Thankful Thursday

Welcome back to Thankful Thursday, a feature started by Lousie at Talk Nerdy to Me, where we look back over our week to remember our blessings.  It is so good to see the good things that have happened, especially if you have had a particularly tough week. Being grateful is good for the soul. Here are just a few things that I am thankful for.. 


1. love squash

I am thankful for fresh veggies and fruits of the season! I was so happy to pick up an acorn squash this week and have plans for a warm cozy dessert one night soon!

When we got home, Abi discovered that our squash has an orange painted heart on it. How cute! I am going to love eating it even more now!

2. creativity

Yes, I know, I know, I am often thankful for being creative and for card making. I can't help it. It truly does make me happy! But I am not just thankful for making cards for WCMD. I am thankful that I have a creative spirit and that I am able to make things. Sometimes it is just for me, and sometimes it is to bless others, and you can never go wrong with that! 



3. warm laundry

I can easily say how thankful I am for the ability to wash and dry my laundry in my own home; I know that not everyone in North America has that ability and has to rely on family to get clean laundry or on a laundromat. And I am aware that in many countries washing clothes by hand in a basin, in the river, or over a fire, is still common. So I am very grateful that I can live in my cozy, warm and convenient home.

But specifically, I am thankful for warm laundry to snuggle up in as it comes straight from the dryer!  I loved it when my mom would bury me in it, (actually, I still love that!) and my kids enjoy that too!

4. cold supplies

I'm not thankful for my first cold of the season, but I am thankful for friends who offer help and for supplies. Hooray for thick soft tissue with lotion! And for hand cleaner. And Halls.

5. good books

Abi had to go buy the brand new book, Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordon, which came out on Tuesday. It is book five of the Heroes of Olympus series and his last one with Percy Jackson, so the news goes, but we are hopeful one of two characters will end up in his new Norse series. We have been reading all of his Percy books for years (the Percy Jackson Olympians and the Heroes of Olympus, five books in each series.) but didn't get into his Kane Chronicles series (which are about the Egyptian gods), and have been waiting for a year for this last book to come out. (he releases a new book each October)

I knew she'd be up all night reading, but I had to laugh when I caught her at 1:30am with just a chapter to go! Now she is sleep deprived and going through a #bookhangover as she mourns the fact that the series is over!  

I laughed when I saw this tweet by Rick Riordan (@camphalfblood):
Some reader each year: loved the book read it in 5 hrs but it felt a little rushed.
Me: maybe because YOU READ IT IN 5 HOURS. #niceproblems

hahaha!

I love that Abi has found a series and author that she loves and that she is willing to lose sleep reading. I admit that I would've done the same thing...as a kid and now as an adult! We are excited about the new series next year!

**I know, these are crummy photos, but I couldn't get my flash to work. I'm sure you are used to my less-than-professional, un-photoshopped pics by now!


6. serious baking

I enjoyed having Kai in the kitchen baking these Pumpkin Butterscotch Muffins this week, and am thankful that he is starting to show more interest in things other than Minecraft and Lego or Nerf guns! He did a good job and the muffins were yummy!

7. stamina, strength and other stuff like that 

I am so grateful for the stamina and strength that I had this week while being a temporary single mom. I managed to get the kids off to school each day despite sickness (well, except for one day) and late nights, and we stayed on our meal plan list and we didn't have too many issues to deal with. 

I am also thankful for my Mountain Man's return and am counting down the hours til he is home!


8. Overwhelmed

This song really touches me. It is the newest song by Big Daddy Weave, called Overwhelmed.

I am so thankful for good Christian music to listen to in my van or online. Listening to music that supports the way that I think helps shape my day and keeps my mind on the right track. There are a lot of catchy songs on the regular Top 40 radio stations, and I do love a good danceable beat, but some lyrics are really terrible! We don't pay attention to the words we are singing often enough. When we are singing it, we are agreeing to it in a way, and it starts to become something acceptable in our thinking, and I need to be careful about that.

9.  Free School Photos

I love school photos!  I can not seem to NOT order them each year; it just doesn't seem right. However, with four children in school now, ordering photos can get a *bit* expensive. (to be honest, most things are.  I had to pay $60 for my kids to order hot lunches this fall/winter. Gah!)  So I am so thankful that MountainWest Studios, the group that our school uses for their photos, offers a "family savers plan". You pay for two children and any siblings after that are free! The stipulations are that they have to be in the same school (different campus' count, thankfully!) and you have to pay for the more expensive packages, and you have to have the coupons they offer (which you can usually pick up from the school office)

If you have more than two children and your school uses Mountain West, you need to look into this! It has saved us almost $50 this year! Yay! (...now if only the school could arrange a family savers deal for hot lunches!) 

10.  A quiet house

It has been over a week of me trying to settle my house down but not succeeding, when finally last night it worked: a quiet moment! I actually had all of the kids in bed by 9:30pm, and most were actually sleeping! Even the Olders were in bed! I sat down in complete silence, amazed and just soaked it in! Of course, this happens the last night before my Hunny comes home, when I could've used it greatly over the course of the week! But you know what? I am so grateful for that quiet evening. It worked wonders to quiet my own soul too, and I found myself finally relaxing too.  So, thank you, Father, for that gift of peace. Thank you for giving it to me just when I needed it the most.


 Looking back over my week and recognizing small blessings is a great way to keep my perspective. I had a few rough spots this week, but I will take these reminders to heart.

What are you thankful for? I would love to know if you write your own list.