I'm thankful for....

- my sweet, sweet husband, who continues to abide with me, generally in a joyful state. Thirty years is a long time to put up with someone.

- our three grown children, their three spouses and six beautiful grandkids. Our family used to feel so small, holidays were a bit sad, and now we've blossomed into a family of 13 and I'm soooo thankful for that. The bigger the better! I love that we range from 5 months to 60 and when you put us all together, or even most of us together, it's so noisy it makes your head throb just a little.

- still having both of my parents, who are in good health, active and happy. Possibly because they are not together, but I'm still thankful for them.

- four siblings. We don't get to see each other enough, but we all love each other and have fun when we are together. Most of the time. Which isn't bad for grown siblings.

- our home out here in the boonies. It was pretty unloved looking when we first bought it, and now it's warm and welcoming and feels like home to us and those who visit.

- our church family. We had low expectations, when we left our last church of 14 years, of finding a good one. We found a GREAT one! Love, love the staff and those who show up every Sunday. We are blessed to be a part of it.

- our neighborhood, a work in progress. We are honored to be a part of bringing light to it, being part of the solution rather than the problem, being stretched as we learn to work together with those who are very different from us.

- there is nothing wrong in our life that can't be fixed with hard work or money. That can't be said of everyone's troubles. All the money Steven Jobs had could not give him an extra day. Thankful for health, good marriages, jobs, church families and friends - all a blessing to our family.

- for whoever came up with the idea of the crockpot. I call it my 'secret weapon' and use it at least twice a week. My husband is thankful for it too. As long as he doesn't have to cook it, he's generally thankful for his supper.

- that when kids grow up they become your dearest friends. Who knew? I so wish someone could have told me, back when they were in those between years, that they'd actually like us someday, call to chat, ask us to come see them, and even want to travel across the country with us. Amazing, amazing!

- you can always start over, change, see the world through new eyes, and even see your own warts and bumps where you swore they were not there before.

- good books, great ideas, creative souls who bless us with their ideas and make this earth a nicer place to live. My 2011 creative thankful thing is Pinterest. Love, love it!

- those who are younger than me, yet teach me bucket loads. That would include my daughters and Tsh of Organized Simplicity. It amazes me that I carried these girls, raised them, had to teach them to brush their teeth, attend to personal hygiene, where babies came from, how to drive, how to choose a spouse, balance their checkbooks, and they come back and teach me all sorts of stuff. Wow! Bet Tsh's mom feels the same way.

- and mashed potatoes. Thankful for one day of the year when you can pull up to a bowl that holds ten lbs of whipped, buttery heaven and indulge to your heart's content. If it were up to me there wouldn't be a single turkey sacrificing his life for an annual meal. I'd just have the farmers up in Idaho planting bigger crops.