Remember To Be Grateful.

Do we even realize how blessed we are in this country?

For stuff we don't even think about everyday?

For our Freedom.

For clothes.

For shoes.

For food.

For education.

When I was on my mission, I was out of The States for almost a year and a half.  I didn't see the American Flag flying for most of that time, but didn't think twice about it.  Never once did I think, "Hmm...I haven't seen a US flag flying in a while."  I didn't realize how much it effected me until I came home.  Walking out of the airport I saw an American flag high on a flag pole and just started sobbing.

One of the things we LOVE about Village of Hope is their mission to educate and rehabilitate the villages of Ethiopia.

We had to cancel our reservation this time to go with the group to Africa (at the last minute) due to some personal family stuff we had to deal with.  However, the blankets and quilts from the Blanket Project are still making their way to the village and the Children's Home.

I received a pattern in the mail to make the Infant Robe from Village of Hope and realized that DeAnna was nice enough to include some pictures (for the blog) from their last trip to the Kersa villages.

I hope that today (and everyday) we will take a minute to step back and be thankful for all the blessings we have in our lives; Things that most people around the world can't even comprehend.

Mother in the background is receiving instruction in bathing and care of scabies for her infected child.  Each mother also received a hygiene kit: Hand towel, wash cloth, soap, nailbrush, nail clipper, and hair pick or comb.

New clothes, hat, and blanket for this baby girl.

A big group of children with new clothes and hats--some even got shoes!  Some also received wooden cars (donated by "The Happy Factory")!  The boy in the back (white boy with blonde hair) took over 400 school kits to the elementary kids.  He and his brother enjoyed helping to dress the kids.

Clothes can make a kid feel special, and a modest dress can make a little girl feel like a princess!

This is Craig Hall helping the children make necklaces.  Hundreds of kits with string and beads were donated.

An appreciative mother holding her baby (enjoying a new hat and blanket).

This sweet baby girl just had a nice bath and got a new jacket, undershirt, and blanket!

This baby is 2 years old and so tiny and sick.  The doctor drained a huge cyst from the base of his skull.  As you can see, he is very mal-nourished.  Village of Hope bought a pregnant goat for the mother, so now he will have milk.

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"This is a wonderful time to be living here on earth.  Our opportunities are limitless.  While there are some things wrong in the world today, there are many things right, such as teachers who teach, ministers who minister, marriages that make it, parents who sacrifice, and friends who help.

"We can lift ourselves, and others as well, when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE."

~President Thomas S. Monson (Ensign Magazine, May 1992)