This is my first Thankful Thursday post. I found this weekly meme through Veggiemomof2 and she talked about keeping a gratitude journal to remind us of all we have to be grateful for when we need it most.

I've heard it said that people who keep a gratitude journal, or something similar, tend to be happier people. I think it's a great idea so I'd like to start doing it!

1. This week I've been thinking a lot about my family and the things that are going on in my life. I'm thankful that I've started taking pictures again. When I'm depressed or shutting down from life, I stop taking pictures. I don't do it consciously, it just seems to be a symptom of a deeper issue going on. I noticed that I had gone weeks without taking pictures. And it wasn't because we hadn't left the house, I just didn't care to remember the camera or even get it out when I DID remember it. For me ... THAT indicates there's something going on. In the last few weeks I've made some changes as far as my perspective on life and how I'm living it and I think I'm coming out of the depressing I was slipping into. I'm back to capturing every minute detail of our lives on camera again ... and I'm LOVING it :)

2. This week has been my girls' last week of school and I'm thankful that they are extremely bright children who LOVE to learn. Tween went into middle school this year and has been THRIVING! She is still getting straight A's even thought she has really had to work hard for them this year! Flower Child is getting straight E's {which is a little harder to get than an A actually because it's 95-100%} and she LOVES school! She seems to breeze through subjects and LOVES to read whenever she gets the chance. I'm so fortunate that my daughters are both such good hard working students, it makes my job THAT much easier!

3. We have recently been going through some financial/housing issues and a lot of it was due to SERIOUS procrastination on my husband & I's part. It started almost a year ago and is getting closer to being over {one way or the other} but because we started going through this situation we were forced to confront some financial things we were hiding from. Well, THOSE things have finally been dealt with and are WAY less horrific than we feared they would be! So I am thankful for this horrible situation we've been dealing with. If it weren't for the situation we might still be hiding from these financial problems and stressing out about how bad we thought they would be! Gotta make lemonade from lemons ... amIright?

4. Exactly 76 days from today it will THE.BEST.DAY.EVER. LOL 76 days from today Lil Miss will be starting Kindergarden :) And so will begin the BEST.YEAR.EVER. It will be the year that Tween is not YET in High School, but Lil Miss is taken off my hands by the good people at her school. It actually took a lot of work to gather all of the things needed to get her registered {I didn't even have her birth certificate!} but I got it done! And I am SOOO thankful that she is FINALLY registered and everything is ready to go! She is officially a kindergardener :D And yes ... *I* am officially counting down the days until school starts WOOOOHOOOO!

5. Last summer I developed a health condition that really forced me to take a long hard look at myself. My eating habits were terrible, I never exercised, and I didn't really take very good care of myself. I have changed a LOT about my life in the past year and I've lost 35 pounds :) the LOOONG HAAAARD WAY lol So much of that weight loss {and the fact that I've KEPT weight off during plateus} is due in no small part to the gym that opened here in town. I am SO VERY THANKFUL for our gym :) I've had memberships before but never used them to their full potential for various reasons. This one ... I go {almost} every.single.day. LOL It's more than just a place I work out. When I walk through those doors, not only do I get to drop Lil Miss off for a mere $15 a MONTH but I also get to drop "Mommy" off too. For up to 2 hours EVERY DAY I get to be Christine. I get to think about MY needs. Whether it be a super hard class that makes me sweat like crazy, riding the eliptical watching E! for an hour, sitting on a bike watching a movie, talking with 1-10 friends who all go there, sitting in a steam room, or even just taking a SHOWER ... uninterrupted! This place means so much to me and I am eternally grateful for it :)

So that's my gratitude journal for this week! I feel happier and more aware of all the good things in my life already! For more Women Taking a Stand and being THANKFUL check out Thankful Thursdays!