Blessings Amid the Chaos

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but I've had a few things go wrong this week.

I had a guy come over the other day for what I thought was going to just be a tune-up on my air conditioner. He came back in after a few minutes and gave me a list of things that were very wrong with the system, from the wrong-sized breaker to the capacitor and condensers being VERY old and on their last legs. In other words, it probably won't make it through the summer. Now, we get to go through the wonderful experience of shopping for a new one. The joys of home-ownership are hitting us early.
Several things have broken or needed replacing this week, including my little laminator that I was using to make my nephew's present for his birthday this weekend.
My three-and-a-half-year-old who has been potty trained since last year has suddenly started having accidents again. And I don't know why. She obviously doesn't want to. And she isn't consistent with it. But it's happening ... and an added stress to our life right now. This on top of her fighting nap and bedtime every day.
My twenty-month-old keeps having coughing fits in the middle of the night due to his allergies. I get up and give him a spoonful of honey, help him lay back down, and he sleeps several more hours. But having to get up and do all of that leaves me awake for an hour or so before I can get back to sleep.
My Grandmother is in the hospital with blood pressure and heart issues.
My husband's uncle is in another hospital with major heart issues.
My father-in-law is trying to tie things up where they are so he can move closer to us, which is a huge hassle because we still need to go through more of my mother-in-law's things to decide to keep/toss, and I worry about him.
I have several friends who have lost a parent lately.
My husband is stressed because it's the end of the school year and everything has to happen NOW.
​And it all adds up.

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Are you depressed yet?
​Keep reading.

Something I have learned over the last few years (even if I don't always remember to do it) is that when everything seems to be going wrong, I need to sit down and make myself think about things that are going right. I need to stop and count my blessings.
Obviously, I am not going to list ALL of my blessings on here, because you guys don't want to read this for that long. But I wanted to show you that in the long run, my blessings really do outweigh all the "bad" stuff.

• I have a house. Yes, it needs a new AC, but it's a huge blessing. We have enough room and it's cute and comfortable and keeps us safe from the weather. 
• The weather hasn't been warm enough to need the AC on yet, and the heater is still working for now on the cooler nights. That means that even if it did break right now, we'd still be okay for a little while.
• Over all, our health is really good. Allergies are "live-with-able." Potty accidents happen, but don't necessarily mean something is wrong.
• We have amazing friends near and far who offer advice and referrals and help and prayers.
• I have had my Grandmother for longer than a lot of people and she has passed on so many good things to me already. And I know when it is her time to go (which I don't think is yet), I will get to see her again in Heaven.
• I have talents and abilities that let me give to others, and that, in turn, makes me happy, too.
• It has been an absolutely gorgeous spring, so even though I am missing my bluebonnets this year, I am loving the azaleas and dogwoods, red buds and irises and tulips and daffodils and lilies.
• I get to have a garden this year, and am so excited about the possibilities (here's hoping my brown thumb is a bit greener this time).
• It's so fun to experience things through my children's eyes. They are excited about almost every trip we take, even if it's just to the grocery store. They are amazed at bugs and worms and growing things and new leaves and rainbows. And it's a good reminder to me to be amazed at those things, too.
• I have a wonderful husband who works so hard to support our family, going in early and trying to make sure that most of his work is done at school so he can spend time with us when we gets home.
• Our tax refund this year was enough that we were able to take care of quite a few things on our list, including getting rid of a bit of our debt.
• We have an awesome God who loves us more than we can even imagine and will help us through this, too.

See? It's not really that bad. :-)
Okay, your turn. Feel free to list all your bads, but then go back and list the goods beside them. See which one is longer!