On the first day...

In honor of 12/12/12 and the Twelve Days of Christmas,
I challenged myself
and each of our children
to ponder
and then write down
12 things
they are Thankful to God for...

This is something we typically focus on around Thanksgiving,
but this just feels right to revisit.

The tough part will be to narrow my list to just 12...
my problem has never been with ingratitude;
I could go on and on and on and on and on with all that I am truly grateful for, I have been richly blessed in this life and
I choose to focus on my blessings,
it keeps me smiling each day!

So, the song that comes to mind that is just replaying itself over and over is ~

"On the first day of Christmas,
my true love gave to me..."

maybe that is because the things I am grateful or thankful for I really do believe have been given to me...God or Heavenly Father (however you wish to refer to Him) has blessed my life in the richest of ways. 
Sometimes those blessings are revealed through trials, and at other times through rays of sunlight and smiles...
but He is always there giving me what He knows I need to become who I am to become.

So back to it...here is my list:

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
The blessing of a husband who treats me as a Princess each day of my life.
He is my Knight in Shining Armor and I KNOW he was a gift to me, he was given to me to help me smile each day, he was given to me to help me see me the way he does, he was given to me to help me make my dreams come true, he was given to me to help me work through the trials I would face in this life, he was given to me as a reminder that good does exist in this world!

One the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
one little baby girl
and another baby girl
and then a little baby boy
and one more baby boy
and another tiny little baby boy
and then another sweet baby girl
and finally one last little baby girl...

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
Arms and a Body to hold that dear husband of mine close
and to rock those sweet little babies each and every beautiful night.
This body He gave me allows me to do all I could ever dream of,
the only thing that limits me...is me ~ He sent me here to show Him and myself what I could and would do. 
The best thing I believe I could do is to use this body to Love those He sent to me
and to love the body I was blessed with.

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
The best friends I could ever dream of having...
those that I could laugh with
cry with
run with
dance with
and talk endless hours with...
he gave me friends for every season of my life.
He gave me a heart big enough to love each of them for who they are
and to cherish the time (limited as it may be) that I have with them.

On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
Parents who have always loved me and supported me.
A mom who showed me how to love my family through the service I could share with them, a mom who taught me the value of taking care of myself, my family and my home, a mom who is always there, a mom who I treasure and am thankful every day of my life for, a mom who is so much more than just a mom...she is my friend!
A dad who showed me what hard work is, a dad who taught me to play baseball in the backyard and run for all I was worth, a dad who tried with all his might to turn me into the boy he never had, a dad who has softened into one of the sweetest men you will ever know.  A dad that I am so grateful I can call My DAD. 

On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
A sister that I could grow up with...
a sister that I could learn life lessons with...
a sister that even through all the hard times and the battles we've had to endure is still present in my life and more importantly in my heart...a sister that I love and cherish and am so grateful to have close by.  A sister that I hope to spend countless hours of happiness with in the very near future!

On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
A mind with which to think
and to dream
and to imagine
and to create.
A mind that allows me every opportunity in the world.
A mind that is alive and vibrant and full of life and wonder!

On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
flushing toilets,
hot showers,
curling irons and hairspray and lip gloss,
and at the end of a hard day
hot bubble baths with beautiful candles and dark chocolate.
(Do you like how I squeezed a whole bunch all into one...that still counts, right?)

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
Wonderful kitchen tools
and the desire to create in that wonderful room in my home!
I am so thankful for all of the delicious foods we have to choose from,
I love the colors of food
and the smells
the various textures...
I love spices and how they make food just JUMP to life!
I love the fun I have in my kitchen with my family.
I love the smiles and the oohs and aahs that come after a yummy meal has touched their happy little taste buds.

On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
Beautiful things that surround me no matter which way I turn ~
whether they be artwork created by a famous artist or the sweet artwork of a child,
the beautiful music that I am blessed to hear,
the budding flowers,
or the snowflakes falling from the skies.
The sunsets and rainbows,
the smiles of little children,
the birds that fly overhead
or the wonder created by using my imagination.
I am so thankful for this magnificent world and all the creations that are here for us to enjoy.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
The gift of expressing myself.
The gift of being okay with expressing myself.
The gift of being me and finally loving me.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
the gift of the Atonement...

the biggest of all gifts.

My Savior died for me and I know with all of my heart, He would have done it for me and me alone if I were the only person on this earth...I am thankful to Him for loving me enough to pay the price for me...to suffer for me...to experience all the trials, heartache and disappointments I would have to go through. He gives me strength and a purpose...He helps me to believe when I doubt.

"The Atonement makes wrong things right"
is a quote that I received from a friend many, many months ago...
it just makes sense and again proves that HIS GIFT is the greatest of all.
With this gift, things that I may do wrong can be made right through repentance.
With this gift, things that others do to wrong me allows me to feel peace because that is His promise.
With this gift, the ugly things in this world, the things that bring tears to my eyes and pain in my heart can and will be made right.
The Atonement is a most priceless gift for each and every one of us, but is often unnoticed or invisible, please always remember how very much YOU are loved.

My gift back to Him will be to live a life in which I share all the love I can with all that I ever meet.

Happy 12 Days of Christmas to you!

I'd really love to do a little cheating about now...
Don't you think we should add a couple extras???

On the 13th day, on the 14th day, on the 15th day...

I feel like I should be listing the 25 days of Christmas...

So so so so many wonderful things to cherish and be thankful for in life...
now I'm challenging you...
you will be grateful you spent the time on this.

I am happy enough to do a little happy dance...don't ya wanna feel that way, too?
Then we could be happy dancin' together!  :0)