7 Day of Gratitude: Week 2

It’s week 2 of my 7 days of gratitude. Check out week 1 here. I’ll tell you what, it has made my days a little happier and brighter by being more proactive about the things I am grateful for.

Biggest Sister

This biggest sister of mine is pretty darn amazing! She is my sister with blond hair. She has 4 children.  My biggest sister, Cynthia, is someone I truly admire. Growing up we played together and had fun. But as adults we are close and love to spend time together. We can sit and talk and laugh for forever.

When I was working after I started having kids she volunteered to watch Mr. E the Fridays I worked. Then continued after I had Miss L. For three years she watched them about every other Friday. I will always be grateful for that sacrifice she made. I love that they got to spend time with their aunt and I knew they were safe.

I’m supper grateful that we get to be best friends and sisters. I love her so much!

Big Sister

Lara, my sister just older then me, also has red hair. She is the peacemaker and the most calm out of us all. Every family needs a child like her! Lara is very smart! In high school I joked that teachers would be disappointed when they would get me after having Lara as a student. 🙂  She is very generous and someone I try to be more like everyday.

When we were both living at home we would have fun together (she still do). We listened to Queen (and I haven’t forgotten that I need to replace one of you CDs…) and danced in the car. She had a big disco ball hanging from her rear view mirror. We would get people pointing at it, or maybe they were pointing at us… Either way we always had fun in the car.

Lara has lived away from home and outside of Utah for about 11 years. It is a joy to go visit her but I sure do miss seeing her more often. I love her so much!

Little Sister

If I’m being honest, Emily (the sister with brown hair) and I fought the most growing up. She is 6 years younger than me. I felt like she was my annoying little sister always in my stuff. That couldn’t be further from the truth now! I love to spend time with her. And I can’t seem to get enough time with her now. She is genuine and sincere.

We have a bumper sticker that says Love Heals. I’m not sure where we found it but we pass that thing around often. It has been all over Utah, traveled to Pennsylvania, New Mexico, and appeared in my bags in Peru. We have fun thinking of new ways to pass it along. It is always a fun surprise when one of us finds it. It’s a fun extra reminder of my little sis.

I’m proud of the great women my baby sis has become. I love her so much!

All of my sisters make me want to be a better person, wife, mother, friend, and sister. I can’t imagine my world without each of them in my life and as best friends. I know that I’m super blessed to have such great relationships with each of them.

In Laws

I lucked out in the in law department. My mother in law and father in law are two of the most thoughtful and giving people I know. They have welcomed me into their family as a daughter. They are great examples of respect and love. They raised 8 awesome children. All of which get along and can have a BLAST of a time. They love all of their 32 grandchildren and make them each think they are their favorite.

It’s always a party when any number of us get together. With 6 of their children boys it sure is different from what I was used to. I love most of every minute with my wonderful in laws. Not going to lie, sometimes it gets a bit too loud. But I love this big loud family of mine!

Home

No matter where I live, if I have Eddy and my sweet children then we will make it a home. We have lived in a small basement apartment and the home we bought 3 years ago. There were many things I loved about our basement apartment and some I still miss. I do love the space of our home, compared to our 550 square foot apartment. I love the location and the protection it provides. I’m grateful to be able to raise my family in the perfect home for us for now.

Home is what you make it. I try to provide a loving place for my family. It isn’t always butterflies and rainbows but I hope my children are creating wonderful memories and know they are loved.

Running Water

We certainly are blessed to live in a place that has running water. And water that is clean and good to use. It is a blessing that I take for granted way too much. Let’s just think about all the ways it helps us: drinking, washing dishes, showering, washing hands, cooking, cleaning, watering the lawn, watering the garden, dishwasher, washing machine, and much more. Can you imagine how different life would be if we didn’t have the ease of running, clean water? I sure do appreciate it!

Education

I know I have talked about my education before. I also know that I am blessed to have been able to complete as much college schooling as I have. I have my Associate degree from Dixie State, my Bachelors and Masters from Westminster College. I know school is not for everyone and not everyone has a great career from the education they got. But, for me, my education was the reason I had such a great job and 9 year career before I stopped teaching to stay at home with my children.

I am able to continue to use some of my education now with my kiddos. I was able to learn from wonderful, caring teachers. I had great experiences with traveling while I was at Westminster College. I played volleyball for three years while going to school and had some great learning experiences.

So there you have it, 7 more days of gratitude. What are you grateful for?? I urge you to really think about some of the smaller things that you may take for granted.

I promise it will help if you are in a slump or bad mood. There are times I try to think of at least one thing I am grateful for when I’m not as happy as I could be. It may be hard but eventually it will work. It’s a bonus when I reach out to someone and share how wonderful I think I am.

Recently I got a sweet letter in the mail from a dear friend that I hadn’t been able to see in for a bit. It meant the world to be to read her kind words and put a smile on my face. I challenge you to be the reason someone smiles today. Send a letter, a text, a message or a phone call and brighten someones day.

Share what you are grateful for and you just might be the one with a smile on your face and a happy heart.

Xoxo

Steph