Thanksgiving

 

President Monson has a gift that enables him to touch your soul in a way that makes you feel the Holy Spirit and makes you do better. "A grateful heart... comes through expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings and to those around us for all that they bring into our lives". Thank you President Monson.
http://new.lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/the-divine-gift-of-gratitude?lang=eng

Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is a holiday to express thankfulness, gratitude, and appreciation to God, family and friends for which all have been blessed of material possessions and relationships. Traditionally, it has been a time to give thanks to Almighty God for a bountiful harvest. This religious origin is now primarily identified as thanksgiving in general.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Healthy Tree

When gathering with friends and family around the table for Thanksgiving, be sure to take the time to give thanks and show how grateful you are for everything you have. If you do it every November day, you could transforming negative thoughts into positive by focusing on how much there is to be thankful for. Here is a fun way to do it with flair!
This is a great way for your family to celebrate Thanksgiving. Have all your friends and family members add 'leaves' to your tree as they visit over the holidays.


Materials Needed:

• Tree branch without leaves attached
• Clay Pot or Glass Jar
• Pebbles
• Colored cut out of leaves in fall colors
• Pen or marker
• Ribbon, Yarn, or Raffia
• Hole Puncher

Instructions:
1. "Plant" tree branch in colorful planter.
2. Keep a basket full of blank colorful autumn leaves and markers next to your tree branch. On each leaf, a person should write something they are thankful for each November day.
3. Encourage each guest to pick a leaf, write what they are thankful for on the leaf, and hang it on the tree. This will make a beautiful centerpiece for your table or accent piece in another high-traffic area of your home.
4. Share the completed thankful tree during Thanksgiving dinner. Encourage each guest to share their own submission by going around the table.
5. Later, collage the leaves into your Thanksgiving album as an after dinner activity. Everyone, especially children, will enjoy looking back over the years and reading what they were thankful for.

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

De-Stress in a MOM's Garden

Did you know gardening is a great stress reliever? You get an aromatherapy treatment from the fragrance of the flowers and you stretch and work out your body by planting and pulling out weeds. As well, pastel colors, like pink tulips and yellow daffodils, are known to have a calming effect on your emotions, so it's no wonder your mom loves to garden! And who knows - you may end up liking it so much that you garden with her even after Mother's Day!

Gardening requires you to use your head and your creativity. The time spent planning the garden and researching different plants is a great brain workout. Gardening gives us a chance to be creative. You can let your personality shine through in your garden.

Gardening connects you with people. It's like walking down the street with a new puppy. Everybody talks to a gardener. It's also a great activity to do with kids. Give them a section of the garden all their own. Some of the best lessons can be learned in the garden such as delayed gratification and don't leave a rake on the ground with the head pointing upwards.

• Gardening provides fresh fruits and vegetables and the encouragement to eat them.
• Gardening provides the regular physical exercise listed in the prevention of heart disease, obesity, adult-onset diabetes and high blood pressure.
• Gardening can be especially beneficial for people with special needs or those recovering from illness. Gardening promotes an increased range of motion, develops eye-hand coordination, improves motor skills and increases self esteem. 
• Gardening connects you with mother's nature and the rhythm of life. 

Happy Mother's Day!

My mother has a garden that she waters every day.

Sometimes she picks the flowers and makes a bright bouquet.

She says the flowers remind her of things that children do—

So come into the garden, and I’ll explain to you.

She says I’m like a daisy,

a golden ray of sun,

Or like a happy marigold,

always full of fun.

Here’s a lacy lilac;

it scatters sweet perfume.

And here’s a yellow daffodil

to brighten up a room.

I’m like a carefree dandelion

growing wild and free.

And I am like a hollyhock,

as tall as I can be.

Here’s a strong snapdragon,

as big and brave as Dad.

And here’s a small, sweet violet

trying to be glad.

I’m like a quiet crocus

with promise for the spring.

I’m a purple pansy

that makes you want to sing.

If I am like a flower, then surely you must know

That mother is the gardener, for she helps me to grow!

She cultivates and nurtures and enriches patiently.

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for creating her for me.

Pat Graham and Joan Ashton, “Sharing Time: Mother Is a Gardener,” Friend, May 1985, 32

D&C 59: 17