An Abundance of Thanks

I ventured out to El Paso, then Yuma, and finally to Los Angeles. We had a good trip though my girls and I all were sick and I now have a high record for most times being thrown up on in a week which is unlikely to ever be toppled. I'm going to give a quick catch up on my thanks which are really all today's since I didn't keep a running record.

Nov. 8: I'm thankful for access to the internet. Who knew when I ventured out that I would be forsaking my habit of regular communication with my friends and family that live in the computer? I also was unaware that people were still accessing the internet with dial-up connection, which after having waited 10 minutes for my first page to load, I gave up.

Nov. 9: I'm thankful for having an opportunity to see some of the many beautiful sites in the US and their sunsets.

Nov. 10: I'm so grateful for having such a wonderful extended family and being close enough (I wish it was literally, too) to have my kids know them. Here is a pic of Darth Baby with her 2nd cousin's child (my first cousin's grandchild).

Nov. 11: I'm grateful that there are still some beaches left on the coast in California. This was the day that the nerdlet was puking all over me and I don't think that anything would have cheered her as a visit to the beach did. In my naivety, I was under the impression that from LA that you could just drive to the coast and see the beach, but apparently it is covered in industrial piers. We did ask the border patrol where to see beach and they fortunately directed us to Long Beach, which was a small little beach but nicely clear of people on this cold, overcast day.

Nov. 12: I'm grateful for relatives like my sister and my cousin that think nothing of driving 2 to 3 hours to visit someone that they haven't seen in ages. I hope we made it worth it for them.

Nov. 13: I'm grateful for beautiful churches. We went to mass at St. Thomas More in Alhambra and it was filled with beauty. Also, I LOVED that the sermon included a piece on how everyone could learn from a child with Ds giving their all while participating in the Special Olympics. I was even more thrilled when multiple people welcomed me as a visitor after mass and was jealous upon hearing their menu for after mass which include a lot of Mexican delicacies.

Nov. 14: I'm grateful for the many varieties of cactus in the world. I especially enjoyed seeing so many this trip and spent a great deal of time trying to get a good picture of a Saguaro cactus, which mostly only grows in Arizona.

Nov. 15: I'm grateful for 24 hour loratidine with sudafed (Claritin D).

Nov. 16: I'm so very grateful that we had a safe trip and made it home happy and healthy.