Update

Well the thing I prayed for to never happened, has happened! I had to give a talk! Not sure why I said Yes, but it kept coming out of my mouth! My talk was scheduled for the Sunday before Thanksgiving with the appropriate topic, giving thanks. Not sure where to go with the topic, I just did what I always did in high school, shoot from the hip and go for it! I got alot of compliments on my talk. I was pretty shocked at how many people told Richard that they really enjoyed it. Most people said that I gave them alot to think about. My talk was about how even the little things are what we need to be thankful for. I typed my entire talk up, so I could just read it and not have to try to remember it. So here it is. Let me know what you think!


The Sunday before Stake Conference I went looking for my husband so we could go home together. As I was looking for him, Brother Nielsen tracked me down and asked me to give a talk the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Before I could yell fire and attempt to run away, I heard Yes come out of my mouth. I should have blamed it on Pressured Speech, but I figured it gets me off the hook for awhile. Plus I wasn’t sure I could outrun Brother Nielsen in my heels. So here I am standing in front of what looks like a million people and I am trying not to hyperventilate and pass out. Though passing out might get me out of this talk, I doubt I could do it gracefully like in the old movies.
I am Rhonda Fisher and we have been in this ward for two years this week. Richard and I have been married for 5 years this coming March. We have 5 children Rebecca, 15, ReAnna, 13, Kaitlyn 10, Christopher 8 and Amberlin 6. Richard and I worked together at AT&T when we met. We worked together for several years but on two different floors. A mutual friend introduced us, but we did not really get to know each other until we both got a new job within AT&T and had the same training class. He threw a ball at me the first day and it has been uphill ever since. Most women get flowers sent to them when a guy likes them, I get a ball thrown at me from across the room! Richard is anything but typical! HE is the most original human I have ever met. Richard is now a stay at home dad and I have been with AT&T for 17 years now. The first 15 years in operator services and in Engineering and Construction since 2007.
I looked up thankful on the internet and got some very interesting websites. Nothing I could work with. It is hard for me to read something and then try to re explain it to others. I am better at just telling a story that I made up in my head or reading a story someone else wrote. So I looked up a Thanksgiving Poem. I found one I liked a lot and then decided to elaborate on it.
As most traditions go, on Thanksgiving, you give Thanks for what you have and who you are spending it with. Most people give the same answers, family, my children, etc. The poem that I am going to read finds stuff that I am not sure I would have even considered being thankful for.



I am thankful:
For the wife
who says it's hot dogs tonight
because she is home with me
and not out with someone else.
For the husband
who is on the sofa
being a couch potato
because he is home with me
and not out at the bars.
For the teenager
Who is complaining about doing dishes
Because it means she is at home,
Not on the streets.
For the taxes I pay
because it means
I am employed.
For the mess to clean after a party
because it means I have
Been surrounded by friends
For the clothes that fit a little too snug
because it means
I have enough to eat.
For my shadow that watches me work
because it means
I am out in the sunshine.
For a lawn that needs mowing,
Windows that need cleaning,
And gutters that need fixing
Because it means I have a home.




For all the complaining
I hear about the government
because it means
we have freedom of speech.
For the parking spot
I find at the far end of the parking lot
Because it means
I am capable of walking,
And I have been blessed with transportation.
For my huge heating bill
because it means
I am warm.
For the lady behind me in church
who sings off key
because it means I can hear.
For the pile of laundry and ironing
because it means
I have clothes to wear.
For weariness and aching muscles
at the end of the day
because it means I have been
Capable of working.
For the alarm that goes off
in the early morning hours
because it means
I am alive.
And finally, for too much e-mail
because it means
I have a friend who is thinking of me.







I am thankful for all the many blessings in my life. My husband even though he thinks it is his duty to scare me at least twice a day, for Rebecca when she gets the clothes out of the dryer and leaves them on the couch like a little elf is going to come fold them for her, for ReAnna who gets mad when you tell her that she has to wash some of the dishes by hand because they don’t fit in the dishwasher, for Kaitlyn who whenever you bring out a camera to take a candid shot, she poses, for Christopher who thinks it pretty cool that his mom can throw a mean spiral with his football, and for Amberlin, who thinks if she gives you the puppy dog eyes, you will make her bed for her. I am thankful for my sister who comes almost every weekend and makes the bed for her and cleans the disaster my teenagers call their room. I am thankful for my nieces and nephews that come and help with the band competitions and are happy to be at my house.
I am thankful for our summer vacation that took us to a lot of church historical sites including Temple Square, where my husband told almost every missionary that I was an investigator, you should have seen their eyes light up at the word investigator. It was like someone yelled free candy at an elementary school! And also places like Nauvoo, Liberty Jail, Adam Ondi Ahman, and Carthage Jail. I am thankful for the feeling of the spirit I got while sitting in the room where Joseph and Hyrum Smith died, which told me that everything I had been taught by the missionaries was true. I am thankful for our trip this year that took us to see family and old friends. I am thankful to Katie Arnold for taking Rebecca to Activity Days and church with her. I am thankful that our first visit to church was the Primary Program at the Dry Creek Ward, where all the primary workers kept telling me how wonderful Rebecca was and how grateful they were that she jumped in and filled the vacant spot. I am thankful that Rebecca is not shy and is outgoing and confident. I am thankful that ReAnna is who she is and that everyone accepts her and loves her for it. I am thankful that Joseph Malcolm helped Amberlin remove her tooth on the way home from school, so she did not have to get her own blood on herself.




I am thankful for Heavenly Father telling us that we needed to move to this ward so we could get Kaitlyn, Christopher and Amberlin. I am thankful that they came to live with us and that we will be able to adopt them soon! I am thankful I have a husband that is a great husband, father, and friend. I am extremely thankful that my husband is such a great cook, because if I had to cook every night we would starve. I am thankful for our home teacher, who makes it to our house once a month and my kids never seem to annoy him with their odd questions.
I am thankful for my visiting teacher who came outside and dragged me into Red Robin for Girl’s night Out before I could make it back to my car to escape! I am thankful that my husband invites different families over for dinner so we can get to know people in the ward. I am thankful for Facebook, because I can see what all the nuts I went to school with are doing and where to stay away from to avoid them.
I am thankful for my Valiant 9 class last year that made me laugh almost every Sunday over something funny they did or said. I am thankful for my CTR 5 class this year, which makes me giggle when they all give the same answer for different questions. I learn more teaching primary then I ever could just reading the scriptures. I am thankful that my family is back in my life and I am Deeta again. And that they go with us willingly to church when they visit on the weekends. I am thankful for a Bishopric that is friendly and approachable, though I still feel like I am being sent to the principal’s office whenever I need to meet with the Bishop. And I am thankful for this church and the people in it. I am especially thankful for this ward. My last two wards I felt like I did not exist and that no one cared that I was there. Here I know people and people seem like they really want to talk to me and to get to know me. I am thankful for this Gospel and all that is has taught me and blessed me with.

There is a lot to be thankful for in everyone’s life. You just need to look hard and you will see what it is. Even something little that blesses your life is something worth being thankful for.

I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.