Thankful Things

Today I am thankful for:
1. Successfully getting up early
Our schedule has been out of whack this summer.  We've all been staying up too late and consequently sleeping in too late.  Today I successfully hit the ground running at 5:30.  It's 6:45 a.m. and I've already accomplished a lot.

2.  Kids who can clean
I am often overwhelmed with the amount of housework to do in a home with two children.  Yesterday I got smart and enlisted help.  I gave each kid one small task at a time, which eventually added up to big clean up.  Also, Claire successfully vacuumed all the bedrooms for a mere $2.

3.  Automatic-brew coffee
I believe this speaks for itself.

4.  Hooks on a door
Adam installed hooks on the kids' bathroom door.  Hallelujah!  Now they can hang up their own bathroom towel!

5.  Husband at home
Adam got to come home at 7 p.m. last night; the first time in several weeks he's been able to be home that early.  It was a cause for celebration, or dinner together at least.

6.  Mementos
My granddad moved to an assisted living facility, so he told my cousin to get everyone to clean out  his house because he has a renter waiting.  It's amazing how much family history is accumulated in nearly 60 years of living in the same home.  With joy, I've been cataloging all the photos and books in the house.

7.  Private tours
Yesterday I took the kids to an archaeological museum at Southwestern Baptist Seminary.  I had called ahead, so we had a docent-led tour of the small museum.  I was happy to learn that our docent was Methodist.  She was extremely kind and patient with the kids, who eventually got anxious.  We looked at pots that were 3,000 years old and were surprised to learn they are held together with Elmer's glue.

8.  Learning
I hope I never stop learning.  Yesterday we learned about the evolution of water pitchers, how adding a spout was "new technology" thousands of years ago.  At church, I am always learning, too.  If you had asked me a few months ago how to make a podcast, I would have had no idea.  But guess whose church is on Itunes now?  That's right.  (Search ahumc) We're awesome.  We also have this fantastic new marketing plan for all our special events.  Sometimes I like to take a little pride in myself.

9.  Love notes
The kids have been writing me love notes.  Claire's attempt at a cursive note said, "I love you more than books."  That's a lot of love.

10.  Being able to read the "real" Bible to a kid.
We have a few versions of children's Bibles around here, but frankly, I don't think they are that much fun to read.  Recently Claire asked for a real Bible like mine.  (Her Precious Moments Bible isn't very readable either.)  Rev. Nancy happened to have a Common English Bible in her office, so we have been reading real books of the Bible.  Last week was Esther and last night was Jonah.  It's great to see her so excited about reading the Bible and she is really comprehending it.  She was proud to take her Bible to church on Sunday.  I was going to have her follow along with the sermon, but it was on David and Bathsheba, so we decided to wait a week for that experience.

11.  United Methodist Hymnal # 310
At our church, every month that has five Sundays in it, we do a special Fifth Sunday Hymn Sing.  This is where the congregation requests hymns and the choir sings it.  Every fifth Sunday for quite a while, Adam has successfully gotten the choir to sing his favorite hymn, "He Lives."  Last week he was so excited about the hymn sing that he was singing that song around the house for several days.  I am so glad the choir sang it for him because now it's out of  his system and I don't have to listen to him singing it.