First a Rant, and Then Thankfulness

First off, I just have to tell you how frustrated that I am that my sister got a phone call today from the billing department threatening to turn her into collections if her bill goes more than 120 days unpaid.  ARG!!!

We have been dealing with this from day one of this process.  Sis was getting the bills.  We complained that in the very least they should be in MY name, although I shouldn't be getting bills either since all this is supposed to be covered under my ARC loan.  Then, I got the bills with Sis listed as the patient.

On the day of embryo transfer, a week ago, I made sure to arrive early so I could talk to the financial guy.  Again.  I confirmed that they did in fact receive the payment from ARC and that I could just ignore these bills.  It will be taken care of.  That's all fine and dandy, except for the fact that Sis then gets that phone call today.  I have talked to the financial guy on 4 different occasions about this matter.  I told him it was extremely frustrating to have been making payments on our loan, and to also be getting bills for what the loan was supposed to have covered.  I am NOT paying for this twice!  And my sister shouldn't even be getting the bills in the first place.  ARG!!!  (yes, the pirate in me is coming out)

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Okay, on to something better.  I figure that I have had plenty of things frustrating me the last two days and I feel a little bit at my wits end.  (poor Hubby)  After yesterday's venting, and now this, I feel like this will be a good reminder of all the things I have to be thankful for.  For the month of November, I participated in the 30 Days of Thankfulness Challenge on Facebook.  I always think there are plenty of people posting negative things on FB, I was going to focus on the positive.  I thought I would share my list here.  I also thought it might be a good way for you to get to know me better.  It's pretty long though, so if you don't want to read them all, I understand. 

Day 1: I am thankful for my life. Every day truly is a gift, because truly, that can change in the blink of an eye. Life can sometimes be difficult, but I am going to spend the next 29 days appreciating all the awesome things I have to be thankful for.

Day 2: I am thankful for my husband, who loves me at my best and still seems to love me at my worst as well. I am thankful that I have someone that is just as competitive as me (if not more), I can play games with, coach softball with, watch Beaver games with, be silly with...and the list goes on....

Day 3: I am extremely thankful for the little people in my life, all my nieces and nephews: Jade, JayCee, Eliana, Steven, Nathanial, and Urijah. They all melt my heart and I love them to pieces.

Day 4: I am so very thankful for my sister. We have been best friends and we have been hated enemies at times. She put up with me mothering her when we were little, punching her in the arm when I was mad, yelling at her....But we have also shared many great moments of silliness (mostly me being very dorky). We've had many fun spontaneous photo shoots. I coached her one summer in softball. I took Lamaze classes with her for Eliana and was there for the birth of her 2 boys. I would go to the ends of the earth to protect her. Most importantly, I also know the lengths that she will go to in order to be there for me and help me when I need it. I am very thankful for my sister and I love her so much!

Day 5: I am thankful for my in-laws. They are two of the most generous people I know and are willing to drop whatever they are doing to help when someone needs it.  Hubby and I have been on the receiving end of that help many, many times. They also might be the hardest working people I know! I am thankful that I got so lucky to have such great in-laws in my life!

Day 6: I am thankful for the rest of my family! My brother, my Mom, Grandma, all my Aunts and Uncles, all my cousins, my brother-in-law and his wife, and the rest of Hubby's family as well. I could spend all 30 days appreciating each and everyone of them. Family IS the most important thing in my life! I don't know if they all realize how much they mean to me, but I absolutely love when we get to spend time ALL together.

Day 7: I am thankful for having a warm house with food in the cupboards and a cozy bed to sleep in at night. It's an easy thing to take for granted, but the fact is that not everyone has that and I am so thankful that I don't have those worries!

Day 8: I am thankful for my job. I really enjoy my co-workers and their dedication to helping people. It's amazing to work in an industry that is all about helping people achieve their health and fitness goals. I have AMAZING clients that I absolutely love spending my time with. I LOVE being a part of their fitness journey and being a part of each new goal that they achieve.

Day 9: I am thankful for my 20 years of coaching softball. Softball is probably the biggest part of my life and I have been blessed to share most of these years with Hubby. The girls are family to us and I remember EVERY single girl I've ever coached from my 9 years as an assistant coach at Central, to my 2 years as Amity's Varsity coach, the past 8 years of being the Varsity Coach at Central, and all the numerous summer teams I've coached. (Fury, I am talking about YOU tomorrow) I think it's been an incredible thing to be able to coach these girls starting when they are about 10-11 years old and be with them all through high school. Being a part of their lives and watching them mature into the beautiful young ladies they are is an amazing experience. I also have been blessed with SO many awesome parents over the years, and am thankful for the friendships that have formed because of softball. I have now spent more years as part of the Central high school softball program than years I have been alive! (scary)

Major highlight of my life: winning the state championship in 2007.

Taking Amity to the State playoffs my first year coaching there was also a pretty incredible experience with another fun group of girls.

Day 10: Softball has been such a major part of my life, and something that I have gotten to share with Hubby. Today I am thankful for our Fury softball family that was born 2 summers ago. I am thankful to be a part of something that has been SO special, and you really can't understand what I mean by that unless you've been a part of this team because it is just too hard to describe. We have been able to take the Fury teams and help those girls play to their highest level, qualifying for the USA/ASA National tournament the last two summers. The first year we earned our trip to Nationals in Tennessee, played some great softball, and experienced real Southern hospitality first hand. It took a LONG time for the girls to stop speaking in a southern accent once they got back home.

This past summer was another special group that became best friends and LOVED to hang out together on AND off the field. We had 11 girls from 11 different high schools, but you never would have known. We qualified for Nationals in Alabama and experienced top notch softball, along with a great history lesson in the era of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Then this Fall we started over with another new group.  I have never experienced as much high level talent on one team! I can't wait for what next summer holds.

I have SO MANY awesome memories from our Fury teams. I am so very thankful for the experiences I've had with my Fury family.

Day 11: Today I am thankful for all the Veteran's who have served our country, past and present. Yesterday I watched my first ever Veteran's Day parade and felt very proud and thankful for all the Serviceman I saw go by.

Day 12: Today I am thankful for exercise and sports. I went to college and majored in Exercise and Sports Science because my favorite class in school was P.E. haha! I always loved sports and being active. I am thankful that I have been able to experience completing a marathon and running in the Hood to Coast Relay 7 times. I've competed in the Oregon Racquetball tournament circuit a few years, played softball one year of college, and then started coaching the next year and haven't stopped since. I am thankful for my health and the ability to participate in all these athletic adventures.

Day 13: I am thankful for my new car. Actually, it's not so new anymore since I've had it going on 2 years, but I am so thankful that #1. I have a mode of transportation to get me to work and everywhere else I need/want to go. #2. I am thankful I have a car that I feel safer in since it is bigger. One of my worst fears is dying in a car accident so I am very, very thankful for having a car I can feel safer in!

Day 14: I am thankful for the technology that keeps me in touch with everyone - my cell phone, which we finally broke down and got texting, which adds a whole other dimension to my life. Facebook, which keeps me in touch with people like friends from high school and my softball players and parents. Pinterest, which gives me a whole lot of ideas that I will never apply or do but like to dream about. Although I HAVE used a few of the recipes and fixed my hair a different way once thanks to Pinterest :) Modern technology is a whole new world from even just 10 years ago, and I am thankful for what we have available to us today (although I do spend WAY too much time using it! haha!!)  *And now I am also very thankful for the blogging community I have added.

Day 15: I am thankful for books! And I'm thankful for my eyesight and my ability to read them. I love a good book - one that can make you laugh, cry, think....I am thankful for being able to escape into someone else's story, even if it is only temporary (and fiction! lol)

Day 16: I am thankful for movies! One of my favorite things to do is going to the movies. Just like reading a good book, it lets me escape into someone else's story for a bit.

Day 17: I am thankful for electricity. Can you imagine having to use an ice box instead of a refrigerator? Or a fire instead of an oven? Or no heater to turn on in the winter? 

Day 18: I am thankful for being able to go to church and hearing a good message straight out of the bible, but applied to today's world in a funny yet heartfelt way. I am thankful that when I go to church I always leave feeling more at peace and hopeful for what the future holds.

Day 19: I am thankful for warm, comfortable clothes. i.e sweats. I like the fact that I pretty much get to wear sweats and a t-shirt to work everyday. Then I come home and get in even more comfortable clothes and snuggle in for the night! 

Day 20: I am thankful for the strange conversations I can have with both my husband and my sister. I asked both of them today who they would pick if they needed to have super human powers: Superman, Batman, or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle? The consensus is Superman for all of us.
 Hubby said "can you imagine what I could do in sports if I was Superman?" I agree, but if Spiderman were an option it would be a no brainer. I would have to go with Spiderman.

Day 21: I am thankful or my KitchenAid mixer which is going to come in handy tonight and tomorrow as I prepare our Thanksgiving meal. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for the wedding gift 15 years ago!

Day 22: Day of Thanksgiving: I've used other days to be thankful for them already, but I really, truly am thankful for my husband and my sister today.  This morning Hubby helped me do chores around the house, cleaning the bathroom, pulling the fridge out and mopping under it, sweeping the cobwebs off the front porch... And now he is doing the cleaning up of thanksgiving dinner!  Sis helped by making a dessert and coming early to help me prepare the Thanksgiving meal. She peeled the potatoes, did dishes, and helped me put an amazing meal on the table! I absolutely LOVE that we got to cook together. How could I not be thankful for both of them? Love them both!

Day 23: I am thankful that I can officially start listening to Christmas music, the most uplifting music there is. Really, is there any other music that gives you such warm and fuzzy feelings? I am thankful :)

Day 24: I am thankful for college football, and the Oregon State Beavers in particular. Even though I am disappointed with the outcome of some games, I am a Beaver Believer, win or lose. I am thankful for the season tickets that Hubby and I have been able to have since we got married. It gives us something to do together that we both really enjoy.

Day 25: I am thankful for my 2 feet which are about to take me on a nice walk before it gets too dark outside, on this November day of no rain!

Day 26: I am thankful for pictures. I love looking at old pictures and reminiscing the people I love and wonderful memories of certain events. I love that I can look at a picture of my Grandpa and conjure up sweet memories. I love looking at pictures of my nieces and nephews and getting warm fuzzies because I love them so much. I love looking at pictures of all the softball teams I've ever coached and the trips I've been on with those girls, and of course the state championship pictures. Pictures are a great reminder of all the things I have to be thankful for in my life, both past and present.

Day 27: I am thankful for living in Oregon, where we have just about everything: the ocean, the mountains, and even almost desert like Eastern Oregon. We get a lot of rain, but that is what makes our state so beautiful. We don't have to worry about hurricanes or tornado's. Yes, we had a small tornado in Turner, but that is NOTHING like they get in the midwest. We don't have blizzards or 20 below temperatures. We do get some flooding, but even that is minor in comparison to those states that get it EVERY year! Yes, we get some of these things, but on a MUCH smaller scale than other places across the U.S. I am very thankful for where I live.

Day 28: I am thankful for holidays. I am especially thankful for Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving because they give us a special reason to spend time with family. I like nothing better than getting together with family - seeing Aunts, Uncles, Cousins... These holidays remind us to be thankful for what we have. Christmas is my favorite because of the Christmas music, all the lights, Santa, the spirit of giving, and of course the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. I love December :)

*and hopefully I will have another reason to love December this time next week.

Day 29: I am thankful for indoor plumbing. For someone that has to pee constantly, it is a major plus to not have to trudge outside each time, especially in the middle of the night.

Day 30: I am thankful for God, who gives me hope in all things.

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If you've made it through to the end, thank you for sticking with me :)  I feel like I am in a much better place now after reviewing all these things I have to be thankful for.  In addition to this extensive list, I want to also add how thankful I am to the opportunity that we have had to pursue infertility treatments.  That is not something I would have posted on Facebook, but it is definitely something I am thankful for.  Now, if it will only work.....

One week from today, we will know for sure if those little embabies inside me have attached and are still growing strong.  7 days.  That seems like so long from now.