Thankful Thursday

(Don't you love the new look on the blog??  Thank you oodles and oodles to Joy Neal, a dear friend walking out her journey as a missionary in Indonesia!  Joy, you are amazing!  Don't forget to sign up to receive email updates about new posts on the right!)

For some reason, I have not blogged in the past week.  Not for lack of thoughts, though.  I have things to say, recipes to share, and lots of great pics on my camera.  But sick kids trump all, and I have had sick kiddos for almost two weeks.  All three bigs had fevers last week, and this week, our poor Sophia has more double ear infections. (I think her 5th or 6th time now?)  So lots of home days, baby holding, and a slower-paced schedule for us.  That part has actually been quite nice.  The kids have painted, Micah put together a wooden birdhouse, we collected samples in petri dishes to watch bacteria grow, we played a geography game, we've worked through tons of curriculum and have read lots of books.  We've snuggled and done puzzles and have been memorizing Psalm 23.  We've had lots of time to be together and to enjoy our homeschooling life.  Such a joy.

As I've thought about Thankful Thursday today, I realized that I am especially thankful this week for friends. Two of my closest friends (one from Michigan, one from Canada) were in town recently, and it was such a treat to have time with both.

Kim, Melissa, and Me

My friends and my family threw me the most AMAZING surprise 30th birthday party on Saturday.  I thought I was going to a Thirty-One party (where they sell bags and organizing materials, etc.) but really it was a "Thirty" party!  I had a couple of suspicions that made me wonder if there was to be a surprise party, so I felt nervous all day and silly for either scenario...party or not!  Well, it was most definitely a party!  I was overwhelmed in the hugest way with how blessed I am to have such amazing women in my life.  And it is always such a beautiful thing to have women from different circles and parts of my life all in one place.  So I really wanted to record this down as one of life's best moments to date.  I am blessed beyond words.  I couldn't stop smiling.  And I had SUCH a blast.  We had a table full of appetizers, sangria, and a delectable chocolate fountain!  AND they spoiled me with gifts...lots of them!  Seriously, amazing, amazing, amazing birthday surprise!

So today, I am thankful for friendship and for the gift of friends in my life.  I do not EVER want to take this for granted.  I am one rich gal.  (I wish I had pictures of everyone there!  But this will have to do for now...)  

Two of my closest friends...my mama and my sister.

My mom's bestie, Julie, who is family to me.

My bestie of 15 years now!  Blessed, blessed, blessed...

My "book study girls," who are my lifesavers on so many levels.

Starting to become slaphappy at midnight!  We kept saying, "Why didn't we take pictures in the beginning of the night when we all looked better?"

Me and  my Melissa, my favorite Canadian

I came across a devotion from Lysa Turkeurst today on exactly this.  Friendship.  

There aren't many women who enjoy being revealed, exposed, and uncovered. But establishing real intimacy with another person requires pushing past the resistance—past the fear.
Friendship is risky. To be known is to risk being hurt. But friendship can be beautiful, and worth the risk...

I am so thankful for women who have taken that risk with me...who have allowed me to share myself and my stuff and who have let me in to know theirs, too.  This is a gift.  This is beautiful.

Yes, friendship is beautiful. The Lord gave it to us. He knew we would need each other to get through this life.

I am thankful for friends today.

What are you thankful for?

Sammy is FOUR!

My sweet, loving, silly Sammy turned FOUR today.  We have been counting down the days for the last couple of weeks, and the day was finally here!  Sammy picked out exactly what he wanted for birthday breakfast (cinnamon rolls, sausage, and hashbrowns) and we celebrated with family and friends at a little McDonalds party for lunch (again, exactly what he wanted!).  He loved it all.  I was so excited to celebrate my second son today.  He is so precious and special to me in so many ways!  

Samuel Alan, you have captured my heart with your smile.  It is amazingly contagious and melts every heart.  You are such a sweet boy.  You love your siblings sooooo much.  You and Micah are the best of buds...you do everything together.  In fact, I like to tease that you have "codependent" tendencies with Micah.  You just want to be with him and be like him in every way.  It is precious.  I know I am safe with two superheroes in the house, fighting away every bad guy that tries to attack!

You and Ella are such good buds, although you definitely butt heads more often, being so close in age and each of you being in that fight-for-independence stage, too.  But you two love to be silly and laugh together, and you dance and play and chat together about little things.  And you adore Sophia.  It is so precious to see how much you love to kiss her, hold her, and make her smile.  She adores you, too.  We call you "the S's," and you both look so much alike!!!  She is a mini-you!

Sammers, we also joke that you are the "class clown" of the family.  Although you are often so quiet and more reserved when we are out and about, you are such a little comedian at home!  You love to be silly and make everyone laugh.  And you do!!!  We love to laugh with you!!

My precious son, you are brilliant.  I will take the liberty today of giving myself mama bragging rights...Daddy and I are amazed at how smart your little mind is.  You know the location of every single one of the fifty United States, and you can identify each state's shape, also.  You are learning the capitals, and you already know so many!  You are also starting to tell time, and I know that you are going to love the new watch Auntie Kim got you for your birthday!  You love numbers and order and sequencing.  You page through the calendar over and over, memorizing the days, months, and years.  You know how many days are in each month, and you LOVE to be in charge of our magnetic calendar of activities.  

You love bagels, noodles, vegetables, computer games, Mario, Sammy-chocolate (dairy-free), search-and-find books, legos, the library, the Backyardigans, family movie nights, tacos, hamburgers, and more books!!!  You look at books all of the time.  You will be reading really soon!  You wake up early, ready to start your day!  You love routine, you don't love to move quickly, and you need about a dozen reminders each morning to eat your vitamins and drink your water with probiotics.  You live at your own pace and on your own time.  

You are full of life, and we love you SO much, Sammy!  You are Mommy's precious boy, and I am so, so so happy that I get to be your mama.  May you have SO much fun being FOUR, sweet boy!!!!

Happy FOURTH Birthday!

WE LOVE YOU!