Thankful Thursday

Today after work/school, Autumn & I went over to Mom & Dad’s for dinner. Mom made Chicken & Wild Rice. It was SO GOOD! Also, Mom got the stuff for Better Than Sex Dip. We decided we needed to modify the recipe a little bit b/c it is plenty spicy without the hot sausage. Autumn LOVED it and kept eating and eating and eating it. I finally had to pry her away from the chips and dip. We watched a Charlie Brown Christmas on TV and I love that they quote the Bible and still show it on TV.

Rhonda, Me, Rachael, Karri, Stephanie

I left and went to Starbucks to meet the girls for visiting teaching. I got the white chocolate peppermint hot chocolate drink. It was super tasty and hit the spot. I love this group of ladies and we always have a good time when we get together. Rachael & Stephanie came late b/c their kids had practices. They are always the life of the party and we were all laughing so hard with the stories they were telling. I feel so close to all of them.

I finally had to pull myself away from all the fun at 9:30 so I could go get Autumn and take her home to bed. We got home & Autumn ran straight to the front door to see what our Secret Santa left for a gift tonight. There was this cute bag full of different size gold coins w/ chocolate in them. Autumn was SO EXCITED and was jumping up and down and saying, “Mama, Mama! We’re rich! We’re rich!” She thought it was even better (if that’s possible) when I showed her there was chocolate inside the coins. Here is what the note said:

Four calling birds, we can’t pay the fare,
For all we have is a purse full of air.
As Christmas approaches, and calls you must make.
Don’t use these gold coins or the phone you may break.

I noticed there was also a candle w/ a note on the counter. It said “Sister Johnson” on the front and I opened it to find this bar of Godiva chocolate and Christmas picture from the Relief Society President, but it was from her son, Joshua, who is in my Primary class. He had drawn on the back in big letters “Merry Christmas” and she wrote, “Thank you for all you do in Primary. You really go the extra mile!” I was so pleasantly surprised and it made me so happy.

I went out and checked the mail since I haven’t done that in a few days. There was a package from Franjo in Slovenija. Inside was this Milka chocolate bar along w/ a Christmas card that had a picture of him w/ 2 Multi Sola drinks, which are my favorite drinks in Slovenija. There was a really nice note inside as well.

I can’t believe how blessed beyond measure I am. I have such incredible friends, church family, extended family, and immediate family. I have so much to be thankful for this holiday season (and really all throughout the year). Thank you to each and every one of you that has had a positive impact in my life. I hope I express to you how much I love and appreciate all of you!