Sunday, March 4, 2012

Gratitude post #3 - Living People

Still moving along on my goal to record 100 thoughts of gratitude, the next part I'll share is 10 Living People I am grateful for. By the way, there are obviously loads more living people I am deeply thankful for but these happen to be the ones for whom photos were easily and quickly obtainable. So please don't be sad if you didn't make the list--you might even have been "higher ranked," than some I featured (that sounds funny...no, let's not think about ranking) but I simply wanted this to be a photo post. So anyway, disclaimer aside, here are 10 people I am thankful for in no particular order: My Mom. She is humble and able to laugh at herself. This picture is an example; she made friends with this refugee at a special community event, and as she was showing us photos afterward, she just busted up laughing and showing everybody how silly she looks in this photo. She really has a good heart and it has been a joy getting to stay with her the past couple months. She's a good friend of mine.
My bro Brandon. Another great humble person with a sense of humor that clicks with mine. I've always regarded Brandon as my sibling matchup. We get along well. Plus he speaks Chinese! I'm grateful he was able to help me connect with my in-laws when we visited HK last time. Plus also, I'm so thrilled for him that he recently got engaged!!! So I'm grateful for him because he is giving me a sister-in-law.
Sweet Husby Jerry. Best husband and father ever. Seriously, I married above myself. He is hard-working, handsome, makes me laugh every day, a spiritual leader in our home.
A living prophet. President Thomas S. Monson is the sort of man "who does what the rest of us only think about doing." (quote from his biographer) He has spent his lifetime in the service of God and it means the world to me to have the Lord's mouthpiece available to give me counsel and direction.
My brother Justin is serving a mission (just entered the field about a week ago after more than 2 months in the MTC). I am grateful he has an upbeat personality and is an example to me of finding joy in serving the Lord.
Grandma Ellie; my mom's mother. She is where my mom gets her sweet personality. Grandma Ellie knows how to pick just the right toys for Mr. Lo, and is the perfect blend of doting love mixed with wise guidance to all who come into contact with her.
Mr. Lo. He is pretty much the darling of the household, running everywhere he goes because of his zest for life. I am so grateful we didn't wait long to have kids, because what would life be like if that Lo was not here with us right now?? He adds so much depth and joy to my days.
My little brother David. This is a picture of Lo copying Uncle David, and I sure wouldn't mind if Lo contiues to copy his Uncle David for the rest of his life. David is such a basically good kid overall. He is 17 years old, a star athlete who once got into trouble for accidentally competing in too many varsity sports (crazy rules). He has been pretty much a straight A student his whole life, self-directed and talented. I'm grateful he has been a good sport about having Jerry, me, and Lo invade the home. He studies his scriptures every day and is a good example to me of working to be more Christlike.
Baby Ashlyn. I am grateful she is Lo's first cousin! She has an easy-going personality and it melts my heart to see Lo interacting with her.
My dad. I am thankful he has fallen into the role of grandpa so readily--he is Lo's best buddy these days. He is a tough guy with a soft heart. Here he is giving Lo a ride in his tractor.
Again, I want to reiterate how thankful I am for all the amazing people who bless my life, even those not mentioned in this particular post.

3 comments:

C Tam said...

Cute photos; thank you for the sweet post, Courtney!

Clark and Eleanor Swain said...

One hundred points of gratitude--What a wonderful thing to do. Thank you for including me this time, a sweet things to say. I am greatful for you Courtney and all the wonderful memories you have created for me and Grandpa.

TheTamFam said...

haha, I wanted to clarify that "C Tam" above was actually my mom Valerie who happened to use a computer signed in to my name. I promise I wasn't giving that much lavish self praise. =)