I realized that there were some technical difficulties with my last post, because I wrote most of it ahead of time and set it to publish last Thursday, and then it disappeared into the interwebs never to be seen again. Boo. So, I’m going to end off the month of November with 10 things that I am thankful for (because 14 is just a weird number to stand alone).

1. Rain- I LOVE the rain! One of the great bummers of our area lately was that we have been in such a horrible drought situation since we moved here. The last two months have brought several bouts of rain, and it is very refreshing to the land and the soul to see the flowers bloom and the occasional gray skies!
2. DVRs/Netflix and all those wonderful ways to record and watch the myriad of shows out there. It’s helped with several of my loves of shows like “Castle” or “Downton Abbey” or even “Top Gear” (BBC version, of course!). And the ability to pause live TV, and rewind to watch a punchline you might have missed? How simple and great!
3. Siblings- It stinks being so far away from our siblings, but having siblings is a great thing. Hopefully Evelyn will be able to have siblings and have a good relationship overall with them.
4. Evelyn’s buddies: Evelyn has a few very special buddies around her age, one in particular, and it’s so fun to watch them play together. I am so grateful that she has the opportunity to interact with others her age and have fun fairly often. We can’t afford a preschool situation or programs like Gymboree right now, and I worry about her not being able to social with other little ones more. But she’s growing up so beautifully, and it’s even better when she and I get to socialize with others outside the home!
5. Our Texas friends: We were so lucky just this week to be involved with others’ holiday celebrations on more than one occasion. We are far away from the family we grow up with, but this season, we were so lovingly included that it makes being far away from family so much more bearable. We love our Texas family!
6. The miracle of babies- I was just looking at pictures of Evelyn at Thanksgiving last year… and the change is remarkable. I can’t believe how quickly my little girl is growing up!!!
7. Cars- We got a new (new to us, that is) vehicle over the summer, and I LOVE it. And it has a BACK UP CAMERA. It’s the little things, people. But I love the wonderful comfort a nice working vehicle is.
8. Email/Blogs/Instant messaging- I love the fact that email exists. I won’t argue that there’s nothing quite like getting a real, meaningful letter in snail mail, of course. But when you have a very active toddler and your only time to get things done is when she’s asleep, being able to use Google Chat/Hangouts or email or whatever have you to speak with loved ones all over the world helps keep them much closer, and updated on the ever-changing Miss Evelyn.
9. Mother Nature: I LOVE the outside world. I miss the mountains, but where we live has many beauties of well. And I think of some of my favorite places that I have visited, like Arches National Park and Bryce Canyon, which are some of the most beautiful places I’ve seen, and I am so grateful there are so many lovely places in the world that I hope to share with my family.
10. Thanksgiving- We need more times to focus on being grateful for what we already have. Which is part of the reason I hate “Black Friday” shopping so much. One day it’s “I have so many great blessings in my life!” and the next day, it is: “I need more STUFF, and I’ll fight tooth and nail to beat other people to the STUFF!” I have so much in my life, and so much to be grateful for. I wish we had more days every year to focus on all that we have instead of wanting more.