I always say I'm going to keep this short, but it never seems to work.

So November is the month when every actually remembers that they are supposed to be thankful.  It's no secret that we live in a culture of greed and selfishness.  I know I'm not perfect and I complain more than I should, but I honestly do try to focus on the good things.  And to be truly thankful for them.  And trying desperately to raise my kids that way, too.

I annoys me so much that people turn beautiful things- and things they thought they wanted so badly- into things that they cant ever stop complaining about.  ie. If you wanted to be a stay at home mom and wanted to have lots of babies, then why is so hard to not post 12 separate FB status updates about how much you hate everything about your life?  Stop.   God gave you healthy adorable kids.  Sleeping or not, teething and screaming their heads off or not, this is what you ASKED for.  At least consider being thankful for it.

ok. Back to the point.  And I think about this a lot.  Being thankful for the little things.  Not just the "oh I'm so thankful that my husband has a job"  (which I REALLY am!) but the simple "Thank you, God, for Larry the squirrel that lives in our yard that we get to see (and chase) everyday."

oh- AND- when people are being thankful, are they thanking the One who gave it to them?  or are they just saying "well I like this"... I'm pretty sure most people, even Christians, fall into that second one.

So we discovered that using our old dryer full time (using it to dry every load all the way) (minus Jesse's t-shirts and jeans) was costing us about $200 a month. YIKES. so I stopped using it so much.  I started hanging as much as I could inside while it was still cold and then just using it for littler things and towels, etc.  Once it got warm out, I started hanging EVERYTHING on the line outside.  I got a lot of laundry done this summer!  And I dont think I complained about it at all.  Sure it takes more time to hang things on the line than just throw them in the dryer and turn it on.  But I love being outside.  My kids love being outside.  And they had to come out everytime I did it- and then we would stay out to play for a while, too.  The sun bleaches stains off clothes- and diapers.  they smell soooo good when they are dried outside.  Plus, it saves a ton of money! 

Now that it's getting colder and we had a while of so much rain, we had to get creative. Jesse got me some clothes racks and we put them in the room with the woodstove.  We dont really use that room so they arent in anyone's way.  We have a normal drying rack for little things and we are good to go.  As of this Tuesday, I am 'allowed' to use the dryer for little bits at a time (I might have cheated and tallied up about an hour over a few weeks).  Since there is no wind inside, things are just not as soft.  And I do laundry every single day- except most Sundays- and sometimes more than one load.  So if things are *quite* dried all the way by the time I need to hang another one, I can throw them in the dryer.  10 minutes is the max I'm hoping to use per load.  Because even if I'm using it for an hour a week, that's still less than it would take to get one load straight from the washer dry. 

Back to the original point. again.

I am thankful that God gave us a home where we have room for a clothes line.  And a sun to dry them.  I am thankful for a husband who is willing to help me find ways to save money on things most people dont think about.   And our wood burning stove that helps suck the moisture out of clothes faster.  And I am thankful that we have a dryer that works, even as old as it is, so I can fluff our socks and towels when they are mostly dry.

We have struggles every day, but God has blessed us with an amazing life.  We have family all around us that love us and support us.  Even if they think we're (/I'm) crazy sometimes.  I love making plans for the future for our whole family and absolutely cannot wait for things to actually be able to happen.

God has placed some amazing people in the leadership of our church.  They seem to be more aware of what is really going on than other churches and are actually doing something about it.  They really strive for what God wants in a church instead of just what it has become.  And for this I am so thankful.

In the community group that I go to on Sunday nights, we are focused on Parenting.  I am thankful that we all feel comfortable enough to be able to share our struggles with parenting and with life with one another.  There is no fear of being judged and we all know that we are being prayed for regularly.  It's like a really awesome support group.  And we can laugh together.  There are serious times, but there are times when we are all just cracking up, too.  I love it!  I am thankful for this group that I am in.  And for each person who is there each week.  And for the meals we have together once a month. 

Sometimes when I think about these things I actually get the sense of being overwhelmed with joy.  I certainly dont deserve any of it.  But God still like to drop little blessings onto us all the time. He's so nice.

ok.  Time change this weekend messes everyone up.  I got a nap today, but not much sleep last night, so I'm still tired and getting a headache for the first time at night in a long time.  Hopefully I will try to remember to post more about the things that I am truly feeling thankful for.  Right now I need to be thankful for my dishwasher and shower and then my bed.  And flannel sheets!