Sitting Here Thinking About Different Things

I can't believe how fast each year passes by.  Last year, I was gearing up for family to come here and stay for Thanksgiving.  This year, Thanksgiving is going to be so many fewer people.  Last year, I had 16 people, not counting the six of us, staying here for several days around Thanksgiving.  On Thanksgiving day, there were 25 of us, that is counting the six of us.  I felt so blessed to be surrounded by people that I love.  Almost all of these family members were here, and then there have been a couple additions added since then :)  The ones in the photo that weren't here were truly missed!

This year, it looks like there might be a total of eight of us hear for Thanksgiving.  I have a 20 pound turkey, so I am expecting there are going to be a lot of leftovers for sandwiches.  I am still hoping that some family members might surprise me and be able to be here, but we will see.

I can't believe that I have a 2, 5, 9 and 10 year-old.  If you had told me 11 1/2 years ago that I would have four children running around the house, I don't know if I would have believed it.  I have been so blessed to be able to be at home and see them grow.   They are good little kiddos.  I love every minute of being their mom.  Watching them grow from infants, to toddlers, to school age children has been a blast.  I love seeing their personalities get stronger.  I think, for the most part, you can tell what your child's personality will be from infancy.  It just gets stronger and better defined.

Last night was Parent-Teacher Conference at the school.  I have three children in the school, so I was there for about 1 1/2 hours.  It was wonderful to hear the good things about my children.  I am proud of them for being willing to help other children.  It is nice to know the things that I have to work on with my kindergartener.  We work with him but it is good to know what we should be concentrating on.

On Veteran's Day, my brother posted how glad he was that my father had been a Marine.  I have always been thankful for the service he provided for our country. When I read his post, I realized how GLAD I was that he had been a Marine.  If he hadn't been a Marine, my parents would have likely never met. 

My mom was from a small town in California called Bridgeport.  My dad was from a small town in New York called West Valley.  My dad was transferred to Mountain Warfare Training Center when he was a Marine, which is in the mountains near Bridgeport.  He was getting an ice cream cone one day and looked in the bakery window next door.  My mom was working in my Grandpa's bakery and Dad saw her.  He went in, they met, and had their first date a few days later.  Yes, I am GLAD that my Dad was a Marine.

I will be starting a job at the very end of this month.  My heart breaks thinking about leaving my children for several hours, but I am so thankful that it is a job that I will be working when my husband is home from work.  We will not have to get a babysitter, except for during my two weeks of training, and that will only be for a few hours a day.

I am thankful that many years ago, my senior year of high school, I thought I should take a keyboarding class.  The reason behind the keyboarding class was so when I was in college I would be "okay" at typing papers.  I wanted to learn how to type without needing to chicken peck the keys and take forever.  That decision has led to most of the jobs in my life.

When I was in college, I was blessed to work as a data entry operator for Vector Marketing in Olean.  There was a lot of use of the ten-key number pad to the right of the computer keyboard.  I didn't even have the foggiest idea how to use that.  I would always be using the numbers across the top of the keyboard.  One day, one of my supervisors there saw how I was typing the numbers.  He told me that I should start using the number pad.  Since I like to listen to what my supervisors tell me, I tried.  It came quite naturally to me.

Because of my ability to use the number pad, I have had several other jobs.  I am good at data entry, and I enjoy it.  I don't like talking on the phone, so straight data entry is good, and that is what I will be doing.  I have worked for the IRS and my next position will be for the United States Postal Service.  My 9 year-old was excited, she thought we could get free stamps.  It is funny how a lot of jobs will give you a discount or something free if they are known for selling things.  The IRS didn't do that for me and neither will the USPS.

I believe our Heavenly Father has a hand in all things.  I don't really think that it was just me that wanted to take a keyboarding class.  Who really wants to add another class to their schedule anyway?  I know that my parents wouldn't have met without our Heavenly Father having a hand in where they were that day.  I know that our Heavenly Father has blessed me with each of my children.  I am so thankful for the love I feel everyday from a kind, loving Heavenly Father.  I hope that I can always realize His hand in all things.