Sunday Gratitude Linkup #2

Hello! I'm glad you stopped by for the Sunday Gratitude Linkup. I hope you are linking up with me today to share your gratitude or reflection post. I'm a big believer in gratitude journaling and reflecting. 

Gratitude journaling is something I have recently taken up. In April 2012, I was faced with a work-life decision I was not confident in making. My husband's busy pre-deployment work schedule conflicted with my work schedule. In addition, the non-profit I was working for was going through some organizational restructuring and my position was at risk of being cut. After making the decision to leave the organization, I spiraled into negative thinking and a poor attitude. I decided to change my attitude by taking time each day to journal 5 things I was grateful for. Shortly after I began blogging I incorporated  my gratitude journal each Sunday. I would love for you to join me!

Here are the simple guidelines:

Sunday Gratitude Journal Link Up

Post your 'gratitude post' URL, not your blog URL. Click on the title of your gratitude post, copy the URL from the address bar. Paste into the Inklinkz. 

Link back to this blog in your post. Grab the Adventures of a Semper Fi Family button or use a text link. What is a text link? It's a 'linking up here' kind of thing. This will help spread the word about the Sunday Gratitude Linkup and give others a chance to participate.

Read others gratitude posts, leave a comment, and encourage them to continue posting.

Now for my Gratitude...

My husband port-ed in Thailand. After too many weeks of only emails, we could talk and Facetime. He would call in the morning before our school routine got started and he would wake up our sleepyhead, Zac. Derrick would talk a mile a minute and Ky would give her "OMG" look to whatever her dad said. It was like any other pre-deployment morning.

The phone calls were just what I needed. I feel refreshed and re-energized. The communication catapulted me over the hurdle and I'm now in a more positive phase of deployment. I won't be caught off guard by tough days, I know they are lurking. But I finally have an "I can do this!" mentality, at least today!

I am so grateful we have the technology to connect via cell phone. We didn't need a special international plan on our phones. My husband just had to access Wi-Fi. Thank God we are living in a technological age which enables us to see each other when ten thousand miles apart.

I am grateful my husband had an opportunity to enjoy some of the local culture while in port. What a cool perk of being in the military. A person really does get to see the world. Maybe not the greatest parts of the world or the greatest situations, but it definitely opens the mind. Despite the discomforts of ship life, porting in foreign countries is something to be grateful for. 

Look at the cool things my husband did and saw. Monkeys, elephants, and water buffalo...OH MY! I know if he had the choice, he would stay home and not experience all these new countries and cultures. But they didn't ask him, the military never does. So, we enjoy the pictures and stories and keep moving forward.

I am grateful God has worked on my heart and mind over the years. I use to get so jealous of my husband's 'business' travels. Every extended layovers in Europe made me want to scream. I was home caring for babies, trying to manage all the household crap, and he was "stuck" in some foreign country drinking foreign beer chumming it up with the guys. Oh, I have so been there mil spouses. I started turning it over to God, educated myself on the military and war, and I got a job which required me to travel. And I started to understand it isn't as peachy as it appears. I don't like being away from my children for more than a day. But I could possibly be convinced if I can cruise the Southern Hemisphere with some girl friends on Carnival!!

All joking aside, I am most grateful my husband and all the Marines & sailors were kept safe in port. Everybody came back to the ship unharmed and accounted for. That is the biggest blessing!

Linking up here and here.