Thankful

Thanksgiving prayer:
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson


The family, the season, the FOOD, the table planning and setting. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.

I kept spotting felt leaves everywhere on fantastic sites like Pottery Barn and MADE, so I created my own huge leaf pile, no raking required. Lilly sat in my lap as I sewed. She even pushed some of the buttons for me. Can't wait to teach that gal to sew with me.


The kids' table is always the most fun, don't you agree? How many of us are still there?

Today was practically perfect. Huge snowflakes were falling as our family arrived. White stuff--a Thanksgiving treat.

Nathan's sister Amy recently had this sweet little bundle. Baby Grant was a huge hit. Can you tell? (oh and the rest of Grant's family were here, too, but not pictured in this post)



Let me pause for a moment to tell the world how ECSTATIC I was to be with, not only all of Nathan's family, but also MY PARENTS and MY BROTHER and his sweet family today. I think it is the first Thanksgiving Day in about a decade that my side of the family has been together on Thanksgiving Day. We usually celebrate a few days early, then they head out to visit other family.

It made my holiday to have them in my home today. I hope they come back every year.

Look at us. We are blessed. And we know it.

I hope you had a moment to be thankful today.

Treasure

Today a nurse practitioner could not see Ian's left ear tube because it is so impacted with wax. If you know anything about tubes in a child's ear, you know they can get zero liquid into their ears. If you know much about impacted ear wax, you understand it's hard to unclog without a) pouring something in the ear or b) digging that could possibly dislodge the tube.

Waiting for a call from the ENT's office on how to proceed. I don't know what they will do, but I do know it will be painful for him.

Little Ian. Such a big heart. So brave. Old Faithful. Mr. Dependable. Prince of Patience. King of Kindness. If you've never met him, you might think this mama exaggerates. If you have met him, you know I do not. It seems there is always some big obstacle he must overcome, some pain or challenge he has to face. I wish it could be me instead.

He and I had some (precious!) time together before his appointment while Lilly was at preschool--a rare treat since kindergarten started. We went to Hobby Lobby and picked out a new and bigger wooden treasure box for him. He chose brown paint for the outside and gold paint for the inside.

He worked SO HARD for SO LONG.

He had a plan and executed it well--leave bare patches "so it looks old like a real treasure box."

Try as she may, even this teeny monkey couldn't distract him from his task.



Ian now has a new home for his Halloween fangs, assortment of plastic cupcake picks, bits of pirate "gold", and school pictures of friends.

As for this mama, my treasure doesn't fit in a box.

Does yours?

The Little Things

Having a kitchen fire means your dining room table looks like this while you wait two weeks for cabinets to be finished.

I don't mind. Really, I don't. Since I tend to be a nervous type, I'm actually rather pleased with how calm I have been as painters, cleaners and repairmen have revolved through my doors for over a week. The damage was very minimal, and a kind team has cleaned and professional painters have repainted almost my entire house. Everything is spic-and-span.

I feel happy.

Here are some other reasons why.

#1: Benjamin Moore paint, color: Pebble
Here it is in my bathroom. Fresh, new, subtle, a little more gray than it looks in the photo. Perfect for me. Love it.

Speaking of fire . . .

#2: Nathan and the fireplace
It's 36 degrees outside. We have yet to turn our heat on this year. It's fireplace and down comforters time. Which reminds me--my husband melts my heart at times. "Take a picture of that," I said to him after walking in and spotting this:

If your husband isn't the type who sets your child's jammies in front of the fire like this to warm while the kiddos take their baths, link him to this blog to get schooled.

Nathan. I love him. He makes life cozy around here in so many ways.

#3: The girl who spotted this library book and had to bring it home. The title? Back Into Mommy's Tummy. Never has there been a more spot-on match for a girl and a book. Talk about mama love and attachment! Lilly's got it! (Ultimately the story reveals mama has a new baby in her tummy. That will NEVER be me again, but still, the rest fits.)

#4: Ian. Me tonight as he drifted to sleep: "You're my special treasure." He replied: "You're MY special treasure." When Ian sends a compliment like that my way, it's totally sincere and burrows straight into my heart. Sweet love.

#5: Substitute teaching . . . a job I thought I might dread with abandon.
But NO! With Lilly babysitting help from grandma and Mum, I am finding much satisfaction and fulfillment teaching again. I spend most of my time at my old school--what a surprising joy life can be when it comes full circle!

#6: These videos. If you have a preschool/kindergarten child, buy the set for Christmas. Your child will learn his sight words. Guaranteed.

#7: Last but really first: The Jesus Storybook Bible
These people really GOT it when they wrote this. It is amazing. Get the deluxe edition with CDs your child can listen to in the car. I can't say enough about it--it's clever, smart, funny, interesting, and EVERY story references the big picture: Jesus.
Another excellent Christmas gift.

What's going straight to your heart these days (besides leftover Halloween candy)?

Tumbling Meet

Lilly's first tumbling meet. Oh what fun.

She was so ready to go . . .




It started with a floor routine for the judges.

Next was the trampoline routine. I love how Lill sticks out her tongue with every straddle jump!

Zipped up legs. Go girl!


Here she is waiting for the award ceremony to begin.

Lilly took second on floor, second on trampoline and second overall for 3 year-olds.

Not too shabby for six months in gymnastics. So proud of my sweet girl!!

Pop-Tarts

Beware leaving Pop-Tarts unattended in the toaster.


Or you might just find yourself racing through a thick, smoke-filled house to extinguish raging flames, armed only with a nearby happy snowman dish towel.


Thankful for the little Ian voice coming from near the kitchen that said, "Why is the house filled with smoke and fog?"

Thankful that happy snowman did the trick.

Thankful only my toaster and a small portion of my kitchen went up in flames today, and not my entire house.

Weary.

What's cookin' in your kitchen tonight? We'll be microwaving our Pop-Tarts from now on.