Thankful

 Thankful for our new dog, Hudson!! We got a dog at the end of August. He's a perfect fit for our family.

 Thankful this girl begged me all summer, even wrote 6 page reports on "Why we should get a dog". She knew every kind of dog, if it was a good family dog and just about anything about you could possibly think of. Finally, one Sunday she showed me the "perfect" dog at a shelter. I just kind of smiled and didn't give her an answer either way. (I am not an animal person) A little later, I noticed she'd been crying, so I asked her why and then realized it was because of the dog. She said, "Mom, you said you'd pray about it and you still have not said yes, so we must not be getting a dog!" You see, I did tell her I'd pray about it, but I hadn't really done much more than that. Like I thought magically a dog would appear that we'd want. SO I decided to post something on Facebook, something to the effect of "Does anyone have a medium size dog that they don't want?" (think FREE) Within a 1/2 hour a friend messaged me and we had been the answer to her prayers. Her father in law had passed away in November and "Hudson" was very lonely since. Her Mother in law just couldn't take care of him anymore and so he was in much need of daily walks and play times! SO we took him! He's 6 years old and very mello. He loves the kids and being around someone all the time. He loves walking so we walk him a lot.

My 11 and 13 year olds have taken over everything, they walk, feed, bathe and comb him. He waits outside the bathroom door in the morning when they take their showers.

Thankful for the joy this dog has brought to our family. And the responsibility it has taught my children.

 Thankful for backyard fun, boys and sticks and fall campfires with s'mores and kids

 Thankful my little kids have the love of older siblings and that the older siblings get to enjoy younger kids around. There is just so much love. Is there fighting? Yes. But love always wins and it is the love I remember.

 (teaching her little sister how to balance on the Rip-stick)

 Thankful Tom and I celebrated his 50th birthday and my 48th birthday the next day.

Thankful this is happening now. Our 5th student to take piano lessons with our beloved teacher Mary. My little girl loves piano. It amazes me, because I have no musical talent at all. None. My kids? They're naturals. Now, I know I am biased a little, but I think my oldest daughter has an awesome voice and her beauty comes out even more when she sings.

 Thankful this happened. Yep, license, car, job. He's a senior this year. I now have about 2 1/2 hours of free time each day where I am not driving him to school, work or any activities! (which is partly why I have the time to blog today!) When people say to you that the days are long but the years are short, they are serious. It's what makes me so very Thankful for where each child is right now. I don't wish it away. I try my best to love them right where they are.

 Thankful for prayer time. Pray. Pray. Pray. Wherever you are, pray. Make everywhere you go HOLY.

 Thankful these kids asked if they could play on daddy's truck. I loved watching them. And who doesn't want to play on Daddy's truck? (Daddy may not know about this....Shhhh!!!)

 Thankful for children that love to read!

 Thankful for something small and simple like this in my window sill. This thing blooms and blooms all year.

 Thankful for teenagers. These teenagers and their friends are all amazing. They are really good kids. Here they are ready to go try out for the fall play our Homeschool Theater is having. They all got in. My 13 year old, the one in the middle got a big role and is SO excited!

 Thankful for fall baking! (these were for our Kids Pro-Life Club bake sale) I baked 5 batches.
Recipe HERE I use mini-chocolate chips and the recipe makes 2 dozen easy.

 Thankful, well, the kids are Thankful our yard went from this

 to this. The snow has melted now but it's still pretty dang cold.

Thankful for new friendships! This sweet girl and her family go to our church and she gets along with my girls and we love her! We love her family. And one of the biggest and best things is I love her mama!! We hit it off immediately and feel as if we've known each other all our lives. I'm so Thankful for this new family we are getting to know!

 Thankful Halloween is over OK kidding. My oldest went with his friends to see a movie! (they also brought my oldest daughter) For Trick-or-treating we had Salt and Pepper, a cowgirl and a knight!
It was pretty dang cold this year, so we went to Grandma and Grandpa's and then to a few homes we know, short and sweet.

 Thankful my husband was able to go to a football game with me (we took some kids to one of their friend's games) He's not been well in a long time and so this little thing was a big thing for us.

Thankful. 
Thankful  for the good and the bad. The happy and the sad. The hard and the easy. Thankful  for messes and for organization. Thankful for busy times and quiet moments. Thankful for struggles, for sacrifices and for faith. Thankful every day. Please don't look at these pictures and think my life is perfect. It is so far from anything anyone should be jealous of. I'm showing you the good. These are some of the things I search for each day to be Thankful. God's blessings are all around us. We need to look for them. Funny how the bad finds us and we struggle to see the good. Look for the good and be Thankful.