Thankful Thursday

This morning, we had our bags and lunches packed, water bottles filled, and clothes laid out for a fully planned day...morning playgroup, lunch and naptime with our besties visiting from Michigan, a stop to get groceries for a camping trip Zach and the boys were doing tomorrow, and then a t-ball game this evening.

And then the number flashed on the screen of the thermometer telling me all would change...Micah had a fever.

I had this brief thought that maybe, just maybe, since I was forced to stay home the whole day, all my clean laundry would get folded and put away, the counters would get straightened, the bathroom would get wiped down, and the house would be spic and span when Zach walked in the door for dinner later that evening.

Instead, I spent a day stepping over toys to get through the house, juggling dirty dishes in the sink to drain the spaghetti for dinner, and accomplishing not just little today but none.

It was a day for mothering.

A day to solve sibling squabbles, make a phone call to the pediatrician, tuck feverish boys under blankets, scrub Crayola markers off the walls, and clean up spilled water.  It was a day to hold a fussy baby, nurse way more than normal, and sit with a toddler on the potty chair in the bathroom.  It was a day to read books and put on one more movie and get snacks and drinks for all.

So today, even though my day was different than I expected, I am practicing being thankful.

I am thankful to be a full-time mommy.

I am thankful that I have the ability to be available for my kiddos when they are sick, and I am thankful for thermometers and tylenol.

As I attempted to scrub marker off the wall, I realized I needed to be thankful that we have walls...many of them.  And as I canceled plans for the day, I was thankful that I have friends and family around to have plans with.  I am thankful that at the end of a crazy day, all four children are sleeping soundly in their beds, the dishes are washed, the floors are swept, and the diapers are all in the wash.  The fresh air is pouring through the windows, giving me a sweet refreshing that life is good and that my day is well spent caring for my children, even when I don't have a chance to bring much order to the chaos.

I want to be the kind of person who rolls with life, who is flexible, laid back, and content.  Today I strived for the flexible when I was disappointed to change plans, and tonight, I am content in resting after a full-plate kind of day.

I am thankful for Ella's new sentences, for Micah's amazing attitude for life, even when he's sick, and for Sammy's words, "I love you, Mommy.  You are my best friend."  I am thankful for Sophia's drooly smiles and for the love my children pour out on each other.  It is the best.

I am thankful for so many awesome opportunities we have, one being that Zach gets to attend Willow Creek's Leadership Summit this week as part of his job (even though I may be a wee bit jealous).

I am thankful for summer and for family and, as always, for grace in the continued process of finding my mama rhythm.