top ten tuesday-random things i am thankful for this week.

10-i guess i am feeling thankful for my smart, funny and quick thinking kids.
background -the other day i was sitting in my private reading room, reading a catalog if you must know, Liberty and Joy come in, her new build a bear has a small hole in the neck, Liberty is asking if i can fix it. i tell her yeah i can sew it later, and Joy piped up"you should take it to aunt Jane mom doesn't have sewing skills."

9-i am thankful for a fabulous Dr. who fits us in when i call in the morning for two kids that have ear infections. Hope's ear was draining last week(she still has one tube in) and Liberty really was sick again, i thought she was just faking it. i am tired of keeping her home. and once again this month thankful for health insurance and cheap prescriptions! whoohoo!

8. I am thankful for tradition, this time of year has so many that i love. shopping the day after and the day of thanksgiving . thanksgiving dinner at the park in our fabulous Az weather, with 40 + family members(my siblings, their kids and a couple cousins). and movies with the in-laws that evening. driving around and looking for Christmas lights , hot cocoa and toast with the family, celebrating our boys birthday's with Maria's family. My mom's Christmas party including pictures with Santa. listening to Christmas music, and watching Christmas movies. this year it started early but really i am feeling for thankful for that too.

7. i am thankful for my brother in Law who is willing to share his time and talents and squeeze us in for family pictures this week. whoohoo Christmas cards. and a current pic of our family, we don't have a family one with Pierce yet. yay for family pictures, boo on scrambling for outfits, i mean washing clothes for it. i am resisting the urge to go buy all new stuff for it.

6. i am thankful for Dr. pepper whose existence i can't live without. it makes a bad day brighter, a thirsty afternoon more refreshing and hot salsa more bearable. I love Dr. Pepper.

5. i am thankful for good friends . the good bunko group, my fave girls, my girls night out group, sisters that are always there. and blog friends that link to me and comment! love that. it gives me a warm fuzzy popular feeling and i have to say thanks to everyone and hope they are having a fabulous thanksgiving week.

4. I am thankful for my computer and Internet. they gives me hours of enjoyment, blogging, checking emails, online browsing, medical advice, bank information, online bill pay, black Friday ads , music at your fingertips, hours of entertainment watching shows we missed, or stupid videos. online dictionary's and quick searches. i love my computer and the Internet.

3. I am thankful for my Van . while it may not be fancy , good looking or even clean , it gets me where i need to go, i can take my whole family wherever we need to be, and can even fit another whole family of 6. We can go shopping i it on black Friday and all ride together and take all of our loot. love my van. from the lips on the back to the strawberry shortcake on the front. i better get cleaning that sucker, 2 days left! and we have a trampoline in the back. gas may be 3 dollars a gallon but i feel like i get so much more out of it in my van. just because i can fit so many people and so much stuff in it.

2. i am thankful for my health. while it isn't all it could be or all i wish it was anymore , i am alive and relatively healthy, and this year was a pretty good year for me. no major surgeries , and no mental health crisis, no surprise pregnancies and no insanely bad test results, i am doing pretty darn rad compared to the last few years. i need to remember to be thankful for what i do have. and what i can do. i don't nap everyday, and i am not sick or weak. i walk pretty darn fast, and can make great time in a store. in and around the whole thing and out. at my low point last year one little trip to the store that would take me 5 minutes now , took me over an hour, just a short trip , i just walked so slow and was so tired it took an insane amount of time. now i can be in and out quick even when i take my time and try to drag it out. i was just in slow motion last year. crazy. so i am thankful for my speed and energy, and strength. that i can give a kid a bath and not be totally wiped out afterward and need a nap. seriously it was bad, i am thankful i am over that. I am thankful my reaction time is good, and my thinking is up to speed and where it should be. i am thankful i can make a decision, and execute a plan. that i know where i want to go and how to get there. i am thankful i am healthy enough and alive to raise and take care of my kids.
i am thankful for modern medicine and the huge medical advances out there being researched and invented.

1. i am thankful for all the basics i take for granted everyday, my family that loves me, and my home i live in , i dwell too much on not having a clean perfect house and kids, and what i wish i had , but i need to remember we have all the basics and that is all we need. i am thankful we have food to eat, and a house to live in (the fact that we finally own a house is pretty fabulous too) but just having somewhere to live, that we have beds to sleep in and a place to go to the bathroom, and shower, and wash our clothes. I am thankful for electricity and running indoor water, and modern conveniences that we take for granted. like the fridge and freezer full of cold food and drinks. i am thankful for a stove and an oven and a microwave and all the things i can cook even though i opt out of that normally. I am thankful for air conditioning and central heating (not that we have had a chance to use the heat or shut off our AC), but i am thankful we have the technology and use it. and that we can afford to run it. I am thankful for the freedoms we have and the service men and women that sacrifice their safety and family time , who protect our freedoms, and those that can't protect themselves . I am thankful for the police and fire men that are there when needed, and risk their live to help uphold the laws and keep us safe. I am thankful to the teachers that teach my children everyday, they teach them to read, and write their letters, and math skills, and they also teach them social skills and how to interact with others. they love and tolerate their silly behavior and show them kindness and patience when my kids behavior is less than ideal. i am thankful they have somewhere to go everyday and that their school is conveniently located too. i am thankful for my church and the perspective it gives me.


so what are you thankful for?