. thankful thursday .

it's been a crazy week around here.  seems like there is some kind of bad news every day.  a friend losing her sweet mother.  a baby that overcame a miracle in the womb, but still died.  another friend in the hospital.  people who lost their homes in the fires.  more fires.  just craziness all around and sometimes it seems so hard to even be happy, but, thankfully, God still shines through these tough times and brings about so many blessings, big and small, that we can still be thanful for.  while we may not understand all that's going on around us, He still reigns. 

so in the midst of all the bad, there is good.  and here is 5 things i'm so very thankful for this week.

1.  a God that loves us.  a God that is ever-so-present.  a God that brings miracles.  a God that is supreme.  a God that is so comforting.

2.  caffeine.  and candy.

3.  being able to stay home with my babies.  being able to teach them, hug them, nurture them, and love them all day long.  for building forts, drawing pictures, having dance parties, and singing our hearts out.

4.  caffeine.  again.  because of #3.

5.  family.  my family, near and far, means so much to me and i've never longed so much to be closer to them than this week.  but i'm so thankful they are here and healthy.

. thankful thursday .

1.  most importantly we are thankful today for the rain.  it's been a long time coming and was so desperately needed.  i prayed the whole time we were outside in it.  the girls were dancing, i was taking pictures, and we were all saying thank you to Jesus for sending the rain. 

2.  coffee.  it's a newfound obsession of mine.  coffee. 2 packets of splenda. and lots of skinny white chocolate mocha creamer.  it's fabulous. 

3.  being home with my girls.  reality is, i must work.  i must bring home some sort of income.  but i knew the first minute i laid eyes on my first very sweet little girl that i was meant to be home with her.  since then, we have either managed to get by or i have worked.  having an in-home daycare has been perfect for us.  not only do i get to be with my girls all day, every day, but i also get to love on a few others as well.  i'm so very thankful for the opportunity to work from home!  my mom did it when i was little and i'm grateful to be in a position to do it too.

4.  my home.  long story short, this is the 2nd time we've lived in this house.  we took a 1 year hiatus to a different house we thought we wanted and when this old house didn't sell, we decided to move back and i think that was the best decision we've ever made.  i'm actually making it a home.  and i'm loving it.  it's perfect for our family right now as it has 3 bedrooms and one big playroom. 

5.  did i say rain?

. thankful thursday .

i hate thursdays.  i'm tired.  it's usually been a long week.  it's the day before friday.  my house is a wreck.  and my list could go on.  but it's faces like these that make me smile bigger than ever before, even when i see them on thursdays.

today, i'm thankful i saw this face all day long.

 

 

 

 

i just {heart} this sweet baby.

. thankful thursday .

today i am thankful for the mommy of these two sweet girls ...

here are 10 reasons i am thankful for mrs. cindy, in no particular order.
1.  she makes some rockin' chili and cornbread.
2.  she has such a kind heart and brings said chili and cornbread for all us MDO teachers to enjoy.
3.  she shared 4 gigantic bags of baby clothes with us.
4.  she is a HOOT.  she makes me laugh every time i talk to her.
5.  she loves my sweet girl and is the best teacher to her.
6.  she thinks my sweet girl is, well ... sweet!
7.  she loves her family and her home.  you see, she's a country girl.  she even has a garden!  and i hear her home is fabulous, although i've never been there myself.
8.  she is ALWAYS ready to have a good time.  always. 
9.  she is compassionate in all that she does.
10. she loves my Jesus.

. thankful {and grateful. and prayerful.} thursday .

today {well, everyday, but you know what i mean} my heartbeat is my children.  so many days i find myself saying "i can't wait until they can ..." or "i can't wait until naptime today."  or "i can't wait until my favorite man comes home."  it's all simple, more-common-than-not mommy thoughts and words.  everyone feels this way at times. 

while getting caught up on blogs this morning, i found myself stopping to pray at each.  each one i looked at was a blog updating family and friends on the health of a child.  i became completely overwhelmed with gratitude because my children are healthy.  neither one of them had to go to the nicu.  both of them got to come home after only two days of being in the hospital.  neither one of them had to have tubes.  neither one of them is on medication of any kind.  neither one of them have a broken, literally, heart.  neither one of them have known suffering, disease, or of being sedated and paralyzed so all the tubes will stay in place.

i cry tears of happiness for my own children, but tears of sadness for these families.  please pray with me for them ...

sweet stellan.  if you scroll down and look in the left column, you can find his story.  poor little guy has fought hard for his life, in and out of SVT and in and out of the hospital.  his fight and his smile are bigger than texas though.

sweet owen.  this little guy is so happy, but his little heart isn't.  he needs a new heart and how cute, yet so sad that he will be the tin man for halloween because he needs a new heart? 

sweet moriah.  this precious baby has been in the hospital for 10 months and her parents cling to the Lord with all they have.  moriah is very sick and is sedated and paralyzed.  she was supposed to be discharged this week, but due to yet another infection, she must stay.  pray for this family.  it is one struggle after another. 

sweet luke.  this sweet boy was born a few short months ago with a heart defect and has already had one surgery.  he is due to be discharged from the hospital next tuesday.  pray for his little body that it stays strong enough for him to do so. 

there are so many more.  so many that don't have blogs.  today i cling to my own healthy children and thank my Lord that my blog is about normal-for-the-most-part things, and healthy children.  i thank Him that i'm not asking for people's prayers to save my child's life.  but i pray for these.  i pray for the children who are suffering.  the one's who can't live without pain.  because i don't know what it's like to deal with that and i would hope if ever i do that my faith in the Lord is so strong and rooted deep enough for me to cope like these parents have. 

"trust in the LORD and do good;  dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart."  psalm 37:3-4

. thankful thursday .

today, i am so very thankful that this sweet girl came home.

 

she's been with mimi for a few days and greeted me with a sweet smile when she walked in the door.  and she says "i wuv you mommy".  i so missed that.