Being Thankful...

Lord knows I have so many things to be thankful for...I realize that I probably spend so much time on here griping about what I DON'T have that I must sound like an ungrateful little brat...but I really DO want to take the time to tell everyone how thankful I really am for all of the blessings I have...

My top 10 things to be thankful for this holiday season...
10. Internet friends - when life has got you down, you can trust your internet friends to pick you up. THANK YOU! You will never really understand how much your emails and blog comments of encouragement and sympathy really mean.
9. Our Health - aside from my broken, whacked out reproductive system, we are both very fortunate to have our health. We're alive, able to walk, breathe and work. What a blessing!
8. My kitty - since we have no children of our own, Faithy has filled the spot well for the past 5 or so years. She's quirky, fat, and scared of everything, but I love her to pieces!
7. Finding my earring yesterday - ok - I know - this one seems so strange, but it was totally a God thing, therefore I must write about it. On Tuesday evening, I put my hand up to my ear and realized that my three-stone-diamond earring was missing. I wear both of my pairs of earrings (the other being white gold hoops) non-stop. I don't even take them out to sleep in. They've been in my ears pretty much continuously for years. I don't even think I'm aware how often I put my hands up to my earlobes to make sure the earring backs are tight, etc., so when I realized the earring was missing, I was, in short, freaking out! I searched the entire house, inspecting every hair, dust bunny, or thread that caught my eye on the floor, but to no avail. G was very gracious about the whole ordeal, but I was so upset and emotional about it all (see item #2 on this list). I assumed the earring was gone for good. Yesterday, I went to work as usual & was talking to the first little girl who arrived at daycare when something caught on the floor caught my eye. Lo-and-behold! It was my earring...despite the fact that the area had been vacuumed the night before, the earring somehow remained, albeit somewhat worse for the wear. I took it to the jewelry store after work and got it straightened out & the back replaced, only to have G find the backing on the bathroom floor yesterday night. I had managed to go from our bathroom the whole way to work without the earring falling out! Wow! I don't think I could ever be that fortunate again!
6. Real life friends - Although it is so hard to keep in touch and keep up the kind of relationships that we used to have, I do cherish my real-life friends. We try to keep in touch via phone, facebook & occasional get-togethers (yay!), but it's kind of sad that I can honestly say that I don't have any friends here like the ones I made back home. I have a few people from G's work that I hang out with, but I know they don't know me in the same way as my "old friends" do...especially my high school & TAGG friends. So, if you're reading, I miss you terribly!
5. My job - Even though my current position (well, actually just the 3-year-old portion of it) frustrates.me.to.death, I know that I am very fortunate to be working, especially with our economy and many people being laid off, etc. My 4-year-olds are amazing & they make coming to work (at least 3 days a week) a true joy!
4. My family - G & I are both blessed with wonderful parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, & extended families. Both sets of our parents have provided & continue to provide for us in so many ways. They are such blessings!
3. Our new home - With the economy being the way it is, we were so fortunate to be able to sell our old home (in a month!) and comfortably settle into our new home this year. It was a completely unexpected turn of events that started back in April, but we could not be happier to be in our own little dream home!
2. Gregg! - G is definitely the one person in this world who "gets me." Even though he rolls his eyes when I'm overly emotional (who me?) and frustrates me to all-get-out with his ridiculous coaching schedules (let's not open THAT can of worms! k?), I do know that he's always there for me and truly wants me to be happy (not that it's all about me or anything). He's so silly & has a quiet, cheesy sense of humor that puts me into hysterics sometimes...yep, I think I'll keep him!
1. God! - I've been kind of a wayfaring follower lately. Personal issues with our infertility (and finances related to infertility), my job, and our infertility (wait? did I already mention that?) have really not been good for our relationship. I know I'm just lost right now & eventually, I'll find my way back to Him...but the wonderful part is that God knows where I'm at even when I'm lost...that little light is flickering in there somewhere & eventually, I'll have the strength to make it burn again...but for now, He's holding onto me by a thread & for that, I'm thankful.