Gratitude :: 28

1. Memories. Making new ones. The ability to remember old ones.

2. Forgiveness.

3. Leftovers.

4. Spending a whole day at home.

5. 4-year-old creativity.

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you a day filled with family, love, lots of grace, a spirit of contentment and a full tummy!

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Gratitude :: 23

1. Naps.

2. At-home pedicures.

3. Bro & Sis-in-law flying in tomorrow!

4. Lots of yummy food to feed my family.

5. Little girl giggles.

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Gratitude :: 21

1. Sleeping in. 8:30! Woohoo!

2. Saturday night church. Pretty much the greatest invention ever.

3. Lip gloss.

4. Christmas crafts.

5. A happy little girl in a new dress. (Thanks Grandpa & Grandma!)

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Gratitude :: 20

1. Hunky Husband who will walk in the rain for me.

2. Successfully navigating the daily 4-year-old-picking-out-her-own-completely-weather-inappropriate-clothing negotiation.

3. Quiet.

4. New magazines.

5. Roadside assistance. Again. Seriously, this is getting ridiculous.

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Gratitude :: 19

Oops... completely forgot to do #18.

1. Watching Janie play with her grandparents.

2. Making cookies with my kiddo.

3. Salad bars.

4. Seat warmers.

5. Laughter.

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Gratitude :: 17

1. Afternoon walks. Throwing rocks into the pond.

2. My little shopper. The older she gets, the more fun it is. (I may revise this sentiment in about 10 years.)

3. The rice-in-a-bowl method for saving a wet iPod that may or may not have been washed with a certain Hunky Husband's workout clothes. (So far, its working!)

4. The beautiful park across the street. If I stand on the porch and lean a little to the right, I can see the lake. :)

5. Getting to start all over again tomorrow.

P.S. This photo cracks me up...

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Gratitude :: 16

1. Tea parties. With pretend tea. And marshmallows.

2. Getting re-acquainted with my childhood favorite holiday candy.

3. Spell check.

4. Playing tag.

5. The car wash.

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Gratitude :: 15

1. Discovering a new library.

2. Watching 4-year-old dance moves. And then joining in. :)

3. Drive-thrus.

4. The new Busytown Mysteries on Saturday mornings.

5. Putting an extra blanket on my bed.

P.S. Happy Birthday Ross!

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Gratitude :: 14

1. Bedtime.

2. Discovering a new series while browsing the church library.

3. Little family adventures. (Local Calico Critter party - woohoo!)

4. The return of the Yule Log.

5. Chocolate. (I can't believe I haven't listed this one before!)

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Gratitude :: 13

1. Roadside assistance. Again. (Big sigh.)

2. Coupons.

3. The way my kiddo smells right after bath time.

4. My new favorite holiday candy.

5. These two:

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Gratitude :: 12

1. These jeans. I bought them a couple of months ago and wear them all. the. time.

2. Play dates. New parks. Friends for me and friends for Jane.

3. Snuggling up in Hunky Husband's cozy sweatshirt.

4. A quiet house.

5. Grace.

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Gratidute :: 11

1. My amazing, world-traveling, compassionate sister.

2. America's service men and women. The price they pay seems too high.

3. Listening to little voices repeating their memory verses each week at Cubbies.

4. These words (from the car seat behind me): "Good job passing, mom."

5. Watching Janie as she makes friends.

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Gratitude :: 10

1. Cinnamon-sugar toast.

2. Playing tackle-the-mom and tickle-the-kid.

3. Packages in the mail.

4. Clean sheets.

5. Carpool lanes.

P.S. Happy Birthday Jon!!

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Gratitude :: 9

1. Finally (finally!) reaching the end of the ironing pile.

2. Paper chains counting down to a 5-year birthday. Only 24 days to go!

3. Frozen yogurt. (Even better with a fun friend!)

4. These words: "Mom, these shoes sure are cute. I think I really should get them, don't you?"

5. That moment when Hottie Husband walks in the door. Love him.

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Gratitude :: 8

1. Wearing flip-flops in winter.

2. Sunday afternoon naps.

3. Dance parties in the living room.

4. After-dark walks. With flashlights. :)

5. America's Funniest Home Videos. Makes me laugh out loud every single time.

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Gratitude :: 7

1. Grandparents.

2. Finally reaching the bottom of the Halloween bowl.

3. A 4-year-old's smile that melts my stress away.

4. Shopping alone at Target.

5. This song.

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Gratitude :: 6

1. Daddy-daughter day. I love that Hunky Husband makes this a priority every week.

2. Rediscovering my favorite holiday candy.

3. Grandma Fran, my 90-year-old nursery childcare partner every Friday. She says something kind and encouraging to each person she interacts with throughout the morning. She is an inspiration!

4. Afternoon walks. Crunching leaves.

5. An empty laundry basket. (Even if it was only for 30 minutes.)

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Gratitude :: 5

1. Happy Meals.

2. A 4-year-old with a serious case of the giggles.

3. Being able to communicate with my sister half a world away in India. Yeah for the interwebs!! :)

4. New books from the library. (And especially the online request feature that has my selections ready for me at the checkout counter.)

5. Cars that work. Sigh.

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Gratitude :: 4

1. Play dates. I love the sounds of two little girls playing together.

2. New recipes.

3. A hunky husband who bravely tries my creations.

4. Talking with another mom about the things that bond all moms together... middle-of-the-night feedings, potty training, bribing your child to eat vegetables, and on and on.

5. Leaving my windows open all day.

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Gratitude :: 3

1. Roadside assistance.

2. A second car. A luxury, really.

3. A friend that will give you a ride home so that you and your 4-year-old don't have to ride shotgun with the tow truck driver (sans car seat).

4. Living in a great location so that we can walk every where we might need to go if we are a one-car-family for a day or so.

5. Remembering the ways the Lord has been faithful before. And being absolutely sure he will be faithful again.

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Gratitude :: 2

1. Birthday reminders on Facebook. I wish I was the kind of person who never forgot a birthday - but the truth is that Facebook has saved me many times.

2. California weather. Its November 2nd and we've still got perfect jeans-and-t-shirt sunshine going on.

3. $1 section at Target. Also: Ring Pops for sale next to the register.

4. These words: "I missed you momma." "I love you babe." "Sure. Go ahead, have more chocolate." Wait... that last one is only in my head. :)

5. The yummy scent of baking bread filling up my house.

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Gratitude :: 1

So I noticed this morning a couple of fabulous bloggy ladies are attempting to post something everyday in November highlighting what they are thankful for. I'm not sure if I can do the everyday part. I mean, really, my most recent post is almost three months ago and I've managed a grand total of 10 posts for all of 2009. But I do love the idea of taking the whole month to be thankful on purpose.
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Gratitude :: 1

1. Watching Janie do her excited Happy-Hop before (and during) trick-or-treating.

2. Subsequent raiding of the Halloween stash.

3. New shampoo.

4. An extra hour of sleep and cozy blankets to keep me warm.

5. These two:

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