Thankful Thursday - The Party Continues

We can't stress enough how important it is in our own lives to slow down when things seem to be getting "fast" and just think about the little things that we're thankful for. Many of you expressed a similar sentiment last week as 8 people joined forces with us and blogged about their own thankfulness. I have a little "Linky Tools" at the end of this post that you can use to join the party and link up your thankfulness post! Feel free to spread this around to anyone you know that may like to participate.

We all have GREAT things going on in our lives and sometimes it's just a matter of sitting down and putting it to paper before we realize how good we really have it.

Mandi's list:

I’m thankful for being young. This may sound a little silly, but after being at the baby makin’ doctor, they make it sound like all the world’s problems can be solved by having a young uterus. Thank you mom and dad for conceiving me in 1986 vs 1976!

I’m thankful for my mommy being back in the US and A. My mom got back into town from Shanghai (where she and my dad currently live) for Christmas and New Years. I absolutely love spending time with my mom and always look forward to her being back in town. I am eagerly awaiting my dad’s arrival this time next week. My parents are the bomb-diggity and I’m so blessed to have them home for the holidays, and in my life in general.

I’m thankful for the ability to shop online. I like to shop for all of 30 minutes, and then I’m ready to be done. The world of online shopping is like heaven to shoppers like me. I have bought a lot of my Christmas gifts online this year (especially Ronnie’s gifts because if we do shop, we’re together). Man oh man do I love clicking through pages of merchandise from the comfort of my couch, sipping on hot chocolate, in my PJs.

I’m thankful for living in an area where there are a ton of shops and restaurants nearby (within a mile). On Monday night I was craving ice cream around 8:30 pm, and didn’t have any in the house, so we jumped in the car and made a Cold Stone run (I’m VERY thankful for Cold Stone). I got a “Cookie Doughn’t You Want Some” ice cream…then we drove next door to McDonalds so Ronnie could get a cheaper option!! He’s not as thankful for Cold Stone…as he hates their high prices.

I’m thankful for my husband’s willingness to fold laundry. There are a few chores around the house that I despise…folding laundry is one of them. I will wash laundry all day long (AKA carry it to the washer, start washer, transfer to dryer, start dryer…I don’t wash by hand) but when it comes to folding it, I’d let it sit for days if my loving, wonderful husband didn’t take the initiative to encourage us to fold the laundry together, or just do it himself (typically it’s the ladder). He sure knows how to make my day!

Ronnie's list:

I’m thankful for people who are a billion times smarter than me. Going through the IVF process, I have been able to sit back and take a look at the science that’s involved, and I sit here in amazement that someone discovered all of this! Not only have they discovered it, but they’re made it better year after year, to the point that they can create a baby/make a woman pregnant with almost an 80% success rate (depending on age, fertility issues, doctor, etc.)

I’m thankful that Nancy (Mandi’s mom) is in town. Seeing the joy on Mandi’s face when she gets to spend time with her mom, beyond the daily 1-hour Skype call, is what I’m truly thankful for. In addition to that, I’m eagerly awaiting Eric’s arrival, so we can have the whole clan around for the holidays.

I’m thankful for new experiences. Today was the first time in my entire life that I have ever raked up leaves. I never thought that I would have to rake leaves (because I never thought I’d move out of Arizona, and it’s not normal to have leaves in your yard in Arizona…). I actually loved seeing them raked into piles and wanted to jump into the piles like people do in movies.

I’m thankful for excitement. It’s been very heart-warming, comforting, and encouraging seeing the genuine excitement within our family as a result of talking about the IVF process. You can tell that they’re behind us 100% and are eager to add onto the family. It’s not just with our family however, but also those that we know in the CF community that have showered us with words of encouragement and support.