Thanksgiving 2011

My church did a fantastic message about gratefulness last Sunday. You can watch the whole thing here. It's only 30 minutes and well worth your time.

But, if you are more of a CliffsNotes type of person, here are the points that really hit home with me.

1. Don't assume people know you are thankful. 

Don't assume your husband/wife knows you are thankful for them.
Don't assume your parents know you are thankful for them.
Don't assume your boss knows you are thankful for him/her.
Don't assume your friends know you are thankful for them.

Tell them. Express your gratitude. It will make you feel awesome and it will make them feel awesome.

2. You can't be grateful for something you feel entitled to. 

This video is a funny representation of that.



But on a more serious note, if you feel entitled to your family, job, house, health, etc. you can't really be grateful for those things.

I have so many things to be thankful for this year. I hope you enjoy your Turkey Day and can reflect on all of the blessings in your life!

Thankful For The Clan

I was saving the best for last...

Today, I am thankful for my wonderful family. 

My husband is awesome. He is the quintessential Renaissance man. He fixes our cars, our bikes, and pretty much anything else that breaks around here.

He protects and serves our community.

He's good at everything he attempts.

And most of all, he's a wonderful father and husband.

I am thankful for Harper. 

She is the best part of every day. She is sweet and witty and thoughtful.

And sometimes, she's a little over the top. But, I like that side of her too.

I am thankful for my wonderful parents.

They shaped me and molded me and encouraged me to be the person that I am today.

They are awesome parents and even better grandparents. 

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and this mini blogging project of mine will be over. Even though I struggled to post every day, I thoroughly enjoyed reflecting on all of the blessings in my life. Stay tuned for one more installment...

Thankful For Dodging Bullets and Cultivating Friendships

Yesterday, I had my checkup with my neurologist and everything looked good - which I could have told them before the 500 pin pricks they made me endure to make sure that they felt the same on both sides of my body!

The waiting room of the neurology clinic is not a happy place. There were lots of people in bad shape - some looked like they had had major strokes and lost the ability to walk, some were shaking from Parkinson's, and the guy sitting next to me (who looked about 50ish) told me that he had multiple sclerosis. He needed a walker. He was 32.

I don't know why some people get a raw deal and others dodge the bullets. Yesterday (and forever) I am thankful that I was one of the dodgers.

Today, I am thankful for all of my wonderful friends. If you are reading this, I'm probably talking about you.

I am thankful for my friends who live all over the country and who I can email prayer requests or funny stories or little annoyances to. I'm grateful that technology allows us to connect and be involved with the daily details of each other's lives.

I am also thankful for my Nashville friends. I love the people who are becoming an integral part of our lives. I'm grateful that they are investing in us and helping us make Nashville feel like our home.

Thankful For Sundays and Fortune Cookies

Tonight, I am thankful for Sundays.

Rob has a weird work schedule. Sundays are the only day that we can spend the whole day together as a family.

Much of today was spent cleaning and cooking to get ready to have friends over for dinner tomorrow night. But we did manage to squeeze in a fun family lunch at a local Chinese place.

The food was pretty good, and the fortune cookies were three for three.

Here's Rob's:

Pretty good, considering we're having dinner with friends tomorrow night.

Here's Harper's:

Again, right on!

And here's mine:

This one is probably true for all wives and mothers. Rob got a good chuckle out of it and said something about the universe trying to tell me something. I don't know what he was talking about, which is kind of annoying...

Although our Sundays can be kind of intense because we try to pack a lot in, I am thankful that we get to spend this day together.

Triple Thankful

So I'm kind of failing at posting every single day. I have a new found respect for bloggers who crank out consistent content. But like I said earlier, while I may have trouble finding time (and energy) to conjure up a post, I have yet to have trouble finding things to be thankful for.

So here are my three things to cover Thursday-Saturday. They are a little on the frivolous side, but I think that's ok. I'm trying to be mindful of the little things in life that I'm grateful for.

1. I'm thankful for regular butt-kickings. Several times a week, I hit the gym for body combat (think kickboxing but better) and spinning classes.

I hardly ever want to go to these classes. I can usually think of about five excuses to skip them. But without fail, I am always glad I went.

These classes are challenging. Multiple times during the class I think my legs and/or arms are going to fall off. But, it's a good feeling.

I sleep better at night. I'm in a better mood which makes me a more patient mom and wife. I feel better about myself. I find out that I'm stronger than I think I am. And for that, I am thankful.

2. I am thankful for DayQuil.

I have been fighting a cold for about two weeks now. At some points I thought I was winning. But the last two or three days have made me think the cold is getting the upper hand.

Enter DayQuil. I love this stuff. It's my go-to cold remedy. It tastes good but just mediciney enough to make me think that it's capable of knocking out my symptoms. It makes me functional and for that I am thankful.

3. I am thankful for Bolthouse Farms Green Goodness.

This is my other line of defense against colds. There are so many vitamins and minerals stuffed into this drink that it really is a super food. And it tastes good too!

Harper and I both drink this in the morning and I credit it for keeping our sniffles from becoming full-blown colds. We are both around a lot of germy people (preschool, college kids, hospital, etc), so any immune edge we can get is much appreciated. And for that, I am thankful.

Thankful For My Students

Today, I am thankful for my students.

I have a great bunch of students in my general biology class this semester. It's kind of a weird mix - half are non-science majors who put off their required science class until their senior year and the other half are freshman nursing majors who have to take my class as a prerequisite to their nursing classes.

Some professors might not like having these two very different groups combined in one class, but I really like it.

Every single one of them brings something unique to the table. They are all insightful and inquisitive. I find myself learning from them as they are (hopefully) learning from me.

Tonight, I got an email from one of my students. He sent me a link to this cool video of a white blood cell chasing down some bacteria.

He said he was trying to find out more about something we talked about in class and just happened to run across this.

He's an English major.



I am so using this in one of my future lectures!

This class is a great change of pace from the research part of my job. It involves a lot of instant gratification, something that's almost non-existent in research.

My students really recharge my scientific batteries and for that I am thankful.

Thankful For Old Friends And Round Two

Again playing catch-up...

Last night, I got the chance to talk to not one, but two, of my childhood friends on the phone.

I am so thankful for long-lasting friendships. There is just something about the consistency that comes along with childhood friendships that is very comforting.

Even though we live in different cities and don't talk nearly as often as we would like, there is always a common connection that we can tap into. It feels good when someone knows where you're coming from because they essentially came from the same place.

This second one stems from one of the conversations from last night.

I am thankful for round two.

Just when holidays start to become lackluster, you have a kid and everything is new and exciting again.

Now that Harper is three, she is in full holiday mode - every holiday - even arbor day. Which is awesome!

Her excitement is contagious and it makes everything fun again.

For example, she is totally obsessed with the leaves and turkeys right now. It's pretty much all she talks about. She's also very in to making holiday-related crafts (which I blame her school for- not that it's a bad thing, but it does put extra pressure on me to try to match the craftiness bar that has been set by the professionals).

So on Sunday, the three of us took a walk, collected leaves, and later that night (after I had time to think of a craft to do - as stated above, this is not my usual area of expertise) Harper used them to make a turkey.

Note the eyelashes. She wanted to make sure everyone knew this was a girl turkey. I tried to explain to her that girl turkeys don't have red wattles, but she would have none of it.

In any case, I am thankful that as a family, we get to do silly things like this to celebrate the holidays.