Grandparents, Carolyn and Kelly~

Next we started  attending the games that our grandchildren play in during the fall. 

Joseph our grandson playing Football on September 18th. Joseph plays wide receiver and punt returner and defensive back. He is an excellent player and has made touch downs during this season~

We had a fabulous time at the Birthday party for our youngest Great Grandson, Sagan. He turned two years old. He is just so adorable and we really enjoy being with him.

 Upper photo - Jacob, Dana with Sagan~

Middle left - Sagan - Lower left - Roger and Sagan

Middle right - the family - Lower right, LeAnn and Sagan~

 Upper left - Jacob and Mary - 2nd row left - Dana making the cake

3rd row left - Sean, our son and Roger - Lower left the birthday cake

Upper right - family picture - Lower right Jacob and Sagan~

Here is our Grandson Jonathan playing Soccer on September 25th. We had a hard time finding this place and missed a bit of the game. Jonathan was playing forward and he has some great footwork.

Our grandson Joseph's football game on October 1st. He is number 30.
 He played a great game and we are so impressed with his skills ~

October brought us to Idaho Falls for a quick vacation week. We arrived late on Monday, October 6th and stayed through the week. Our main purpose was to be with family and attend the football games of our grandchildren living in Sugar City, Idaho and Idaho Falls. 

We stayed near the Idaho Falls LDS Temple. There is a beautiful riverfront there. We enjoyed swimming and bike riding. 

Idaho Falls Temple ~

                           

 

Roger and I enjoying the falls~

Here is our grandson Ethan, number 82. We attended his game on October 8th. He is a linemen. Towards the end of this game he stripped the ball from a player and made a touchdown.
 It was an awesome moment. 

Our Grandson Austin was in this football game. He is number 55. 

We enjoyed this game on October 10th.

This was a fun game to watch. Austin plays lineman both offensive and defensive.

He is a very tough and an excellent player~

We went to a gun range and had a great time shooting various guns. Our son Travis has been in the Sheriff Department. He enjoys hunting with his sons and has worked hard to teach all of his children gun safety. We had great time with them all.
Here we are with Travis our son, Amanda, our daughter in law and their children.  

Upper left - Kason, Amanda with Haven, 

our youngest granddaughter and Karli

Lower left - Ryley

Upper right - my son Travis with LeAnn (me)

Lower right - my husband, Roger~

Upper left -  Ethan with Karli - Middle left - Amanda and Haven

Lower left - Austin - Upper right, Amanda - Lower right - Ethan with Layton~

Upper left - Roger - Middle left - LeAnn - 

Upper Right - Travis

Lower photo - Ethan~

We watched our Grandson, Christian play football on October 9th, Jr. Varsity game and and then again on Oct 10th, Varsity game. He plays offensive tackle. He is a really an excellent player in this position.
  We enjoyed both games. Christian is number 64~

We spent some enjoyable moments with James, our son and daughter in law, Amber with Christian, Taylor Jo and Averi - We took some camera pictures while with them. However, we recently got new I Phones and I forgot to get the pictures off my old phones. Therefore, I had to borrow a few from Amber's mother a good friend of mine with permission of course. So these are the most updated of them. 

Upper left - Averi, Taylor Jo and Amber - Middle left - Averi hanging out - Lower left - Taylor Jo.  -

 Upper right - Christian and our son James - Lower right - Christian~

Here is our grandson Ryley; number 82. He played a great game on Saturday, October 11th . He is a fourth grader and plays lineman. Their little team didn't win any games during the season. On this day they won and it was a great game to watch. They came together and played hard making passes and runs. The score was 40 - 18; just amazing. We were so excited for them all~ 

Our grandson Jeffery is playing in this Soccer game; first as a goalie and then a forward. 

He is an amazing player and very fun to watch.  He has made a number of goals this season. 
We attended this game on October 22nd. 

Next we celebrated our grandson Joshua's birthday on October 23rd. He turned 8 years old. In our faith turning eight is very significant. This is when they are baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is excited to be turning 8. Here are pictures of this awesome celebration.

Upper left - part of the family at this event - Middle left Joshua blowing out his birthday candles with his mother, Mary and grandmother, Virginia - Upper right - our grandsons, Jeffery and Joshua - 
Middle right another family picture -
Bottom photo is the waiters singing Happy Birthday to Joshua~

Upper picture - Joshua opening presents with Jeffery assisting~

Middle left - Joshua and Jeffery reading a card sent from our grandson, Jackson who is serving a mission in Nebraska - Middle right our Great Grandson, Sagan with Grandpa, Roger

Lower left - Grandma, LeAnn with Sagan - Joshua opening up presents. This was his Cub Scout shirt

We all had a great dinner and precious moments at this one~

Next on Saturday, October 25th we attended Joshua's soccer game. 

He is good little player too. He is number 1 ~

Here is our final game of the season. We attended our Grandson, 
Jonathan's soccer game on Saturday, October 25th - 
Jonathan plays mostly goalie and he stopped some great kicks in this game. 

As you can see we had some marvelous and cherished moments with our family. 
Families are forever and we love every minute we can spend with them. 

"Miracles Come By Faith And Action"~

Photo by Debbie @ It's All About Purple~

Recently, a daughter called to talk with me about a struggle she was having. After listening to her concerns, I felt impressed to share with her some of my thoughts regarding faith. Several years ago President Spencer W. Kimball wrote a book entitled: "Faith Precedes The Miracle". Since reading that book I have often pondered on the concepts he taught. I frequently reflect on the title "faith precedes the miracle" whenever I find myself in a difficult situation. There have been countless times when I have worked hard at exercising my faith in order to receive answers to prayer and and to seek blessings upon my family. Sometimes, blessings seem to come by prayer alone but more often they take additional effort. I find that Faith requires work. I have found that when you pray for a blessing you must then do your part in helping the blessing to come about. 

Within a few hours of that call from my daughter, I was reading a book and came across an enlightening story. I called her  back and shared it with her. My hope was that it would strengthen her and she would know exactly what she needed to do to get the help that she needed. 

The story is found in the book entitled: "Power From On High - Gaining Spiritual Strength" by C. Max Caldwell. Here is the story and a few of his thoughts:

"Many years ago, a bishop friend of mine took a group of Scouts on a camping trip to Yellowstone Park for several days. They traveled by canoes across a very large lake to get to their camp area on its far shore. After being there a few days, they heard a radio message warning campers of an early-season storm moving into the area. It would bring snow and cold temperatures. The Bishop decided they should cut their camping trip short and prepare to leave for home the next morning. However, by morning, the winds preceding the storm had already come and were creating very dangerous water conditions on the lake, especially for young boys in canoes.

The bishop delayed their departure, hoping the wind would calm down. He went into the woods two or three times to plead for the Lord to calm the winds. While pleading for this blessing, the bishop received a very distinct impression from the Lord. It was simply,"Bishop, what are you waiting for?"

He knew what to do. He loaded the boys and their camp equipment into the canoes and pushed the canoes out into the wind-whipped water. As they left the safety of the shore, the wind ceased to blow, the air was still, and the water became calm. After crossing the lake and arriving safely on the other side, they all knelt to thank the Lord for His miraculous assistance. Each of them learned a valuable lesson. Through we trust in the Lord, He expects us to move ahead and take steps in the right direction before His blessing is bestowed. There wasn't any reason for the Lord to calm the wind on the lake while they were still sitting on the shore. The power from on high that controlled the elements was predicted on the faith and works of the petitioners. 

As I reflect on my own experiences with faith I  realize that miracles do come by faith accompanied by action.