Friday, October 14, 2011

One month.

Almost one month has passed.

Have I been thankful in that time??

Have I turned my outlook outward instead of inward where I dwell on the dark, dim self centeredness that inevitably turns into that awful sinking, shaking, unease of anxiety?

Have I really looked for all the good in my life over the last month??  Really looked.

I have so much to be thankful for. SO. MUCH.

I dwell.

On the bad. The difficult. The unknown. The slightly uncomfortable. The what ifs.

What if I dwelled on.....

The joy that is my growing, beautiful kids.

The hardworking, handsome, funny man that is my best friend and partner in life.

The blessings all around me - financial, family, work.

My faith - although still wavering at times, I know intellectually and in my heart that my God wants the very best for me - why can't I believe that??

Have you met my flower faces??

So I won't pledge to blog daily. But I will blog more regularly. When anxiety attempts to take over, when the weather pulls me down (seasonal depression is real people) when my own foul attitude takes me to places I don't want to be, I will be thankful. I will give thanks. I will find even the smallest thing to say thank you for because I know that that is one way to live life more fully, to take my mind off me and to be grateful for each breath I take each day. 


Monday, September 12, 2011

Spring.

New life in Spring. New beginnings. New outlooks on life.


I haven't been practising gratitude lately and it shows in my anxiety and general outlook on life. So here I am...


I am thankful.....


For parents who I have taken fore granted but who I appreciate so much.


For the smell of Spring - the blossom in the air, the hint of warmth in the wind and the sunshiny days.


For my degree - my options are endless.

For a healthy body that I am going to continue caring for by eating well and exercising regularly. 



For my children who each day teach me something about character and myself.





Monday, August 1, 2011

Heading towards Spring.... I am thankful.......

For heading towards spring!

For wintery, sunshiny, windy mild days where we can play outside all day and washing that dries in one day!

For for my hard working husband.

For my healthy, happy, bright sparkly kids.

For a new attitude to life.

For a new niece or nephew arriving in February! So happy for my Canadian peeps!

For having options for work, instead of sooking about what I hate, I will focus on the positive and turn what I am unhappy with into something that I love.

For my gorgeous friends. Especially my mothers group - you are all wonderful, beautiful friends and I love you all to bits.

For sleeping children who give me time to clean and exercise.

For the quiet whirr of the dishwasher, that means I am not washing dishes by hand.

For friends interstate who challenge me on an almost daily basis and have made me a better person and mother, (you know who you are my lovely friend)

For my daughter who daily shows me the meaning of love, life and forgiveness.

For my lovely mum who comes to do kinder drop off so JJ can keep sleeping. She is an angel.

For the smell of lamb roast slowly cooking in the oven.


Friday, July 8, 2011

Somewhere past the beginning but not yet the middle....

I am thankful I live in a beautiful city where there are so many choices for beautiful, organic food.

If you have never been to the Collingwood Children's Farm Market (2nd Saturday of the Month) then hot foot it down there next month. Set beside the riverside in Collingwood, it is hard to believe you are so close to the city yet it is so "farmish". Cute animals for the kids to pat and look at and wonderful, fresh organic produce.

Lovely way to spend a lazy Saturday morning!


So thankful for being privileged enough to have a job where I get to share and learn about music with my students.

Thank you for wonderful friends, far and near.



Sunday, May 22, 2011

The beginning.......



For these things I am truly, eternally thankful for......

The smell of a warm sweaty little boy snuggled under my chin.
Ducted heating on a cold rainy day
A job that I love and that challenges me.
Running clean water for drinking and washing.
Electricity and mod cons.
All first world comforts that I take fore granted.
Being healthy and having a healthy family.
Having a hard working husband who provides so well for us.
Living in a country and area where we can still spend so much time outside even in winter!
Having a shower with my little man, all tired and sleepy on my shoulder.
Cadbury chocolate.
Going for a run in the cold wintery night air...listening to some amazing music.
Music that makes me happy like The Cat Empire.
Being financially blessed.
Having so much support in my motherhood journey.
Having so many wonderful friends who have been through so much with me.
Finding such a great church so close to home.
These. Two. Children.
Cold, rainy morning snuggles in bed with my gorgeous ones.
Misty rain against green trees, oh so beautiful.
Internet connection.
Children who, after a pretty ordinary start, now sleep so wonderfully and both still nap during the day. Thank you beautiful ones.
Gorgeous friends who text me when I am home alone.
Meeting some wonderful new people at church today. Really feeling this is where I need to be.
Dancing to Jay La'gia.
So thankful that I am married to my best friend. We fight, we laugh and we love and I am so thankful that he loves me, forgives me and supports me in all I do.
My mum is amazing. I would need another list of 1000 things to list all that she does for us.
A caravan that will mean many holidays and memories for years to come.
Working with such supportive and hard working staff.
A gorgeous wee poppet girl who loves her brother so much. A little boy who has taken to toilet training so well.
Early morning winter sunrise.
The crunch of Autumn leaves and the smile of the faces of my 2 blessings who love playing with them.
My 'village' that love and support me in so many ways.
Our local market with it's beautiful organic produce but also new friends to be made as well as a lovely feeling of community spirit.
Chocolate.
Seeing so much joy in the faces of my gorgeous poppets.
A beautiful, cold but sunny winters day.
Trains that bring joy to my children.
Financial ability to replace a broken tv.
Long weekends.
A wonderful cast of over 240 children who brought a few hours of magic to their parents on Wednesday night.
Flowers that brighten up my day.
Having an "escape" to the country to visit Al's mum and dad.
Seeing this face full of excitement.

Seeing this face full of wonder and joy at trains. Such a simple joy.

The realisation that this journey to record my joys, even though I haven't hit 50 yet, has already been so life~changing..

That this simple act of being thankful has shifted my moods, my anxiety levels and my attitude towards so many things. For that I am thankful. Can I be thankful for being thankful??

Because I am.

Finding beautiful things on Pinterest.
Birthday party fun, seeing the happiness and excitement on the faces of all the kids!
Hearing wild giggles of siblings being silly.
The smell of a lamb roast in the oven.
Warm scarves.
Feather doonas.
Slippers.
Poppet girls gorgeous crafty creations.
Lazy weekends with no real plans and plenty of time to breathe and relax.
Oozing chocolately dessert with lovely friends followed by a movie.
Laughing until your stomach hurts.
Seeing my beautiful husband playing and laughing with and kissing our kids.
A wonderful group of friends at mothers group. Both for me and my kids.
School holidays.
The ability to exercise because I can and have the chance to do so.... Be thankful for this body and treat it well.
My Rosie. Kitchen Aid.
The smell of fresh bread baking.
Winter soup recipes.