Grateful

Bianca wrote a beautiful song; grateful, that comes to mind each Thanksgiving season. In the Philippines thanksgiving is not celebrated. Here they have the Mission Presidents seminar each year so we never celebrate it and neither was in the Dominica Republic and that is one Holiday I miss it so much but this year, we are headed to Utah on black Friday to help with the Mill Circle home. The woman who had lived there moved out and it's time to get it ready for Bianca. 

But before I start my day today I want to express my gratitude for my faith in a loving Heavenly Father who listens to my prayers. My faith and love for my Heavenly Father is at the very core of who I am and it helps me know that I am the daughter of a Heavenly Father who loves me and who believes in the very best of what I can become in my life. 

 I am so grateful for my faith because it guides me in all of my values and it provides a solid foundation for me to build my life upon.  I am also thankful that I believe in God enough to trust him to take my life where he wants it to go if I just put forth my very best effort to do the right things each day.

 Most of all I am grateful that God sees the masterpiece that I can become with my life, even when I can’t always see it myself. Second I am thankful for my immediate family.  I feel like the luckiest woman in the world to be married to my husband Daniel.  He is an incredible man and he always treats me with so much kindness, patience and respect.  I can truly say that he has never called me an unkind name or said harsh words to me.  That in and of itself is pretty amazing as I am certain I have tried his patience many a time over the last seven years of our marriage. 

 I am also the luckiest woman in the world to be the mother and grandmother of amazing children.  They are such good human beings.  They have a testimony of who they are and they live by their values.  They are amazing children and I am humbled daily that I get the blessing of being their mother, step-mother and mother in law.

  Third I am thankful for my extended family.   I have the most incredible mother in the world and she has taught me so much in my life.  She is intelligent and talented and loving.  She has sacrificed so much for her children and she has  always set a phenomenal example of living by your values. 

 In addition she gave birth to my Three other sisters and provided us a very fun upbringing.  I love my sisters very much.  We are all as different as the day is long, both in personalities and in looks even.  But each child has amazing talents and I have learned so much from each of my sisters. 

I loved growing up with them and I love forming friendships with them as adults with our own families.  I am thankful for everyone in my family.

Fourth I am thankful for my friends. I have been blessed to be surrounded with great friends in my life.  My friends are as loyal and true as can be and I love them as much as I love my family.   They have stood by me, they have mentored me, they have picked me up when I have down days, they have set me straight when I am in the wrong, and they have loved me through my failures as well as my successes and I am forever grateful to have them in my life.

Fifth, I am grateful for the opportunity to give back in my life.  I have spent the last 40 years of my life working my tail off to have the necessities of life, and as I married Daniel I was able to have a life changing event which has afforded me the opportunity to stop working in order to take time to give back through mentoring, speaking, teaching, and helping others to succeed as a missionary for the PEF This new opportunity to focus my efforts on giving back is a dream come true for me.  It is something I have dreamed about for as long as I can remember and now it is finally happening. 

 I someday will start my new company Almeida Investments, a Real Estate company and even launch our new charity Foundation for children at risk but for now, I am spending each and every day doing something I absolutely LOVE.   I feel so incredibly blessed to be able to do that.  I can’t even describe how humbling and grateful I feel. 

My life has been more than I ever dreamed it could be to this point and I can’t even begin to imagine what God still has in store for me in the coming years, but I know that if I just show up and work my hardest  every day to do the right things that the future will be nothing short of a true masterpiece…and the same holds true for all of you…thank heavens for my faith that let’s me know that to be true!  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday this week. Enjoy your time with your loved ones. Feel thankful for every wonderful second of your time together and for every one of the blessings you have in your life. Use those blessings to make the world a better place.

“Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.” -W.T. Purkiser

Thank you for sharing your lives with me. Thank you for taking the time to read my blogs and to care about the life lessons I am learning and sharing. Thank you for your amazing comments that motivate me to do better in my life so I can make all of you proud. Thank you for the contribution you make to this world and to my life. Have a happy holiday and I will talk to you again next week…I am going to spend the rest of this week focusing on my family and I will post again next Monday morning (Sunday night). Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!I

Con amor,

 Vero