These are just five of the twenty-three people I'm thankful for today.



Today was a teacher work day, and, guess what? I missed these guys! It's not fun to be at school without the kids. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed, I'm almost always exhausted, and sometimes I wonder if I can really do this for the next thirty years. And then one of these kids smiles at me. Or holds my hand. Or tells me that they love me. Or discovers they can do something they thought they never could. And I'm no longer overwhelmed, no longer tired, and completely sure that this is the job I was born to do.

I am a teacher. For those faces right there. (I wish you could see them because they're so stinkin' cute :))) And I am so thankful for each of those little smiles, missing teeth and all.