An attitude of gratitude

Taking a cue from a friend's blog (who wishes to remain anonymous), I've decided to take some time to focus on the positive and list 5 things that I'm thankful for. Here goes!

1. My beautiful family. I'm grateful every day for such a patient, understanding, loving, compassionate, kind, caring (enough adjectives yet?) and wonderful husband. Chris sees me for who I want to be and loves me in spite of myself. Vicki is so cheerful and enthusiastic about everything she does, it's infectious. Her love for reading and the way she devours books reminds me of me, but twice as much. She is thoughtful and loves to help out wherever she can. Lexi makes me smile all the time. She has the greatest imagination and always seems to know just what to say to help people feel loved. I also love the mischievous twinkle she gets in her eye when she's trying to get away with something. Ellie is our little clown and is her daddy's little girl. She loves to team up with him to tease me, which makes me laugh. She is so free with her love and is always there with a hug or kiss whenever I need it. I am so blessed to have three beautiful, healthy and happy little girls.

2. The amazing spring-like weather we've been enjoying all week. This is Oregon, which means that you generally expect clouds and rain from about October through May. You enjoy the sun when it peeks through, but you don't ever assume that it will stick around. Twice this week they've predicted rain that has never come. The sky has been clear blue and cloudless with highs in the 60s. Yesterday I walked the girls home from school wearing a short-sleeved t-shirt! It has been absolutely beautiful, and while I'm not taking it for granted (they say again that it's supposed to rain this afternoon), I'm certainly enjoying every second of it that I can!

3. That I get to be a stay-at-home mom and still earn a little income for our family. When we moved here I quit working and have loved being at home with the girls, but when school started this year I started babysitting four days a week. Every little bit helps, and I still get to do what I love, which is to just be Mom!

4. That we live in a country where women have rights, and my girls can grow up knowing that they can be anything they want to. Where they can learn about politics and know that one day they can have a say and contribute to the way our nation is run.

5. Lastly, that Girl Scout Cookie time is almost over! I am a complete wreck and have been having nightmares for days (literally waking up in the night stressing over this) that we're going to run out of Samoas or Thin Mints. Enough already!

So there you have it. There are many more, but those are the first five things that came to mind.

And now I have to go clean my house, which I am also thankful for, although not that it has to be cleaned regularly!