Thanks for all the well wishes for Emma’s leg yesterday. It always amazes me the love and kindness of people in an online community. Haven’t even met most of you, and yet you are there with support. Thanks.

It’s been a difficult year with John’s ruptured appendix, my grandfather’s death, my father’s diagnosis with Alzheimer’s, my mom’s impending amputation, Noah and Emma’s leg fractures and John being out of work for most of the year. And yet in my life I have so much to be thankful for – things that might be easily taken for granted. But only if I don’t stop to reflect.

So, Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! And this holiday always makes me reflective. Reflective on what a good life I have. I have so much to be thankful for this year, even through all the pain.

And so I’ll measure this life by moments instead of days, weeks or seasons. I’ll use my moments to reflect on what is right and good. I’ll spend this holiday season reflecting on all the moments I have to be grateful for and I’ll start today by listing some of them here:

1. 365 cups of perfect coffee
2. More cuddles from people who love me then I can count.
3. 5 people pulled by dolphins
4. 1-week rental of Nintendo Mario Kart and racing all three of my kids at once.
5. 3 hours of snorkeling with my girls.
6. 10 wonderful days with my dad seeming like his “old self” and enjoying my children.
7. Countless days of watching our dog greet my children with licks and tail wagging after they have been gone and seeing the joy on everyone’s faces from the reunion.
8. 8 days of being together with extended family at the Happiest Place on Earth.
9. 14 flashes of recognition as Dinara remembers a new phenome.
10. A handful of “kid date” times alone with each of my kids.
11. 525,600 minutes of having all my family still enjoying this life with me.
12. 8 months of having my house feel like my sanctuary with my new furniture and loving the restorative feeling it provides for me.
13. 2920 hours of sleeping on 1000 thread sateen sheets.
14. 1 last phone call with my grandfather before he passed away.
15. 31,536,000 seconds of not having to go to a job that takes me away from my kids.
16. 1 man whom I can depend on - no matter what.
17. 1 Apple Ipod with over 995 songs to keep me bopping.
18. An online community of about 2-dozen women who have all adopted internationally or are in process to do so and the support and grounding they provide for me.
19. 3 boxes of See’s Chocolate.
20. 12 full months of health insurance coverage.

There are thousands more of course…. We all have them. What the moments you are thankful for and using to measure your life this year? I’d love to see your list!!

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