Thankful Thursday

Well, what a transition this year is! Now every morning we head out as a family of six to go to work and school. Our toddler goes to daycare, Nya is in primary, the two boys are in middle and then Gary and I are at a high school. A whole lot of preparation goes into it the night before to make sure we can get out of the door by 7:30 AM.  What am I thankful for today?



I am thankful for:

1. Kai's 12th birthday. It was last month but he recently had his birthday party which included sports, video games, 7 eleven, hot tub and movie. He has such solid friends and I am so grateful for that.

2. A stay-close-to-home summer. It is very unusual for me to be okay staying home. I usually seek out all travel and adventure but this year I was okay just getting stuff done around the house. I'm assuming it's because I'm back at work so I felt a great need to "nest" and prepare. It was nice to use the money we usually take for summer holidays and invest in our hot tub! I'm glad we did go to Whistler, Kelowna, Green Lake and Rolley Lake too.

3. My 40th birthday party.  I threw myself a party, is that weird? It was low key and I just had some women in my life come over for appies. Very grateful for the support squad I have in my life.

4. Nana Jo (my stepmom) took all the BC granddaughters to get their nails done before school started. How fun is that? Sisters, we need to do that for ourselves!

5. Koen being able to fly with Opi for his 10th birthday. It's not his birthday yet but when they turn 10 my dad takes them on a special flight. Izzy and Koen went to Qualicum for breakfast, made a stop at Texada Island and then had pie and ice cream in Powell River. 

6. Our hot tub! The kids really enjoy it and it's fun for them to go in with their friends. Gary actually uses it the most which I find surprising. 

7. Extended health coverage. I have $300/year for massage and when I woke up last week with a sore neck I got in on a last minute cancellation with an amazing massage therapist that normally fills up 6 months in advance. It was AMAZING and I can't wait to have another one...in 7 months ;) Oh wait, I also had a terrible experience at our local dentist and through Facebook found a great clinic in Langley. I went for a consultation and they fixed one of the problems and I actually look forward to going back to the dentist now! (Good one? Logan Creek Dental) 

8. Nya's anemia under control as noticed by her hair and energy level. Top is her hair currently and below is her hair two months ago. We've just been doing liquid iron and vitamin C each day.

9. Finding a good book on grief. I'm not grieving or facing huge adversities currently but I can relate to a lot of it. There has been one major loss in my life (my mom) and then just big things in our family that we have had to adjust to. I'd recommend it!

10. A job! Not to sound cheesy or dramatic but I have learned a lot about how fortunate (privileged) I am to have had a solid childhood and the financial ability to attend university and therefore get a good job. I'm very curious how I feel working this year...will it open up a part of me that has been forgotten about? Will it exhaust me? Rejuvenate me? Time will tell!