Grateful Friday

I have a lot to be grateful for today.  For one thing, it's Friday!  I get to wear jeans to school and we are going to Nevada this weekend so what is not to love?

I am grateful to have Mark home!

We went to his endocrinologist yesterday.  He has noticeably gained weight since he's been home this last week, eating actual food, but when they weighed him at the doctor's office, he was 12 pounds lighter than December when he was last there.  My boys has been hungry!  He is SO happy to be home where there is food.  Last night we had chicken alfredo with chickpea pasta, carrots, peas, and fresh strawberries with a squirt of whipped cream.  Feeding my children is my love language.  I also love having him home because I love having him around.  He is helpful and pleasant and bossy about music in the car.  He keeps me abreast of news headlines and asks my advice on laundry.  I love that kid.

Also, I'm grateful he is managing his diabetes well and that there is fabulous technology that makes that easier.  

I am grateful for Adam!

He is the rock I need in my life.  He listens to me and doesn't overreact or freak out when I do.  He gives me good advice and doggedly does his best to serve everyone around him.  I love that guy.

I am grateful for Braeden and Anna and Emma and our little baby who is hands down the prettiest baby around.  I love the good things they are doing in their lives and the good people that they are.  

I am grateful to be a teacher.  My students did pretty well on their math standardized test.  Much better than their literacy test, which was gratifying.  

After having a sub on Wednesday, it took me 25 minutes to clean my classroom before school on Thursday morning.  They earn letters that spell a word and when the word is spelled, they get a reward.  They lost a letter because the classroom was such a mess and they know better.    The reward they chose was lunch in the classroom and that is gross and I don't really want to do it anyway.  I don't mind if they lose letters.  So that is something to be grateful about too.

I loved the discussion we had about America yesterday.  They are a class of many colors with students from Guatamala, Mexico, the Philippines, Vietnam and Samoa.  And also Orem.  We talked about where everyone was from and some of the kids, trying to be exotic, said their parents were from places like California or Boston.  I acknowledged that while that was true, they had ancestors from somewhere else too.  We all do.  

We aren't Americans because we look the same.  We talked about all the other ways we're American.

We talked about freedom and obeying the law and respect and taxeson.  One of the girls has a dad who is a police officer so she had some good stuff to share.

I also love whenever I read to them and I look up and they have a look of reverie on their faces, enjoying the story.

There's a lot not to love, a lot of misbehavior and hard times, but it is eclipsed by all that there is to love.  It's a good life.