So Thankful

A few days late, but couldn't let Thanksgiving go by without a little list of "thankfuls." Other than the obvious, here are some of my "lately's."
1) Thankful for our home. Albeit on the smaller side, it is a home nonetheless & I'm thankful we bought it in 2000 before the market went all kookie.
2) Thankful for our flood. Weird, but true. Well, thankful for our flood plus the homeowner's insurance that covered the damage back in 1/08 & allowed us to redo the floors & kitchen, etc. I think this also adds to my reasoning on Thankful tidbit #1. My kitchen makes me happy, and I would now be even more sad if I had to move.
3) Thankful for my health. I'm always reminded of this when I hear an upsetting story of someone who has developed cancer or another rare disease. Tuesday I delivered some cookies to the girls I Visit Teach & discovered that the sister of one (also in our ward) just lost her baby a few weeks ago. She was due in 3 weeks, but caught the flu & didn't think much of it. She developed an infection without knowing & lost the baby. I've been really down these past few days worrying for her. It's just scary sometimes how fragile life can be, even when you think you're okay. I'm thankful for that eternal perspective we have that helps us through these tough experiences & helps us keep pluggin' away.
4) Thankful for my ward family. We had an unexpected knock on the door last Friday that led us to discover 4 bags full of Pantry Goodies. Of course it was anonymous, but I have a pretty good hunch it was someone from our ward. All sorts of fun things that we never even purchased even when Matt was employed. I was so thankful, I bawled. (Darn those pregnancy hormones!)
5) On a lighter note, I'm thankful for slave labor. (Just kidding.) Thankful for opportunities to teach Spencer...and a reminder to take pictures of my lil' guy so I can remember his cute moments......& not just the ones where he smears poop on the wall. Guess I haven't done much of that photo documentation lately. (I thought that wasn't supposed to happen 'til your 2nd child! Oops! Startin' early I guess.) Thankful we had a few leaves that actually made it look like we got to experience Fall. Thankful I got a few more "thankful leaves" for our tree. This year Spencer's thankful for "water & Taco Salad," & that "baby sister go bump bump in mommy's tummy" & that "Heavenly Father bless my owie & boo boo." Aww...I'm thankful I could actually understand him when he said something cute besides the inevitable "Mary Poppins & Bert."
6) Thankful for Orange Rolls. I always thought they just came from a can. One year, on the way home from Ricks for the summer, my "ride" & I stayed with his brother & wife in Provo. A lady from their ward invited hoards of people over for dinner every Sunday & served us homemade Orange Rolls (among other things.) I thought maybe this was some "Utah" thing, & I vowed to one day make them, too. After I married Matt, I tried, but it took so long, we didn't end up having breakfast 'til, like noon. For Thanksgiving, I attempted again, but found a make-ahead version online that I made the night before & just covered the uncooked rolls with saran wrap & foil & refrigerated overnight then popped 'em in the oven on Thanksgiving morning after a 20 minute "thaw". DI-VINE! And yes, you too can work with yeast. I've doubted myself for years, so if I can do it, you totally can. Find the recipe here. One of the comments on the side had a recipe for an Orange-Cream Cheese Frosting. That made it even more scrumptuous. You must try it. I don't know how anyone could not love these.
Ahh...hope you had a yummy Thanksgiving, too!