Thankvember

Mama Making Changes is happy to be able to join a wonderful event this fall, The Thankvember Blog Hop, sponsored by The Vagabond Studio.  From November 1 to November 30, I will be posting something for which I am thankful each and every day. 

What a great way to get through what is normally a stressful season, worrying about money and planning get-togethers for the holiday season. Instead of focusing on stress, we are going to focus on the joys in life!

Join me and all of the other participating bloggers in November. 

If you have a blog, you can click the picture above, which is also in the right sidebar, to go to the sign-up link. 

Links to all of the participating blogs will be listed at the bottom of this page, below the daily entries that I post during the hop, making it easy to see all of them!




November 30: I am thankful for The Vagabond Studio for sponsoring this Thankvember Blog Hop and for being a great friend and mentor. Mama Making Changes would not be what it is today without her guidance. She rocks my socks! 

November 29: I am thankful for Christmas lights. They add a special warmth and joy to the beginning of winter, making it all seem okay. 

November 28: I am thankful for snuggling. Snuggling is such a special thing that makes you feel so good. Whether it's with your significant other or a sleepy kid, the sweetest baby or a four-legged friend...snuggling is always good :) 

November 27: I am thankful for all of the wonderful sponsors who keep sending me items to review and giveaway! I've gotten many wonderful products this fall and I've yet to be disappointed in a single one of them! See the most recent by clicking here.

November 26: I am thankful for being able to read. I love a good book. Between books, I love to read magazines. I read other blogs, too. I like fiction and non-fiction. I once met a man who had been bagging groceries for many years. He started bagging groceries to get out of the fields when he felt he was getting too old to do such hard work. He could not read or write, though his wife could. She did all of the reading and writing for both of them. I admire him for being a good person and living a tough life but still smiling through it. I cannot, however, imagine having to live my whole life without being able to read. 

November 25: I am thankful for last night's win! Woo hoo!

November 24: I am thankful for College Rivalry Day! I love watching my Carolina Gamecocks play football and the best game of the year is the rivalry game against Clemson! This year we will be watching the game with friends and family at my bestie's house. Go Gamecocks!

November 23: I am thankful for the sleep I got last night while so many people were out shopping the Black Friday sales, pushing and shoving, fist fighting over Christmas gifts, tearing down all that Christmas is supposed to stand for. I am thankful that I was home in my warm bed, snuggled up with my sweet child, sleeping off our turkey hangovers and fondly looking forward to a peaceful and joyous Christmas season. 


November 22: I am thankful for Thanksgiving Day! 

November 21: I am thankful for "girls night out." Anytime the girls get together, just the girls, it's bound to be fun! What better way to prepare for a hectic morning of cooking than to relax over wine with the girls the night before? 

November 20: I am thankful for firming face cream! I am not gonna take wrinkles lying down!


November 19: I am thankful for my coffee. I am truly addicted to 
the stuff. Oh yeah. I love some coffee. I'll drink it black, or with cream, or with chocolate (who doesn't love mocha!?) or even cold. My family knows that in the mornings I don't participate until after my first cup of coffee!


November 18: I am thankful for the man in my life. He makes my days smilier just by being there. And today he worked hard to help me with some projects around my house. Of course, I repaid him with some home cookin'. The way to a man's heart is still through his stomach, right? 

November 17: I am thankful for my vittles! It just can't be Thankvember without giving thanks for the food we eat!  We give thanks at every meal because food is not to be taken for granted. Everyone jokes about how our parents used to say to us, "Eat your food! There are starving children in Africa!" But...there are! And not just in Africa. There are starving people right here in America, too. I am thankful that neither I nor my family has ever had to know what it's like to go hungry.

Cody the Spaz

November 16: I am thankful for my pets, all of them! My kitties Jewel, age 15, and Sugar, age 8, are as far from alike as they could be. Jewel is sweet and lazy and snuggly. She licks you if you pet her, a special kind of thanks, and she never ventures outdoors. Sugar only likes to come inside to eat, although we do our best to keep her indoors during bad weather and anytime it's very cold outside. She rarely lets anyone pet her, nipping your hand if you dare to try, although she occasionally will sleep at the foot of the bed. We also have a doggie named Cody. Cody is best described as a big spaz! He has so much energy in that little body! He loves to lick your face and nap in your lap, and he often sleeps in my daughter's bed instead of his own. Do you have pets? Don't you just love how each one has his own personality, just like people? 

November 15: I am thankful to be a part of Reach, a local homeschool organization. More specifically, I am thankful for co-op, which is a part of Reach. All of the families get together and hold classes for the kids. The parents work together to teach the classes, which include theater, writing a research paper, discovery science, dance, and more. It's great to be able to socialize with other homeschooling parents and for the kids to be able to spend time together. Not to mention the fact that we don't have to do the research paper alone!

November 14: I am thankful for my blog! It's my favorite hobby. I look forward to my blogging time because it's my "me" time each evening. I love this blog and everything it stands for, as well as checking the latest posts by fellow bloggers. I love getting products to review and offering giveaways, too. 

November 13:
I'm thankful for mascara. It instantly takes 5 years off of my face every morning! You think I'm being silly, but I'm not. (Well only a little!) My only makeup must-have is my mascara. I may sometimes use other products, though never do I use very much makeup. Mascara, however, is always sitting on the bathroom sink beside my toothbrush. I use both every morning and instantly look more awake and younger. Or at least I think so ;)

November 12: 

I am thankful for a heated home! I know that so many people out there see winter coming and prepare to be cold. Sure, we pull out the winter covers and the space heaters, too. We do a little extra snuggling to keep a little bit warmer. But the truth is, when we get a uncomfortable, we can walk over to the thermostat on the wall and turn it up a bit. Not everyone has it so good. Thankful that we do! Don't be too quick to turn it up, though...I like gettin' snuggly!



November 11: 

Palmetto Trees in SC

I am thankful for my new roommates, my sweet sister and adorable niece. A toast to new beginnings :)

November 10: 
I am so thankful to be a Carolina Girl! I love South Carolina, from the beaches and palm trees to the snowy white cotton fields. So proud to call the Palmetto State my home. 

November 9: 
I am thankful for my daughter's new-found courage. She has been conquering long-held fears and I'm so proud of her!

November 8:
I am thankful that we are able to be a foster family for a local animal shelter. I most recent foster pet is sitting beside me in the chair right now! Ruby had been abused and is very very slowly learning to trust people again. I hope that some day she can find the right forever-home.

November 7:
I am thankful for being able to homeschool my daughter. My son was homeschooled for a few years, but went back to school because it was hard for me to get enough time with him. My schedule now allows me to spend enough time at home with my daughter. Since we started homeschooling, she learns so much more and has improved in so many other areas, including self-confidence and social skills. I hope we are able to continue until she graduates. It's worth every bit of the work and time it takes. 

November 6:

I am thankful that I live in a country where my opinion matters and where I have the freedom to voice it. Voting is, in my opinion, one of the most important things you can do as an adult in America. Did you cast yours?

November 5:

I am thankful for my church. I really really really love my church. Not only do I have great friends among my church family, and an amazing pastor who is the most gifted speaker I've ever heard, and a band that plays contemporary Christian music that will rock your socks. I especially love that my church is growing by leaps and bounds. People are getting saved and getting baptized and becoming active as volunteers and I watch as month after month there are more and more people! It's such a blessing to be a part of this wonderful church, where there are "no perfect people allowed"! Thank you Newspring! 

November 4: 
I am thankful for my God, for Jesus Christ, for being saved by him and knowing how it feels to be washed clean and born again. I used to be angry and bitter for all the things that have gone wrong in my life. I never really knew peace until I was saved a few years ago. Now I see the good in things that seemed only to be bad before. I see the good in things everyday and no matter how bad things get sometimes, I always have peace because I know that God has a wonderful plan and I am so grateful to be able to see that.

November 3: 

I am thankful for my job. I may moan and groan when the alarm goes off in the morning, and I may get frustrated at times when I am there, but... I have some wonderful co-workers and an air-conditioned workplace, benefits, a great schedule, and a decent paycheck. It isn't exactly glamorous, but, with unemployment rates still high, I am thankful I am working at Piggly Wiggly. Bonus: I actually like what I do! How about this picture of me in my Pig shirt?

November 2: 

I am thankful for good friends, without whom I might have given up on more than one occassion. When the going gets tough, the tough get going...to a friend's house with a bottle of wine and a box of tissues! Hahaha! My online friends are also special to me and hold their own place in my heart. There are fellow bloggers that I talk to daily, not just about blogging but also about our personal trials and successes. Never underestimate the power of a listening ear or how much it is appreciated. I love you all!

November 1: 
I have to start Thankvember by saying that I am so thankful for my two beautiful children, my most precious gifts from God. Words cannot begin to express how much I love them. They absolutely come to mind first when I am think about the things for which I am thankful.