Thankful Thursday

Happy First Thankful Thursday of 2014!  I'm so thankful to have been blessed to see not just another day but another year.  There are people who didn't make it by a couple of minutes or seconds to see the New Year rung in.  So, I don't take this for granted at all.  The Mr had to work and JJ fell asleep.  So, it was just Moo and I when the ball dropped.

I am thankful though that the Mr didn't have to work a full shift and was able to come home at 2 AM.  We wished each other a Happy New Year and had some alone time before JJ decided to wake up.  He did go right back to sleep but he had a hard time staying asleep.  He ended getting up again at 5 AM, but by 7:30 we had both passed back out for a nap and woke at 11.  I haven't a clue what time Moo woke up because she was up with the Mr when I got up.

I'm thankful he was up with her because she's still at the age where she likes to dig.  Glue is like new obsession and I did not want to wake up to one of collages made entirely of important papers I might have needed.  I am thankful that all of my loved ones made it to see another year.  My family has a lot of older people.  And when you see your relatives getting on up there in age, you can't help but try to prepare yourself or wonder what's going to happen.  But God is good and He has blessed them to see 2014 with me.

Speaking of family, I'm thankful that I found a bunch of my cousins from my maternal grandmother's side on Facebook. It took a little googling and searching but I found them.  They don't live in my hometown and I had lost their contact info (phone numbers, addresses, etc.).  It feels good to be reconnected again.  I know a lot about my grandfather's side because they're the ones who live in my hometown (a few moved to DC), but I would love to grow closer to the other side as well.

Yesterday, I did a little research on the housing market here in the QC and I found some really great properties that I think we will have a good chance of getting.  I'm thankful for that.  I know that God is opening up this door of home ownership for us.  I've even been dabbling with the idea of looking into securing a loan to buy a house at auction, but idk if I want to take that gamble without a home inspection safety net.  I'm stepping out on faith, naming it, claiming it and putting in the work to make sure it happens. Faith without works is dead y'all.  We make the steps, He turns the NO into YES!

I'm thankful that this past week of speech therapy hasn't been quite as emotional for me.  Now for JJ that's a whole different story.  I think he's at a point where he feels overwhelmed because he can't talk and when we try to get him to mimic words his inability to do it frustrates him.  So, he's been having meltdowns and tantrums during his sessions and just shutting down.  If his tantrums haven't subsided by the end of the month, we're going to get him tested for sensory overload.  It could be sound, touch or any combination of triggers.

Of course, that opens up the door to talk about the autism spectrum, ADD, ADHD and other learning disabilities.  It's scary, but again I'm trusting in God that we will see improvement.  I have a list of stuff that I want to incorporate and try to see if it will help him.

I'm thankful for all the good things that will be coming our way this year.  I've left behind my fear of rejection, disappointment and not being enough in 2013.  I've cried enough tears.  Now it's time to get back to the smiles and the laughs.  To enjoy life regardless of what challenges we face because at the end of the day just being alive is enough reason to celebrate, to be thankful.....

What's on your gratitude list?