THANKFUL THURSDAY

I must say I'm thankful to be so busy with so many good things this Christmas season that my blogging has fallen by the wayside! Still, that's not a good reason to be consistently late with my posts. So, I'll do my best to make up this week's missing posts. Meanwhile, though I usually ponder my Thankful Thursday posts -- a great opportunity to boost my mood -- I'm going to run through these pretty quickly tonight. Here goes:

[1] I'm thankful for the beautiful sunset that's happening right before my very eyes as I sit here typing this.

[2] I'm thankful for the REAL Santa Claus down at The Dee's Nursery. Despite the kids behind us in line insisting to Olivia that he was fake "because the real one has a pure white beard not that faded one he's wearing". I corrected the young girl behind us and ensured her that, in fact, not only was it a real beard but he most certainly is the real Santa... WHICH, I said, she would see more clearly when it was her turn to go up and talk with him. Olivia smiled. She wasn't buying that girl's rant anyway.

[3] I'm also thankful that FINALLY that little girl's father stepped up and told her to keep quiet.

[4] I'm thankful for my husband. He is a kind, gentle and hardworking man who supports and encourages my parenting style, creative outlets and employment (or unemployment) endeavors. His calm acceptance helps make this phenomenal life we're living possible.

[5] BUT, MOST OF ALL, TODAY: I'm particularly thankful for my friend of 17 years, Marko, and his VA motorcycle group, http://strengthandhonormc.com/ who adopted my family for Christmas this year. Marko and his daughter, Jamie, drove more than 12 hours round trip from VA to Long Island to play Santa to my children on behalf of their group. These amazingly generous people brought my children a phenomenal array of gifts -- toys, tools, cars, dolls, clothing, boots and more -- a Christmas we could never have afforded to give them in these tough economic times. Even my husband and I received an unexpected and more than generous gift... beyond this incredible act itself. I'm so thankful and honored to have been chosen and to call these people my friends! God bless every one of you! (Pics and More on this later!)

Stop and think thankful tonight. Even if you only have a second, it takes just a moment to feel happy about the good things happening in your life.