DAY 20

Today I am thankful for something very simple - time with my hubby. There are weeks when we are very busy, chasing kiddos, hurrying to events or meetings, hubby taking a side job here and there, the usual busyness of life. But connecting on the couch for a few minutes...sitting down to watch a show together...sharing a snack...knowing that although we aren't able to gaze lovingly into one another's eyes all day, we are a team and we are there for one another. After 12 years of marriage, we have a comfort in our routine, we are secure in one another. And I am very thankful for that! Time to have some popcorn and watch CSI with my man...

Nineteen Days of Thankfulness

If you read my updates on facebook, then you know that today, I am thankful for an AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL trip to NYC with my mom and my daughters!! Today we went to the American Girl doll store...from train to subway to a lovely walk and back home again. Everything about today was magical...my girls have been ooohing and aaaahing over the American Girl catalog for years, and today they brought home Julie and Kanani as their very own dolls!! I have much more to say about our trip, and lots of pictures that I plan to make into a photo book for the girls, but right now, I need to get to bed. I am just so thankful to have made special memories with my mom and my girls!

Today is Day 18

Today I am thankful for my MOPS group at church. No, it's not a cleaning group. MOPS stands for Mother of Preschoolers and I began attending in October 2002, when my first baby was a six months old. I had first learned about MOPS from my post-part-um nurse. She strongly urged me to attend, explaining that MOPS is for moms of children ages birth to kindergarten. During a MOPS meeting, moms get to drop their children off to loving caregivers, then enjoy coffee or tea and a beautiful breakfast. Sometimes a guest speaker comes to share her heart. Other times, we may discuss a book. We have made some lovely crafts over the years at MOPS. Towards the end of the meeting, we usually break up into discussion groups to talk with and get to know a smaller group of ladies. The first time I attended a MOPS meeting, a sweet mom of older children approached me and asked me if she could hold my baby for me, so I could put down my purse, diaper bag, infant seat, etc. and fill out the paperwork to join the group. I remember staring at her in awe...I had been doing the mom thing on my own (with hubby, of course), but otherwise on my own for six months. My baby was colicky and screamed. A LOT. I had a hard time with all the crying and refused to accept help...I had to do it. Myself. But that day at MOPS, I let this other mom hold my fussy baby. I filled out the paperwork and then began to meet other moms in the group. I slowly relaxed and found that I wasn't alone! I developed deep friendships with many of the other moms, bonding over feelings of inadequacy, control issues, anger issues, perfection complexes, and all kinds of other "flaws". We learned to build one another up, to pray for one another, and to love one another as Jesus loves us. Today, I am much more confident as a mom...more relaxed, with better perspective. I can laugh at myself, and I think God has called me to reach out to new moms and share my story...to keep the love flowing...to continue to nurture and support others through the MOPS group.

Seventeen!

Today, as I listen to my four-year-old ask (again), "How do you spell ____?" and my five year-old-daughter exclaim, "Look, Mama! I wrote in my diary!", I am thankful for words! And specifically, the written word.
I have an avid reader (my nine-year-old),
a chapter-book reader (my seven-year-old),
a budding reader (my five-year-old),
and a very letter-conscious four-year-old.
All day long, I am bombarded with questions...
it doesn't matter if I'm making a meal,
cleaning the floor,
folding laundry,
or driving the van,
my kids are constantly asking me questions.
I admit it,
sometimes I get
ANNOYED
and
IMPATIENT.
Sometimes I just want
PEACE
and
QUIET,
time to think my own thoughts.
But today, I am amazed at their little minds and the way they have learned their letters, the way they put the letters together and become readers, spellers, writers!
As my four-year-old pointed out the other day, "Mom, did you know letters give you the power to read?!!"

16 Days!

I can't believe we're halfway through November already...that means I'm halfway through with my thankfulness posts! Now I'm beginning to worry I won't have time to say all I want to say! Maybe I should have planned it all out ahead of time...made a list first. Oh well, I've been going off the top of my head so far, so I guess we'll continue in that manner...
So today I am thankful for a healthy body! A body free of disease and a body capable of getting through the day easily. A body that has held inside it six babies. A body that has given birth to four of those babies. A body that has nursed and hugged those babies. A body that has grown bigger and gotten smaller. A body that has benefited from a new concept for this body - exercise! See a former post about how it all got started, but my body now (for the most part) complies with running 5K's, participating in exercise DVD programs like The 30 Day Shred, Ripped in 30, TurboJam and P90X. A body that, although it is approaching 40, is cooperating with getting in the best shape of its life. A body that is able to keep up with my busy children and enjoy physical activity with them. I am thankful to be alive!

Fifteen Days of Thankfulness

Today (actually every day) I am thankful that I am a stay at home mom!!! If you asked me when I was a child what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would have answered, "A mom." I am tremendously blessed to be doing what I always wanted to do...have children, nurse them, care for them, watch them take their first steps, teach them their first words, watch in amazement as they grow and explore. I have been there for all of it! Has every moment been blissful? NO!! Oh my goodness, sometimes I am so overwhelmed! But I know that God has given me this tremendous task and I need to rely on Him to make it through each day. I am grateful to my husband for going to work every day so that I can be here to cherish this time.

Day 13 & Day 14, all in one post

Yesterday got a little busy and I never got the chance to post my attitude of gratitude thought for day 13, so here's day 13 and day 14 all in one post:
Day 13 - I am thankful for my church! But before that, I am thankful for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!! When I was four years old, I "asked Jesus to come into my heart"...in simple terms, I admitted I was a sinner and that I needed Jesus in my life. "All have sinned" - Romans 3:23. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life" - John 3:16. My parents were believers, and my mother's paternal grandparents had prayed for me before I was even more. There was a heritage, a legacy, a line of believers before me. I am so thankful for this!! My life hasn't been an entirely smooth ride, but I have always known that God loves me, that this world is temporary, and that I could look forward to eternity with God. That has given me peace and comfort as I would go through valleys here and there. And the following verse has helped my controlling nature let go a little: "I know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you; to give you hope and a future" - Jeremiah 29:11

Day 14 - And now I can say how thankful I am for my church! When my first baby was born, in March of 2002, my postpartum nurse learned that I was going to be a stay at home mom, and that I was a fellow Christian. She excitedly told me about a MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) group at her church, and I, in turn, excitedly told my husband about the group and the church. In the summer of 2002, we visited that church for the first time and we felt like we belonged. The music was lovely, the gospel was being preached, the Bible was viewed as truth, and there were plenty of opportunities to serve, fellowship and grow. Over the years, we've participated in a terrific adult Bible fellowship group, we've enjoyed learning and bonding with other families via several in-home Bible studies, I sang on the worship team for awhile, I've participated in the MOPS group since October 2002, I have been baptized there, and last November, my hubby and oldest daughter were baptized together. My husband went on his first-ever mens' retreat this past January, and he's in the middle of an excellent mens' group study. Over the years, we have seen changes - some minor, some major, and we've weather some storms, witnessing true suffering in others' lives, yet we've witnessed tremendous blessing as well. I am thankful to have a church family and pastors who know me and love me, who love my husband and my children.