Grace in Small Things - Day 7

1. Getting to sleep in (at least at my house, sleeping until 7:30 is sleeping in).

2. Watching my mom teach Claire how to set the table with the silver, china, and crystal.

3. Kids dancing around the room to Christmas music.

4. My mom and dad getting up to dance to Christmas music.

5. Spending time with family.

There are so many little things in every day to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving!

Grace in Small Things - Day 6

1. Waking up to a breakfast of eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns cooked by my awesome husband.

2. A reasonable drive on the day before Thanksgiving - only about a half hour longer than usual.

3. Amusing car conversations with the kids. (Claire, after reading a billboard: Why would your house be upside down? That's crazy!")

4. Laying on the floor at my parents' house reading Christmas stories to my kids.

5. Surprise doggy kisses in the middle of number 4.

Grace in Small Things - Day 5

1. A two day work week!

2. Listening to Claire read a story to her doll.

3. Enthusiastic puppy greetings when I walk in the door.

4. Being almost done with my Christmas shopping - only person left on my list!

5. Snuggling in front of the fire with a good book. (Yep, another fire tonight.)

Grace in Small Things - Day 4

1. A hot cup of coffee in the morning. Starting my day without one just isn't right.

2. Seeing pink striped sunsets while I watch my kids ride bikes and jump over leaf piles.

3. Being able to see when a student makes the connection that they need to understand what you're teaching.

4. Fudge tracks ice cream.

5. Sandpapery kitty kisses.

Grace in Small Things - Day 3

1. One of the best feelings in the world is snuggling a baby. I got the chance to get some time with my adorable niece, Adele, this morning, and it made my day.

2. Grocery shopping without the kids is so much quicker and easier.

3. Old friends. Tonight we had one of Brian's friends from middle school and his family over for dinner. It is always nice to get to hang out with them.

4. Having friends over is a good excuse to cook a meal that is more indulgent than our typical fare.

5. At the end of the day, nothing beats a purring kitty curled up in your lap.

Grace in Small Things - Day 2

1. A productive day around the house - we got lots of small tasks that have been put off taken care of this morning.

2. A Hokie win - this made for a much more cheerful evening than it might have been!

3. More lovely fall weather. We have been lucky that all fall the weekends have been gorgeous - all of our rain has occurred during the week.

4. Generous family. Brian's aunt and grandmother were nice enough to come and babysit the kids so that we could go out to an art show and dinner.

5. Good friends. Getting to spend grownup time with some of our favorite people doesn't happen very often, but it is great when it does!

Grace in Small Things

It has been far too long since I've done this exercise of posting five things I'm grateful for. My plan is, in this week leading to Thanksgiving, to do it every day.

1. Health. After having both kids on antibiotics for different ailments over the last two weeks we have been blessed with a week where there has been nothing bigger than the occasional sneeze.

2. Fires on a cold night. Brian built one tonight as soon as we made it home, and it feels wonderful.

3. My job this year is so much better, and so much less stressful than what I was going through at this time last year.

4. Flexibility. Part of what makes this job wonderful is having much more free time. I was able to take all of Wednesday off to go see Claire in a Thanksgiving play (she was Narrator #1!), have Thanksgiving lunch with her at school, and then volunteer at the school's book fair. It was a great day.

5. Fall colors. Though many leaves have fallen, there are still a few trees showing off their beautiful colors, and the fall decorations that are scattered around the house make me happy.