Thankful Friday

Oh how I love Fridays!

1. Kettle Chips - This has become a new love for me. Most people love chocolate as a comfort food. Not me! Give me a bag of kettle chips with some cottage cheese and I'm in heaven!

2. Nights Out as a Family - This week we went to Chuck-E-Cheeses again, but this time Ryan got to go. We had so much fun together. Alex had no idea we were going and the look on his face was totally priceless when we got there. We won almost 1000 tickets, so Alex got to pick out some pretty cool prizes. Darek enjoyed watching all the kids and was amazed by all the colors coming from the games. I love nights like that!

3. WIC - Because of Darek's situation, he qualifies for a lot of different programs, one of which is WIC. Not that I've been taking it for granted, but I am just so grateful to not have the worry of buying formula (especially where he's on a specialty one). I just remember how expensive the regular store brand stuff was for Alex, so I'm very grateful for programs like this.

4. Root Beer - I don't know why, but I have really been craving Root Beer lately. And for some reason it just tastes so good and really hits the spot.

5. Things to look forward to - I'm not just referring to the trips we're taking, but also the little things in life. For example, I love being able to look forward to working in Alex's class every Thursday. Those are the things that help me get through the harder days, and I'm grateful for those little things.

6. New Clothes - Kohl's had a great sale and I was able to buy 3 new shirts. I love getting new clothes on sale, not just the clearanced (what I can afford) clothes.

7. Alex Reading and Singing - Alex is such a good reader and can whip through a book right now without much trouble. And he's always loved to sing. But now he loves to share these talents with Darek. One of his favorite things to do with Darek is to read him a book or sing a song to him. Of course, I get all emotional whenever he does this because it is so sweet to see. And Darek just sits and takes it all in. He loves watching Alex and listens to every word!

8. Being told how cute Darek is - I know a few people who find it annoying to be stopped all the time to be told how cute their kids are, but I love it! I don't care where I am, if I can tell someone is looking at him and gushing at how cute he is, I stop to let them look. Why not? He is cute and deserves the attention!! :) Sometimes I feel bad for Alex (even though I know he's the cutest boy out there), but then remember how much I was stopped when he was a baby. I know it won't last forever with Darek either so I'm really happy to just take in those moments.

9. Home Movies - I must confess, I'm terrible at remembering to bring along the video camera. And when I do, I'm terrible at remembering to take it out and use it. But I love looking through our "old" videos (especially the ones where Alex is the cameraman) and remembering those times.

10. A Desire to Grow - I love that I have a desire to grow and learn new things. When I was working all the time, I would think about things I wanted to do and then just forget about it because I didn't have the time. Now that I (sort of) have a little more time, I love reading and learning about new things. I have finally had the time to sit down and realize what I want to do after my kids are grown (or if I get any free time). I'm excited at all the possibilities and love trying to find ways to accomplish my goals.

There it is! I hope everyone has a great weekend and I pray the weather remains nice so I can go to Lagoon tomorrow!