30 Days of Thanks – 7

Today I am thankful for life long friends. Last night my husband and I went to the LA Tech/Boise State football game in Ruston – a town about an hour away. He and my daughter are Tech alums. Anyway, we met up with 3 other couples my husband has grown up with over the years. Some since middle school. They all live within a few hours drive, so we see each other at least once or twice a year. The guys may meet for a golf day; as couples we vacation together. Our children have friendships with their children. We have been to weddings, funerals, baby showers and parties for each other. These are the kind of friends that would drop anything in the middle of the night and drive to be with you.They know our good news and our bad news.

It’s such a blessing to have friends who you can grow up with!

30 Days of Thanks – 6

I am so blessed to have a wonderful family. My folks are amazing, my sister rocks, and my mother-in-law is an angel. I’ve been fortunate enough to watch my nieces and nephews grow up, and some are starting their own families, too. We don’t have a large family, but we have a great one! Although we have already lost a parent and two siblings, they, too, helped make us what we are today.

My husband and I have been married for 27 years and have children in their 20′s. The four of us still get together a lot and keep our traditions going. I’m looking forward to the holiday season and all that fun that means for our family.

This is the true abundance in my life. No amount of money is important next to family.

30 Days of Thanks – Day 5

Today as I sit at my desk looking out the window at a completely blue sky, I am so grateful to work from home.  For almost 15 years it has provided me with so much freedom during my day. My children have grown up and gone, living in an environment where both parents worked from home. Often my husband or I can be found sitting in the garden in the backyard while talking on the phone. Or we can enjoy leftovers for lunch while watching a little TV in the den.

Being a business owner and working from home is just the best! I’m so thankful that my husband and I get to be around each other so much, even if he IS in the other room, talking loudly on the speaker phone.

30 Days of Thanks- Day 4

A few of my colleagues are participating in “30 Days of Gratitude” and so I decided to play along, too. Gratitude is a most important component of abundance. We must acknowledge all the good in our lives in order to be ready to receive more. So I am grateful today to live in a country that lets me freely worship as I choose, and speak as a choose. On the news each day we are reminded of the many places around the world that do not have the freedoms that we enjoy in the United States.

Over the weekend I was cleaning out my daughter’s closet since she has purchased her own home and now officially doesn’t live here anymore. (we’ll save that for another day!) I found a mailing tube with my Dad’s handwriting on it. He had sent her a copy of the Bill of Rights, suitable for framing, and printed on lovely yellowed parchment-looking paper. What a fantastic document. For a moment I felt like Nicholas Cage in National Treasure when he gazed upon the Declaration of Independence. We have so much to be thankful for in this country, even when times seem economically less than bountiful. Let’s remember that our abundance is not measured by our bank accounts but by the size of our gratitude.