30 days of thankful...day 28-30

I had the best of intentions.
On the 30th I was going to sit down and knock out the last three posts with panache.
Instead, I was in bed.
Some weird virus knocked me out...and not exactly with panache.
So as my house fell apart around me and my babies played nurse to mommy I had plenty of time to think.
Oh, and I also watched lots of Discovery Channel and National Geographic Channel...because these were school days.  We have a new affinity for the series "Going Tribal."  It is some serious fun!  And did you know that Tiger Sharks off the coast of Hawaii have been tagged and then swam over 3000 miles to the Sea of Cortez?

Anywho...
The last three days of thankful.  Where oh where do I begin?  How do I narrow them all down?
I will say that as I languished in feverish achiness for two days I thought and rethought these last three entries.
I type these somberly, with a sense of awe at my God and Father in Heaven who has truly blessed me...blessed us...beyond measure.

#28...the Christmas Season.
This season holds so much meaning for me.  I remember the years before I knew Him...when it was about Santa and gifts and sparkle and good wishes, but not about Him.  Then He found me, and I wept through most of my first Christmas as His child.  Then just two years later I walked down the aisle as a Christmas Bride...down an aisle decorated with red and green plaid bows, to an altar filled with glowing red votives and poinsettias and a groom who would whisk me off to a cabin nestled in a winter wonderland.
Now I see it through the eyes of my children, as we light candles and sing songs and imagine what it was like back then.  As we watch the same movies I watched as a child and pick out new favorites and as Johnny Mathis serenades us...because nobody sings Christmas like Johnny Mathis...I marvel at this Season, that it never gets old.

#29...the leather sectional
It sits in our kitchen living area.  There are always blankets and a doll strewn across it, and a dog or two trespassing.  We often read stories or they spread out with their chapter books on this couch, but when the schoolwork is done and the weather is bad, they are allowed to turn on the TV and we all end up together in a happy pile of arms and legs and cuddles.  Memories are made and love grows as we enjoy a good book or a good show.  There are crumbs in the cushions and dog hair that needs to be vacuumed away and...hey, who wants to watch Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer?

#30...Homeschooling
I have to end here.  I have mentioned my Savior, my marriage, my children, adoption...and beside all of these sits the huge decision that was obviously the calling of God for us.  It has changed the entire dynamics of my family.  We love better, we live more freely, we learn together, and we get to set the priorities that are important to us...the priorities that help us stay in step with God's plan for our family.
Sleeping later, eating breakfast without hurrying, doing school and helping each other when one gets stuck, learning to be best friends again and having the flexibility to leave out what is unnecessary in order to have time for the truly important...I can't put into words how much better life is now.  Yes, I am teaching five kids in four different grades.  Yes, it can be complicated and we don't always "get it all done".  Yes, sometimes there are bad attitudes and kids who slop through work in an attempt to get done.  But overall, it has reduced the stress level of our home and given us time and memories that are priceless.  I cannot thank Him enough for pushing us and prodding us to this life.  It is worth every bit of planning and scheduling and paper-grading and frustrated reshuffling of the day in order to see our family live and love like this.