Ten Things of Thankful: Easter Edition

Time is short, but I'm still very thankful.

1. I'm thankful for Easter and all that it means. The events of that first Easter are central to my faith, and give meaning and purpose to my life. 

2. I'm thankful that my oldest daughter was able to make a short visit home this week. 

3. I'm thankful that she was able to go through the boxes of things she still keeps at our house.  Some items are still here, some she took with her, and others will be let go. 

4. I'm thankful that there were some trips down memory lane, as we sorted through old papers.  Sometimes we were a bit confused, as with this old letter to Santa, but it sure made us chuckle! (If anyone can decipher this, we would love to know what she wanted for Christmas!)

Photo: A letter to Santa, written in child's printing, which reads: "SAntA Plees Biging Me Pissse Wisging"

5. I'm thankful we were also able to fit in a trip to Disneyland while she was here. She is, hands-down, my child who is most enamored of Disneyland. When I went to her room bright and early on Friday morning to make sure she was awake, before she heard me knock, I heard her talking to herself: "It's Disney day! It's Disney day! It's Disney day!" She might be a grown woman now, but I still see a cute little girl every now and then.

Photo: My daughter, holding a gold churro and a crocheted bunny with a crocheted Mickey hat, smiles for the camera at Disneyland. She has short strawberry blonde hair and is wearing a blue and white striped shirt and glasses. 

6. I'm thankful for a Facebook group of Disney fans. Very often, a group member will post that he or she is in Disneyland with a giveaway, and if you find the person, the item is yours.  This week, my daughter was the lucky recipient of that cute homemade bunny! 

7. I'm thankful for the Yelp app, and discovering a new-to-me restaurant.  If I have time for the wait, I might just visit Portos every time I pick up or drop off someone at the Burbank airport!

8. I'm thankful for my grandchildren. I spent some time at the park with them one day this week, and another day we went to the library's story time. We have fun together playing and talking.

Photo: Youngest granddaughter and grandson prepare to slide down a double-slide at the park

Photo: Oldest granddaughter, wearing a bright pink fleece jacket, colors at story time.

Photo: Youngest granddaughter, with her elbow on the table and her head resting on her hand, shows off her snake puppet.

9. I'm thankful for another Facebook group, this one a buy-sell-trade group.  I'm in a major decluttering mode right now, and this group has allowed me to quickly find good homes for quite a few items that we no longer need.

10. As always, I'm thankful for John. He's had a busy week on several fronts, but this weekend his concern was what to do about date night.  We always have date night, but date night does not always have to mean going out somewhere.  I knew how overwhelmed John was this week, so I suggested just watching an episode of The Carbanaro Effect together.  Now, we often will watch a bit of TV together before bed, but there is something different about calling it "date night." The importance is not so much in the activity (though it is good to change things up every now and then), as it is having the habit of dating.  

I'm thankful that John and I have the tradition of weekly dates, and the mutual concern for the other's welfare. He didn't want to disappoint me by suggesting an at-home, low-key date, and I didn't want him to stress out over a time-consuming date night, when he has so much more on his plate right now.  

And as always, I still need more practice on writing a "quick post." I need to hit publish now and get ready for church!

How has your week gone? What are you thankful for this week? Link up at the Ten Things of Thankful blog!