Thankful Thursday

1.  My mom, whose birthday was yesterday.  I get a lot of things from her and the older I get, the more I realize how important they are.  She is a true lady in a society where that art is, unfortunately, slipping away.  It's because of her that I was raised with class and manners.  More than those things, though, she imparted a love of the Lord and a teaching spirit...two things that sustain me constantly in this daily grind of raising little ones.  Happy Birthday, Mom!  We love you and are thankful for you!

2.  Shopping at Hobby Lobby for a whole hour...with the kids!  They behaved and hung in there for an entire HOUR, y'all.  It was a pre-Christmas miracle.

3.  Salvation Army.  I know I've said it a million times, but donating or dumping our no-longer-needed possessions makes me ludicrously happy.  Getting to do so to an organization that A) makes a real difference and B) actually comes and gets it is even better.

4.  Great neighbors.  This past weekend, we borrowed an 18' foot ladder from a neighbor to clean our foyer chandelier that had gotten nasty during the floor refinishing.  Not only did it save us a lot of money, but he helped bring it over and set it up then came over to help take it back.  A few days later, our kids played together in the front yard while we discussed neighborhood happenings.  I am thrilled to have people so close by that we like and trust who are also in a similar stage of life.  They are a really sweet couple that we look forward to developing a friendship with through the years.

5.  Serving with our small group.  On Wednesday, our group spent half of our meeting writing over 80 cards to children that will receive gifts at our church's various outreach events this December.  It seems like a small gesture, but I pray it helps add a personal touch to their experience.  

I am really pumped about several things we have going on, especially decorating for Christmas.  I usually wait until after Thanksgiving, but I can't help myself this year.  For one thing, Thanksgiving is a week later than usual so I want to make sure we can get it up and enjoy it.  For another thing, we moved last December 13th and didn't put our tree up until the 16th or 17th.  It was special, but it was rushed and thrown together.  This year I want to do it up big and enjoy every second!

Hope y'all have a good weekend!