Gratitude Project, Day 10

Today I'm thankful for PLANE TICKETS!! :) I booked my tickets to Utah for Christmas and I am sooooooooo excited!!! I haven't been home for Christmas in three years! Last year my folks came up here and had Christmas in Portland, since my sister was new to her job and didn't have any time off yet. The year before that, we all went to Portland because Amy had PT clinicals she couldn't miss. So I haven't been back to Utah since our class reunion. SO EXCITED! :) So, who's going to be in Vernal around Christmastime? I'll be there from December 21st-January 3rd, and I'd love to see anyone who's going to be around. I'll be home for Christmas....

Today I was shopping for mass amounts of snacks for my after-school programs, and I went in the brand spankin' new Safeway just down the street from the school. Since it was only the second day it was open, they were doing all their crazy Grand Opening hooplah, and HOLY COW--you think Costco has good samples?!? They were sampling crab and shrimp and steak and sausage and fresh pineapple and all kinds of crazy good stuff! I'm thankful for the fun little break in the day while I searched the aisles for Capri Suns and fruit snacks and granola bars.

I'm so thankful to live in the same time zone as my sister! When she lived in Denver and I was here in Portland, we'd watch the same shows but could never talk about them because they were usually just starting here as they were ending or already over there. But now we can text things like, "NO FREAKING WAY!!! DID YOU SEE WHAT JUST HAPPENED ON GREY'S???" It's awesome. And speaking of "Grey's Anatomy"--does anyone else watch it? I just got caught up on Netflix, and now it's the only show that I really am bummed if I miss it. SO GOOD.

I am supervising ministry this year for five seminarians from Mt. Angel. I am so thankful for these five awesome young men who come up and give their time for the kiddos. Today they were exceedingly frustrating, and these guys were so awesome with them. I know they are learning, but they're doing a great job being patient and understanding with them.

And finally, I am so thankful for how beautiful it is around here these days! It makes my lousy commute so much better! This morning I went a slightly different way than usual to work, and it was so pretty--all the trees on one side were red, and the other side were yellow! Then when I got close to my exit, there was thick, thick fog, but the sun was shining through just enough to make the bridge and the water glint with gold. So beautiful. So I'm thankful for things that make that crazy 1 1/2-2 hour commute just a little bit better each day.

What are you thankful for today?