My good friend Lizzi over at Considerings started something a while back called Ten Things of Thankful. It’s an all weekend show where lots of amazing bloggers participate in taking stock, looking at their life and reminding themselves what they have to be thankful for.
I have often wanted to participate, but really struggled with what I would share. My thankfulness has been very private in the past, for I have a very strong belief in my relationship with God and often find my Thankful to be as simple as that. But then I figured since that’s a given, at least for me, I should look into what else I am thankful for. It didn’t take me long to reflect on it and come up with an answer.
And so… I am willingly indoctrinating myself into Ten Things of Thankful. You’re welcome.
Angry Birds – I am thankful for Angry Birds, more specifically Bad Piggies, and even more specifically King Pig. The child is obsessed with the Bad Piggies, so much so that he has basically created a life story, in his own mind, about his friends from The
Pork Side. Today he was playing on the iPad and out of the blue just started chatting.
This is the intelligible part of what he said, and I use that term loosely:
King Pig is his leader and he spends all his happy days in it. It’s the pig burial ground.
and then there was:
Why do they call me King Pig? Because I’m a King and a Pig of course! I miss my mother.
Oh right – why am I thankful for it? Time. Once the Queen of Limiting Screen Time, I now use it as a babysitter. I am not proud folks. But a girls gotta have a minute to herself time to blog.
My Child Hasn’t Figured Out My iTunes Password: This really is an extension of the first one, because I am pretty sure he would have spent $49.99 on a new car for King Pig yesterday.
Can I say King Pig is a loose cannon? He would have crashed that thing in under 5 minutes and Isaiah’s college fund would be out the window.
Isaiah is a pretty smart kid, I have to very careful, I fear the day is coming soon when I will find hundreds of dollars charged to my iTunes account.
Just Dance 2014 – No, this is not an extension of the first two. I hate to exercise, really….hate…..it. But I 
love to dance! Did I mention I hate to exercise. Just Dance 4 was a revelation to me! I could dance for an hour straight and call it exercise! And become the reigning champion! Who wants a dance off? The thing is – a year of Just Dance 4 had me wanting to kill myself if I had to hear Umbrella by Rhianna or The Final Countdown one more time. So just in time to save itself from death by DVD shredder, Just Dance 2014 hit the scene! Now the disco in the basement is back on! BTW I don’t like to be the Panda. But sometimes I have to be the Panda. If you come over, you’re the Panda.
Meds – I’m pretty sure this will be on my list every week. Did you know that I was an Evil Dragon Lady once upon a time? It’s true. I always battled mild depression, but after fertility treatments (that never worked so screw them and the horse they road in on not because I wish they did work but because they screwed up my hormones and didn’t even do their job) I found myself completely unable to control my irrational rage and anxiety.
A really pleasant combination.
But then… oh then….beautiful meds. When the Dr. finally figured out the right one for me. Well, let’s say I am still no Sally Sunshine, but at least I am not freaking out on my husband DAILY or having a cow when someone drops a crumb on the floor. (do you know if you type Evil Dragon Lady into google and search for images you will find four pictures of my son from my blog? I don’t know what to make of that.)
Amazon Prime – Ah….glorious TV and Movies on Demand. Need I say more? Oh yeah I do – we don’t have cable, so no DVR, and let me tell you folks, that is a deep dark tunnel you may never want to go down if you were raised with TV as your mother in the 70’s like I was. Amazon Prime saved my life.
http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=breatheparemo-20&o=1&p=21&l=ur1&category=primeent&banner=1F6S3DE1FKJNVA2NM0G2&f=ifr
The Boy – If you read my blog this needs no explanation. But if this is one of your first times here, suffice it to say that my 8yo son’s wit is beyond compare, and I do not say that because I am a doting mother. I say that as a completely incredulous mother. 
If you want to see for yourself, there is a very short list, posted only a few days ago:
He Said What? Top 10 Quotes by the Boy see for yourself.
That’s my list. I know there’s only 5, but I’m really scared that I’ll have trouble next week, and I promise to come back next week, but I can’t come back if I can’t think of things and then I’ll get all stressed out and that would really suck. So you get 5.
Ok, maybe 6. I am thankful to God every day. For the roof over my head, the food on my table. For taking care of us even when I’m scared that things are too hard. I am also thankful to him for reminding me of that through this verse:
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” Matthew 6:26-27
I hope you decide to join Lizzi and all her wonderful co-hosts at 10 Things of Thankful. It was a great experience for me, I am Thankful I finally jumped in.
Jen Kehl 
Couldn’t agree more about the iTunes password, because my girls use my iPad daily and if they ever was able to enter my long password, I would be screwed with all the purchases they would make on accident nonetheless on purpose! Great list and so glad you are joining the TToT of thankful with all of us this weekend!! 🙂
Welcome to the TToT! I hope you find it so enjoyable, the thought of NOT joining makes you sad.
I LOVE that your son has made up stories for the pigs. He is quite the imaginative one, isn’t he?
So far, my little kids are convinced that my iPad doesn’t download anything. It can only ever use the games already on it, so we don’t have to worry about them using it. The big kids know I get an email every time they download onto their iPods, so they stay in check, too. So far. Good luck with your little guy not figuring out the password. 🙂
I did not know about Amazon Prime. That’s pretty cool. We didn’t have cable for years and years, but we didn’t have a computer either. Antennas was all we had.
Just Dance is a great way to exercise. Why haven’t I been doing that???
I love you!!!! Yes, there are huge, gigantic things to be grateful for and then there are the little things, like $49 angry birds paraphernalia. And spell check that tells me how to spell paraphernalia correctly.
Is your iTunes password “Bosco”? It’s Bosco, isn’t it?!
Glad you finally joined us at the TToT! Never be afraid of listing what you find thankful, nor of coming up with something the next week. One of mine this week was electric pencil sharpeners.
Jen, I”m thankful that you’ve joined us this week! Welcome to the TTOT, and join us in our zaniness!
welcome to the ttot! this was an awesome list! But I have to say the kids quotes at the end were really the best…..not that meds aren’t fabulous in all but he’s a funny kid!
YES! YOU’RE HERE! And I’m hugely thankful for that.
You have a beautiful list, and the six don’t even matter, because (you’ll see) we have a tendency to make the rules up as we go along.
I’m so glad for some of the things on your list, and the way they work together to make up your life, your person, and the essence of you. Isaiah is endlessly wonderful and I do enjoy what you share of him, so keep doing that. The lack of Evil Dragon Lady can only be a boost. And I love learning more about your faith, so thank you for sharing that, too.
My children do know my iTunes password. I found this out when I discovered a $59.99 charge for some game. Ugh. And Amazon Prime seems to be something I should check out.
I was so addicted to Angry Birds last year at this time. After reading your post I think I may end up addicted again 🙂
So glad my kids are too old to want to know any of my passwords other than maybe my bank card pins.
Ugh, I hate exercise (without liking dancing), but I love meds, too! I’ve read about your son before around here, and he is wonderful.
I am also thankful for Angry Birds, Candy Crush and the weird game that teaches the kids to write their letters.
Welcome to TTOT! I too am thankful my kids don’t know how to buy stuff on my IPhone…
Is Amazon Prime like Netflix? We are Netflix fans here – but always curious what else is out there….
The dance game looks like tons of fun and glad it keeps you moving 🙂
Hey!! Jen!! Welcome to the TToT (sort of like that rare occasion of getting your homeroom switched mid-high school) good to see you here! It’s an interesting affair, bloghop-wise.
Most everyone is way supportive and helpful and such… and for everything else, well just ask! I’ll be found lurking on the fringes.
(ps: there is, in fact, a Book of Secret Rules!! and Lizzi has the only copy (ask her about the GuardVirgins… no! really)
but, I have gotten a look at said book and I’m pretty sure that there is a Rule about a writer who has a bloghop of her own and (who) could sing the lyrics to ‘Gilligan’s Island… think it’s Rule 8.4 and lets the first Post get by with out the full ten.)
no, you can thank me later…just don’t tell the others that I said anything….
Your little guy is sooo cute! I truly have my entire life wrapped around that verse about worry and being anxious because I was such a worry wart before we came to Arizona in 2012. I’m actually pretty happy that my son isn’t smart enough to understand passwords yet because he’s getting pretty savvy with the iPad at only 20 months and you’re right, perhaps he would try to spend lots of money getting new apps. It’s nice to know I have this to look forward to as he gets older and smarter. Shoot! (just kidding lol)
OMG – you totally do come up when I google Evil Dragon Lady. I think that is awesome! Amazon Prime…I am a new convert. I’m going to try to order everything I ever need from them.
So glad you are linking up your thanks! I LOVE Amazon Prime too- lifesaver but kind of a wallet sucker given the immediate gratification 🙂
Welcome to the best “better than a blog hop” hop of all time! On busy weeks, I literally start my list on Tuesday or Wednesday, just to be sure I have SOMETHING to share. It’s like Vitamin D for my soul. This is an amazing list, and it’s perfect for your first time! You’ll learn that this is THEE most flexible, politely-rule-bending group of people you’ll find anywhere. You can use being thankful to be at #10 as one of the things, and certain things just count as more than 1. It’s almost my favorite part now, seeing the clever ways people adjust to make things work!
Your list made me particularly happy! A friend gave me Just Dance, and I am WITH YOU on the exercise thing, but somehow getting my husband and/or little girls to have a “dance party” hardly seems like exercise, yet we’re moving at least. We’ve played a LOT this winter, and I am getting burned out on the songs, so I’m very much looking forward to trying to find a newer addition, hopefully at Game Stop or on e-Bay.
We have Netflix, similar to Amazon prime, for the same reason. We opted to go down to basic cable, and streaming Netflix is under $10/month. I can’t even believe how much we use it. You know, for super educational shows like Daniel Tiger and Super Why! (and so many NOT educational shows!)
Thrilled to have you, and I look forward to many, many more lists of Things Thankful!
Welcome to the TToT! I love the scripture you quoted; it’s a great reminder.
Six is a great start. I understand being thankful but not feeling like you want to share the details with the world.
Thanks for linking up. Seeing your tweet was the kick in the pants I needed to finish writing my own post.
Hi, Jen! Welcome to the TToT. You’ll love it, I promise. And then you get hooked…and then it’s like you can’t help yourself and do it even when they tell you it’s on a break. Which, of course, it isn’t. Your list is awesome – and I do believe there is a rule book about not having to actually do ten or something…check with Lizzi or maybe it’s Clark. 🙂
The Bag Piggies stuff is funny – my daughter absolutely LOVES that game and she both cracks me up and amazes me with her playing. I usually break out the Bad Piggies on the phone if we’re at a restaurant and Kidzilla is finished eating before the rest of us. Her patience level in that circumstances is like negative.
Welcome to the TToT! I’m excited you have joined us! I used to feel guilty about screen time since perfect mothers everywhere tell me how bad it is but sometimes it saves my sanity. And so far, no one’s brains have turned to jelly so it’s all good. Just Dance is right up my alley since I, too, dislike exercise. I even had to spell it three times just now to get it right..that’s how opposed my brain is to it! So Just Dance is trickery…the ‘E’ word without knowing..ha! And I would totally be the Panda, just in case I ever come over.
I was interested that you find your gratitude to be a private thing. I probably feel similarly – at least regarding some things. So my TToT posts tend to be a bit different from most, but I have it on best authority (or Clark) that they aren’t breaking any of the secret rules in the Secret Book of Rules. You did a great list.
I’ve never done TToT … but I liked this list. A lot. Those angry birds and bad piggies have provided many happy hours of laughing, bonding, cuddling and talking with the Boy and Hubbinator especially, but with me too. 🙂
I bought just dance 2014 for my daughter, KR. I have to sit in a chair though to dance. 🙂 Good thing because I stink at dancing.
JEN!!! TTTx10! I’m so psyched you joined 10 things of thankful! EEP! I love that quote about worry. May we all remember that. HAHA to Angry Birds. But… I do wonder how long it will be before Isaiah figures out your iTunes password. I’m glad you’re not evil dragon lady. I think you’re wonderful.
Jen, I’m so glad you joined us! And I’m also glad I don’t have kids who have figured out my passwords. But it sounds like you incredibly funny son might actually be a candidate for such a mission. Protect the passwords. 🙂
I also hate exercise and I’m not that great of dancer. But you make this sound inciting. I’ve been going to the gym for 16 months, 12 days and the owner recently asked if I’m loving it. I said no. I don’t like the exercise, but I do like the results. So I keep going. Maybe I should try a dancing DVD and see if I could improve my exercise attitude.
I don’t think it matters whether you do 5 or 12 or 10 or 2. I think it’s just important to show up and let us know you are doing well. Looking forward to reading more. P.S. I don’t make it every week, but I get to the party when I can. Happy New Year to you and your family.
I know I’m late to the game for this post but I have to say since you posted when you google evil dragon lady, your hubby also shows up after the 4 pics of “the boy” and that verse is beautiful, especially for those who worry (as I do, waking up in the middle of the night!) I’ve wanted to do 10 things, I may have to make it a priority now.