Andrea's Musings my year of gratitude

Today I am thankful for Halloween, fun costumes, and candy. I am very thankful that my oldest child is getting mature enough to stay away from the things she knows she is allergic to without much supervision this year. I’m thankful for a friend who helped me find an appropriate and inexpensive costume for my oldest child so she could be what she really wanted to be for this holiday. I’m thankful for awesome teachers who try to help plan class parties so that my child with allergies can fully participate without issue, and teachers who work hard and go out of their way to help my first grader find her misplaced costume. I’m thankful for the bus company for double-checking the bus for the missing costume. I’m even more thankful that the costume was found… in her classroom cubby, where it blended in quite well, and apparently wasn’t discovered for over an hour and a half of searching. I’m thankful for all the candy my children collected and generously shared with mom and dad. I’m thankful they understand well that there is no way we can eat that much candy without getting sick, and are happy to donate it to other places where it will go to good use. I’m thankful for good friends who go trick-or-treating with our kids, and their parents who keep us company while we go for a long Halloween trick-or-treating walk. I’m thankful that the weather today was beautiful, possibly one of the best Halloween weather days I’ve ever seen.

I’m also thankful for my friends at school who I had both the most uncouth and hysterical lunchtime conversation with, followed by a deep, thoughtful and passionate conversation about important issues facing our society and our church today.

Yesterday’s thanks: My Alpha group, as they are awesome and amazing people, and I am so thankful to have gotten to know them all.

Today’s thanks: Roasted pumpkin seeds and cuddly cats.

Yes, I may be falling down here slightly… but thanks to this blog I am more consciously thinking of things to be thankful for each and every day, even if I do forget to blog about them about every other day. And since that is my overall intent anyhow, I consider it a win.  My wordiness may also falter from time to time, depending on how busy my day has been, and how badly my head hurts. (Still battling this nasty sinus infection… it is seriously sapping my strength and brain power.)

Today I am thankful for church families, and for feeling welcome, no matter what. I am thankful that my kids feel warm and welcomed and loved by our church families. I love that my children truly feel they are a part of our churches and that they love to belong and help contribute.

I’m also thankful for hot air balloons, and the fun and excitement they provide our family.

So, I’m falling down on my daily duty here.

Day 6- I’m thankful for grandpas who take their grandchildren swimming all afternoon while dad works and mom has a meeting. I’m thankful for tired children who go to sleep quickly with no fight. I’m thankful for new friends, and hot cocoa.

Day 7- I’m thankful for taekwondo, a great circle of friends there that feel almost like family, for tournaments where all 3 of my participating family get medals and feel proud of their accomplishments. I’m thankful for Trunk or Treat at the church, the people who decorate and dress up, who hand out candy, make tacos, and greet everyone with smiles. I’m thankful for friends who join us there, new and old. I’m thankful for seeing tiny cute children in their adorable little and creative costumes.

Whew! That’s a lot of thanks. While life may not be perfect, I am grateful for all I have to be thankful for.

Today I am thankful for my kindle, for being able to carry many books with me in one small package.

I am also thankful for the honest and kind barista and other patrons at the coffee shop where I left my kindle this morning for turning it in and holding onto it for me until I could return.

I am thankful for the technology in my cell phone that allowed me to look up the number and immediately call the coffee shop as soon as I realized I had left my kindle there.

Oops, forgot to post last night. I had my post in mind, just forgot to sit down and write it out.

Today I am thankful for safe travels, and for grandpas who come to visit. I am thankful that my children have a grandfather who wants to spend time with them, and is willing to take a week out of his busy schedule to drive in for a visit.

Today I am thankful for math, and my ability to use it.

I am not the strongest mathematician ever. By far. However, I was able to use my grade-school level math skills to reduce a recipe today. To ridiculous proportions. And it worked. And that makes me happy.

(1/8th of a brownie recipe? Yes, please!)

I am also thankful for the school’s annual eye exams, which picked up that my 9 year old’s vision wasn’t what it should be, and let me know. I was able to take her to get a full exam today, and have ordered her very first pair of glasses.

I am thankful that she is very excited to get these glasses. I’m thankful that she wants to see clearly. I’m thankful that glasses aren’t uncool anymore. I’m thankful that we had the money and ability to get them for her when she needed them.

The girls and I have been battling some sort of sinus gunk for the past… gosh, about a month now.

Today, I manged to secure doctor appointments for all three of us. My first call to the docs office netted me no appointment until late in the week. I gave up.

I thought about it a while, then called back, and got a different schedule person in the office. She managed to find ways to squeeze us all in today. I am so so thankful for Gail, and the fact that she went above and beyond to help us get seen.

Yes, we could have gone to urgent care tonight, and waited for a long time, and paid around double for each of us to be seen. Instead, she worked to help us get in, and get the care we needed.For that, I am thankful.

I also pray that the medicine does its thing, quickly, and that we’re all feeling better very soon. Sinus infections are no fun.

Today I am thankful for a loaf of bread. It isn’t just any bread. It is Marty Mather’s cinnamon bread.

We arrived at church this morning early, as my girls were singing in the services this morning. Before I got out of the car, Marty tapped on my window, having just got out of her car. She offered us up a loaf of bread. We had to choose, egg or cinnamon. That was a tough choice. I’ve heard amazing things about her bread, so I was excited.

She handed me the loaf. It was still warm from the oven. It took us all a LOT of willpower not to just open it up and devour it right there in the parking lot.

My husband had a nice conversation about bread baking. She was so excited to hear that we bake bread. She feels it is a lost art, one that is her mission to resurrect. She told us about the classes she holds, to teach the younger generations how to make really good bread. And that making bread isn’t scary.

Attached to our loaf was this prayer.

Dear Lord,

I have discovered there is a ministry in hello. The hello I speak to day may brighten and lift someone’s disappointing day. That is my mission, as your servant of light and love, to lift the hearts of others filled with disappointments and darkness. Just a simple hello, with a great big smile, helps someone who is hurting and thinks no one cares. Let me be a minister of hellos Lord, and get my focus off of me, so I will serve You with joy and great humility. Help me remember to share this ministry of hellos to give a bit of joy and of myself. Lighten the load of just one soul who needs a hello this day.

Amen

I love that, ministry of hellos, and of bread. Consider this my hello to you today.

I’ve tried blogging off and on for years now. More off than on, I will admit. However, I’ve come up with a good reason to blog, and enough motivation to blog, so here goes.

I plan for this, at least for the next 365 days, to be a place to share gratitude, something I’m thankful for. At least one per day. It’s a start, at least. Perhaps it will lead to more. Perhaps not.

I plan to tweak the page here soon, but for now, I plan to just start, and tweak the look later.