Thankful Thursday and Five for Friday Combo!

Late last night, I realized that I was just a tad late to Miss Lifesaver's Thankful Thursday linky, 


 Instead of worrying about it, I decided to combine the two into "Thankful Five End of the Week." 

1.  First up, is my beautiful girl Maddie.  She has been with me for almost 13 years.  She is the sweetest dog and best friend you could ever hope for.  As she is slowing down, just how thankful I am for her companionship and love is becoming an everyday little prayer.

2.  I have taken on a little tutoring/RTI group after school.  They are not in my regular class, but they probably should be with me.  Originally, I was going to work on multiple digit multiplication and long division with them.  Then I realized that they did not know how to count by 2's, much less by 5's.  So, we danced around chanting our 2's, 5's, and 10's.  Why am I thankful for this, you might ask?  What if one more week had gone by and still nobody had realized that they did not know how to count by 2's?  Where would those sweet quiet ones be?  Hopefully, we can figure out what else they missed.

3.  This last Sunday, I got to go see one of my nieces compete in gymnastics for Sectionals.  She needed to do well to move on to State, but on the beam she had a little problem.  She has a little issue with her memory, and she forgot for a second about what was next.  Did I mention that she is amazing?  Well, she is and she handled her mental mistake with such maturity and humor, that the crowd and judges were smiling.  Instead of crying, she stopped and with her hands on her head, mentally retraced her steps, turned to the judges, shrugged her shoulders and smiled...and then finished the routine without missing another beat.  Her mistake cost her, and it was debatable as to whether or not she would make State.  However, she didn't let the pressure get to her...I did mention that she was amazing, right?  The vault was her final event; she pulled an 8.975 out of nowhere and qualified for State.
The picture in the lower left-hand corner is right after the beam.  She is laughing with her mom and coach about her mistake.  Did I mention how thankful I am that I have an amazing niece?

4.  As I was driving in to the gymnastic meet, I was listening to talk radio show about Veteran's Day.  When I got to the gym, I was surprised and quietly overwhelmed to see my brother.  Over the last ten years, he had missed out on too many special moments with his family because he had been repeatedly deployed.  He retired from the Air Force in June, and I had forgotten that it was entirely possible for him to be at the meet.   It was such a joy to see him enjoying the evening with his family.  He was filming his daughter  on his iPad, joking about missing some football game, all the while exposing his hobbit toes to the public because instead of boots he was wearing Birkenstocks.  I am so thankful that he came home to us from every deployment, and so very proud of him.

5.  Finally, I most thankful for this delicious concoction.
It is sweet heaven, and only 4 points on Weight Watchers. 

Take a minute and think about the things that you are thankful for this week!

The collage of my beautiful niece is in an adorable frame by Lovin Lit

3 comments

  1. I love Skinny Cow treats! I hope I have some in my cabinet...that sounds good right about now. Your Maddie and your niece are both precious!
    Alison
    Rockin' and Lovin' Learnin'

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  2. I'm so glad things worked out for your niece. What a great life-lesson for her. Yay! Thanks again for linking up!

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  3. Oooo that skinny cow chocolate looks fantastic - if only we could get it in Australia!

    Alison
    Teaching Maths with Meaning

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