Thankfulness wrapped up

I think I officially failed on my thankfulness postings...but I warned you that that was a strong possibility at the onset.  I managed a grand total of 7 postings about thankfulness.  Here are the links to the posts, in case you missed them and wanted to catch up:

1) General thankfulness
2) Pla Shee
3) Kai
4) Ruby
5) Aaron
6) Family and Friends

  I think I'll wrap up the thankfulness theme today with a few specific thanks that are on my mind today.  First, a gratuitous picture of Kai and Ruby.  I am thankful that I was able to capture her smile!

I'm thankful for...

my job.  I am on faculty at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work, where I teach and conduct research about health and social work.  I love what I do, and I love that my job is flexible enough that I can be a mom to my kiddos and also continue working.  I've had the luxury of bringing Ruby to work with me since she was two weeks old, which has been wonderful.  It's meant that I've been able to spend quality time with her these first months while also maintaining my involvement on projects like this one:  www.wornforpeace.com, a social enterprise project with refugees on which I'm an evaluation researcher.

Here's a pic of Ruby hanging out in my office one day last week:

our farm.  Even though I don't get to spend as much time as I used to playing with the animals or growing veggies in the garden, I know that this will change again over time.  I love that we live out in the country and can raise our children in a small town.  I love that we don't have to buy beef, chicken, turkey, eggs and milk from the grocery store, and instead know exactly where our food comes from and what it was doing before we ate it.

 our church.  I am grateful that we found a church family in the Unitarian Universalist Church of Oak Cliff.  It has become a wonderful community of caring and support for our family, and a true blessing in my life. 



my mom.  She is amazing...my best friend, role model, mentor, counselor.  I can't usually go much more than a day or two without talking with her, and it kills me that we live four hours apart.

everything and everyone else.  I have so many amazing blessings in my life.  I've lived a life of full of unearned privileges, and I am grateful for the life I've been given.

I am thankful for: family, and for friends that are like family

Growing up, I always knew it was special that I had 8 grandparents rather than just four.  The fact that my parents divorced when I was an infant and then each remarried by the time I was 3 meant that I had not only four parents that loved me, but the number of aunts, uncles, cousins, and of course sisters and brothers multiplied as well.  As an adult, I've been blessed with another amazing stepmother and stepbrother, and all of the additional family that comes from this union as well.  All of this to say that I am surrounded by an incredible network of support that extends from here in Texas to Virginia to Boston to St. Louis to Michigan to Hawaii and beyond.  I'm thankful for friends that I've managed to keep from elementary school, to friends that have remained friends despite great distances, to friends that live nearby that would do anything for me and my family.  When Kai was injured, and we sat in the children's hospital waiting room at 3:30 in the morning wating for him to come out of surgery, I looked around me and saw my family and friends sitting with me.  When I posted on facebook about Kai's injury, over 50 of our friends sent notes wishing for his recovery, and countless others called, prayed, and visited.  We received the same outpouring of support when little Ruby was born in September.  So, thank you to all of you who love us and care about us.  We are truly blessed.

I'm thankful for: Pla Shee

At the Texas State Fair a few weeks ago.

If you read this blog, you probably know that Pla Shee has been a part of our family for about a year and a half now, since May of 2010.  Pla Shee is 10 years old (almost 11, as he reminds me often), and is the youngest child of Pu Lue and Pa Moo, our good friends who are Karen refugees from Burma.  Pla Shee lives with us and attends Venus Elementary, and visits his family and friends in Dallas on the weekends.  Sometimes Pu Lue stays with us, too, during the week, so Pla Shee has lots of adults he has to answer to!

Pla Shee and Kai in November 2010

I am thankful for Pla Shee because he has added a tremendous amount of love and joy to our family.  He has a fun-loving, easy going personality that makes him fun to be around.  He's always cracking jokes and is literally happy 99% of the time.  Pla Shee inspires me to relax and reminds me to laugh.  He is an incredible big brother to Kai, who absolutely adores everything about his "ja ja" (big brother in Karen).  And Pla Shee is a calming presence to Ruby, whom he cradles in the evening as his "reward" for getting his homework finished.

Spring 2011

Waiting to receive the "Principal's Award" for his

outstanding effort in 3rd grade in May 2010

I am awestruck by Pla Shee's ability to navigate between two cultures.  He glides into and out of each almost effortlessly.  He's playing sports for the first time in his life, makes friends easily, and just rolls with the punches. We're blessed to have Pla Shee in our family, and we have a lot to learn from him.

Pla Shee's 10th Birthday Party

Being Thankful

Things have been crazy in our house as we've spent the last couple of months trying to find a new normal.  Ruby has thrown us all for a loop as we're finding out what it's like to have very little sleep, full time jobs, a farm, and now 3 kids!  Mostly, it's really busy, and often chaotic.  But despite the craziness, I catch myself at certain moment each day thinking "Remember this time...treasure this moment."  I don't want to get so caught up in the daily grind that I lose sight of the fact that this life that I have, right here and now, is amazing. So, to get this blog back on track and to keep me focused on all of the great stuff I sometimes forget to appreciate, I'm stealing an idea from a friend's blog and dedicating the month of November to "thankfulness."  No guarantees that I'll remember to post every day, or that when I do remember I'll have the energy to write something that's actually coherent, but I'll give it a shot.