Thankful Thursday

This Thursday I have a sweet little 8lb 9oz beauty to be thankful for. I know it seems like I'm a little overexcited to be an aunt but who cares. I am! Not only is this my first time, but this angel is here - I believe - because of prayers.My sister had an ultrasound and they told her that they suspected something was very wrong. The Dr saw a couple things that led him to believe she would be born disabled. I don't think he was a very good Dr, nor did he have patient/Dr skills, but that's another story. My sis and I prayed for Lilah and when they went back in for the next ultrasound they found nothing! You could say that there wasn't anything there to begin with and that they read it wrong but you could also say God made it that way. I like to believe that God worked it out.Then several weeks before she was due they had another ultrasound because my sister was measuring small and they were worried that something was wrong, again, with Lilah. Either she was small or Meghan was not making enough amniotic fluid. Again, I prayed, and again God answered. The ultrasound showed that she was fine. And she was 8 1/2#! Not small.I am so thankful to God for His hand in this little angel's life."For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;

all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

Psalm 139:13-16

Lilah Kelly Leadford

A thankful heart

I've been pondering what it means to have a thankful heart and how it can change the way my children, all of you and I see the world around us.

It changes us....

from ewww! Gross dinner! I don't want any! to Thank you for making this. I appreciate it. from All he does is work! to I'm so thankful he has a job and is able to provide for us. from This job is hard/dumb/not fun etc...! It doesn't pay well..grrr! to I'm thankful to be where God wants me to be. from These kids are driving me crazy! to I'm thankful for each day I have with the gifts God has given me and for the refinement in my life :) from I don't like our government. I'm tired of this! to I'm thankful to be living in a free country where I'm allowed amazing privileges. from I hate the weather! to So thankful for each season that brings with it a purpose and a plan. from I didn't get enough sleep and I'm cranky! to I'm thankful for a warm bed sleep in. from My family drives me nuts sometimes! to I'm thankful for a family to be a part of. from I hate being sick. to I'm so thankful for the times that I am well. from I'm tired of the tough seasons in life. to I'm thankful for the seasons of blessings and for the work God does in me during the tough times. from I never have enough money! to I'm thankful for the many, many ways God provides for me. from I hate this house! to I'm thankful for a place to live, a roof over my head, running water, heat, electricity.... from Homeschooling is sometimes the stinkin most hardest thing I've ever done and boy does that yellow bus look inviting! to It's an honor to be able to have my kids home with me teaching them life skills, character development as well as "normal" school stuff. from A new car would really be nice. This old clunker is just not working anymore. to I'm thankful for a working car that gets me where I need to go. from I really don't like being so far away from family. to I'm thankful for my family of choice. from My church doesn't play the right music all the time or preach the things I want to hear and people can be seriously ornery and un-Christian. to I'm thankful that I am free to worship. I'm thankful for a place I can go, as a striving Christian myself, and be a part. I'm thankful for other striving Christians, even though they may hurt me sometimes. God has brought everyone in my life for a reason.

Here's to a change of heart!

Thankful Thursday

What am I thankful for today? It shouldn't be, but sometimes it's hard to sit and focus on what I'm thankful for. I don't want to be repeating everything and I really want to be able to see things that I might have overlooked otherwise. Ya know? To really have a thankful heart (for me) is to see beyond the "normal" into the amazing big and small gifts that are in my life. I want to be able to see them and appreciate them everyday and to focus on that rather than my circumstances or what I feel I'm "lacking".

I'm thankful for my warm, soft, comfortable bed.

I'm thankful for food in my pantry (even if it'd be beans and crackers for dinner I'd still be able to eat!).

I'm thankful for my parents teaching me how to give to others.

I'm thankful for the beautiful feeling it brings me to give.

I'm thankful that God doesn't ask me to do something He knows I can't do or handle something He knows I can't handle.

I'm thankful for my furnace!

I'm thankful for Christmas decorations. I love my house all decorated!

TT & GbH

Thankful Thursday and Gingerbread House :)

I can't seem to do a post on a Thursday without including what I am thankful for. It just doesn't feel right!

I'm thankful for my health and for my family's health. No serious illnesses here and while I may not fully understand how much I should be thankful, I will certainly try and appreciate each day of health we have.

I'm thankful for the warmer weather. Although I'd love to see snow on the ground before Christmas, I'm glad there isn't any yet since we have 2 more pillars (in a difficult spot) to complete tomorrow.

I'm thankful for Christmas music. I really love hearing reminders all day long about my Lord's birth and what it means for all mankind!

And I'm thankful for this little project we got to do last night as a family. Last Sunday was our small group's Christmas party and our kids got this! So fun. We had to make them wait till Mark was home at night (I thought 2 whole days waiting might kill them....) then we went to town so to speak.

Here's what it was supposed to look like. Yeah right. As done by a professional decorator on their 3rd try!

Here's what we started with.

Slapping on a coat of frosting.

Concentrating very hard. He actually did really well.

So did he :)

This was Jack's excited pose that he stuck after every gumdrop got placed just right. He was hysterical.

We did this after dinner and the 2 youngest weren't so thrilled with what we had for dinner. They weren't allowed to eat the candy as we were decorating (I know it's torture but you have to do what you have to do). So I gave them another opportunity to eat dinner and here was Jack's frustrated response....he never did eat dinner even with the temptation of candy....

Kate, on the other hand, sucked it up and ate her dinner. She was rewarded with gumdrops I promise.

The construction crew

And our completed house. Not quite like the box but I think it's pretty good. Now if I can just keep it whole for a couple days before the kids start begging me to eat it!

Thankful Thursday

It's been a few weeks since I've posted on a Thursday. So glad to be back[ish].

Today I am so thankful for fall. I love the colors, I love the coolness but still warmness during the day, I love the smell, I love that Thanksgiving is coming up soon[ish].

I'm thankful for Pete, our amazing carpenter man. He's been a HUGE, hardworking blessing.

I'm thankful that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. A dim light, but it's there!

I'm thankful for a community of friends who look out for each other, support each other and take care of each other.

I'm thankful for a community of homeschool moms. What a blessing to hang out with super fun moms who don't have it all together all the time either :)

I'm thankful that our heater is blowing hot air again. It was a little iffy at the beginning of this week but thanks to a friend and his troubleshooting, Mark and I were able to fix it ourselves. Whew!

I'm thankful for Skype. I skyped with my sisters last night and laughed so hard I cried. I love and miss them!

I'm thankful for the weekend. You may not see Mark or I because we are chest-deep in projects but by golly we're gonna git er done! {well some of it anyways....}

Thankful Thursday

Since it is Thursday I promise I will include things I am thankful for but I have to start off with a bit of a recap from last night.

It started while I was making dinner. Actually the whole day had been one of those days when everyone's just a little on edge. There wasn't any particular reason why but we just were. We were all a little bit ornery, a little bit impatient, a little bit moody, a little bit tired and a little bit restless. Ever had one of those days? Where you just aren't clicking as a family? Yeah well we had one. Nothing too terribly bad had happened but it always seemed just below the surface.

So, I'm making dinner (meatball stroganoff - Yum!) when there's a knock on the back door. It's the guy we had called last week to give us an estimate on possibly doing our foundation. ---back story: our insurance company told us that our foundation is not up to their standards to be insured as a house. So we are in a situation where we need to either fix it so that it is or get a different policy that will be more expensive. We're having to do some serious weighing of our options and that's hard when you don't know much. :) We are in the process of gathering information. Not really what I call summer fun... --- Anyway, the guy was back to give us his estimate. We knew he was coming and Mark was pretty much racing him to the house. Mark lost.

I got to chat with the guy. So I left my stroganoff and noodles on the stove and went to outside {can you see where this is going?}. He's super nice and, just like everyone, needs work. If we do hire him to fix our foundation (although there isn't anything wrong with it according to the county - they say our foundation is fine which is why we're having to do some number crunching) he'll have a terribly tough job. Terribly tough. One that will require lots of patience, lots of dirt, and on our end, lots of money. :( But like I said he's a super nice man. So we chatted till Mark came home.

And of course you can guess what happened to my dinner by the time I got done chatting away on the difficulties of finding and buying and fixing up a house in Durango for the working class. I came inside to find my meatballs completely stuck - as in they had been welded - to the bottom of my pan. All the sauce had been simmered out and the remaining sauce was a thick black coating on the pan. The noodles were an overcooked mush. The house smelled beyond nasty and my children were quietly watching cartoons during all of this.

By this time we were well past dinnertime. Too late to thaw anything and start again. We were down to cereal or PB&J. *sigh* We loaded up the kids in a hurry to head to town. It was dollar kids night at Applebees. Unfortunately when we got there, there was a wait and we weren't thinking our kids would be great waiting another 15 minutes before we even sat down then waiting another 15 minutes for their food. So we caved (or as my friend Jo put it, had a fun parent moment) and went to McDonalds. Both Mark and I are a bit sick of McDs. Our children, however, were ecstatic. We don't eat out a lot and we are always trying to avoid McDs so this was fun special time for them. And they had the whole playplace to themselves (that's because normal parents don't take their kids out that late to eat dinner and avoid a stinky house). In the end we had a good time.

Mark and I were a bit information overloaded so it was nice to have a change of scenery. We are getting lots of different information from our mortgage guy, our insurance guy, a contractor friend guy and our possible foundation building guy. Requirements for all these different people are all different. So we have another friend who does inspections for the county and he said he'd come look at our house and tell us what is required. Being a homeowner definitely has it's pluses and minuses :)

I am thankful for people who are willing to help us. I'm thankful that we do not need to go through this process alone.

I'm thankful for homeschooling. I actually look forward to the things we get to do this year (I know this is day 4 of 179 and I'm supposed to be optimistic...).

I'm thankful netflix downloadable workout videos. Why has it taken me 2 months to remember that I wanted to do that? I got my booty kicked this morning. So nice!

I'm thankful for Thursday mornings when Mark goes into work a bit later and can take care of the kids so I can quickly blog uninterrupted.

I'm thankful that we have 95 tomatoes, a dozen or more big cucumbers, 20 or so jalapenos and 10ish peppers growing in our garden!!!! Yeah for beginning gardeners :)

Thankful Thursday

Woohoo! Thursday again. Seriously the days are so long sometimes but the weeks/months/years are short!

I'm thankful for Sherri, our Occupational Therapist working with Kate. She's been a blessing. Kate loves to go visit her because she makes it fun and challenges her. So wonderful!

I'm thankful for prayer. A good family friend was recently diagnosed with inoperable stage 4 brain cancer. She was given 2-12 months to live. Not a good prognosis. But I am confident in prayer and will lift her up daily. I'm excited to see how God will answer the prayers of His people.

I'm thankful for people who know things. We've realized that we have to have to have to replace our foundation on our house...actually add on to it. Not a simple thing to do. Not overly complicated but in Mark's and my world...it is. So I'm thankful for people who know people who know things.

I'm thankful for time-out corners. Enough said.

I'm thankful for time. Everyday is a gift to me. I need to be able to use my time wisely and to the fullest always being thankful for it.

Thankful Thursday - watch out!

Ok watch out people! It's still Thursday and I've been thinking all day of what I have to be thankful for and since I'm honest and high on cold medicine and ready to let it all out I thought I'd warn you. Here goes the randomness....

I'm thankful for rain and sunshine and rainbows and clouds and sunsets and seasons.

I'm thankful that things are always changing but at the same time they are the same.

I'm thankful for shampoo and toothpaste and tampons and exfoliating scrubby stuff and clean towels and washrags and I'm soooooo thankful that I don't have to haul buckets of water from a well and heat it over a wood stove and share it with my entire family and pray that I get a lukewarm semi-clean bath once a week.

I'm thankful for cold medicine and tylenol and forehead thermometers and chewable tablets that taste like fruit punch, grape or bubble gum. Why can't they make adult medicine taste like that?

I'm thankful for cereal and milk and toast and juice and that I can have breakfast for dinner if I so desire.

I'm thankful for freedom and choices and the freedom to make whatever choice I want.

I'm thankful for God-ordained, God-breathed, God-centered, God-made, God-focused friendships.

I'm thankful for Skype! So thankful to talk to family and friends (not so thankful for all the single people looking to meet me however....)

I'm thankful that I have two hands, two feet, two eyes, two ears, a brain and many other body parts that work wonderfully. When you are sick it makes you appreciate your health!

I'm thankful for $9 a month Netflix so I can watch stuff on my Wii, books that inspire, challenge and teach me, music that lifts my spirit, and random free time to do all of those things.

Whew! I feel better....

Thankful Thursday

I just put my kids down and am getting ready to wind down from my day. A day that was spent unloading and loading the dishwasher, sweeping and mopping the kitchen floor, doing a load of laundry (still needs folding...), planning out my week's dinner menu and then writing up a grocery list, driving my daughter to her first physical therapy appointment, then making literally a dozen more appointments..., taking my daughter to lunch (fabulous friends watched the boys), getting my haircut, putting kids down for a quick nap, praying with a dear friend, getting children up from nap, feeding them dinner, cleaning up 50 cars (for the third time today), dealing with temper tantrums and time outs, watching Bedknobs and Broomsticks (loved that movie as a kid - can't believe how many songs and lines I remember) wrangling 3 children into their jammies, brushing their teeth, praying prayers, giving kisses and hugs and snuggles, and finally shutting off their lights and closing their doors. *sigh*

And here I am thankful that I can do all of that. Thankful that my body works - even when tired. Thankful for my children to hold and snuggle and kiss. Thankful for the ability to drive when I need to. Thankful for wonderful friends who help, encourage, challenge, and love me. Thankful that God is in control and He always has been and always will be. Thankful for the crazy, crazy rain that is making everything so beautiful and green! Thankful for cool nights and warm days. Thankful for quiet and thankful for rest. Thankful for professionals to help me when I'm out of ideas. Thankful for time spent with my daughter. Thankful for breakfast dinners. Thankful for paper plates for when I just don't want to do more dishes (yes I know they are a waste...my son reminded me while we ate off of them tonight). And thankful for the weekend!

Thankful Thursday

Back again. I love having a reason to sit down and think about all I have to be thankful for. I think I need a thankful Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.....I promise not to blog it :)

This week has been emotionally exhausting, draining and challenging. We've had Dr appointments (to possibly diagnose and treat Kate - more to come on that) and a mediation appointment to try and agree on an outcome with the owner of the pit bulls. Kate had not had a melt down in a week but yesterday had 3. Yesterday we also were just dealing with the emotions of a possible end to the case with Ranger. Nothing will be absolutely decided until tomorrow at 4 when the judge gives her ruling. Until then we just wait and pray that God - Who is always in control - will work all things for His glory. Not mine. Not Mark's. Not the dogs owners. Not anyone. Just His glory.

A quick update on Kate. A few of you have sent some very encouraging words and I am very thankful for them. Not knowing what it is and how to deal has really been challenging but your caring, your understanding and your wisdom have blessed me a ton. And refueled me :)

3 different Drs - the allergist, her pediatrician, and a psychologist (also my mom had mentioned this same thing before any Drs were involved) - have all, independently, presented the option that she is dealing with Sensory Integration Disorder. Apparently it's difficult to diagnose properly because it is very random, there isn't usually a trigger and it isn't always the same. The only constant is that she reacts to some sort of touch issue (hot, cold, itchy, tight, crooked etc...) and will literally lose it. There is nothing that anyone can do to fix the issue or even prevent it for that matter. We've had to just wait it out and continue on with what we're doing the best we can and wait for things to be sorted out in her mind.

The psychologist is going to recommend an occupational therapist that will hopefully give Kate, and us, some tools on dealing with her surroundings and her overwhelming feelings and emotions. I'm thankful for another avenue to explore. We can't be positive that this is it but I'm pretty certain that it's a reasonable explanation and a good place to start. We will still continue to update our house in an attempt to fix any environmental triggers that may be bothering Kate's allergies. New carpet and new windows are hopefully coming in the near future.

So. There we are. A few more miles down a road that we've never traveled. An adventure really....

I am thankful for you and your encouragement and prayers

I'm thankful for my sweet daughter who is struggling with this just as much as we are. I know she doesn't want to disappoint or upset us. She just can't understand what is going on with her. I'm thankful for her wonderful beauty, inside and out. She is such a treasure and we adore her - even more so in her struggles no matter how difficult they may be.

I'm thankful for rain and sunshine. Reminders that it needs to rain in order for things to grow - including our lives and relationships.

I'm thankful for lazy mornings wrestling with our children and hearing their beautiful laughter.

I'm thankful for emotions and tears. I am learning to not be afraid of them.

I'm thankful for another day to live and to love.

Thankful Thursday

I am sitting in my house today...hoping to do not a whole lot of anything. We've had a super, super busy last 3 days and I think we're all ready for a little R & R. I do have laundry to catch up on but thankfully that's not a huge chore. Folding can be done while sitting down on the couch watching a show. I love that. Anyway....

Today I am thankful for my in-laws. They came down on Sunday evening and spent their 3-day vacation with us helping Mark and I build the playhouse we've been wanting to build all summer. They are serious worker bees! And I'm so thankful they were here to help us navigate plans, Home Depot and children. I will post more pictures of the project hopefully tomorrow but for now here's what we have.Still needing to finish the railing and the roof.

I'm thankful for Home Depot. Our second home this week.

I'm thankful for Popsicles, sprinklers, netflix, cars, Legos, books, naps, bubbles and extra nails and boards to entertain little ones.

I'm thankful that Jack didn't actually hit his eye with the back of the hammer during his celebration of actually hitting a nail. It came close but didn't hit his eyeball.

I'm thankful for sunshine and cloud-cover. Both proved helpful for the project.

I'm thankful for my mother-in-law who helped pick weeds - noxious weeds - with me. She braved the nasty little buggers and the heat with me to remove those pests from the backyard.

I'm thankful for the ability that Mark had to take a couple days off to work on this. So glad he was here and able to help.

I'm thankful for power tools. Most likely it couldn't have happened without them.

And I'm thankful for a few moments now to catch up!

Thankful Thursday

I haven't given thanks in a few weeks. I can tell. Seems silly to you maybe but when I don't stop and think about all the infinite things I have to be thankful for I tend to focus on the few things that bring me down. So this is good for me.

I'm thankful for amazing friends who are honest and speak God's truth into my life. This past week God has spoken to me through friends who are willing to tell it like it is, encourage me, and pray with me. Seriously so thankful for that. I'm thankful for God's truth and His Holy Spirit who gently speaks to me, corrects me and comforts me. I'm thankful for a patient, loving husband. He is a gift to me. Beyond anything I could've imagined. (by the way, these pictures were taken by him) I'm thankful for a new day.

I'm thankful for my grief. I have been surprised time and time again by the grief process. Tears come for no reason and at random times. Just when I think I'm done crying....I'm not. Not that this process isn't moving forward but that it's not moving as fast as I'd like :) I'm a get-er-done type of person. Grief is not like that. At all. It comes when it wants, it stays as long as it wants, and it doesn't make sense (I like things that make sense....). BUT, it has shown me time and time again of Christ's suffering for me...and for you. He has never left me but has walked with me every step. Wow. So thankful for things learned while walking through grief. I'm thankful that my apple trees - despite being dinner for a deer - are recovering and even growing some more. Because these trees were planted as a memorial for Quatro and Ranger, it means a lot to me that they live and grow and thrive. I'm thankful that it looks like they will. I'm thankful for times of disconnect. It's usually only during those times that we truly fight to connect again and as a result draw closer to God and to loved ones. And I'm thankful for each person who reads this. Thank you for following my journey. For sticking it out even when I'm not a faithful blogger. I'm thankful for, and have been blessed by, your words of encouragement.

Thankful Thursday

So I'm up early doing this post because I know I need a positive attitude for today. "Because a thankful heart is a happy heart" (from Veggietales...)

Yesterday was a challenge. Jack and Kate had a stomach bug. There was yuck coming from both ends so I spent most of my day snuggling one or both or cleaning up after one or both. We watched lots of cartoons, ate applesauce and toast and prayed for the end of the day {I did anyway}. Mark got home and helped and it was such a relief! I was able to catch up on a little cleaning and put the house into some sort of order.

Well this morning around 5am, this stomach bug hit Mark. Hard. I kinda knew it would. If there's a stomach yuck going around it will usually find Mark. That's just he way he was made.

I got up a little after 6 to work out but instead heard Jack screaming. I went into his room expecting to clean up poop {I've done a lot of that the past couple days} but he was just really hungry. So I got him up. Kale followed minutes later and told me that last night he threw up. I asked him where. He said he leaned over the side of his loft bed and launched on the floor {he didn't say launch...I did}.

Sure enough! I went back into their bedroom, opened the curtains and discovered that I had been inches away from stepping in it and tracking it all over the house. I am so blessed to not have a terribly weak stomach because this put my strong stomach to the test!

I got Jack some food and spent the next half hour with my new friend, Resolve, cleaning the carpet, a blanket, a stuffed animal and a small chair. Dis-gust-ing! Not even kidding. I won't tell you what we had for dinner last night. It'll only make it worse!

So the littles were yucky yesterday and the bigs are yucky today. I am praying like a mad woman that my stomach stays strong. Mark and I are supposed to have a date night tomorrow. I really don't want to miss it.

All that to say I am thankful for my family. Even though it's been a challenging couple days, I wouldn't trade them for anything.

I'm thankful that this is only a 24 hour bug. Kate and Jack are feeling much better today.

I'm thankful for snuggle time.

I'm thankful for Resolve. I just am.

I'm thankful for sunshine. It's nice to be able to get outside for some fresh air when I need a break.

I'm thankful for a strong stomach {at least so far}. This would be infinitely harder if I were throwing up too.

I'm thankful for coffee. It's just such a nice treat.

I hope, today, that you are able to be thankful in all your circumstances. It's a challenge for sure, but it's worth it!

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful for sunshine and the ability to play outside. Photos to prove the fun we had enjoying the outside!