Day #15

We are now just halfway through the month. It's funny to see the patterns developing in our family. Tonight at dinner, the conversation was typical:

Me: So, what are you guys grateful for today?

Olivia: Pizza for dinner! (Homemade of course.)

Kelsey: Chocolate pie for dessert!

Me: No more being grateful for food! You guys pick food EVERY DAY.

And they really DO pick food most days until I make them think hard about it. Maybe it has something to do with having this conversation at dinner. Maybe it would be a good idea to start having the conversation at a different time...

After some gentle nudging and making them think, they come up with some interesting things. I try very hard not to give them suggestions - I want their ideas to be original and from their own hearts. However, I will ask them things like, "Were you grateful for something at church today?" or "What happened today that you really liked?" These questions actually work equally well for Ben who informed me a week ago that he had run out of ideas. Ironically, that's one of the things I like about doing these gratitude posts this month. It really makes us think outside our little boxes that we live in and consider the blessings in our lives that we don't often stop and feel grateful for.

Today, we are grateful for the following:

Ben is grateful for... quiet Sundays with the family.

Anita is grateful for... my neighbor, Terri. The Lord must know that I need to have a friend next door. First he gave me Amber, now he's given me Terri. She's a wonderful, Christian woman who shares many of the same values that I do, and she's also a 4th grade teacher. She's helped give me confidence in my abilities to homeschool Olivia, as well as many ideas for how to teach and activities to do. Her daughter is also a great playmate for Kelsey and Olivia. And as an added bonus, they're selling us a truck!

Olivia is grateful for... a nice day at church.

Kelsey is grateful for... singing "Scripture Power" in her church primary class.

Connor is grateful for... zippers.


He discovered how to undo his jammies this morning.











And then he proceeded to try to take them off. He's hitting that "I'd rather be naked" stage in his life. For some reason, the girls never really hit it, so this is all pretty new for me. Doesn't he know it's cold outside?