Counting my blessings

Man, was I really miserable a week ago.

I hate when I get miserable like that and want to fall into the old "woe is me" routine. Last Saturday I was just plain angry miserable, but Sunday I was depressed miserable because the tax problem I thought had been fixed arose again. I was frustrated and upset and scared, too. Would it ever be fixed? By Tuesday night I was really moping around my apartment feeling sorry for myself, when I finally snapped out of it. Why was I sitting around feeling sorry for myself over such a small thing? Why was I so angry over the weekend about such stupid, insignificant problems? Sure, it's understandable to get upset over things, but to dwell on them the way I did certaintly wasn't healthy for me. Or pleasant for anyone in the near vicinity of me. And was worrying about my tax situation really helping? There are so many verses in the Bible saying to lay down your worries on God, he'll take care of it. Can worrying add a single moment to your life? I know from experience that the answer is NO.

So I took a good look at my blessings Tuesday night, and could finally fall asleep in peace. So was it a surprise that I finally had email contact with a real person on Wednesday morning, who can help me with my tax problem? :) When I finally stopped worrying about the situation and handed it completely over God, things started happening. And even though I know that in my head, when situations like this arise, it's still so hard for me to not want to do it all myself. Sometimes in my faith, I'm still so like a little child.

Anyway, since I started thinking of all my blessings, such as my health, my family, my salvation, my apartment, my job, my car, my friends, my Church, my able working body, ect. I had a great Thanksgiving. This whole weekend was just wonderful, I was so looking forward to a 4 day weekend. Thursday, my parents and my sister and I headed up to my Aunt and Uncle's house for Thanksgiving. It was a huge get together... the meal was for 23 adults and 3 young children! But everything went really well. Normally, we do holidays with my Dad's side of the family, but this Thanksgiving was with my mom's side, and it was really nice. When we got home from that, Britt and I headed up to our other Aunt and Uncle's house (Dad's side) to play games with his side of the family. We watched the Andromeda Strain, as well as playing the Match Game. It was a great time.

Friday, my family hides away for black friday craziness. My mom had to work, but my Dad and Britt and I went to lunch, and then came back and decorated the house for Christmas. We did it in record time this year! It went so smoothly. Which was nice, because my mom came home from work sick, so it was good we got everything done so fast so she could rest in bed. Later that evening, my Dad and I watched the Santa Claus. It ended a great day.

Saturday, my mom was still sick, but my Dad and I headed out to pick out our Christmas tree. We love concolor firs for Christmas trees. The needles are soft, not prickly, the trees have a citrusy scent (kind of like tangerines or oranges... smells so good!) and the way the trees grow, the ornaments just hang really nice on the tree, as opposed to Douglas firs. So we picked out the perfect tree and came home and set it up. Later, my Dad and Britt and I made Christmas cookies and caramel corn popcorn. Sooo delicious! And to end the evening, Britt, myself, our Aunt Dani, and our cousins Dee, AJ, and Joey went to the movies to see Madagascar 2. It was ok, but definitely not as funny as the first one. This second one was kind of weird, actually.

Anyway, it was a great weekend, and I really don't want it to end! But in three weeks, I'll be looking at a week long break for Christmas already! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, and enjoy a wonderful Christmas season!