Day 29

I am thankful for Facebook, Instagram and Gmail.
Social Networking is a convenient way to keep up with people. I would add Blogs, but mine would be a poor example.

Catch up

23- Thanksgiving
I love this holiday. I love that it gives a lot of time for reflection and thanksgiving. I have so much to be thankful for and I should show gratitude more freely.

24- Traditions
Like pumpkin pie, birthday parties, holiday treats and shopping, family prayer.

25- Christmas Music
I could listen to it all year, but I am thankful that after Thanksgiving we listen to in non-stop. I love the memories that flood my mind as I listen. I remember so many other happy times and grandma's house.

26- Family Vacations
I am so thankful for family time, and family vacations.

27- Rainy Days
Slow, quiet, lazy days. When you just have to stay home in your pajamas and play.

28- Homecomings

Day 22

I am thankful for Pie.

Day 21

I am thankful for the children's school.

I love their campus. It is beautiful, full of trees and quite. I feel like I am in Kao Yai, not in the city. I love to drop them off and play in the mornings. I like to sit in the library with Abe and read a few books or help the librarian. I love to pick Mary up from school and I LOVE it when she gets to excited to see me. They have many friends, but they still look for each other and Eliot when they have outside play time. That makes me happy too. I love visiting their classrooms, talking with their teachers and helping them do homework. I am so thankful Mary is learning to read and that she loves it!

They love their school, teachers and friends. I hope they will always love school.

Day 19

I love technology.

Day 18

I am thankful for Dan's job.

I am thankful it is stretching, immersing and providing.

Day 17

I am thankful for Mary.

She learned how to ride a bike today. I am so proud of her. Mary is a quiet girl, quick to observe, she wants to please others and she can be very determined. She is a fantastic helper. She tries very hard to be obedient and she relishes praise. I haven't quite figured out what motivates her all the time. Sometimes it's friends, sometimes a book or movie. Time with dad is always a go, but it is hard to use that as just a reward.

I am thankful Mary loves to write notes. She writes "I love you." on everything. Yesterday she brought home a note from school. It was a secret note- all taped up. She said that someone in her class made a note for me. I asked who and she said it was just one of the girls in her class. Of course it was from Mary, but I guess she couldn't figure out how to deliver a secret note to me any other way. It was adorable.

Day 16

I am thankful for hobbies.

I love projects. New and old. And like everyone else I know, I have more unfinished ones in a deep dark closet than I'd like to admit.

Three years ago Sarah started Craft Night. It was fun, three or four of us would tote our unfinished projects over or we would take turns choosing new ones. Then we moved to Bangkok and Sarah moved to Switzerland. So Sarah started International Craft Night. That wasn't as productive as the first. But then Sarah joined me in Bangkok and we're back! Between Sarah and my friend Dannii, they have got the most amazing craft morning going on. I love to see what others are in to. Where others excel, and learn new things.  I love the excuse to see friends and talk about homes, make-overs, new hobbies and chill. My mind churns when I come home and I am anxious to finish things I started years ago. That should make Dan happy.

I love to spend the evenings while Dan is gone working on my stuff. I feel productive. The children are in bed, it is quiet, and I feel really good at something.

Day 15

I am thankful for Maeser.

Let me describe him, I'll bet you'll love him too.

Fat and Happy.

Well? Told ya.

Day 14

I am thankful for good friends.

Friends that drop off and pick-up kids like it is nothing, who hop in to say hi, or call just to chat. I have friends I vent to, run with, craft or play with. I am thankful for their support, their encouragement to become better and their willingness to accept me with all my faults and shortcomings. I love you guys.

Day 13

I am thankful for the Book of Mormon.

When browsing blogs or bookstores for good books- parenting or novel, history or self-improvement- I sometimes remember that quote from Joseph Smith: "... man will get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book." And then I think, "Wow, why am I wasting my time?"

I love books. But I love this book most of all. This doesn't mean I remember the seminary scripture mastery or that I have pages of it's text memorized. But I have a testimony that it is true. I have had confirmations that the book is God's word and that I can find answers in this book that I couldn't find anywhere else. Isn't that amazing. The libraries of this world contain millions of books with innumerable pages of text and theories. Brilliant minds have worked through centuries to fill halls and vaults. There are so many that some will never be opened or reached again for they are surrounded by so many other books that might get picked up. Are those texts lost? No. The plates were buried for 1400 years.

Last night I asked Mary what her favorite story was in The Book of Mormon. "That one with the King Moramoni. And the missionary Moroni saved his sheep." Hmmm, looks like we need to be a little more familiar with the main characters. But then when I asked her what she was thankful for for our Thankful Tree she said, "That God has a plan for us to come to this Earth." Bingo! Maybe it doesn't matter that she gets Moroni and Lamoni mixed up. Those are tough names for kids, but she understands the important things. The truths and the testimony of Christ that are in that book.

I am thankful for the Book of Mormon.

Day 12

I am thankful for Daniel. I know I mentioned him at the beginning of the month, but he deservers much more than a mere mention.

There are a lot of things about Dan that I am thankful for. Shall I list them all? Well, not if we want to be here all night, but I do want to mention a few.

Dan is driven, but not obsessive. He doesn't have to be in a hurry to get things done, or to be under pressure to be productive. He is calm and generally quiet.  Contrast that with my approach to things and you'd wonder how we made everything work out. But his approach has a calming effect to my abruptness.

I love to watch him with our children. He is very gentle with them, a good listener, and treats them like big kids. Abe thinks he is as big as Dan, at the moment he calls him by name and not dad.

Small things make Dan happy. Playing a hymn on the piano, a scribble from Abe, a note from Mary, finding almonds in the freezer or floss in the medicine cabinet. We have a short in our bathroom light, you never know if it will turn on or not when you flip the switch, 9 out of 10 times nothing happens. Dan walked out of the bathroom a few weeks ago and said, "You know, we shouldn't get that light fixed. It makes me happy when it switches on. It is something to remind me to be thankful."
Things like that make me melt. I think wow, how did I catch that guy? Dan would say I'm being self-deprecating, but these are moments when I remember all the reasons I fell in love with him and am so thankful. And isn't that what this post is about?

I am thankful that Dan has perspective. He is willing to work hard, play hard, and serve others. He hardly has time for himself. In fact, a few months ago he began working out during his lunch break because his time everywhere else was called for. It takes a lot of effort to juggle his obligations and schedule and he does a great job. And none of us- I, the children, or the dog- feel like we are second in line.

I am thankful that he is my best friend and ally. God, thank you for Dan.

Day 11

I am thankful for Eliot. Why?

Because she is contagiously happy. Because she is the most cheerful, excited little person you will ever meet. Because she mixes her pronouns. Because she always wants to do something fun, and she has the cutest little "Ahh" if you say it's time to clean up. Because she is adorable. Because she is Abraham's best friend.

Day 10

Last Christmas Dan bought me a piano. I was excited to have it so Mary could take lessons.
I have always known how to play a little bit. I stress little. I don't remember ever enjoying it when I was young. I remember dreading lessons and never practicing. I could have hated it because my sisters were better at it than I. I'll admit I am very competitive, so deciding not to like something because I couldn't excel as fast as others didn't seem like a bad idea. Now I disagree.

So, I made a goal to be able to play a few songs by the end of this year. This means I have to practice. I enjoy the few minutes at the piano. I'm not the only one who is happy to have it here. Dan plays almost daily, and Mary practices too. The music makes me happy. Mary's small accomplishments get everyone excited. And when Dan says, "Hey, I think I'm getting better!" I think "Hooray! I guess I'd better practice some more." :)

I love the piano.

Day 9

I am thankful for date night.

Day 8

I am thankful for Abraham. No matter how rotten a four year-old deprived of sleep and expecting a hyped up birthday party is, I am still thankful for him. There were so many tears today. Gratefully none from me, but I am thankful that he is safely and soundly tucked in bed. He should have gone to bed hours ago.
I should be more positive and list the things I am thankful for. He is so kind to his brother. I am so glad they are friends, and hope they will always want to be together. He is loving and wants to be near people. He came home from school and said, "Mom, Ollie doesn't like it when I hold his hand."  Well, if I wanted to play tag I wouldn't want to hold someone else's hand either. I love to watch him with Mary and Eliot. These two are his best friends. It makes me happy to think of the good influences he has around him. It makes the rotten days worth it.

Abe is so happy to be 4! I am glad that little things make him happy. I love to cook with Abe. Read books and color or play legos with him. I am thankful we have a couple hours together every afternoon.

Day 7

I am thankful for promises and covenants. For the strength I know I have to keep commandments. The the knowledge that gives me strength to persist.
That makes it sound as if I found the commandments difficult to live by, or that I struggled to keep my commitments. But that isn't true. My life is simplified by them, I am more grounded and sure of myself. I have confidence that I am making the right choices.
I attended a meeting last night with Sister Cook. She talked about so many issues YW deal with. I know these problems are not just for the youth, but adults and peers also struggle to make right choices. It would be difficult to make the right choice if you didn't understand the correct principles. For example, the simple choice of dressing modestly is not so simple for others. Choices of media, entertainment and literature fall in the same category. But when I do find a challenge,  I know that by applying the basic doctrines from the church will see me through. This is what I am thankful for.

Day 6

I am thankful for a strong and healthy body. This is something I often take for granted. But I am reminded of it when I have the smallest ailment. That little blister I got from a long run reminds me with every step I take how glad I am that I don't feel physical pain on a daily basis.

My body is strong, and I can push myself physically to make it stronger. There are a lot of reasons I work out. The two most important ones:
I feel confident that in an emergency I could care for my children or get them to a safe place.  I know I could run miles for them, or carry them for an extended period of time if I had too. This sounds almost cynical, but it is a motivating factor for me.
The second is because I want my children to learn to love exercise. I want them to know they can do anything. I want them to be confident. I want them to begin good habits and lifestyles. I want them to have strong bodies.

I have so much to be thankful for, and this body that God gave me, that carries my soul and enables me to become more like Him, is such an important vessel.

Day 5

I am thankful for sleep.
After having a long sleep deprived weekend, and attempting an afternoon nap on the playroom floor, I was so glad to crawl into bed last night. But I'm usually thankful for sleep even when I seem to get enough of it. Contrary to my point, I can't stand sleeping in.

Day 4

I am thankful for food. All kinds. I am amazed that so many different cultures can create such different dishes with the same ingredients. I love food. I love cooking, baking, BBQ's, brunch, party foods, reading recipe books and hanging out in the kitchen. I get excited about salad bars. I love sushi, curries, noodles, burritos, falafels, wraps, pad thai, fufu, soufflés, quiche... you get the idea.

I love it when Abraham walks into the kitchen and asks, "What's that mom? Can I help?" I love walking in the door and smelling breakfast cooking after a run. The kitchen is a warm happy place to be. I am so thankful for food and that it brings my family together.

Day 3

I am thankful for crayons. Crayola Crayons.
They've given me hours of stress free afternoons. :)

Nothing like starting late on the first day.

I am thankful for my family.
I have three adorable children and one amazing, dedicated husband.

I am thankful for quite moments. (How ever few and far between they may be.)