This young lady is a girl that has good taste buds :). My parents are a whiz at homemade ice-cream and they pulled off another great one and Miss Jane licked her cup clean. Today was the blessing of our sweet little niece, Penelope May. It was a very special day and my sister and parents made every detail sweet and beautiful. The dessert on this scorching Utah day was strawberry rhubarb ice cream....and it was devine! My mom didn't even follow a recipe, she just made it up, and it turned out so delicious! As we enjoyed the cool treat I thought about what a blessing it is to live in this era of AC and ice cream. I really don't know how the pioneers did it and feel thankful to have these two modern cold convenances today. My admiration for the past and my gratitude for the things I have grows and grows as I get older.
There are so many blessings that I think we take for granted everyday. We live in an era of selfishness and of pampered ways in my opinion. We aren't truly grateful for how much we are blessed with and how much freedom and choice we are given. As I watched a special moment of Jane being read to by her daddy it made my heart melt with gratitude. Life will get hard sometimes and things will not always go as planned or desired, but every day, EVERY day, there is so much to be thankful for (go listen to Josh Grobans "thankful" song).
My ancestor, Mary Fielding Smith was a woman of great courage and gratitude. Last weekend we had the blessing and opportunity to see the small one room home she built with her children after making the long pioneer treck across America. She was offered land and space in Salt Lake City near the hubbub of people but she chose to live 2 hours out of the big city in this little home she built with her children instead.
As I looked through the windows at the tiny interior I thought about what her life might have been like as a single mother of a family in the heated state of Utah in the 1800's. She is a firm example of gratitude and pushing forward even in the toughest of times. How thankful I am to come through her line and to be able to strive to live up to her faith and courage. Yesterday marked the anniversary of her husbands martyrdom in Carthage Illinois. I am so grateful for the Smith family and the amazing amount of zeal, humility and firm testimonies of truth they stood for. I pray that I will always have the courage and ability to be grateful for what I have, strength to push through trials and courage to stand for righteousness. Because this life and beautiful world are great blessings!
