Month of Gratitude - Day 30

I am grateful for gifts of all kinds.  I am grateful for the gifts you give and receive. I am grateful for gifts that are talents.  I am grateful to be able to share.  These are "football" (aka soccer) jersey Nate's sent to us for birthday presents.  This is what I love about a gift... it is thoughtful and unselfish.  It's whole purpose is to serve another.  I have thoroughly enjoyed this month of gratitude, and now I am ready to act on those things.  I am excited to share with others through my talents and other well thought out gifts how much I love those I am grateful for!

Month of Gratitude - Day 29

I am MORE than grateful for my mom!  She was/is a great example of a Christlike woman!  She raised us kids to be creative, to get good grades, to do what was asked of us.  She was kind.  She led by example.  She is my best friend!  I am even more grateful for Heavenly Father's plan that families can be eternal, because I am looking forward to crocheting by her side for the rest of eternity!

Month of Gratitude - Day 28

I am grateful for my brothers!  They are both serving LDS missions right now, and I am grateful for missionary work too!  I'm very proud of them and so happy that we are all great friends!  I am grateful for Linda's daughters, too, who are now my sisters!  And I am grateful for Todd's brothers and sister, also.  Siblings are amazing.  I am so grateful that we have these built-in friends!

Month of Gratitude - Day 27

I am very grateful for my dad's wife Linda.  She is incredibly talented, kind, and thoughtful!  She includes my family and brothers as if they were her own.  I am very grateful that my dad found such a wonderful person to share his life with!

Month of Gratitude - Day 26

I am grateful for traditions!  Since I was four-ish my dad has held season tickets to the Utah State University Aggie football games!  We went to their home games whether it was sunny, rainy, or snowing.  I am grateful for all the memories I have of these games.  So every now and then I get the chance to take my kiddos to a game, which we did today.  As I was watching my sweet Liv endure the cold I remembered being in her shoes.  I had no idea why we were torturing ourselves to watch this game, and that was when I started asking my dad about football.  "What's a down" "What do you mean, 'holding'"  "How can you even tell the difference!?" and so on.  I get so excited when I get to share this tradition with my kids, and I'm excited to see what traditions of our own we create and the kids will cherish!

Month of Gratitude - Day 25

I am grateful for outings with my kids.  They don't have to be fancy, just something special.  I'm grateful that even simple things can please my them!

Month of Gratitude - Day 24

I am grateful Thanksgiving.  I am grateful for the yummy dinner that my Grandma Norma and aunts provide for our family!  I am grateful for the gathering of family and loved ones in one place!  I am grateful for a season when we all take time to just think of what we're grateful for.  And I am especially grateful that this season comes right before the commercialized Christmas!  I heard a great quote this month: "It's not happy people that are thankful, it's thankful people that are happy!"

Month of Gratitude - Day 23

I am grateful for my aunts and uncles!  They have each played a part in raising me through their examples and advice.  Plus, they are all hilarious!

Month of Gratitude - Day 22

I am very grateful for our van!  I never thought I'd be a minivan owner, and now I couldn't be happier to have one in the driveway!  This vehicle has taken a lot of stress out of my life, thank heaven!

Month of Gratitude - Day 21

I am grateful for Heritage Makers.  It is the company through which I am able to digitally make beautiful books.  These books are my family's history.  They do so much more than just put pictures on a page... they record memories that I NEVER want to loose!

If you want to learn more contact me or go to www.heritagemakers.com/tamiyoung

Month of Gratitude - Day 20

I am grateful for my eyes.  I complain about them sometimes because I can't seem to get the right prescription to see clearly, but I'm grateful that I can see!  I can't imagine not seeing Liv dance, are the smile in Suzy's eyes, or watch the actions Gary makes his toys do when his imagination is at work.  I am so grateful to have eyes so that I might see the beauty all around me!

Month of Gratitude - Day 19

I am grateful for baking! I am not good at cooking, at all, but I love to bake! It makes good yummieness that I can share with others!

Month of Gratitude - Day 18

I am grateful for dance sessions in the kitchen with my kiddos!

Month of Gratitude - Day 17

I am VERY grateful for my camera!  It is part of me!  I don't know what I'd do without the ability to freeze a moment in time!  (btw, this picture was taken/posted by my aunt Kris... it's kind of fun to see me in action!)

Month of Gratitude - Day 16

I am incredibly grateful for my grandparents!  Gma Norma, Gpa Monty, Gma Betty, Gma Alma Young, Gma & Gpa Dodge, and Gma & Gpa Sudweeks!  They all set amazing examples and have heavily influenced my life!  I love this picture of Gma & Gpa M because it brings back a fond memory I have of dancing with Gpa in their living room when I was in high school.  They were teaching me how to swing dance, and I remember thinking it was the coolest thing that my grandparents still danced together!

Month of Gratitude - Day 15

If it wasn't for the necessity of water from winter I would say I wasn't grateful for winter. I don't like winter. But what I have fallen in love with is fall! I am grateful for the beautiful way that winter is welcomed in, it makes it a little bit worth the cold!

Month of Gratitude - Day 14

I am grateful for clean floors.  It is my goal to once a week vacuum and mop the floors.  But it never fails that within a half hour of doing any clean up the floors are cluttered with toys again.  But I realized something this weekend... one day my kiddos will be gone and I will have clean floors pretty much all the time.  So today I am grateful for cluttered floors, because it means my house is filled with children!

Month of Gratitude - Day 13

I am grateful for Jesus Christ.  I am grateful for His example, His love, His atonement, His sacrifice, and His resurrection.  I am grateful to have His spirit with me.  I am grateful to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and to have the gospel as part of my every day life!  I am grateful to have an eternal family!  I am excited to some day be able to be with Him again and thank Him personally for all He did for me!

Month of Gratitude - Day 12

I am grateful for spiritual uplifts!  Today I went to Time Out for Women, I loved having my cup refilled and getting to know friends better and even making new friends!  Every one of us is busy, it's good to have a time out!

Month of Gratitude - Day 11

I am incredibly grateful for my dad!  For one, he never killed me!  Not after the several car accidents, the late night with boyfriends, my stubbornness, independence, and so on!  He is supportive of the things I do.  He loves my kiddos very much.  It's fun to watch him play with them, it reminds me of the fun I've had with him!  Love you, Daddy!

Month of Gratitude - Day 10

I am incredibly grateful for this beautiful little girl!  Olivia is the one that made me a mom!  She looks just like my mom, which is a little blessing from heaven since my mom passed four months after Liv was born.  Liv is such an easy child.  She's very smart and very artistic!  She loves to dance, sing, write and illustrate stories!  She is a VERY GOOD friend!  For someone that was so shy that a fellow schoolmate in preschool asked her if she even talked... I am very impressed with how well she greets new children and becomes their friend!  She will always have hold of a big part of my heart, and I am forever grateful to have her!

Wordless Wednesday

Month of Gratitude - Day 9

I am very grateful for this little boy!  Gary is such a tenderhearted little boy!  He has an imagination that is very involved.  So many times I wish I could see what he sees!  I wish I knew his mind better, he thinks so different then others.  I want to dive into that little brain and figure him out, so I could be the best mom for him!  But I can only enjoy what he shows me, and I love it.  I love him!

Month of Gratitude - Day 8

I am grateful for my home!  Well, this is technically "my home", it's Gary and Karlene's, but we live in the basement, so it's my home!  I am grateful for it, especially as the weather cools.  When I lay in bed at night and listen to the strong winds of Toquerville, my heart swells with gratitude that I have a warm place to live!

Month of Gratitude - Day 7

I am incredibly grateful for this man!  My husband!  Todd is such a great character, and he puts up with me, so he's amazing!  It is great to have found someone that keeps me balanced!  He is a great dad to our kiddos, I love that he loves them so much!  When Liv was a baby I put a poem in her book that said "I never knew how much I loved him until I saw him love her..." and it's still true to this day with all our kids!  I love you babe, always and forever!

(p.s.  Just so you know, I do know I'm a day behind and I will make up for it... just once I finally get a picture of the thing I am grateful for that I wanted to post a couple days ago.  That's me... spacey ;))

Month of Gratitude - Day 6

I am grateful for Miss Suzy Anne Young!  She is a piece of heaven that I am so lucky to have!  She is such an easy baby.   She loves to just chill!  Her giggle sounds like sweet bells, and her big toothless grin warms my heart!  I call her "My Sunshine" because that smile can turn my skies blue in an instant!  I am so grateful for this gift!

Month of Gratitude - Day 5

I am grateful for my in-laws! They have happily let us live with them through the poor college years. They play with my kiddos, and love them so much! Karlene and I have become good friends and Gary is my second dad! I love their willingness to give service, they are incredible examples. For example, last night Gary dressed up as a native american chief for his nephew's (Robbie Young's) arrow of light ceremony. I love them both very much!

Month of Gratitude - Day 4

I am grateful for tub time!  All of my kids love tub time, probably Suzy the most!  She loves to splash like crazy until she gets it all over her face.  Then she looks at you with surprise like you did something to her!  It's so fun to watch!

Month of Gratitude - Day 3

I am grateful that my hubby has good friends and good hobbies!

Wordless Wednesday

Month of Gratitude - Day 2

I am grateful that m Liv has good friends!  She talks about them all the time, especially these two... they are besties!

Month of Gratitude - Day 1

I am grateful for the relationship these two have! Whenever Suzy sees her big brother she perks right up and gives him a big ol' grin!