33. Having a mild (almost cool) summer
34. Having a 4 1/2 day work schedule
35. Pay Day!
36. Rain so I don’t have to water my plants
37. Being given a $10 movie theatre gift card
28. Having cute maternity clothes given to you by friends and coworkers so you don’t have to buy them
29. Being in a profession that is still able to find a job in the recession
30. Having a job period
31. Free chocolates!
32. The Internet
23. Being inside during a thunderstorm
24. Air Conditioning!
25. Having a car that still runs after 11 years
26. Having my husband do something around the house without being asked
27. Eating leftovers (it means I don’t have to cook!)
18. Afternoon naps
19. Looking out my window and seeing the Smokey Mountains
20. The look on a client’s face when it finally “clicks”
21. Owning our house
22. Discovering a new recipe
12. Girls’ Night!
13. Family meals at Chop House
14. A clean and organized pantry
15. When a client picks you a flower
16. Scarlet’s “Please-Give-Me-Food” look
17. (BONUS!) Seeing a mother mallard duck and her ducklings on my way home from grocery shopping
6. The birth of Eden and Ean
7. Freshly washed sheets on a bed
8. Max’s (my cat) purr
9. Fresh flowers on the dining room table
10. Cancellations when you have back to back clients all day
11. Having July 6th off for 4th of July
Although I am guilty of not blogging in FOREVER and giving grief to others for not updating theirs (hehe), I have been still regularly reading blogs. One that I like to follow is a friend and sorority sister of mine Keith Ann. One thing she is doing on her blog has been very inspiring to me. Every other day or so, she is blogging five things she is grateful for. Her inspiration for doing so comes from here and what a wonderful (and so true) post. The past month or so has been stressful with pregnancy, balancing work/home, and finding time to spend with my husband who is currently doing work and school full-time. It’s enough for me sometimes to want to shut down, wallow, and complain. However, when I read Keith Ann’s initial gratitude post, I jotted down a couple of things I was thankful for in my mind and began to think about those when I became frustrated or wanted to complain. It has definitely kept me more upbeat, more motivated, and more peaceful about circumstances in my life. Because my perspective on a lot of things has shifted since mediating on what I was thankful for, it has challenged me to rise this blog from the ashes and start my own 1,000 gifts. Every day (or at least every other day), I’m going to challenge myself to post 5 things I am grateful for starting with the five things I often think about when I want to complain:
1. The gift and blessing of meeting my son in August
2. My crockpot
3. Cookie dough Frostys from Wendy’s
4. Nathan’s foot rubs
5. Happy hour at Sonic (I’m pregnant. I think about food A LOT)
We were very lucky to see Nathan’s cousin Jeannie, her husband Gray, and their adorable daughter Lucy last night. They are up from Mississippi for a visit. 
Loveable Lucy
Jeannie and Jack-Attack
Like every girl, Lucy knows how to use a phone
My adorable nephew Jack
After some catching up, we all (i.e., Nathan, me, Jeannie, Gray, Lucy, Seth, Misty, AND Jack) piled into the Blevins’ old van and went to the Bristol Motor Speedway for their annual Speedway in Lights. Here’s a glimpse of all the amazing displays they had:
- Yes folks, that is REAL fire coming from the volcano
If you are ever in the Tri-Cities area, no Christmas is complete without a visit to the Speedway in Lights. Between steadily moving and foggy windows, I was unable to do all the displays justice. It’s just something you have to experience for yourself. 
One of my favorite things about Christmas is the decorations. This year is extra special because it’s the first Christmas in our new house. I bought a lot of our decorations last year after Christmas so I was itching to put them up and see how they looked. Here’s what I was able to do so far over Thanksgiving break:
The stairway
The living room windows
The fireplace
One of the bunnies on the fireplace mantel
The Living Room with Tree
The tree lit up
Honestly I was sad about going back to work on Monday because I still have so much left to do. Hopefully, Lord willing, I will have the dining room and outside completed by this weekend. We’ll see!
Michael Cline, a fellow blogger, has honored me with my first “Tagged” survey (also known as a meme in Internet lingo). Since I’ve been needing a new post anyway, I figure why not. So here it goes…
The Rules
1. Link to the person who tagged you (check, see above).
2. Post these rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself (see below).
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them (further below).
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry has been posted.
Six Random Things:
1. When I eat, I hate mixing foods. I start with one food on my plate, eat all of it, then proceed to the next until everything is eaten. My co-workers call it my “autistic” trait.
2. Thanks to my husband, I am well-versed in Austrian economics and think that Ludwig Von Mises is a hero in history that is often overlooked.
3. I love cleaning my house. I think it’s because of the instant gratification aspect of it.
4. I never cut my toe nails. It drives my husband crazy so he cuts them for me.
5. I do not fear dying but rather being paralyzed and dependent on family to take care of me when I’m old. I am reminded of my fear when I work with patients who have suffered strokes.
6. My newest house project is turning one of the guest bedrooms into a nursery. And I’m not even pregnant.
Because most of the blogs I read are by people I’ve never even talked to, I am only to able to tag four: Holly, Jordana, Rick and Rachel, and Keith Ann.
Nananananananana....BATMAN!
I really enjoy my job especially working with the kids. So I find it real flattering when my kids like “J” (Superheroes have secret identities too!) insist on wearing costumes to therapy just to show them off to me. Too cute!
Ironic? I think so!
A package sent to me. The caption says it all…
Curtains I made for my dining room with help from my talented friend Grace!
Front Porch
Fall Wreath on Front Door...Compliments of Target!
Gearing up for Fall!
I also have pictures from my sister’s wedding this past week and my trip to Charleston, SC over Labor Day weekend that I will post soon.
