Several weeks ago, our Stake President (and his wife) stopped by on a Saturday evening. We assumed he was coming over to give something to my husband who is Bishop of our ward. We were both surprised when we realized they were there to specifically see me and give me this:
He expressed his gratitude to me as the wife of the bishop. He mentioned the fact that many times the wives get left out and aren't acknowledged for all that they do behind the scenes. He and his wife were going out to dinner--date night. I was so touched that they would take away from their date to show gratitude to me. I wondered if other wives were being visited that evening or if each week that was a part of their date to visit someone else. It had been a rough week for me and those flowers were the perfect antidote for making it all better. Really it wasn't the flowers, but what they symbolized to me--Gratitude! I am always telling my children (and my husband) that a sincere "thank you" will get you far in life. Everyone loves to be appreciated. As I looked at these flowers day after day it was a reminder to me to show more appreciation to those that I am around. There are so many people that have influenced my life and deserve a thank you note or a phone call, etc. The time to do it is now...not when it is too late.
"Gratitude is mark of a noble soul and a refined character. We like to be around those who are grateful. They tend to brighten all around them. They make others feel better about themselves. They tend to be more humble, more joyful, more likable." --Joseph B. Wirthlin
Before Christmas this last year I was trying to think of gift ideas that would be inexpensive and yet meaningful. My younger sister led me to this idea which I immediately fell in love with and decided that I could actually make one of these for another sister and her family. It ended up being a really easy and inexpensive idea. I called up my sister and had her e-mail me family pictures. She immediately wanted to know what they were for and kept trying to get it out of me. The original idea used bigger blocks, but I just bought a package of six 1 inch blocks from Michael's. I was really concerned that the pictures were going to be too small, but the smaller blocks seemed a better size for a yahtzee game. I think they turned out really well. There are so many sizes of blocks to choose from and several of them fit perfectly into this box. This box I also found at Michael's for $1.50. This box is the old cigar style boxes or from my early elementary years it was the style of my pencil box (if any of you are old enough to know what I am talking about). The game pages that I printed out and cut fit perfectly into it. I love how it turned out and almost didn't want to mail it. My sister absolutely loved it. Please share any great ideas that you might have for this next year. It is never too early to start planning.
