Time to stop and say thanks.

I've been a very pessimistic person lately. Well, okay...my whole life. Just ask my mom, or my sister who is currently residing with us. I'm sure she'll tell you. But lately I've been in sort of a funk. The hubby is away at training for a job that I'm very anxious and nervous about. But it's his dream so who am I to stand in the way? I know that when he gets back we'll be getting ready to move to another base. I. Don't. Want. To. Go. But again, I will because I love my husband and I stand behind him and the rest of our military, and I go where I'm told to go.

Throw that in with crazy children who are getting back into the school routine and a busy Etsy shop and you can see why I feel overwhelmed.

But today I realized that despite all of this, I'm so blessed.

*My hubby is TDY, yes, but he is there with a young LT who is from our town. He travels home just about every weekend to see his family and friends from high school/college, and he always brings my hubby home to us without accepting any money for gas. This is HUGE for us because we were expecting a 4.5 month TDY with maybe one weekend a month of being able to see each other. And in the 7 weeks he's been gone, only one weekend has he not been home. It is really making our time apart not seem quite so daunting.

* I have great friends. I know that I've said it before, but I really do. Just tonight a relatively new friend told me that she was taking myself & the kids out to Moe's for family night. When I declined because of a moth-filled wallet, she insisted that she pay for us. She said that she owed me for us having them over for dinner a few times. She didn't owe me anything, but I accepted the offer and we all enjoyed our tacos and quesadillas.

* My Etsy shop is really going strong. There have been times this year when I've looked at the checkbook and wondered how we were going to make it work. Yet every time I get to the point of quasi-panic, I get a wave of Etsy orders and we always have enough to make it through.

* I have kids who make me laugh on a daily basis. Whether it's Noah dancing when he thinks I'm not watching, Jonah pulling his Jim Carey-esque faces, or Sophia singing me a chorus of "The Wheels on the Bus" in her adorable little Southern accent, not a day goes by that I don't smile. They are all my comic relief, in their own little way. And they always know when I need it the most. They're amazing little humans and I'm so blessed to have them.

So even when you feel like the whole world is on your shoulders and you are barely keeping your head above water, take a deep breath and look around you. There's always something there to keep you going.