30 Days of Thankfulness: Eh, Whatevs

I am clearly not a daily kind of blogger. I could rattle off thirty things I'm thankful for in about thirty seconds (unless I got sidetracked, which would be quite likely), but remembering to post just one thing every day for thirty days? So not happening.

And since Thanksgiving day is already here, I'll just throw a bunch of them in here at once. The usuals. Pardon any repeats.

I am thankful for my life and the people and places and situations in it.

• For a husband who works hard (really hard, given the opportunity) to provide for his family. He may leave his boots in the living room floor for everyone to trip over and expose me constantly to TV shows that I can't stand, but it's because of him that I'm able to stay at home with my babies. That was never our plan, pre-children - but it became my most desperate desire once Rachael was born, and he's made it happen for nearly nine years now. He irritates me half to death some days, but he's a good man, and I am lucky to have him. God and Grandma knew what they were doing when they paired us off.
  
• For two beautiful, healthy, intelligent, and hilarious children. I never know what will come out of their mouths next (okay, it's usually screaming, followed by "MY SISTER...") They also drive me crazy, but they make me smile even more, and they teach me so much. I only wish that they could just stay little.
  
• For a warm home, filled with all the things we need and a lot of things we just want. For a refrigerator and cabinets filled with food, not just on Thanksgiving, but all the time. For vehicles in the driveway that will get us where we need (and want) to go. For income that pays the bills...not much more than the bills, sometimes, but that's okay. Where there have been needs, God has always provided.
  
• For good health - my sinuses are giving me fits and there's a BB still lodged in Gene's leg, but overall, we're a pretty healthy bunch. It's very, very rare for either of the children to be sick, and for that, I am especially thankful!
  
• For a family that I love dearly, whether I see them once a week or once a year. I was blessed with wonderful parents and stepparents, and gained some pretty terrific in-laws when I married Gene. I can't wait to spend Thanksgiving with a bunch of people that I not only love, but actually like.
  
• For amazing friends...SO many amazing friends. My pre-married life friends, my old co-worker friends, my first-mommy-group friends and church friends and homeschooling friends, because-of-Girl-Scouts-or-4H friends, my weirdly random chance meeting friends, online friends and friends-of-friends who became friends. For a girl who typically has just one or two very close friends and counts most everyone else as "acquaintances"...well, my group of really-truly-FRIENDS sure has expanded in the past few years. I am thankful for every one of them. I'm even thankful for my used-to-be-friends, because whatever the reason that they're used-to-be's, the happy memories don't go away.
  
• For the internet, because it keeps me sane. Truly. And, you know, helps me teach my children and run my business and help other people...in addition to the fun stuff.  ;)

I could go on and on and on, but I won't...it's after 1 a.m., and I'll be up bright and early to bake cinnamon rolls and watch the Macy's parade with my girls, before heading to my dad's house to snarf down just as much turkey as I can possibly hold...which will likely be followed by a tryptophan-induced nap and a card game, in which I will have to hustle if I want to take the lead over the old man. Right, Phase Ten, add that to the list...and other family traditions too. You can't have too many of those.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

30 Days of Thankfulness, Days Nine through Thirteen

Oh, don't act all surprised. We all knew that I wouldn't stick with the one post every single day for a month thing. So, let's play catch-up, shall we? I'll keep this short and sweet, and save the rambling posts of gratitude for single blog posts, and also for days when I'm not posting at 1:16 in the morning.

#9: I am thankful for Great Value brand French vanilla cappuccino, which is both cheap and delicious and makes me feel like I'm an actual adult who drinks coffee, when the truth is that I really only like the smell and have to have copious amounts of flavoring before I can stand the stuff.

#10: I am thankful that at least one of my children loves books as much as I do, and I'm still holding out hope for the other one, even though she clearly received her father's video game gene. If I were independently wealthy and into the whole "designer babies" thing, that particular gene would have been the first to go. Also, maybe just one of my children would have gotten their father's dimples. Not that I'm bitter about that or anything.

#11: I am thankful for my smart phone. There, I said it. Look, I was behind the times - I've only had one since March, and no, the novelty has not yet worn off. It's a hateful little thing that randomly locks into desk cradle mode and will barely make a phone call sometimes, but it allows me to text, read on my Kindle, find cheap gas, use all kinds of nifty coupons, and waste all sorts of time playing ridiculously addictive games like Flow Free, which you should absolutely go and download right now if you've never played.

#12: I am thankful for my washing machine, because the notion of beating my laundry against a rock in the stream is just not appealing.

#13: I am thankful for my public library, even though I pay them enough in overdue fines that there should truly be a plaque with my name on it somewhere in the building. I just love being able to walk into a building, wave a card, and walk out with an armload of books without paying a single red cent for them. (Aforementioned child in #10 has gotten hooked on a series and gone into the library and cleared off an entire shelf. One of the proudest days of my life.)

And that will do for tonight. More (and more serious) gratitude coming...eventually.

30 Days of Thankfulness, Days Seven and Eight

Because I was all slacker-y yesterday, and because these two things go together, and because it's my blog and I can combine days if I want to.

I am so, so thankful for these little girls.

There were several things that I wanted to be when I was younger - an archaeologist, a lawyer, a librarian, a speech/language pathologist. I changed my mind over and over again, but completely aside from the career choices, I always knew that I wanted to be a mommy.

You've heard it said that sometimes God answers prayers with a "yes," sometimes with a "no," and sometimes with "wait." NO and WAIT can feel very much like the same answer sometimes, as I well learned when Gene and I decided that we were ready to become parents. We waited and waited, and I cried and cried, sure that our answer was NO. Clearly, it was not.

Rachael was worth the wait. From the moment she was born, she was a sweet, cuddly little girl. A little hard-headed sometimes, but loving and thoughtful and always smiling. She spoke like a miniature adult and entertained and astonished us, and we were sure that we could never love another person nearly as much.

But, we were willing to try. And again, we were made to WAIT. And wait, and wait, even longer than we waited for Rachael. Again, I cried and prayed and begged, and just when I decided that my emotions weren't up to the wait any longer and was ready to throw in the towel, there she was.

We had already decided on the name Amelia, if we ever had another daughter, and Amelia became real in my mind long before there was another tiny person to name. Gene had hoped for a boy, but there was no question that I wanted another sweet girl. And she was perfection.

Milly was never as easy as her sister. She's demanding and whiny when she doesn't get her way, she's shy when we don't want her to be, and she terrorizes her big sister (who, in turn, allows herself to be terrorized.) In short, Rachael made us feel like wonderful parents. Milly taught us how very little we really knew. We needed the balance. And yet, she is as loving as her sister (when no one else is around), just as cuddly (when she's in the mood), and amazing in her intensity. I don't love her nearly as much as I love Rachael. I love her just as much, only differently.

They fight. They whine. They're messy and loud. They drive me absolutely nuts most some days. I run out of patience and yell at them and feel like a rotten mom sometimes. I dole out punishments when I don't really want to, because they need it, or withhold punishment because I am Mommy and I can, and that's what grace is all about. They don't get everything they want, because I won't have them feeling entitled. And yet, I want to give them the world. They are a constant source of inner-mommy conflict.

But when they're playing so sweetly together, when little arms reach for a hug, when one of them says, "I love you, Mommy" ...well, all is right in my world, and all the waiting and conflict is worth it. I am not deserving of blessings such as these.

30 Days of Thankfulness, Day Six

Today I am thankful to live in a country where I have the right to vote for leaders. I am thankful for the privilege of teaching my children about the electoral process and taking them to the polls with me to help impress upon them the importance of casting your vote. I am thankful that the election in general has been a great social studies lesson for the past couple of weeks.

In the end, I don't necessarily have to be thankful for the results of the election...just that there was an election.

I will pray for Obama, and for the course of our country over the next four years.

I will remember that, although he will President for another four years, there is One much mightier that is truly in charge, and my hope is in Him alone.

30 Days of Thankfulness, Day Five

Today, I am thankful for social media.

Yes, it is a great time waster. Yes, I am sick of the political posts and the whining and complaining that are all that some people seem to do on Facebook. Yes, I'm guilty of Facebook-enabled public myself, on occasion.

But today has been a perfect example of the ways that social media - and Facebook in particular - can be used for good.

I was able to share a link to a local organization that is raising money to help a single mom in her time of financial need. I didn't have money to donate, but maybe someone will see that link and be able to help.

I set up an event page to promote the spaghetti dinner fundraiser that our Girl Scout troop is hosting this weekend. Letting people know about the event means more people eating spaghetti, and that means money to pay for patches and meeting supplies and service projects and events so that the troop parents don't have to. 

Best of all, my friend Brooke and I set up an auction page to raise money for our Reece's Rainbow Angel Tree children. 35 people liked the page on its first day, and $91 in bids were placed. That in itself was pretty terrific, but what really blows me away are all the people who have generously donated items to the auction. About half of the donations came from people that I actually know - people who I know to be exceedingly generous even when time and resources don't necessarily agree with their giving. Other donations came from Etsy sellers that I don't even know, but asked if they would be interested in donating to the cause - and because of their heart for orphans or kids with Down Syndrome, they gave. Many of them volunteered even more than I had asked. Several said that they were "honored" to be a part of the auction. Each of them touched my heart today.

We invited people to the auction, and they shared the link with their friends. I invite you stop by as well - whether you're an adoption advocate or no, there's some cute stuff up for bids, and several things that would make great Christmas gifts. Best of all, 100% of the purchase price will be deposited into the childrens' accounts, to help their future forever families get to them even faster. 

30 Days of Thankfulness, Day Four

I'll keep it short and sweet tonight, as I'm ready for bed and have been for a while, but am making an effort to actually update daily. Yes, I would like my gold star now.

Today being Sunday, it seems like the perfect time to mention how thankful I am for my church.

I've told the whole church saga on this blog before - how I grew up in one church, felt led to find a new one, felt an instant connection at a new one, felt like a traitor to the old one, et cetera, et cetera. It was not a fun transition. It caused much family tension, many tears, and much frustration.

But the plain and simple truth of the matter is that the first time I visited Osborne, two years ago this month, I felt the Holy Spirit during the worship service in a way that I never had before, in all of my (then) 31 years.

Since then, I have learned so much...about who God is and who I am because of Him, about practical life application of God's word, about loving people and serving joyfully.

I am still so far from perfect. I fail daily, and multiple times daily, at that. But here, I finally feel as though I am maturing in Christ. I can hardly help but be thankful for that.

I have also been blessed with an amazing new church family at Osborne. There are some people there that I went to school with, and love seeing again - if it weren't for one of them posting about Osborne on Facebook, in fact, I would likely have never visited. (Thanks, Liz!) But there are so many more that I have met for the first time there, that I wouldn't have known otherwise, that I love dearly and cannot, now, imagine being without.

I love the music. I love the pastor, although he stomps on my toes weekly. I love that there is a huge and well-run children's program, where my girls both learn and have fun. I love that there are thriving homeschool and adoption/foster care communities in the church. I love helping teach the kindergarteners on Wednesday nights, and big hugs from them between songs at music time. I love praying for my church family and knowing that they are praying for me too, and I don't even have to ask it of them.

If you're a local friend who reads my blog and you don't have a church home - please, come visit with me sometime. I'll show you around and stick right with you until you feel at home.

If you're not local...well, I invite you to check out some of the sermons online. There are LOTS that you can watch, and they're all worthy of your time.

No matter where you are, my wish for all of you is for a church home where you feel welcomed, loved, appreciated, interested, and convicted - a church home that allows you to fully appreciate Psalm 122:1: "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord."

30 Days of Thankfulness, Day Two

Today I am thankful that it is nearly bedtime.

I've been complaining a lot lately (maybe not publicly, but certainly in private, about how busy I am. 

This is not a good thing. 

I am absolutely not one to glorify "busy." Busy is no fun. And lately, I feel like I run and run and run and still manage to accomplish very little. I am frustrated with the running, and I am tired. How I love those rare, halcyon days when we have absolutely nowhere that we have to go, when we can stay in our pajamas and get schoolwork done and messes picked up and books read and naps taken. Did I mention that those days are rare?

And yet...I can be thankful for the busy-ness.

I'm thankful that I'm physically capable of going, going, going.

Mentally capable of keeping my to-do list fairly well together, and only forgetting a few things from time to time.

Financially capable of putting gas in the van, paying Girl Scout dues, traveling to alpaca shows.

I'm thankful for the people that are part of the places that keep me running - the church family that I love, the most amazing Girl Scouts in the history of ever, our 4-H friends, and the wonderful people I've met through my little photography business. (Oh, but all of those will be mentioned again this month...)

And mostly, I'm thankful that I AM MOMMY, and that I have a REASON to run.

30 Days of Thankfulness, Day One

Last November, I attempted to blog each day about one thing that I am thankful for. I started off strong, slacked off in the middle of the month, and finished up with a list at the end of the month to catch up.

This November, I briefly considered a repeat of my month of gratitude and decided that...nah, I'd just slack off again, so why bother? My blogging track record has hardly been exemplary of late, after all.

Today, everyone else in the world started posting day one of their own 30 days of gratitude on Facebook. And with very few exceptions, they all said the same thing: I am thankful for God/Jesus/the cross. (I have a bunch of awesome friends that way!)

So I thought about it a little more. Temptation being what it is, I very nearly chimed in with my own "me too" status, saying how thankful I am that God loves me, inexplicably, the mess that I am. My mouse finger drifted to that little status box several times today. Every time, though, my inner teenager rolled her eyes and said, "I'm not doing it just because everyone else is doing it."

"Besides, I'm thankful EVERY day, not just on the days of THIS month."

"And I can't sum up my gratitude for what Jesus did for me on the cross in one measly status update anyway."

"Or state it as eloquently as she did."
But the truth is, I AM grateful for all of the above, and why not say "me too?" Why not take part in the 30 days of gratitude again? After all, it's not a difficult assignment - I have so much more to be thankful for than I could possibly blog about in one month.

Even though it amounts to "me too," there isn't a single thing that is more fitting for day one of a month-long gratitude list. I can do nothing without Him, but I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength. And I am grateful for Him every moment.