Thankful Part 3

It's the last installment of my "thankful" series! It's been fun to reflect on all the good things in life over the last several weeks and I am sure I will do more reflecting as we gather with our family this week!

21. The best thing I tasted yesterday was the Thai chicken salad I had for lunch. There is an awesome salad place in my building that makes the most delicious salads. They are not cheap but it's a lot of work to chop all those ingredients! I've given myself a pass on bringing lunches to work over the last 4 weeks as life has been crazy with all the house stuff. After this week I want to get back to bringing lunch 4 times/week. But sometimes you have to cut yourself some slack!

22. I love going online to connect with friends. I have met so many wonderful people through blogging. I can't imagine my life without them. I wish I was able to see them in person but I still feel very connected to them even though we don't see each other in person.

23. I'm grateful for the way these things feel: my heated blanket, the new cozy comforter I bought for our bed, holding Paul's warm hand in mine, and big hugs from Phil.

24. Yesterday I felt supported (by a person, the Universe, God) when Phil fixed our shower head. It's a little thing, but it's really nice to have someone to fix things when they go wrong. Phil has done a lot of that between buying and selling a home and I'm very grateful for him. I'm also grateful that he does all the snow removal as we are in the midst of our first real winter storm!

25. When I look around my home, I'm grateful for everything! I truly love our new home and I think we will be here for the long haul. The floor plan is so perfect for us and I just love all the character that our home has, like the window seat between the kitchen and dining room.

26. When I look around at the world, I'm grateful for so many things. My health and the health of my family members, good health insurance and kind doctors, our beautiful home, our ability to put food on our table and give Paul everything he needs, and our supportive family. This is a time of year when I am especially cognizant of how very, very lucky we are. There are so many who don't have a home or can't afford groceries or have strained family relationships, or all of the above!

27. I love that I have the ability to daydream about future vacations. Travel is such a luxury. We don't travel as much as we used to but I'm glad we can take one family trip/year and that my parents are willing and excited to join us as we love having their company!

28. I love it when I see animals when we are out on our family walks. Paul gets so excited when he sees dogs - he yells "doggie!" and says "bow wow wow." He gets excited when he sees any animal so I'm always hoping we'll see ducks on the creek. He loves to watch them! Last week we watched 3 male ducks protecting a mama duck while she took a bath in the creek.

29. The nicest thing I have felt on my skin today was my Aveda hand cream. Dry skin season has started so I am constantly putting lotion on my hands!

30. I'm grateful that I'm learning to trust God's plan and timing. This is something I am still learning. I reflect a lot on Jeremiah 29:11: For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I spent many years metaphorically shaking my fist at God and asking why it was taking so long for my prayers to be answered. I got married and started a family so much later than most of my friends but I can't imagine a different life than the one I have! Of course it's easier to accept God's plan when some of your prayers have been answered. My heart goes out to those yearning for a partner and children. I, too, yearn for another child but I am trying to trust that our prayer for a 2nd child will be answered in 2020.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. I'm thankful that you stop by here to read and comment! I'd love to hear what you are most thankful for this year!