Today I am grateful for small businesses!   It is Small Business Saturday today and I’m going to visit a few for some holiday shopping.   I’m probably going to head over to Allen & Peterson in Anchorage where we bought our appliances for the house.  They have a wonderful kitchen section I want to [Read On]

  Today I am grateful for big boys that can either come help me shop or stay home and let me get through stores a bit faster.   Not that I don’t enjoy going ‘out’ with the boys, but there is something wonderful about not having kids begging for things or making the 15 minute [Read On]

  Today I am grateful for the ability to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family.   Well, I am speaking of just my immediate/nuclear family.  And, we’ll be celebrating along with some of Mr. O’s co-workers and their families today.   But, I am glad that we can be together for the day to enjoy some [Read On]

  Today I am grateful for boys that can help with chores around the house.   P and R have taken on more responsibility for snow removal.  (Can I count it as PE for them, too??)  And, today they took charge of emptying some of the book shelves that need to be moved for Mr. [Read On]

  Today I am grateful for online recipe sites like All Recipes!   Now, as much as I love searching online, I still have several cookbooks on the shelf.  Sometimes I do want to just sit and browse, ya’ know?   But, I’ve found some favorites on the online sites.  Here’s a few of our [Read On]

  Today I am grateful for local businesses!   Mr. O took the day off and we went in search of our options for pellet stoves.  The local fireplace store was NOT on his radar for looking, but I insisted we stop to see if he stocked a hearth gate.   Not only did we [Read On]

  Today I am grateful for kids who sleep through the night (mostly!)   Each time a new child has joined the family, it becomes apparent rather quickly that I really covet my sleep.  Yes, there is something wonderful about a midnight snuggle and nurse with a wee babe.  But, it’s equally wonderful to get [Read On]

  Today I am grateful for friends who remind me of natural remedies for common health problems.     Earlier this year, I had all the symptoms of a UTI flaring up.  While I don’t have a serious aversion to the medical profession like Mr. O has, I still like to avoid antibiotics if possible. [Read On]

  Today I am grateful for a husband who’s up and seeking the part needed to fix our furnace.   He realized sometime a little after midnight that the heat wasn’t working.  He got it to manually work for a bit, but by 4 a.m. he knew what part was needed to make it work.  [Read On]

  Today I am grateful for a dentist with newer technology.   A few months back, I was treated for periodontal disease at my dentist’s office with deep cleaning and use of a laser to kill the bad bacteria and help remove the ‘bad’ tissue.  I just went for my first follow up cleaning and [Read On]

  Today I am grateful for a warm house with indoor plumbing!   The temperatures have taken a nose dive here in the Anchorage area of Alaska.  We’re talking temps below 0 (Fahrenheit) at nights and that’s without the wind chill being considered.  Even with the heat inside (set for the low 60s), I feel [Read On]

  Today I am grateful for slow closing toilet seats.   Actually, I’m just excited to no longer have the wooden one in our master bath that never stayed clean.  But, I am also loving the new one in our main bath.  It has that slow closing action so little fingers won’t accidentally get caught [Read On]

  Today I am grateful for all the adults who are active in Scouting.   While we’ve had some issues in our journey with Scouting, our family has truly benefited from being part of the organization.   Scouting would NOT be the great organization that it is without all the adults who volunteer their time.   [Read On]

  Today I am grateful for technology that keeps me connected.   There are days when I feel like I’m more ON the computer than off.  Part of that time is spent on sites like Facebook or on my email.  However, I am so glad to have the ability to stay connected to friends and [Read On]

  Today I am grateful for boys who love to read.     While I am a voracious reader (in case you haven’t guessed from all the book reviews I’ve done the past few years!), that was never a guarantee that the boys would enjoy reading nearly as much as me.   When the boys [Read On]

  Today I am grateful for all the men and women who have willingly sacrificed their time and (sometimes) lives for our country.     My dad was in the United States Coast Guard for several years, but never had to go overseas in battle.  One of my uncles did serve overseas as did one [Read On]

  Today I am grateful for days when we can just stay home.   The snow has stopped, but we have seen several inches overnight.  Great for boys who want to sled outside.  Not so good for a mom who hates driving on roads that are not maintained well.  Studded tires only help so much. [Read On]

  Today I am grateful for cast iron pots and pans.   When we lived in Maryland, we couldn’t use our cast iron pans on the stove that was there.  Now that we are back to cooking on gas, we are able to use the pans.   While I sometimes find them a bit heavy, [Read On]

  Today I am grateful for toddlers who are willing to help clean.    We had a bit of a cleaning spree yesterday as CHAOS was taking over again.  Amazing how the 8 year old all of a sudden wants to fight the 2 year old to ‘mop’ the kitchen floor.  If J wasn’t pushing [Read On]

  Today I am grateful for the boys’ love of sledding right now. We got another 5 to 6 inches in the last few days and the boys spent time this afternoon sledding while Mr. O cleared the back driveway.  Sadly, J can only stay out for a short time.  He LOVES being outside and [Read On]

  Today I am grateful for days when we have no where to go and can be a bit ‘lazy!’   This morning I got to go back to sleep for a while.  J wanted to snuggle and nurse in my bed and after he fell back asleep I found myself drifting off for a [Read On]

  Today I am grateful for Costco, Sam’s Club and other warehouse style stores!   Call me a little crazy for that one, but living up here in Alaska has me looking for the best possible price on items as possible.  The regular grocery stores do not have the same super saver deals on most [Read On]

  Today I am grateful for my digital piano!   I’ve had it about a year and do not play it nearly as often as I WANT to play.  But, it is so nice to have it available and I plan to give it a real ‘workout’ during December by playing Christmas carols and songs. [Read On]

  Today I am grateful for a full freezer!    Yesterday after Mass, we stopped at Carrs Safeway to pick up a dozen donuts as a special treat.  It was the last day of the sale and the boys love that occasional donut.   Well, after selecting the 12 different donuts, we went to the [Read On]

I was hoping to get this written in advance, but that didn’t happen.      Today I am grateful for all the saints who have walked before us.    At Mass this morning, Father reminded us that often times people are unsung heroes with their actions and words having lasting impact upon the lives of [Read On]