Thirty Days of Thanksgiving

No, it's not about food but gratitude. So every day this month I'll post on Facebook something I am grateful for and then eventually get it posted to this blog. I'll just keep adding to this entry until the month is over.

Day 1: Thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I swear it's the only thing that keeps me sane! He heals all wounds and lifts all spirits if only we let Him.

Day 2: I'm grateful for my husband and his hard work so I can stay home and raise our kids. I'm grateful for his sense of humor and for making me laugh, because it really is the best medicine.

Day 3: Grateful for my children and the opportunity to be a mother. They are such fun, caring, and kind kids. Last night S1 threw some foam craft shapes all over the family room. I asked the other two boys to pick them up while I fed S1. I then went upstairs. I realized this morning as I came down the stairs to wake them up, that there were no longer stamps all over the floor either (S1 likes to chuck those everywhere too). They had cleaned those up also without my having to ask! They got a big thank you when I woke them up.

Day 4: I am grateful to be free, to live in a land of freedoms, to say, do, worship, write and vote as I see fit, to be free to obtain the education of my choosing, free to choose my vocation, and to be free to suffer the consequences of my actions because that is how a person grows. I am eternally grateful to all the service members through history who have laid down their lives, or are at least willing to, to create, preserve and defend these freedoms. I am grateful to their families who work so hard in their absence, have to adjust to their return as a changed person and especially those for whom the separation isn't as temporary. So thank you Grandpa, Dad, Rick, Drew, Gene, Aaron and Robert.

Day 5: On this first wintry day, I am thankful to have a home. Someplace secure and warm to protect me and my family from the elements and temporal storms and hopefully a place a refuge from the spiritual ones as well.

Day 6: Thankful for antibiotics. They made Kara's bout with pneumonia a minor inconvenience instead of a major ordeal.

Day 7: I'm grateful for our vehicles. Having reliable transportation gives me the freedom to get my kids the education that they need and to the doctors they need to see and makes getting loads of groceries home very easy! I am especially grateful for our 1995 Chevy Astro van with 200,000+ miles that just keeps going and going (knock on wood).

Day 8: As I sit here listening to the hum of my dishwasher, I am grateful for electricity, hot, running water, and modern conveniences. I am thankful to not have to wash my clothes or dishes entirely by hand, cook over a fire or run outside to use the necessary. What a blessing!

Day 9: Today I am grateful for the right to vote. Especially for all the women who fought so hard for women to have that right. Even if the people/issues I vote for may not always win, at least I am able to make my voice heard.

Day 10: Grateful for my parents. They gave me life and the gospel. There are no two greater gifts. Plus they love me, no matter what.

Day 11: I said it in an earlier gratitude post, but I'll say it again. I am so thankful for all those who serve in our country's armed forces. They sacrifice so much so we can sleep in peace at night. Happy Veteran's Day. If you know a veteran, make sure they go to Applebee's and get a free meal!

Day 12: Grateful for a good numerical memory so I could call all my peeps when my van had issues on my way to carpool. Memory not so great at remembering to bring the cell phone (since I was hauling D1, S1 and trash out the door all at the same time) to carpool.

Day 13: I am thankful for good friends. They pick me up when my car goes kaput, drive my son to/from scouts, listen to me when I need a listening ear, go with me to midnight showings of chick flicks, like my posts so I know they are really still there, come in from out of town and meet me at Costco for lunch, and help me out when I need someone to watch kiddos. So to all my friends, thanks so much for all you do. You help keep me sane!

Day 14: I am grateful for education, both spiritual and temporal. I may not use a lot of Marine Biology in my current occupation, but I do use what I've learned in raising, what I hope, are good kids.

Day 15: I am grateful for modern medicine. "They" may not always get it right, but when your one kid has to see not only his primary care physician but also a neurologist, a neurosurgeon, a gastroenterologist, an endocrinologist, a pulmonologist, a geneticist, and therapist for speech/OT/PT, you develop an appreciation for what they can do. I just always try to remember that there is a reason they call it practicing medicine.

Day 16: I am grateful that my husband has a job and works in a profession where he can have a steady job, and that it pays most of the bills!

Bedtime Sweet Bedtime

Kids are so funny. We were all downstairs in the family room (and the boys room is down there too). It was time for bed, so S2 and S3 clambered over each other so they wouldn't be the last one in to have to turn off the light. I carried D1 to the stairs and told S1 it was time to go upstairs as I turned off all of the lights. He was trying to turn them back on so I set D1 down by the stairs and told her to go upstairs while I dealt with S1. Instead she stood up and took off walking in the pitch black to the boys room. And she made it, even climbing over the mini trampoline. I guess she was drawn by the residual light from the night light. S1l followed her in and laid down in bed with S2, said good night but then got up to play with the night light. So I unplugged it and he decided to go up the stairs. As I carried D1 out of the room, she kept saying, "Shhhhh, Shhhhh, Shhhhh" with her finger up to her mouth. They all just made me smile.