I am thankful for

the randomness of life. I begin most days preparing breakfast and lunch for our four children. They each have their specific sandwich requests and usually breakfast request too. Some times I feel like a short-order cook. If we are running late, cereal is the only item on the breakfast menu.

The boys usually begin their day in front of our fireplace with their Lego bricks and characters. 

Charlotte and Benjamin love to help me in the kitchen.

Charlotte is the best at arm farts. She has excelled at the practice and it has become an art form. "Da-da-da-da-fart-fart-fart-fart..." You get the idea.  
Recently, I acquired a used washing machine from our children's school vice principal. 

 The vice-principal felt sorry for me and knew of my need for a little  help and randomly blessed me with this well used washing machine. It works well! On warmer days, I'll hang the wash out on our deck. Recently, I've been hanging the clothes on a rack the movers failed to pack when they packed up all our belongings back at the end of July. 

I came home this week to a business card from a detective at our local police department stuck to our side garage door. Of course, I panicked. What had I done wrong? Was my husband in some sort of trouble or dead?! Yikes! I called right away, not noticing the note he'd written on the back of his card, "Please call so we can set up a time to install a dryer". 
Yes, there are still acts of random kindness between strangers. I cried. With four children all under the age of 10, laundry can pile up quickly. They missed the soft bath towels and non-crunchy blue jeans; they didn't say anything about it and maybe I missed it more for them than they did. It also takes a few days to dry a favorite blanket in autumn. I am so thankful for this new/used dryer. Detective Greathead (yes, that's his super-hero name) and his plumbing friend installed it yesterday. I asked him how he found out about our family and our recent challenges and he said, "The school nurse Linda told me." I've done three loads of laundry already. It's a luxury to have fluffy towels again. 

My beloved got his Master's Degree! One perk of unemployment is he was able to have the "extra" time to finish up his degree. He began working on this degree while employed, using the benefit his company offered for educational reimbursement. He was almost done with his degree when his company was purchased by a foreign company and over time all employees were dismissed and the factory here closed. I am thankful for his parents who decided to pay the remaining costs so he could complete what he began a number of years ago. 

I am thankful for our oldest son Grant who is so happy when Daddy comes home from his job in MN to visit us for a while

and feels so sad when Daddy has to leave again.
I love that they have that kind of Father-Son bond.

I am thankful that we can enjoy the times in between.

I am thankful that our children are healthy and happy.

I am thankful that eventually our home will sell here so we can buy one in Minnesota and all be together as a family again. 

I am thankful for you.