100 BLESSINGS

Happy Thanksgiving!! I have SO much to be thankful for and absolutely LOVE that we have a whole day dedicated to think about all of our blessings! I have come up with 100 THINGS THAT I AM THANKFUL FOR. It is amazing…once I sat down and really thought about it, I couldn’t stop writing! I have SO much in my life to be thankful for!!

The Divine Gift of Gratitude by Thomas S. Monson 

I have a challenge for each of you! Sit down tonight or whenever you have a minute (I know you all are so busy with family and friends right now) and just write down your blessings. Write down what you are most thankful for in your life right now. I can promise you, that once you take the time to truly think about your blessings…you will not be able to help, but be HAPPY.

My 100 Blessings

1.  My husband who loves me and is my better half and very best friend.

2.  My baby girl who we are obsessed with and I could just EAT.

3.  My mom who is my example and who I want to be.

4.  My dad who loves me, supports me, and has made me the person I am today.

5.  My sister Katrina for teaching me how to overcome hard times, that family comes first and believing in me, when I didn’t believe in myself.

6.  My brother Kyle who has shown me how to be funny, but can be the most sincere. He also has shown me that hard work pays off and that he got all the brains in the family.

7.  My little sister Lexie (who has 54 nicknames) for showing me how to treat my husband, keeps me up on the latest fashion trends and everyone says is my twin.

8.  My sibling in-laws (those who were brave enough to marry my siblings) for taking care of my best friends!

9.  My in-laws who have taken me into their family as if I were their own.

10. My nieces and nephew(s) who put smiles on my face daily.

11. My grandparents who are the best examples to me of how to truly live and love.

12. My aunts and uncles who each are so unique and have each taught me something different. I could name them individually and what I have learned from every one.

13. My cousins who I can go forever without talking to, but when we get together it seems like we just saw each other yesterday.

14. My friends who support me when I need them most. The ones that come over when I need a hug, call when I need someone to talk to and text when I need to know they are there.

15. Jesus Christ who lived a perfect life and who I want to be just like.

16. My testimony of the gospel and knowledge that it is true.

17. The opportunity to go to church every Sunday.

18. To get to work with the Young Women and the experiences we get to share together.

19. The temple and the covenants that I have made there.

20. The fact that families are forever.

21. The atonement, that I am able to repent when I make mistakes.

22. The scriptures that I need to better at reading.

23. Prayer. The fact that I can communicate with Heavenly Father whenever I want to.

24. The prophet and the things he teaches me.

25. My house and the protection it provides.

26. My car that I get to drive in whenever I want and wherever I want.

27. My clothes that I get to wear and buy… it is my obsession to buy clothes for Laila. A very bad addiction, but I am still thankful for it. :)

28. Jewelry that makes me feel complete.

29. Extensions that make me look prettier.

30. Make Up so I don’t scare people.

31. Cute stores to shop at.

32. Good deals to blog about.

33. BWW

34. Panda Express

35. Pei Wei

36. Pizza

37. Modern medicine to heal me when I am sick.

38. Modern medicine that helped me get pregnant.

39. Modern medicine that kept me pregnant.

40. The fact that miracles happen.

41. The fact that I have witnessed a miracle in my life.

42. Laila’s toys and the mess they make around my house.

43. Dinner that is on the table each night, even if I am not the best cook. Thankful for the fact we have the means to have food.

44. Oreos and milk.

45. Warm baths that cure every problem in the world.

46. Random people who come up and say “hi” to Laila

47. My cell phone that I probably couldn’t live without.

48. Social Media to keep in touch with family and friends.

49. My dishwasher – I love doing the dishes, but am grateful the dishwasher really cleans them.

50. My washing machine that takes out all the stains from having a baby around the house.

51. Laughter – it makes me feel good.

52. Forgiveness – when I make mistakes.

53. Patience – something I work on daily.

54. Service – That I have the opportunity to serve and when other people do kind things for me.

55. The Bachelor – do I really need to explain why?! J

56. Dr. Juarez who got me through some of the hardest times in my life.

57. Dr. Shapiro who helped me believe in miracles.

58. Dr. Bohman who is wise and helped my miracle come to life.

59. Tangled – Laila could watch it all day long if I let her.

60. Warm showers in the morning.

61. My comfortable bed at night.

62. Nacho Nights with Tyson.

63. The Holy Ghost and it’s promptings.

64. Games – I love to play games and I am super competitive.

65. Socks that keep my feet warm.

66. Leggings that are so comfortable and I wear daily.

67. Sleeping – I love my sleep!

68. Pictures that capture special moments in my life daily so I can always have these memories.

69. DoTerra Oils that have helped me more than once in my life, but Tyson still doesn’t believe in them.

70. Pedicures.

71. Manicures.

72. Massages.

73. Decorations for my house.

74. Furniture.

75. Craft night.

76. Scrapbooking.

77. Disneyland – I can’t wait to take Laila. Literally just waiting for the day to come.

78. Airplanes – I actually don’t like flying, but I am thankful for them so I get to travel. Especially to Hawaii to see my parents.

79. Candles that make my house smell good.

80. CHOCOLATE.

81. Irons to get the wrinkles out of my clothes.

82. The microwave that heats Laila’s bottle in 30 seconds.

83. My vacuum – I am obsessed with having a vacuumed floor.

84. Music that I can sing my heart out to.

85. Music that we can have dance parties to.

86. Music that I don’t even notice in the background, but Laila notices so she starts rocking out.

87. Books – I have never been much of a reader, but I do love reading to Laila and the cuddles on my lap I get when we do.

88. The perfect weather we have had recently.

89. Being able to be a stay at home mom this past year.

90. The jobs I have had in the past that have helped us financially so I have been able to stay home.

91. Tysons job.

92. This blog and the joy it brings into my life.

93. My followers and readers… I just love you!

94. Contacts so I can see. I would be blind without them.

95. Toothbrush and toothpaste – Best feeling in the world is brushing my teeth.

96. Dressing up – not like fancy. I mean costumes and for fun! One of my fave things to do.

97. Wal-Mart and Target and to live so close to both of them.

98. Our country.

99. Family time!
100. 4 Day weekends so I get to be with my 2 besties for 4 days STRAIGHT!!

Thanksgiving Traditions – From the FOLLOWERS

Thank you to everyone who sent me your favorite Thanksgiving Traditions! It has been so fun going through them and choosing my very favorites! I have compiled a list of “Last Minute Ideas for Thanksgiving.” These are fun things to do that YOU, my creative followers, do for Thanksgiving!

1.  Watch the Parade – I remember this was a tradition in my house growing up too! I would wake up to the smell of yummy turkey baking in the oven, the sound of the beaters mixing the mashed potatoes and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on in the background!

2.  BINGO – How fun is this? I love that it is a tradition for a family! There is nothing more fun than playing games with the people you love!

3.  Go See a Movie – This is also a tradition that my family did as well growing up! It must be a popular thing to do! This is something the youngest little one would enjoy all the way up to Grandma and Grandpa! Go see a movie your whole family would love!

 

4.  A Countdown Chain – The first Monday of November, make a countdown chain to Thanksgiving. Write on each chain something you are thankful for! Then at dinner each night, remove a chain and read what you are thankful for. This is a fun way to talk about your blessings as a family!

 

Picture from about.com

 

5.  Thankful Turkey – Each year at the beginning of November, make a turkey out of construction paper.  To make the turkey's feathers trace your families hands on several colors of paper and cut them out. Then glue them on the turkey in layers with the biggest hands in the back up to the smallest hands in the front.  Each layer of feathers (the fingers) is one persons. Once the turkey is together, have each person write on their personal 'feathers' things that they are grateful for.

It's fun to see each day what feathers fill up.  This cute mom keeps all the Turkeys and at Thanksgiving time hangs up the old ones.  Everyone enjoys reading and looking at the years past Turkeys.  The kids love to see their hands grow and remember or be told stories about why some of the things they wrote are on the turkey from that year.  Her kitchen is full of Turkeys this year! So fun!

 

6. 12 Days of Gratitude – Each day for the 12 days prior to Thanksgiving, write one thing you are grateful for on a leaf. Then glue it/stick it on a leaf. Then in December, do the 12 days of Christmas to Jesus. Take the 12 things you were grateful for in November and act on them…showing Jesus & Heavenly Father your gratitude.

(Ie: if one day is daddy, in December show that by cooking him breakfast in bed, etc.)

 

Picture credit to paintcutpaste.com

 

7. Pine Cone Turkeys – Gather pinecones, colored cotton balls, craft pipe cleaners, googly eyes, and construction paper. Trace your child’s hand on the paper and write what they are thankful for. Glue the hands to the back of the pinecone, and make a face out of the cotton ball, pipe cleaners and googly eyes. You have yourself a darling turkey, your children will love!

 

 

8. Handprint Turkeys – Dip your child’s hand in paint and put them on a piece of paper. Draw a face on the handprint and little legs to make it look like a turkey. Do it every year to see how big they get! Such a cute way to document their little growing hands!

 

9. Appetizer Cook-Off – Each individual person submits an appetizer and everyone votes on a winner for the year, who receives a trophy and a prize! There are two categories: taste and creative presentation. The appetizers serve as lunch on Thanksgiving Day!

 

I hope you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving! I love this holiday so much and am thankful we have a whole day to celebrate our blessings! Don’t forget it is never too late to start a new tradition for your family! So have FUN and do something NEW this year! Make this Thanksgiving, the BEST day for you and your cute family!

Elf on the Shelf – Ideas, Information and Calendar

I have always looked forward to being a mom! I always found fun ideas and traditions to do with children and have never had the opportunity to do them! Now that I have Laila, I am SO excited for her to grow and to have the opportunity to begin new family traditions! She is still too young this year, but I can NOT wait to start our Elf on the Shelf tradition next year!

I am sure the majority of you have heard of Elf on the Shelf. It is a huge fad right now and ALL over Pinterest. My sister has done it with her kids in the past and my mother-in-law does it at her home and it is always SO fun to see their creativity and ideas of where and what the Elf is doing each day!

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Elf on the Shelf, it is a FUN tradition I highly recommend you start this year with your family!

“The Elf on the Shelf® is a special scout elf sent from the North Pole to help Santa Claus manage his naughty and nice lists. When a family adopts an elf and gives it a name, the elf receives its Christmas magic and can fly to the North Pole each night to tell Santa Claus about all of the day's adventures. Each morning, the elf returns to its family and perches in a different place to watch the fun. Children love to wake up and race around the house looking for their elf each morning.

There are two simple rules that every child knows when it comes to having an elf. First, an elf cannot be touched; Christmas magic is very fragile and if an elf is touched it may lose that magic and be unable to fly back to the North Pole. Second, an elf cannot speak or move while anyone in the house is awake! An elf's job is to watch and listen.

Elves typically appear in their families’ homes at the beginning of the holiday season (around Thanksgiving in the U.S.). On Christmas Eve, the elves return to the North Pole with Santa Claus--until next year!”

http://www.elfontheshelf.com/content/about-us

I came up with a calendar of MY favorite 24 Elf on the Shelf ideas for you to use this year! I hope this comes in handy and that you use it! You also can be creative and think of your own silly things your children would LOVE the Elf to do!

I do suggest making a calendar like the one I have made so each night you have a plan on where the Elf will be and what props you need to gather that day! 

I would love to see your ideas and what fun things your Elf does! Don’t forget to post pictures and use #todaysthebestday to share with everyone! Or tag me and I can share them with everyone! I love to see YOUR ideas and fun things you are doing for your kids to make every day the BEST day! Your kids are going to LOVE this one!