Grateful

I know you are going to be shocked to hear this next statement....I read this on another blog and I liked it so I am going to do it as well! LOL!

So here goes!

Write 10 physical abilities you are grateful for
1. I am grateful to be alive. I am a fairly healthy and strong person that is able to do what some others are not.
2. I am grateful that I can breathe. There are many who have heart problems and lung problems and breathing is such a struggle. My grandmother had COPD and she found it hard to breathe at times. It is not something to be taken for granted.
3. I am grateful (beyond words) that I can bear children. I was born to be a mother. I knew from an early age that I would have three children. While some little girls dream of big wedding, I didn’t, I dreamed of being a mother and it has FAR surpassed all I have ever imagined. I know that many women struggle with infertility…I did too for a while, and it is heartbreaking. Every woman should have the opportunity to feel a baby kick inside of her.
4. I am grateful that I don’t have chronic pain. I know many people who suffer every day with chronic pain and I know it can be debilitating. I know it can make everything else in life seem a little bit harder. I am lucky that I wake up most days feeling great!
5. I am grateful I can see. I am blessed with the ability to see my kid’s sweet faces every day and I know for some that is not a real possibility. I cannot imagine what that world must be like.
6. I am grateful I can hear. I have family members who wear hearing aids, and at a young age and I realize that it isn’t just about not hearing well. It is about communication…about not being able to hear the tone of people’s voices and creating problems with “hearing” humor. It is far more difficult than any of us can imagine.
7. I am grateful that I can think. I think of all the sweet, sweet babies who have had so much brain damage from strokes and seizures and simple things are so hard for them. We should never take our brains for granted and we should constantly strive to learn more. Besides, my senior citizen friends tell me it is all downhill from here. LOL
8. I am grateful to be free of disease. There are soooo many sick and hurting people in the world….children and adults….babies…..so much sickness. I will never, ever forget what it is like to be healthy because we all know we won’t be that way forever.
9. I am grateful for my youth. I know I am no spring chicken but I still feel relatively young. I know that aging comes whether I want it to or not and I do see my loved ones aging very gracefully and beautifully….but I have to admit that sometimes it is nice to still be the “young” one. hee, hee. I better enjoy that one too, not gonna last forever, huh?
10. I am grateful that I don’t get headaches. I know so many people suffer from them and it is honestly so very, very rare for me to have one. I am blessed for that!

Write 10 materials possessions you are grateful for
1. My vacuum cleaner….I know it sounds silly but I love my vaccum cleaner. I bought cheap ones my whole life and I finally bit the bullet and got a nice one and I really, really love it. And it is pretty and purple too! 
2. My house….I love my house…It is funny because today is our One Year Anniversary in our house. We moved in exactly one year ago today. I feel like I have lived there for many, many years. It is comfortable and big and cozy and warm. I love it!
3. My car….I really do like my car. It is dependable…it may not be brand new or the fanciest thing out there, but it is dependable and lately I feel like not many things in my life fit into that category so I am loving my car right now.
4. My necklace….I have a cross necklace from James Avery that my husband bought me years ago. That cross has seen me through some of the toughest times of my life. It is large (sometimes I think I look like a rapper with it on, lol!) The cross is rather large and the chain is rather thick but I constantly touch it. It is so funny to me that I can be in the middle of something that is bothering me, or thinking, or praying and without even knowing it…I touch my necklace and hold the cross to my lips. If I don’t have it on I honestly feel naked, really naked. It is a treasure to me!
5. My music! I love music! I have nearly 1000 songs on my IPod and I love them all! Each one speaks to me in different ways at different time. I can’t tell you the times I have shut off the world, turned on my music and let the healing begin!
6. Cell Phone….yes, I am a cell phone addict. I am constantly looking at it or on it. I love my phone and feel naked without it as well. It has become more important than even my purse!
7. My blog…I love my blog. I honestly don’t know if one single soul reads it….but it is so very therapeutic for me to write. Sometimes if I can’t write I feel like I am going to burst. And my “writing” probably doesn’t match my actual “talking” one bit. I write 10,000 more words on paper (or computer) than I would ever begin to say. I get to say whatever I want, however I want. I love it!
8. My bed…..my bed has housed three different children for years. Since I gave birth the first time in October of 1994 there has been a child either “in” my bed or at the foot of it. Some of our very best times have been in that bed, giggling in the dark. My bed is my safe place. Oh, and Bryson thinks it is a really good place to wrestle!
9. My pets….not sure if they count as material possessions (probably not) but either way I sure do love em! Especially my super old black, manx cat. She is spry, young thing at the ripe, ole’ age of 18. She has literally helped me raise my babies. She is there for every bath (no matter how wet she gets), every nap, you name it. She truly thinks she is their mother too. It is going to BREAK my heart when she passes.
10. This one is probably near the very top of this list…..Bryson’s belongings from his five-month long CICU stay. These things are absolutely, without-a-doubt, utterly and completely irreplaceable. They mean so much to! They tell the most amazing story of my son. I wouldn’t have to say a word to anyone, lay those things out and they would see it with their very own eyes. It contains blankets, mobiles, stuffed animals, journals, letters, documents, stickers nurses put on machines, Christmas decorations….it goes on and on. I wouldn’t trade those precious memories for a moment. Those things are what make that time REAL in the times that it seems like it happened to someone else.
Write 10 living people you are grateful for
Where do I start?!?!?!
1. My momma…..every girl is glad to have their mama but mine is a step above the rest. She is my rock, my very best friend and one of the few people I can truly lean on in times of doubt. When Bryson got sick she was willing and ready to do anything…and she did….she quit a really good job and volunteered to stay home and take care of him. It has been so great for us. I cannot image what we would have done.
2. My husband….now don’t read into the fact that I wrote my momma first. My husband is my best friend as well but it is in a different way. We have been together forever and I can’t imagine my life without him. He makes me laugh, holds me when I cry and just sometimes I wanna choke him….but it is rare! LOL! He was my true salvation at the hospital. For months it was me and him and we were like newlyweds (on the honeymoon from hell!) and we bonded so very much. We have been through a lot together and I know that our love can outlast anything.
3. My family….my brothers are very special to me. They are funny, and quirky and protective. They are like night and day!
4. My in-laws….I know some people don’t love their in-laws but I do. They are funny and supportive. Secretly I think they love me more than they do Mark! Shhhh!
5. My friends….I love my friends. We laugh together, we cry together. I feel like my group of friends gets larger and larger as I venture into different avenues of my life and I like that. But I still have my “core” group that I wouldn’t change for the world!
6. My kids!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As you can tell this list is NOT in any specific order. My kids are my WORLD! I can’t believe that you can love anyone like you do your kids. They can do no wrong in my eyes! They are precious and kind and lovable and perfect in every way! 
7. In fact, they are so special, I am going to add them separately in the next three numbers. I will start with the oldest first. My Kory! I had Kory when I was young (19) and we essentially grew up together. He is so kind and so funny. We just “click”! He is the BEST big brother in the world and he fits the first born category like none I have ever seen! I am so very proud of him!
8. Riley…my Riley….that kid is just funny. I had so many problems when I was pregnant with him, then when I was in labor I thought he was gas (true story!) and so I held him in (hey there were people around, I didn’t want to just let it rip!) and when he was born his head was bruised pretty bad. Poor kid! He was colicky and asthmatic and just SICK all the time. At one point he literally had every single tooth in his head filled or pulled or replaced because breathing treatments had ruined them before they even came up! He is so funny and quirky and so determined and I know he is going to be so very successful in life!
9. Bryson…oh, my Bryson. Here I was thinking I didn’t really want a third child. What was I gonna do with 3 kids…and so far apart! But wow, he came into this world like a flash of lightning and our lives changed forever. He is a gift to our entire family. He has made us all better people. He is a warrior, a fighter and he is PROOF that prayer works. He is a treasure!
10. My long distance family…..truth be told they are all Mark’s family but now they are mine as well. And when Bryson was sick boy, oh boy did they come out of the woodwork. I have never felt as much support as I did with these people. They came up to the hospital in droves, they bought the baby things, they sent us food and goodies, they sat with Bryson so I could get sleep….the list goes on and on and on. You know who you are and I LOVE YA!
Write 10 deceased people you are grateful for (this is gonna be tough!)
1. My Savior and Lord! I need not say more! 
2. My grandma…..Meemaw…or as she liked to be called at one point “Puddy”. Not sure why she wanted to change her name all of a sudden but Meemaw got what she wanted! She was a funny woman who said what she thought ALL the time but I know she loved me and I miss her every day.
3. My Pampaw…..he was not married to my Meemaw, he was my dad’s stepdad but I sure loved him. He made me feel so very loved all the time. The man was a saint! He wound up divorcing my grandma and moved down the street from me and when I was a young mom he would come to my house to see me nearly everyday! He would light my furnace, fix things, whatever he needed. The funny thing is that the man at beans EVERY SINGLE DAY of his life! I miss him so much!

See I told you it would be tough! I am glad to say that most of the people I am grateful for are alive! I hope it stays that way for a long time!

Write 10 things about today that you are grateful for
I am grateful for
1. the shining sun
2. for my wonderful family
3. for a roof over my head
4. for a job for me and my husband
5. because it is the weekend
6. my kids are doing well in school
7. my kids are happy
8. Superbowl is coming up soon!
9. I can sleep late tomorrow!
10. Bryson peed in the pot!!!!!!!!!
Write 10 places on earth you are grateful for
1. Children’s Medical Center
2. My home
3. My childhood home
4. Our school district
5. My place of employment
6. The lake
7. The beach
8. The mountains
9. First Baptist Daycare center
10. UTPB
Write 10 things about the gospel that you are grateful for
1. My testimony
2. Prayer
3. Forgiveness
4. The scriptures
5. Bible study
6. Trials
7. Storms
8. Eternal families
9. Eternal life
10. Unconditional love