30 days of thanks

I am 100% stealing this idea from someone else. I know I am starting late, but I want to do this. So each day this month I am going to blog about something I am grateful for. They may be big things or little things, or just things that made my day, etc. I have to catch up, so here are the first 6.....(and #1 will be at the bottom so it stays in order)....

Day 6 -30 days of thanks

I am thankful for my sister, Lorisa. We talk almost everyday on the phone. Some days it's not very long but we always stay up-to-date on each other. She is always there for me, and always has been. Growing up, we had our moments that we did not get along; she beat me up, I was a teenage brat, you know how it goes...! But the older we get, the closer friends we have become and she is someone that I love to talk to and can't live without! She is so generous to everyone she knows and is a great friend! She is now a mom to the cutest little girl and is doing such a great job as a mom! Now if she could only move down the street! Now that would be the life! Lorisa (in front), me (in back). One Halloween in the 80's- we were Barbie & the RockersSanta Barbara 2001In front of our dad's house in CA 2007

Day 5 -30 days of thanks

Julien brought this card home for me today because yesterday was my birthday. If you can't tell, it's me and him and a birthday cake. Again, I LOVE anything my kids make for me!! It will never get old. I'm so thankful that my little boy thought of me while he was at school!front of card inside of card

Day 4 -30 days of thanks
I am thankful for Julien's teacher. I really can't tell you how perfect Julien's school teacher is for his first year of school. She is just right for him! I love her! Today I went to Parent-Teacher-Conference and what was supposed to be a 20 minute meeting, turned into an hour. We just get along and she is so much fun to talk to! Most of all, I'm so glad that while Julien is away from me for 7 hrs a day, he is with a teacher that loves him and I know I can trust. I had fun meeting with her and hearing all about how he is in class. Thank heaven for good teachers!!!
Day 3 -30 days of thanks
There is nothing better than getting an unexpected check in the mail! First off, I think phone companies are total crooks, and a few companies still owe me money. But wow, I actually got a refund in the mail from this company! It only took them 3 months, but hey, I had forgotten about it so it made me very happy! It may only be $28.30, but that will buy my new baby bathtub for crying out loud; so I am very happy!!! Thanks at&t! Now if only Cricket and Qwest could be that honest, I would probably have enough money to buy a new crib and maybe even a mattress....cha, but let's be serious!
Day 2 -30 days of thanks

One thing I was excited about this school year was getting to have some much needed one-on-one time with my little Jonah. His baby brother is going to interrupt that in just a couple of months, but I already feel like we have gotten some great bonding in. Of course I have always had a bond with Jonah, but with Julien around (the one who loves to steal the spotlight) Jonah and I just never got that precious time all to ourselves. I have had so much fun with Jonah these past couple of months. He is just so cute and sweet. There is a difference in Jonah when Julien is not around. Don't get me wrong, we love having Julien around! But when it's just Jonah and I, he is so mellow, but in a peaceful way. He has become so talkative to me. It took him a long time to talk, and just this past year, he has really started to talk more...but even just these past couple of months he is really talking. He cracks me up too! I just love that for 7 hours I can have special time with him. It's amazing what a bond we have now, and I thought before that we already had a good one, but now it's even stronger. We enjoy our quiet time all to ourselves (again, I promise I DO miss Julien, but ya know). We walk to pick up Julien everyday and I love holding Jonah's pudgy little soft hand the whole way and hearing him talk about it being a sunny day again. Once Julien gets home, Jonah gets into his loud rambunctious mode, needless to say, the second half of my day is not so quiet. Anyway, I love my sweet, smooshy cheeks-Jonah. We are buds!Jonah- 8 months! One of those pictures I find myself talking to in my baby voice. Ilovemybabyboy!Jonah 3 years old

Day 1 -30 days of thanks
Warning, extra cheesy! Okay, to start out this 30 days of thanks project, I am going to say, I am grateful for gratitude. I am grateful that when we stop to think about what we are grateful for, we really can be happy at any moment. It may take us really sitting down and thinking hard about our blessings (especially on days where challenges are getting the best of us). It just really helps change our attitudes and not focus on the negative as much. When I was young my dad would always tell me to smile for 1 minute straight and when I was done I would feel so much better (this was extra funny and successful when done in front of the mirror)! It always worked for me! Counting our blessings and being grateful has the same effect. That is why Heavenly Father has asked us to be grateful. It's also the reason we start our prayers with giving thanks and then ask for His blessings. Julien is pro at giving thanks in his prayers. We have been trying to teach him that he can also ask for things he may need or desire, but at this point he gives all thanks. It's actually very sweet and sometimes our prayers really should be strictly prayers of gratitude. If we really think about it, we could list millions of things to be grateful for, even if it's the simply things we take for granted such as our eyes to see, our hands to make dinner, our arms to hug, ect. Some days we feel like we have a lot more to complain about than to be grateful for, but that's when we should force ourselves to think of every little good thing, and pretty soon we have a better feeling. So for the next 30 days I am going to be blogging about 1 thing to be grateful for each day! This will also give me something to blog about since I'm not as good at keeping up as some other people! Told you that was cheesy, but isn't it TRUE?!