Blessings

This is the family picture that got sent out in our Christmas cards last week. It was taken at the Flying W Ranch by my dad over Labor Day weekend. We were there for the cowboy dinner and show and I asked him to take a few quick shots of all six of us together. When I look at this photo it kind of sums up my feelings about the past year. Since I like to keep things simple, here are my top ten blessings of the last year.

1. We were (all six of us) together more this year than the last five years.

2. My parents arrived safely to be our neighbors.

3. Everything fell into place to bring us to our new home which we love so much.

4. We are all healthy.

5. We know about the gospel of Jesus Christ and His plan for eternal progression.

6. I am so blessed to share my life with Mike. It has been a great blessing to see him have his best year ever.

7. I am blessed to be able to share in this time of my son's life as he completes his preparations to be a missionary. His faithfulness inspires me to be a better person.

8. My youngest. . . He's 12. He's a boy. I am so blessed that he willingly sits down to share morning devotionals with me and when he comes home he still loves to share the details of his life with me.

9. My youngest daughter has done many hard things. I am blessed by her courage, her humility, her patience and her unconditional love for me.

10. My oldest, my first-born, has taught me so much that I could not have learned any other way. I am blessed by her honesty, her willingness to work so hard in everything she does, and her giving heart.