Thankful Thursdays

260. teaching with Diane!!!

261. Happy Food for lunch!

262. Jammie and movie night with Diane and Carol

263. educational movies

264. the weekend!

265. remaining calm

266. preparing and planning and being 100% ready for Monday

267. Diane leading sharing time

268. Diane supervising Playball

269. laughter

270. watching R play baseball

271. D wanting to walk with me to my car and help me get my jacket out of the backseat

272. my warm and fuzzy crocs

273. free laundry

274. spending time with my parents

275. new music for my ipod

276. teaching my parents Dutch Blitz, even though they didn't like it!

277. seeing Beastly with Diane

278. wishing Johanna a happy birthday

279. sleep!

280. sleeping in

281. teaching Sunday school

282. grocery shopping!

283. healthy food in the house

284. spending the afternoon with R

285. not having to babysit, but surrendering my time and God blessing me

286. The Amazing Race!

287. going to bed before 9:30pm

288. playing games with R

289. relaxing at home

290. my new student had a great first day ~ his crying only lasted a few minutes

291. rain ~ the sound of it falling while I'm cozy inside

292. it didn't rain when I went to pick up the afterschool kids

293. leftover happy food!

294. meeting Bonnie Youngdale and having her observe my class

295. Charla's weekly encouragement ~ ir gave me to motivation to exercise even thought I was tired and hungry

296. walking to deposit my check

297. gigantic fluffy white and gray clouds, blue sky and sun

298. being prepared for tomorrow

299. iron pills

300. N calling me mommy

301. seeing the kids running around and having fun on the playground

302. making it through the day

303. cancelled staff meeting ~ more time to prep and leave at a decent time

304. hearing the kids pray

305. talking to my sister on the phone

306. talking to Sara and making lunch plans for Saturday!

307. laughter

308. Fruit of the Spirit

309. excitement for things to come!

310. fresh start each day

311. rain boots

312. spending time with D at R's baseball game

313. D making me laugh

314. taking R, S, and D home after the game ~ stopping at In-n-Out

315. playing Wii with D, K, and Mike

316. Group Hugs! ~ everyone but Mike

317. hearing D tell me "I love you!"

318. His mercies are new every morning

319. I survived the day!

Thankful Thursdays (on Friday)

196. the nap bags lined in a neat row

197. Sarah cleaning the top of the shelf the other day ~ without being asked

198. Emily listening to the kids read

199. It's Friday!

200. cooking dinner

201. relaxing on the couch

202. Thankful Thursday (on Friday)!

203. knowing I can sleep in

204. chocolate milk

205. sunsets

206. Julie Babione Complin ~ so thankful she was born and that we became friends!

207. the way Julie really cared and wanted to know how I was doing

208. watching R play baseball

209. socks

210. warm feet after being cold for 2 hours

211. car heater

212. Shelby's delicious cookie bars

213. great conversations with family

214. that Chris, Nozomi, Eve, and Russell are safe after the earthquakes and tsunami hit Japan yesterday

215. God has the whole world in His hands

216. R came to church!

217. walking out to my car after church and finding a note from Alyssa on my windshield

218. always having food to eat

219. worshiping God

220. God is always speaking

221. God's sovereignty

222. God's unending, unfailing, everlasting love

223. I'm forgiven!

224. I am free!

225. Rachel's pretend trip to Candy World that resulted in a sugar rush with her running around the house shouting "sugar rush!"

226. GNO with my mom and sister

227. spending time with Diane ~ watching her watch The Bachelor ~ funny to see how excited and stressed she was!

228. glorious sunrise shining about and through the mountains

229. beautiful sunset ~ color filing the sky

230. hugs

231. class discussion on respect ~ hearing the students' answers to what respect is ~ they're getting it!

232. Rick plunging the clogged toilet

233. increasing patience

234. my weekly encouragement from Charla and that it is encouraging and not condemning!

235. God is good all the time! All the time God is good!

236. Katie's compliment that the class seemed peaceful

237. C was a better listener today

238. Respect and being respectful is sinking in and changing lives

239. spontaneous hugs from the kids

240. A stroking and playing with my hair

241. the kids remembering what I taught them the day before

242. laughter and joy

243. The Office ~ laughing loud and hard ~ brought me much needed joy and stress relief

244. A's entry into our class thankful journal ~ "I am thankful for pirates"

245. spending time with my mom

246. free music download on klove

247. the short line at Subway

248. being a blessing to Diane by simply buying her a coke

249. C.W. and S.W.

250. Respect and respectfulness is sinking into their hearts and minds ~ when I say "show me respect", they do! for the most part!

251. getting to bed before 10

252. talking with my roomie ~ sharing our joys and struggles

253. Joe and Jess Mueller ~ remembering them on their anniversary and feeling so blessed and thankful for their friendship

254. how amazingly well Open House went ~ the kids really impressed their parents (and me!)

255. The pride and excitement the kids had in showing their work

256. God gave me the words to say as I toured the parents around the room

257. talking about how we get into heaven with the kids ~ one asked about doing a lot of good things ~ only Jesus gets us in was my reply ~ another child said, you have to believe in Jesus!

258. God's unending love and grace

259. God has a plan and a purpose for everything

I have been teaching my class about respect and being respectful and it has been amazing! One day I sat them all down and explained to them what it means to be respectful and what it would look like to show you are being respectful. I prayed and hoped from the bottom of my heart that this topic would sink deep down into their hearts and they would start living and being more respectful. On the days that followed, I reminded them to show me respect instead of disrespect. I could see the changes, slowly occurring in each child. I decided to write the word "Respect" on the board and ask them to tell me what respect is and what being respectful looks like...these are their amazing responses! They are getting it! It IS sinking in!!! woo hoo!!! SO thankful at what God has done and is doing in their hearts and lives! I am excited to see how God will continue to use this in their lives, and mine.

Thankful Thursdays (on Friday)

121. celebrating the 100th Day of School!

122. God is on my side

123. Dinner at Tofu House with my roomie!

124. encouraging conversations with my roomie

125. finding and buying Dutch Blitz at Bereab

126. Thankful Thursday!

127. Happy Food leftovers for tomorrow!

128. laughing

129. helping my roomie assemble her wedding invitations

130. finding out Daniel has a new walker and is doing a lot more walking!!!

131. fun times with friends

132. "Shake It" silliness

133. celebrating Sarah McCracken's birthday

134. food, fun, and laughter at Corvette Diner

135. spending time with Jeff and Kim

136. playing Disney Scene It and knowing almost every answer ~ and yes, my team won! :)

137. my friendship with Sarah for 18 years and counting

138. spending time with Diane and Chris ~ I love our conversations

139. being asked to be the photographer for the evening

140. It's Friday!!!

141. spending more time with Chris and Diane ~ watching tv and talking

142. walking to R's first Little League game ~ 4.27 miles in 1 hour and 2 minutes

143. watching R play baseball

144. watching his team win

145. D wanting me to sit by him in the car

146. D inviting me to dinner, even though it didn't work out it was still thoughtful and sweet

147. a warm sunshine filled day

148. the ability to push through my hip, knee and back pain and keep walking

149. safety and protection on my walk

150. my health
151. spending time with my sister and nephews

152. free ticket to Legoland for teacher appreciation days

153. meeting the pirate Lego man

154. enjoying watching D and R enjoying Legoland

155. laughing and screaming on the rides

156. holding D's hand while walking

157. The Amazing Race

158. getting to bed before 10pm

159. sleep

160. taking photos

161. 19 Kids and Counting

162. His mercies are new every morning

163. new perspective on anger ~ thanks Ann Voskamp and God for reminding me to look at Him ~ page 126 in One Thousand Gifts

164. learning to be thankful for challenging students and situation ~ what does God want to teach me? why is He causing or allowing it? don't just wish it away ~ learn from it!

165. rain

166. songs, singing, music

167. reading stories to the class

168. moments to sit back and observe

169. perseverance

170. endurance

171. kids missing doing the prayer box

172. how the kids make me laugh

173. re-reading page 126 and being reminded again how "I smother my own joy because I believe that anger achieves more than love?..."

174. no matter how many times I mess up, make mistakes, God always forgives. He always extends His grace and love. I can't out sin it!

175. the reminder to see others, especially those who annoy me, as God sees them and created them

176. hearing one of my student's laugh and seeing her whole face light up with joy

177. discovering a major factor to a behavior issue ~ need to teach compassion and empathy more ~ caring and loving others

178. great discussion about being respectful with my kiddos

179. running into Kaytee at Target

180. God's glory displayed in an amazing sunset

181. being calmer and more self-controlled today

182. the warm sunshine

183. motivation to clean the bathroom

184. finding new, cute, fun works for Practical Life

185. God giving me a great idea on making a book to display 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and to teach the kids about God's love and how we can love others

186. N calling me mom

187. A's laughter and joy

188. a cool breeze on a hot day

189. the way looking for gratitude and things to be thankful for are changing my heart and life

190. starry night

191. Scholastic Book order came in

192. great conversations about school and education with Jon and Sheryl Wu

193. dessert

194. unclogging the toilet at work and choosing to look for the joy and what to be thankful for in the situation ~ seeing the beauty in the ugly

195. my former roomie and friend Sara being born yesterday and that God brought her into my life

Thankful Thursdays

I had wanted to make each Thursday the day I post my current week of my gratitude journal, but I am realizing that it will be a lot to write...70 items...I think I will *try* to post more often! :)

51. God has given me a future and a hope

52. money to buy the things I need and the extra things I want

53. hugs

54. laughing so hard my stomach hurts

55. praising and worshiping God

56. the prayer box

57. teaching about gratitude and joy

58. starting the thankful list with my students

59. hope

60. mercy

61. the prayer box ~ listening to the kids pray for others, learning how to pray on their own

62. praising and worshiping God with my students

63. teaching my students about God and Jesus ~ how much He loves them, how He is the only way and how all we have to do is believe in Him, ask for forgiveness, and ask Him to be our forever friend

64. excitement and joy over possibilities

65. wisdom and advice from my sister

66. a great deal on new jeans

67. traditions ~ playing The Office Clue with the Hofseths

68. the smell of clean laundry

69. forgiveness and love ~ unending

70. my health

71. spending the day with the Hofseths

72. Our Tradition ~ The Office Clue

73. seeing Daniel walking!!!

74. great conversations and fun with the Hofseths, Josh, and a new friend

75. the joy on Daniel's face when he read my birthday card and saw I want to take him to see Kung Fu Panda 2 in the theater

76. driving Daniel to Brandon's house ~ being able to get his wheelchair out of my car by myself!

77. Daniel and Brandon's patience with me as they taught me how to play Call of Duty on the xbox and them not making fun of me

78. My mom, Shelby, Diane, Chris, and Sara sharing in my joy

79. God's goodness ~ all the time!

80. the sound of rain and hail

81. God's glory

82. Vitya and all the kids I met in Ukraine

83. unending forgiveness

84. God is always good and I am always loved

85. loving on my niece and nephews

86. spending time with my sister

87. sunshine after the storm

88. hugs from Gabi

89. leading kids in worship

90. snuggles and hugs from Dylan

91. Roomie Mondays!

92. the Spiritual gift of Mercy ~ I am thankful God blessed me with this gift, even when it overwhelms me

93. chatting with Daniel on Facebook

94. praying for Daniel ~ especially tonight as he was struggling emotionally and physically

95. my accountability partner Charla ~ our Monday check-ins and encouragements

96. water

97. peace in the midst of life's storms

98. comfort that He is strong when we are weak

99. eucharisteo in the midst of sadness

100. though the sorrow may last for the night, His joy comes in the morning

101. impromptu dinners with my mom

102. accepted friend requests

103. joyfilled smiles through the window

104. beauty

105. making it through the morning by myself so wonderfully that Katie forgot I was by myself

106. learning on a deeper level what it means to be thankful and giving thanks in all things

107. friendship

108. teachable moments

109. technology ~ communicating and keeping informed

110. increased boldness and confidence

111. the joy and excitement of my students as we celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday

112. wisdom and advice from Carol

113. God's protection

114. free books from Scholastic thanks to parent orders

115. renewed strength

116. His mercies are new every morning and every moment

117. my conversation with K.X. about kissing when you're married ~ he never wants to kiss ~ brought a smile to my face

118. M.S. pride in himself when I expressed my pride in him

119. M.S. joyfilled, proud-filled hug

120. patience ~ God's patience with me and Him increasing mine