Thankful Thursday

I have not been the best about Thankful Thursday lately, and tonight as I was about to put my tea mug in the sink and brush my teeth, I felt compelled to hammer out some gratitude.

Sophia has an ear infection, even only a couple of weeks post-operative.  It's lasted for five days now, so she has been uncomfortable and fussy and feverish, poor thing.  Today's only available appointment with the ENT was at 4:45 an hour away.  Well, we decided to make the most of it and headed out to the area early so the kids and I could spend a couple of hours at the children's museum first.  Zach met us at the appointment, and we found a little hole-in-the-wall pizzeria to eat dinner at before throwing the kids in their jammies and heading home.  It's been a long week of a fussy baby, lots of tylenol, runny noses (from all the kids!) and interrupted sleep.  The other night, when Sophia's fever first spiked, I felt so defeated.  Those voices in my head threatened to draw me into that dark place, "You must be doing something wrong.  Why are your children always sick?  Why does the staff at the pediatrician know your name?  Do you not clean your house enough?  Do you not feed your children healthy enough?  Do you not pray with enough faith?"  And I very temporarily felt discouraged and downcast.  But I tell you this to explain that I am thankful, thankful, thankful for God's whispered reminders of truth.  For some lessons from Lysa's Unglued.  I came to Jesus with my little problems..."Jesus, I am discouraged...help me.  Jesus, I am tired...help me.  Jesus, I am overwhelmed...help me."  And those simple words, those simple prayers, those simple shout-outs for help coupled with a reminder to focus on "...whatever is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable..." (Philippians 4:8) brought my heart right back into perspective.  And then I rejoiced.  I rejoiced that I am learning, that I am taking baby steps towards imperfect progress.  So I am thankful for that today.

I am thankful for a most generous outpouring of provision and love of amazing homeschool materials and curriculum and books from a friend at church.  When I first started considering homeschooling, I questioned, "How could we afford the curriculum?"  God has provided for us again and again just this year alone!  I was so overwhelmed and blessed by the boxes that were loaded into my car and the hours (and years!) of learning and exploring that are ahead of us in these boxes for my children and me!

I am thankful that I always, always, always have a second chance and that tomorrow is always a new day.  (I know, I know, you've heard this before, but I continue to be thankful for it...)  My exhaustion from having a sick baby and staying up too late to squeeze in some "me time" is leading me to being impatient and snappy with my children.  At night, as I kiss their precious sleeping heads and pray for their little hearts and lives before I go to sleep, the kind of mama I want to be rises up fiercely in my mind and heart.  And although I often fail to live up to that during the daytime hours, I am thankful that I can keep trudging forward with a vision of who I want to be.  And in the meantime, I am humbled that God's grace covers it all.  What a freeing and life-giving blessing!

Thankful for other fun things in our life, like my in-laws visiting, a trip to the zoo, a night out with my best friend/sister-in-law and brother, a fun party for my nephews, a date out with my oldest son, the library with our dear friends, family over for a barbeque, my sister-in-law getting engaged, and a new show to enjoy when all the chores are done at night.

This is a good, good life.

What are you thankful for today?

Weekend Joy

It was one of those weekends where we collapsed into bed on Sunday night and said, "Wow...that was such a great weekend."  I love weekends.  But how could I not when my hubby is home for two days and we get to do life together?  That is my favorite.  The kids and I went to my in-laws during the day Friday and they got to help plant the garden.  I took some of my favorite-ever pics of the kids eating watermelon.  Zach and I had an at-home date with Mexican fajitas and a Redbox movie, we went to my dad's house for a barbeque and backyard playtime with family, had Micah's best bud from church over Sunday afternoon (which also included treats from the ice cream truck!), and had our first backyard bonfire of the season in our firepit with some good friends on Sunday night.  In between our fun events, we did laundry, pulled weeds, and even got the floors vacuumed and mopped (I know, crazy that it is noteworthy, but it is.)  Pretty wonderful.  I loved it all.  I could say more, but I'll just show you with pictures instead.

From Mama to Mama

There is not much sweeter than having your mama present with you when you become a mama.  And for me, I have been blessed with this moment four times over.  Every time we have welcomed a baby into the world, a baby that has made my heart burst and stretch and overflow with the strongest, fiercest, most amazing kind of love, my mom has been there to experience it along with us.  This is no small gift.  So much of what I have learned about being a mom, and what a precious gift it is, has come from MY mom.  From watching her live and love and walk in grace and beauty as a mother.  And from the example she has set, the memories she has made, the values she has instilled, and the joy in which she has done it.  And to have her, my biggest fan, my encourager, my advocate, being there with me as I bring children into this world has been nothing short of joyous.  Knowing that I have her support and love on this mothering journey is a gift beyond description.  Watching her love my kiddos and enjoy being a nana is another gift in and of itself.

So today, I just want to say Happy Mother's Day to my beautiful mom.  Thank you for loving ME and for encouraging me on this road that I am now on as a mama.  You have set such an amazing example, and I hope that I can be to my kids the kind of mom you have been to me.  I love you.

My mom with Micah, hours after his crazy birth

My mom, Micah, and me 

Us with Samuel right after his birth

Nana with Ella (Oh, I can hardly stand her bruising after her crazy-position delivery!)

My mom with Ella, Sammy, and me when Ella is 3 days old

Us with Sophia right after her birth, which happened only 15 minutes after arriving in my labor and delivery room!


Happy Mother's Day, Mom!  I am thankful for YOU!

Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday.

It's been a few weeks.

Not because there isn't much to be thankful for, but because our days are sometimes so full and I am sometimes too tired to open up the laptop and write it all down!

This week has been a week of blessing upon blessing from others around us.

As most of you know, Sophia had her ear tube surgery on Wednesday, and everything went beautifully.  There was so much peace around the whole experience that it could only be from our good God.  I was so blessed to have friends and family texting and calling to check on our sweet Soph.  And we had lots of Facebook love, too.  Thank you all!  My mom not only watched our children overnight and for the day of the surgery, but ended up having to take care of Ella who started with the stomach flu only hours after being dropped off.  My poor mom had to do the crazy bath/strip the crib/start the laundry/change the toddler act in the middle of the night...THREE times!  Thanks, Mom, for loving on my Ella and for not complaining about having to clean up her throw up!!!  Ahhhh!!!!  In addition to all of this, she made barbeque chicken in the crockpot to send home for our dinner.  (In case you are wondering, YES, she is super-mom.)  A friend from church brought us homemade fudge, with a note that said something about hard days deserving chocolate.  How sweet is that!?  (And soooo delicious!)

And in case you need reminding that there is much, much good in the world, there is a final blessing from Sophia's surgery experience that I want to share.  Earlier in the week, I met a brand-new friend and her three kiddos at the park.  We had been emailing each other for months (because we both homeschool and we live in the same, small town!) and had attempted to get together numerous times, but something kept happening!  So we finally met in person, and I liked her immediately.  I knew we would be fast friends.  Well, the next day, after only meeting in person for one hour at the park, this amazing, new friend dropped off a card, a plate of brownies, and a gift card to Culvers so we would have one less thing to worry about for Sophia's surgery!  I was choked up at the amazing blessing and act of love that this was for me and for our family.  Who does that???  So so blessed by this new friend and her generous, thoughtful spirit.  And wanted to share how thankful I was for that sweet blessing this week!

Ella still has the stomach flu, we had to cancel our trip to Minnesota for my sister-in-law's college graduation,  Sophia had a midday diaper fiasco (which required a bath and some laundry and some major disinfecting!) and we have oodles of laundry to do, but we are taking it a thing at a time, and it is working.  Like I have said before, some days go smoothly and some days do not, but I want to remain in a spirit of joy no matter what is surrounding me.  Thankful today for moments of joy amidst the sickness and the crazy...Ella's cuddles and sweet requests for water and blankets, Sammy's infectious laugh at his and Daddy's silly jokes, Sophia's giggles while being tickled, and Micah and Sammy's after-dinner performances for us that made us all laugh.  Oh, there are so many sweet, sweet moments with these littles all around me every single day.  May I never, ever become blind to them.

What are you thankful for today?

Welcome, Warm Weather!

You know the season has changed when your girls are wearing bright colors, hats, and sunscreen.

I'm not really sure if this is spring or summer, but whatever it is, I'll take it.

Today, we celebrated this beautiful weather by taking a walk to our neighborhood pond, leaving our wagon, scooter, and bike in the grass, and taking a trek around our pond.  The kids picked dandelions, we did a nature walk, and discussed things like weeping willows, what plants need to grow, habitats and climate, and how creative God is to give us such beautiful surroundings.  We saw a fish jump out of the pond and even saw (what we think was) a sandhill crane!!  Amazing!  The kids pretended they were birds, and I really tried hard to teach Ella that the grass is green.  I was hopeful to have this mastered by the end of the walk, but, alas, she is still not interested in learning her colors (other than pink, of course).  We came home and ate lunch outside on the patio.  There is something about eating outside that just feels like we're on vacation!  I love it.  We stayed out as long as possible before needing to come in for naps and schooling.

The girls went down for naps with rosy cheeks, damp foreheads, and smelling like sunscreen.  The windows are open.  The sounds of birds chirping and yards being trimmed are coming through the window.  And I love it all.

So welcome, warm weather!  Please feel free to stay awhile.

COUSINS!

One thing I make sure I NEVER take for granted is the gift of cousins!  My kids are so blessed to have six cousins in our family, all at the same ages and stages.  They have such a blast together, spending so many hours and making so many memories together.  Here are some pictures from the last week of some cousin fun!  Thankful!

Digging in the dirt (which made a big hole in our backyard!!!!  oh well...)

Mario shirts from Papa!

Best Buds

Pinstripes bowling with cousins, Chuck and Nolan, and almost-cousins, Maddy and Meredith 

Bocce Ball

Matching Girlies!!

The girls gotta stick together!

Ella and Connor

Fun cousin chaos!

We are thankful for cousins!!!!