Thanks be!

It is now the day before Thanksgiving, and I am astonished at how time has flown these past weeks. We moved into our very own house in California on Nov. 1, and since then we have been steadily unpacking, cleaning, painting; hanging curtain rods, towel rods, pictures, etc. and generally staying pretty busy. Our garage is nearly empty of full boxes and we are almost to where we can park a car in there. Just need to get a new remote somehow. We'll have a fence around our pool next week, we have new carpet in the living room, we have a flat-screen TV mounted on the wall in our living room where little fingers cannot reach it, and things are looking good. I cannot express how wonderful it is to walk into my own bedroom, with its own master bath and my very own walk-in closet. I can find my clothes easily and am getting to where I can find bills and other important paperwork and similar stuff pretty easily too. After three-plus months of living out of suitcases and NOT being able to find things very well at all, this is a huge blessing.
We have been warmly welcomed and continue to be warmly supported by the wonderful members of our church family here in the Visalia 2nd Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Their kindness and consideration have been overwhelming.
We still miss our dear friends in Alabama. This is the unfortunate part of moving -- leaving loved ones behind. My one consolation is that we now have the Internet and flat-rate long-distance to stay in touch more easily and inexpensively.
Our girls are adjusting well; Brianna is the oldest and therefore having the hardest time getting settled in to her new school, but I can say from experience that this is simply something that time will solve. In the meantime, it's a bit stinky. She does have a very cool bedroom of her own to enjoy and little things like going to see the new "Twilight" movie with her mom. :)
The weather is finally turning cooler, and I am able to make soups. I love soups. I probably still belong in cooler parts of the country, but as fate would have it, I've ended up in warm locales. As much as I enjoy cooler weather, I admit I do not miss snow.
So in honor of this wonderful holiday, here is a short list of my greatly appreciated blessings (completely abridged and not at all complete, mind you):
1. A husband who is fun, laid-back, nice to be around, helpful, supportive, understanding, cute, sweet, and many more lovely adjectives. We've enjoyed 15 years together.
2. Daughters who are beautiful, fun, delightful, generally obedient, helpful, smart, talented, and very sweet. They amaze me and impress me on a regular basis.
3. Family who are loving and supportive and unfortunately spread out across the continent.
4. Faith in God and knowing he has a plan for me and my life. The gospel that centers around Jesus Christ gives me strength and a foundation for living and has brought all good things in my life.
5. Friends. You know who you are. If you're reading this, bless you! You are
the best. I couldn't have survived this long without you. I have laughed, cried, talked myself hoarse, been comforted, been uplifted because of you. I look forward to all living on the same street in heaven one day.
6. The world around me. It's varied, it's gorgeous. It's amazing and fascinating. I have seen much of it (but not nearly enough yet) and I have been awed by its diversity and beauty.
7. Chocolate. Ice cream. And the corollary: gyms. I actually do enjoy my workouts.
8. Music, art, good films and especially good books.
9. My experiences. The cool places I've been, the things I've done, the memories I carry around with me everywhere.
10. Life. Isn't it amazing?
I have so many things to write but other things to do, but this encapsulates my life recently. It's been down, up, down, down, down, up. But it's there and it's definitely always interesting.