Texas Lou

Hi friends! I am so thankful lately and here are just a few of the reasons why:

1. I’m thankful for warmer weather and longer days. We have been spending so much time having fun outside. Yay for spring!!!
2. I’m grateful for amazing friends! We got to have so much fun with a bunch of our friends this weekend.
3. I’m thankful that Covid surges are over for now and things feel more normal.
4. I’m thankful for my boys. I am enjoying having fun with them at this age so much right now! We’ve been playing chess, jumping on the trampoline together, and going on hikes!
5. I’m grateful for finding my assertive voice. It took me a long time to find it but it feels good to be able to stand up for myself and my family and voice what I want without extreme anxiety!

Have a wonderful week!

Hi friends! Here’s what I’m thankful for today:

1. I’m thankful for rain instead of snow today!
2. I’m grateful for a reason to celebrate (it’s my best friend’s birthday)!
3. I’m thankful my kids are healthy!
4. I’m thankful my kids are not picky eaters and like their vegetables (most of the time).
5. I’m grateful for warmer weather this weekend!

Have an amazing day!

Happy Monday friends! I have a lot to be grateful for today!

1. I am grateful for good friendships and close relationships. I have read that as people get older, it become harder for them to make friends and build close relationships. I look around on a regular basis and realize how lucky I am to have many caring, loving, supportive friends and family in my life.
2. I am thankful for a positive outlook. I have worked very hard for much of my adult life to develop optimism, happiness, and a positive attitude. I know I still have a long way to go and will always strive to improve but I am so thankful that I realize I have the control to make the decision to be happy and positive in my life.
3. I am thankful for the most supportive and wise mother who serves as my confidant and coach on a regular basis. I think I have learned just as much from my mom as an adult as I did as a child. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful mother.
4. I am thankful for my mom, dad, and relatives instilling in me the value of family. I see that so many people are not close to their extended or immediate families and I realize that I am so grateful to have both. I hope my children will grow to value family as much as I do.
5. I am grateful for better days. I was having a rough time in the fall of 2021 but thanks to some close friends and my mom and my active decision to overcome negative thoughts, I am feeling like things ahead are much more positive.

Have a wonderful day!

Happy New Year friends! One of my new years resolutions is to practice gratitude more often. I had seen benefits from this over the past few years but have gotten away from it recently and I want to experience the benefits of it again. Here’s what I’m grateful for today:

1. I’m grateful for electricity. We went several days without power due to a winter storm and I am so thankful to all the linemen and the power company for restoring it!
2. I’m thankful for good customer experience from the airlines. Our flight home from Texas was canceled twice and despite the headache of it all, the customer service reps and all of the airline employees I worked with were so helpful and empathetic.
3. I’m grateful for a great life coach, my mom, who never tires of my endless requests for advice and help with life’s various struggles.
4. I’m thankful for the opportunity for my son to play basketball. I can see the improvement in his confidence and it has been so fun to get back into one of my favorite sports as I watch him play.
5. I’m grateful for all of the hospitality and help my family showed us while we were in Texas. Plenty of family members welcomed us into their homes and provided us with meals and places to sleep when we hadn’t planned on staying so long!

I’m wishing everyone a great 2022!

Good morning! I lent “The Gifts of Imperfection” by Brene Brown to a friend a long time ago and she returned it this weekend. Seeing the book reminded me how great it was and that I needed a refresher in embracing my own human imperfection and vulnerability and that one way to do that is through practicing gratitude. So here are a few things I’m grateful for today:

1. I’m grateful that my mom is finally retired and enjoying her retirement so much. It makes me so happy that she gets to spend time with her brothers and grandchildren and grand niece and nephews and that she enjoys working in the garden and spends lots of time at her happy place. She deserves it after her many years of hard work.
2. I’m thankful my nephew is feeling better after being sick for a few days.
3. I’m thankful my uncle is feeling better after being sick for a few weeks.
4. I’m so grateful for a nice dinner and kid-free evening with my husband. It is rare but becoming obvious that it is necessary to maintain a healthy relationship.
5. I’m thankful for many normal things returning like field trips, and I’m extra thankful for a beautiful day at Carter Mountain with Ben, Auggie, and his classmates, their parents, and their teacher.

Have a wonderful day and remember with me that to be human is to be imperfect but if we focus on what we have and what is wonderful in our lives, the focus on imperfection is less likely to guide us.

It’s been a while since I’ve written but I am still finding ways to practice gratitude in my everyday life. Most evenings at dinner, I ask every one at the dinner table what they are grateful for that day. Here’s what I’m grateful for today:

1. I’m grateful for the opportunity to grow and be challenged in a whole new way that I never even knew I was interested in.
2. I’m thankful for good, close friends who don’t judge and love you the way you are.
3. I’m grateful for parents who are wise and always willing and able to share their advice and knowledge with me.
4. I’m thankful that my kids are all healthy.
5. I’m grateful for wonderful coworkers and getting to work with people I love!

Have a wonderful day!

Happy spring and thankful Thursday!

1. I am thankful for my company, amazing coworkers who feel like family, awesome managers, and the opportunity to take on new challenges recently. I truly love my job and consider myself so lucky to have landed a job where I did.
2. I am thankful for the few very close people I have in my life. They help me get through a lot of life that is just plain hard and I’m grateful for their help, love, and support.
3. I am grateful for growth and change. I work very hard to grow as a person every day and I’m thankful for the people who have helped me along the way.
4. I’m thankful for bright things ahead. After a long, sad, hard year, I am thankful for all of the many celebrations we have to look forward to.
5. I’m grateful for life. I found out today that an acquaintance died and it made me dig deeper for gratitude for my life and the lives of my family and our health.

Happy day friends!

Hi friends! I’ve got a lot to be thankful for today!

1. I’m grateful that a good friend has found happiness with a wonderful partner and is getting married!
2. I’m thankful all of my family in Texas has power back and temperatures are back to normal after last week’s blackouts and frigid weather.
3. I’m grateful for this sunny warmer weather we are having!
4. I’m thankful we are almost done with winter and on our way to spring!
5. I’m thankful my boys were playing nicely this morning.

Have a wonderful day!

Good morning! Here are just a few things I’m thankful for today:

1. I’m thankful we didn’t lose power during the the winter storm.
2. I’m thankful we got enough snow for my kids to enjoy and play in but not too much to be overwhelming.
3. I’m grateful that we have a nice house to stay warm in during winter weather and plenty of backup heating options just in case.
4. I’m thankful for the happiness of a couple of good friends who have recently had some really good things happen in their lives.
5. I’m thankful for my health.

Have a wonderful week!

Good morning and happy Friday! Today I am thankful for the following:

1. I am so very thankful for the agile training we have been going through at work and for my job for investing in us to learn something new. We are going to do amazing things with this new way of working and I’m so excited to be a part of it!
2. I am so thankful for new traditions with my family. For a few months now, we have been having movie night at home with our boys. It involves the whole family eating popcorn and a special treat while watching a new movie together on Friday evenings. We’ve all grown to love and look forward to it!
3. I am so grateful for *hopefully* finding a great babysitter who lives nearby and can help us out this summer!
4. I am thankful for sunshine on cold days.
5. I’m thankful for my family who were sick with Covid feeling better and my uncle getting good news about his health recently.

Have a wonderful weekend!