This is the Story Of My Life

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 30

It's the end of my 30 days of gratitude...it's been great!!  Really insightful and positive.   I'm glad I've done all 30 days...even if it was late!!

Last Day...I am grateful for My Savior and His Plan!!  I truly believe that I am a Daughter of God.  That he loves me and has a plan for me.  I am grateful that the Savior loves me enough to have Atoned for me...someone who is so imperfect and simple.  I know that through my faith and I can endure to the end and live with Him again.  I look forward to eternal happiness and joy.  The opportunity to live with my family forever not only inspires and motivates me, it brings me comfort and hope.  I know that we are here to live the best life we can, that through whatever test and trial we have we need to turn to Him.  I'm not always as great at that as I'd like to be...I'm hoping I get it right before I leave this Earth!!  
I am grateful for my life and for the choices I have made to have the gospel in my life.  It blesses me each and every day in ways I know I am not always aware of, yet will always be grateful for.

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30 Days of Gratitude: Day 29

 I am grateful for HUGS!!!

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I've never been a touchy feely person...never.  I like my personal space.  I like boundaries.  I like HUGS more.  Nothing cheers me up quicker then to give someone I care about a HUG!!  I have no problem admitting it...My name is Cathy Blackburn and I am a hugger!!

Hugging has no limitations for me...well, within reason I suppose.  I hug people hello and goodbye.  I hug my friends, my kids, my family, and Vallen as often as I think of it or feel it.  I even sign all my emails and notes with the word HUGS.  I love a good hug...especially when you get hugged back tighter!!  Nothing like it in the whole wide world.    When I hosted the PTO luncheon this last Tuesday I went the non-traditional route and gave each guest a welcoming hug when they arrived!!  That was 40 hugs in 10 minutes!!  It was 500 times better than some lame handshake!!  I am realizing, as I type this, that I haven't been giving as many as I should these days...super busy...I need to change that and I will, starting tomorrow!!  

"Hugging is good medicine.  It transfers energy and gives the person hugged an emotional lift.  You need 4 hugs a day for survival, 8 for maintenance, and 12 for growth.  Scientists say that hugging is a form of communication because it can say things you don't have the words for.  And the nicest thing about a hug is that you usually can't give one without getting one." - Le-Tang

Try it!!  It's contagious and such a happy, happy thing!!!  It's mandatory...put it on your to do list...hug someone today!!

HUGS- CathyB.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 28

I am grateful for time.

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Isn't it amazing what time means for us?  I remember as a kid thinking that 30 minutes went by so slowly.  That each minute felt like an eternity.  I remember thinking that 25 was old and that there was no way enough time would ever pass by where I could possibly be that age.  Well...I am now 40.  Time as a grown-up flies by.  Seriously flies.  Where does it go?  I can never accomplish enough in a day.  Each experience seems to zip by.  It can be maddening.  Especially during those tender moments, those life changing moments, those laughs that you wish could last forever, or the nights where you wish the sun would never rise, or the days you wish the sun would never set, or the heart swelling moments you want to have again and again at every second!!  Time as a grown-up seems so very precious.  Only one good thing comes for how fast time flies as an adult...the bad stuff will be over before you know it.  That is nice.  Before you know it you are on the other side of the ugly moments...thank goodness!!

Time...such a blessing!!

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 27

I am grateful for Diet Coke...well...not really.  It sometimes makes me feel ill.  Except I can't imagine the days I have had very little sleep and how I would function without it.  I guess if I were being truthful I am really grateful for caffeine.  It's a must.  Although if I were being healthy and diligent with my new improved life style I would say I just need to be grateful for sleep!!

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 26

I am grateful for modern day medicine.

So much of my Dad's life was spent in hospitals, Doctor's offices, Urgent Care, and later in life- Hospice Care.  I am grateful for the individuals that took care of him.  Each of them preformed great acts of service to him and our family.  It gave us the opportunity to enjoy his company on this earth for much longer then originally thought.  At 11 he was told he wouldn't live past 21.  I am so very glad that he did!!  Modern medicine did that for him.

Summer and I are here because of modern medicine.  We did not do well during her birth.  She was a fighter and the Doctors were able to help us both come through that trauma with many more years to enjoy.

Vallen...he was in the hospital/doctor's office very year of his life until he turned 24!!  Modern Medicine has been his friend.  Now our friend.  His heart issue is scary and we are grateful to know what to expect and what to do whenever he has a recurrence.  What a blessing.

Breck...he was an RSV baby.  Broke my heart.  He was 3 months old.  It was so scary.  With treatment and alot of faith he was well within 24 hours.  Thank goodness.

Life has it's ups and downs.  I am grateful we have modern medicine to help us live long, healthy lives!

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 25

 

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 24

I am grateful that Billy Ray Cyrus only had ONE number one hit!!

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 23

I am grateful that Billy Ray Cyrus had a number one hit called "Achy Breaky Heart."  It's a classic.  Admit it, when you read the title you immediately started singing the words!!  Catchy little tune. 

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 22

I can't find a picture on my computer and I'm too lazy to upload anything...maybe later.

I am crazy grateful for my family.  We are so lucky to have each other.  We have been through so much together.  Love, laughter, tears, sadness, grief, drama, hope, and fun.  We have lived a wonderful life!!  I love the memories!!

I am so grateful for you...my family...

Dad, Mom, Kristy, Dan, Zac, Toni, Zeke, Ciria, Adam, Zoe, Kari, Naomi, Alex, Kiki, Alex Jr., Chio, Ryan, Andrew, Shawnie, Aden, Jocelyn, Calixta, Nate, Delia, and Baby X!!    Love you all!!

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 21

I am grateful for my freedom.  I love America.  Each and every time I hear the Star-Spangled Banner I cry.  My heart swells with pride for the wonderful privileges we enjoy and for the courage & bravery of those who fought for the life I enjoy!  We live in a country where dreams come true, where people can worship how they want, where education is a gift,...this is definitely the promised land!!  

I don't always understand the direction we seem to be heading as a country.  I see that people don't feel the same way as they did when I was a kid.  So many of  use take for granted what so many before us fought to preserve.  We just don't get it.  We are divided and disrespectful.  Pride is not something we do anymore as a nation..it's something we do for our own personal gain.  We are tearing apart this nation from within.  Our enemies live within the borders of our own country.  We should be ashamed and start to live up to what our forefathers worked and sacrificed for on our behalf.  I am grateful for this land and the freedom I enjoy each and every day!