Being Thankful for the Little Things....

Definitely something I need to work on. It's so easy to get caught up in the "what I don't have" mentality. I see it in my kids daily: instead of being thankful for a cookie, they complain because they didn't get two. Or rather than enjoy the beautiful sunny day outside, they whine because their friends aren't around to play with.
I think (or at least, I hope) that I am a bit more mature and don't just whine and complain because I don't have more, or better. But I do see that it's an area that I do need to be aware of, and continue to work on. This morning is the perfect example.
After juggling 40 minutes of aerobics between helping K and N with their school, I was good and ready for a shower. But, by the time I got out, I was feeling rather self-pitying as my shower had consisted of: attempting to keep the baby from diving into the tub (water goes on, and she wants IN!), breaking up fights between the boys, helping Kaitlyn spell words as she wrote her journal entry and explaining grammar to Nathan. So much for a simple 5 minute, peaceful shower. =( Can't I just have a few uninterrupted moments to myself??? Why can't the kids leave me alone for just a very short time??? These, and more thoughts were running around in my head. I was quickly heading down the complaining path that so annoys me in my kids.
So I decided I need to focus on what I can be thankful for: I'm clean. The water was hot. Julianne didn't unroll the roll of TP while I was wet and couldn't do anything about it. She managed to not completely throw herself into the tub (though she was rather soggy by the end of my shower).
The kid's verse that is now taped to our dining room wall (Phil 2:14 Do everything without complaining or arguing) is there just as much for me as for them.