November Thanksgiving 13

Today I'm thankful we live in a place that has four seasons. I'm thankful for the local conservatory, as a respite in times of cold weather and dreary landscape.

I'm thankful for a good mattress, electric lights, an automatic dishwasher, and the wherewithal to share with others. I'm thankful to have spent the weekend mall-free.

I'm thankful for the promise of heaven.

Thank you, Rebecca, for another month of focusing on our blessings. (I'm thankful we don't have your long winters!)

November Thanksgiving 12

Today I'm thankful for Amazon, the bookseller. I just received Libby Kumin's Helping Children with Down Syndrome Communicate Better, at a fraction of the list price.

I'm thankful for today's snow flurries. My brother's family from Florida is here for the holiday, and his sons wanted to see snow.

I'm thankful for chocolate, a working vacuum cleaner, the prospect of pumpkin pie, and Google's help with turkey brining recipes.

I'm thankful for a five-day vacation for my husband and my son. We all need a rest.

I'm thankful for how much easier the internet makes communication between school staff and parents.

November Thanksgiving 11

Today I'm thankful for:
-hot chocolate on a cold day.
-my husband and father's tickets to the OSU-Michigan game.
-the writings of C.S. Lewis, who (as Amanda reminded her readers) passed away 45 years ago today. By extension, I'm thankful for the British educational system, which contributed to the quality of his thinking, speaking, and writing.
-Trader Joe's friendly, smaller-scale grocery stores.
-Gordon Foods, for my mother's sake.

November Thanksgiving 10

I'm participating in Rebecca's annual November Thanksgiving posting.

Today I'm thankful for coffee shops, the Psalms, IDEA, money to cover the heating bill, and the essays in my Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible.
I'm thankful for the Ghost of Christmas Past, who reminds me of how blessed I've been with grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and good food and conversation around a common table.

November Thanksgiving 9

Today I'm thankful for my husband's job, when so many are unemployed.
I'm thankful for a reliable vehicle for transportation.
I'm thankful for the mature trees in our backyard, their branches starkly beautiful against the sky, in every kind of autumn weather.
I'm thankful for progress our son has demonstrated in school this week.
I'm thankful for family coming for Thanksgiving.

November Thanksgiving 8

Today I'm thankful for the beauty of this morning's snowfall on the green leaves and red berries of the holly bush by the garage.
And that my husband is not a NASCAR fan.

November Thanksgiving 7

Today I'm thankful for my friends. I'm thankful my family, immediate and extended, are all in good health as we approach the holiday season.

I'm thankful for a good public library, one of the best in the country. Today we visited and found remains of the large annual book sale. I found a volume of Walker Percy's Signposts in a Strange Land, a children's picture Bible from the Taize community in France, a copy of Frederica Mathewes-Green's Facing East (for a friend), Henri Nouwen's Our Second Birth, an anthology of Jewish commentary on the Torah from medieval Yemen, and a copy of Jim MacDonald's Communicate with Your Child (for a friend). Plus a few others. (Emmylou Harris' Light of the Stable!)

I'm thankful for our beagle, who is good company, though she always wants a share of my snack, the front seat of the mini-van, and to be let in or out.

I'm thankful for houseplants, during cold months of the year. The $2.50 Wal-Mart poinsettia I bought a few years ago has grown into a small bush.

November Thanksgiving 6

I'm thankful the price of gas has gone down. Today I paid $1.99/gal.

I'm thankful we've had several days of beautiful weather, for our son's wonderful aide at school, for my husband's job, and for my parents, sisters, and brothers.

I'm thankful I survived last Friday's IEP meeting, my migraine headache ended, and the Crew won last night.

November Thanksgiving 5

Today I'm thankful for music. The local bookstore had a sale, and I came home with Kathleen Battle and Christopher Parkening's Angels' Glory and The Moody Blues' December. Christmas is coming early this year.

I'm thankful my husband helps so much with caring for our son.

I'm thankful we got to see the last Crew game of the regular season a few weeks ago, against DC United. It's one of the memories that will warm us in winter. The team plays for the Eastern Conference Championship this Thursday evening.








Crew cat

November Thanksgiving 4

Today I'm thankful for a washer, a dryer, sleep, weekends, discount bookstores, and fall weather.

November Thanksgiving 3

Some days, and weeks, gratitude is tough discipline. But for Rebecca, here goes.

I'm thankful for the Malem bedwetting alarm. A friend shared hers with me this summer, and today I was able to pass ours on to a friend.

I'm thankful we bought a house with a southern exposure for the family room. Light in cold weather is an antidote to cabin fever.

I'm thankful my grandmother's African violets are blooming again. She passed away in 1999, and the violets always found on her windowsill came home with us after her funeral. Thank you, Grandma.

I'm thankful for dental insurance and a pediatric dentist who welcomes children with special needs.

I'm thankful for the friends I've made through blogging. I have spells of being homebound and don't get to travel as much as I'd like. You're a window to the world. Thank you.

November Thanksgiving 2

Today I'm thankful for food to eat and a roof over our heads.

I'm thankful for the years I have been given. I watched part of Ted Kennedy's tribute to John F. Kennedy, Jr. a few years ago. The Senator stated, "Like his father, he had every gift but length of years." I feel I've been given length of years, some days more than others. . . .I'm thankful for the years our son has been given. Some children in our community, while not facing his challenges, have been gifted with fewer.

I'm thankful for money to buy books, most recently Kathleen Norris's Acedia. I was privileged to hear her speak at Calvin's Faith and Literature Conference. Norris's path through the topic is sometimes wandering, but always rich and discursive. Her account of her husband's illness and death is both generous and thoughtful.

November Thanksgiving 1

Rebecca's at it again.

Today I'm thankful for Intellitools, when I'm not banging my head on the wall, trying to figure out how to use it. The computer program allows us to create learning and expressive activities adapted for children who don't have the fine motor skills to use a pencil.

I'm thankful for today's warmer weather and sunshine.

I'm thankful I got to hear Karen Erickson speak at Xavier's Perlman Center in Cincinnati a couple months ago. She shared great ideas related to teaching reading to children with developmental delays.

I'm thankful for news-2-you, a newspaper adapted for children with special needs. It provides a model for how classroom curriculum can be adapted. The growing company, started by a Cleveland speech therapist, is a family affair. I met the founder's daughter, a former teacher, by their display at the Perlman Center.

I'm thankful the U.S. Presidential election will be over in four days. We got to see both McCain and Obama, and I think the job is too difficult for either one of them. The loser needs prayer. The winner needs more.