This Year, I'm Thankful For The Little Things

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. 

I'm not really sure how that happened ... it seems like the older I get, and the crazier these kids of mine get, the faster the year seems to fly by. No wonder they tell you to enjoy your kids, and that they don't stay young forever. Someone turned up the speed on that calendar since I was young. Days used to drag by then. 

But in the spirit of Thanksgiving -- giving thanks and being grateful for what we have -- I thought I'd share some of the things we are thankful for this year! 

M: 

I know he's thankful for his family. We may be crazy -- and slightly dysfunctional at times -- but we keep his life interesting! And gives him something fun to talk about at work. And that's another thing -- he's thankful for his job. It may not be fun ... and honestly, right now, its giving us quite a headache with all these changes and passing us around like a hot potato, but it's steady work. It keeps the roof over our heads, feeds and clothes the kids, and keeps our cars running from A to B. For that? He's grateful. 

And he's also a little {or a lot} grateful that I don't really talk about him much on here. He's not one for public displays of appreciation/affection or anything that has to do with him not being a homebody! 

S: 

This silly Thanksgiving turkey is thankful for all the fun things in her life. Today, she's thankful that I bought a Target felt tree for the kids playroom -- so she and her brother can have hours of fun decorating and re-decorating until their little hearts are content! And she's thankful for her brother -- her lifelong playmate! They did a Thanksgiving turkey hat at church this weekend, and on each of the feathers wrote something they were thankful for. Among the Jesus, Food, her Home and Psalm 131 {their lesson for the week}, she told them she was thankful for L. Granted, no one seems to understand his name, so they just wrote down family. But it was the thought that counts! 

L:

This sweet little ball of endless energy is thankful for his sister, that goes without saying. But he's also thankful for lollipops and friendly lizards that have been entertaining him lately. He's thankful for patient mom's who are willing to let him hold the remote to the car dvd player, even if he has to keep reminding himself not to push any buttons. And he's thankful for dad's that enjoy snuggling up with a bowl of grapes. It's fun to have a grown-up twin, like he does in his Daddy. Those two are definitely cut from the same mold! 

And me?! Well ... 

I'm thankful that I get to call these three my family. Sure they drive me crazy sometimes! Just last night, I was exhausted and asleep on the couch by 8pm because their evening antics had just done me in. It would have been earlier if bedtime routines had gone a lot smoother. But you know what? I'm thankful that S decided every 15 minutes that she was going to get out of her bed and come wake me up off the couch. It gave me an extra chance to hug her. Even if I was telling her the whole time that I loved her, but she needed to stay in bed before Mommy went crazy! 

I'm thankful that L only woke up once last night, and I was able to wake up feeling rested after 5 hours of consecutive sleep. It doesn't always happen around here, but clearly, he knew that I needed it. 

And I'm thankful that M rented a few movies, watched the one I really wanted to see in the afternoon, so I could enjoy it, and saved the other two for the evening. Granted, I wanted to see them, but at least I didn't miss out on my favorite when I was falling asleep off and on there on the couch. Thanks for that. 

You see -- I'm always thankful for the big things: family, faith, friends. Home, work, cars. Those things are a given. Even though we may not walk around every day saying how grateful we are that we have those things in our lives, at some point on any given day of the year, I find myself mumbling something along the lines of "Thank God M is at work today so he doesn't have to deal with my grumpy attitude" or "Thank God we have church this morning -- I really needed that sermon, how it spoke to my heart." 

But its the little things I'm extra thankful for. The moments that make life colorful. I may not always enjoy them in the moment but when I look back, I am thankful that they happened. Because without them, the bigger picture wouldn't be worth as much. 

And it wouldn't make as much sense {or nonsense, however you want to view it!} either.