Grateful Five Friday

     I'm going to start listing five things I am grateful for each Friday, well, I'll try to anyway. I have to admit I didn't think of this myself. I know other blogs do something like this as well. Not my original idea, but a great one nonetheless. 
     But, before I begin, I must ask about the title. "Grateful Five Friday"??? would "Five Grateful Friday" or "Friday's Five Grateful Things"  be better? I'll have to think on it. 
     So, five things I am grateful for:

1. My Children. 
     Of course I start with a no brainer.  I love each of my kids, and am so grateful for them and all their wonderful-ness. No, it's not all wonderful, life's not easy. But, I love them anyway. As I watch them grow from a tiny little baby to full grown adults, it just makes me so happy that I got to see that and have a hand in who they become. So, though obvious it is, I am grateful for my children.

2. Indoor Plumbing.
     Yep, super happy I've got indoor plumbing. Here in "first world" countries, we don't think too much about it, it's just there. But, billions of people don't have it. And, it's not just in "third world" countries. There are thousands of people here in the U.S. that don't have it. From people who choose to not have it to many, many more, who can't afford it, or they can't get a plumber to fix it or they just don't have a house with water attached to it. So, flushing toilets, hot & cold running water, I say, don't take it for granted!

3. Band-Aids.
     Well, they don't have to be band-aid brand, in fact I don't think I have any, since very few of what they make is latex free, and since my youngest, Kt is allergic to it, we don't have it here. But, I digress (I tend to do that alot), having those little sticky bandages sure makes a mother's life easier. Grab the right size, peal back the sterile paper, pull tabs, and fix to boo-boo. Done. Ok, there are plenty of times that NONE of the sizes are big enough, but then there are pads & tape, just a little more work. Still super easy. 

4. "Dora the Explorer."
     Yep. Love the show. The older episodes, from like 12 years ago that they have on Amazon. Keeps 3 year olds entertained for quite some time, so "mimi" can do things like, laundry, dishes, school w/ older kids, blog ;). I'm pretty stingy with t.v. in the school year, during the week. So, it's a great favorite when it's on. What is it about that little girl and her monkey friend that entertains them so much? Sure, it's a great show, but to sit quietly for an hour, even more, just to watch it. Well, whatever the pull that show has, I'm grateful for it. 

5. My Salvation.
     No, it's not last in my order, but it has to be mentioned at least once. We can call it the ghost #6 every week. I always try to be aware of the Gift He gave us. It awes me. Do I always remember to be grateful. No. I don't. I am human and far from perfect, and that's pretty much the point. I don't deserve it. No one does. But there it is anyway. Just waiting to be asked for. Step 1: accept Jesus as your savior. Done. That's it. Sure, we need to believe He is God's Son, admit our sins, try to follow the Bible's advice and rules. But, the bottom line is, if you ask, it is given. Nothing else has a guarantee. You can pray for anything, and His answer isn't always what we want it to be, but He will ALWAYS give Salvation when asked for. All the things I have done wrong, and He knows ALL of them, and He still loves me enough to die for me. Thousands of years before I was even born, He died for me. Took all my sins and suffered, so I could make all kinds of mistakes and still go to Heaven. Just by asking Him into my heart. So, even though I put it last, it's not last. It's first. And even though I won't post it here each week, it's always here. 

Well, there's my first five. If you have a list, put a link in the comments, and share. We all need things to be grateful for, and often we need reminders of all those things we do have and are blessed with.

Blessings,
mamaAthena