A thankful November day 1

Hopefully..... I'll be able to post every single day & tell you what I'm thankful for this year.

Today.... I am thankful for my family. My husband, my children and yes even the dogs. I may not like every one of them every second of everyday, but I'm thankful to have them around. And yes, I promise, even the dogs.

I receive joy everyday watching my children smile and watching them learn the hard lessons in life. You know the ones that ultimately end up with someone very upset. I get to watch as they learn how to make themselves happy again and I see the lightbulb go off "Hey! I figured it out and I'm happy!" It makes me happy to see them look at something new with their mouths hung wide open & looking with disbelief. It makes my heart sing to hear Meredith say "ub ou" (a throw back to her younger days) and to see Sean say "I Love You" with his eyes & his hugs.

I see my husband come home & weave himself into our evening lives. And I'm grateful. Grateful that he comes home every evening instead of "running out for a quart of milk & a pack of cigarettes". Grateful that he works hard everyday so that I'm able to to stay home with the littles. I'm thankful that my children love him and that he has figured out how to relate to them. I'm grateful that even though times are rough sometimes around here, we have figured out how to compromise & work things out. We've figured out how to be & that we can be honest with each other.

And the dogs. Dutchess & Brewster. My ever loyal companions. Even though I threaten to find them new homes almost on a weekly basis, I'm pretty sure there are no other dogs that would take the kind of beating they take from my kids. Meredith has climbed on them. learned where teeth are by pulling their beards up & opening their mouths. Sean has pulled the ears and climbed on them. Meredith used to pull them around the house by their tails. Heck.... she even made herself quite comfy in their bed, with them in it, while watching TV. And they take it. They have never once growled or snarled. The dogs let the kids stick their hands on the food & water bowls. They clean up under the kids' chairs and are always there when I need them.

So today and always, I'm thankful for my happy little family.