As I pass over the reins......

51.  Being part of Girls Camp was really a creative, bonding, and spiritually uplifting time.
52. I love the friendship I developed with Lanette Hopkins, what a wonderful woman.
53.  Wendy Vance is a great friend now who has the convictions to do right and a heart of pure gold.  Graceful, elegant, stately come to mind when I see her.
54. Stacey Frost is fun, creative, and bold in her testimony of Christ.
55. Marianne Gatchell went from being a school contact to a friendship with love,  fun, and lots of creativity.
56. It was so fun to get to know Emily Merrill who now lives in my ward, and Marci Jones who I met as a 2nd year leader and really got to know in her capacity as president, what a sweetheart!
57. I'll never forget the head massage I got from Jill Bragg and the fun and laughter we shared.
58.  Teemaree has so many sides to her personality and watching her wearing different hats of fun, spirituality, and leadership was fantastic.

59. There are many ladies I got to know for the very first time, like Ruth Assisly, Karma Christensen, Pat Nieman, Nancy Bullock, Marsha Alexander, Karen Anderson, Cathe Toland, Cindy Barisof,  etc........
60. I loved watching women I already knew interact in the camp setting - Joanne Magleby, Michelle March, Linette Perona, Sam Bowerbank, Lynette Woods and many,  many others.

Guest Contributor~Thanks Linda Ann!

My List of Gifts

by

Bonnie Mattson

Sharon, Vermont
Lane leading to the birthplace
of the Prophet of the Restoration,
Joseph Smith, Junior


I love things that inspire me and this blog did and that is why I am starting my own Gift List!

1. My Father in Heaven that knows me and loves me just as I am. He sees me as whole and His precious daughter even though I have weaknesses and struggles to overcome. His unconditional love is the most motivating thing in my life.
2. I am blessed with the perfect husband for me. He makes me happy, he makes me think, he makes me stretch, he sometimes makes me crazy. (And I him!) He is made to order, perfect for me. So today I am thankful for my husband, my best friend and eternal companion, Jim.
3. Today I am thinking of the gift of our first daughter, Jennifer. She has blessed me in so many ways by making me a mom and also the first to make me a Gramma! When she was born I was in such amazement at how quickly and completely she won me over. That has never faded in all these years. She makes me so proud n so many ways. That love from parent to child is so beautiful. It is only replicated when your grandbabies come along!
   
4. Today I am thinking about how grateful I am to be relearning how to play and have fun. This seems very important to me. I love not having to be tied to a rigid, jammed packed schedule or a time clock. No one loves the thought of getting older but it does come with some priceless gifts that I wouldn't trade for youth and beauty!
5. Today is November 15 and it has been 7 years since my mom died. She is one of the most essential and miraculous gifts in my life. No daughter could have had a better friend or mother. I have lived all my adult life trying to live up to her loving example as a mother. I miss her but her memory is a most treasured gift on my list.
6. Oh boy, do I love my boy, Chris. When he was little he use to be so sad that he didn't have a brother. I told him it was because I could never love another boy like I love him. God gifted us with a nearly perfect son to raise. Seriously this kid was so easy. He was obedient, made good decisions and has such a wonderful disposition. He has been the best of sons.
7. When I was expecting Laura I got the chicken pox. I was deathly ill and they wanted me to have an abortion. Saying "No" was the best decision I have ever made as a parent. Sometimes I think about 'what if ' and it makes me so grateful for the guidance from the spirit to know it was a wrong choice in spite of the pressure put on us by the doctors. She has been such a joy to us since before she arrived.
8. The gift on being mother and wife has been the greatest thing I have ever attempted to do and I hold the experience sacred in my heart. Motherhood is a privilege and to have a great husband to share the raising of children with is a gift beyond all others in this mortal life, especially when coupled with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
9. I adore my parents both, Mom and Dad! Each of them contributed so much to my happy childhood and they made adulthood pretty great too. And they blessed me with two very special brothers whom I love very much. I miss the olden days when we all lived together under one roof. I think it special whenever I can be with my brothers now. Its not often enough but it is wonderful when we can set that time aside for each other.
10. Today I am very thankful for the power of prayer. So many friends and family members are suffering right now and when I feel helpless to know what to do, I pray. To pray for others is a blessing and privilege. I am praying for my friend, Deanna, who is suffering with terrible pain right now and the possibility of losing her vision. I am praying for Judy who had a mastectomy, Alan and Michelle, Melanie, Carol, Marie. So many need so much.
11. I am thankful that Jim has helped me so much this week to get our Christmas decorations up for this year. It is beginning to look at lot like Christmas over here and still a week before Thanksgiving. Early I know, but it's better than late!
12. I am grateful for the gift of knowing that Rome wasn't built in a day. Sustained effort, plodding along like the tortoise is what works to accomplish things. I have spent five days working on the house to get ready for Christmas and it is finally looking good. It was overwhelming to do but one thing at a time it is getting done and I feel ahead of the game for the moment. Everything takes effort...nothing happens on its own. There are a lot of people who think they are entitled to stuff just because. Adding the work element makes all the difference. Knowing this is a gift and I am thankful for it.
13. The gift of a sunny day when rain was predicted. It is sunny because it is Scouting for Food day here and many will benefit from the scouts going out to put food on the tables of the poor. More good will happen today because of the sun! Woohoo!
14. I am thankful I have the gift of compassion in my life. Right now I feel such sadness over people close to us that are suffering with cancer, threats of blindness, infertility, unemployment, wayward children, loneliness, the list goes on and on. I am grateful that my heart is not hardened or desensitized to this suffering and that I can pray and petition the Lord for their comfort and peace and healing.
15. I am grateful that I have a burning desire to journal and keep records for our family. The spirit of Elijah is alive and well in me and I like it. I know it is a gift with a purpose. Those are the best kind of gifts.
16. I am happy that we belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is a gift of immeasurable proportions. I find it a gift that we get to do a variety of service in the Church. We have received a new calling as a couple but cannot disclose it yet as we have not been sustained in church yet. I am excited about it for a number of reasons and so is Jim.
17. Today I am thinking that being retired is pretty awesome. It is a gift to have Jim home more and to be able to just take off on a little outing anytime we schedule it into our plans. I have decided to start dating these entries. 11/22/10
18. I feel that my prayers have been answered that my knees would feel better after a very busy week of standing, lifting and working for hours at a time and they were feeling the crunch. So my gift is relief from the pain I had yesterday and still another faith promoting experience with prayer. 11/22/10
19. I find that just plain being grateful is a gift. To find the balance between striving for improvement and contentment is healthy. It cannot be so heavily on the side of improvement that you can never be satisfied and happy with things as they are. 10/23/10
20. I am grateful for the wisdom of others. I like this quote..."Thanksgiving, I love it. It is presence, not presents!" Brilliant! 11/24/10
    
21. "What is gratitude~the marriage of grateful and attitude." The quotes of others make me think and broaden my horizons. They are a gift to me. 11/24/10
22. Thanksgiving Day is wonderful. I strive for the gift of a thankful heart. I want you be known as a person that knows how completely dependent we all are on the grace of a loving Father and His Son. I want to be a person who makes a conscious effort to be thankful. Not just on Thanksgiving Day, but every day, every time I pray or look and really see all of the gifts He has given to me. 11/25/10
23. Today I am thankful that 63 years ago my husband, Jim was born. I am thankful that I have celebrated all but 16 of those birthdays with him. he has been a gift to me in ways even I do not understand. Marriage is a gift I am so grateful for, the older I get the more I realize how sacred it really is. 11/26/10
    
24. I love the gift of faith in Jesus Christ I have been given. Hazie is very ill right now and in the hospital with a serious infection. I know that the Lord will watch over her. I cannot fathom anyone could love her more than we do, but He does. The faith I have assures me things will work out according to His plan for her. Laying it down at His feet is the best survival in the storm we can have. I know He will bless her and take care of her little family too. The Gift of the Holy Ghost testifies to me that this is true. My gift is peace. 11/26/10
25. Today I am thankful for medical knowledge, antibiotics, CT scans, blood draws and all the things that they are trying to help our little Hazie get well. Mostly I am thankful for the prayers of our family and friends in all parts of the world that are praying for her speedy recovery. I feel God has heard those prayers and quieted the fears of Hazie, her Mom and Dad , Sisters and Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. 11/27/10
26. I am also thankful for my dear friend, Maureen, who has just had her 60th birthday party tonight. We have been friends for over half our lives. She has truly been an ongoing gift that never stops giving! 11/27/10.
27. Best Christmas gift ever, Hazie is getting better! God is so good to us all. 11/29/10
28. I am gifted with a peace about Hazel's recent illness. We have the gift of faith, good medical professionals and the peace of the Comforter. I am grateful for the hundreds that have been and continue to pray for her. 12/1/10
    
29. I am thankful today that I am almost done with my Christmas shopping and that for years we have been saving money every month for Christmas. It makes shopping and giving so much better when you can do it without going into debt or without a big knot of anxiety in your stomach. 12/3/10
30. I love that we do not live in a land of snow! California has the best weather ever. 12/3/10
31. I am gifted with a love of the scriptures. I realize that one of the reasons our leaders are always telling us to read them is that is how we grow to love them. I have come to a point in my life where doing becomes more effective than questioning most of the time. Just do it and then you see. Paradoxically, not usually the other way around. 12/4/10
32. I have a deep appreciation for the beauty around me. I am such a visual person. Beautiful things seen by the eye and the heart enliven me and I think this is truly a gift from God. 12/5/10
33. I love order in my life. The gift of organization is one that is almost a self made gift because it requires continual work, but the desire for it is a gift. To have order is a spiritual gift because sometimes without it you cannot see beyond your mess long enough to progress. 12/6/10
34. I enjoy the fact that gifts come in large and small packages. Sometimes the small things are so delightful. Today I am thinking about the gifts of light. I love all kinds of light, sun light, outdoor lighting, Christmas lights. It is a gift to have electricity and to be able to use it to do practical and beautiful things. It is a gift to love the light as well. In the light things can be clear and visible and uplifting. Today specifically I am being less intellectual about it and just thinking about the splendor of a beautifully lit Christmas tree. Memories of gazing at them for years and years is a gift. 12/6/10
35. I am grateful for my friend, Linda Ann! She has always been such a wonderful support on my blogs. Sometimes when you write so much it is so nice to have someone stop by and say "Hello" and let you now that they are reading what you have written and that they are getting something good out of it. That is always the hope. Thank you. Linda Ann! 12/9/10
36. I ran into a friend yesterday at the mall. We have been friends with her family for many years. We hadn't seen each other in a long time but she said, "I just love running into people that are my root friends." I thought about that and loved that designation. Sarah is our Jennifer's age so she has pretty much known me her whole life. I loved being a friend from her roots. Even though she has moved away she said home is where her root friends are. Sweet! 12/12/10
37. I find the Christmas holidays to be fun and yet exhausting. I love knowing myself well enough to know that at my age (63) the old gray mare ain't what she use to be. What I use to be able to do in a couple days now seems to take so much longer. I am OK with that. The beauty of growing older is, it may take longer but then you don't have as much of a need to be in rush. Less stress = more fun. What's not to love? 12/16/10
38. Yesterday I was driving down the road and was thinking, "I don't think I have ever been more happily married than I am right now." I felt such a deep appreciation for the journey of marriage. If you endure the rough spots the joy comes full force and it is all good. This is such a good age for me. Things are just making perfect sense finally in many areas of my life. What a gift! 12/17/10
39. Wow I have been absent for a while while we have been in Utah. Please know that I am more thankful than ever for a Father in Heaven that knows and answers fervent prayers. Hazie is improving because of Him and His answers of yes, she can get better! 1/3/11
    
40. We had a beautiful Christmas with some of our kids and grandkids. It was only sad not to have everyone here. But we talked and Skyped and connected via electronics, those are the things I am thankful for right now. I think of the pioneers who sent loved ones off to unknown places, for undetermined amounts of time and never knew what was happening. We are truly blessed. 1/4/11
41. Yesterday a dear friend was buried at home while we are still here. I am thankful for the example of the good and spiritual life Jon Aikele lived. There is no question in my mind that he met his eternal goals. What a blessing to have been called his friend. 1/4/11
    
42. I am thankful we were able to travel safely in the snow here so far. We Cali kids are not that familiar with the white stuff and it quite frankly, it scares me. Thankful all is well. 1/4/11
43. I am grateful that my friend, Linda Ann has asked my to team up with her on what she is thankful for~her list of 1000 she is working on. I just love her and am thankful we have met. She is a kindred spirit. 11/4/11

Life is Good

41.  I appreicate living in the day and age of technology, instant communication, and having a computer.
42.  I really like cameras.
43.  Dishwashers are soooo nice to have.
44.  I like instantly working stoves - no wood, coal or propane required - though those kind of stoves can produce really good bread and things also.
45.  Big Screen TV's are awesome.  I love watching with the whole family.
46.  Having Rebekah at home for this time is tremendously good.
47.  Life with refridgerators is lovely.
48. Vaccums are nifty.
49.  I love reading, I'm glad I'm able to read what others have written, I love the communication.
50.  I love learning from my children.