Day 365

Well, I made it through my project of year-long thankfulness. It has not been nearly as difficult as I thought it would be, and I'm glad I decided to do this. I have found that over the year, I have made more of a conscious effort to appreciate what I have and I know that I have changed because of it. I am more apt to find the positives in things that happen, less likely to let things bother me, and just take life as it comes. I still have a long way to go - I still freak out sometimes and throw my little temper tantrums - but overall I am so much happier than I used to be. I used to wallow in self-pity and bad attitudes, and I am so much happier now.
Granted, nothing is perfect. There are things that I wish were different, but this past year has helped me to put some things into perspective. I am so appreciative and grateful for all the good things in my life, that the negative things don't matter as much any more. I'm proud of myself for making it an entire year.
Thank you to all of you who have read my entries. It's nice to know that I have the support and love of so many other people. I hope that maybe my project can encourage others to do the same. Life may get bad sometimes, but when you take the time to focus on the blessings, you realize that life is an amazing gift and we are all so lucky.
I hope that I can maintain my new-found attitude and continue to be grateful of everything wonderful in my life. I don't ever want to nurse bad attitudes or bad feelings about anything anymore. I want my kids to have an example of gratitude and happiness to look towards. I hope that I can teach them to focus on their blessings when things seem to be falling apart.
Thank you all for your support, and most of all, thank you God for blessing me with my beautiful family, a roof over my head, food to eat, and the ability to better myself to provide my children with a secure and happy life. May this coming year be even more amazing than the last!

Days 363 & 364

Saturday the kids and I went to visit our friend, Sarah. We haven't seen her in a long time so it was really nice to hang out for a little while and visit. She made us french toast, and gave the kids presents. I miss seeing her all the time, and she really cares about all of my little monkeys. It is few and far between to find such a good friend, and I'm so thankful that we got to spend some time with her.
Sunday I decided to just have a nice, lazy day with the kiddos. We stayed home from church, hung out in our pajamas, and had blue-colored pancakes. I love my kids, and while they can be a handful, I know how fast they are growing, and how few opportunities I have to really just hang out with them and do nothing. I'm glad I got the opportunity before school starts up again.