I am thankful for the smile that is given freely and warms the heart and brightens the soul. The smile of a child in that innocent moment of complete happiness. The one that happens in the moment where there is no stress, no disappointment and no sadness in the world. The smile that at least for a instant makes the world perfect.

I am thankful that Nate seems to be well and that no one else got sick..

I am thankful to have made it through a long and personally stressful day and to still be able to smile about parts of it even though some of the other parts made me cry. It has been exhausting but I made it through and will be stronger for it in the morning.

I was suppose to write this yesterday but it was a long day even though nothing really happened. I got to the end of the day and didn’t have the physical or mental energy to do it so I am playing catch up today. I spent a lot of time thinking and not coming up with anything. In reality I know there were things to be thankful for yesterday, I was/am just in a mood and blinding myself to these things right now. So I am making a big effort to come up with even little things.

I am thankful for quick easy meals. I made what I call poor mans stroganoff. It only takes about 20 minutes to make and everyone (except me) loves it (I tolerate it because it’s quick).

I am thankful for NAte not getting to the bad sick and for not having to go to the hospital.

I am thankful for Aly’s preschool so at least she got out for a little social time while I have Nate home sick.

I am thankful for technology that can keep a sick child distracted for hours on end.

I am thankful to be writing these blogs daily to force myself to look at the world around me and to take value from the good things in my life.

The list goes on but I think this is good for today. 🙂

I am thankful for a loving husband and father to our kids. He does his best to care for us all. For thank I am thankful.  I love you.

I am thankful for things getting better. Today Nate woke up not feeling well but no real symptoms so we sent him to school. A few years ago this would have been cause for concern, we would have had him under a close eye. Because there were no specific symptoms we sent him to school. He came home from school with a fever of about 101°F, it use to be that a fever over 100°F was only present if he was at the point he needed to be hospitalized. It’s odd to be happy about illness but I am happy that Nate has finally reached a point where illness is more “typical” then it use to be and not so scary. I am more thankful for this then I can describe.

Now I hope that my poor little man starts feeling better soon.

I am thankful for a day of rest and fun with the family.

The balloons caused one very scaredy puppy.

I am thankful for time with friends and the celebration of time passing. Today we got to go to a friends birthday party to celebrate her 3rd birthday. Three may not seem like much but I met her and her brother and mom (I met daddy a few months later) when she was only a few weeks old. So her third birthday for me also marks the anniversary of having met on of my best friends. For that I am thankful. Happy birthday A and thank you J for being a great friend.

I am thankful for my loving daughter who is always so happy to go and visit friends and to make new ones. I love taking her to play group and watching her go off and start playing with other kids. Her favorite play groups have a gym time with bikes and one of them has a two seater bike that she loves to give her friends rides on. She will ride around for as long as she can stopping to let passengers on and off but she is always willing to share and let others take a turn.

I am thankful for a great extend support system to help me find my way to raising my children to be the best they can and to help me through the tough spots.