give thanks 4

1. I'm thankful for books and the friends who read them. Tonight, I finally went to book club. This book club is made up of mostly women in my ward but not entirely. I've been getting the reminder emails for months now but just haven't ever decided to go. I saw the email for tonight's meeting and since it was a book I've read (These is my Words, which is an excellent book by the way), I went. Not only did I enjoy a great discussion of literature but as a bonus I got apple crisp with ice cream, conversation with great women, and lots of laughter. I nearly got a new exercise buddy too. Right, Brooke? More importantly, I think I received an answer to a prayer I've been praying for a while now. I'll have to share more about that later....

2. Yet again, I'm thankful for our great history and science co-op. It was my turn to host today. Among other things, we played a card game called Changing Rules to remind us how France's 19th century government kept changing from kingdom to republic to empire to kingdom to republic to empire to republic (or something like that). The kids also made jellyfish out of saran wrap and I got such a kick out of their creativity. Today we were small in number. Only two other families came. While I love each and every family and am glad that we interact with so many, today I was thankful to have a smaller crowd.

3. Even though I recently posted about how we do family work instead of chores, things have changed. We are still working in the zones but I have given each child specific chores that must get done each day. For example, on Mondays Emma vacuums the family room and on Tuesdays she cleans the hall bathroom. It has been such a nice change. I felt like I needed to expect a little more from my children and they in turn have risen to the occasion. So far, they do their jobs well and without complaint. I'm definitely thankful for that.