Relief Society Gratitude Dinner

 After work today, it was a crazy whirlwind. I stopped at Costco to get some cheesecakes, I rushed home, made dinner, made a batch of THE BEST caramel sauce, and then left for the Relief Society Gratitude Dinner that I was partly in charge of. Sisters had come earlier in the day to set up the tables, chairs, & centerpieces.

 I was super worried when the catered food was delivered, b/c the person in charge of food only ordered 3 salads. But, it ended up being enough for everyone. I was dumb & only got 2 cheesecakes instead of 3, and there were a few people who didn't get a piece. Darn it!

 Our group of AMAZING sisters that were able to come. I think I counted 42 sisters by the time it was over, which is a good turn out. I think it helps that they get to just show up & don't have to bring anything.

 Bonnie was an ANGEL & offered to host it at her house. She had moved all of her living room furniture into her bedroom so there was enough room. Plus, her house is gorgeous & smelled so good.

Monica gave us a spiritual thought towards the end of the evening from this talk on gratitude by Vaughn E. Worthen. I like how he says gratitude is:

*a positive experience that comes from recognizing gifts or blessings and feeling thankful

*an attitude, a way of perceiving life, in which individuals are willing to receive & acknowledge the beneficial actions of others on their behalf

*a habit that can be cultivated, causing one to focus on the blessings of life

*a coping response to challenging or difficult circumstances

It was a wonderful evening, and I'm glad so many sisters were able to come. Since this was my first Relief Society activity that I was in charge of, I'm cutting myself some slack on the food. I stayed to help clean up, load chairs & tables into vans, and I took the container of centerpieces back to the sister that let us use them. WHEW! What a night.