It seems everyone has a post about things that they’re thankful for. I want to be part of the crowd. It seems appropriate to be doing this on the first day of Advent. Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday about food, family, and fun. Those are three of my favorite F words. But what I really care about it Jesus. So Advent seems to mean more to me. Thanksgiving seems lovely, but vague in it’s celebration. So this works for me. Also, as I’ve learned more about church holidays, I’ve come to appreciate the extending of the holiday. Christmas is 12 days, not just one. Mentally, I have extended T-day to include this whole weekend. It doesn’t feel like everything has to be stuffed into one day. It takes anxiety out of holidays for me. So mentally, I had all weekend to write this post since I cooked and ate on T day.
Blogging. I’ve had a 2 month hiatus from blogging. It’s fun to be back. Sorry if I’m inundating you. The fun of a blog is you don’t have to read it. I like owning my content. Wayne allows me to do that. Facebook just stopped uploading content from my blog. That means no more Wayne tweets. I have to handpost to FB. Sigh. But I’m happy that the record of my life is mine. I like being able to share photos and words with my friends.
Health. This seems like a no brainer. I’ve felt sick over the past 2 months. I’m feeling better. It rocks. It makes me happy. The other trick was trying to be happy while being sick. That takes a lot of effort. It’s good to see both sides.
Birthdays. The girls were writing thank you cards today. It’s fun to see them really get into it. There’s a moment of grumbling. Then they snuggle into the task of drawing. It’s an acknowledgement of our community. It’s an acknowledgement of the blessing of having two wonderful girls in my life, born now seemingly long ago.
Photos. Despite the ability to record videos from my phone (so not my world 7 yrs ago), I love the still. I love looking at and sharing images. I like the fact I have friends who like looking at the world through a camera. It does make you look. Some even see it as an act of worship. That’s been an idea that’s been growing in my brain. Photography is a gift my Dad gave me and continues to give me.
Parents. My Mom and Dad made me laugh today. Just by being themselves. They are kind and giving and wonderful. I love that my summers (which I’m still recovering from) are full of their presence and laughter.
Wayne. I thought I’d write about small things, but this is turning into a big things post. They are many things to say, but my life would be so different without Wayne. There’s an easel in my dining room because of my husband. I would not do that. Thank goodness it’s there and it’s not just me. The girls bop up and down and write on it at random times during dinner. Maybe not the best habit. But I’m glad it’s there. Photos, blogs, cameras, would be less a part of my life without Wayne.
Play. I delight in watching my girls play. It seems that there’s a lot of media that works to steal innocence from girls. I love that my girls are so intent on play. It is deadly serious for them.
Books. I’m thankful for getting to read this book with Sara.
It has delightful pictures and a fun plot. Sara is not intimidated by it. I’ll read one paragraph and she’ll read the next. She’s reading it in her class and at her afterschool program. Mostly, I just love reading with my girls. I’m thankful for the elementary school library with fun old books to delight my girls.
Zelda. We are game and media people. Wayne is gently leading the girls down the path to love video games. It sounds so evil. But during these drenching rains and worries about flooding, we’ve had a lot of family fun with Zelda. It marked Laura’s birth (when the last version came out). The girls imaginations were lite thinking about loftwings and it infused their play. Tonight we got the Golden controller. We didn’t get to use it, but it looks like a gold karat brick.