"Give thanks, with a grateful heart..."

I have so many things to be thankful for.

I have a wonderful family and fantastic friends. I have faith, hope and love. I have food, clothes and shelter. I have a good job that I enjoy. I have a full life, and I am very grateful for everything and everyone in it!

I woke up early on this chilly Thanksgiving morning, with some quiet time to spend thinking and praying about the people and things I appreciate. Of course I'm extremely thankful for the BIG things, and feel so blessed that my basic physical and emotional needs are met each day. But I've decided to make a list of some of the little things in life that I love. So I'm just going to sit and think and type things as they come to me...

I'm thankful for...

♥ warm oatmeal on a cold morning (It's breakfast time as I write this, so that's the first thing that popped into my mind)

♥ books that warm my heart

♥ my kerosene heater and warmth in general!

♥ laughter

♥ nonverbal communication that transcends language barriers

♥ the sun shining on my face

♥ the sound of the ocean

♥ spur of the moment things

♥ hand-written notes

♥ cute kids who make faces at me

♥ the smell of popcorn

♥ the smell of cookies or pies baking

♥ whipped cream straight out of a can, into my mouth

♥ fun stationery & stickers

♥ walks in the woods

♥ bug spray

♥ campfires

♥ good-smelling candles

♥ starry nights

♥ hanging out with people who make me laugh

♥ free food shared with friends

♥ hugs!

♥ dance parties!

♥ different kinds of music for different kinds of moods

♥ pictures that capture great memories

♥ my amazing childhood

♥ having an imagination

♥ creativity

♥ blowing bubbles

♥ made-up games

♥ board games and card games

♥ sidewalk chalk

♥ different colors of crayons, markers, ink pens & pencils

♥ erasers

♥ double-sided tape

♥ duct tape

♥ air freshener

♥ my de-tangle comb

♥ airplanes

♥ traveling in general :)

♥ trying new things

♥ eating new sweets

♥ ice cream toppings

♥ toothpaste

♥ Christmas decorations

♥ decorations of any kind, really

♥ Skype, and the conversations I have on it

♥ Facebook, and being in touch with people I haven't seen for a while

♥ my computer & having the internet

♥ my washing machine, even though it sometimes makes noises that frighten me

♥ the smell of my clothes when I take them out of the washing machine

♥ stain remover

♥ chlorine (love that smell!)

♥ swimming pools

♥ flip flops

♥ days in which I can spend a long time in my pajamas and slippers

♥ musical instruments

♥ concerts

♥ crunching leaves

♥ popping bubble wrap

♥ my alarm clock, even though I'm sometimes not grateful for it.

My alarm clock actually just went off, so I need to get up now and get ready for school...
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!