Thankful...

I'll admit, when we left Canada just after Canadian Thanksgiving, I assumed that that would be the last turkey I would eat for a long, long time.  I didn't think you could even buy turkeys in Thailand.  And I hadn't even considered the fact that our teammates were American and celebrate Thanksgiving in late November.

But much to my surprise and delight, you CAN actually purchase turkeys here in Thailand, and Andy & Carmen (very conveniently) happen to be Americans, soooo.......

..... we get to eat turkey this weekend!!! :)

We're planning to have a Thanksgiving meal with the Owen family tomorrow, complete with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and all the fixins' :)  I can't wait.  I plan to gain back all the weight I've lost from biking everywhere these days ;)

So on the topic of thankfulness, I thought I would list a few of the things I'm feeling thankful for right now.  It can be easy to point out all of the negatives when you're new to a country and everything feels overwhelming.  But I'm learning how important it is to pick out the good things as a way of moving forward and feeling more comfortable in our new home.

So, here are a few things I'm thankful for today:

- Thankful for cooler mornings... to the point of wearing long pants or putting on a sweater every now and then.  If you know Thailand, you'll know how refreshing this is :)

- Thankful for a husband and daughter who love me and whom I love to bits!

- Thankful for Andy & Carmen and for all they've done to help us get started here in Chiang Mai

- Thankful for a language teacher who is encouraging us and helping us move closer and closer to being able to communicate in the Thai language

- Thankful for a nanny/housekeeper who is WONDERFUL and takes such great care of Callie and our house.  We just LOVE her!

- Thankful for cheap iced-coffees and a new relationship that's blossoming with a Thai woman who runs a coffee shop just down the street from our school.  We study at her coffee shop a couple of times a week and are enjoying the fun we have practicing our thai with her.

- Thankful that I don't think twice about throwing the toilet paper in the garbage now instead of into the toilet (... ok, ok... I know that's "TMI" but hey... its the LITTLE things people... the little things that mean a lot.... and this was something that felt SO UNNATURAL when we first arrived!) :)

- Thankful for lots of exercise and feeling healthy

- Thankful for a spacious home to relax in and find rest

- Thankful that our bike ride to school feels so familiar and "routine" now

- Thankful for all of our loving friends, family and supporters back home who are praying for us and cheering us on!!

....... just to name a few ;)

Happy American Thanksgiving everyone!