30 good things

Heather challenged herself to write down 30 things that are good about her life awhile back. Reading her list challenged me.

“The best things about sunny days is that they remind us that the gloomy days are only temporary. Take a minute to list thirty things that are great about your life (and the more trouble you have doing it, the more you need to do it!) Tuck your list somewhere safe and refer to it when you need a reminder that a sunny day is just around the corner… ”
-The Rainy Day Book

I don't often have "rainy days" these days, but I know how much I do not focus on all that is good in my life. Reading Heather's blog, I'm often challenged to grow in my faith, to be less selfish, to be more celebratory of life. The day to day life that is truly living SHOULD be celebrated often. Because I often lose pieces of paper, and journals, I have found that the blog is a great place to write down all sorts of things...including my own list of 30 "GREAT" things in my life.

1. I have the best husband in the world...for me.
2. I have 3 amazing kids.
3. My parents love me and my family.
4. My in-laws are wonderful and loving toward our family.
5. My siblings are always there for us (yes, even the sibling-in-laws)
6. I have best friends. Yes, multiple best friends.
7. I have the privilege of being a stay at home mom.
8. We are all fairly healthy.
9. I have the best nephews in the world.
10. Dh has a job he seems to love. Makes all the difference.
11. My family fully supports my photography.
12. Such things as romance novels exist.
13. Samuel's hugs.
14. John Mark's looks he gives me.
15. Katie saying "yep" to "Are you Momma's girl?"
16. Playing a musical instrument, even if it doesn't sound too pleasant to others all the time (you have to practice a lot to make it beautiful sometimes).
17. Telephones that exist to keep me connected to friends that are far.
18. I got to experience the miracle of all that adoption is.
19. I got to experience the pain of infertility, and lived through it.
20. I got to experience pregnancy and all that goes with that.
21. Dave Ramsey, Mary Hunt, Larry Burkett and the lessons I've learned from them all giving us PEACE in finances.
22. We have a home that is not a stretch for our budget.
23. Family vacations. No matter where they are.
24. Friends who will let me call them just to chat when I'm bogged down in the myraid minute details of my life.
25. My education. I love being able to surprise people.
26. High speed internet. I remember dealing with dial-up, and I'm ever so thankful for high speed.
27. My loyal blog readers who comment.
28. Having a church family who calls to check on us, who knows us by name, and having them remember our concerns and prayer requests.
29. Having friends who will chat with me online, pretty much any time of night or day.
30. Having a faith and belief system, and knowing that I am unconditionally loved by Him.

Do you know, that this was much harder than I thought it would be. 30 things that are GREAT about my life, it seems so easy. But listing 30 things is tough, as evidenced by the...ummm...less than high and lofty ones (i.e. 26 & 12).

Oh, thought of more

31. Katie sleeps through the night for the most part.
32. Being able to homeschool my children and see when they get a new concept, totally get it!
33. I'm another year older, hopefully another year wiser.