Starting Over

This last year was good and wonderful, but also rough and difficult. Aren't most years like that?

We moved and with that came making new friends, dealing with new things and coming together as a family.

Experiencing last year makes us all excited for this year to start, to feel fresh and new and bright with new opportunities.

Being mindful of that, Jeff and I talked a  lot about happiness, where it comes from, how to keep happiness flowing in our lives. And the answer we came up with is gratitude. Being grateful, despite our circumstances, despite our challenges, brings a light into our lives that helps crowd out the dark and illuminate our paths.

I read a talk by Elder Uchtdorf of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the title jumped out at me since Jeff and I had been talking about this very thing:  Grateful in Any Circumstance

And we decided to make it this year's Family Theme for the new school year. I presented it at last night's back to school feast. Which was pizza, cuz we are obsessed with it lately. And our treat was apple juice with dinner since we have cut treats to only once a week. Usually.

As a family we watched part of Pres. Uchtdorf's talk and then we talked about gratitude, how we get out of life what we expect. Everyone shared things they are grateful for and we made a plan to discuss, every night at dinner, what we were grateful for that day. 

Then each child received one of these for their locker, and we hung one up on the bulletin board. (That I made! and will post about later)

(That picture of Jeff and I was taken at our luncheon right after we got married in the Seattle Temple. Yes, I know we look like babies. *sigh*)

Then of course after our talk about gratitude, we were blessed with a seriously amazing, full double rainbow. 

It gave me a little thrill to see it. 

Then this morning came, all too soon. Good bye to summer, hello to routine and quiet days and a clean house;)

First day of school pictures are a must. But I refuse to have them hold a sign. I don't know why. 

AndI am not a bit biased when I say that my children are the most beautiful on the planet. 

 Side note, Henry has the HARDEST time just smiling for a photo. He always has to look silly. But this one made the cut cuz Jeff had just told him to smile like he would at a girl he wanted to kiss. Girls are still icky apparently.

  This last one was silly just for Henry. It was the only way I could get him to smile, sort of, for the first.

 This year is going to be good. Jeff has a part time job teaching at the local University so extra money will make things easier. We are all choosing to be grateful, which means there is always a silver lining. I have learned how to manage the depression that was pretty debilitating this last year, hence my lack of posts and the topic for a future post-which means its easier to get out of bed. And life in general is just fantastic. Not perfect by any means, but fantastic.

And I have learned, that just as with decorating, life does not have to be perfect to be beautiful!