HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I hope you had a wonderful day with friends, family, and plenty of pie.

To end Krista’s Official Week of Gracias, I want to share with you one of my favorite talks. It’s called “Live in Thanksgiving Daily” by Elder Wirthlin. I hope you enjoy.

And with that, on this chilly November day, I also share the things I’m grateful for today:
A Heavenly Father who is ever-loving . A Savior who is full of grace . The Holy Spirit who is ever-ready . My mother, a woman full of sincere love . My father, a man who will do anything for his family . My Karly, you are strong in every way. My Kaycie, you are precious in every way. Frit — I will never be able to explain the blessing you are . My grandparents . My education . My brain . My heart . My voice . My home . My calling . A job that provides a challenge and a steady income . Amazing friends who are examples and sources of strength . The garden we grew this Summer and all the lessons I learned from working in the earth . Fresh tomato sandwiches . Sunny days . The ocean . Answers to prayers . The earth and all her unpredictable beauty . Kisses from children . Miracles . My feather mattress topper . My Mac computer . My daydreams . Vacations . Marriott rewards points . meandering bike rides . delicious books filled with delicious words . my certainty that true love exists . this country, no matter how broken it may be right now . my mission and all the people and lessons and experiences I was blessed with . the place my life is right now . the places it has been . green lights . flower deliveries . holidays . advice from others who have “been there” . teachers . a great hair-cut . lost friends, found . warmth . the resurrection . the Restoration . restoration . Light . good cries . hope . faith . tomorrow . Life.

...let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
Hebrews 13: 15

***

The fruit of my lips today is thanks for …
1. our thanksgiving decorations. pumpkins galore, sequined turkeys, wooden pilgrims, and sparkley balls hanging from decorative ribbon in the windows. oh, i LOVE holidays!
2. a fun lunch with Brad and Shanna
3. leaving work early
4. a phone call with my granddad
5. baking a homemade pie crust in which to pour a pecan pie …
6. … in an apron,
7. whilst listening to French jazz music
8. baking lefsa with the olsen clan
9. 6 shows down, 19 to go
10. a soft heart

Come, ye thankful people, come;
Raise the song of harvest home.
All is safely gathered in
Ere the winter storms begin.
God, our Maker, doth provide
For our wants to be supplied.
Come to God’s own temple, come;
Raise the song of harvest home.

-Come, Ye Thankful People, Hymn 94

***

The more I’ve tried to make a conscious effort this week to be thankful, the more I want to BE a “thankful person.” I want Heavenly Father to think (when He thinks of me), “That Krista. What a good kid. She’s always so thankful.” I really do. I want to always be a thankful person. And I think gratitude — honest, consistent, and sincere gratitude — takes practice. Maybe some people are born with automatically thankful hearts. Mine? Not so much. Mine needs practice. And I’ve been grateful (see … it’s working!) this week for the opportunity to try harder.

Today, I’m especially grateful for …
1. the money I found in a forgotten bank account
2. the award i received from whitney permann’s porch. whitney: my sincerest thanks. i was SO touched you would even think to nominate me!
3. the italian opera music the construction workers were listening to whilst they worked on the building next to ours downtown. …or maybe there were SINGING the italian opera music. THAT would make it even better! either way, those are some guys i want to hang out with!
4. divine motivation
5. karly and the way she looked in her gorgeous ivory-with-a-champaigne-sash wedding dress
6. melissa-whose-name-means-honey-bee and the hot hair she gave me tonight. i have the best hairdresser in the whole wide world!
7. my buddy and the way she hangs out on the phone with me while i drive home. we don’t even talk sometimes. she’s just there. always there.
8. 5 shows down, 20 to go
9. hope for change (and i am NOT talking about Barack Obama)
10. yesterday
11. today
12. tomorrow

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts … and be ye thankful.
Colossians 3:15

***

Today I find peace in my heart because of the blessings I have, for which I give thanks …

1. a kind hug from a friend.
2. a job.
3. gas at $1.75
4. mileage reimbursement
5. whitney being willing to spend 5 days in Idaho Falls and 1 in Pocatello so I wouldn’t have to
6. fhe at The Gateway with Edward and Bella — mmmm
7. the exciting possibilities that lie ahead for my Karly and her JJ
8. peaceful moments
9. 4 shows down, 21 to go
10. the knowledge i have that answers will come

O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
Psalms 95: 1-3

***

May I go before his presence today with joy and thanksgiving for:

1. the sacrament, and the opportunity it is to think upon that great Atonement that was made and what it means to my little life.
2. the kids in our ward. they are ALL so darn cute and say the darndest things during meetings.
3. home teachers who come faithfully every month.
4. my mia maids. i don’t think there is a better group of girls in the whole wide world and i couldn’t love them more. they are so smart and lovely. truly gems.
5. my testimony that the Lord walks with us in life. He never, never leaves. and is ever loving us.
6. my gorgeous table setting for lunch. i really outdid myself! :) white table cloth, chartruse linen napkins, white plates, canary yellow bowls…
7. and the lunch i made! it was so delicious. thanks jamie for the recipe!
8. the chance to eat, play games, and spend time with my sister Karly, who now lives in Texas but came to Utah for Thanksgiving.
9. the chance to meet JJ, Karly’s “special friend.” :) i REALLY like him Kar. do NOT mess this up.
10. 24′s 2-hour pre-season premier. my heart was POUNDING. that jack bauer. he’s incredible!
11. Helga’s delicious dinner and time spent with Kim’s fam. i love those olsen’s!

If thou art merry, praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving.
Doctrine & Covenants 136: 28

***

Day 2 of Krista’s Official Week of Gracias is pleased to present 10 more reasons for merriment.

1. a safe flight from Boise to SLC
2. the 7-year-old kid on the plane who said to his parents (very loudly), “mommy! i just saw something very disturbing in the bathroom!” his use of the word disturbing made me giggle. :)
3. being HOME. i love my home and the way it feels when i walk in. (plus there were balloons and a “Welcome Home” sign Kim hung in the entryway!)
4. the lesson i’m teaching my Young Women tomorrow. i think i needed it more than they do.
5. the pop-tart i just ate in my bed.
6. the fact that my sister is coming for lunch tomorrow!
7. a text from my dad that said, “i love u.”
8. a good, good friend who makes my life not-lonely. at all.
9. the fact that we have 3 shows down, 22 more to go.
10. happiness in life.

In honor of the fact that Thanksgiving is in 7 days, and due to the other fact that I think Thanksgiving kind of gets the shaft by being sandwiched in between 2 of the more favored holidays, i.e. Halloween and Christmas, I hereby declare this week Krista’s Week of Gracias.

Ultimately I suppose that’s what this haystack is about…seeing the everyday blessings. But this week I want to count them one by one.

Today I am thankful for:
1. a delicious ice-cream outing with Maryhelen and her beautiful girls. The Freeman family lived in my last area on my mission. They have since moved to Boise and since I was in town we were able to see each other and catch up for a moment.
2. speaking of missions … we started The Forgotten Carols tour in Seattle this year which is right next to my mission (Tacoma) and I am thankful for the overwhelming blessing it was to not only serve a mission, but to serve a mission there, AND to have gotten a chance to visit this week even if only for a day.
3. Matt fixing my Blackberry just as the show was starting. (He fixed it by looking up the problem on his iPhone. tell me THAT’S not an Apple commercial!)
4. Kris, the DB manager in Boise. I just met her today, and she is one of the most kind and genuine people I’ve ever met. Goodness just oozes out of her. (and she told me i have pretty eyes)
5. the complimentary cookies that our hotel has on their check-in counter, and the fact that they don’t get mad, or even glare, when i take one (alright 2) every time i go past. (OK! One time i took 3! Geez!)
6. Kim’s Friday card. She tucked a series of cards to be read each day I’m on tour away from home. Today’s (and yesterday’s and the day before yesterday’s) was filled with special memories and happy thoughts.
7. a love text from mi madre. I love that even though i don’t call her as often as i should, that she still texts with love and enthusiasm for my life.
8. the fact that we’ve got 2 shows under our belt and only 23 more to go.
9. my Marriott bed.
10. a God to give thanks to.