"Got no check books, got no banks. Still I'd like to express my thanks - I got the sun in the mornin' and the moon at night."

Mark and I are so excited for Thanksgiving this year in Logan, Utah. I have been doing so much thinking this past week about our many blessings. The Lord has blessed our lives in every aspect. On Sunday Mark and I went to a "Building an Eternal Marriage class." Our Bishop is the one who teaches this class. This week there is no school for BYUI students because of the break. He posed the question, how is life going to get easier this week? As many couples were answering, a common theme arose. Many people said that the stress would be so much less once school is over. Others argued that having a full time job is even more stressful. As the discussion continued I couldn't help but think about the saying "The grass is always greener on the other side." I expressed to the class that the grass might be greener on the other side but we have no idea what is to come. The trick is to thank the Lord everyday for what we have now. Although we don't have money we have time.

I got this e mail the other day about a wealthy father who took his son on a trip to show him how poor people live. When the father asked him what he learned this was his reply.

'I saw that we have one dog and they had four.
We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.
We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.
Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.
We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.
We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs.
We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.'
The boy's father was speechless. Then his son added, 'Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are. I think this is a lesson that we can all learn.

Mark and I read Elder Bednar's talk "Pray Always" In that talk he challenges us to say a prayer of thanks and ask for no blessings. This prayer was amazing. It was one of those times in life that I just felt so close to the Lord for all that He does. There is so much to be grateful for. I know that I go through my day and often forget that everything in my life happens because the Lord's hand is in it. Mark and I are grateful for all that we have.

Today was my last day of student teaching. I was working with the preschool kids and I just had to post these pictures. They are so cute and I will miss them so much.