Thankfullness Happens on the Weekends Too!

So, I realized that my blog doesn't even cross my mind on the weekends!  I've kind of set it up that way a long time ago.   Extra time we have on weekends is dedicated to family time.  So, with that said, I didn't even consider the "Thankfulness Blog" until this afternoon.  I do remember what I am thankful for, so thankfully (pun is so intended there) we won't miss a beat.

On Saturday, I was thankful to just get through the day with my mind in tact...somewhat.  OK, OK, so that's not really an expression of gratitude, but a somewhat passive aggressive complaint.  Although, Saturday was INSANELY busy, I do have something I am thankful for.  I am thankful that I had a chance to catch up with people.  In the afternoon, we spent some time at my mom's house, and had a chance to catch up with all my sisters and their spouses. 

Then that evening I spent some time with the ladies from our church.  We had a fun event called "Speed Friending."  It's just like speed dating except I didn't go home with a love connection.  Instead, I left feeling like I got a chance to get to know some of the women that I didn't know previous.  I did leave with two dates, though.  I am thankful that I will be able to get to know these two other ladies just a bit better.

So to sum up Saturday, I am thankful for friendships.  I am thankful that I have people in my life who desire to know me, love me, and live life with me.

Priceless.

On Sunday, The Girl, woke up feeling pretty horrible.  She had been brewing an illness since Friday evening and by Sunday it was rip roaring.  Poor girl has no voice, a horribly sore throat, and a slight fever.

So, I am thankful that I haven't heard her speak for two full days.

OH I KID!

Geez.

No, really I am thankful for The Hubs who graciously stayed home with her while I attended church on Sunday (and he stayed home with her this morning too, so I could make it to a Spin class).  Even though The Hubs had to spend a good chunk of his Saturday watching the kids while I was out maintaining friendships, he sacrificially gave up his time at church so our girl could mend.

THANK YOU, HUBS!

Each year, I make each child a montage of pictures from their past year, and it goes along with music that speaks to my heart about that child.  Just this past weekend I had a thought run across my mind that reminded me that I had NO CLUE what music I was going use for The Girl's upcoming EIGHTH BIRTHDAY.  Mercy.  Usually, throughout the year, I will hear a song or four that I love because it makes me think about my kid(s).  I don't know what happened this year, but I have nothing!  Then, this morning I went to spin class.  Now, spin class is not exactly the first place that I think of when I think about going somewhere to hear music that makes me think of my kids.  However!  Today, there was a song that was totally perfect for The Girl.  I won't give it away until her montage is put together, but today I am thankful that I found The Girl's song.   Especially, since just recently, it has been weighing on my mind.

I just love how He is in all the little details.

The Way to my Heart is Through a Bowl of Guacamole

Tonight, I am thankful for date night.  Tableside guacomole, good conversation, and time alone with The Hubs.

Enough said.

Yes, It's a Twofer!

I didn't want to get a day behind, and yes, I did blog earlier this morning, but that was for yesterday, and I hadn't yet come upon what I was thankful for for today.  So, now I am back in an effort to stay on track.

I really don't need to explain myself, do I?  I mean, this is my blog, and my silly little challenge, so I guess I make up the rules, right?

So without getting too caught up in why I am posting twice in one day, we're going to move right on along with what I am thankful for today.

Today, I am thankful for the small amount of quiet time I was given unexpectedly.  I had an unbelievably busy day scheduled today.  Actually, there wasn't that much going on, but the amount of driving that was required to get done the few things that needed to get done, was what sucked the time (and enjoyment) right out of my day.  Plus, I had a few things which didn't overlap just right and so I had dead wait time.  Time that I could have gotten a whole bunch done, but instead of being productive, I had to sit and wait.  I hate it when that happens.

Oh wait!  I am supposed to share what I am THANKFUL for. 

So, earlier this morning, after I had dropped The Little Man off at school, I realized that some of the errands I needed to run would not be run because the stores that I needed to be open in order to complete the errand, were not open.  DRATS!  Another dead wait time.  Feeling angry about not getting things accomplished, I re-ran the to-do list through my head trying to figure a different approach to the day that would allow me to not waste the time I now had before me.  Nothing was working out.  As I was getting closer and closer back to home, I had a thought.  What if I just didn't even run these errands today?  What would happen if I said, "Nope, not today?"  What if I just went home and sat in my house with a warm cup of tea and some yummy honey toast and just took a deep breath?  I mean, really, who's in control here, me or my to-do list?  When the to-do list didn't get mouthy back at me because I threatened to ignore it, I took that chance and ran with it. 

I came home, made some tea, toasted up some honey toast, and sat down with The Word.  Not a single soul was home except me, the dog, and God.  Blissful doesn't even describe it. 

Today, I am thankful that the Holy Spirit prompted me to stop being a slave to my to-do list and to instead spend some time with my Father.

He knew just how much I would need it in order to face and conquer the rest of the day.

No Humans Were Harmed in the Making of This Post

Last night, after dinner out at one of my favorite places (I am so thankful for you Sweet Tomatoes!), the kids and I ran a couple of quick errands at the stores in the surrounding area.  As we were leaving a store, and I was backing the car out of the parking space, I heard a large(r) sounding thud.  Surprised, not only by the noise, but also because I had checked behind me before backing up and saw nothing in the way.  My car is equipped with a rear backup camera, so my eyes quickly glanced down at the screen and saw nothing. 

me: Phew! It must just be a hole in the street behind us.  I never noticed that there was a hole back there.
P: Well thank goodness it wasn't a human!
me: Well....Yes, I am thankful it wasn't a human.

In summary: I am thankful for Sweet Tomatoes, and that I didn't run over a human.

Thankful Despite the Storm

Today I am thankful for our garage.  Because of this luxury, I did not have to face the snow face-to-face.  While I did have to go out in the miserable weather, I never had to step foot out "in it" because I got into my car in the garage, picked up The Girl through the carpool line (which I get to stay in the car for thanks to dedicated teachers who run the carpool lane each day), and then drove right back into my garage and walked into my house.  Not a single flake touched my skin. 

I know you know how happy that makes me.

Also, because of said garage, I will not have to scrape my windshield in the morning.

Lastly, I am also thankful for The Hubs who, despite his busy schedule this week, made sure to get snow tires on my car.

And not a second too late!

Thanks, Hubs.

I Blame it on the Time Change

GAH!  I already missed a day?  All I can say is, "I told you so".

Also, I do remember what I was thankful for yesterday so this should be easy for me to catch up on.

Daylight savings came to an end yesterday.  In the past seven years this has meant nothing but torture to me. I would sit and remember the days of old when I would relish in the one hour of extra sleep and either catch up on rest or get an extra hour of stuff done.  Since having children, those days came to a screeching halt as my sweet cherubs could care less what the clock says and only respond to the clock in their stomachs.  In the early days of motherhood this meant one more feeding through the night.  As they grew out of night feedings, it meant that we were up at 6:00 am instead of 7:00 am to eat our breakfast.  It also translated into a day of torture as I  painfully tried to adjust their schedule to the new time difference convincing them that it wasn't time to eat lunch yet, and that nap that they I we so desperately needed would need to be put off for one. more. hour.  And the day?  I know it was only an hour time change, but it seemed like it stretched on to eternity.

This year was different.

This year BOTH children recognized the gift we were all receiving by turning those clocks back.  We all relished in an extra hour of sleep and snuggle time.  We all enjoyed waking up with the sun instead of a full hour before the sun.  There was no one begging to eat at 0'dark thirty, and no one fussy as they tried to hold off napping for one hour.  When bedtime came we all hit the hay and fell a sleep peacefully.  It was WONDERFUL!  I am so thankful to be at a time in our kids lives where we can enjoy this time change and not be cursing the fact that we don't live in a state that does not observe Daylight Savings.

I am also thankful that Daylight savings time comes to an end in November and is not beginning because otherwise, I would be writing a much different post probably titled "Why My Heart Really Lives in Arizona". 

Stay tuned.  March really isn't that far away.

Instead, this made for a very easy something to be thankful for.

You know, that I waited SEVEN years for.

Today, I am thankful for the library.  The amount of free entertainment available there is huge.  And if my kids are entertained, well then, so am I.  We usually come home from the library with two large bags bursting at the seams with books and movies. (Although, I do try to keep movies to a minimum because here they can only be checked out for one week while books are available for three weeks.  What that means in this house is when the books are due, I am usually looking at a pile of movies that I was supposed to take back two weeks ago.  So, sometimes the entertainment isn't so free.)

We recently took a break from the library because I needed a break from keeping track of all the library books and different due dates.   A couple of weeks ago, The Girl (or you could even read "I") was assigned a large project on Western Expansion.  It requires a lot of reading, a diorama, and a field trip.  I am so thankful to live in a community that has a great library system available to us.  Because of the library, not only do we get free entertainment, you know, barring I get everything back by it's due date, but I didn't have to BUY any books on Western Expansion.  Because I am sure we would have loved to have read those over and over.

Thank you, library, for allowing us to borrow books we would never want to buy.

And for not charging me an arm and a leg when I forget to return them.

A Month Of Thanks

So, I would love, love, LOVE to do this little project where I jump on this ol' blog of mine and post something I am thankful for each day.  How cool would it be to have the whole month of November full of posts I found to be worthy of praise?  How cool would it be to be able to one day go back and re-read all the blessings I had the chance to be apart of?  Now, how likely is it that I would actually be able to do this?

Wait.  Don't answer that.

I do want to try though...even though I've already missed SIX days.

The pressure of it all makes me want to give up before I even start!

Since I can barely remember what I had for breakfast this morning, I am not going to name six things that happened each day this week, but six things that I can remember from the last few days.  Then, I will try my best to be here each day.  Even if it is just a simple sentence.

So far:

1. I am so thankful for the wonderful fall weather we have been given this year.  I am totally loving thoroughly enjoying the outdoors all the way into November.  Which leads me to number two...

2. I am thankful that the kids love being outdoors as much as I do, and when necessary, I am able to tell them to haul their little booties outdoors to burn off the energy that is about to drive me insane.  The other day, after being outside for a while, both kids came indoors as it was starting to get dark.   They didn't want to stay indoors, though.  They asked, instead, if they could each have some gloves to wear because their hands were getting too cold to climb trees.  Since I was in the thick of making dinner, I obliged, and smiled as I watched both walk back outside with their gloves, flip flops, and shorts.

Oh, and along the same lines, I am thankful for an afternoon (today) so warm that The Girl was begging me to get into her swimsuit so she could run in the sprinkler.

In November.

3.  After having some struggles with some people/situations I am facing in life, I was ever so thankful for God leading me to a little lesson written by Oswald Chambers.  As Oswald Chambers talks about God's advanced preparation for us in this life, he states that many experiences are not meant for us personally at all, but instead to make us useful in His hands and to help us understand others and situations that take place in their lives.  Because of this process, Oswald says that we may never state: "Oh, I just can't deal with that person."  he goes on to say, "Why can't you? God gave you sufficient opportunities to learn from Him about that problem; but you turned away, not heeding the lesson, because it seemed foolish to spend your time that way."

Gulp.

He goes on to talk about how we tend to want to know why we have to go through something even before we go through it in order to, many times, to see if we can manipulate some sort of "shortcut".  Then Oswald gives this reminder, "God's way is always the way of suffering--the way of the "long road home."

I am so thankful to have my eyes cleared and opened wide in light of this important lesson brought my way this week.

4. I am thankful for a wonderful conference with The Little Man and his dedicated teachers this week.

5. I am thankful for a chance to go through an old file cabinet in the basement.  The Hubs would really like to get the basement finished this winter, so that means we have A LOT of cleaning ahead of us.

A LOT.

Thankfully, he is allowing the cleaning process to go by in baby steps.  He knows that most of the stuff down there is mine and many items contain sentimental value.  I am also thankful that my heart has been changed towards much of that stuff and I am now at a point in which I am willingly able to purge.  Today, however, as I was going through this filing cabinet there were several things that caught my eye, and my heart.  Pictures, old cards, and specifically a letter.  The letter was from my grandmother and it was stuffed inside a card that she gave us to congratulate us on our marriage, and I almost tossed the card, until I saw the letter sticking out the bottom corner.  In the letter, my grandmother tells The Hubs and I how special it was that we were able to come and visit her earlier in the summer.  She was also sad that she could not attend our wedding because it was too far for her to travel, but she wanted us to know that she was there at the wedding.  "No, you could not see me, but I was there in my thoughts and prayers." she says.  This last summer we went to visit her again as we do every couple years.  The grandmother we visited this summer is much different now than the grandmother that wrote that letter because my grandmother now is in some pretty advanced stages of dementia.   With memories still fresh on my mind of her not knowing who I was this summer, reading this letter flooded my mind with memories of the woman she once was.

Thankful doesn't quite cover it.


6.  I am thankful that this past week we received all our information on the Compassion child we are sponsoring.  I loved looking at her sweet picture and pouring over the details of who she is and where she lives.  I am even more thankful that The Girl was even more excited to get her hands on all of Robinah's information.  I loved watching her dive into all the info and take in every small detail of this little girl half way around the world.  I am thankful that she is excited to be apart of Robinah's life and is anxious to send and receive letters to/from her.  The Girl is elated at the thought of having Robinah as a friend half way around the world.  She is relieved that Robinah is now being cared for physically (The Girl chose Robinah because she was an orphan), and most importantly, The Girl was ecstatic at the thought that now, since she is being sponsored through Compassion, she will have the opportunity to be taught about the love Jesus has for her.

I am so thankful that The Girl knew that that was the most important part.

Hopefully, I'll be back tomorrow...and all the days of November.