Thank-full

Last season, I fell in love with a new show on TLC called "Quints by Surprise." Before you start moaning and groaning, let me tell you that I had a similar reaction when I first heard about the show. I just knew it was going to be another Jon and Kate, "we did in-vitro and now we have a million kids," cookie cutter kind of family of multiples show. I never quite got over the heartbreak of the outcome of Jon and Kate + 8, so I was reluctant to watch a show like theirs. But curiosity got the best of me and I tuned into the pilot episode. I was blown away. This family wasn't your typical, fame-loving couple that wanted to expose their kids for their personal benefits. It was immediately evident that this family loved each other. They weren't afraid to talk about their faith and how they give credit to God for everything that he's blessed them with in their lives. It was incredibly refreshing to hear a young couple talking about their faith and quoting Bible verses that were getting them through some difficult times. For those of you that haven't seen the show, I'll give you a quick rundown: Casey and Ethan Jones are a cute little couple in Texas that, for one reason or another, couldn't get pregnant on their own. So they turned to in-vitro and got pregnant with their first little girl, Eliot. After a few years, they decide they want a sibling (or two) for Eliot and go the in-vitro route once again. This time, they end up with 5...four girls, one boy (Britton, Brooklyn, Ryan, Lila and Jack). They go through the expected, scared-to-death, how are we going to support this many kids stage and then they turn to God and thank him for blessing them with 5 healthy babies. Now you should be caught up :)
Unfortunately, TLC is in limbo about renewing this show for a second season (oh, don't worry, I've already written them twice letting them know that they should bring it back) and the lack of the Jones family in my life sent me on a Google search to find out what they've been up to lately. And I found their family blog. Talk about inspirational. They have tabs about giving thanks, faith, a link to their church's homepage. I start browsing through a few of their recent posts and I came across one made on Thanksgiving by Ethan, the father of the quints. It moved me to tears.
http://www.joneslife.net/2010/11/thankful-for-being-thankful/
It made me re-evaluate how I look at things in my own life. Do I thank God enough (I think I know the answer...)? Do I thank people around me enough (unfortunately, I know the answer to that one too)? And why not? I like it when people thank me for doing things....not that I expect gratitude, but it's nice to be recognized for the work you're doing. So why not reciprocate the feeling? I love the paragraph where he talks about his friend that makes a "Gratitude List" everyday and sends it to all of her friends. What a wonderful idea! While I won't be clogging your inboxes with my daily list of things I'm thankful for, I do think it's an uplifting idea to do on my own, even if it's once a week. I know I tend to have bad days, where all I focus on is the negatives in my life instead of the wonderful things that the Lord has blessed me with. So today, I'd like to make my own gratitude list.
I'm thankful for:

• clean drinking water (since I've turned into a camel and am drinking my body weight in water a day)
• my mom
• the idea that, this week, my dad got to realize and live out one of his dreams
• the fact that my husband hasn't killed me yet as I go through the miserable, all day sickness stage
• this miracle growing inside me
• the family that we're bringing this baby into
• Pandora radio
• Cinnamon Toast Crunch
• the fact that I'm going to see a few of my state officer teammates tonight for the first time in a year
• my organized desk and office space
• space heaters

I hope you all have a grateful day. :)