Oh, there is a lot to be thankful for this year.
1. birth of my baby boy Tavish. Not any regular birth, but a natural, epidural free, free flight experience. I've always wanted to try that. Like some people want to experience sky-diving, or ride an elephant - having a completely natural birth was on of my bucket list wishes. So, what if it's my fifth try. 4th actually. But 5 babies all together in the end.
2. my kids. All of them and each one of them in their own unique way. Despite occasional anxiety attacks they cause me, I love them with my whole heart and am proud of all their efforts to become decent people.
3. my husband. He is so rad. So sweet, and generous, and helpful. He is patient to get his turn of my attention after the little munchkins have received theirs, and after I've checked my Facebook account, and Vkontakte account, and my e-mail, and texts. After I've talked to my Mom on Skype and washed the dishes. I am thankful that he took over the laundry for me. And for putting the twins to bed. And for helping me to get the package together for my Russian family. Even if the shipment costs like $125. Ouch. So thankful for this man in my life.
4. my sister graduated from BYU this year - yay! She's been working on her degree for the past 8 years. She came to the States with $20 pin her pocket and now she's landed a $70K job right out of the college with no debts whatsoever. Pretty stellar for a poor immigrant girl from Russia.
5. books. I'm finally making a consious effort to read more and I've discovered that my left (or right) side of brain, the side which is responsible for Language and Arts area of study is my strength. I still think that I am a wittier and more intelligent person in Russian. And I still have no clue when exactly to put "a", "the", or no article at all, but I feel the drive to sort things out. Not only in English, but in French too.
6. neighbors. We have absolutely amazing next door neighbors. They treat us like family. This is thanks to our boys, Ethan and Levi, they are adored and treated like Gods in the Gordons' household. I guess, they are THAT cute. It's an older couple with three grown sons. Our 4 yr-old twins are great friends with their 20-something year-old boys. But even better friends with Mr. Gordon and Mrs. Gordon. Once in a while we find a ziplock bag sitting by our front door, filled with my twins' socks and a note: "We found these in our laundry and it made us smile. We washed them for you."
7. jill johnson. She is an angel friend we have and we are so thankful for all the bread she'd baked for us, for many times she watched our kids, for being always, ALWAYS, there for us. She and her whole family: Dan, Ethan, Ally, Tucker, and Landry.
8. trip to DisneyWorld this past summer. We made it with all five kids. The kids had a blast. Mom and Dad (we) survived as well. But I think it cost us lots of money, and now we are poor, and will be, for I don't know how long. But we can mark it off for the next 5 years.
9. church. My calling is still to be pianist in RS, which is great. It gives me a chance to improve, and still is pretty lax. Many friends I made at Church. We have a great Ward. We have Jenny Oaks Baker in our Ward and she is my Visiting Teaching companion. Church is such a huge part of who I am. I would be really lonely without it. I love the direction I receive there, the clarity, the wisdom, the goodness, and the fun. I love the Gospel and I know the Church is true.
10. Jesus Christ and his creation. This beautiful world we live in. I can't get enough of these dense woods our house is standing in, the birds singing, the sun shining through the brilliant emerald of greenery in the spring. The warmth of the sun and abundant growing season. For incredibly bright colored autumns, for mild winters. I am thankful for good food, and water, and all other elements of this Earth that make it such a joy to inhabit.
