Gratitude Journals and Other Stuff

How was your Thanksgiving weekend? We spent the big day with my side of the family. My mom always reserves a church by her house (our extended family is too big for her home) where we celebrate the festivities and of course we pig out on way too much food. (I photographed the food this year and plan to write down all the recipes on the scrapbook page.) Afterwards we played a spirited game of dodge ball. We always go to a blockbuster movie together and this year it was "Enchanted" (great movie, by the way!).

Friday night my hubby and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary. Steve planned it this year and went all out. We stayed at Grand America in SLC (the nicest hotel in Utah!) and enjoyed an amazing trip to the spa. He then arranged for friends to meet us at Ruth's Chris restaurant (best steak I've ever had) and a Mannheim Steamroller concert. Fun, fun, fun! The next day we went to a BYU vs. University of Utah football game. Our team, BYU, won at the last minute--heart stopping, exciting game!

Yesterday the girls and I (along with 10 other neighborhood girls--I'm in charge of activity days twice a month for 10-11-year-old girls at my church--made gratitude journals.



The girls loved the project (the one shown was created by Sage). They covered composition books with their favorite paper. They were encouraged to write five "grateful" moments every night. We had them adhere this quote on the front cover of their books:

"As you start to write, you could ask yourself 'How did God bless me today?'" If you do that long enough and with faith, you will find yourself remembering blessings. And sometimes you will have gifts brought to your mind which you failed to notice during the day, but which you will then know were a touch of God's hand in your life. Preserve [these memories] for the day that [you] and those you love will need to remember how much God loves [you] and how much [you] need Him." Henry B. Eyring

Last night I saw both Sage and Brecken writing in their books right before bed. I was so touched by what they wrote. Here's Sage's list:



1. Family dinner together
2. This gratitude journal I got to make with my mom
3. I got a really good score on my math homework
4. I ate a yummy sugar cookie
5. I finished making my dad's Christmas present. It turned out great.

I was so inspired by this project that I also started a gratitude journal last night. (My friend, Carrie Heaphy, created this cute book for me. Thanks, Carrie. It's perfect for my journal.)




Here's what I wrote:

1. Our puppy, Maggie, only had one accident on the floor today! (Believe me--this is something to totally be grateful for!)
2. Met with our new financial advisor, Tim Whipple. I feel really good about him!
3. Created gratitude journals with Sage and Brecken and other girls from church.
4. Listened to Brecken playing my favorite Christmas song--Still, Still, Still.
5. Steve organized our pots and pans cupboard complete with labels. Hurray!

I love this idea. So easy to keep up on--only takes a few minutes a night. Join the Bearnson girls in creating gratitude journals today!

A few other things:

The December Kit of the Month goes on sale Dec. 1st! Don't delay in getting it. It's packed full of value and the designs are the best ever! (If you were getting a prompt for a password, don't worry about it. We took it off.) This is a page created by my Rome, Italy friend, Helena Virpi, who used some of the stamps ("live, laugh, love"). (Great job, Helena!)




Also, check out the other amazing deals on lots of products at Creatingkeepsakes.com.

One more cool thing. Homegrown Hospitality, a really cool publication headed up by my friend, Stephanie, is looking for submissions. Go to www.homegrownhospitality.com/submissions.php for more information.

I am cooking up a really fun holiday contest. Stay tuned for me to announce the trivia question and the wonderful prizes.

Have a great rest of the week.

Lisa B.