#GiveThanks

The week before Thanksgiving, President Russell M. Nelson hosted a special broadcast sharing a message on the healing power of gratitude (watch it here). It was such a wonderful message! It brought me so much peace knowing that despite the challenges of this world, we have a living prophet to guide us. In his message, President Nelson challenged each person to flood social media with posts of gratitude for the seven days. It made for the best week-before-Thanksgiving I've ever experienced. Here are the seven posts I shared that week. 

 Day 1: In a world full of turmoil, I'm thankful we can find peace. Peace in nature. Peace in Christ. Peace in prayer. Peace in the words of inspired leaders. Peace in finding unity. Peace in recognizing our blessings far outweigh our trails when we take the time to recognize them. 

Day 2: Today I'm so thankful for the many people in our lives who love my children and our family. Grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends, and once strangers that are now like family. They have served and sacrificed for our family in countless ways. They've helped in cross-country moves (multiple times). They've taken us in when we were far from family, loved us like their own, and eased our loneliness. They've made long trips to visit. THey've taken time to mentor, encourage, support, and be there for our kids.  They've given thoughtful gifts, helped with projects, encouraged us, and no doubt prayed for us. They've helped my kids feel loved and special. They've shared their love for our Savior with my children, sometimes with words, but mostly by their actions. Bringing five children in to this world and raising them right is hard! But these incredible people make it possible. Pictured are just a few of them. We love you each so much!

Day 3: I'm incredibly grateful for this beautiful world. When life becomes overwhelming, I turn to nature. The stunning sights and delicious smells of nature never fail to bring me joy, perspective, and peace. I'm also thankful for my kids love exploring the woods as much as I do and are becoming a great hiking crew. 

Day 4: I'm thankful for communication in all its forms. For the ability to talk and listen. For beautifully written books that transport us to new places. For ASL, which allows easy communication within our home and with many friends. For alternative forms of communication - gestures, PECs, AAC devices, Braille, etc used by many of the wonderful children with autism I've been bless to work with over the years. The ability to express ourselves is truly such a blessing. 

Day 5: Today I'm grateful for diversity. Can you imagine a world with only one type of flower? Only one variety of tree? What if we were all scientists and there were no artists? I'm so thankful the world is full of diversity! I'm thankful we have different strengths and weaknesses. I'm thankful for different races, cultures, and languages that provide beauty and variety to life. "Our differences are our strengths as a species and as a world community." - Nelson Mandela  

Photo credit @_thecoloramber

Day 6: I'm grateful for backyard chickens and a garden. They give us wonderful memories, responsibility, and delicious food. I'm also so thankful to my father-in-law who designed and built the most incredible chicken coop/shed and my brother-in-law who helped. If I ever live somewhere that allows a bigger flock, don't be surprised when I become a crazy chicken lady. 

Day 7: I'm thankful for these beautiful people and the life we're building together.