Thankfulness

Here I sit knowing I still have several days of Disney overviews hanging over my head to write. Honestly, they take a lot of work because my OCD and ADD mix together too strongly when I am writing these trip reports. The ADD side of me wants to start writing about one day and then jump to another. The OCD side wants to make sure that every detail in every post is perfect. This whole mess takes about a week to make a clear blog post that everyone else in the blogging world could do in about 2 minutes. J tells me I'm just ODD (OCD and ADD put together). I just reply with "well, it always gets done and when it's done, it's perfect!" He gets a big kick out of my antics I'm sure.

Since I am adding lazyness into the OCD and ADD, I really didn't feel like working on another Disney post so I thought, "hmm, what should I blog post about" and like the other millions of bloggers, I immediately thought "Thankfulness"

So, if your blog surfing tonight, I'm sorry in advance that mine will be yet another "what I'm Thankful for this year" blog. Of course, mine are never really cheesy and you might find that you actually enjoy reading about Brea's thankfulness. So, my faithful readers of this blog, I give you Brea's Top 10 Things She's Been Thankful For in 2009.

Brea's Top 10 Things She's Been Thankful For in 2009
1. People that invented sleeping pills (like prescription strength-those silly over the counter things don't work for me): Although I have done many unfortunate things after taking the sleeping pill (including cutting off all my fingernails, calling my mother in which I remember none of the conversation, etc.)I would like to say I have slept like a baby the last two weeks. Whilst during that sleep, I have also had some pretty amazing dreams that have given me some good laughs this week. So the number one spot goes to the makers of those pills, because without them, I was pretty sure I was headed to the loony bin by my lack of sleep.

2. Encores and More North Children's Consingment Sale: Although there are many times when I want to run screaming from that place, I finally realized this year that God truly did call me into this line of business and not because he wanted to bless me financially, he wanted me to SEE HIM bless others through something that he created. The amount of cards and notes I received from families thanking us for providing a place to not only create income by selling old goods, but also by being able to purchase new stuff at great prices was simply overwhelming. I am thankful for each and every person that walks through our doors whether a consignor, worker, shopper, cleaner, cook, etc. Any person that contributes anything to the sale, please know we couldn't do it without you and Brea is thankful for you!

3. My husband's new job at Smith Travel Research. Probably doesn't seem like something that should rank on the top 10, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE that my husband now works 15 minutes away and doesn't have to fight that God awful traffic going back and forth to Brentwood anymore. We had taken for granted the simple things like him being able to come home and have lunch with the kids. How cool is that? So thank you to STR for being a stable, debt free company that takes great care of your employees and their families. Without you, we would have two less hours of daddy at home a day.

4. My mom and dad taking us to Disney last month. They probably didn't know how badly our family needed a break and for them to pay for the trip really was like a breath of fresh air. The family time spent together was fabulous. Being de-stressed enough to really get to watch the excitement in my kids faces-that's what vacation is all about. It was a wonderful time and we truly needed some time away.

5. V and T: Josh and Mary Elizabeth's moms. Right now, I have no clue where either of them are. I hope they are doing well. I am so thankful for them because they continue to challenge me to be a better mother (and I bet they don't even know that). They gave us children that I feel based on what I know, that they themselves could have parented quite wonderfully. What an honor to know that someone has picked me to raise her child. I hope I make them both proud. I hope they know how much I love them both and I do....I love my children and I love their other moms. My prayer is that someday we are sitting around a big table all loving on one another. I believe God could do that.

6. Saint Barbara. For those of you that don't know, Saint Barbara is held in the same high esteem as Saint Cindy (our house cleaner) My mother in law literally is a saint. When she told me one time that she felt she was put on this earth to be a grandmother, well, let's just say I believe her. She LOVES her grandchildren and is helpful to me. Constantly supporting me and my favorite is when she calls out of the blue and says "so, when can I have them" I never feel like I am wearing her out with requests for childcare because I know we have such a great relationship that she would just say, "can't do it then" and it's no big deal. The kids love going to visit and I literally never worry when they are in her care. She was definitely put on this earth to be a Saintly Grandmother.

7. Anna. She's a very bright girl who is radiating hormones from her body. She changes outfits 15 times a day trying to figure out which bra doesn't show, if her hair looks best with a bow, wanting to use the phone and singing to every song that plays on the radio while J and I look at each other and say "what is this song?" Frightening, I know. She's also a wonderful Christian young woman who has seemingly surrounded herself with good Christian young women. My prayers for years is that Anna would be surrounded with Godly friends that she can go to church and school with. ANSWERED PRAYER! I'm excited about watching her friends grow up now because I know chances are they are going to be sticking around more and more ofteh. Anna's a great gift to us, always amazing us with her beauty inside and out.

8. Craigslist. No, I'm not joking. I am thankful for Craigslist. I no longer get THE eye roll from J when I come home from weekend yard sales with the truck loaded full because he knows that most of it is going on craigslist and there's a pretty good bet that I'll make money on the stuff. I am even more thankful that Craigslist charges me nothing (right now) to sell or buy stuff. When you've bought two cars, most of your furniture, home decor, etc. off craigslists, who couldn't be thankful!

9. Jonathan. He's a rockstar. Seriously, what guy do you know that comes home from work and actually wants to play with his FIVE kids. He does all the laundry in this house and he is even a pretty dang good cook. He is so freakishly smart computer wise and you would be blown away if I listed all the work he has done for FREE for non profit organizations. It was eye opening to me to be at a recent conference where the speaker got choked up when presenting Jonathan because of all the work he had done for them for FREE and how much it had impacted the non profit. On top of that, he does his normal 8-5 job, works extra hours for his old boss, AND maintains everything on Encores and More North website including the fact that he built the tagging system. His strength amazes me and I love him more than the day I married him.

10. The little stuff. Like having warm socks fresh out of the dryer when my feet are cold. That they make meds for migraine headaches that make them go away (sometimes). I am so thankful for my wonderful, small house and the fact that our family has never felt more at home and together than we have living in this house. For our yard, with all the trees and things to do. I spent hours each day as a kid exploring and I love seeing my kids do the same. Being able to go to a doctor the same day I start having symptoms and getting treatment that day. Clipping coupons and using them and then using the money I saved to support 6 kids monthly in Ethiopia (no, we aren't adopting them) I was thankful yesterday when I sold my Bumbo off craigslist and when the lady came to pick it up, I got misty. I got misty because it's the last Bumbo we'll have in this house which signifies the end of the "baby" era. I am so thankful I got to experience that era...so many of my friends are currently searching out options because their bodies can't make babies. I am thankful I'm alive and I get to see this life HE has laid out for me. I get to see all the bad choices I made (which were devastating at the time) be turned into some of the most beautiful moments of my life. I have gotten to check so many things off my bucket list which is also something I'm thankful for, because that shows me that I am out there LIVING and not afraid to try new things and meet new people. I am thankful for the sushi guy at Publix deli who can rock out some sushi for my family in under 5 minutes flat and dinner is done! I am thankful that we have money in our checking account, central heat and air, food in our pantry, warm beds for us to crawl into soon and last but not least, that our family is ever growing and changing and I get to be here to witness it all. This time last year, Josh was a dot on a radar far, far away. Tomorrow, I will be eating turkey with my 6 month old Joshie on my lap with a tear in my eye as I remember his mom and wonder how she is spending Thanksgiving Day with her family.

So, that's it...I'm just thankful.