5. Today I am grateful for laughter

 Today I went on  an Overnight staff retreat for Aug 31 - Sep. 1. We went to the Lily Lake resort which is about a half hour north of Edmonton. I liked the 'in the country' feel at Lily Lake. It was a really nice couple of days with educational seminars, good food and getting to know my co-workers more. They are pretty fun people to hang out with which was evident at our night time pyjama party. We played charades round-robin style, ate nachos and ice cream sundaes. Best of all, we laughed a lot. I like being around people that can laugh together.  A popular saying states that laughing is the best medicine and there is proof that happier people are generally healthier.

I hope you find something to laugh about today. :)

4. Today I am grateful for leftover cake

Who doesn't love DQ ice cream cake? Well I am sure there are people who don't but I do. For my birthday, my friend Cassius planned a birthday party for me where we had dinner at Boston Pizza and then went to his place to eat some cake and play games. It was so nice of him to want to have a party for me and he worked really hard planning it. However, being the end of summer people were busy so it was just a small gathering but we had fun.

There was (and still is) lots of cake left over. The cake had a smiley face flower on it and he saved the happy face part for me to eat tonight which made me happy. :)

3. Today I am grateful for my family

 I can't get very far in this blog without writing about my family. They are pretty awesome and funny. It's pretty hard to be bored when I go home, especially with my youngest sister who always has something planned for me to do with her whether it's going swimming or teaching me how to play a game on the wii. Thinking back on this past summer, some of the most fun times was being with members of my family.  In fact, everyone in my family (well, except for my brother-in-law) came to visit me in Edmonton! Alexandra came in April and was my date for my grad banquet; my parents, Mikayla, Melissa and my 3 nieces (Sariah, Rebekah and Miriam) came to visit me in June and attended my convocation ceremony; and Craig drove out with me from BC and hung out with me for the Civic long weekend. I also got to go home for a week which was fun.

Family is important to me, my own family and other families. This is why I majored in family studies and now work in family support.  I also believe that it is part of God’s plan for us to be born into families and to love and care for each other. I am grateful that my family members are always there for me and let me know that I am loved (even if my parents do forget to call me sometimes).

Another recent goal of mine is putting together a family scrapbook. Scrapbooking can take quite a bit of time so I decided to do one page for each year. So Far I have 2010 and 2009 completed so I have a long ways to go. However, I am excited to complete the previous years. I love watching how my family grows and experiencing and remembering the fun times we have together.

Below is the most recent photo of my whole family, taken last summer.

2. Today I am grateful to be a twin

  Yesterday I wrote about how I am grateful to have been born. I am also grateful that I was born about 7 minutes after my twin sister, Melissa. I feel so blessed to have been born a twin; she has always been my best friend. I have lots of good memories of our childhood playing with baby dolls, Barbie’s and ‘my little ponies’. We have never been able to stay upset at each other for very long. I remember times after arguments writing apology letters to each other.

Although she moved to Utah eight years ago and we haven’t lived together since, we are still really close which I am grateful for. We often talk throughout the week and if she calls on a Sunday when I am hanging out with friends they will say things like “ok, see you in two hours”.... we have a lot to talk about ... hahaha. Sometimes she needs to take a break to tend to one of her children though.  I always enjoy talking with her on the phone or skype, although it is of course even better to be with her in person. Melissa is someone I feel that I can talk about anything with and I value her opinions and advice. I admire her for who she is and the things she does. She is a great mother with three beautiful little girls and a little boy due in December.

Melissa was also influential in encouraging me to start this blog. She is a successful blogger who not only writes about her children but also writes reviews for several companies. I always enjoy reading her blog, especially reading about the cute things my nieces do.

1. Today I am grateful that I was born.

Welcome to my Blog! My plan for the next year is to write about something or someone I am grateful for each day. This idea came from a couple of friends of mine. One friend posted on facebook about the 365 Grateful Project, I found the video to be really inspiring and loved seeing how others were able to find joy through recording the things they were grateful for. Another friend has been putting pictures up on facebook regularly with a write-up of what she was grateful for that day.  I was talking with one of these friends about the impact gratitude has on an individual’s wellbeing on every level including psychological and spiritual and the importance of recognizing the blessings we have in our lives.

When reading about this project I was inspired to spend a year writing down one thing each day that I am grateful for. Although I feel that I am generally a happy person, I feel that there is power in seeking good, recognizing blessings and recording your feelings. I want to challenge myself everyday to consciously recognize the blessings that I have and why I am grateful for this blessing. I feel that it is also important to let others know the impact they have made on you and why you are grateful to have them in your life. It’s easy to thank people for specific things they do but how about thanking people for who they are and letting them know the impact they have made on you. A few years ago one of my best friends was hit by a car and killed. I wondered if she knew how much she meant to me, how grateful I was for her friendship and the impact she made on my life. Since then, I have tried to make more of an effort to let people know that I am grateful for them, but it’s still something I could definatly do better.

Some people might be wondering why I choose to start today and not on January first. Today is my birthday, my 29^th birthday to be exact. I usually hesitate when telling people how old I am. Not because I think it is old but because I am not where I thought I would be. Ever since I was a little girl all I ever wanted was to be a mom and it`s sometimes hard for me to accept that I am not a mother. I am not going to give up on my goal of marriage and children and I do expect it to happen. However, I feel that there are so many things to be grateful for and I want to spend my last year of my 20`s recording those things and people who make me happy. Starting with today!

 Today I am grateful that I was born. With that also comes gratitude for other things such as the family I was born into and the Country I was born in and the opportunities that I have had. On a larger scale, I am grateful for those who came before me. I love learning about my ancestors and it`s neat to recognize various parts of who I am (or physical features) that come from them. On an even larger scale, I know that my life has a purpose and that part of Gods plan is for each of us to have a body so that we can experience mortality and return to live with Him again.

I am looking forward to the next year of my life and focusing on the blessings I have and what makes me happy.