Giving Thanks

Happy Belated Thanksgiving to all of my family & friends down south :) I know that I have many things to be thankful for, despite the trying times with our finances over the past 3 years:

I am thankful for family & friends that care about us enough to continually pray for us and to help us out when they are able. I am thankful for these same family & friends to be able to return the same in kind to. When times are down we are each others moral support, when times are up, we are each others cheer-leaders.While my own biological family is very near & dear to my heart, I can gladly say that I have many friends who are special brothers, sisters, aunties & uncles to me! I am truly rich with loving people in my life.

I am thankful that we own our home outright. As hard as things can get sometimes, I know of one certainty - we will not be thrown out on the street, even if we were to lose the bicycle shop & my online business. Knowing this gives me peace of mind for the safety & security of my children. I sure hope I'm not coming off sounding smug - I know all too well the feeling of desperation that comes with homelessness. When we moved from St.Helena, CA back into Canada, the house that we thought was going to be a good match for us turned out to be a complete dud (I'm also thankful we hadn't signed the contract yet!), and so instead of moving in in 2 days, we lived out of a hotel for 2.5 weeks while we scrambled to find a storage space for our things, hope Dan's job offer was still open and find another house - all while I was 8 months pregnant with baby #5. I am extremely thankful that it all turned out well for us.

I am thankful for Dan's new job at the glass manufacturing plant. Although all the money he is earning so far is just being funneled directly into debts, it is better than going bankrupt. I am thankful for a wonderful husband that not only is a hard worker, but even in times of financial stress, he does not lose his temper, give in to self-defeat, or otherwise be negative (unlike me, the worry-wart of the family - LOL!) I've truly blessed by him, and I love him very much :)

I'm thankful for my lovely children, just for being them :) I love when my oldest daughter shows me a new craft project or reads me a poem she just wrote. I love when my oldest son draws his "ant wars" doodles and makes plans to live sustainably on an island in the South Pacific as a scientist. I love my youngest daughter's obsession with all things pink & princess related and her wild hair. I love watching my second son's ability to build with Kinex and imitation of a T-rex. I love my third son's constant happy smile & the way he says "Otay", just like Porky in Our Gang (Little Rascals). And last, but not least, I love my youngest son's laughter when he sees a cat or tries to type on the computer keyboard.