Thanks, and thanks, and thanks again!!

I am certainly thankful that my girls were persistent in encouraging me to become familiar with the joys of pedicures!!

They went for them all the time - and always invited me to join them.  But stubborn me, I always declined.   I have never had what I thought were "pretty feet" so I was pretty sure pedicures would just highlight the unloveliness of them.

How wrong I was!  Pedicures only improve the look of your feet - as unlovely as they may be!!  And I'm converted - I go for them regularly.

It was not, however, the efforts of my daughters that finally got me in the chair.  Rather it was the receipt of a gift card from a student - one for a full-scale pedicure at Urbane - that got me in finally.  I didn't want to waste it - so I used it.

And the rest is history - and frequent visits to Urbane!

Another blessing in my life

has been the opportunity to serve as a ward Relief Society president two times!  I wasn't sure it was a blessing when I was called - I was trembling in my boots wondering how I would do it.  But great counselors and a very supportive ward made the job a joy!

 

One of the blessings I was not particularly expecting was the opportunity to meet so many lovely women I did not know.  I didn't find them pining to come back to church, but they were all more than willing to be friendly and welcoming!  I think that's a pretty good trade-off!

The above photo is of 10 different Monrovia Ward Relief Society Presidents - and I'm delighted to be able to call each one a friend!

A month of Thanksgiving!!

So I was thinking that with a new month,  I would try each day to think of something I am especially thankful for - and maybe find a photo to go along with it.

I certainly have more than 30 blessings, but I'm thinking it will be good to reflect on them all - and maybe ferret out 30 of them to mention specifically.

Blessing number 1 - the gift of motherhood.  I am pregnant with Eliza in this photo.  And I'm pretty sure that is Jamie in the photo with me.  Pregnancy has its ups and downs.  It's mostly a positive state - but nausea and swelling and other discomforts can get tiresome.  Except in retrospect. And then you wonder why you complained because the result was always so worth it.

Being a mother is a wonderful blessing in my life.  The older I get, the more I value my own mother.  The more I see in her the great love and sacrifice she endured for each of her children.  And the older I get, the more I love and value my own children.  What a joy when they call and express their love and appreciation.  What fun it is to see them and play rounds of Golf with them - or Scrabble - or just laugh and joke - especially the esoteric family jokes that no one else understands.  What deep and abiding satisfaction comes as you see your children becoming wonderful parents and adults themselves.

Children - truly an heritage of the Lord!