Thankful Me

Thirty: the age that 20-somethings dread.   Thirty: the length of many mortgage loans, which seems like an eternity of a time to be in debt. Thirty gets a bad rap, though, because: Thirty: the number of years John and I have been married. Photo:  John, in a grey tux, and I, in a white wedding dress, stand outside the Seattle Temple on our wedding day We met in Provo, Utah, while students at Brigham Young University.  We married in Seattle, Washington (the closest temple at the time to my parents' home). We lived for a few months in the basement of John's parents' home in Salt Lake City.  A job offer took us to Orange County, California.  We lived in a little apartment for a couple of years before purchasing our first home--a little upstairs-unit condo, with a view of the train tracks. Our family doubled while we were in California. With two children in the backseat, we moved to the Seattle area.  While in Washington, we added three more childr...

Time is short, but I'm still very thankful. 1. I'm thankful for Easter and all that it means. The events of that first Easter are central to my faith, and give meaning and purpose to my life.  2. I'm thankful that my oldest daughter was able to make a short visit home this week.  3. I'm thankful that she was able to go through the boxes of things she still keeps at our house.  Some items are still here, some she took with her, and others will be let go.  4. I'm thankful that there were some trips down memory lane, as we sorted through old papers.  Sometimes we were a bit confused, as with this old letter to Santa, but it sure made us chuckle! (If anyone can decipher this, we would love to know what she wanted for Christmas!) Photo: A letter to Santa, written in child's printing, which reads: "SAntA Plees Biging Me Pissse Wisging" 5. I'm thankful we were also able to fit in a trip to Disneyland while she was here. She is, hands-dow...

Last weekend, I didn't go to a church building on Sunday--rather, I watched General Conference from the comfort of my own couch. Twice a year, on the first weekend of April and October, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints participate in a world-wide conference. We listen as the prophet, apostles, and other leaders speak to us.  I always come away from conference renewed, refreshed, and encouraged.  Today, for my Ten Things of Thankful post, I will share some of the quotes I heard. (For my friends who depend upon photo descriptions, each of the photos simply are memes of the quotes listed.)  Full transcripts and videos of all the talks can be found here:   General Conference I'm thankful for these words: 1. "No true teaching or learning will ever occur when done in frustration or anger, and hearts will not change where love is not present." (S. Mark Palmer) 2. ". . . for enduring faith and to have the constant companionship of the...