Counting Blessings

This morning I got pretty close to having a mid-life-in-china crisis.  I was going through all the things I was frustrated with or just tired of (like how I just want to straighten my hair and wear something nice so that I can feel pretty again, my clothes are starting to fit funny since we don't have a dryer, I'm tired of my hard bed, I wish our floor was carpeted, and so on and so forth in my super whiny voice my family knows all too well) and I could feel myself slowly start to fall apart.  Not to mention,  I really want to be at home right now so that I can be there for my family as Gideon has had to go through life-threatening surgery and will be in the hospital for a few weeks while my siblings are needing to do a lot of fending for themselves.  I was letting myself feel sorry for myself when I remembered the email we received from my parents this morning.  They let us know that Gideon survived the surgery with no complications and is expected to recover and be home in a few weeks with no more surgery for a couple years!  Holy cow, what a miracle!! So should I feel sorry for my "hard" life when Heavenly Father just spared the life of my little brother proving that He will continue to shower blessings on my family who is still in desperate need?  No, I shouldn't. So, I will now list (in no particular order of importance) some of the blessings Jason and I have experienced while going through what I have said to be one of the most difficult times of my life so far:

1. We are mostly healthy and have not had any weird reactions to the food...yet.
2.  Internet access (most of the time)
3. A supportive church ward.
4. Students that like to give us stuff (a bracelet for me and a bead for Jason were this week's gifts)
5. A washing machine
6. Movies
7. A western toilet
8.  Hot water (usually)
9. Repairmen who sometimes fix things the best they can
10. People who email or comment letting us know they care (that's not a hint unless you think it is :)
11.  The supermarket has peanut butter back in stock
12. We found normal ice cream that doesn't cost the price of our firstborn.
13.  No, that doesn't mean there is going to be a firstborn soon ;)
14. Hundreds of cute kids who are excited to see us every single day.
15. A new water bottle that doesn't make my water taste like metal
16. oatmeal
17. Inexpensive transportation
18. A flower weed we picked a week ago that just keeps blooming
19. Train tickets to go to Beijing next week and stay with even more family.
20.  The ability to call and skype with anyone back home.
21. Scriptures
22. Jason worthily holds the Priesthood
23. We're not dead yet
24.  The sun has been out
25.  Warm weather after a freezing cold, snowy weekend
26. English Books
27.  Free purified water
28. English-speaking friends
29. Duct tape
30. Playing Hangman during class and the kids actually understood it!
31. Smart first graders who can work the projector and computer better than me.
32.  This week's lesson that includes a PowerPoint of our families. 
33.  Soap, even though it sometimes stinks
34.  Going out for dinner last night, just us, and remembering how fun dating/being married is.
35. Preschoolers who started their rollerblading unit. 

 36. 3 months of being sealed together
 37.  Pancake breakfast (Jason made them) that tasted almost like normal pancakes!  It reminded me of my family's annual pancake breakfast outside on the fourth of July and I got very excited we'll be home just in time for it :)

 38. Opening the door after class to see this.  He cleaned and made a cute banner out of notebook paper and duct tape (see #29).

39.  We are living in China!  We are doing something people only dream about and, no matter how hard it is, I'm so glad we're here.
40.  The support and love we constantly feel from our families and friends.  We have always been surrounded by some of the best people out there so thank you to everyone. 

This is just a short list. I know there are a lot more blessings that we don't see or notice because they get lost in the crowd.