30 Days of Thankful

I feel tremendously blessed. Every day I wake up and count my blessings. I have a wonderful husband; a child I adore; family whom I love; a warm house; food that sustains me; clean water to drink; cloths to wear; and a job that allows me to contribute to our household income while also filling the role of mom. I have friends, near and far. I believe in a God that watches over me during the good times and the bad. I have so much to be thankful for.

During the month of November, I decided to record some of the things that I am thankful for daily. I am thankful for the mundane, the normal, the unexpected. I am so thankful for this life I have.

1. Thankful for life's little surprises. I never expected to find this little trail in County Park in Scottsboro, Alabama. I felt like I discovered my only little Secret Garden!

2. Thankful for lunches with old friends – the Reynolds. I guess that technically Jack and Charlotte are new friends, though we have known the Reynolds since 2005 when we first moved to Charlotte.

3. Thankful to be making progress on our screened-in porch project. This is the modified screen door which now has a doggy door.

4. Thankful for another year on earth, my wonderful family, good friends, and copious amounts of coffee. I am blessed.

5. Thankful for three square meals a day and a warm, safe place to sleep.

6. Thankful for the opportunity to exercise my right to vote. 

7. Thankful for friends, old and new.

8. Thankful that Jack and Sophie like each other... I hope they will be close in a few years.

9. Thankful for my little guy, who is still playing hard despite a cold.

 

10. Thankful for my sister who coached me through labor and delivery one year ago, even thought she was 6 months preggo.

11. Thankful for all of the family that were able to join us in celebrating Jack's first birthday. We definitely missed those who were unable to attend. Jack has blessed our lives tremendously. 

12. Thankful for the guys in my life.

13. Thankful for moments of solitude to lay on my back porch in the warm November sunshine and finish an old favorite novel.
 

14. Thankful for my running buddy. 

15. Thankful for life group... now if only we didn't have to drive an hour home.

16. Thankful for 10 years of marriage (exactly 1 month from today), even if date nights are now most likely to be a redbox and some leftover dessert.

17. Thankful that I can do yoga at home to help relieve my sciatica... I miss having access to a yoga studio though.  

18. Thankful for beautiful days spent with my family.

19. After visiting Walmart, I am thankful that I am not in charge of Thanksgiving dinner this year! Emily Annette Moore did an excellent job of hosting this year!

20. Thankful that I have a husband that knows me so well -- he surprised me with a tent so that our family can go backpacking when it gets a bit warmer. 

21. Thankful that I don't have a daily commute in a big city. Traffic in Brentwood is not my fave. Also thankful for the massage I got in an effort to relieve some back pain I have been dealing with (see #17).

 

22. Thankful to be able to spend time with Daniel's family and my brother.

23. Thankful my baby seems to be feeling better tonight... he was conked out with a fever yesterday.

 

24. Thankful for family. Glad to be able to spend a few days with Daniel's fam. Looking forward to seeing my parents in a week.

25. Thankful that Jack, Daniel and I are all relatively healthy.

26. Thankful that Daniel has a steady job and that I can be at home with Jack. Also thankful for my wonderful clients who are willing to work with me long distance and who have made me feel connected to the world as I have made the transition to being a mother.

27. Thankful for my weekly "me" time which currently means going to kickboxing. I miss being able to work out in group settings multiple times a week, but right now I will take what I can get. 

28. As a follow up to #26... the life of a freelancer means that all of your projects typically come in at once... I am thankful for this, but hoping I don't get overwhelmed with the confluence of work and the holiday season. The end of the year means catalogs and annual reports, oh my!

29. Thankful that our dentist fit us in even though we were 30 minutes late for our appointment due to a hazmat spill on I-24 East bound into Chattanooga. Also glad that neither Daniel nor I have any cavities.

30. Thankful for family traditions. We took our second annual trip to the Thornhill Christmas Tree Farm.