Thing 1
I am so grateful for the sweet reminder of how special and important our job as parents are. Our good friends, Brandt and Val, just got a baby through adoption. I stopped by to see them and their new baby. It's so special. They have waited a long time for this. I am so happy for them. It made me really want to love on my kids and give them an extra hug. The little things are important. How many times a day do I hug my kids? How many times a day do I kiss their cheeks? How many times a day do I tell them how much I love them? These are the little things that are important.
Thing 2
Parker's email today had a little thing for my mom to read at Thanksgiving about what he's thankful for.
"Well, here we are. Another Thanksgiving Day. How the time flies! It
feels just like yesterday that I was sitting there with all of you!
Okay, maybe not yesterday, but it doesn't feel like my last
Thanksgiving with family was two years ago! First of all, I am
thankful for this time of year —a time for us to pause for a moment
and to reflect all of our many God given blessings. I am thankful for
the blessings which I receive each and everyday. I am thankful for a
loving Heavenly Father who truly is mindful of all things. I am
grateful for His hand in my life and in the lives of all His children.
I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I feel especially
grateful for an opportunity to serve and love the great people of
Arizona. They are amazing! I am grateful for the investigators and
members that I have worked with and the investigators and members that
I am working with currently. It's truly amazing to see how people can
and do come from the lowest of all human condition—spiritually dead—
to the best of all human conditions—a strong and everlasting
relationship with God. It is incredibly humbling to see them put all
that they have on the alter of sacrifice to follow Christ.
I am grateful for the Plan of Salvation. I am grateful that I know and
continue to learn what I need to do to live with Heavenly Father
again. I am grateful for the Atonement and that we can be forgiven and
small mistakes that we make and especially the big mistakes. Without
it, we could not live with our family forever. We could know true
happiness. I am grateful that the Savior showed us the way and that as
follow His example we are happy. I am grateful for the experiences
that I have had, both the good and the bad. Those experiences are
important and help us be more like Heavenly Father if handled
correctly.
I am grateful for my father and mother. They are two amazing people.
Their hearts are pure and I am grateful for the example that they set
for me. They work so hard to provide and to teach and most importantly
to love. I'm sure it was pretty hard for them to love me sometimes. I
am grateful that they persevered no matter how hard it was. I am
grateful for my sister and her husband Corey. They are two amazing
individuals as well. I am grateful that they always made sure that I
was doing the right thing. I am grateful that they always made me feel
important to them even when I know that they were busy with their own
lives and family. I am grateful for the examples of hard work. They
work tirelessly to be good parents and to do what they need to do to
provide for their little family. I hope, one day I can hopefully
emulate their examples of parenthood. I am grateful for my
grandparents. I could go on and on for hours about how amazing my
grandparents are—especially Grandma Anderson and Grandma Perry. They
have lost themselves in service their entire lives. Both of them.
Charity, christlike love, is one of the greatest things that we can
develop in our lives and we would do well to learn from their charity
to all of us, their family. I am grateful for my little nieces and
nephew. I haven't met Lexie yet, but I will someday soon. They are
hands down the best little kids I have ever met. Their examples of
simple faith inspire each week when I hear a story that my mom emails
me.
I hope that you all have a great Thanksgiving and Holiday season and I
pray that we can all remember the important things in life and we can
always choose to follow the savior! I love you all so much!
-Elder Anderson"
feels just like yesterday that I was sitting there with all of you!
Okay, maybe not yesterday, but it doesn't feel like my last
Thanksgiving with family was two years ago! First of all, I am
thankful for this time of year —a time for us to pause for a moment
and to reflect all of our many God given blessings. I am thankful for
the blessings which I receive each and everyday. I am thankful for a
loving Heavenly Father who truly is mindful of all things. I am
grateful for His hand in my life and in the lives of all His children.
I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I feel especially
grateful for an opportunity to serve and love the great people of
Arizona. They are amazing! I am grateful for the investigators and
members that I have worked with and the investigators and members that
I am working with currently. It's truly amazing to see how people can
and do come from the lowest of all human condition—spiritually dead—
to the best of all human conditions—a strong and everlasting
relationship with God. It is incredibly humbling to see them put all
that they have on the alter of sacrifice to follow Christ.
I am grateful for the Plan of Salvation. I am grateful that I know and
continue to learn what I need to do to live with Heavenly Father
again. I am grateful for the Atonement and that we can be forgiven and
small mistakes that we make and especially the big mistakes. Without
it, we could not live with our family forever. We could know true
happiness. I am grateful that the Savior showed us the way and that as
follow His example we are happy. I am grateful for the experiences
that I have had, both the good and the bad. Those experiences are
important and help us be more like Heavenly Father if handled
correctly.
I am grateful for my father and mother. They are two amazing people.
Their hearts are pure and I am grateful for the example that they set
for me. They work so hard to provide and to teach and most importantly
to love. I'm sure it was pretty hard for them to love me sometimes. I
am grateful that they persevered no matter how hard it was. I am
grateful for my sister and her husband Corey. They are two amazing
individuals as well. I am grateful that they always made sure that I
was doing the right thing. I am grateful that they always made me feel
important to them even when I know that they were busy with their own
lives and family. I am grateful for the examples of hard work. They
work tirelessly to be good parents and to do what they need to do to
provide for their little family. I hope, one day I can hopefully
emulate their examples of parenthood. I am grateful for my
grandparents. I could go on and on for hours about how amazing my
grandparents are—especially Grandma Anderson and Grandma Perry. They
have lost themselves in service their entire lives. Both of them.
Charity, christlike love, is one of the greatest things that we can
develop in our lives and we would do well to learn from their charity
to all of us, their family. I am grateful for my little nieces and
nephew. I haven't met Lexie yet, but I will someday soon. They are
hands down the best little kids I have ever met. Their examples of
simple faith inspire each week when I hear a story that my mom emails
me.
I hope that you all have a great Thanksgiving and Holiday season and I
pray that we can all remember the important things in life and we can
always choose to follow the savior! I love you all so much!
-Elder Anderson"
I am grateful for his example of hard work and dedication. I am grateful for his example of enduring through hardships. I am grateful for his example of sacrifice.
And on a slight sidenote, he doesn't hardly sound like the same brother of mine that left! :D
Also, checkout the Christmas tree Nathan made of his own free will and choice, his idea, all the work was just him. I was quite impressed.
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