Day 6, 7, 8 :)

Day 6 - Season/Weather -- I complain a lot about the cold and the heat and the humidity and the quick changes in weather but I'm honestly super thankful to live in NE and experience all four seasons. I most love Spring when everything is starting to turn green and the rain smells so good and the ground has thawed and planting is happening. 

I'm also really partial to fall. I love the changing of the leaves and the cooler but not cold temps and the need for a sweater but not a coat. I love bonfires and the crunch of leaves underfoot. 

Day 7 - Basic Necessity -- The basic necessity that I'm most thankful for would have to be food. Yes, I know you're shocked that I love food, but it's more than that. It's the joy of cooking for my family, it's the ability to make and try new recipes. It's the bonding time spent with my family during family dinners. Honestly, it's providing for my family in a simple way. I'm very thankful for that. 

Day 8 - Best Thing About Yesterday -- The thing I'm most thankful for from yesterday would be how everyone in the house pulled together to get the house cleaned. I absolutely CAN do it all myself but am thankful that everyone jumped in and helped out. I'm also thankful for the "quiet" time that was allowed since Tiny was at a birthday party and then a BBQ. 

Day 5 - Technology

 Can I just say that I'm super thankful for technology in general? Can you imagine what 2020 would have looked like if we had not had the technology to be able to work from home? Can you imagine what it would have looked like if our children had not been able to have any schooling? 

I would say, to narrow it down, the technology I'm most thankful for is the telephone and email. With not all of our children being able to be in Lincoln with us, it's really nice that they're a phone call away. It's great that we can still speak to them on an almost daily occurrence. 

Email allows me to speak less often on the phone and it allows me to not have to take as detailed notes when I am on the phone. I love the ability to reach out to any of the kids' teachers to express concerns. I love not having to play phone-tag with them in an attempt to hear any news that we may need to know. 

Day 4 - Skills and Knowledge

I have a pretty good skill at menu planning and organizing for our family. I am really thankful for that skill because it means that my family knows what we are having and when we are having it. Typically, it also means that I've shopped for it and they don't have to do much except show up to eat it. :) 

Everyone knows that we have a large family. When we went from a family of 5 to a family of 8, we were gifted the knowledge of Cozi. I am so forever thankful for that. Nine years later and it's still helping us all to stay on track and be exactly where we need to be when we need to be there. I cannot imagine trying to navigate this life without this product. 

So...yeah...I would say the skills that I'm most thankful for are the ones that allow me to provide balance to the chaos that is our life! 

Day 3 - Color

 My favorite color is pink! I used to hate pink but when I got pregnant with Gordon, everything had to be pink. All of the sudden, I was THAT girl and wanted pink everything. It's kind of stuck for the last 18 years. 

Colors bring life to everything. Right now, the seasons are changing and the leaves are gorgeous. My drives to and from work have become colorful masterpieces as I come over hills and see all the different trees. I love the season of fall for that reason. I love to see the beautiful tree in our front yard as it's turned this amazing reddish-orange color and the leaves fall to the ground turning our little front yard a blanket of red. Not for nothing but I'm also glad that there is only one tree in our entire yard so that I don't have to rake that many leaves! 

The question though is what color am I most thankful for and I have to say it's not one color. The colors that I'm most thankful for are all the colors of the rainbow. The rainbow symbolizes so much in my life. God's promise, of course, to never destroy the Earth with floods again. It's a symbol of grace, the grace that He has given us, and the grace that we should remember to give others. 

The rainbow is most often a sign of hope. They come after storms to brighten the Earth and to bring us to hope for a brighter day and time. 

The rainbow brings a sense of peace to many members of my family. The symbol of the rainbow lets them know that they are safe in their LGBTQ+ place. The rainbow flag represents the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community and when my family members see it, they know that they are in a judgment-free zone; they know that they are with safe people in their community. 

I forever want my family members to feel safe and to be safe. So for that reason, I cannot be thankful for just one color, I shall be thankful for all of the colors of the rainbow that make this world what it is. 

Day 2 - Hobby

 A hobby I'm thankful for. I actively participate in two. I crochet and I cross-stitch. Each brings me joy. 

I love to make blankets for people. I don't do anything fancy but I like the simple stitches that piece together, row after row, that I hope will bring comfort and warmth to the person it's intended for. I am grateful for the skill to be able to do so. 

I am thankful for the ability to sit with my family and crochet mindlessly and still be able to pay attention to what is going on around me, still be able to capture the laughs and gasps from them as whatever drama or comedy unfolds on the TV. It requires less focus on the project and I'm grateful that it helps me be present in my living room with them. 

I struggle with that sometimes. Being present with my family when they are just watching TV or playing video games. Crocheting allows me a slight distraction to keep me more present. It also keeps my hands busy and then I snack less! :) 

I am thankful for the ability to cross-stitch as well. I don't do that as much as I'd like as it's more intensive and less easy to do as I'm sitting with the family watching TV. It requires more focus. It pulls my attention away from being present with them as much but keeps me in the same room, which I guess matters as well. 

Day 1 - Someone

 Someone posted a "Happiness Gratitude Challenge" for the month of November and I've decided to try to do it as blog posts. Yes, lots of people jump on the "November Grateful" posts. Doing this in November certainly doesn't mean that I'm only grateful in November. I'm a day behind already so I'll try for two today. Yep, that's how my November is already going...

There are so many people I'm grateful for that it's really hard to post about just one. I have an amazing family, great friends, fantastic co-workers, and co-conspirators. I have a wonderful support system and so I for sure am grateful to all of them. Since the challenge says "someONE", I'm going to highlight this superhuman that doesn't get nearly enough credit! 

Words cannot truly express how thankful I am for my husband. He truly is my better half. Steven pushes me to be a better person. He sees good in me when I can't and he reminds me of the things that are truly important in this world. 

He chose me, he chooses me. He stands beside me when things are hard and he stands beside me when things are fantastic. He picks up when I have to put down and he holds me when I can't hold myself. 

Steve and I have been through a LOT in the past 21 years. There has been heartache and tears. There has been grief that has seemed unmanageable. He hasn't always wanted to be right here with me but he stuck in there. Hell, I haven't always wanted to be right here but we make it work. We choose to make it work. He chooses to not give up. Marriage isn't always easy and it's okay that not everyone shows up every single day. It's showing back up that works for me. 

I will forever be thankful for the father that he has chosen to be to our children. I am thankful for the father that he chose to be to our nieces and nephew. I am beyond thankful for the Poppa that he chooses to be to our Tiny Human. 

It has been a beautiful journey watching him grow and growing with him. He has conquered so much in his life and seeing him overcome the challenges in his life has been inspiring. He has pushed and pushed and it's been a true joy to see him reach his goals and get to be one of his biggest cheerleaders! 

I could go on about the ways in which I'm thankful for my hubby. How he makes the bed in the morning and I know he does it just because he's thinking of me. How thankful I am when I wake up in the middle of the night with his arm around me. How thankful I am when I'm sick or just exhausted and can't do one more thing and he just takes over. 

Day 1 (done on day 2) of being thankful. My someone is Steve, my husband, my friend, my co-conspirator. 

Holding Space

 I watch "highlights" of the murder trial of George Floyd. I don't know where to put all of the feelings I have about this. 

I have been reading news clips of the murder of Daunte Wright. I am terrified for my African American children. 

I see social media posts and I see the news and I partake in conversations and I watch my African American friends and I watch my African American children.

And I hurt. 

And I get angry.

And I get scared. 

And I get sad.

There is an amazing woman I follow on IG. Her name is Nichole Walters and she is just downright one of the most inspirational and positive and insightful women I have seen. She is an African American woman raising African American kiddos. 

And she said to hold space for our African American friends and family. She said not to ask questions of them but to let them know you are there for them. She said to be graceful and be patient and be authentic and most importantly just be there holding space. 

So I hold space. I hold space for anyone hurting during these sad, sad days. I hold space for those so angry that they can't find the words. I hold space for those scared to leave the house and scared to drive down the street and scared to live in a world that seems to hate their very existence. 

I am here. I am hurting for you. I am not judging your fear, your anger, your hurt. I am standing beside you. As a white woman, I cannot walk this path for you but I will walk this path with you if you want me to. People around me will know that I am holding space for you.