Frenzied SLPs Thankful & Grateful Blog Hop

It's that time again...
the time of year when we all tend to stop and reflect about what we are most thankful for. (Sorry about ending a sentence with a preposition; I'm feeling rebellious today).  Honestly, I try to reflect on that year 'round - daily even- but thank goodness for November. Right on cue, November sweeps in after the candy binge of Halloween to make us focus on gratitude. 

On that note, I'm really grateful to have found this online tribe- the Frenzied SLPs. Today we are bringing our readers a little scavenger hunt (in which you can win prizes!) and sharing our stories about what makes our hearts swell with gratitude. 
Please join the fun! 
Three readers will win $10 TpT gift cards as well as $10 Starbucks cards.  
TpT and coffee makes our jobs easier :) 

Here is what you need to do:

1. 1.  Read each thankful post from The Frenzied SLPs!
   
2. 2.  Collect (and jot down) the character at the bottom of each post. You will need them to figure out the secret phrase. 
   3.  Enter the secret phrase into the Rafflecopter at the end of any post.
   4.  Visit The Frenzied SLPs Facebook Page for an extra entry.
   5.  Three winners will be chosen after the rafflecopter closes on 11/13/2015. 

All mommas are thankful for their children.  Of course, I'm thankful for my job. my home, and my parents. I'm especially blessed to have my parents who are 79 and 88.  The list could go on for days. When I dig down deep, though, the gratitude that always comes bubbling up is about.....my husband.  

It's long overdue that I hop down from the pedastal my husband puts me on and haul his butt up there instead. 

Shannon and I grew up as neighbors -"catty corner" neighbors to be exact.  Our parents are still neighbors.  Along with his sister, we played in the street (yes -gasp- we sure did) and did all the things that neighborhood kids did before there was technology.  Little did we know that location, location, location would later make it very convenient for running out to the corner for one more goodnight.  

In 5th grade we were both at a "boy-girl dance party" and we kissed.  I know, I know, I would have strangled my children had they been sneaking kisses in 5th grade, but hey, it was a really small town with really nothing to do. 

Shannon is inherently shy, and I am inherently not. The kiss never turned into anything....well, except me occasionally using my dad's binoculars to spy on him down the street....until 6 years later. 

My junior year of high school we had a whirlwind romance.  I asked him out, and he showed up.  He wouldn't even kiss me, but after that date, I told my best friend, "I'm going to marry him." 

He was just so genuinely good (not to mention so cute and super smart)

 We've now been married almost 26 years, but it still feels like we are having first dates. 

~ Sappy and annoying, but true ~

To make a slightly long and scandalous story short, we graduated high school as Mr. and Mrs. 

Yes, married!! 

Good grief (shaking my head).

We insisted that our unexpected-baby-on-the-way grow up in a traditional family, and we didn't want our parents to have to raise him.  We were (usually) good kids, but thinking back I feel so very sorry for my Mom and Dad.  They should have beaten me over the head with a club, but they supported us wholeheartedly instead, and have mercy, they adore that baby boy who is now 25.  

To this day I still cannot believe the hospital personnel let us take that baby home. 

We were so young.  What were they thinking? LOL

Shannon was the hometown quarterback and a local pitching prodigy headed for the college baseball scene.  I was the cheerleader/class president voted "most likely to succeed" with dreams of traipsing off to a big shot university to become a writer.  Instead, we became the talk of our small town. 

Our identities changed and I am so grateful that it did.  It helped me to get my priorities straight. Personal ambitions were set aside, and we focused on being a family.  Shannon knew he couldn't have major league ambitions and be the husband and dad he wanted to be, and I started searching the college catalogs for a more practical career. 

We went to homecoming and prom as husband and wife, and we graduated as salutatorian and valedictorian with the little love of our lives, Ferris, watching from the front row.  We earned full academic scholarships, and we moved (far) away to college- just the 3 of us.  We didn't know a soul and we didn't have a clue, but we were mature and determined. Being our scholarly selves..... we read all the "how-to" books :)  Thinking back, surely the soundtrack playing somewhere in the background of our life was Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer. 

 It was the 90s after all (hence the name Ferris).

I'm sure our parents were just praying that we would keep their grandson (and ourselves) alive and safe.  We were confident and optimistic...and naive... although I would not have admitted that then. 

By being absolutely relentless, we scored an apartment in government housing.  Ferris only got his head stuck in our apartment railing one time :) We got on welfare and applied for every little scholarship we could find.  Whatever Shannon's job didn't cover- like daycare and car insurance - my parents made happen.  Shannon's goal was always to not be a burden to anyone. He worked tirelessly at various jobs while we both took 21 hours per semester- 18 hours in the summers- to hurry and finish college early.  Between working and studying and taking turns parenting, we rarely saw each other for 3 years, but he became my hero.     

                                  

After four years of survival mode, he had a pharmacist job, and I finished my masters degree. 

We said au revoir to welfare; we had beaten the odds. 

I talk about it like it was easy but... NO WAY!  For a while I could have sworn I had a little Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome from it, but good things come to those who wait work hard.  

Truly though, when people ask how we did it, I give all the credit to my husband.  

He stayed even though it was really hard.  Moms do what they have to do for their babies, but men often find a way out.  He persevered and was never less than father of the year and my own personal cheerleader.  

He still is.  I thank God for him everyday. 

He is still just genuinely good in every way; I aspire to live like him. 

He walks through life selflessly and puts others before him always.  

In fact, he will hate the fact that I wrote this. 

He even cooks and cleans and does the grocery shopping, y'all!  We are a unstoppable team! 

 Since we finished growing up together,  I joke and say I raised him that way.  

With an empty nest just months away, I'm so thankful for a relationship that can stand on its own even after our kids have flown the coop. 

Know what else? He lets me talk about boring speech stuff and SLP problems.

When I opened my TpT store, I'm pretty sure he thought I'd never even get my $60 start up fee back. Still, he cheered me on.  He cleans the kitchen or runs the errands when I need to blog or work on products.  He accompanied me to the TpT conference this summer and was just as enthusiastic about it as I was.  He even brags about me to anyone who will listen. How lucky am I? 

That's why I figured it was time to do brag about him for a change.  

It's a great time of year to tell the people we are so grateful for how we feel.  When I drop my son off at school I like to tell him, "If a nice thought pops into your head today, you should make it come out of your mouth, too.  Spread some goodness."  

We all need to know we are appreciated.  

In fact, I appreciate YOU!  Yes, you! 

Now that I have completely gushed and you are completely gagging,  I think it's time to get on with the scavenger hunt.  

My letter is.... L

Now hop to the next blogger (my friend in-real-life, Tracy)

or feel free to hop to the FIRST blogger to start from the beginning

Good luck & thanks for reading! Go forth and be thankful :) 

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