Points of Gratitude

Our family just arrived safely home from a trip to see friends for the holidays. It was great to spend time with friends - a big difference from the previous years. I did miss my family though. Our drive (yes we drove with two kids, over eights hours, in a car WITHOUT a DVD player...it can be done!) was wonderful and uneventful. It gave me some needed quiet time and gave E and I a chance to talk. One of our topics was to recount the things we are grateful for. Here are just SOME of my gratefuls for this year:

~ two healthy, happy, vibrant children
~ friends who love me regardless of my failure to return phone calls
~ my child's ability to 'fake cry'
~ the freedom to quit one job, take another one, and quit yet again
~ choosing to not have tv in our house and discovering new adventures each day
~ a dishwasher that doesn't complain when I haven't done them, even though it's the end of a long day for him
~ parents that treat me like their daughter, their friend, and an adult all at once.
~ not being pregnant this year
~ being able to learn life lessons without serious consequences (yet)
~ San Antonio
~ dark brown eyes that charm me out of frivolent anger
~ free back massages that E gives without complaint (even though he might think them)
~ pancake breakfasts on Sundays with needed conversational therapy
~ the smile I get everytime I read Smash's blog which I check regularly as if she were some close friend
~ Mrs Dash
~ the Children's Museum, Zoo, park, condo playhouse, and any other space I can take my children to get out of the house
~ not being famous
~ Lynette
~ being at a place where my lover knows me better than I know myself, and smiles when I figure things out that he's known for years.
~ watching others find their inner strength as I find mine
~ knowing that my kids think I am beautiful not matter what size I might be.
~ sunshine, blue sky, the ocean, and pieces of nature that grant me peace
~ having another day to try and do something different and better than I did before
~ the fact that there are more things that I am grateful for than I can even remember.