Thankful Thursday

Welcome back to Thankful Thursday, a feature started by Louise at Talk Nerdy to Me, where we look back over our week and remember our blessings.  It is so good to see all that has 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 .Fun Mail

I got such a wonderful surprise in the mail this week from a friend in Scotland. She had posted on FB that there was a Doric version of the book Gruffalo, which is a dialect where she lives. I thought that was pretty cool and asked her to record herself reading it. She offered to send me a copy instead. And she did! I wasn't really expecting her to. I was so happy!

 I could read the book in my head, but reading it out loud was a bit more difficult! The kids listened, but they got confused. (not surprising)

("a mouse took a walk in the wood. A fox saw the mouse and the mouse looked good.")

  Abi and I had fun reading it, although she sounded more like a pirate to me! HAHA

2. rebate cheques

I got a letter from ICBC this week (the Insurance Corporation of BC, the company that you have to insure your vehicle with to be able to drive it legally here.) that they had been overcharging me (oops. dang corporation) I am thankful for the cheque they sent though. It is enough for us to be able to rent the uniform Abi needs for her choir performances.

3.International Festival

The grade ones have been studying different countries this unit and have come together to do a few fun events. They had a few soccer matches (or, rather, Football in most of these countries) and ended with an International Feast, where each class hosted foods from their country. Rhys' class studied France, so some parents brought in crepes, croissants and quiche---which was impressive because my mind went blank and all I could think of was French Fries, haha!  The other countries represented were Netherlands, Guatemala, and Italy. 

It was a fun afternoon!

4. acceptance
  
I think just about everyone knows by now that Rhys is a huggy boy. He loves to give random hugs to people and he will love and hang on you if he knows you. I think it's great about him as it shows his genuine love for others. But I know that people we don't know may not enjoy it as much. Such as classmates of Abi's. But Rhys still runs up to them and hugs them and wants to hang around them!  

I am so thankful that Abi's classmates are okay with that. They not only endure his clinging, but they are so kind that they even encourage him. It warms my heart to see that they don't look down on him, but accept him. I had to pull him off one girl as we were leaving school the other day because he kept hugging her leg! She laughed it off thankfully.

5. balloons!

We got confirmation this week that my niece is now allowed to have latex without having an anaphalactic episode!  Woohoo!! After 8 years, she can now play with balloons!!!  This is such an amazing gift! We all kind of take it for granted that we can play with balloons at parties or not have to worry about what the rubber balls in school are made out of or avoid certain foods that cross relate.  I can't wait to be able to give her a balloon!

6.  visits with old friends

And when I say "old", I mean Dear...not OLD! haha.

Shannon and I have been friends ever since we worked together 14 years ago. (gosh, now I feel old!) For a while there we would get together monthly, but she started to full-time work as a nurse and life got busy for me and we weren't able to anymore. After a few cancellations, we finally met this week for tea and a visit. My heart is happy again. (having hugs from her daughters, saying they missed me, helped too!)

 7.  friends 

If you were to ask Eden who her best friend is, she'd probably say Joey, our next door neighbour. We are so blessed to have this family beside us. But with night coming earlier now and so many after school events, they haven't been able to play as much; they look forward to the weekend!

8. gaming night

For Kai's birthday party, he invited his friends over for a gaming night. We got him a PS3, and we borrowed an old-school Nintendo and an extra tv, and a friend brought over his Ninetendo 360, so they had plenty to do! We fed them and they played games and had a lot of fun. I had to laugh though that by the end of the night, they were all on the couch with their own devices playing Minecraft together!  It was a fun evening! (and cheap!)

(this is the picture we used for his invitations!)

9. extra long weekends

My kids are out of school for two days this week, giving them an extra-long weekend! I love that! As much as I love their school and I love that they can go, I also love those special days where we can relax and sleep in and stay in our pjs!

10. Colourful Garden Carrots

I am so thankful that we had a bit of a garden this summer that yeilded a lot more beets than expected, as well as beans and these carrots. I love all the fun colours! (I think they were called Rainbow variety, but I could really be totally wrong. I don't pay good attention to these sorts of things)

 So that's my week in a nutshell. How about you? What are you thankful for?