be grateful you get to be here

As you prepare the hot dishes and make your last minute preparations, don't forget about those that won't get the opportunity. I felt guilty about no Christmas cards. For about 5 minutes! I prepped for good behavior, the perfect gifts and lots of tasty food. We cleaned and booked and prepared. We baked and did the advent calendars.

Then we started doing our charity work. How many dogs are in the shelters? How many hats and blankets can we crochet for the homeless? Are soldiers getting gifts and love? Cue the commercials of soldiers overseas sending their love home. Cue the tears.

So very grateful for our military relatives and all they have sacrificed. Hoping everyone gets to be with their loved ones this season. As I prepare to spend time with my own family this weekend, I send peace and love to everyone, but especially military families. My military roots are pulling at my heart strings a bit extra right now. Always proud and appreciative to have been a part of the biggest and greatest family ever.

The season, be aware. Be grateful. Be blessed. Be present! Happy holidays!

gratitude is everywhere

It was a big week in this house! The end of September means fall, birthdays, and fun. We had birthday dinner, more 90 degree weather, and pumpkin collecting, all in one week! I had to take a pause and collect myself, my thoughts and move forward. As long as this week was, as tired as I felt, I reminded myself how blessed we are. 

Our little community experienced another loss that really hit me to the core. I am eternally grateful for not only the house, the family, friends, clothes, etc. I am grateful for good health, health care options, insurance, safety and security as well. Life is short and unpredictable. Things change in the blink of an eye.

One reoccurring thought and lesson popped up this week. I will be grateful for this one life I have been given and live it to the fullest. I will focus on my health and wellbeing. I will be grateful that I AM able to put myself and my family first. I will focus on the safety and health of my family because, yes, I am grateful for these precious lives. Yes, I am blessed for these precious moments.

Life is too short. I want to leave this Earth knowing I did what I could to help others and make the world a better place because I am grateful for the resources that I have available. I am grateful for the insight to know this, the ability to believe this and the power to accept this. Accept and be thankful for your blessings, big and small, fun and serious.

Be grateful. Be thankful. Be able to do you.

finding gratitude makes us smile

We started doing fun New Year's challenges instead of resolutions I will eventually forget or give up on. A few years ago, we did the coin challenge. We did the hanger challenge. The clutter challenge was a good one. This year we focus on gratitude. You notice we got classy and decorated a Hawaiian Punch bottle!? We also get resourceful for these!

This year we focus on gratitude. It's that time of year when we are itching to get outside, to go on a bike ride, go swimming, or for a walk. We typically go to the Dells in February just to break up the cold and have a little fun. Not this year. Everyone got so excited for 2021 to arrive without even realizing it's the distant, evil cousin of 2020. Instead of focusing on all that snow, the temps, and everything else that hasn't resumed like usual, we're focusing on gratitude. 

We write on slips of paper and drop them in. Done. I even made it easy and put paper under the jar and left a few markers behind it. I don't ask what she's written. I just remind her to put the date on each entry. I do the same. Om New Year's Eve we will dump them put and go through a Year's worth of memories, fun, and gratitude. 

Hopefully it will be enough to fuel us up for a year of positive attitudes and being able to see the bigger picture. One site I saw suggested having each person read someone else's. You could even collage them when you're done (probably won't do that, but it's a nice sentiment). We have a year of camping adventures ahead of us. We have plenty to be grateful for, so I am hoping for a full jar by the end of the year full of memories and gratitude we can all be proud of.

you can't stop us now!

Some weeks feel long. Some weeks feel short. We are like the little engines that could right now. "I think I can, I think I can!" We managed another Covid filled holiday with minimal disruption and lots of laughter. I am so grateful for the creativity and patience of those around us who were willing and patient to adjust their regular routines and plans so kids could safely have Halloween.

The name of the game right now is stay one step ahead and get creative! Work offers new ways to go to meetings, relay information, be successful. Then there are the extra curriculars. Did you pack a mask? A smile? A snack? A positive attitude? Hand sanitizer? Staying creative and informed just makes my life so much easier.

Working out in my free time, jumping ahead on my holiday charity project, decluttering, reading, all of these are keeping me afloat, sane, and on target to be the best I can be daily. My little minion is picking up on the clues and has started reading more. She is currently loving a new video game we got her. She is asking how she can help or what she can do without being asked. We are a (fairly) well-oiled machine most days. 

Today I would like to thank my local library allowing my daughter calm down time. I would like to thank my crockpot for cooking my dinner while I work all day. I would like to thank The Biggest Loser game for making me do squats, burpees, and other things I normally loathe to get my energies out. I would like to thank grocery pick up services for saving us time and stress.

Tis the season for thanks, gratitude and love. Even though some days I want to mic drop and just be done, I can't stop. I won't stop. I will relax. I will be grateful. I will be hardworking. I will lead by example. And I will make sure that my mini me sees all the cool things this world has to offer through video chats and scripted playdates, crafts and down time, instead of living in fear and loathing of the dreaded Covid...