Thankful

 So much to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Settling In!

 We are in our new house!  

We are thrilled and exhausted and ready to settle in.

Horn of Plenty

 Lee Lee came home from preschool on Monday incredibly excited because she had been given homework.  She has watched her siblings do homework for weeks, and she has desperately wanted some homework of her own to do.  She has even asked me to give her spelling words to study each week so she can have a spelling test like her siblings.

On Monday her dreams came true because she had a legitimate homework assignment.

She had to create a "Horn of Plenty" or "Cornucopia" of things for which she was thankful.  She worked diligently and was incredibly proud of her work when it came time to take it to school.

From, "Her View From Home"

I read this beautiful article last night and knew I needed to share it.  For the original post and for other articles on motherhood visit Her View From Home.

Dear Mom,

There is so much I didn’t know about you and so much I didn’t notice growing up with you. 

But now I see it.

I didn’t know all the little comforts and conveniences you gave up for me. I didn’t realize that you took cold showers so I could have a warm bath. Or that you always shared your food—even when you were hungry—because I asked for it. You always gave me the best bite or the bigger half. Or how you would give me your pillow in car rides even though you wanted to use it. You let me sleep on your shoulder even if it wasn’t comfortable for you.

I didn’t know how much you worried about me. I didn’t realize that when I got pretty sick, it was scary to you. Or how your mind would quickly spin in the what ifs. I didn’t know you thought so much about my safety. I had no clue how frightening this world could be knowing your baby is living in it.

I didn’t know how much you had to trust God, because the worrying about me could make you go crazy.

I didn’t know how much your day revolved around my needs and desires. How you had to plan and organize everything. All the meals, the drop offs and pick ups, and the play dates. You barely had time to yourself, but even when you did, you found yourself missing me.

I didn’t know your heart broke when mine was broken. I wasn’t aware that seeing me hurting was incredibly painful for you, too. I didn’t know you carried my emotions almost as much as I did.  

I didn’t know how much you wanted to give me a good life. How everything you did was done so that I could be happy.

I didn’t know, mom, that you would sacrifice anything—including your life—for me in a heartbeat. 

I didn’t know these things until I had my own babies. I didn’t know how much I was a piece of your heart until my babies took a piece of mine.

But now I can see it all so clearly.

And now that I’m a mom, there are a few more things I’ve realized I didn’t know.

I didn’t know how much I would need you when I became a mom, too. 

I didn’t know that when my kid got sick, I would feel better knowing you were around. Because you’d know what to do, just like you did with me. 

I didn’t realize the relief that would sweep over me when you’d walk in the door to help me with the kids.

I didn’t realize trusting people with my kids would be difficult, but trusting you with them was so easy.

I didn’t realize that you would still be the person I ran to for reassurance and comfort even when I became a mom.

I didn’t know that when I was trying to hold it all together, your mama bear hug would still make me break down and finally cry. 

I didn’t know that you would still be my safe spot and one of the most important people in my life, mom. Not just as a kid, but forever.

But now I know, and I’m forever grateful for you.

I know I didn’t say it enough then, because I just didn’t know . . . but thank you for being the best mom I could ever ask for.

Love,

Your daughter.

Beautifully written by Her View From Home.

Happy Thanksgiving

 Happy Thanksgiving

Great Thought

 Here is a great thought for November...

and a great thought for the day after an election...

and a great thought for every day.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

The Best

Here is a picture of me on and around my 30th birthday (full term with Tracey Ann)...

Here is a picture from about a week ago just before my 35th birthday.

There is no question these have been the best five years of my life.

Saying, "Thank you." to Jesus does not seem like enough... but seriously, Thank you, Jesus.

So Thankful

We remain so very thankful for those who have served and protected our country throughout the generations.

Happy Memorial Day!

Trying To Remember

I'm saddened by how little I remember year to year, so in an effort to remember what happened last night, I'm going to write about it here.

It was nothing extraordinary... but it was such a wonderful 30 minutes that I want to remember.

After the three oldest ate dinner, they had some time to play before bath time.  Tracey and Howard were still running a mile a minute (as per normal) but Caroline had started to slow down a little.  At a time of the day, when everyone is getting close to bed time, and often disintegrates into floods of tears, last night all the children were happily engaged.

Tracey and Howard were playing with Grammie.  I'm not sure what the full game was -- I think they went through several games including catch, dancing, singing, and a picnic (my mom is so amazing with kids -- she comes up with the best games).  Tracey and Howard have been playing together frequently these days, and also butting heads quite a bit as they clash over the way they should play together... but with Grammie playing with them, both of them were thrilled to have her attention and were playing well together. 

Caroline had been keeping up with her siblings all day, but was really winding down at this point in the day.  She took it upon herself to bring one book at a time over to Papa, climb up on his lap, and listen to him tell story after story as they flipped through books.  As soon as he finished one book, she would return it to the bookshelf, and choose a new book to bring to Papa's lap.  She was so content to cuddle with Papa, listen to stories, and have his undivided attention as she settled down at the end of the day.  It brought me such joy to watch as the two of them easily read 7 or 8 books together.

Addallee was happily sleeping on Hubby's shoulder... and so I was making Thanksgiving pies while all the children and other adults were otherwise occupied.

Before Caroline took over Papa's lap, I was even able to ask him some questions about how he used to spend Thanksgivings when he was in college and medical school... which led to some questions about his siblings and the history of his limbs of the family tree.

It was such a simple evening... and it was such a wonderful evening.  

It was the type of simple evening that I will look back and miss when my children are older, and my parents are not spending holidays with us.  It was the type of simple evening that allowed me to step back and survey my blessings and truly feel thankful for everything around me.  

It was a simple evening that filled my heart with joy and will rejuvenate me to hang in there during the moments of holiday chaos.

I hope to remember last night for many years. 

 

Thank you, Veterans.

Thank you, Veterans for your service and sacrifice.

Supporting Our Athletes

 

I LOVE the Olympics.  For as long as I can remember, every two years my family has tuned in every night watching sports I had never heard of before that night to cheer for one thing -- USA.  From the opening ceremonies to the passing of the torch, my family loves the Olympics.

This year has been no different and I joyfully have our television on all day when I am home with the little ones keeping my eye on events like archery, beach volleyball, waterpolo, equestrian events and table tennis.  To me, it doesn't matter the event as long as the US is competing, I am engaged and cheering.  Some of them, I don't know any of the rules, but I am cheering for Team USA pretending like I know what is going on.

I am not on twitter -- I have an account but I have posted less than five tweets in my life, and even then, they were mostly, "Testing... testing."  I still don't really know how twitter works and the more I see it used for communication, the more I am comfortable with not really knowing how it works.

Why can't we, as a nation, simply support our athletes?

These Olympics have been less than 48 hours under weigh and every time I log on facebook, I see headlines alluding to athletes being attacked via twitter.

Our first gold was won in the event of air-rifle shooting and apparently twitter takes off with political propaganda about this girl's win.  A great beach volley ball player gives an interview mentioning how much she loves being a mother and that she feels that becoming a mother has made her more focused, and a better athlete, and twitter takes off challenging her priorities and calling her old-fashioned.

Why can't we just support our athletes?

Do I think all of the athletes in Rio on our team agree with all of my political points of view?  Absolutely not.  Do I respect them and support them in their representation of our country in their respective athletic sports?  ABSOLUTELY!

Good luck, Team USA.

You all have worked so hard to be where you are, and my family and I are incredibly proud of you.  We are cheering for you and we appreciate your representing our country with dignity, class, and excellence.

 

So Thankful...

We have so much for which to be thankful this Thanksgiving...

Thank you, Veterans!

Thank You

I have been on the fence about this post, but I need to write it.

The words THANK YOU are completely under-used in our society.

I was raised to say Thank You, at some point in practically every conversation.  It was so much a part of life and upbringing, and, very naively, I thought it was a part of every decent person's life and upbringing.

At one point, I think it was -- sure, there were certain parts of society that didn't learn the importance of saying "Thank you," but they were in the minority, and it was clear by their words and actions that they were not raised with societal norms and societal decency.

The problem is, now, it is the minority who learns the importance of "Thank you."

You can be raised in a perfectly average or above-average home, with every advantage extended to you, and you will not learn the importance of expressing thanks to your fellow man.  If anything, the majority of people are now learning that they are entitled to everything they are given and that "Thank yous" are unnecessary.

Expressing thanks is not unnecessary.  In fact, if you ever want a similar action from that person again, "Thank yous" are incredibly necessary.

Unfortunately, 2015 seems to be the year, thus far, of major gifts going unacknowledged with thanks.

Yes, I have now transitioned from discussing the verbal "thanks" to a written "thanks" but, the truth is, people have either been taught to express thanks or they haven't, and this year, apparently Hubby and I have had the opportunity to bestow some very nice gifts, for some very momentous occasions, on people who have chosen not to express their thanks.

And I'm not talking about a scenario where we had a friend over for dinner, and they didn't send a thank you note -- no, in situations like that, a note is definitely not necessary -- now it is incredibly surprising and thoughtful when a note arrives, but no note is necessary.

I'm talking about friends of ours who have engaged in old-fashioned rituals with a very expected ritual of receiving gifts, and who received very nice gifts from us, who have chosen not to, in any way, acknowledge receipt of the gift or express thanks.  I'm talking weddings, bridal showers, and baby showers.

Now I know Miss Manners says that a bride, and mother has one year to send Thank You notes -- so I suppose these people are not truly delinquent until early 2016... but the gifts surely did not mean enough to them for them to express thanks in the first 8-9 months that it was received.

In fact, it's enough to make me want to pick up the phone and confirm that the gifts were received.

Now, I know most of the gifts were received because we sent them before the wedding, and then I was able to confirm at the wedding that our gift arrived.  Also, a few of the gifts were hand-delivered, by me, to the brides- or mothers-to-be at showers... so I know those gifts were received too.

I don't want to be this way... but I am this way.  It simply leaves a bad taste in my mouth for a gift to go completely unacknowledged.  Frankly, a thank you note does not have to be well-written for me to appreciate getting it.  It can be the worst-written, totally rushed note, for me to read it, with a smile on my face, and think, "That is so nice of them to take the time to send a note.  I'm so glad they got the gift."

So, there you have it... my rant on the importance of expressing thanks.

Thank you for reading.

To Some...

To some, every day is Memorial Day.

We are so incredibly grateful for the sacrifice of generations of men and women who have served this nation, in uniform, and for the families they left behind while serving.

Staying Grateful

I really was able to maintain a very grateful heart for the majority of my pregnancy and my first year of motherhood.  I was very blessed that God gave me the thankful perspective of remembering that MANY women all over the year are ACHING for the experience I was having.  Many women would have given their left arm for my morning sickness, bulging stomach, enormous fingers, sleepless nights, stretch marks, piles of laundry, and more.

To be honest, now that we are past that year mark and well into our toddler years... its becoming a little harder to maintain that grateful attitude.

I keep trying to tell myself that, this is like being a child and being told, "with more privilege comes more responsibility."  I remember hearing that phrase and short of thinking -- 'Well, that stinks.  I was excited about the privilege... can I skip the responsibility?'

Now, I have a toddler who is SOOO much fun.  She is so lively, curious, adventurous, loving, communicative, friendly, and silly.  But with the fun (the privilege) comes more difficulties (the responsibilities) such as temper tantrums, strong-willed nature, accidents, ow-ies, more baby-proofing needed (she can reach SO MANY things that I think are out of her reach) and more.

Yesterday, for example, we had some real excitement when I tried to call my parents on Facetime, and Tracey Ann crawled right into my lap and signed "Papa" and "Grammie" for the first time.  Then my parents didn't answer the Facetime call... so by the time they called us back (a whopping 3 minutes late) Tracey Ann not only didn't sign to them, she wailed the entire duration of the call.  I guess she cracked under pressure.

These toddler years are so precious... sometimes I have to remind myself of this seventy times a day... but really, they are so precious.

What a Blessing

Yesterday, our Valentine's day was okay... some things went according to plan and some things did not (more about that later this week).  But there was one big surprise and big blessing.

Hubby, Tracey Ann and I went out to dinner -- a litter later than we normally would because Tracey Ann took a late afternoon nap and didn't awaken until 5:30pm.

The details of our actual dinner are not that important, except to say, as we were finishing our deal we agreed that we weren't thrilled with our experience at this restaurant.  We waited a LONG time for our food (with a toddler who is still working on the concept of patience), and when our food arrived it was fine... but not so amazing that it outweighed how long we had to wait for it.

When the meal was over, Hubby asked for our bill and the waitress informed us that we didn't have a bill.  We couldn't believe it.  We both immediately felt a change of heart towards the restaurant.  They must have realized how long they had made us wait for our food and wanted to make ammends.

As we clarified this point with the waitress, she informed us that our bill was not comped by the restaurant... but covered by another patron.

We had run into a family that we knew a little before dinner -- a family that Chris had had their son in class last year -- and this lovely family, who had left the restaurant fifteen minutes or more, earlier had anonymously paid our bill and treated us to dinner.

We were -- and still are -- stunned, and blessed, and speechless.  I have heard of patrons doing that for random strangers, and I have heard of patrons doing that for Military personal.  But we are just average people, and we are small town teachers.  The last thing we would ever expect to end our Valentine's meal was to find out that the parents of one of Chris' former students had treated us to dinner.

How do you repay a blessing that is so out of the blue, and unexpected, and you are so humbled to receive?  The words "Thank you" seem so inadequate... but the only thing one can say is "Thank you."

Thankful In All Things

Today's blog comes courtesy of, my favorite, Father Tim (from the Mitford books).

I just finished listening to book seven in the Mitford series, "In This Mountain" and Father Tim preaches a great sermon in the book about giving "thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" from 1 Thessalonians 5:18.

Father Tim said that Christians are often quick to be thankful in joyful times and give thanks for blessings, but how many times are Christians thankful for trials or challenges?

Father Tim said that trials and challenges in our lives, no matter how difficult, are at the very least permitted by God, and He will ALWAYS bring good in the midst of the challenges.

Father Tim encouraged his (fictional) congregation to not just tolerate challenges, but to sincerely give thanks in them and for them.  Father Tim talked about how much God, our Father loves us, and how He brings good out of EVERYTHING -- not just overt blessings.  Father Tim asked if you could imagine a child saying to their parent, "I really don't like this hard thing... but you, Mom, are allowing it to happen, and I trust you, so I am thankful for this hard thing in my life."  
What a trusting child that would be to say that... I want to be that child.

This is such a word in season for me because I am feeling the trials of being a working mother.  I feel that I am struggling as a teacher and as a mother, I am exhausted, and I only see my baby girl awake for less than two hours a day.  This is a huge challenge for me, and it is only the second week of work (and the first week of school).

I am trying to remind myself to be thankful for this challenge.  And I seriously have to REMIND myself.  My initial reaction, most of the time, is to complain about things that are challenging... it takes consciously reminding myself time after time to try to harvest gratitude for this situation that, my human side, wants to go away.

Nevertheless...
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Gratitude

Something I have learned about myself in the past few years is that I have a hard time faking gratitude.  Some people are fond of saying, "Fake it til you make it," and I have tried to do that when I'm discouraged or overwhelmed.  I know that an attitude of gratitude can make all the difference, but, frankly, I am not great at faking.

That being said, when I can see a silver lining, when I can sincerely find something to be grateful about in a tough situation, I LOVE the attitude of gratitude.

As Hubby and I come to the end of this pregnancy, and closer to the MAJOR life change that parenthood will bring, I am finding that gratitude is easier to come by in tough situations.

These final days of pregnancy, for example.  I am sincerely grateful for these final days and weeks.  I will admit, I don't love every aspect of being pregnant... but I love carrying our child.  I am INCREDIBLY grateful for how our pregnancy has progressed without complication.  I am grateful that I am still able to work at 37 weeks along.  I am grateful for the little (and sometimes BIG) jabs in my ribs and stomach, because it means my baby is healthy and moving and growing.  I have no idea how many times in my life I will be pregnant, or when the next time will be -- once our baby arrives on earth, the pregnancy is over indefinitely, and so I truly am grateful for every day that remains.

Adding to this gratitude is the sobering reality that we have known three couples in the past month to give birth to their babies.  One couple had unforeseen complications that put their newborn in the NICU for 5 nights... and that's the happy ending.  Both of the other two couples, their babies died either before or shortly after birth.  In one of these cases, the death was not a shock... but that doesn't make it an easier situation, and in the other case, the death was completely sudden and unexpected.  PLEASE keep these couples in your prayers as they are coping with the unimaginable.

I am so grateful for my big, growing, kicking, healthy baby that is still inside me.

I am sincerely grateful that I am able to do my job.  Sometimes I have had to talk myself into gratitude for having a job... but in these last weeks of life before parenthood, and these last weeks before life on a salary cut due to maternity leave, I REALLY am SO grateful for my job and the chance to do what I love with wonderful students.

In the past month, Hubby and I have gone from three cars down to one.  Once upon a time, we each had a personal vehicle and I had a work car.  In December I was in a minor accident while driving in the canyon... it was minor, except there is nothing minor about sliding on ice into a guardrail several times when you are 7 months pregnant.  That being said, the accident could have been SOOOO much worse, and we are so grateful for how minor it was.

That took us down to two cars until my work vehicle is fixed.  Then yesterday the transmission started to go out on my personal vehicle (and when I say, "started to go out," I mean "the vehicle will no longer find Reverse or Park reliably").  I made it to the transmission shop and might have a working car again by the middle of next week.  Hubby and I are both mildly disappointed about the inconvenience of only having one vehicle, and the upcoming expense of transmission repairs... but we are both SOOO GRATEFUL for how smoothly the problem was solved.  At 9 months pregnant, my transmission could have blown up and stranded me along I-70... or better yet, the transmission could have begun acting up when I was in labor and we needed to get to the hospital.  Can you see us pulling up to the emergency drop-off, and my husband puts the car in park... and it keeps rolling?

We're also grateful that we had three cars to start with so that when we are down two, we still have a vehicle to meet our needs out here in the middle of nowhere, Colorado (its not like we can hail a cab or take the subway).

The attitude of gratitude really makes such a difference, and Hubby and I have SO much to be grateful for these days.