A = Amazon. I am thankful to Amazon for giving me a job this Holiday season. I am grateful they gave me a chance to come back to work after such a long hiatus and I hope to come back next Holiday season. Thank you for the additional income. I almost have Steffen's braces paid off. I am also thankful for autumn, my favorite season. I love the changing colors and the cool, crisp mornings.
B = Books. I am thankful for the ability to read. I struggled with reading and had a reading tutor in grade school, but my disability never kept me from the love of a good story. In addition, I am grateful for my fourth grade teacher who started me on Walt Morey's books. I am also thankful for bacon. Yum.
C = Cars. I am thankful for living in a time where we can travel to one place to another in relative ease. I love the freedom of the open road before me. I am also thankful for camping. I loved going camping when I was a child, and continue to enjoy the great outdoors, as we try and take one big camping trip a year with our boys.
D = Dogs. I am thankful for the companionship a dog offers and how they love unconditionally. I am also grateful for Disney.
E = Ed. I am grateful for my eternal companion, Ed. I am thankful for his friendship and how he brings balance to my life. I am also thankful for Elder Missionaries; our son, Michael, who is serving a mission in Salt Lake City and Elder Blackmore, who introduced the gospel to Ed. I am also grateful for Eagle Scouts, which I am a mother of two.
F = Family. I am grateful for Family (Mother, Father, Grandparents) including those in my extended family of aunts, uncles, and cousins. I enjoy visiting family and wish we did it more often. I am also grateful to distant cousins whom I have never met in person, but has been immense help in researching family history. I am also thankful for fan fiction.
G = Grammie. I am grateful for my grandmother, whom we called "Grammie." I miss her so much. I am grateful we had the opportunity to grow up only a few blocks from her, but was sad when we moved to Oregon and only visited a couple times a year. She often went on camping trips with us and was always a trooper. I also miss her cooking, especially her fried chicken and angel pie. I am also thankful for gymnastics. My favorite sport to watch.
H = Humor. I am grateful for humor. I love to laugh and smile. I am also grateful for heat, whether from curling up by the wood stove in my pajamas, reading a good book or feeling the sun's warmth. I also love horses and horseback riding.
I = Internet. I am thankful for social network sites like Facebook, where I have had the opportunity to reconnect with old friends and find new friends. I also love the internet for the ability to research information for storytelling and family history and blogging.
J = Jesus. I am eternally grateful for Jesus. I know I don't say it, but I am thankful for all Jesus has done for me. I am grateful for the atonement and of His ultimate sacrifice. I am also grateful for life's journey.
K = Kids. I am grateful for my three boys; Michael, Steffen, and Joey. They are my world. I am also thankful for kisses, both the sweet moonlight kisses and the chocolate variety.
L = Lakes. I am grateful for lakes. The beauty of them and the enjoyment we get from boating on ours. I love living on one of the most beautiful lakes in the county: Mason Lake. I am also grateful for Lookouts. Ed has been a forest fire lookout a few times in his career and I love the peace and solitude of being on the mountaintop, protecting the forest lands and trees.
M = Musicals. I am grateful for musicals and love to watch them. I am also thankful for the musicals I have had the opportunity to be a part of, whether directing, stage managing, or acting. The Sound of Music is probably my favorite, but the one I probably go around singing the most is Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I am also grateful for Mountains and so glad I am surrounded by some of the most astonishing sights of Mt. Rainier and the Olympic Mountains.
N = Naps. I am grateful for naps. I am also thankful for the Navy. I appreciate the brave service men and women keeping us safe. In addition, thanks for keeping Ed employed.
O = Oceans. From sea to shining sea, I am thankful for oceans. I am grateful I have had the opportunity to see much of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans (and a small bit of the Gulf of Mexico) although I had to admit my favorite coastline is on the Oregon beaches.
P = Parents. I am thankful for my Mother and Father and everything they have done for me. I am also thankful for pie.
Q = Quiet. I enjoy the quietness of the house, where I can weave out stories and also love the quietness of soft snow falling or the babbling of brooks. Also Quiddtich, because it is a fun word and I had to get a "Harry Potter" reference in here somewhere.
R = Rieners. I am grateful to be apart of the Riener family and appreciate how they welcomed me into the family. I am also thankful for the mighty rivers of the Willamette and Columbia, near Portland, Oregon, where I grew up.
S = Sisters. I am grateful for my sisters, Elizabeth and Cathy. Yes, we fought like cats and dogs growing up; however, I could not have asked for two better sisters. And I appreciate my sister, Cathy, who is my biggest cheerleader. I am also thankful for "Scarecrows".
T = Theatre. I am grateful for being involved in theater and the first time someone reached out to me (Brad) asking me to become involved with the group, I felt like I had come home. I am also thankful for travel and the opportunity I have had to see much of the United States, Canada, and a tiny bit of Europe.
U = USA. I am thankful to be an American and enjoy the freedoms we have and hold dear. I am also grateful to the University of Washington Medical Center, where two of my boys were born and for them saving my life almost 20 years ago. (I also have to give a shout out to Harborview and Seattle EMS).
V = Veterans. I am grateful for veterans. Those currently serving, those who have serviced, and those who laid down their life for our Country. Thanks for all you do. I love to attend the Armed Forces Parade in Bremerton and witness the pride of our community. I am also grateful for vacations.
W = Writing. I am grateful for the gift of writing. I am also thankful for waterfalls and Western (both Western Oregon University and Western Washington University). Thanks for the quality education I received from these schools.
X = The only "X" words I could think of were X-Flies and x-rays and I guess xylophone, which is similar to a glockenspiel. I loved seeing the Rathaus-Glockenspiel in Munich, Germany a few years ago. I also played the xylophone in fifth grade band.
Y = Yosemite. One of my all-time favorite National Parks to visit. I love your magnificent monoliths and your beautiful waterfalls. I also love Yellowstone, with all your geysers (and other thermal activity), waterfalls, and lumbering bison. (But don't call them buffalo).
Z = Zucchini. I am grateful for vegetables, especially green beans, corns, artichokes, but my favorite is probably zucchini. I like it streamed and fried. As well as in zucchini bread. My grandmother used it in soup, which she called Slumgullion. I am also grateful for Zula - because I had to get a Scarecrow and Mrs. King reference in here too, of course.