Peters Birthday

This weekend we celebrated Peter's birthday with a mustache  party! Here's just a few pictures of all the silliness that happened! 

                                                   

Love Shannon's Photo bomb in the back!

                                         

                                                

Peter's Bedroom ceiling is covered in mirrors!

                                        

                                          

Photo-bombing Peter!

A Month of Gratitude

I often forget exactly how much I have to be grateful for. I don't know if I ever fully appreciate all that I have been blessed with. I think we all often get caught up with life and tend to take things for granted.

“To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us - and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him. 
Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.” 
― Thomas Merton

Sometimes we need to stop and look around us and realize all the God has given us. Sometimes we have to work hard for our blessings, but God has given us the ability to do so. Sometimes we have to sacrifice before they come, but He has given us the strength to overcome obstacles that were put in our path.

Most people don't see trials as a blessing, but I see them as one of our greatest blessings. Nothing else will ever show us just how strong we are. Nothing else will ever show us who we truly are. Nothing else will show us who our friends truly are. Who is willing to stand by us when times get hard and we need extra support. I am grateful for every trial I have ever been given. They have made me who I am and have brought some amazing people into my life. I have moments of "what ifs" that I quickly push aside and think about all the great and wonderful people who would not be in my life if it weren't for the trials I had been given to overcome in this life.

Trials bring us closer to our Heavenly Father and Savior. They show us how deep their love truly is, if we just fall to our knees and let them comfort us in our weakest moments. I am grateful to know that no matter what they love me unconditionally. 

“We should certainly count our blessings, but we should also make our blessings count.” 

― Neal A. Maxwell

The only way to make our blessings count is to show our gratitude for them.

My goal is to blog every day about things I am grateful for. I highly doubt I will keep this up for long (because I always fall behind on these.) But I really am going to try!

So what are you most grateful for?