Nov 20 and 21

Nov 20
1. I'm thankful for sunshine
2. I'm thankful for uplifting Ensign articles.
3. I'm thankful for a living prophet.

Nov 21
1. I'm thankful that I was able to get the house clean today.
2. I'm thankful Lexi is taking a good afternoon nap...in her crib even!
3. I'm thankful that we get a group rate and will be going to an indoor waterpark while in OR. Logan is VERY excited.

Gratitude Catch Up

Nov 16
1. I'm thankful that Logan is generally a very obedient kid.
2. I'm thankful that I live in a safe neighborhood.
3. I'm grateful for warm boots.

Nov 17
1. I'm grateful for a reliable vehicle to drive.
2. I'm grateful for airplanes - Garrick can travel to the other side of the country for work and be home the following evening. Wow!
3. I'm grateful for friends.

Nov 18
1. I am grateful for a warm coat.
2. I'm grateful that Lexi is a good little shopper. Logan is generally a good shopper, too, but that just depends...
3. I'm grateful for weather forecasts. It's nice to be prepared.

Nov 19
1. I'm grateful for the temple and the knowledge that I can be with my family forever.
2. I'm grateful for great babysitters that Logan LOVES to play with. Thanks, Jackie and Piper!
3. I'm grateful for leaves on trees. They are beautiful, especially when they change color. When they are on the ground, it gives me the opportunity to get some exercise in outdoor weather that I would normally not choose to exercise in.

Nov 14 & Nov 15

Nov 14
1. I'm grateful for the internet. Remember what life was like without it?
2. I'm grateful for appliances - dishwasher, washing machine, etc.
3. I'm grateful for great parents & in-laws.

Nov 15
1. I'm grateful for coupons. I love feeling like I'm getting a good deal.
2. I'm grateful for a healthy body that allows me to exercise.
3. I'm grateful for the steadiness & security of Garrick's job.

Nov 12 and 13

Nov 12
1. Saturdays...Need I say more? Even Logan knows that Saturday is the day that daddy doesn't have to work, and we just get to play.
2. A husband who loves playing with his kids. He is definitely Logan's favorite playmate.
3. DVR. So nice to watch a game with a fast forward button!

Nov 13
1. Bonnie Weekes - She took an assignment that I would've hated (calling people and asking them to do something), and she got it done and done FAST!
2. Warm cookies with vanilla ice cream. Probably one of my favorite desserts.
3. Great sacrament meeting talks and a little sacrament mtg humor. The organist thought we were done singing after 2 verses and just stopped playing. Oops. We ended up singing the third verse but not without laughing first. :)

Nov 11

1. I'm grateful that my children like to play outside.
2. I'm grateful for our country's veterans, esp my grandparents (gma Couch, gpa Couch, gpa Robbins).
3. I'm grateful for college basketball on tv.

Nov 10

1. I'm grateful that I get to cuddle with my little girl. She's not a great sleeper, but she sleeps really well on my lap. Sometimes this can be frustrating because it makes it hard to get things done. But, then I think of how lucky I am to have this sweet girl. Reminds me of a quote my mom used to have framed on the wall...

"Cleaning and scrubbing can wait 'til tomorrow For babies grow up we've learned to our sorrow, So quiet down cobwebs and dust go to sleep I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep."

2. I'm grateful for cell phones and Skype.

3. I'm grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life.

Nov 9

1. I'm grateful that Lexi slept long enough this morning that I could get dinner into the crock pot.
2. I'm grateful for crock pots.
3. I'm grateful for Tillamook's vanilla bean yogurt.

(Apparently I have food on my mind.)

Nov 7 and 8

I'm grateful for...

Nov 7
1. The means to be able to fly to Oregon to visit family.
2. Family home evening lessons, even if they are only about 2 minutes long.
3. Arctic Circle shakes

Nov 8
1. The opportunity to vote.
2. My inhalers. (Why would I develop asthma only while nursing a child? Weird!! Happened with Logan, too.)
3. Afternoon naps.

Gratitude Challenge

A few of my friends issue a gratitude challenge each November. Think of 3 things that you are thankful for each day. We email each other with our daily lists. I've decided to include my gratitude lists here as well. So, here are the first few days worth...

Nov 1
1. I'm thankful for good books to read, and for great people whose lives make great biographies. (If you need a book to read, try Unbroken)
2. I'm grateful for a husband who took both kids for a while this afternoon so I could finish a few things that needed to get done and take a shower.
3. I'm grateful for the funny things that 3-yr-olds say.

Nov 2
1. Last night I dumped a huge tupperware of red soup all over the kitchen floor, the fridge, and my pants. It was a mess to say the least. But, I got it cleaned up and changed clothes and everything was better. I rinsed the soup out of my pants and slippers and threw them in the wash. This morning I was looking for my cell phone and couldn't find it. I resorted to calling it, and finally found it ringing...in the washing machine. I am grateful that I threw my pants in the wash but didn't start the washing machine last night. Whew!
2. I'm grateful when the sun comes out, especially when it's cold. It sure makes it seem warmer.
3. I'm grateful for leaves to stomp on and to have leave fights with, even when they are leaves in my own yard that really need raking.

One more for today: I'm grateful for whoever found the library book that we left at church at returned it to the library for us. After checking the lost and found a couple of times and not finding it, I was pretty sure we were going to be buying the book.

Nov 3
1. I'm grateful that it felt warm out while we raked leaves this aftn.
2. I'm grateful that Logan still takes naps - without complaint and sometimes even voluntarily.
3. I'm grateful for good water pressure from the kitchen faucet. After at least a year without (long story), it's great to have it working so well!

Nov 4
1. I'm grateful that Lexi was so good at volleyball today because that meant I got to play several games.
2. I'm grateful I got to see Mandy (who's going through chemo) at volleyball today. She brightens my day.
3. I'm grateful that Logan sat on the toilet twice today. The results weren't so thrilling, but the fact that he sat on it without screaming, hey, it's a start.

Nov 5
1. I'm grateful for warm fires on cold days.
2. I'm grateful for Kate, a girl in my ward who really came through on a last minute assignment.
3. I'm grateful for yummy food. Tonight's dinner: chicken gnocchi soup and garlic bread.

Nov 6
1. I'm grateful that we didn't have a house fire last night. Before getting in bed I wanted to check the space heater in Lexi's room to make sure it was turned on. Garrick then said that he'd already turned it on but wasn't sure if he'd done it right, so I decided to check anyway. When I went into Lexi's room, it smelled funny (not really burnt funny, but just weird). The heater was warm but not on. The room was also warm as if the heater had been on. I unplugged the heater and as I did so, I noticed the plug was hot. One of the prongs was kind of black and then I noticed the plug was kind of melted. Yikes! That heater is going out with the garbage today. I don't know what happened - whether it was a heater malfunction or if something is wrong with our outlet (I'll look into it) - but I am SO grateful that we didn't have a fire start in little Lexi's room.
2. Inspired presidency messages in first Sunday RS.
3. Picnics by warm fires in fire places. (Logan's idea)

Time Out for Mommy

Last night I finished my dinner and was feeding Lexi in the front room (adjoining the dining area). Logan was not yet finished eating but was down from his chair and running around. He'd come back for a bite, run around, etc. I told him that he needed to sit down on his chair until he was finished with his meal and excused from the table. His response? (said kind of quietly) "Mom, if you say that again, you're going to go to timeout." Garrick about lost it and had to leave the room to control his laughter. I told Logan that mommy was not going to timeout, to which he replied, "If you say that again, you're going to timeout. Over there (pointing to the corner of the room)."

Too funny!