Focusing on what I have been given

I know Thanksgiving isn't for a little while yet but I have been starting to think about and focus on the gifts in my life instead of on what I lack. I have been given much when I really start to think about it. Here is but a short list of the many things I have to be grateful for every day:
-My husband we have had our ups and downs and we have lived through for better or worse but at the end of the day I am so grateful he is in my life I love him more every day that goes by.
-A warm place to live although it is falling apart it is a roof over my head to keep me dry and safe and warm
-Plenty of food to eat
-The knowledge I have of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ this has given me more hope and strength than I could have imagined
-Dear true friends the kind who become like family I love you all so very much
-My family as a whole I love you all
-My niece, Lexus her sweet sun shiny personality warms me to the very core and I am grateful I get to have her in my life to love and adore especially since she has learned to give hugs and kisses...there is nothing better than the sounds of a child's laughter and to be kissed and hugged by them
-I'm thankful for our two wonderful loving cats, cloud and nermal and how much happiness they give us
-I'm thankful for this country that we live in and for the men and women who fight hard and sacrifice everything for it's freedom and the right we all have to enjoy this land.
-I'm thankful for simple pleasures such as warm cozy blankets and hot cocoa
but I think that most of all I am thankful that I have been given challenges in my life I never thought I would ever say that but I see how every obstacle in my way helped me grow and change and become better as a person. I can see how Heavenly Father uses them to mold me into a better person and as a result I see the personal growth I have a long way left to go but I'm on my way thanks to hard times in my life where I thought that I would snap in half but somehow I got through it and in the process got just a little bit stronger.