These are a Few of My Favorite Things - February 2018 Blessings

It's been quite a while since I've done one of these posts and I decided I need to start again. 

February 2018 was rough - 4 trips to the emergency room (ER), lots of medical/doctor appointments, unexpected and unprecedented problems at both of our jobs, and our children's school having to suspend 3 students in one day (they have never had to do that before)!  Add in the myriad of little things that have been happening (leading to my 'pecked to death by hens' statement in another recent post), and February was exhausting!

We did have blessings and I'm going to reiterate those here, for my benefit mostly.  I hope you enjoy them as well!

 

Valentine's Day.  The children made valentine's for their friends and we enjoyed a nice dinner at home the day after.  We did buy chocolates and a few other little things for each other.  It was a nice celebration of the gift of family and love for each other and others.

 

A friend gifting me several necklace and earring sets she did not use or want anymore.  I had been eyeing a necklace at the store - it would be perfect with the outfit I plan to wear for Easter.  I decided I really didn't need it - we have other things we need to spend our money on.  A week later my friend gifted me one almost identical, but higher quality.  I've been having fun mixing and matching these new items with my wardrobe.

 

A friend gifting our daughter a string of blue twinkle lights for her bedroom.  She was thrilled!

 

Our daughter working her hardest to learn to do her own hair and make up for dance.  A pressure off my mind! And what confidence booster for her!

 

Choir practice at church - what a fun group and we're all excited to be working on Easter music right now!

 

Honors band - both children made it this year and are super excited about it.

 

Having a full pantry and freezers.

 

Being able to shovel snow.  We had 24 inches of snow total in February - one 12 inch (approx. 30 cm) snowfall, and two 6 inch (approx. 15 cm)  snowfalls.  Some of our neighbors had to wait for someone to come and dig them out. I'm so grateful we did not!

 

Both John and I earning a little extra this month - not much but every little bit helps!

 

Finding out our tax estimations for 2017 were almost spot on.  John's paycheck does not have state or federal tax withheld so we had to estimate how much we needed to pay.  We only have to pay a very small amount.  We are very relieved - we were concerned we were not planning well.  This was something new for us this past year.  We have always had taxes withheld in the past.

 

Our congregation's seminary student.  She's been such a blessing this past month!

 

Craft supplies - beads, thread, fabric, and origami paper we already owned turned into two different gifts for friends and family.  The gifts turned out great and were much appreciated.

 

Email and phone calls.  I'm so grateful we don't have to wait weeks for hand-written letters to communicate with far away friends and family.

 

School uniforms. What a blessing!  I'm so grateful that our children wear school uniforms each day.  They make life so much easier and save us quite a bit of money each year.

 

New exercise/workout wear - some a hand me down (never worn), some earned through an exercise challenge and some purchased on deep clearance.  It's been three years since I bought new exercise clothing and I really needed it! 

 

Medical insurance.  With all the trips to the doctor and ER, I'm grateful we don't have to pay out of pocket.  It still costs us 20% of the total but we can budget for that.  The total would be insurmountable right now.

 

Friends.  What a blessing they are!

 

Laughter and humor.  I'm not sure how we'd make it through without it!

 

Lent.  A season of reflection, repentance and anticipation.  What a good reminder for the end of winter, when we're all ready for a change.  I'm grateful for a season of stretching and growing.  Even if it's rather painful sometimes. 

 

Sunshine.  We have had a lot of sunshine in addition to the snow.  I love the bright light and the sparkle of the reflection off the snow.

 

 

 

I could have a slightly longer list but we will stop there for now.  I've already started March's list.

 

How about you?

 

What blessings did you have in February?  I'd love to hear!