Grateful - Day 35

I'm grateful for hats, cameras, babies with big blue eyes and complete and utter cuteness!

Grateful - Day 32

Today I'm grateful that God is faithful to His promises and that He reminds us about that in such beautiful ways.

Grateful - Day 31

Tonight I am so grateful to have a brother who, upon hearing that Aiden has officially started his soccer season, offered to allow him to come to his varsity soccer game tonight and be a real ball boy (&Dawson too!). Not only did they get to wear an official shirt, but they got to shag balls and throw them in. When it was over the whole crowd made a tunnel for them to run through complete with high fives. And to top it all off they got their choice of treats from the snack bar.

Thank you Uncle Brian for a super cool night!

Grateful - Day 30

Today I am grateful for backyard soccer and Aiden's first game. I'm also VERY grateful to the mom who organized it. It means that I don't have to.

Today I got him some real soccer socks with a shiny new ball. He was thrilled. "Why did you buy me all this stuff?" he asked with a smile when he came home. It was his first official game day and I deemed it worthy of celebration that's why. That and I love that little red-headed soccer player with all of my heart.

Grateful - Day 29

Today I'm grateful that the cognitive assessment of Max this afternoon determined that he's just fine. Of course, I could have told them as much if they'd only asked. I mean I know I'm his mom and all, and I'm probably just a tad bit prejudice when my children are concerned but hey, I'm also his MOM. Who knows him better than me?

I know him well enough to call the doctor when it's an ear infection, like it has been for the past month and a half. I know the difference between the happy scream, the angry scream and the hurt scream (and I'm not exaggerating when I say scream). I know when he's tired, I know when he's happy and I know when he's mad. So, I don't think it's a far stretch to say that I know he's not missing anything mentally; he's just not crawling for goodness sakes.

Hopefully, when the real therapy starts and we end all this crazy assessment business, we'll get him moving. I know this is what needs to happen. I know this because that's the way babies learn. I know this because by now I consider myself a pretty seasoned mom (of babies at least - yes, I know the teenage years are coming). I also know this because I've known Max longer than anyone else.

You know what? I'm very grateful that I can say that. I'm not just grateful to know that Max is okay mentally. I'm grateful just to know him. And I'm grateful that this is a process that will continue for many, many...many more years to come.

Grateful - Day 27

Today I'm grateful for the excitement and enthusiasm of my 5 year old who had his very first soccer practice today. We have been counting down the days around here since we received the sign up note.

This morning I woke him up by telling him it was soccer day. "I know Mama!" he said with authority and as much excitement as he could muster first thing in the morning. He came home from school asking about it. We tried on the cleats and shin guards with a brief lesson on how to put them on. We found a t-shirt with a soccer player on it as well as some "cool soccer shorts" to go with it.

"Mama," he said as he ran into my room, "it's 1:30!" And on and on it went about every 15 minutes until practice time at 3:30. He was a ball of energy, beside himself with excitement and it was very, very cute.

I found myself wishing I would get that excited about such simple things or even big things - the can't sit still or fall asleep kind of excitement. After watching Aiden today, I think I may the next time the occasion arises. It sure looked like a lot of fun.

I Wonder

I wonder how I got so busy that the only time I sit down at the computer is WAY past a descent bed time. I wonder where the time goes. I wonder when there will be a time that won't be so exhausting or busy. I wonder often what I can do differently to change all of this. I wonder when Max will crawl/stand/walk. I wonder how I'm going to fit in physical therapy and exercise for him. I wonder why I thought I was busy when I just had Mackenzie. I wonder why I am not sleeping now.

No more wondering. A good night's sleep will certainly help to answer some of these questions.

Grateful - Day 22

Tonight I went on a run with Mackenzie. It's about Glory Run time again and Mackenzie is convinced she wants to do the 5K this year.

We went on a run last week and it was torture. She complained the whole time, couldn't run more than a minute at a time, and lagged slowly behind. Tonight she was convinced she was going to do better.

"What do you want to talk about Mama? Let's talk so it will make the running go faster. Why don't you tell me everything about your day?" And so it went for the next 25 minutes. We talked and talked and talked. In fact, we talked so much that she ran for the first 12 minutes without stopping and didn't complain once.

It dawned on me that we were having a real conversation. I learned about what she was studying in Health, what she plays during recess, and that she wants to do this race, "so I can be just like you Mama". In short, we had a wonderful time.

I had brief visions of doing this same thing years from now with topics like prom dresses, term papers and boys (YIKES). I also realized that by that time she may not be so free with every single detail of her life. She may not care to be near me let alone like me. She may not. However, if we keep having nights like we did tonight, there's a good possibility that it will continue in the future.

That will be worth much more than the entry fee for the race. It makes me grateful for today and hopeful for the future.

Grateful - Day 21

The day started with Mackenzie offering piano lessons to her brothers. How sweet is that?
The afternoon centered around the downtown parade. The extra little one is my goddaughter. Isn't she a cutie?
After watching loads of people in weird green attire walk down the street, catching tons of candy they were throwing out, and being interviewed by the local news, we headed back home. And yes, those are green fingernails. What can I say? A girl's got to try it once in her life.
The evening focused on this yummy Irish meal. I don't usually take photos of food cooking but the colors in this meal were just too pretty not to acknowledge.
And we capped the night off with this sweet ending.

We've done virtually the same thing on this day for as long as I can remember. It makes me very grateful for traditions and the ability to pass them on to my own little family.

Grateful - Day 20

Today I'm grateful I still have a few more years to work on the fashion sense of the 4 year old pictured above.

Grateful - Day 17

Tonight I am grateful for cooking classes that include 10 women, several bottles of wine, yummy food and good conversation.

Wow! Two nights in a row - I'm on a roll.

Grateful - Day 16

Today I had the opportunity to celebrate the birthday of one of my neighbors. In the planning of this event a very wise decision was made. Instead of eating out, we opted for a picnic in the backyard (it's been in the 80's this week) so that we could visit while the kids roamed in freedom.

We ate, talked, laughed, painted nails and just plain hung out. The kids had fun but I think we enjoyed ourselves more. Our 11:30 lunch finally ended when the 3 o'clock kids came home from school.

Today I'm grateful for girl time with girls who are living the life I live. Friends who can cover topics on everything from food to NFP. Friends who when they say they'll pray for you, really do it. Friends who love each other enough to paint each others' toe nails.

I know I say this all the time, but I really need to do this more often!

Watch Out Webster

Lately we've all been captivated by Aiden's Christmas gift of a butterfly habitat. We sent off a postcard and a few weeks later received a cup of 5 tiny larvae (caterpillars) which have grown bigger every day.

When Dawson arrived at the table this morning he asked, "Have you guys seen the caterpillars today? They are HUNORMOUS!"

Grateful - Day 13

Since my post about being grateful for my healthy children, I have been to the doctor's with them twice. I have one throwing up; one with an infection in his thumb that is so bad he's going to lose his entire nail; one on his third round of antibiotics for the same ear infection, on iron for being anemic, as well as a referral to a government program because he is still not crawling (or pulling up, or standing, etc.)

Needless to say it's made me incredibly grateful that we have insurance and that we also qualified to get physical therapy for Max at no cost. God is good.

Gratitude - Day 11

Today I am grateful for dads & daughters; for perfect weather and canoes; for deer cube steak country fried by my husband and our neighbor; AND free waffle cones for wearing your PJs to Bruster's!

More on Gratitude

I'm going to cheat a bit on this entry as I have gotten a bit behind on my Lenten discipline. It's not that I haven't been thinking about it. I've just been too busy or tired to record it.

Grateful – Day 9

Today I remember really thinking about gratitude all day, trying to find just one thing to be grateful about but the problem was it was too hard to choose. It was then that it hit me – that was enough right there.

Grateful – Day 10

Tonight night I went to a baby shower for one of my neighbors at a Mexican restaurant. It was a relatively small crowd and in the midst of the normal laughter, jumbo Margaritas, cheese dip and diapers we took out time to honor the mom-to-be. This is a normal occurrence in my family and circle of friends. We honor each other on special occasions. There is no roasting or mockery (at least we try really hard most of the time).

The person being honored leaves feeling truly loved. It’s a wonderful tradition both for the person being honored and the people doing the honoring. Tonight we chose to focus some gratitude on one particular person. Now that’s some gratitude.

Cabbage Coffin

This morning Mackenzie gazed at her class project, the cabbage plant. "I think it's dying Mama. It's okay, I just won't do it."

"I know Mackenzie," I told her with a guilty conscience for not having the time to plant it yet. "Daddy said he's going to build a box for it tomorrow."

She looked rather puzzled as she asked, "He's going to build a burial box for my cabbage?"

Grateful - Day 8

This morning while Nelson and I were teaching ballroom dance to a group of high schoolers I was overcome with gratefulness. All it took was watching my husband waltz across the floor towards me.

You see, I have loved dancing since I can remember moving. As a young girl I took tap, jazz and ballet. I danced in recitals, at half time shows of college basketball games and in my living room. As I got older there were fewer opportunities to dance but I capitalized on all of them.

Unfortunately, as I started dating I began to realize that a love for dance was not something that existed in most, well any, of the guys I knew. I wanted to be married more than anything but the idea of living my life without dance in it was torturous.

Then came Nelson and not only does he love to dance, but he's also great at it. I’m grateful for a little window into just how much God really loves me.

Grateful - Day 7

This morning I went in to get Max out of bed and discovered that he had thrown up some time during the night. It broke my heart that I didn't get to comfort him, that he had to sleep like that. I was amazed that he still greeted me with a big smile and his happy, "Hi!"

As I gagged while picking him up out of that mess (those of you who know me, know I don't tolerate vomit...at all) I realized how blessed I am to have healthy children. Sure we've had our fair share of stomach bugs, ear infections, breathing treatments and even a hospital stay, but nothing we didn't get over.

I realize that there are parents who deal with serious health issues in their children. There are those who spend as much time in hospitals as at home. There are some who actually have to bury their own children. It makes me so sad to think about it.

I admire those parents whose trials are greater than I can dream of. I admire them and I thank God I am not them. I kiss my kids every morning and every night and I thank God for the gift of their health. I know I didn't do anything to deserve four healthy children and that is why I am truly grateful today.

Catch Up

I'm already a little behind in my Lenten plan. It's not that I haven't been practicing being grateful, I just haven't found the time to write about it.

This weekend we finally had the garage sale we've been planning to have since I started packing to move. It's just one of those things that's been hanging over my head (as well as hanging out in my garage).

Day 2 - Thursday as I set up, I was truly grateful for my parents. The older I get, the more grateful I become but Thursday was a shining example of why. My mom, who is recovering from total knee replacement, made cookies for me to sell at the garage sale. My dad picked up 6 tables, a coffee pot and a hanging rack and brought them to my house and unloaded them for me. I'm sure they both had better things to do that day, but they chose to willingly and lovingly serve me. Just another day for a parent. One that made me grateful for mine.

Day 3 - As I surveyed the tables and tables of stuff that we now find expendable, I became very grateful for the material ways God has provided for me over the years. There have been seasons of plenty and seasons of want. And now, even though finances are proving to be a challenge, we still have enough stuff that we don't need or want to fill an entire garage. Amazing!

Day 4 - After two days of working really, really hard my husband took me out on a date. I was grateful that I still love being with my husband. That he still thinks enough of me to take me out on the town with friends, make me feel beautiful and share a very tasty steak with me. And...it just keeps getting better.

Day 5 - Today I was so grateful that the garage sale weekend was over.

Day 6 - Today the kids had a day off for the snow we never saw. But I got to roll over in bed this morning and rest for a while longer. I didn't have to say, "Hurry up and finish your breakfast." I taught them to play Go Fish and they got it. I know these days are passing quickly so I am grateful that every once in awhile God gives us an extra one to spend some time with each other.