Month of Gratitude, Episode 2

I warned you I wouldn't get here every day.  Here's the next installment of things I'm thankful for.

DAY 3: I am thankful for our small business.
Maybe it's strange to be grateful for the headaches of owning a business but still I am grateful for for Dave's practice.  I'm grateful that he finds such joy in his work, that it provides a place for me to have a bit of a challenge outside the home, and I anticipate that in the future we will find opportunities within the practice to teach our children how to work.

DAY 4: I am grateful for our families.
We spent most of the day with my family and then with Dave's, just visiting.  I LOVE that our parents are both so close and that about half of our siblings live right in town as well.  It is wonderful to have so much love and support surrounding us.

The Hinckley Family
(missing Jill and Keith who were off getting their pictures taken elsewhere)

DAY 5: I am grateful for the gospel and the peace of the Spirit.
It is such a blessing to have the gospel in my life and the gift of the Holy Ghost.  I am grateful for my testimony of the truth that influences all I do and helps me be a better person.  And when I need comforting or answers to questions, I am grateful for the Spirit that whispers peace to my heart.

DAY 6: I am thankful to live in this free country.
On Election Day the results didn't go exactly as I had hoped but I am still so grateful for the opportunity we have to exercise our rights and vote.  It is such a blessing to live in this country - the nation where the gospel was restored.  I love to think about the beginnings of our country and how the Lord had His hand in its formation and in the creation of the Constitution.  Despite the gloomy outlook that many people have regarding the future, I firmly believe that as long as we remain good and faithful the Lord will bless us and the land we have inherited.

DAY 7: I am thankful for all my dear missionary friends.
I was at lunch with my mother and seated next to us was a group of older women.  I kept searching their faces hoping to find one of my missionaries from work -- sadly I didn't know any of them.  But it made me think on what a privilege it was to work with so many wonderful missionaries while I was at the Conference Center.  I learned so much from them, and despite the generation gap I consider them some of my best friends.

DAY 8: I am thankful for my calling.
I absolutely love working with the girls in the Church!  I am so grateful for the time I spent in Young Womens and now I get to work with the Activity Day girls.  I love sharing with them some of the things my mother taught me on how to be a strong, loving, confident, faithful woman.  I hope they all know - the Activity Day girls and the Young Women - how much I love them, that I pray for them, that I seek inspiration to know how to best serve them.  I hope I always get to work with the wonderful women of the Church!

DAY 9: I am thankful for the seasons.
After living in Louisiana during my mission I came to better appreciate the four seasons.  I love that here in Utah we get all four seasons.  So, while the snow may hamper some of the plans I had to run errands and make me want to hunker down at home with hot chocolate and a good book, I am grateful to experience winter, spring, summer, and autumn each and every year.