Thankful Thursday

This week I'm thankful for:

1)  My baby watermelon!

We're still a long way from being able to eat it. And I still have no idea how I'm going to keep Sam away from it until it's fully ripened. But, WOW, I grew a watermelon!!!  I'm DEFINITELY expanding my garden next year. 

2)  A full, double rainbow. 

I had never seen a complete rainbow, much less a complete, double rainbow. Until this week, that is. Saturday night we returned from eating dinner out to see this beautiful scene in our neighborhood. 

We've seen several rainbows lately.  As silly as it may sound, I always get so excited when I see them.  I'm always amazed at their beauty.  Sam is learning that they're a sign of God's promise.  It's so sweet to hear him say, "A rainbow!  God promised."

3)  Easy recipes. 

I love to cook. Honestly, I could spend hours in the kitchen and be perfectly content. But the reality is, that's just not practical for this season of my life. I'm okay with that. But I still love finding new, easy and delicious recipes. You can't get any easier that this one. I only used half of the butter that it called for, and it was still amazing. I'm pretty sure my kids would have polished it off by themselves if I would have let them.

Thankful Thursday

It's been a while.  This week, I am thankful for:

1)  Final payments.  We have been working really hard to reduce our debt over the last several months.  Sometimes, it just stinks.  Sometimes, I think I'd rather just go out and spend an afternoon doing some retail therapy versus getting creative with what's already in my closet.  But then you send that final payment in on something big...something that you never dreamed you'd have paid off this soon.  And it's YOURS.  And it's all worth it.

2)  March flowers.  Some people call them daffodils, but to me they will always be March flowers.  I love seeing them sprout up in their brave little patches on the side of the road.  They bring color to an otherwise colorless landscape.  And as soon as you start seeing that first little glimpse of yellow, then you start noticing that the grass is greener, the trees suddenly have buds on them, the geese are flying home.  But it all starts with those first, defiant little flowers.

Many, many moons ago, my childhood bff, Jana, came over to play one afternoon.  It was rainy and nasty and cold outside.  Naturally, we decided that it was a perfect day to go for a walk and pick flowers.  We dug through my mom's cabinets and found four Styrofoam cups.  We decorated them with messages like, "Have a nice day" and "Happy spring" and then filled them with water.  (Four was our absolute limit, though, because there were only two of us.  That was all we could carry.)  Why in the world we felt like we had to fill them with water before we left instead of picking the flowers and bringing them back to the house is beyond me.  Anyway, we took our cups of water down the road to a field that was absolutely full of March flowers.  We picked bouquet after bouquet to put in our cups.  Then, we took our hard-earned treasures around my neighborhood to some little old ladies.  By the time we were done, we were soaked.  Our hands were red and chapped from being out in the cold.  I'm pretty sure our shoes were mud-caked because we went stomping through a field to pick flowers.  The last lady we visited was Ms. Brown, who lived directly behind me.  She was at least 104 years old.  She saw our red, snot-crusted faces and rushed us inside to warm up and thanked us profusely for the flowers.  She didn't mention the mud we tracked into her house; she didn't reprimand us for wearing nothing more than light, cotton jackets.  She just smiled and said thank you.  I'm pretty sure there is a lesson in there somewhere.

3)  Pandora Lullaby radio.  I have only recently discovered Pandora.  I'm having fun creating stations and customizing them to my tastes.  On one of the nights that Sydney was having a hard time sleeping, I found the lullaby station and turned it on for her.  It didn't do much good for her that night, but I sure enjoyed the music while we were rocking.

Thankful Thursday

This week, I am thankful for:

1)  A free dozen eggs.  When I was doing my grocery shopping last week, a very nice lady stopped me and asked, "Will you be buying eggs today?"  Thinking it was a trick question, I suspiciously answered her, "Well...yes.  They were on my list."  She then handed me a coupon for a free carton of eggs.  She explained that she had two and it was expiring that day and you could only use one coupon per transaction, so she thought she'd pass it along.  I do clip coupons but I'm not super serious about it.  If it's something I was going to buy anyway, I'll try to use the coupon.  Some weeks I do pretty good---others, not so much.  But that day I felt like I had won the lottery!

2)  My shopping list app. 

I already wrote about this app once.  I love it.  Is that nerdy?  Perhaps.  Anyway, my shopping list app and I were coexisting together just fine until I downloaded the new iPhone software update.  (And by *I downloaded* I mean Shawn did it...he is responsible for all technology decisions in our house.  I would probably still be using a bag phone if it weren't for him.)  After that, it just stopped allowing me to add items to my list.  And I. Was. Lost.  I mean, how am I supposed to have a grocery list if I can't put it on my phone?  Do you really expect me to do something so archaic as using a pencil and a piece of paper?!  For about 3 weeks our groceries were a mess because I could never think clearly enough to write out a coherent list before I went.  I would aimlessly walk the aisles trying in vain to put together meals for the week.  But this week they finally issued an update for my app so that it works again.  And all is well with the world. 

3)  Sunrises.  Okay...let's get real.  If I didn't have to be up and out the door for work, I would probably NEVER be awake in time to see the sun rise.  I'm just not wired to be an early-riser.  But I do think sunrises are beautiful.  Much more so than sunsets, in my opinion.   There's just something awe-inspiring about the peace of the early morning when the day is new.  Everything just seems so fresh and perfect.  With the days getting shorter, it's usually dark when I leave the house, and I get the chance to see the sun peeking up over the hills as I drive to work.  And it always makes me feel so special.  Like God painted a picture across the sky just to make me smile. 

What are you thankful for this week?  I always love seeing what is on Julia's Thankful List.  She has such a way of finding a little something special in the everyday. 

Thankful Thursday

This week, I am thankful for:

1)  College students who like to babysit. 

I don't like to use a babysitter on my days off.  I figure Sam is already with a babysitter for 40+ hours per week, he needs to be with one of us the rest of the time.  But let's be honest--sometimes it's just not practical to have a 2 year old with you.  So I've known for a while that we needed to find someone who could just occasionally watch Sam for an hour or two here or there.  But I recently got pushed into action with some dental work that I needed to have done.  I'm pretty sure my dentist doesn't want to have to wrestle her sharp instruments away from Sam while I'm laid back in her chair.  This lovely young lady has kept Sam a few times now, and he just loves her.  On this particular day, Sam was a little grouchy, so she got her phone out to play with it.  (Most likely one of the reasons Sam loves her...that kid is ADDICTED to the iPhone.)  She started snapping pictures of the two of them.  In this one, they were making their "mean face."

2)  Friends who like to sew.  I wanted some maternity capri jeans, but I DIDN'T want to pay $45 for them like Motherhood Maternity suggested.  I mean, I only have a few weeks left!  Luckily, my friend Alice loves to sew.  She graciously offered to cut off a pair of my already-purchased maternity jeans for me.  My legs will be much cooler (and very grateful) in the coming weeks. 

3)   Walks at lunchtime.  One of the things I love most about spring is that it's warm enough for me to sneak outside for a few minutes at lunch.  The burst of fresh air and sunshine are sometimes just what I need to get through the rest of the day...even if I only have time to walk a lap around our tiny little parking lot. 

What are you thankful for this week?  I'm linking up to Black Tag Diaries.

Thankful Thursday

This week, I am thankful for:

1)  A tear-free hair cut.  Actually, the hair cut took place a couple of weekends ago, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm sooooooooooo thankful for it.  Hair cuts have been somewhat traumatic for Sam.  His first one was okay...until they got the clippers out.  After that, it just all went down hill.  The next time we went back, I ended up sitting in the barber's chair and holding him, and it was STILL a disaster.  Not only did he scream the entire time, he also got gapped in a couple places because he kept trying to jerk away from the scissors.  But this time, the lady cutting his hair was super awesome, and nary a tear was shed. 

And as a reward for his bravery, he got a sucker.

2)  A tear-free visit to the church nursery.  We have had very little success with the nursery at church.  At first, I just kept plugging along (at the advice of one of the nursery workers), confident that he would eventually become more comfortable.  Every week, we would drop Sam off in the nursery, and just about every week we would get paged to come pick him up before the end of the service.  The director assured us that this was common and just to keep introducing him every Sunday.  Then Sam broke his leg, so we kept him out for a few weeks--as much for the comfort of the nursery volunteers as our own peace of mind.  We didn't want anyone to feel intimidated by caring for a baby in a cast.  (I mean, we were intimidated enough for them!)  So after the cast came off and we tried it again it was a complete failure.  I pulled Mommy Rank and decided that he just needed that time with us.  I knew he was being taken care of and I also knew it was good for Shawn and me to have some time to worship and learn without having that distraction, but I just felt like for whatever reason Sam was telling us he needed to be with us.  So we put it on hold for a while.  But lately we've been pretty distracting during church.  Sam's all about the "joyful noise" part, but when it comes time to sit still and be quiet...well, it's tough on little guys.  And Shawn and I spend more effort keeping him quiet than we do actually listening ourselves.  So this week we decided to try it again.  And HALLELUJAH when we went to the classroom they had steps!!!  AND GOLDFISH!!!  In no time at all we were forgotten. 

3)  Thirty-three years on this earth.  Yesterday was my 33rd birthday.  I thought about writing a post entirely on it's own, but really what can I say?  I'm thankful for another year.  Thankful for the blessings the past year has brought.  Thankful for the blessings the next year will bring.  Thankful for friends made and lessons learned.  I'm even thankful that I have a few new crow's feet laugh lines, because they are a reminder of good times had.

Thankful Thursday

This week, I am thankful for:

1)  Our safety during the storms.  Last Friday was a scary day.  The storms were scheduled to hit between 4 and 6pm...leaving my little family driving home right in the middle of it.  Luckily, Shawn was able to sneak away from work about 30 minutes early so he got home in time.  Our clinic closed early, but Sam and I ended up weathering the storm at his babysitter's house in her basement.  Shawn and I were afraid that we wouldn't make it home in time, and I DID NOT want to risk experiencing a tornado huddled over my baby in a ditch on the side of the road.  I'm thankful that the worst of the storms mercifully missed our area.  I'm thankful for Ms. Tammy's hospitality in letting us hang at her house on a Friday evening.  And I'm thankful that we had a home to go back to...even if we did get home a little later than usual and my boy was grumpy and tired and out-of-sorts from all of the excitement.  Too many were not so lucky last week.

2)  Unexpected snuggles from a little boy.  This morning Sam fell asleep on the way to his babysitter's house.  Ordinarily, if he falls asleep in the car his eyes fly open the second I try to get him out of his car seat, no matter how gentle I try to be.  But this morning when I got him out he just laid his head over on my shoulder and nestled into my chest.  And for a brief moment I thought about just standing there in her driveway and forgetting all about work for the day.

3)  Phone calls from a long lost friend.  This week I got to chat on the phone with a friend that I haven't heard from in years.  It was so nice to catch up and laugh for a little while.  I always say I'm going to do a better job of keeping up with folks, but somehow I get busy and months or even years slip by before I actually make a call or send an email.  I'm so glad our phone rang this week, even if it was close to bedtime. 

What are you thankful for this week?  Linking up at Black Tag Diaries.

Thankful Thursday

This week, I am thankful for:

1)  McDonald's Caramel Hot Chocolate.

Funny story:  A couple of weeks ago I went out during my lunch break because I had a hankerin' for a McDonald's iced tea.  It was a sunshiny but very cold day.  I pulled up to the drive through, and a recorded voice came over the speaker:  "Welcome to McDonald's.  Why don't you warm up your day with a caramel hot chocolate?"

I froze.  What's this?  Two of my favorite things in one???  Without thinking, I enthusiastically blurted out into the microphone, "Oh my gosh, I SO want one of those!" 

Then another voice came on the speaker...this time that of a young woman.  "Ummm...small, medium or large?"

I was afraid I might have frightened her with my demanding tone.  I also figured that the other McDonald's employees were probably standing inside, looking at me leaning halfway out my car window and laughing their heads off, so I sat back, tried to maintain an air of dignity, and casually replied, "Small.  And no whipped cream, please."

In hindsight, the no whipped cream thing was a grave mistake.  But the hot chocolate was probably the best decision I had made all day long. 

I have had a nagging, tickling little cough this week, so on my day off Sam and I zipped through the McD's drive through for another one of these warm, delicious treats.  (I at least managed to stay in my seat this time.)  So.  Good.  And exactly what my itchy, scratchy throat needed.

2)  March flowers!!!

I've been seeing these little beauties pop up in fields here and there for a couple of weeks.  Admittedly, I always get a little too excited when I see their bright yellow clusters, but I can't help it--they're simply gorgeous!  And they're one of the first promises of spring.  But this morning was extra special because THIS MORNING, I had one in my very own yard!!!  There was one bloom and at least two more buds just waiting to pop open in my front flower bed.  I think it was a very appropriate way to welcome the first day of meteorological spring.  (My calendar says the first official day of spring is not until March 20, and I really don't so much understand the difference between meteorological spring and regular spring, but the weather man used the word "spring" on the news this morning, so I'm running with it!)

3)  Little flutters.  My little girl has been shaking things up lately.  I never get tired of feeling those little ripples of life.  It's like she's sending me little messages:  Hey, Mom!  That caramel hot chocolate was delicious.  Thanks.  I love feeling her pokes, jabs and somersaults.  It's one of the greatest blessings of being a mom. 

So what are you thankful for this week?

Thankful Thursday

This week, I am thankful for:

1)  This little outfit.

Sorry for the stolen images from Carter's.  I forgot to snap a picture of the outfit after I bought it.  Sam and I went shoe shopping for him after our ultrasound this week.  (Can I just say my kid is now wearing a size 8 shoe?  As in--1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, EIGHT!!!  Yeesh...)  While we were out, we decided to pick up a little outfit for Baby Sister.  What?!  She needed a present.  Personally, I think Sam did a great job putting her outfit together (with a little help...)  And what girl in her right mind doesn't love a good cupcake? 

2)  A flexible babysitter.  I know I have mentioned before that I'm grateful for Ms. Tammy, but she really went above and beyond this week.  I had a slight schedule change this week at work.  Nothing huge...just my day off was different than it normally is.  I could have sworn I mentioned it to her, but obviously I didn't.  Obviously, because when I got to her house to drop Sam off that morning, she wasn't home.  (I plead pregnancy insanity.)  I went on to the clinic, taking Sam with me and knowing that having him in a pharmacy all day was NEVER going to work.  When I talked to her a little while later, she laughed off the whole situation and said she would swing by the clinic just as soon as she was finished with her appointment.  I'm so glad she was willing to save the day and I didn't have to take an unexpected day off of work or try to keep my child drug-free for the next 10 hours. 

3)  Breyers Peach Ice Cream.

Especially when the peach ice cream is nestled inside a lovely waffle cone.  This has been one of my favorite sweet treats lately.  I think the peachness of it makes me think it's summer time.  Somehow, I never get to finish the entire portion of ice creamy goodness all by myself.  I have a little boy whose eyes light up when he sees me walking into the room with it and suddenly any toy he was playing with is forgotten. 

Come to think of it...I'm pretty thankful for that too.

Thankful Thursday

This week, I am thankful for:

1)  Lunch dates with friends.  I was lucky enough to meet up with a friend and her kiddos for lunch this week.  We have been trying to make connections for weeks, but sometimes school, homework, work, gymnastics and runny noses can wreck your plans.  We FINALLY got together this week for lunch with a side of laughter.  I'm hoping we can actually make it happen again before our kids are graduating from high school.

2)  The way my kiddo always keeps me guessing.

On my day off this week, Sam and I ran in the bookstore to pick up a couple of birthday presents.  (Because books are, in my opinion, always a perfect gift.)  Sam was really on his best behavior while we were there, so I told him he could pick out a present for being so good.  I'm thinking he's gonna pick a BOOK, right?  'Cause (a) he loves books and (b) we're in a BOOKstore.  Nope.  Sam chose this grasshopper hat, complete with buggy eyeballs and antennas on top.  (Or is it antennae???)  When I tried to talk him out of it asked him if he was sure that was what he wanted, he signed please and yelled "NICE!"  (Sam's version of asking nicely.)  So we are now the proud new owners of a grasshopper hat.  He wore it all day that day.  I love that he has his own Sam personality and that it constantly cracks me up.  I don't love that a certain chocolate lab who shall remain nameless got her paws (and teeth) on said grasshopper hat and we will now be taking it to the grasshopper vet/seamstress to see if it can be salvaged. 

3)  The nice officer who gave me a warning instead of the ticket that I really deserved.  I was buzzing along on my way to work earlier this week when I looked in my rearview mirror and saw blue lights.  Blah.  I pulled over and  fought the urge to bang my head against the steering wheel.  He came up to my window and asked me if I knew why he had pulled me over.  I sheepishly replied, "Yes, I'm afraid I do."  Then he told me what he clocked me doing.  Oops!  Knew I was speeding but honestly didn't realize I was doing it so well...  Anyway, I'm not sure if he just has a soft spot for working moms who are perpetually late for work or if it was just the end of his shift and he didn't feel like fooling with the ticket, but he let me go with a warning and a stern, "Slow. Down."  Thank you, nice officer.

Thankful Thursday

This week, I am thankful for:

1)  Good test results.  Shawn had to have a few tests done this week.  Nothing serious--just a couple of things that we needed to get checked out.  Everything came back fine, and I even have a few funny stories to tell of things Shawn said as he was recovering from the sedation.  Win, win!!

2)  A movie date with friends.  This weekend, I am going to catch a matinee with a few girls from work.  We're going to be seeing One For The Money, which is based on a series of books about an accident-prone bounty hunter.  She ain't no Dawg, y'all!  I love the Stephanie Plum books, and I highly recommend them to anyone who needs a few laughs.  I'm excited that they made the first book in the series into a movie, and I can't wait to catch it with the gals.  (And how about a shout-out to my husband for pulling Daddy-duty so I can sneak away for a couple of hours?)

3)  Our newly tiled basement.  Okay, so I had fully intended to have pictures for this part, but it seems that I'm upstairs and the basement is, well, downstairs, and it's getting REAL close to bedtime.  That poses a problem.  But trust me:  we had icky, yucky, needing-to-be-replaced carpet in our basement, but we are now sporting pretty, new, quickly-and-neatly-laid tile.  I love that we found someone who (1) showed up to work when he said he would (2) did great work and (3) didn't charge us an arm and a leg.

What are you thankful for this week?  Head on over to Black Tag Diaries and leave your list!

Thankful Thursday

This week, I am thankful for:

1) Crackers and cheese snacks.

Okay, so admittedly there is not even a hint of real cheese in these.  I'm sure it's more like "processed cheese product."  Sam is all about the dipping of the food lately, so I grabbed these at the grocery one day thinking he would be all over them for a snack.  Dude. won't. touch. them.  Don't even think about trying to get him to eat one of these.  So because there is something in my genetic makeup that won't allow me to waste food, I started taking them to work with me in my lunch.  And oh my goodness, my taste buds are so happy!  (I may or may not have scooped out the last little bit of orange, fake-cheesy deliciousness and eaten it even after I had polished off the crackers.) 

2)  House cleaning Thursdays.

I have talked about this before, but we have a wonderful angel from Heaven who comes and cleans our house twice a month.  It may not always be something we can afford, but for now it is such a blessing.  I love walking into our house every other Thursday night because it always smells like lemon Pledge and, if only for a moment, there is nothing sticky on the floor.  As a side note, Shawn has told me that we have to keep this luxury around no matter what because it makes me nicer.  And I'm okay with that.

3)  Longer days...FINALLY!!!

There's just something depressing about leaving for work when it's dark AND getting off work when it's dark.  YUCK!  I like sunshine.  It likes me.  We like each other.  It's a small victory, but I'm starting to watch the sunrise on my drive to work and I just get to see the last few minutes of the sunset when I leave. 

What are you thankful for this week?  I'm linking up to Black Tag Diaries.

Thankful Thursday

This week, I am thankful for:

1)  Chicken Noodle Soup.

Some women crave pickles when they are pregnant.  Others want chocolate.  When I was pregnant with Sam, I had a serious thing for soft serve ice cream.  It was bad news, folks.  But lately all I have wanted is chicken noodle soup.  Seriously.  I think about it all the time.  I wonder what that says about this baby.

2)  My Journey magazine.

If you are a woman and you aren't familiar with Journey magazine, you should change that right away.  It's a devotional magazine for women.  Every day there is a quick devotion and a few scripture verses to accompany it.  There are also a few extra articles in there for some added study, along with beauty tips, shopping advice, health facts, and random other things that I always find useful and interesting.  I have no idea how many times I have read the daily devotion and thought, "That was put there today just for me."  Somehow, it's always exactly what I need to read.  My subscription lapsed for a while but I recently renewed it, and I'm trying to get back in the habit of spending a few minutes with it every night. 

Which brings me to a little sidebar:  I'm interested in hearing other women's thoughts on how and when they do their devotional times.  I'm not loving bedtime because it's so easy to just skip it and go right to sleep.  Mornings aren't great for me because, honestly, I'm not the most alert first thing in the morning.  I find if I try to get up earlier to study I don't really focus.  I've thought about my lunch break, but I'm not sure about that either.  Would love to have some feedback, here, ladies!

3)  Clean sheets.

Is there anything better than snuggling into bed on that first night after you change your sheets?  I always sleep better on those nights.  It's almost enough to make me change them every day....if it weren't for that whole laundry thing. 

I'm linking up my thankful post to Black Tag Diaries.

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for:

1)  An extra day off.  I needed a day to catch up on some rest.  I didn't feel that great all last week.  I have been T.I.R.E.D. lately, and last week was difficult.  I was grouchy with my coworkers.  I was whiny to Shawn.  I was distracted with Sam.  A day at home to take a big nap and get caught up on some of the laundry that had been staring us in the face all week was just what the doctor ordered.

2)  Our supplemental health insurance.  A couple of months ago my company offered a supplemental health plan to purchase.  Kinda like those duck commercials you see.  I bought one and because I have a son who likes to climb, I added the optional broken bone policy.  The plan became active just a few days before Sam broke his leg.  I finally got all of our receipts submitted and we got a check in the mail last week to cover almost all of our out-of-pocket expense.  What a nice Christmas present!

3)  Sensicare lotion.  My hands always stay so dry during the winter.  Probably because I work in a medical clinic.  You know who goes to medical clinics?  Sick people!  So I am constantly washing my hands or, worse, using that horrible alcohol hand sanitizer.  My hands were cracked to the point of bleeding last night when Shawn said one of the nurses that he works with suggested using this stuff.  After a dose last night and another this morning, I'm happy to report that my hands are as smooth as a baby's behind.  Will definitely be keeping this stuff around the house. 

What are you thankful for this week?  I'm linking up to Black Tag Diaries.

Thankful Post--Friday

Disclaimer:  I know today's post is late.  I started it Thursday night with the intention of finishing it Friday morning.  I never got the chance. 

Today I am thankful for:

1)  Hot showers.  Maybe a seemingly insignificant thing, but a good, long, hot shower can wake up my tired eyes and make getting out of bed possible.  I have thought many times over the last year and a half that showering at night would probably make my life much easier, but I just can't give up that feeling of the water beating me in the face to wake me up. 

2)  Health insurance.  We are blessed to have excellent health insurance that pays for almost 100% of our ER visits.  Honestly, I can only think of one time in my 32 years that I have ever had to take a family member to the ER...except in the last 3 months...and we've been 3 times recently...including yesterday.  (Everyone is fine.)  While I'm grateful that Shawn has this benefit at his job, I'm hopeful that we'll never have to use it again.

3)  Plumbers that respond to service calls quickly.  I know plumbers charge astronomical amounts for their work, but I kinda don't really mind paying their fees.  I mean, I sure as heck don't want to do their job.  They deal with some nasty...um...stuff.  I'm glad the nice man made it stop raining in my basement yesterday. 

Stay tuned for the full rundown of our Thanksgiving holiday.  As you can tell, it was...eventful.

Thankful Week--Thursday

Today I am thankful for:

1)  Online shopping.  I fell in love with online shopping when we lived in Pikeville, and I still love it today.  Not only am I not limited by my geographical location, I can shop anytime I want, in my pj's, all while watching an episode of Magnum, P.I.  I mean, what could possibly be better?!  To sweeten the deal, I don't have to deal with grouchy sales associates or other pushy shoppers, and they always have the color or size I want.  AAAAND I can usually find some kind of online coupon code for free shipping or some kind of discount.  I plan on expressing my gratitude for online shopping this Black Friday.  Only instead of Magnum, P.I., I will probably be watching a DVR'd cheesy Christmas Hallmark movie. 

2)  Good friends.  I am so blessed to have some really awesome friends.  Friends that I could call in the middle of the night and they would get up and come bail me out of jail.  Friends who would let me stay with them if our house burned down.  Friends who know the worst parts about me and choose to be my friends anyway.  Friends who laugh with me, cry with me, pray with me and just shower me with undeserved love. 

3)  The privilege of being a mom.  I'm not one of those girls who always dreamed of being a mom.  In fact, there was a time when I really wondered if I should have children.  I thought I was too selfish to care for another human being 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  And while I won't say I'm perfect at it, Sam has been an excellent teacher.  Being his mom is the greatest (and hardest) job I have ever had.  It challenges me daily, but I am amazed daily at the rewards that I reap.  I have given up lone shopping trips, sacrificed sleep and a clean house and abandoned the idea of eating in a nice restaurant for the next 16 years or so.  But in exchange I get all of the sticky kisses I can handle, I hear a sweet voice say, "Mommmm" about 50 times a day, and I get to say night-night prayers with my own little direct link to Heaven every night.

Thankful Week--Wednesday

Today I am thankful for:

1)  Craig's List.  I have only recently entered the world of Craig's List.  We have a basement full of things we need to get rid of.  Our neighborhood has a big yard sale every summer and I keep saying we are going to participate, but somehow we have missed it every year.  A couple of months ago, in a clutter-induced frenzy I bagged up some smaller items to haul off to Goodwill, but I listed a couple of bigger items on Craig's List.  They sold almost immediately, and I was hooked!  I got back on the wagon this week by listing a couple of things that I didn't bother to sell last time, and they're already sold!  Christmas shopping money, anyone?  So now I'm looking around the house for things that I can get rid of while putting a little extra money in my pocket.  I think Shawn may be getting a little nervous...

2)  Visits from family.  Some of our Western Kentucky kinfolk are going to start trickling in tonight.  We anticipate there being a steady stream of people in and out of our house all weekend.  I have all kinds of fun things planned, including a visit to the Kentucky Horse Park to see the lights, a movie marathon of Christmas classics, an UNO tournament, and the first ever King Christmas Cookie-palooza!  (Then on Monday, I plan on collapsing and administering oxygen to myself all day.)

3)  The fact that my refrigerator is overflowing right now.  Seriously, I know most of us are going to over-indulge this weekend.  If my refrigerator and pantry are any indication, we plan on doing A LOT of over-indulging this weekend.  And I'm thankful that we can.  Shawn and I always have food on our table.  We never have to make the decision on whether to buy groceries or buy gas.  And while I might have to make the decision on WHAT to feed my son, I have never had to wonder IF I could feed my son.  I cannot imagine how hard that must be for a parent.  There are people in this country who are starving.  Hard to believe, perhaps, in a time when so much emphasis is put on America's tendency for super-sizing everything, but it's true.  So today I am thankful that our table will have food on it and our bellies will be full.

Thankful Week--Tuesday

Today I am thankful for:

1)  Ms. Tammy.  Ms. Tammy is Sam's babysitter.  She treats him like he is her own grandchild.  Every night when I pick him up she gives him kisses and tells him that she loves him.  She calls to check on him if he's sick.  And while it always kinda tears a little piece of my soul off when I leave him every morning, it makes it a little bit easier to know that he's in such good hands. 

2)  Cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies.  Shawn thinks I'm so weird for liking these.  I haven't had the chance to indulge in them much this year, but that's what DVR is for, right?  It's nice to sit down and watch a movie from that to time that doesn't have any blood or guts being sprayed across the screen or boobs flashing in my face.  The story lines might not be the greatest, but I have to admit I like slipping into a world where Santa enlists the help of us mortals to save Christmas.  Where the magical kiss at midnight on Christmas Eve breaks the evil spell.  And where the long lost teen rebel finally finds a family to love him.

3)   A short work week.  Our clinic will be closed Thursday and Friday, then next Monday is my normal day off for next week.  All that adds up to one deliciously long holiday weekend. 

Thankful Week--Monday

It's Thanksgiving week!  I have really started to look forward to my Thankful Thursday posts.  Sometimes they are profound...sometimes not so much.  But I always enjoy taking a few minutes out of my week to count my blessings.  I thought this week it might be nice to do that every day.  So here goes:

This Thanksgiving Week, I am thankful for:

1)  A daddy's relationship with his little boy. 

Sam.  Adores.  Shawn.  It warms my heart to see them together.  This morning, Sam saw me putting my shoes on and asked me, "Go bye-bye?"  I told him that yes, we were going bye-bye.  He immediately asked (for about the 10th time that morning), "Go Dada?"  I told him that no, we were going to run some errands but we weren't going to see Daddy.  At every stop he again asked when we were getting into the car and out of the car if we were going to see Daddy.  So I finally just made the impromptu decision to meet Daddy for lunch.  We didn't have anything else going on today that couldn't be postponed, so why not?  I love that my little boy loves Shawn enough to miss him when he's not here.  And I'm so thankful that Shawn rearranged his day so we could have a few minutes with him.  He's a great dad--he can cut loose and act goofy but he can also lovingly correct Sam when he needs it.  (And lately he needs it more and more!)  I love their bond, and I'm so proud of the two of them. 

2)  My family's good health.  Maybe not the most exciting thing for which to be thankful, but it's too often overlooked.  Sam has had a little low-grade fever for the last few days.  I suspect it's a tooth making it's appearance or just a little cold, but it has had him a little bit out of sorts for the last few days.  When I'm frazzled because he's falling apart over the tiniest thing or refusing to eat, I'm reminded that we know nothing of a sick child.  Right after Sam broke his leg, a friend's little boy was diagnosed with cancer, and Shawn and I got a big dose of reality.  Yes...Sam is a kid and he will be plagued with various ailments here and there.  We will have to clean up puke, wipe snotty noses and may make the occasional ER visit.  But so far, our son (and his parents!) have been blessed with overall good health.  We don't have chronic conditions that constantly steal our energy, we don't have to take life-sustaining medicine that makes us feel bad, and we don't have to schedule our days around lengthy treatments.  So today, I am grateful that Sam has a little low-grade fever that we can manage at home with Tylenol and kisses.

3)  A job where I don't have to work on holidays.  After working in a hospital for 3 years, this is so nice.  At our previous jobs, Shawn and I worked evenings, weekends, holidays, and the occasional 3rd shift.  Not fun for this girl who likes her sleep.  People don't stop being sick because it's Christmas.  But now I have a job that is a little more family (and sleep) friendly.  I feel blessed to have this job in a time where jobs can be scarce.

Thankful Thursday

This week, I am thankful for:

1)  Rubber Cement.

Seriously, is this not the coolest stuff ever?  I never really liked craft or art time in elementary school unless it was something we got to glue.  Coloring just wasn't really my thing, and I SURE wasn't going to get any bonus points for my drawing skills, but break out the rubber cement and I was all over it.  I've been making some very simple, easy-peasy crafts to sell for our clinic Relay for Life team, and I have been painting up a glue-storm!

2)  Kroger Birthday Cake.

I just love grocery story sheet cake.  Is that dumb?  Personally, I'm a roses kind of girl.  The more icing, the better.  What's that?  You don't want that corner piece?  I'll take it!  I had a really crazy morning today and was SUPER late to work.  It was not good.  But later I walked into the break room to get something to drink and saw that someone had brought in left over birthday cake to share with everyone.  And suddenly my day got a little bit brighter. 

3)  Operation Christmas Child.

I love this charity.  I started participating in Operation Christmas Child a few years ago; it's a fun little thing to do that always gets me in the Christmas spirit.  Here is our box from last year.  If you're not familiar with the whole concept, you basically just fill a shoebox with some simple gifts for a child, and they get shipped all over the world to children who might not have ever received a gift in their entire lives.  You can learn more about it and find out how to pack a shoebox here.  Then after you have your shoebox packed you can find out where to drop it off here.  I'm really excited about continuing this little tradition with Sam when he's a little older and can understand what we're doing and I can help him pack his own box.  This is collection week, but there is still plenty of time to pack a box for a child and show them God's love from the other side of the world.  I almost let it sneak up on me this year, so I'll be putting the finishing touches on my box tonight and tomorrow before turning it in at church this weekend.  We are having a special service where everyone will bring their box to the front so they can be blessed before being turned in to the collection site.  The church gave out over 500 boxes--I can't wait to see them all together!

What are you thankful for this week?  I'll be linking up to Black Tag Diaries.

Thankful Thursday...On Saturday

Honestly, where have my last few weeks gone?  I'm afraid with the holidays fast approaching, it's only going to get worse.  Since November is THE thankful month, I really want to keep up with my thankful posts right now.  So this week, I am thankful for:

1.  Store-bought pies.

Ordinarily, I don't like to buy store-bought baked goods.  I mean, I'd rather just make it myself.  I enjoy baking, it tastes WAY better, and it's certainly more economical.  We had our Thanksgiving potluck dinner at work yesterday, and I had asked Shawn to stop at the store on Thursday night to pick up the makings for pumpkin pie.  He instead came home with a ready-made pie and some bakery cookies.  He said he thought I sounded tired on the phone and he thought this would make my night easier.  And while I would really prefer to make it myself, he was right.  I was tired.  And that did make my night much more pleasant.  So maybe I'll just have to bake that pie for him this weekend as a special way to say thank you. 

2.  Saturday mornings. 

I never cook breakfast during the week.  Believe me, we don't need anything else to make our mornings any more hectic than they already are.  Even on my day off, I usually just eat cereal or Sam and I split some instant oatmeal.  But Saturdays are different.  I usually cook breakfast while Sam and Shawn play.  It gives them a chance to have some guy time, and it gives me a chance to cook without my little helper.  We keep saying, "Maybe next week we'll get up and go out for breakfast," but the next week rolls around and staying home in our pj's always just sounds so much better.

3.  Sweatshirt blankets.

We have this blanket made out of sweatshirt material.  It's HUGE and snuggly and warm.  I love curling up on the couch with this thing.  Whoever came up with this idea is a genius.  Genius, I tell ya!

What are you thankful for this week?  I'm linking up to Black Tag Diaries.