Giving Thanks Challenge 2010 ~ # 13, 14, and 15

#13. I was excited to have two of my nephews come and stay with us this weekend. I am so thankful this year has brought us home and close enough that we can do things like that now. Trey and Anna Grace love spending time with their cousins. It is a joy to watch them all play together. We have had glimpses of it here and there when we've come down to visit each year. It's nice that it's finally here, and we don't have to leave soon.

#14. I have started singing Christmas carols at night as I put the kids to bed. Actually, I have been doing so for a couple weeks now. We have little bed time rituals that we've had for a while now, but, when we moved it was a little hard to get back into our regular routine. Trey and Anna Grace go back and forth between sleeping in their own rooms and still wanting to be in the same room. One night a couple months ago, they asked me would I please stay with them for a while and sing to them. (I usually sing hymns.) My heart melted and I told Hugh I am so thankful that they still want me to rock them and sing them to sleep. I thought maybe they were growing out of that, and I have to admit I missed it. It's nice to feel needed and wanted.

#15. I'm thankful that our finances are such that we can enjoy a few things we could not afford to indulge in before now. It's nice to be able to have a girls weekend like I did a few weekends ago with my sisters Demetria and M.C. We went to Mistletoe Market and had a fabulous time. I was able to get a few Christmas gifts there, as well as, a few things for the house. It was a nice sense of freedom to be able to do that and not feel like it was going to break our budget if I did. I didn't go crazy or anything. I'm still very conscious about our budget and our spending, but what a refreshing change. I feel like Christmas came early for me.

I'm still catching up on my list here so there will be more to come later today. I hope everyone is having a wonderful day! Blessings!