Gratitude

I'm feeling gratitude today. The kind of gratitude that makes everything in life seem okay, and makes it possible to deal with pitfalls along the way with a smile. First off--I'm trying to show my gratitude for my children better. I know I'm oftentimes complaining about them, but I need to take more time out of every day to realize what incredible little spirits they are. They have brought such joy into our family--I can't imagine existing without either one of them. Lately, they have truly developed a friendship as brothers, and it's been an incredible thing to watch grow. They play together, inventing the most off-the-wall games and schemes to entertain each other, and it warms my heart to hear the sounds of their laughter coming from different parts of our apartment. I especially love checking on them when they're sleeping. Kissing their smooth cheeks, smoothing their hair, adjusting the blankets 'just right'.

I'm also feeling a special kind of gratitude for my husband. He finished his final project for school this work, and now just has to spend an hour submitting the final forms to have his diploma issued. After all the tears and sweat of the last two years, Ammon is a college graduate. Do you know how good it feels to be able to say that? I am so proud of him that I can hardly express in appropriate words what I think. He has worked so hard, and made so many sacrifices, all for the good of our little family. Those sacrifices, and that diploma with all the work that went behind it, mean more to me than a lot of things that he has done for me. This diploma, with luck, is going to make the rest of our lives easier, and that is no small thing.

Not to be forgotten is the gratitude I have for my friends and ward members. I asked for volunteers in Relief Society this week. I wanted to know if there was anybody that would volunteer to watch my children for a couple hours in the morning the next couple of weeks so that I can finish packing and cleaning our apartment. I have had two friends volunteer this week, and next week I have had two people volunteer three different days. Just knowing that I have six completely uninterrupted hours next week to focus on our move takes SUCH a load off my mind. I'm grateful for these people who are willing to make sacrifices and put themselves out to help me.

Sometimes it seems that life is too good. Life is too sweet, too wonderful to truly be believed. However, when I wake up each morning to the sound of my children crawling into bed with me, when I look to my left and see my husband sleeping soundly next to me, it's hard to contemplate how wonderful life can really be.

Lucky girl.

That's me.