thankful for my husband.....

For this week as I continue on with my gratitude list for 2011 I can't help but focus on my husband. He is in Cambodia right now, and we are all missing him, and although I am always thankful for him, there is truth in the saying that 'absence makes the heart grow fonder'. Maybe because when he is here it is so easy to take how special he is for granted in the busyness of life, but when he is gone his presence is so missed by us all because of who he is as a husband and a father.

#11 that our kids have a daddy whose goal is not just to get them raised but loves spending time teaching them about life

Here he is showing his girls how to find the ripest strawberries in the field

Letting Anna help him get a 'good fire' going

Showing the girls how to plant flowers for my birthday (well, he did most the work!) but he made them feel like he couldn't have done it without them.

and he's so excited to have a boy to teach things to as well now!

#12 that my girls have a daddy who cherishes them and treats them like little ladies

even enough to have tea parties with them

and take them on dates to see Disney princesses

and dance with them so often. He is such a good prince to all his girls.

#13 a husband who has jumped right in from day one helping me

(one of the reasons I miss him SO much when he is gone)

changing diapers (well, he does complain when they are really bad!)

and he is SUCH a great helper with baths and bedtime

here he is vacuuming with Kate in the baby carrier-a multi-tasker even. ha!

and taking his turn staying up all night with sick babies

#14 thankful for a husband who works hard to make sure we all have fun as a family

taking us sledding

playing with them on inflatables (or more like they joined him while he played!)

running through the freezing water just to make Kate happy

always ready to run out for ice-cream treats for us (but sometimes I think he just uses us as an excuse!)

I love the joy on his face playing ball with his little boy, and I know this is just the beginning!

#15 so thankful for a husband who values being active and healthy for our family

going on hikes together

and taking us on bike rides

#16 thankful he likes to make his girls laugh by being silly

yes, even me

#17 so very thankful for a husband that tells me he loves me every single day, and I don't ever doubt it for one second because it shows in everything he does.

#17 so thankful that his absolute favorite place to be is right at home in the middle of us all. He is most content with his family. and I never take that for granted because so many aren't.

He loves reading to his kids and begs me to let him be the one to do it at night

and He loves snuggling with any of us, any chance he gets

I could go on and on with reasons I am thankful for this man, but he's in Cambodia and I'm a single mom and I'm tired and should probably get in bed so I can manage this fort again tomorrow without his help! But, one thing is for sure, I would never want to be on this journey without his companionship and support. I love sharing life with him...okay-I can't help it, four more:

#18 that he is such an encourager to me giving me support in everything I do.

#19 that he never complains when I wake him up at 3 a.m to go get me orange juice for a low blood sugar or to get a crying baby.

#20 that he is always thinking of how our family can grow in our love for God and be a blessing to others.

#21 that God has given him a heart for the vulnerable and the oppressed and seeking ways to bring them justice weighs heavily on his heart.

a day of sunshine refreshes the soul

Our camera cable is broken and I cannot download pictures off of my camera right now. This is sad because I captured some really great moments of our day at the park that I would love to share such as;

a little boy throwing mud in the air with pure joy all over his face, two little girls running with their hair blowing behind them chasing ducks, Kate following the poor man with the metal detector around, asking him a 1000 questions and trying to convince him of the treasures she could help him find if he would let her help, three siblings gathered together digging in the sand looking for seashells, children swinging, and a baby who has turned into a toddler since the last time we have been to this park and has discovered how to go up the stairs and down the slide a gazillion times laughing as he went.

It was a good day. A really good day. I think we were all refreshed to be out enjoying God's creation and feeling the sun beating down on us, instead of within the confines of a house. In fact I think the kids were craving it. All three of them, even Kate who can't stand getting sand or dirt on her body wanted to be down in it letting it run through their fingers, digging and finding sea shells and other odds and ends that they call "treasures". I am quite sure that Caleb would have ran right out into the freezing lake if his mama would have let him. He was quite mad at me for stopping him each of the 99 times he tried. However, he eventually gave up and found contentment following in his sister's pursuits. They played hard and I tried not to think about the aftermath of the messy little bodies and clothes to clean, but just enjoy the moment. Now, I pray they will sleep hard as well!

The lone nugget....

Jeremy left for Cambodia this morning. I am tired just thinking about it. I drag the kids all out of their warm snuggly beds this morning and rush to get them all looking presentable and fed to take Kate to school. We make it out the door on time, but without a second to spare. No time for breakfast for mama. Anna spends the morning playing with her best friend and me and little man run some errands. At the grocery store they are giving away a free huge box of spring mix salad to every customer. My lucky day. I love a big salad for lunch, topped with chicken. However, at the meat counter I find out rotisserie chickens wont be ready until 12. It is currently 9:30. No way am I coming back at 12 with all 3 kids in tow just for the chicken. I decide to go tomorrow and make do today by grabbing a Wendys 5 pc nugget on the way home to top my salad with. I am already starving just thinking about. So, I pick up the kids and as I swing in the drive through I yell, "Girls, mommy's grabbing some nuggets to go with her lunch. Do you want any?" Kate: "YES!!" no hesitation there. Anna: "No thanks, I ate lunch at Brianna's". "Anna, are you sure, Kate and I are getting some..do you just want a couple?."

Anna "No, I really, really don't. Im not hungry and I don't like them anyways."

"Well, Ok, if you're sure" We pull up to the window and I make sure one more time. "Anna, no nuggets... you're sure right?" Anna: "Mom, I do not want any nuggets. no way"

So, I order three boxes anyways, one for me, one for Kate, and one for safe measure just in case Caleb might want one or Kate wants an extra... because today is not a day I am wanting to share my food. Im hungry.

We get home and I start right away getting little man's lunch situated. He's hungry. Kate starts eating her nuggets, and Anna is sitting beside her playing at the bar with her dolls...or so I thought. I pull out the stuff and make my salad, already tasting the flavors of the veggies, and the chicken, and the dressing all together in wonderful harmony that I am about to enjoy. Because a salad without chicken is just a side, right? I mean, chicken makes it a meal.

I turn around to grab "my" box of nuggets off the bar, and this is what is I find............

I am in shock. ONE nugget and with a bite missing. Girls, where's mommys nuggets? I am sure I must not be seeing them. Surely they are somewhere under the clutter on the bar. Anna is smiling...and I am getting nervous. "Anna, why are you smiling sweetie?" already fearing the worst. "I actually was a little hungry mommy... "A little! I ordered 15 nuggets, gave caleb one and there is 3/4 of one left, so you and Kate just ate 13 nuggets in 5 minutes?!" "Um, I think so, they were pretty good, but you can have this one, we don't mind.

Oh, the sacrifices of a mother. So, I tore the lone little nugget into as many pieces as I could and tried to disperse it the best I could throughout my long awaited salad, hoping to at least get the taste of a bread crumb with every bite.

Did you say FREE donuts?

My sister gave me a handful of coupons for Krispy Kreme that are redeemable for one free donut per person. I'm not one to pass up a good deal, especially a free one! So....since Jeremy is headed to Cambodia in the morning we thought it was the perfect excuse to head over and redeem those coupons! And FYI..the calories don't make you feel near as guilty when you have a good excuse like that. I mean, we had to spend some fun time together before he left right?

the girls picked out chocolate with sprinkles of course!

Caleb taking a taste to see what the fuss was all about.

and.....He approves!

He likes sweets just like his daddy...Well, we all do for that matter :)

and what's the best way to finish off a warm Krispy Kreme donut?....a nap!

What in the world happened in here?

Ohhhh, I see. BUSTED!

Growing-

Look at that toothless grin.

Brings a smile to my face,

and also makes me want to cry at the same time.

Life is funny that way. We celebrate growth and new stages in life, but you can't help but want it to slow down sometimes.

Gone is the spunky little girl who used to hug my knees and say "hold you mama" in her squeaky little voice, and run around with half a dozen beloved bunnies "bungys" stuffed into her shirt everywhere she went.

She has grown into a beautiful-still just as spunky-6 1/2 year old that lives life to the fullest, loving nothing more than to be the leader of us all. She is learning so much and every day I am getting more and more glimpses of her big generous heart that God has given her....

and I am so blessed to share life with her and sit back and watch her grow.

Relentlessly pursuing Gratitude in 2011

If you follow my blog, thanks for not giving up on me. It's been a little while-ahem-a long while since I've put a lot of time into this thing, not because of lack of desire but more or less-a constant feeling of not enough hours in the day! I've been busy-busy learning how to balance this crazy, fun, exhausting, full of joy overflowing plate of responsibility God has blessed me with in His abundant grace-aka-my precious family. I love being a mom and a wife more than anything in this whole wide world but I'm so busy putting my whole heart into it-that I sure haven't found a way to fit in writing about it-consistently anyways! However, I am daily inspired by following this blog. And, I think why I love it so much is that this mom deeply treasures the small things in life as I do, but is much, much, much, did I say much?, more gifted with eloquent words than am I and she often speaks straight to my heart as a mother. She just knows how to say it...to make the little things in life come alive. She has 6 children herself, or as she calls them, "a half dozen" :) and that is double what I am responsible for! But what I love, is that she is so real and honest in describing the struggle all human's can get caught up in-the internal struggle of focusing so much on the daily chores and demands of life that you miss life itself. It's so easy to do...the day begins and you already feel behind as you begin making mental notes of all you need to get done..

today for example..the clutter quickly builds around me while the girls take their herd of dinosaurs on a journey through the entire downstairs and my curious little toddler is unleashing a multitude of tiny cars and balls from their once neat little cubby holes, as I make my way to the buzzing dryer that I just unloaded, while making a mental note of what needs to be prepped for dinner, and the phonics lesson waiting to be taught, and then I get a whiff of the stinky baby pulling on my pants leg because he just wants his mama to pause and hold him, all as my sweet husband is coming in the door for a quick lunch break...whew! makes me tired just thinking about it. But what's great about all of that-and what I so desperately want to remember when moments of weakness and feeling overwhelmed come-is that all of that is here because God has blessed us with life-full and abundant life-inside of our home. All the glorious mess and busyness that comes every day reflects the pursuit of our living. And, I don't want to waste precious hours that God has given us focusing on the mess and not the reason for the mess. If nothing else I want to look back at 2011 and know that I grew in joy-That is why Thankfulness is something that will be relentlessly pursued in the busyness of daily life this year, and that I hope to impress on my children to do the same-if we grow in nothing else, I pray it will be that...because 'true Joy comes from daily seeing Gods goodness all around you'. If we are busy being thankful, it will be a lot harder to be discontent.

So, I am joining in with the community of other bloggers to commit to posting online things we are thankful for each week. Because, you see, quoting another mom and blogger "I believe in this principle, the principle of being thankful in all things....daily naming your 'gifts'...so that you see Him in every.moment.of. your.life....slowing down to be really present and rejoice in the moments of life. ...I believe this to be absolutely vital to my victory as mom, as a wife, as a friend...and most importantly...as a follower of Jesus.

So for today, and (hopefully many more weeks to come...I begin my gratitude list. My journey to record in 2011 a list of 1000 things myself, my children, and my husband are thankful for-

1. the way Caleb always lays his head so content on his daddy's chest each night and opens his mouth up wide as I lean in for a kiss when Jeremy tells him its time to go 'night-night".

2. hearing Kate say today after her friend left "Mom, I had a hard time sharing today and wasn't a very good friend. I want her to come back and I will do better next time" Such sweet evidence that the Spirit is at work in her little heart, giving her a longing to be more like Him, and she is sensitive to conviction. Thank you Jesus!

3. having a husband who encouraged me to get away by myself for 30 minutes before dinner for much needed time to exercise and get some fresh air.

4. sitting by my husbands side in a quiet, cozy living room at night drinking tea together while our little ones sleep peacefully right above us-safe and sound.

5. the joy in Caleb's face today as he threw his beloved football to his daddy (a daily ritual when he gets home from work) and hearing him say "kesh" aka "catch" for the very first time and he is obviously proud of himself.

6. Kate's sweet toothless smile and how her generous heart showed through this morning when the tooth fairy left her two dollars and the very first thing she said was "Daddy, I want you to take this with you to Cambodia on Friday because I want to give it to one of the little kids over there"

7. Anna working so hard to make her bed all by herself, first by pulling and tugging at the covers until she had them in place and then how she arranged all of her beloved stuffed animals "just so" by putting all the "specialist" ones in front.

8. that my girls are best friends and spend hours upon hours using their imaginations and taking their dinosaurs and little dolls on adventures all over the house.

9. seeing the excitement in Anna's eyes as she is beginning to sound out some of "Kate's" school books. She works so hard, and is so eager and hungry to learn.

10. listening to my husband talk about how much he loves what he is doing at work and his hunger to learn and do more to make a difference. We are so blessed he has a job that he loves to be at that provides just what our family needs.