Thankful Thursday October '09

Here we are again at the beginning of another month. I don't know about all of you, but I love October. It just sounds so good to say and to think about. The weather is cooler, there is Halloween and other holidays to look forward to, Brandon's birthday is this month, and it's just a great time of year. And I just noticed the forecast for the rest of the week and they were all two-digit numbers, so that is something I am most thankful for today. Although the leaves don't change color here and it doesn't "look" like fall outside, it still counts to me and it is still a season that I love and look forward to every year.

So, here is my October list of things I am thankful for:

1.) Hayden's singing in the background right now
2.) Being able to be a stay-at-home mom
3.) Having 3 healthy and loving children
4.) Kisses from Kiley (she just figured it out and will come and give me kisses all throughout the day)
5.) Our new puppy Ginger - she has been such a good dog and everyone in our family loves her so much
6.) A wonderful, sensitive husband - last week he came home with ice cream and flowers for me because I was having a hard day
7.) October - like I said, I really love this month
8.) Modern technology
9.) Lessons learned from trials
10.) Growing up in the church
11.) Missionaries around the world
12.) Taking the dog outside early this morning and actually feeling chilly
13.) Hayden's preschool group - she has made lots of new friends already
14.) Cell phones - isn't it crazy that just a short time ago none of us had our own cell phones? What did we do back then?...
15.) Military men and women who risk - and sometimes lose - their lives to protect our freedoms
16.) The Sugardoodle website - I am so glad I can use the creativity of others for church ideas
17.) Fresh fruit (yum!)
18.) Grocery stores that have anything and everything I could possibly want to cook or eat - I don't know how well I would do living on a farm and only eating what we grew or caught ourselves
19.) My ancestors who joined the church
20.) Advice and tips from other moms
21.) General Conference this weekend
22.) Avery's sweet comments to me last night - I was washing her hair in the bathtub and she said, "Mommy, I like you. Thank you for putting band-aids on my owies, and giving me good snacks, and washing my hair in the bathtub, and watching me clean up the playroom. I love you." It totally caught me by surprise and melted my heart. She's a sweet girl.
23.) Avery's other sweet comment to me this morning on the way to school. She said, "Mommy, I want to be nice to my sisters today. I'm not going to hit, or push, or say mean things to them, or take any toys away from Hayden. I'm going to be nice today." I told her that that would make everyone happy if she did that - especially Jesus.

I know 23 is kind of a random number of things in a list, but I thought that was a good one to end on, so that is my October list. Happy Thankful Thursday!