My Thankful List for 2009

Last year I listed 50 things I was thankful for, and I’m going to do the same today. These are not necessarily in order of importance…they’re in the order they popped into my brain. 😉

(apologies to those of you who get this via email…the pictures will probably be all screwed up. If it bothers you too much, just click on the title of this post to read it on my actual blog).

I am thankful:

1. For the saving grace and mercy of God, which accomplished and keeps my salvation without depending on any contribution from me.

2. For the sanctifying grace and mercy of God, which gives me the ability to cheerfully serve God by serving others.

3. For my husband, who loves me inside and out, and who is my very best earthly friend.

4. For Joshua, my brainy, sensitive staff photographer. 😉

5. For my parents, who introduced me to Jesus, homeschooled me, taught me to work hard, taught me to teach myself, and helped me have an “I can do this!” attitude.

6. For Sonia, who is possibly the most affectionate little girl to ever grace Planet Earth.

7. For the religious freedom we enjoy in this country, especially because so many Christians around the world have to fear for their lives.

8. For my church and the many opportunities it gives me to serve and use my gifts.

9. For my house. It’s not my dream home by any stretch , but it is much nicer than what so much of the world calls home, and I am thankful.

10. For Lisey, my domestic, helpful, Peep-loving oldest daughter.

11. For Zoe, our surprise last kiddo who brings so much hilarity and joy to our family.

12. For my piano. My goodness, I love that thing. In fact, I hardly ever play a piano I like better. My piano rocks.

13. For Goodwill. I heart Goodwill.

14. For Katy, because she inspired me to shop at Goodwill (and because she is a delightful friend).

15. For my camera. I love, love, love to use it to bless other people.

16. That my kids are all getting bigger, and that I do not have babies in my house anymore (loved my babies to death, but I’m kind of over the baby thing!).

17. That my family and friends are still having babies, because I do love to hold them (and then give them back, go home, and sleep all night!).

18. For my health.

19. For children who love each other.

20. For family and friends who allow me to be their babies’ paparazzi. Love taking pictures of babies!

21. For the health of my children.

22. For good neighbors.

23. For the beautiful, old oak trees in my neighborhood (except in the fall when they drop tremendous numbers of leaves into our yard!).

24. For this blog, because it gives me a way to help other people save money.

25. For my readers, who are, almost without exception, a kind and encouraging group of people.

26. For my husband’s job. Yeah, he does have to work today, but I am thankful he HAS a job, when so many other people are not so blessed.

27. For my jobs (photography, piano teaching, piano playing, blogging), which all allow me to stay home with my kids.

28. For our honest auto mechanic.

29. For Freecycle, mainly because I can give things away instead of throwing them away, but also because I sometimes score awesome free things.

30. For spray paint.

31. For Painter’s Touch cans of paints.

32. For my rule-less neighborhood. I can have a clothesline, and a compost bin, I can plant bushes where I want, and I can change my door without having to get approval.

33. For our beach vacation (two weeks, even!).

34. For my chest freezer.

35. For Aldi, because that store makes it so much easier for me to feed my family well on a small budget.

36. For my fabulous local Goodwill.

37. For hand-me-downs. They have saved us untold amounts of money.

38. For two hands that work. I’ve hurt one of my hands three times in the last three weeks, and it has reminded me how thankful I am to normally have two functioning hands.

39. For my van. It’s no beauty, but it is reliable, uber-practical, and most importantly, paid for!

40. For WordPress. Best blogging platform ever.

41. For Picasa, which is very helpful photo editing software for those of us who are too stupid to understand Photoshop.

42. For my message board friends, who put up with my pompous, know-it-all newbie internet-user way back in 2002, and who have taught me much.

43. For cheap yeast at Costco, without which I would bake us out of house and home!

44. For my three siblings, each of whom is special to me in a different way.

45. For 4 Christian grandparents.

46. For a home state that is friendly to homeschooling.

47. For family that lives nearby.

48. For my eyesight, especially because it allows me to do photography.

49. For my hearing, without which I would not be able to play and teach piano.

50. For plenty of food to eat (particularly stuffing, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie!).

What are YOU thankful for today?

(Now that I finished this year’s list, I went back and looked at last year’s, and discovered that I am thankful for a lot of the same things this year that I was last year! )