Grateful Thread

We are in Pennsylvania, enjoying visits with extended family for the holiday. It's 8:15am and I'm the only one awake--rare, indeed. Here is this week's installment of my 'gratitude adjustment.' I'm thankful for. . .

1. Western Pennsylvania winter weather. If you grew up in Western PA, winter means something completely different than people from such far away tropical locales as Fairfax, Virginia, where we're lucky to get one or two good snowfalls every year. I always feel like my kids are getting cheated out of quality winter weather, although we are quick to get out the door with our snowshoes and sleds as soon as we see the white stuff falling in VA. Tuesday night we drove through a snowstorm on our way up here, and the kids got to spend Wednesday morning sled riding and building snowmen with their cousin, while snow was actually still falling. They might not get a white Christmas in VA, but at least they had a white Thanksgiving in PA!

2. The 18-wheeler we followed through the snowstorm. If it weren't for this guy's blinking hazard lights and fresh tire tracks which we followed over the mountain, #1 might not be on my gratitude list!

3. Digital cameras. Casey is pouty at best, angry at worst, when it's time for family photo shoots. Between my brother's girlfriend and my mom, they took about 30 pictures yesterday for us, one of which might be salvagable for a Christmas card photo. The rest. . .delete, save for future humiliation, or transfer to disc and forget about them. No wasted film. Now, if I could only become more proficient at Photoshop. . .

4. Turkey and stuffing. 'Nuff said.

And most importantly . . .

5. My family.

Keller and Casey bring me laughter (and ultimate challenges of patience) every day. Watching them learn and grow brings me a sense of hope for the future that I don't believe would be there without them. They are so different from eachother, but each have parts of me and parts of Dave that become more evident as they grow-up. I am always torn between wanting to keep them young and (fairly) innocent, and being anxious to see what kind of people they are going to turn out to be.

Dave has supported me through every goal (a.k.a. crazy idea) that I've set. That's not to say that we haven't had to break out the spreadsheets and flowcharts to work out practical plans for those goals. . .but he has offered me unwavering support and unconditional love on many journeys, including our most recent journey to Marley.

Although Marley isn't here yet, she has brought so much excitement and joy to our family already. We just received an update on her and are thrilled to learn that she is walking now. At 18 months, she was not walking or crawling, which is not at all uncommon for kids in orphanages, but was worrisome to my mama heart none the less. Now, three months later, she is walking and crawling. Time to break out the baby gates and prepare the dogs for another moving object in the house!!

My mom gave me a compassionate heart that is such an imporant part of who I am. She would truly give her last dime to help someone else, even a stranger. She gives so much and never lets a birthday or anniversary pass without sending good wishes to friends, family, co-workers, etc. She is also a big softy. I remember when we would watch my brother's soccer games in high school--he was a great goalkeeper and if his team had a shut-out, my mom would feel so sorry for the other team because they didn't get to score any goals on my brother! A true heart for the underdog.

My dad gave me an ambitious drive (a.k.a. stubborn streak) that drove him crazy when I was younger, but I think makes him proud now. Every time I tell him of a new adventure (like my solo trip to Guatemala last year), he moves quickly from the initial feeling that I'm doing something crazy--to the knowlege that I'm going to do whatever I want anyway--to a sense of pride that I would be brave enough to just do it. My dad and I haven't faced-off in a real argument since my tumultuous teenage years, but I think if we did, he'd hear some of himself coming through!

My sister lived through sharing a room with me for the first 17 years of my life, so she has earned my respect after years of picking up and/or stepping over my messes--both literally and figuratively. She decided this summer that she was going to teach full-time, after graduating with a teaching degree in 1994 and never teaching in a public school. She got hired, is doing a great job of teaching 2nd grade, and has passed her exams to earn her professional licensure. She is managing a full-time job and motherhood better than I could, for sure. Her kids are clean, fed, and their homework is done, which is about all I can manage some days without a full-time job!

My brother is a young-at-heart 31 year old who has more friends than could fit on a fleet of buses. I think they've tried, but the kegs took up too much room ;) He seriously has so many good, close friends who he has shared a lot with over the years. Many are friends he has known since elementary school, which is proof that he is a pretty good guy and worth keeping up a friendship with. He's the kind of guy who has annual fishing trips and beach trips with his buddies that are probably going on 10 or more consecutive years. A guy whose friends are lucky to have him.

Stay tuned for next week's installment of things I'm grateful for, which will hopefully include Travel Approval to go get Marley.