Hello Celebritys

I now wrap up my 27-day challenge. While I didn't post on-time each and every day, I did manage to end up with 27 posts listing things I am thankful for. Today it is time for my final post in this challenge. Yes, there are so many other things that I am thankful for. . .and I hope that the past 27 days have helped you to see what you are thankful for, as well!

27: I am thankful for everyone who has helped to shape me into who I am. I am thankful for my parents who have spent the past 21 years teaching me and raising me. I (like to think that I) have become more independent as the years have gone by, but they are always there for me, always helping me out if I need it. I'm thankful for my Awana leaders (especially Mrs. Gemellaro, my favorite Awana leader) and Sunday School teachers (especially Mrs. Harmeling, my favorite Sunday School teacher, back in 3rd & 4th grade) throughout the years who spent so much time sharing their time with me and helping me to better understand God's Word. I am thankful for the girls in my Awana group when I was a leader -- yes, even they have helped me become who I am today. I am thankful for my teachers -- some more than others, but all of them at least a little! Some of them have taught me patience, some of them have taught me that a teacher can be a great friend, and some of them were just plain awesome and have impacted me in some small way that I may not even be aware of yet! I am thankful for Laura Brandt, Sarah Mount, Sara Wilson, Raina Witt, Jenna Martin and all the other girls who led and were a part of small group discussions for the Saturday Night Bible Study that I attended when I lived in California. Each of those girls impacted me more than they will probably ever know. I am thankful for Mr. & Mrs. Stueckle, Mr. & Mrs. Helgeson and now John & Charity Cook, who have faithfully led the college group at my church. It's challenging at times, I'm sure, but it's been good for me. I'm thankful for Michelle, Sarah, Val and Kristy for being part of our weekly Girl's Group where we share what's going on in our lives and have a time of Bible Study and prayer. And I'm thankful for Andrea S. for starting the Girl's Group. Our group time has really helped me to learn and grow and I sure hope it continues for a loooong time! I'm thankful for my friends, especially Michelle, Val, Sarah, Kristy, Sherre, Mary, Katie H. and Devin. . .you guys ('scuse me. . .girls and guy) mean more to me than you will ever know, and I am oh-so-thankful for each of you, and you have all impacted my life in some way and through your friendship you have helped me to become who I am today. I'm thankful for my grandparents. They have all encouraged me as I've grown up and helped to guide me as I made decisions in life. I'm thankful for my brother. We don't always get along, but it's getting better all the time and I am thankful that we are siblings. And yes, I am thankful that we moved to Idaho. I shouldn't say this (because my parents read my blog and I am not supposed to ever admit this to them, lol). . .but anyway. . .the people I have met and the experiences that I have had are pretty great. Yes, I am thankful for the 16-years I spent growing up in California with some pretty awesome experiences, and I wish we hadn't moved at the time that we did, but I am thankful for the people and the experiences that living in Idaho has given to me. And there is so much more that has impacted my life, but to list each person and incident could take hours.

But I thought I should end this list and 27-day challenge with the most important thing of all: I am thankful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who has changed my life more than anyone or anything else ever could.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

26: I am thankful for food. Tomorrow we should be eating a big meal and thinking about it is causing me to realize that I should be so thankful for food. Some people, in lands far-far-away, don't have lots of food. They don't celebrate Thanksgiving, or have a big feast. And so, therefore, I am thankful for the food that we will enjoy tomorrow, and every day.

25: I am thankful for snow. I haven't yet seen it snow this year (although my family has seen it -- it has apparently snowed-and-not-stuck whenever I am not home), but I am anticipating the first snow. I went sledding for the first time last year, and I am excited to go again this year. :-) Plus it's pretty. . .

(and yes, You-Know-Who-You-Are, I am admitting that I want it to snow! **grin**) (Now, if we have another winter like last winter, I reserve the right to retract this statement sometime in January or February!)

24: I am thankful that my friend Val was able to come home for Thanksgiving and I am thankful for time spent with her. She came home on Saturday, and I have gotten to see her a couple of times already. I love my friends, and when they are away at school I miss them. . .so I am so glad Val was able to come home for the week!

Continuing on, as I catch up with my list of 27 things I am thankful for. . .

23: I am thankful for memories. I have many fond memories of my childhood, and I am thankful for that. I am thankful that I was able to spend time outside creating adventures, and I was creative enough to turn my walk-in closet into a fort, and my desk into a doll house. :-) A lot of kids nowadays (and I'm sure back when I was quite young, too) spend time in front of the television and in front of the computer. . .and I'm glad that a lot of my time was not spent in either of those two places. I hope that, if I am blessed with children someday, they experience a childhood of fun, adventures and imagination, as I did.

Goodness. I got dreadfully behind in this challenge. I guess I failed it. However, I am going to make up the last few days with posts. Life has gotten busy (work has been crazy!) and we have company in town, so posting on my blog hasn't really been my top priority. . .but here is #22 in my 27 Days of Thanksgiving challenge. :-)

22: I am thankful for the other seniors in the Comm program at LCSC. We are all going crazy this semester/year and we are growing very close, so I am thankful that we all get along and that we can all have some bit of fun in our classes and with our projects. :-) So. . .I'm thankful for Dorian, Desiree, Kristen, Ashley and Jason. :-)

This one is going to be a quick entry because I am off to bed (I work the early shift tomorrow, which is good because I love going in and baking the sweets and having the whole bakery to myself on Saturday mornings, but it's bad because it means I have to wake up early! Anyway. . .

21: I am thankful for good books and the ability to read. I found a stack of delightful books by Janette Oke at the library the other day and I am reading through them over Thanksgiving break. . .ahh, delightful.

Grab a sappy book (or any type of book. . .Jane Austen, Ted Dekker, Janette Oke, or even J. R. R. Tolkien, if that is more your style!), and you'll see that reading is delightful. :-)

20: I am thankful for music. . .be it Christian, Country or Classical. . .or a selected few songs and artists from other genres (for instance, David Archuleta, who doesn't fit under any of those categories!).

If I am driving, there is a 99% chance that there is music playing in my car. The station or CD varies, but there is almost always music in my car, and I'm usually singing along. :-) I also often listen to music while I am doing homework. Sometimes this doesn't work because it distracts me, but sometimes it does. And hey, that's what soundtracks are good for -- music without words (in most cases!).

Yes, I think it is safe to say that I am quite thankful for music. :-)

And if, after reading this, you are curious just what I might be listening to while driving, scroll down to the bottom of this page -- and the music player should start. :-)

19: I am thankful for Thanksgiving break. At my school I get a week off for Thanksgiving, but I don't have classes after Wednesdays, so I am now officially on Thanksgiving break. I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am about the next 11 days. I have lots planned: I am going to see a movie on Friday night with a friend ("Bolt" -- it's a new Disney movie about a dog, that's about all I know), I have something really fun that I'm looking forward to on Saturday night, and, of course, I am anticipating Thanksgiving week. . .Thursday is the big feast, which my dad's cousin and his wife will be joining our family for, Friday is Black Friday, which of course means lots of shopping, and I think one of the things I am most looking forward to is the day-after-Thanksgiving parade and Holiday Lights Show where downtown Coeur d'Alene becomes a winter wonderland with thousands of Christmas lights, the entire town of Coeur d'Alene joining their voices in song while singing Silent Night by candlelight, followed by a huge fireworks show (set to music by Mannheim Steamroller and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra -- yes, it's bigger and better than July 4!) and just lots of fun! And then I can start listening to Christmas music full-time. . .

Of course, there is homework to be done, but it pales in comparison to the excitement I am anticipating. . .

So, long story short, I am thankful, oh so thankful, for Thanksgiving break!

Oops. . .I knew I was bound to forget to post some day. I realized after I had gone to bed last night that I forgot to do my daily post!

So, without further adieu, here is the post for yesterday!

18: I am thankful for good books. I have been reading books by Janette Oke (who wrote the Love Comes Softly books -- excellent books! Read 'em!) and I am really enjoying the chance to relax and find myself part of another world through these books. I went to the library the other day (two different libraries, actually) and checked out about 4 or 5 books by Janette Oke. I have read 1 1/2 of them so far, and I am sure I will quickly read all of them over the next 11 days!!!

17: After a much-dreaded trip to the dentist this morning to get several cavities filled, I decided that I definitely have something to be thankful for: anesthetics. While I absolutely hate the process of being numbed up (I hate the feeling, I hate the shots, I hate not being able to feel my tongue!), I am sure grateful that I don't have to feel the procedure taking place in my mouth. The bottom of my mouth is apparently harder to numb than the top, and at first I could feel a little bit of what was taking place (until I had about 4 shots of anesthetic!!!). . .which made me all the more thankful that they have novocaine (or whatever it is they use nowadays) and I don't have to feel much of anything when getting dental procedures done.

But I still hate going to the dentist (even though he is extremely nice)!

Goodness. . .I almost forgot to post!

16: I am thankful that I only have to get through three more days of school before I am on Thanksgiving break. I am at the point in the semester when I am mentally done, so a short break will be nice and will refresh me just enough to be able to finish out the semester!

You know, I wondered if I would feel this way part-way through the month. . .wondering if I should have committed to posting something every day. It's sometimes hard to come up with something unique that I am thankful for, but it's been fun and I've enjoyed the challenge, not only of coming up with something, but of remembering to post every day!

15: I am thankful for my co-workers. We have a little family at the bakery -- yes, we are all *very* good friends. I am thankful for the girls (the sisters I didn't grow up with!) who keep me laughing and who can understand when I'm having a bad day, and I'm thankful for the guys, who have practically become my "brothers," who look out for us girls and help us out when we need it (somehow the dishes seem to "magically" get done in the afternoons, bags of flour, sugar, etc. show up downstairs *just* when we need it, and the "dumpster dance" (to compact the trash into the dumpster) gets done when necessary). I am so very thankful for Sherre, Jae, Kelsey, Ellie, John, Chris and Devin (gosh, I hope I didn't forget anyone's name!!).

14: I am thankful for my dogs. . .they are always there when I need them and they are always so excited to see me when I come home (you'd think I'd been gone for a month rather than 8 hours, the way they carry on). And they are both so soft and sweet and downright good friends!

13: I am thankful for my car. This may sound silly, but I am so thankful that I found the *perfect* car, right when I needed one. . .and I'm thankful that the heater works really well (necessary on cold November nights in North Idaho!) and it gets me where I need to go.

12: I am thankful for the opportunity to get together with some of my friends this evening for our weekly Bible study. It's a chance for all of us to take a break from the stresses of life and talk, go through our study and have a bit of fun.

11: I am thankful for good friends and the opportunity to spend time with several last night at a girl's night, where we baked cookies and watched a movie.

#10: I am thankful that I don't have an overwhelming amount of homework this week, and I can breathe a bit and take it easier.

I am also thankful that last week went really well at work. I was a tad worried that it was going to be extremely stressful with our baker out of town ('scuse me. . .out of the *country* [lucky!]) and various co-workers being sick or unable to work for whatever reason, but it ended up going really well and being a whole lot of fun!!!!!!

I'm 1/3 of the way through this challenge. It's been fun so far! :-)

#9: I am thankful that my parents chose to homeschool me and my brother all the way through high school. Hearing experiences of people who have been in public high school has made me all the more grateful that my parents chose to keep us at home.

#8: I am thankful that I got to have such a fun childhood, where a lot of time was spent playing -- outside and in -- and creating adventures, and not a lot of time was spent in front of the TV or computer.