30 Days of Thanks {Days 27-30}

I didn't forget to be thankful each day- there's something everyday- but I didn't get to the library before now. Better late than never!

Days 27-30
Many, many blessings. 
For a good church.
Public library computers.
There are only 20 some James Bond movies (lol we did a marathon over Thanksgiving 'weekend' {picking up where we left off last year} and I'm a little done with James Bond! Now my kids want to find the books...).
Reading "Consider This" and gaining much from Karen's explanations of how CM and a classical education are aligned.
That my kids have such great imaginations.
NaNoWriMo is over (my dd has been participating this year; she's finished her book which I think is pretty good!). 
Coffee- morning, noon, and night 
Heart of giving of others (I'm thankful for my own desire to give as well but so thankful that it isn't up to me, if you know what I mean).

And now onto the Christmas season! Our decorations are up and the tree is decked out with ornaments from the years. 

30 Days of Thanks {Days 23-26}

Days 23-26 for that which I am thankful:

Time spent with family.
Board games and trivia.
Lots of good food for the Thanksgiving 'weekend'.
A stocked pantry.
Books.
That the school semester is just about over and done with.
Online shopping.
Coupons to help with said online shopping.
An absolutely wonderful husband.

30 Days of Thanks {Days 17-22}

This November is just flying by! Here it is already a few days before Thanksgiving. Here are some things I am giving thanks for, days 17-22:

Piano- I know I put it last post but I am very thankful for it. It is so nice to hear my kids playing it. They work together to play new pieces, and while they practice for their piano lessons. It may be one thing that they do not 'fight' while doing together! How could I not be thankful for that?! 

Book discussions- on the Ambleside Online forum there is a discussion on Charlotte Mason's volume 2, Parents and Children, that I am enjoying participating with others on the forum. I appreciate the perspectives offered.

Food- much food. I take it for granted that we are able to buy and try so many different kinds of food. My son really likes to make things (mostly sweets), and I enjoy cooking new dishes. It is something to be thankful for that we have the means to be able to buy and cook good food.

Smart phone- I have put off getting on for so long. But now that I have one, I am grateful for it. There isn't a lot that I need it for but it is nice to have to be able to check the internet when there is free wi-fi, since we don't have internet at home any longer. It is also nice that I can put convenient apps on it. It is definitely not a necessity but it is nice to have.

Safe travels- on Thursday night I decided to go to a mom's night out 30+ minutes away from my house. The weather said there would be snow flurries through the time I would be gone. Well, it was right- for my house. In a matter of minutes the weather outside went from little flurries to a white-out. When I left I wasn't sure I'd make it home, honestly. Thought I might have to call my hubby to come bail me and the car out of the snow! I could not see the edges of the road! Anyway- I got home safely, albeit almost 30 minutes longer than it should have taken. 

Staycations- this Thanksgiving we are not going anywhere. It will just be the four of us at home, enjoying each other's company. I'm very much looking forward to it.

30 Days of Thanks {Days 11-16}

One thing I am thankful for is that no one is actually waiting for me to post these thankful posts! My internet is scarce so it's always days in between posts. 

Here are days 11-16:

PIANO! We picked it up yesterday. 

Thankful- so extremely so- that dh was able to help us move it. We had hoped there would have been a group of younger guys to help move it, as dh has a bad back. It wasn't in the cards so he insisted we do it ourselves. My two kiddos, myself and dh. We did it! We are more awesome than we thought ;) lol {Dh is very sore, though so if any reading this feel inclined to include him in your prayers, it would be very much appreciated.}

Library! I haven't been able to actually check in the forum but for a peek here and there for too long. 

My dh, who is absolutely wonderful. Just love him to pieces. 

Vacation for dh coming soon, when our small family will spend the holidays together making memories.

Good sermons at church that connect and are directly from the Word of God.

Hee hee...for some reason I'm feeling all giddy with thanksgiving. Smiles as I type because I'm just in a good mood. 

30 Days of Thanks {Days 8-10}

Days 8-10:
Thankful (again) for the library, even when I have to wait to use the computers 
For the beautiful day today. I took two walks: One in the morning with my kids, and one later with just my son. Wonderful to be able to do that- being well enough to do the walks and the weather so nice to boot!
For leaves that still litter the ground, with their many colors. And tiny pine cones.
For sewing little rabbit dolls, just because they are so cute.
Book discussions to get more insight into what is being read.
Did I mention such a beautiful day? Yes, I know I did. So very thankful for the gorgeous day!
We have a thankful tree at church and so many of the little tags that have been added are from the young ones at church. Thankful that they have a thankful heart- so many say they are thankful for family and family members.

30 Days of Thanks {Days 4-7}

Days 4-7:
Thankful for morning walks with my kids.
Homeschooling.
Thankful for the supplies to cook healthy and yummy food. Also for a family that is willing to try new foods.
A piano! Thankful we found one in very good condition at a price we were willing to pay.

30 Days of Thanks {Days 1-3}

It is that time of year again. When people put what they are thankful for 30 days. We are thankful every day, no matter the month, but this helps us focus a bit more on what good we have in our lives.

I am not joining up with any other 'thanksgiving' bloggers this time around as my internet is sporadic at best. Here are days 1-3:

Thankful for a wonderful library system where I live since I've lived many places that did not offer much.
Coffee- warm or cold

For some internet connectivity at home, albeit limited and only temporary. 
Like-minded individuals and groups to share ideas and glean from.
Sugar-free, gluten-free 'brownies' for breakfast.
Coffee. 
God's wonderful provisions.
Crisp, cool mornings.
Jobs for hubby, daughter and son.
AO forum.

A Month of Thanksgiving Day #28, 29 & 30

Final days in the A Month of Thanksgiving, 2013 Gratitude Challenge, 30 Days of Thanks, 30 Days of Gratitude. I'm impressed with myself for finishing this. I have a terrible habit of not finishing what I start. I'm thankful for those who put up the link-ups to keep us thinking about this. It will definitely be something I hope to continue well into next year.

Today I am thankful for a full 11 months of goodness in my life. There've been a few not so great moments but we must take the good with the bad. In order to realize the good, we have to have the bad. 

I'm very grateful for the teenage son who still wants to give me random hugs and tell me that he loves me. {Note to self: stop being too 'busy' to accept the hugs!}

Thankful for a husband that 'plans' a weekend off of work to spend with his family. Thankful also for all the goodies he insisted I buy for the 'weekend'.

I'm very glad that on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, we were able to visit some relatives on dh's side of the family. Thankful for moving to Cleveland area; we'd {the kids and I} would most likely never have met them otherwise. Aunt Louise gave the kids each an Action Bible {although I'm not overjoyed with the publication, it definitely has some positive points}. 

Very grateful that dh has been able to get plenty of rest on his extended weekend. Work has been very stressful for him lately. I hope this has been a nice reprieve. 

Thankful for leftover turkey. It seems we have more this year than last year. We've been eating the leftovers each day {so this is the third day} and we still have 1 1/2 containers left. They may not last too much longer. Thankful for the length of time they did!

I cannot believe that tomorrow is December already. It has flown by so quickly this year. But I am so so thankful that in just a short time {that will fly even faster!} we'll be seeing family. I'll get to see my mom, my grandma, one of my sisters and her family, a new niece and two nephews, and all of my hubby's family. We've not seen everyone {with the exception of a couple here and there} for over 2 years! I am sooo excited!! 

I'm thankful that while we are visiting family, our cat will be taken care of, as well as the plants that I was given not long ago. I'm thankful for those plants, even the 'trouble' they cause {you know, having to remember to water them- such trouble lol}. Thankful because I love having plants.

I am thankful for salvation from God that is sure, and not because of what I've done or who I am. I am thankful that that salvation has helped me be a different 'creation', a new person, than I was. I'm not perfect, and I am thankful for God's grace and mercy and the love of my family as well, in spite of my imperfection. I'm thankful for the little family God has placed me with, and with me {haha! they're stuck with me *wink*}. 

I'm thankful for friends that I've had, whether we keep in touch still or not, the friends I do have now {irl and online- which is really 'real life' too!}, and those I know I will come to know. I'm very grateful for all the differences between those in my family and those who are my friends and those who I come in contact with; they make life interesting and enjoyable. 

A Month of Thanksgiving Day #23, 24, 25, 26 & 27

Five days of thanksgiving to get in this post.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving! 

It's been snowing since yesterday and we've got a nice blanket that is super pretty. I won't be driving anywhere today, that's for sure. Yesterday morning I took the car to have the tires changed over. Just in time.

Rolls I made for the Thanksgiving lunch/dinner for church 11/24. They were all gone by the time I made it to the line! Fortunately, we all had one the night before heehee. We're making more for Thanksgiving day also.

I got my Thanksgiving/Christmas napkins done- finally. I'm thankful I stopped at four lol. If I'd used the machine, it would have taken perhaps a couple of hours- tops. I did them all by hand. It took weeks. 

It's a bit interesting, this whole being thankful 'thing'. We have a tree that we put up around this time with leaves we write what we are thankful for on and 'stick' them to the tree. Our tree grows leaves this time of year rather than losing them {lol}. Anyway. Our leaves often have what some might consider silly things; but they are the little things we are thankful for. It's sometimes easy to think of the big things we are thankful for: our house, our car, our food, our family. But to think of things specifically, sometimes that's not so easy. Or is it just us? Our leaves to other people may seem like we are not taking being thankful seriously, but it's not the case. 

Of course on my leaves there's coffee twice {wink}. Oh, and oatmeal. It's the little things in life, as well as the huge things {such as salvation}. 

I'm sure at least 5 things have been mentioned already about what I'm thankful for but I'll add some more. How is it possible to be too thankful?? Pollyanna would understand {wink}

• Family art poster {that even dh contributed to this time- his contribution is a GoPro Hero camera- it's got a cape, thanks to Lee}

Poor photo quality. Sorry.

Details from our poster.

• Fox's joy of cooking {he's making fudge for Thanksgiving and will help me make pies}
• Hubby's job: thankful because there are many who do not have steady employment, it enables us to have the things we need and so much of what we want, it gives him an outlet for productivity {he must be productive} 
• Our thanksgiving 'weekend' stash {I've been building it up all month long}

• Friends who can debate civilly on Facebook {wonder how it'd go in person lol}
• Teens who don't mind shoveling the driveway's snow
• Picmonkey for editing photos!
• God's Word that I can read for myself
• Hot water for laundry, washing dishes, and showers
• Sense of humor {all kinds}
• Technology so photos can be shared, people from diverse places can connect, and information can be found
• Good books
• Digital cameras {oh those days when we had to actually wait for the film to be developed}
• Snow! It is continuing to fall.
• Family -immediate and extended {how I miss them!}
• Time spent together as a family
• Snow tires
• Close proximity of stores
• Church that uses God's Word and preaches from it
• Friends

A Month of Thanksgiving Day #19, 20, 21 & 22

Hectic! It's Friday and it's been a decent day. I'll get right to the thanksgivings and not focus on those other things I could have lived without. 

I'm thankful for

• indoor heating
• plastic over my windows to keep the draft out
• kitty purring in the morning
• plethora of books littering filling my house
• Nicholas Winton for saving hundreds of kids during WWII
• homeschooling
• spell-check
• books for book reviews
• living in a 'safe' neighborhood
• fuzzy socks
• coffee- day or night
• digital cameras, SD cards, and thumbdrives
• my kids
• homemade pizzas {thankful I can make them}
• Ambleside Online
• kitty posts on facebook
• HSLDA {even though we've not had to use it and hope we don't, the peace of mind is good}
• books- for me and for others
• whiteboards -love the huge one in our classroom

There seems like there should be quite a bit more on that list.

And although I'm not sure what happened to the link-up at Keeping Up With Kelsey, I'm still linking up with Kelsey. 

A Month of Thanksgiving Day #16, 17, & 18

Days #16-18, time is flying by...faster each day. That is something that I could be thankful for but I'll be honest, I would like them to slow down. We get to see family this year for Christmas {it's been at least 2 years since we've been with extended family for any of the holidays} and I'm really looking forward to it. More so as it draws closer. More than I thought I would. I want to enjoy the time that it's just the four of us as well though. Thanksgiving 'weekend' is set up to be quite memorable for us this year. We'll be spending it almost completely together. I mean really together. We're having a movie marathon complete with popcorn and snacks. We're going to be so sick of the tv by the time we're done but I so am looking forward to sharing it with my family. Oh, and if you're curious, we're going to be watching old James Bond movies. {To which my dear boy said, "You'll let us watch old James Bond but not Iron Man 3." To which I replied, "You bet! The 'scantily clad' women in the old Bond movies will still have way more on than those considered appropriate in today's shows. And there won't be the cussing. And the special effects are way better *wink*."}

I can't share any of the 'gifts' from the jar; I ran out! It's a bit sad when I think of it but this is a thankful post. No nay-saying here. I'm very glad for the ones that were in the jar and am hopeful that there will be more added. Next year we could possibly even need a bigger jar. 

Here's my thankful bits that I'm coming up with right this minute:

• the ability and resources to make my own almond milk
• warm coffee on a cold, windy night
• teenagers that still enjoy their parent's company
• teenage siblings that enjoy each other's company
• meeting new people
• a new old book {Ivanhoe, copyright 1916! and in excellent condition! and it was free!}
• freedom from fear {Luke 12: 4-5}
• compassion of others
• modern technology {this arises from a presentation given 11/17/13 by a member of our church who went to Israel last month}
• quick memory of my dear daughter
• the outgoing personalities of others {which I seem to lack- of which I am also grateful *smile*}
• bed time