Documenting Thankfulness

• My husband who works so hard. He has had an extra job of being in charge of renovations on his grandpa's house. And it is ALMOST FINISHED!! Almost every possible thing that could go wrong, did, but Joaquin kept such a cool head about it, learned as he went, and the house looks great.
• R2D2, otherwise known as the air conditioner unit sent from heaven. Literally. It has been a very hot few weeks here in So Cal, and the home we live in has no A/C. Someone at church found out about this and was incredibly generous to give us money to buy a portable unit. It works really well.
• My MacBook has returned! After a second failed hard drive, my incredibly smart hubby installed a new hard drive and all that, and I am back in business! It has been months since I last used this precious tool. 
• Teeth, teeth and more teeth! My precious boy Max is working on cutting at least four teeth right now, and two are molars! AND he NEVER complains. This teeth cutting process sure has been long (up until recently, he has only had nine front teeth, 4 top, 5 below), but we have never had any drama over it. We just laugh as we find Max chomping away on his beloved "Nee nee" cloths. That is the way he copes and I am all for it. Chew on, my little boy!
• I love my new home. It feels like a great big hug. I seriously find myself so incredibly grateful for our new digs on an almost daily basis. I love my kitchen, and sitting on the back porch with my hubs as we watch our little people play. We are so comfortable here, especially now thanks to R2D2... It feels so homey to me, and we have been having more people over than in our previous homes. So perhaps that is a factor as well. We feel strongly that our home is to be used as a place of blessing. We want to do that MORE. And specifically we are wanting to love on our neighbors. The introvert in me gets a little queasy at the thought of going door to door, introducing ourselves to people. I keep hoping for some ideal, perfect, casual, unplanned introduction. But come on? If I wait for that, as I have in previous homes, I will never get to know the neighbors. 
• Sleeping. I sure do love my sleep and am super grateful that God has blessed us with two good sleepers. They are both napping right now. So peaceful.
• My parents. I could say a hundred reasons why I am so thankful for them but recently I was surprised and so blessed when they both made these goofy videos on my mom's camera to send to Max. He loved seeing them, and I loved watching him see them. He is a blessed boy to have that silly Grammy and Papa! 
• A tight budget. I know that may sound weird to most of you, but I can't get over the gratitude and creativity that comes when money is tight. I have seen and experienced more how God provides, than in any other time of my life. We hang on to Him because we HAVE TO. And oh, what a beautiful thing comes from that kind of dependence.