10 Days of Thanksgiving

In the spirit of the season I thought it would be fun to share some of the things I'm grateful for.  I'll try to share one a day leading up to big day.  The list will not be all-inclusive or in any sort of order, just some random thoughts of thanks.


One of my favorite conference talks was given by Elder Wirthlin in 2001 and was titled "Live in Thanksgiving Daily."


This is my favorite quote from the talk:


I agree with Robert Louis Stevenson, who wrote, “The man who forgets to be thankful has fallen asleep in life”.  Unfortunately, because the beauties of life are so abundant, sometimes we take them for granted.
Our minds have a marvelous capacity to notice the unusual. However, the opposite is true as well: The more often we see the things around us—even the beautiful and wonderful things—the more they become invisible to us.  That is why we often take for granted the beauty of this world: the flowers, the trees, the birds, the clouds—even those we love.  Because we see things so often, we see them less and less.
Those who live in thanksgiving daily, however, have a way of opening their eyes and seeing the wonders and beauties of this world as though seeing them for the first time.
I encourage you to look around you. Notice the people you care about. Notice the fragrance of the flowers and the song of the birds. Notice and give thanks for the blue of the sky, the color of the leaves, and the white of the clouds. Enjoy every sight, every smell, every taste, every sound.
When we open our eyes and give thanks for the bountiful beauty of this life, we live in thanksgiving daily.

So today I am grateful for seasons.  I really do enjoy living in a place that has very distinct seasons. I am loving the fall right now.  Some of my favorite things about fall include the cooling of the weather, seeing the leaves change, buying apples and peaches from the fruit stand, going to football games, enjoying time outside, holidays, chili, carmel apples, and drinking hot chocolate and eating almost anything made of pumpkin.


The little man is enjoying the fall as well.  He was really entertained watching grandma rake leaves.