I'm Grateful for..... In Pics

Just wanted to say Happy (three days late) Thanksgiving! I meant to post this earlier, but I got to spend 3 awesome days with my wonderful family- so I really can't complain. I am so grateful to them and all that they do for me! I still want to express my gratitude though and in more than just a boring way- so I decided to do it in pictures. So without further ado...
................................................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................................................

1) I am so grateful for the sun and all the other beautiful creations that God has blessed us with. I am also grateful for the opportunity God gives us to let our lights shine.

 ................................................................................................................................................................

2) I am so grateful for snow and Christmas. Snow- because it is so beautiful and it gets you out of school:) Christmas- because of the wonderful message of hope and love it brings. It was the day that our Savior and Redeemer was born! Because of him we can have peace and we can be forgiven of our sins! We can live with God for all eternity! How amazing is that?!

................................................................................................................................................................

 3) I am grateful for fall and all the beauty in the world.

......................................................................................................................................................................

 4) I am grateful for wide open spaces and the opportunity I have to live on a farm. I know that God has given us this earth as a place to grow and learn. I am so grateful for that opportunity.

.....................................................................................................................................................................

5) I am so grateful for fires in a fireplace- there is nothing like sitting by a fire and reading a good book. I am also grateful for the warmth and love that God provides for us daily.

........................................................................................................................................................................

 6) I am grateful for the freedoms of America and the beautiful land that it is. I am so glad that God could set this land apart for the Nephites and Lamanites and all of their posterity.

........................................................................................................................................................................

 7) I am so grateful for the opportunity that we have to learn and grow, and reach our divine potiental. I think it is so amazing that one day we can become just like our Heavenly Father!

..................................................................................................................................................................

 8) I am so grateful for music and the powerful impact it has on my life! It brings me so much joy and I love the fact that we can praise God through it!

....................................................................................................................................................................

9) I am so grateful for the Gospel and everything about it! It brings me so much joy and peace. It is such a comfort to know that my Heavenly Father loves and cares about me and my every need- even though he is the supreme ruler of multiple galaxies!

.....................................................................................................................................................................

 

10) I am so grateful for my amazing family and all that they do for me. I cannot fully express my gratitude to them. I am grateful to my Heavenly Father and the plan of happiness he has created so that we can live with him and our families for all eternity. I am grateful for each of them for many different reasons and I love them more than words can express.

I didn't want to post actual pictures of my family, so each of the little pictures represents someone in my family.

The truck- my dad because he fixes up old cars.

The pin cushion- my mom because she sews and sells clothes

The cow- my brother(10) because he raises cows

The soccer ball-  my sister (6) because she plays soccer

The "Twinkle Toes" picture- my sister (3) because she loves dressing up and every time we go shoe shopping she tries on as many pairs as we will let her.

.....................................................................................................................................................................

I am grateful for so many things- I couldn't even begin to capture them all in pictures.  I am so grateful for blogging and photography and the joy they bring to my life. I am so grateful for all my extended family and friends and all the love they show me. And last, but certainly not least, I am so thankful for you all- my readers. You have no clue how much it brightens my day when I see I have received a comment or have gotten a higher number of page views. 

 

Hope you have a great night!

-Shelby

Little Things......

This is going to be short and sweet. Just a few little things that have made me happy lately.....

1) The Hymns & my flute

(Source)

                    I LOVE to play my flute! Every week my band homework is to practice for 1 hour. I usually end up waiting until the last day and practicing that hour all at once- not enjoying myself, but counting down the minutes until I could call it quits. I mean, honestly, who wants to practice an hour of Jolly old Sleigh Ride or Midnight Sky? I have a really good friend who recently asked me if I would like to play with her in the church's Christmas Program; I said yes, not realizing how much I would love playing the hymns. As I opened up the book to practice I realized how many of the songs I could play. If you play an instrument, you know how cool it is to play songs that you recognize. It makes it 10 times better when those songs are Hymns- songs that we sing to praise the Lord! Instead of practicing the bare minimum of 1 hour I practiced 1 1/2 hours! And I enjoyed every minute of it!

 

 

2) Karen Kingsbury Books



Karen Kingsbury

            I have only read 2 so far, but they have been SO good. She is a Christian author and so far all of her books have been completely clean. I have read: Leaving (The Bailey Flanningan Series), and The Bridge. Both AWEOSOME books! You can get to her website with a list of all her books here.

3) Snow!!

We got our first snow that was longer than 5 minutes today! Sure, it hasn't even snowed a whole inch, but for Kentucky that is a good amount- especially for before Thanksgiving! If you live in Alaska (please comment- I have never known someone who has :D) or somewhere else where it snows a lot, you are probably laughing your head off- but this is the girl who lives where we only got one day off last year for ice- not even snow! So I am hoping that tomorrow, instead of taking my math test and turning in my homework; I am sleeping in, drinking hot chocolate, and taking pictures of the

beautiful snow. Wish me luck!

 

So much for a short post! What has made you happy lately?

Have a great night1

-Shelby