I AM STILL THANKFUL!

Saturday
Today I am thankful for a great basketball coach for Brian. Not only does he teach the boys great skills on the court, but he also teaches them about life off the court and how to be a great young man! Thank you Coach Finch for your example to these young men and also for all your time and dedication!

As I wrote last week, Brian made the A team for basketball at the jr high. He has the same coach that he had at the end of the season last year. Coach Finch is the Offensive Guard coach at the high school. He is also a pumpkin farmer for his "real" job.
Gio and I were impressed with him the first time that we met him. The way he interacts with the boys is great. It is obvious that he loves the game of basketball...but more than that it is obvious that he loves the boys that he coaches.
I don't think I have ever heard him "yell" at the boys how most coaches I have seen. And trust me, I've seen a lot of them. (We've been this route with Robert in the past).
The thing that impresses me the most about Coach Finch is the fact that not only does he want the boys to be good ball players (remember, some of these boys will be on the high school team as they get older, if they are good enough), but he wants for them to be good young men. The lessons that he teaches to them off the hardwood are more important than anything else. He wants them to be good young men.
We feel blessed to have him as Brian's coach and know that he will be a positive influence in his life in many ways!
Thank you Coach Finch!

Sunday
Today I am thankful for my KitchenAid mixer.

I know that today is Sunday and it seems like I could find something more appropriate to be thankful for..but because it is Sunday that is why I am thankful for my mixer. It's been about a year now since Gio bought me my mixer. It was for my b-day last year. I had wanted on for a while, but they are so expensive and we just didn't have the money to buy one. I stumbled across at great deal at Sams Club and so Gio gave in and bought it. He tells me now that he didn't really think that I would use it, but since I wanted it he bought it.

I can honestly say that because of that mixer we have a new Sunday tradition. My friend, Mary, taught me how to make Italian pizza. The real kind. We bought the pizza stone. Not the pampered chef kind, but the real one that is about an inch thick and that I can put the oven up to 550F to cook. He also bought me the pizza paddle. We have found so much joy out of these three kitchen items that we bought! Our Sunday tradition is Pizza. The kind of pizza that cooks in 4-5 minutes in the oven and reminds us of our dear Italy. We feel like we are "home" for a few minutes as we take a few mouth watering bites.

So, yes, I am thankful for my KitchenAid today, and every day!
Thank you Gio! I love you!