Ummmm, another month has passed

I can't believe it!! Another month has gone by. I've been doing most of my "computering" on my iPad, and the Blogger interface doesn't like me on there. Or maybe I don't like it. Hpmh. Anyway, life has flown by again. Last time I posted it was the day before Halloween. Now the Christmas season is upon us. Thanksgiving, as usual was lost in the holiday shuffle. This year I saw Christmas stuff up with the Halloween stuff. That makes me sad. Sad because Thanksgiving gets forgotten, and I feel like Thanksgiving is a great time to focus on what we are thankful for, and get us thinking about the upcoming holiday season. I am a Christian, so the thing that I am most grateful for is Jesus and all He has done for me. Thinking about my blessings at Thanksgiving time helps me to focus on Him and helps me to remember what Christmas is all about. Right, Linus? I pretty much got my Christmas shopping done this summer. I do not enjoy all the hustle and bustle and stress of the season, and I abhor Black Friday. There is nothing that I need so bad that I have to go shopping before midnight until nine the following morning. Nothing.

Instead I helped the Dear with our storage room in the basement. It was much more fulfilling than spending all morning shopping and then being a grump the rest of the day. Saturday we worked on the storage room some more. And we went to Home Depot to buy some more paint. The kids and I looked at the Christmas decorations (they love those stuffed animated animals!) while the Dear did his shopping. And then we did some more work. We have church at nine on Sunday morning, and then, to give us something to do for the rest of the day, we put up the tree. I bought a bunch of new ornaments last year, after Christmas, so we were able to put those up this year. It was so fun. I am loving the more "naturative" feel of the tree. Birds, acorns, leaves, pine cones (both real and fake), berry branches, icicles, snowflakes, and some poinsettias. Not to mention the regular ornaments. I become more in love with my tree each year. :)

After I had my nativities all set up, the Dear made a comment about how now I should have enough, since we just got a hand-me-down porceilin set from his grandparents. I only have three multi-piece sets (one of which is the Little People set), two single piece sets, and then three ornament sets (two are just one ornament, and the other is a plush baby Jesus with some animals set). I still have two empty bookshelves. I need more nativities. :) Oh, I also have a gel window cling nativity set. But still, not enough. I love that the children have so many reminders of why we celebrate Christmas. As I type this, Mr. B, who is three is playing with the plush ornaments and the Little People Baby Jesus's. So sweet. The kids have all the Little People characters piled into the Little People bus. I wonder where they are going? I hope they always keep the Spirit of Christmas with them and that they don't focus so much on the presents. I think it helps that there are no presents under the tree, but the Little People nativity, and that I'm not spending my free time running around trying to find that perfect gift. They have plenty of toys. We will spend some time over the next week or so buying some gifts for the Salvation Army Angel Tree, but that is all. Our big present will be having Grammy and Grampy move here. We are looking forward to next week with happy anticipation.

One of the blogs I follow, I Am Momma, Hear Me Roar, had a challenge last week to write 50 things you are thankful for. I procrastinated, and never wrote them. But it's something I've been wanting to do, so, even though Thanksgiving has past, I am still going to post them. Here they are, in all their glory (and in no particular order):

1. My husband

2. Miss A, especially her willingness to be helpful

3. Mr. B and the times when he is happy (he's been a total grump as of late, so I cherish each happy moment and hug and cuddle)

4. My warm home

5. God, of course

6. Jesus Christ, and His Atonement for my sins

7. My job. I truly love it, and the people I work with!

8. That my kids can be in the same building as me while I work. Today I walked out of one of my classrooms to do some copying, and Mr. B was out in the hallway looking for me so I could help him zip up his jacket to go outside. I love still being able to help them, even if I am at work.

9. My children's teacher, Celinda. She's great, and I'm so glad she loves them.

10. My husband's job. I better stop with the explanations

11. My sisters

12. My parents

13. All of my in-laws

14. Nieces and nephews

15. Sunshine

16. Good friends

17. Great neighbors

18. A king-size bed

19. Modern medicine

20. Awesome people at my physical therapy place

21. Food

22. Clothes

23. A car

24. Electricity

25. Indoor plumbing

26. Hot, uninterrupted showers

27. Nature

28. A body that is in decent physical condition

29. That my wrist is gaining back its range of motion

30. Church teachers that love my children

31.Freckles on noses

32. Deseret Industries (Idaho's version of Goodwill)

33. Saving money

34. Insurance

35. The fact that there is no snow to shovel outside, even though it is almost December

36. A garden that provides food for us

37. How to read

38. Knowledge in so many different forms

39. Silence

40. Good music

41. My iPhone, so I always have my calendar with me

42. Safety gear that keeps us safe. Without it, I could have died this summer

43. The gospel of Jesus Christ and the faith I have in God's plan for me

44. Technology, when it works :)

45. The talents and skills I've been given and learned

46. Love, kindness, and understanding from others

47. Empathy

48. The Armed Forces that keep this country relatively safe

49. My education

50. All of my memories, and the ability I have to remember so many things.

And there you have it. Of course some things are silly, and some are rather serious, but above all, I'm thankful for my family, my faith, and that I am still alive and God protected me this summer when I could have very easily died because of my own stupidity. I must do better and do something good with my life, since it's been preserved for some reason.