25 Things For Which I Am Thankful

There's a fun thing going around F@cebook this month, where you post as your status the thing you are most thankful for on that particular day. I'm not consistent enough with the slow dribble like that, so I'm cramming all my thankful's into one big post. Since Thanksgiving falls on the 25th, I'm giving you the big 2-5. This is likely to be a rather random, stream-of-consciousness kind of list, so hang in there with me. My brain is a scary place on Mondays!

~ My 25 Thankful's ~

1. I am very grateful for my dad's recovery from bypass surgery.
2. I am thankful for the love and support of my family, my siblings, and my friends, especially during times like my dad's surgery.
3. Thank you to all my bloggy and real-life friends who prayed for my dad and our family.
4. I am grateful for my mom and dad's church family, who are taking such phenomenal care of them both during this time.
5. I appreciate my local church's leadership team. They have great big hearts for the folks they serve and an unquenchable desire to take Jesus out to the world around us.
6. I am thankful for all the wonderful friends I've made through the adoption community. What a privilege to be part of an extended family with such big, giving, generous hearts!
7. I am very thankful for my lovely home and that The Boss enjoys making it "home" just as much as I do.
8. I thank God every day that He chose to allow The Boss and I to partner on this crazy, wild ride of our life together. He is my love, my best friend, and the anchor for our home.
9. I am grateful for the great five kids (so far!) that God has entrusted to my care. Each one of them is so unique and special - knowing them and parenting them is the joy of my life!
10. Thank you, Lord, for the friends who have known me "forever" - they are such treasures to me and the comfort and accountability to be real with them is a gift I don't take lightly.
11. I am thankful for the opportunity to embark on yet another adoption journey - that HE trusts us enough with another little heart to parent is not something I take lightly.
12. Thank you, Father, for protecting and keeping our next daughter until we meet face to face.
13. Thank you, Father, that you already know her. That you love her more than we ever can. That you have her life in your hands.
14. I am grateful for the folks who serve all over the world to keep our nation and others safe from terrorism and war.
15. Thank you, to the families of those who serve - your sacrifice and service is just as important as that of your loved ones.
16. I am thankful for my Mom, who taught me to take care of my family and my home, and to cook. I'm so grateful that she instilled in me a love of cooking!
17. I am thankful for my Dad, who taught me to "do the right thing" all the time. And to follow hard after Jesus.
18. I am grateful that the path of my life isn't following the safe, "2.5 kids and a white picket fence" route that I thought I wanted when I was younger.
19. Thank you, God, that even when I don't know what the next step in that path will be, I know YOU and I know YOU will never leave us on the path without a plan!
20. I am so thankful for laughter. I don't do it enough, but God has given me five little treasures who remind me daily that laughter is a gift.
21. I am thankful for books. And for the quiet time to read them. Occasionally :)
22. I am thankful for The WORD - when it heals, when it comforts, and even when it hurts. 
23. Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of living in a nation where we can freely pray, read The Word, and share it.
24. I am grateful that I am healthy and that my hubby and my kids are healthy, too.
25. I am thankful for a nation that recognizes the importance of a day of thanks.