Thankful Thursday

 

Happy Thursday, friends! I'm joining in with Rebecca Jo and Leslie for this weekly linkup. If you're reading this, we would love for you to join us! Make sure you just click the blue button at the bottom of my post today and link back to one or all of us. 

So many things are standing out to me to be thankful for this week. I'm always thankful for my husband and sons. I have gotten to see them all a lot this week and I've even had phone conversations almost everyday with each of my sons. I feel like that is such a rare thing...even if it's a text back and forth, I am counting that as part of a conversation. My husband worked on Friday and Sunday nights, but we enjoyed an evening home together on Saturday. We had pizza for dinner and I read while he watched the Alabama game on tv. I watched some too. I'm always so grateful for times like that, even if we annoy the daylights out of one another like we are right now as I write this, 

I'm thankful that Drew loves working nights so much at St. Jude that he asked to switch over to solely night shifts. His boss told him he could start that schedule next week. I am thankful he came over at dinnertime for two nights in a row and that on those nights he had a good meal and I was able to send him home with goodie bags of food.

I'm thankful that our Kroger reopened today! If you're new here, we had a mass shooting at the Kroger a mile away from our home six or so weeks ago. Todd and I attended the grand reopening yesterday. I'm so grateful he was able to go with me! I was a little apprehensive about going for the first time back and it helped having him there with me to ease my mind.

There were tons of people there! I was glad to see that, so that the staff would feel loved and supported, as well as the victims that were in the store. We even shopped a little as we walked around! It was so good to be back and the store has been beautifully redone.

Jonah was just thankful to have Kroger's delicious chocolate dipped cake donuts again!

I, on the other hand, am thankful to have more of Costco's delicious peppermint bark! I asked Todd to pick up more than one so we could have it on hand for the holiday season. I kept one container out and put the other two in the freezer. After we went our separate ways yesterday, Todd went to Costco for a few things we were out of. I'm also thankful that he's the kind of husband who does things like that for me. So many men don't do this kind of thing. I just want it noted that I don't take it for granted. 

I'm so thankful for my sisters! We're all very close. Todd and I were talking about this yesterday with his cousin that we ran into at Kroger yesterday, the difference between sisters and brothers. He loves the close relationship that we have as sisters and misses having that himself. His brother lives in Nashville and they just don't see each other that much. When they talk, they do talk for a long time, it just doesn't happen that often. People are just busy and that's where the difference lays, in my opinion. You really have to set aside time each week to catch up and that's hard to do sometimes. 

This was Trish and me at Dad's house Tuesday afternoon as we finished out his Christmas lights.

I'm thankful for veterans and a day set aside to honor them each year. This is one of my favorite memories. When the boys were little, we used to go downtown for the veteran's day parade each year and one time when we went, they all decided to make posters for the veterans to read as they walked or rode past. The boys all ended up on the news that year and this was something they came up with solely on their own. They did that from then on every year we went, but eventually we stopped going as they started graduating from school and getting jobs. These memories are so sweet! 

I am also thankful for my favorite bonus son, whose birthday is today.

He's been in our lives for as long as I can remember, but from the time he was about five on, he and my boys have been inseparable. They're literally closer than best friends, Alex is more like an additional brother. We truly consider him one of ours and if it takes a village to raise kids, I'm grateful for mine and to be a part of someone else's. Only God Himself could allow me to love someone as much as I love my own sons, and I love that when we talk or he is leaving our house, we always say that we love each other. Isn't he handsome? I am so proud of him. I know he's not reading this, but JUST in case he is—happy birthday, Alex! I love you more.

Thanks for reading my blog, friends. I'll wrap this post up with this. Love to all! ❤

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter