HAPPY 100 WEEKS TO THE TTOT!!!

One hundred weeks ago, I wrote:

What we look for, we will find.  If we look for the bad, we will most certainly find it.  There are bad things happening around us every day.  However, there are also good, kind, wonderful things happening at the same time.  We simply need to look for them.  When we do, our attitudes improve.  We become happier. 

It was part of my very first thankful list, and I stand by it.

Ask any one of the people who have participated in this hop regularly. Knowing we will be writing thankful lists at the end of the week forces us to look for those good things. Even when we have been at our lowest, we have looked for and found things for which to be grateful. Writing them down helped us to feel better.

Happier.

What we look for, we will find.

And 100 weeks later, we have found unbelievable goodness and kindness and friendship.

It has been grand.

I will forever be grateful for the chance to be a part of this weekly endeavor.

And I'm thankful for 9 other things, too.

(The details of the PRIZES will be at the end of the post. Patience!)

2. Ya'll, I dropped my baby off for his last day of preschool. We have been a part of this preschool for the last 13 years, and I dropped the youngest one off for his last day. You can probably guess I cried. It was the teachers' fault. They started it, getting all sentimental and hugging me and getting all teary when I was trying to be strong and not crying. I am so grateful that my kids had the chance to attend this preschool with teachers who were there all 13 years.

"I don't care if you smile, but I'm getting a picture of my youngest child's last day of preschool whether you like it or not." Bet you can't guess that he chose "not". This is the best one. :/

3. I've been so, so busy lately my mind has been nothing but logistics. I was afraid I had lost my ability to laugh. And then I had a conversation with a friend on Facebook. It started innocently enough, and then my inability to make an emoji led to the funniest thing I had seen in a long, long time. Tears were streaming down my face. I was having a hard time breathing I was laughing so hard. It was awesome.

4. I am no longer the crazy egg lady. Word has gotten out, and there is a line of people who consistently purchase eggs from us. There is plenty of room in our fridge for milk and other things besides eggs. (This may change once summer break hits. I won't be seeing these customers at pick-up all summer long. We'll see just how dedicated they are.) :)

5. Phoenix finished out the volleyball season on a good note. And with that, one more thing is checked off our activity list.

This was early in the season.

6. A couple of months ago, a friend in my Catholic Bloggers group put out an announcement that she was organizing a conference for the Ohio region. I didn't think too much about it until she said the venue was going to be almost directly across the street from where I grew up (and where my dad still lives). Well, that just sealed the deal; I have to go! It's next week, and I'm so excited.

7. For years, the tradition for Mother's Day is for the kids to clean out and plant some flowers in the front flower beds for me. Thanks to a little suggestion that there be a bit more supervision and planning, I now have two hydrangea bushes front and center and some other flowers scattered around. It looks so nice.

Fun fact: Hydrangea blooms change color depending on the soil in which they are planted. So, while these flowers are blue now, they could become pink!

8. I know I've said this before, but our music teacher is just plain awesome. She gets kids to beg to sing in front of a crowd. She pulls the talent out of the kids no one would have guessed had it in them. And then she puts together mini-musicals (about 20 minutes each) for each grade to perform. Turken and my goddaughter performed in each of their musicals this week, and they were as fun as always.

9. I spend a whole lot of time on the sidelines of games. The experience can go many ways, depending on the parents sitting there with me. I am happy to say, all of the teams this year have fun, laid-back parents. The kids have mentioned several times over this season that they can hear me laughing while they play. (I have a loud laugh, much to their chagrin.)

10. There has been some discussions among bloggers about their "voice" and how they write. One common suggestion is to know your readership and write like you are talking to one of them. I pondered that advice for a while during my many drives this week. I am happy to say that when I picture my readership, it is full of a giant variety of people. Different ages, different religions, different phases of life. You all bring your experiences with you, and it has been a pleasure to get to know you and all of your different perspectives. Thank you for sticking around and encouraging me and my family each and every week.

And finally, the moment you've all been waiting for...

HAPPY 100 WEEKS TO THE TToT!!

Everyone who links up this week will get her (or his!) name put into a hat. Lizzi will pick out 10 names and assign one to each of the co-hosts. Each winner will receive a box (in the real mail!) full of 10 things. All different, all personal. Just because we appreciate all of you being here.

Lizzi even made a fancy badge for the occasion.

So what are you waiting for? Get your thankful on and link up!

And then have a lovely day!

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