Life After I "Dew"

Day one: I am thankful for family. As cliche as it sounds my family is the most important thing in my life.  I'm not just referring to my little family under this roof either.  My parents are amazing and as an only child I am very close with them.  Growing up I had more of the "strict" parents and at times I hated them for that but as an adult I appreciate that.  My mom is my best friend and I talk to her every day.  My dad will do anything for me and I love him for that.  I also lucked out in the in-laws department, mine take the cake.  Since the day I met Jimmy they welcomed me and loved me. My mother-in-law is an angel on earth and my father-in-law and I have this awesome, funny banter that always makes me laugh.  And I've got three brothers now too which is really cool.

Day two:  Today I am thankful for sleep!  All parents know how tricky DST is and last night was interesting.  Kendall {who normally goes to bed later} fell asleep around 5:30.  I thought that was going to lead to a 4 am wake up call but, with only one interruption, she slept till 7am!  HOLLER!  James went to bed later than usual, around 8pm, and slept till 10:15!!!!! Not bad, not bad DST.

Day three:  I am thankful for makeup.  I know it sounds shallow but sometimes, not often, I like to feel pretty.  I like to do hair and makeup and put on real clothes and it makes me feel human again.  Like I said, not very often.

Day four:  I am thankful for my husband.  I probably should have put this as day one but after him being gone for 6 days I truly realized how much I appreciate him.  He is my sanity, my rock, my voice of reason.  Even though most days we only see him for a few hours after work those are the best hours of my day.  He's a great dad and a hard worker.  I did good marrying him.

Day five:  I am thankful for our home.  We've talked about selling it, building, moving somewhere else numerous times and last year we almost acted on it.  The more I thought about being somewhere else or about someone else being in our home it made me sad.  There are things I'd like to do here {get new carpet!!!} but all of that stuff is cosmetic.  Our home is not too small, not too big, has a nice, large yard, Jimmy has a man cave, and we have enough bathrooms for everyone. It's everything we need.

Day six:  I am thankful for Amazon Prime.  We just got it last January and I wonder why we never got it sooner?  Two day shipping rocks my socks.  I don't know what we'd do without it. #firstworldproblems.

Day seven:  I am thankful for Kendall's amazing teacher.  We really hit the kindergarten jackpot with this one.  She's sweet, kind, but authoritative at the same time.  Kendall has learned so much this year already and it's amazing to see.  I didn't think I'd like anyone as much as I liked her preschool teachers but I am smitten with Mrs. Shaffer already!

Day eight:  I am thankful I am able to workout.  Might sound silly but I know there are people with ailments who wish they could run or lift weights so when I don't feel like exercising I think about that and it pushes me to tie my shoes and push play.  I never want to take my body for granted and taking care of it is so important to me.

Day nine:  I am thankful for my tribe.  This includes my family, my close friends, my church people, Beachbody team, my blog friends.  I am surrounded by amazing, positive, uplifting people on a daily basis.  I never really think too much about it but when I do, wow, I am blown away!

Day ten:  I am thankful for our church.  I never attended church as a kid.  When Jimmy and I first moved I knew I wanted to find a church to call ours.  We tried out a couple different ones before we found it but I am so glad we did.  It's super casual, everyone feels welcome, the messages are understandable and sometimes funny.  Not only do I look forward to going every week but my kids do too and that makes me happy!

Day eleven:  I am thankful for my online community.  I have made so many great friends through this outlet and I am grateful for each one.  It's so crazy that I can be as close as I am to people from all the way across the country, and in some cases the world.  Very cool.

Day twelve: I'm thankful for rainy days.  I don't know why but I just love a cool, rainy day sometimes.  Makes me want to eat chili, snuggle by the fire and stay warm and cozy.  I crave a good rainy day every once in a while and today is one so YAY!

Day thirteen:  I am thankful for amazing doctors.  I have had ear issues since I was a little kid.  I see an ENT twice a year whether I am having problems or not and a hearing test annually.  I will be having surgery Dec. 22 to close a hole in my ear drum and because my doctors are amazing I don't feel even slightly nervous about it. I know that I am in good hands and that feels really good.

Day fourteen:  I am thankful for my friends.  Today we had a house full of friends and little kids.  My house was messy, it was loud, we ate and drank too much, we played board games.  It was amazing.  I really have the best friends.

Day fifteen:  I am thankful for Instagram.  Silly, I know, but I have truly found a lot of support, advice, encouragement and helpful hints through this social media outlet.  Plus I really love seeing a glimpse into other people's lives ;-).

Day sixteen: I am thankful for naps.  Not for me, for the children.  It's VERY rare that both of them take simultaneous naps but when they do? Glory, glory, HALLELUJAH!

Day seventeen:  I am thankful that Kendall's surgery went better than expected.  I was nervous about her being put under anesthesia and had heard horror stories of kids having a hard time waking up.  She was PERFECT and did absolutely amazing!  No crying, no vomiting.  She was just a little quiet for an hour or so but then she was 100% back to her normal self!

Day eighteen:  I am thankful for the book The Resolution for Women.  I started to read it a couple years ago but I don't think I was "ready" for it.  I just started it again last week and WOW!  OK!  I am in the right place for it this time because it is speaking to me LOUD and clear.

Day nineteen:  I am thankful for my Beachbody business.  I don't make tons of money, not what some do, but every penny I do make helps.  It helps pay the electric bill some months and has paid our entire mortgage others.  It helps to take some of the burden off my husband and allows us to live a little more comfortably.

Day twenty:  I am thankful for my health.  Sure I'm having surgery next month but generally speaking I am a healthy person.  I don't usually get sick beyond the regular cold every year and heck, I don't even have a family doctor!

Day twenty one:  I am thankful for or wood-burning stove.  It's usually a nuisance to me because it's messy, it's loud and it's annoying to load wood every couple of hours.  BUT it saves us hundreds, probably thousands of dollars every year on propane.

Day twenty two:  I am thankful for remote start on my truck.  It's too big to park in the garage and it's COLD here, now.  Remote start makes me hate going out to the car a little less.

Day twenty three:  I am thankful for silly movies like Blaze and the Monster Machines.  Kendall had been looking forward to that movie for a week now.  When it came on tonight we all gathered up on the couch and watched it as a family.  I have no idea what it was about, really, but it was fun to do that together.

Day twenty four:  I am thankful for yoga.  I haven't really been feeling any of my workouts lately so I have been doing yoga and it's just what I need right now.  I don't want to sweat and feel like I'm going to die.  I just want to stretch and feel good and that's what yoga does for me.

Day twenty five:  I am thankful for little shoes {and toys, and clothes, and blankets} strewn across my house. It reminds me that we have happy, playful, healthy, little kids running around.  My dreams have all come true.

Day twenty six: I am thankful for time spent with family on Thanksgiving.  My family is fun.  We took a walk to the park after dinner and later played Cards Against Humanity.  What's not to love about this Thanksgiving?

Day twenty seven:  I am thankful for a handy husband.  We are in total house project mode over here and he built a sliding barn door to replace our awful, ugly, broken bifold doors in the kitchen.  I love the look of barn doors but I love it even more because he made it with his own hands.  Up next, farmhouse table for the kitchen!

Day twenty eight:  I am thankful for the Elf on the Shelf. I know most parents think he's annoying and while I have already forgotten to move him {day two} my kids love him. He brings magic to our house and their excitement is contagious.

Day twenty nine:  I am thankful for our zoo.  We went to the zoo lights tonight and it was amazing, as always.  Our zoo is so cool, has so much to offer and we always have a blast when we go.

Day thirty:  I am thankful for quiet mornings.  I like to wake up before the kids, drink coffee, do a little yoga all before the kids wake up.  It doesn't always happen but man, when it does?  Glorious.