My Blessed Little Life

We have three kids running around our house, and we also have three furbabies -- our Golden Retriever, Maggie, and two cats, Dewey and Sirius.  Animals have a way of making you feel happy... cats who curl up, contently purring in your lap, or a dog who moves from room to room with you, just wants to be a part of whatever you are doing.  While I could do without the dog and cat hair everywhere, I do love my pets like my own kids. I'm grateful for the companionship of animals (especially ones as good natured as mine!)

That picture says a lot about who I am. I am an Iowa girl, born and bred.  My hometown is a tiny little place in northwest Iowa, Primghar, made up of 900 good, God-fearing, hard-working people... farmers, teachers, small business owners. People who took a true interest in how others were doing and helped out their neighbors without being asked. I am so proud of where I grew up. I'm grateful for the small town values that shaped who I am. I'm happy that both my husband and I were raised in similar towns, and we both share those small town values now while raising our kids.  While I would give anything to raise my kids in my hometown, I am blessed to share my small town values with my family.

Tonight has been a very long, tedious night.  I am preparing to have a sub tomorrow, which I just dread each time.  I would much rather be in my classroom sick than to have to plan for a sub to be in my room.  It is just so much work to get things ready and then find a way to explain to a stranger what my kids and I have been working on.  It is just easier to be in the room and make decisions on the fly as needed.  To make matters worse, I will be gone two days, not just one.  I have a PD day with my language arts coworkers and then will finally get into the doctor for an appointment that has been rescheduled twice.  Tonight I worked after school until 8 o'clock trying to get caught up with grading and planning in order for someone to come.  I also needed to clean off my desk...what a job! My gratitude in all of this is that I have a job.  I don't have to worry about the hunt and the rejection that many are experiencing daily.  I enjoy...

I love traveling.  Going from place to place and seeing new sights always amazes me.  Growing up, I loved to watch travel shows, and I remember thinking Samantha Brown has to have one of the best jobs in the world -- traveling from country to country, exploring new places, and she gets paid to do it!  This summer my husband and I had the opportunity to travel to Los Angeles and Las Vegas for a week, kid free.  As much as I love traveling with my kids, I truly adore the time that my husband and I get to spend alone on trips.  It is so nice to go to nicer places and not have to worry about the kids.  I feel blessed and grateful to have the ability to travel and experience new people and places.  

Today my family went to the movies.  This is a very rare treat for us,  due to the cost involved with taking everyone.  We saw Gravity with Sandra Bullock.  What a great movie!  Although sad at times,  I think the overall message of resilience is strong.  I'm glad that we had time to spend together.   Chris and I also saw Last Vegas last night.   Two movies in one weekend.... almost unheard of anymore.   It was a wonderful date night and much needed time together! 

It is November 1st. Isn't this the best month to think about what we are grateful for?  In the spirit of Thanksgiving this month, I'm going to post what I'm grateful for each day.  So with that in mind... Day 1: Today I'm grateful for comp days following our yearly conferences.  This week we taught for three full days and then also had conferences from 3:30-7 pm on Tuesday and Wednesday, as well as all day from 7-4 pm on Thursday.  This makes for such a long week...especially leading up to Halloween when my middle schoolers are a little wired any way! I'm grateful that our administrators give us a day to recover and rest after many hours beyond our normal teaching duties.  It is so nice to sleep until 7:30, instead of getting up and leaving before sunrise! My body clock must be set though...I awoke at my normal 4:30 anyway, but going back to bed was a nice treat!  What are you thankful for today?