30 Days of Thankful--Day 5

I am thankful for wonderful teachers. We have been so blessed with such great teachers for my kids. Just last night we witnessed another example of our teachers going above and beyond the responsibilities of their jobs. All of the fourth graders had a lock-in at the school. Why? Simply because they had been working hard this year and the teachers wanted to reward them. So four very brave teachers hosted the lock-in and from all sounds it seems it was very successful. Of course, right now my fourth grader is "sleeping it off". My hopes is that the teachers were able to get good naps this afternoon too!

30 Days of Thankful--Day 4

I am so thankful for my house. I LOVE my house. When we moved here four years ago with four kids I never dreamed that I would be able to live in a five bedroom home. I was hoping for 3 bedrooms with a good play area. And when we first looked at this house, I didn't even realize it had five bedrooms. It is just the right size. And it has a fireplace to warm us by on cold, damp evenings like last night. This house is a constant evidence to me that God truly does know the desires of our hearts.

30 Days of Thankful--Day 3

I am thankful for rainy days. Rainy days make me want to stop, sit down with a book and a blanket and a roaring fire in the fireplace. And I have discovered over the last few months that I need good reminders to stop and do such things. So today I thank my Father for a nice rainy day reminding me to stop and rest.

30 Days of Thankful--Day 2

I am thankful for hot running water. I have recently rediscovered my love of a nice, hot bubble bath. I got a bathtub spa set as a white elephant gift in July and when my kids were on vacation at Grandpa and Grandma's a few week's ago I thought I'd try it out. I sat in the bathtub with complete silence (except for the occasional popping of some bubbles) and the dull rumble of the back massager. I enjoyed a good book and breathed in the aroma of my bath bomb from Lush. It was so. so. relaxing. So I have added bubble baths to my weekly routine. Last night as I was escaping in the bathtub my mind wandered to 10 years ago. Joe and I went on a mission's trip to Mozambique. Mozambique was in 2000 and still is the 5th poorest country in the world. While we were there we stayed in one of the nicer houses in Maputo (the capital). Every morning when we went to bath, we would poor cold water into an electric hot pot. We would heat the water up and then attempt to achieve a nice, warm sponge bath. I was there for two short weeks and Joe was there for 5. It was such a pain when we were there and then I think of the people that live there permanently...I am so thankful for my hot running water.

30 Days of Thankful--Day 1

In honor of November, the month of Thanksgiving, I thought I would do a series on thankfulness. We will start out with one that may seem a little odd to some. I am thankful for Halloween. I always get a feeling of gratefulness and patriotism during Halloween. What other country is so great that you can simply dress up and knock on some doors and get candy. In our small town the streets are filled with families and some neighborhoods take Halloween as an opportunity for a block party. Halloween is a simple reminder to me of the great town and country that I live in. And so, from that perspective, I am thankful for Halloween.