Days 264-273

Thanks to my crazy schedule and then being sick for almost a week, I have gotten farther behind than ever. In the interest of catching up quickly, I will be making this one an all-encompassing thanfulness. This weekend my mom and dad took Donovan with them, which was amazing. It's amazing how just being down one kid can make things so much simpler. It also gave me a chance to spend more time with Giovanni.
I am so thankful for my crazy little Giovanni. I feel bad, because sometimes it seems like he gets overlooked alot - such is the life of a middle child. And, he was such a "challenge" as a baby, that it's hard to remember how much he's mellowed out. He is such a sweet, smart, funny little boy. I love how much he talks now and even his little attitude. Like how when he doesn't want to do something he will cross his arms and say, "Neva!"
He is also such a social little boy. He greets everyone with a "He-llo" and yesterday he went busting into Martha's room shouting "Surprise!" He spent this morning sitting on my bed alternating between playing games on the phone, and giving me kisses. Such a sweetie.
I love my Giovanni so much. He is such a joy and definitely adds some spice to our house. It's hard to imagine how boring it would be around here without him. Although I am glad he finally grew out of the constant grumpiness. :)

Day 263

Today I am thankful for the small unexpected kindness I experienced today. I stopped to get coffee on my way to school, and as I pulled up to the drive-up window, the cashier told me the lady in front of me had paid for my coffee! So nice and inspired me to do the same later on that day. It is so refreshing when people are willing to do nice things for each other - even if it is something as small as buying coffee. It made my day and I hope that I was able to inspire someone else by doing a small kindness as well.

Days 261 & 262

This is my first semester in the elementary education program at school, and while that in and of itself is pretty exciting, I'm thankful for having such wonderful people in my classes. Being in the program means that my classes are all specific to my degree, and therefore I am taking classes with other education majors. I am glad I have the chance to get closer to so many amazing people. It is nice having other people know pretty much exactly what I'm going through. We are all able to help each other, encourage each other, and even watch out for each other. Even though I will competing with these people for jobs in a couple years, I'm grateful for the opportunity to get to know them all now. Good company helps the workload seem just a little bit lighter!

Days 259 & 260

Today I am thankful for great partners in school. Within this past week I had to get together and collaborate on group projects in two different classes. In both cases I have had the pleasure of working with great people.
I generally don't like group work, but being able to work with people who are just as committed as you are to quality work and who are willing to work together makes a huge difference. I am so lucky that I got a great partner for my art project - which we did centered on Ai Weiwei, who by the way is a very intriguing individual. And tonight I presented a cooperative learning demonstration in my ESL class with two other wonderful ladies. I know we did an amazing job and it was because we were all willing to share responsibility and work well together. I am thankful for the opportunity to work with all of these ladies and am proud to be a part of their group!

Days 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 257 & 258

I guess this week I am thankful that I am finally getting my schedule under control. Also, I am thankful that Alfredo's new work schedule is even better than it was before. Granted, I don't get one single day off with him, but at least our dropping-off and picking-up of kids from things is much easier, and we only have to worry about having someone watch the kids for a few hours a week.
I'm thankful that Giovanni seems to be liking school, and he must be doing well because I haven't received any angry calls from his teacher! He is such a smart kid and I'm glad he is getting the opportunity to get out of the house and play with other kids.
I'm thankful that Donovan hasn't had any more incidents with kids being mean at school. I got home Monday night and he was so upset because some kid called him a crybaby. It was so tough to deal with, my poor sensitive little Donovan - such a tender soul - it broke my heart to see him upset and wanting to go back to his old preschool. BUT - it seems like he has had no more problems, and is still loving kindergarten. I'm thankful I didn't have to go to school and rough up some five-year old for making my baby cry.
I'm also thankful this week for my classes. Yes, they are tough and a lot of work, but I finally feel like I am REALLY learning things that I will be using in real life. My teachers are amazing and I have been able to learn and discover so many amazing things recently. I feel like my brain is just constantly filling with wonderful information and I hope that I can retain at least some of it. I really am so lucky to be able to do what I am doing, and I hope that I can come out of this and be the best possible teacher.
On that note, I am also thankful that I am living and doing this semester's practicum in Pasco. It may seem weird to say that - I know it seems weird to me - but being here has opened my eyes to so many things and I am thankful for the chance I have been given to grow personally. I know that everything that I am experiencing now can only help me in the future and I am thankful for that.
Probably most importantly for this week, I am thankful to God for keeping Alfredo safe this week. He was driving to work a couple of days ago and while he was on the highway the hood of his car flew open. Luckily, his windshield only got a little crack even though his hood is all dented now. However, Alfredo was kept safe and I thank God for keeping His hand over him and averting what could have been a major disaster. Now, to find a replacement hood for his poor car that we just got back from the body shop!

Day 251

Thursday Giovanni was not feeling well at all - running a fever, with an upset tummy. The next day he was fine, but I noticed that his left eye was all goopy. I immediately worried that he might have pink eye and just kept praying that wasn't the case. By the time he went to bed Friday night, his eye was still yucky and of course, I thought it was starting to look red. I also could not ignore the fact that MY eye was also feeling itchy - I've had pink eye twice before and was NOT anxious to get it again. So, I sent a text to my mom asking her to also say a prayer that I was just overreacting, and we had nothing to worry about. Imagine how wonderfully surprised I was when Giovanni bounded out of bed this morning with two perfectly clear beautiful brown eyes. Thank you lord, because the last thing we need around here it to be passing pink eye back and forth! Praise God for small miracles!

Days 243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249 & 250

I can't believe it's been a whole week since I posted anything! I am so busy this semester with my school, Donovan's school, Giovanni's school, Alfredo's work. Having only one vehicle has made it that much more difficult. So, I guess I will sum up my thankfulness for this past week by saying that I am happy we all survived and made it to where we all needed to be this week on time. I am doubly thankful that we finally got Alfredo's car back from the body shop. We have been without it for over a month and it is AMAZING to finally have it back, fixed, and all pretty. Alfredo is so happy, he has been out tinkering around with it for the past hour! Thankful we have two vehicles again. This will make life quite a bit more  manageable!