DAY SIX

I am thankful for:

The Little Things

And I am thankful that these little things are not so little to me.

I am thankful for Green Tea (as you might have heard/seen/whatever me mention before) because it means Mommy time after Bennett is down for a nap. I am thankful for Bennett learning to clap today, and for learning where his toes are a couple days ago. I am thankful that we can learn. I am thankful for the ability to be who you are and not make excuses for it. This is something that it took me a long time to learn - growing up in a city that stresses conformity and following the status quo. I am thankful that this little boy makes no excuses for who he is, either. I am thankful for my hometown, despite this pressure to conform. I am thankful for the friends I have here, new and old, and I am thankful for the new way in which I love this old town. I am thankful for second chances. I am thankful for first chances and third chances. I am thankful that when God closes one door, he opens another, or a window, or just gives you a hole in the ground to fall into. I am thankful for all of those.I am thankful for candles because they just look so pretty. I am thankful that on Friday I can finally legally put up all my Christmas decorations and Stephen and I can bask in the beauty of all our lights, inside and out. I am thankful for doctors and teachers, because I think they need to be thanked. I am thankful for my brutally honest husband. I am thankful that even though he doesn't comment directly on each post, he reads the blog and lets me know when I write or say or post something cheesy. I am thankful that because of this I will possibly change the wording of, repost, or just remove items that suggest CHEESE. And, at this particular time, I am thankful for all the people who don't check my blog daily so as to give me a chance to change these cheesy things so that all may not think I am completely made of cheese. I am thankful that I am still partly made up of cheese. I am thankful for Target, because without them I wouldn't have half of the things I own. I think Stephen is not thankful for Target, because without them I wouldn't have half of the things I own. I am thankful for laundry (eek am I really saying that?!?) because it means I have clothes to wear and the means to clean them. {Whew that was a tough one!}I am thankful for sarcasm and exaggeration; it makes life so spicy. I am thankful for my bible study. I am thankful for Steele, even though his hair gets everywhere even though he stays only by the door when he comes inside. I am thankful that he was my first baby, and that he hasn't lost all his hair {aka FREAKED OUT} since Bennett started moving everywhere (I hear this can happen to dogs). I am thankful for thisjust because he is so very cute and we are so blessed that God was so kind as to let us borrow him. I am thankful for MUSIC. I. L.O.V.E. M.U.S.I.C. I am thankful that Stephen's and my parents know so many wonderful people who know so many wonderful people who need my Interior Design services! I am thankful for word of mouth. I am thankful for Dauphin Way United Methodist Church. I am thankful for cameras and pictures and memories. I am thankful for quiet morning times.I am thankful for mobile babies. "Really?!?" you ask. Yes. I am thankful my baby is crawling/cruising/scooting everywhere and is super duper happy because of it. I am thankful for all my pregnant friends. I love love LOVE pregnant people (even before I was pregnant) and am thankful for all their healthy babies and the wonderful families these twenty or so babies get to come home to. I am thankful for The Hills. Because that show somehow disturbingly enters into too many random conversations and I get a kick out of it. I am thankful for rebirth. Of all kinds. Rebirth of the heart, spirit, home, nature, life, . I am thankful that God continues to remind us of the new life He gave us through His Son Jesus Christ. I am thankful for the Christmas cactus. The little plant that waits through the bountiful spring, through the hot summer, and through the colorful fall; waits until the first cold freeze of an otherwise dead winter to start its blooms.I am thankful that sometime during the next month, so strategically (NOT ironically) falling during the season in which we celebrate the birth of His Son, this harsh, seemingly barren plant will burst forth with such gorgeous flowers and life. Rebirth. I am thankful that at this time every year I remember my Grandfather, who grew amazing Christmas cacti, from which this small cactus of mine sprouted. I am thankful for so many little things.

I am thankful for this blog. I am thankful that it has provided me a creative outlet, and that I can write as much as I want to about absolutely nothing, or serious somethings (hello, BENNETT). I am thankful that this is my blog and that I can decide to make one Day of Thanks turn into a Day full of lots of things I am thankful for.

And I am thankful for all the blogs that I read, and for each and every one of you who reads mine - even though it makes me a little nervous sometimes. Thinking about everyone reading what I write....But I am very thankful for it indeed!