Attitude of Gratitude

November or not, I have so much to be thankful for. Since it happens to be November, I am reminded of all God has blessed us with. Today, I am thankful for His provision. I am talking the kind of provision where He provides for ALL our needs. We have never had to skip a meal due to not having food. We have never had to go without clothes, and have seriously not bought clothes in such a long time because we have been blessed for both kids. We live so comfortably in our neat, cozy little city where everything is just as it should be. We have good health and don't have many "down" days in our family. So what happens when something strikes you that it stirs everything up inside and you can't do anything but pray and believe God to be who He is and the God who heals and provides? I choose an attitude of gratitude.
Last weekend, the stomach bug hit our home, and 3/4 of our family was down. Not to mention, Mr. Dad took on roll of caregiver for a sick wife and 2 sick kids after working for 12 hours, minus sleep. Thankfully, what seemed a dreadful day passed rather quickly and things were looking up. Roll forward one day to waking up, everyone slept all night, no more vomiting, ready for a great day. We had breakfast, played, ate a snack, then headed outside. What started as a fun, healthy morning turned into little man having some kind of seizure, calling an ambulance and spending the rest of the day in the ER. Nothing was really confirmed except the fear that had already crept its way into my head. I have never been more scared in all my life.
I realized I had a lot to be grateful for, even in the midst of such a scary time. When I heard nothing, the sound of your child crying again brings a huge sense of relief. I am grateful we were all home together and our errands hadn't carried us out the door quite yet. I am thankful all the tests completed at the hospital came back normal. I am thankful for a healthy boy. I kissed him a bunch of extra times before putting him in bed that night, whispering my gratitude as a quiet prayer.
We have had other tests to rule out anything serious, but I serve a God of power, and no matter the outcome, He is bigger, stronger and will always take care of us. As the bills come in, I am grateful for His provision. He always takes care of those who fear Him. He is our Healer, as he proved by taking care of Micah through it all. I trust Him with ALL my heart! My attitude says gratitude!

Sand and Sun

Who doesn't love a trip to the beach? Sandy shores? Lapping waves? Time by the pool? Oh, yes, I do!! We took a little trip down to the beach last week to celebrate Chad's graduation, Micah's birthday, and our anniversary. It is supposed to be a yearly trip, although we skipped last year since Micah was so young. Claire and Micah both had a great time! Chad's family came too, so we stayed in a condo to have some more space. We spent a lot of time on the beach as well as at the pool. It's funny how Claire was a little intimidated at first but was the last to want to go in to call it a day. She swam herself out every chance she got. It was so nice to be able to relax and be away from our normal daily activities. I am so thankful our kids traveled well and enjoyed our time away!

A Happy Grad

Yay for Chad!! After about 2 years of classes, twice a week for about 5 hours each, he is DONE!! Yes, done! I am so proud of him! It was definitely a balancing act to keep up with school, work, church, having a family, homework, and, oh yes, sleep!

Graduation was a nice ceremony, and being able to think about having Chad home a little more is a bit refreshing. It's amazing how quickly time goes, so looking back now, it wasn't so bad. I am thankful he was able to get his Master's degree, keep impeccable grades and now look forward to the future. I love you and am proud of you!

Avalanche

I pretty much love this song. I remember a girl sang it at the end of service one week at church. It was moving to me then. I got the CD from the library and can't get enough of it...especially this song. Really, it just speaks of God's amazing love and grace. I want more of Him every day! This song says "Take my life, take all that I am. With all that I am, I will love you. Take my heart, take all that I have. Jesus, how I adore you." I owe Him so much, but he just wants me to love Him. Hillsong United

Pictures speak a thousand words...

Cutie Pies

We have had so much fun being outside lately. I have been trying to snap pictures when we are out and about to have something to remember our outings. Claire has always loved to swing, and it seems Micah enjoys it too. I can't get enough of my two cutie pies. They are so fun, silly, smiley, sometimes sassy, and the best of it all!

My loves...

As days go by....

I am amazed how quickly time goes by. Each day feels like we have something going on or somewhere to be. I can't imagine what it would be like to have older kids in school, sports, church, activities, etc. I will not take for granted the time I have now. Each day is a reminder to enjoy each moment because they go by so quickly. We have been involved with church, helping with curriculum, small group, a mom's group at our house, Chad trying to finish his master's degree and me substitute teaching here and there. That doesn't include our visits to the library for story time, walks to the park, fitting a run in here and there. (I am sure this is minimal for many people, but for us, it is keeping us busy!!)
So, that brings me to the most amazing husband, girl and boy I have ever known. Chad and I have run a couple of 5Ks together, and have a couple more coming up. I really enjoy running, especially because it gives me some QUIET, alone time! Chad is so supportive and encourages me with each new thing I accomplish, small as they are. (He's a REAL runner, as I like to call him) Our little tootsies are so much fun, growing so much each day, and learning things all the time. Here's a little update on them. Enjoy!
Little Miss:
*Big girl potty
*Talks a ton...I could write post after post of all the things she says. A recent funny one was when she wanted to say good-bye to the park. She leaned, waved and shouted "Bye park. I will see you later. I will text you on your phone!" Really?? She knows what texting is??
*Loves to take care of her babies, and her little brother
*Loves to walk around the block, go on wagon rides, play at the park, anything involving outside, she is game
*Dancing, dancing, dancing
*Trying on and changing her clothes a zillion times
*Angelina Ballerina

Boogie (as we proudly call him)
*Crawling
*2 Teeth have finally made their grand appearance
*Waving
*Says Dada, Mama, Hi, Bye and something like ba for ball
*Clapping
*Eats tons!
*LOVES his big sis. He has to think she is the best thing in the world. She can sure make him smile when she plays with him

Love them, so much! Thank you God for my family and letting me be home to be mommy. I am so grateful!

Christmas

This year was a special Christmas for us. We got to travel to Colorado to spend it with some of my family who we don't see all that often. We anticipated our trip with much excitement, explaining we were going on an airplane, going to see mountains and see "grandma." Note: Next time a trip is in the future, wait until closer to start the excitement. It doesn't work to tell a toddler we have "3 more months", "2 more weeks" etc. SHE HAD A BLAST!! Plane ride, van ride, mountains, snow, cabin, snow, sledding, cousins, free play all day! Both kids did so well on the plane. We had such a great time being with family. There are so many things I could talk about, but honestly, my favorite part was just "being" together, literally. I have a huge family and it is SO hard to all get together. My mom and half my brothers and sisters were there. Hopefully next time we will ALL be there. Not sure if we can all fit into the lens of a camera, but we will sure try to squeeze in there. The last time my entire family was together, Mom, Dad, brothers and sisters, was in 1997. Right??? About time to get us all together I think!! We have lots more in-laws and grandbabies now. LOTS more!
I loved our trip, loved Christmas...especially when Claire remembered whose birthday it was...Happy Birthday Jesus! Oh, and I got to spend my birthday there too. Nice!