Thankful Heart

Today I am thankful. I am not sure why certain things happen, or a trial comes our way. I always wish they wouldn’t. But, they do. And then I am stronger and grateful. I wonder if maybe I do not show enough gratitude for all that my Heavenly Father has granted me.

Saturday night I was reading through some older journals of times of my life when things were challenging. I read about Isaac’s hard life. I read about me discovering he could not see and his other issues. I read about the heartache of understanding his challenging life. I read about when I was single and unsure of the next step in my life and the challenges of living on my own. I pondered on the blessings I have now. I was overcome with a thankful heart in appreciation for all that I have in my life right now. I was so thankful for my husband. (especially as I read about all the crazy dates I went on.)

Then Sunday afternoon as we rested after church, it all changed. It is amazing all the thoughts that pass through your mind in a moment of terror. What you might loose. Your children’s hearts. And, of course, the thought, “Is this really happening?!!!”

I am still in a state of shock and fear. But I am also in a state of extreme gratitude. I’m am so thankful for what I have. I will not take it for granted. Never.

Happy 4th Birthday AUBRYN!

I LOVE Aubryn! I hope you have a wonderful day. We placed her presents all around the house this morning. She wandered around and found them. She got a baby doll and named him Rylan. She has told me that now that she is four, she will wipe her bumb and eat all her bites. Won't that be wonderful! Grandma and Grandpa called and sang happy birthday to her on the phone. When they were done, Reagan blew! Then he said, "hot!" But we have not made a cake yet.
I am so grateful for my girl! I love her spunk and fun attitude.

Today, I am especially grateful for my entire family. I love you all. And Brian, I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU!!!!!

Thumbs up

Thursday Rylan started sucking his thumb! That night he slept for 12 hours straight! But don't think I slept well. I was quite nervous. We kept checking him. Then again last night he slept again for 12 hours. Both mornings I woke him up! (I needed to feed him!!) I have never had a thumb sucker. I do like that he can sooth himself, but at what cost later? Should I put a sock on his hand now? Should I try to prevent this from becoming a habit now? Or let it go and deal with it later? I do like the sleep, but he was not a bad sleeper before. I usually only fed him once a night and again early in the morning. Sometimes not at all at night. Hmmmmmm

Toe Jam

Actual phone conversation that Brian had tonight with an adult, married man:

Brian: Hello?

Hi

Brian: Hi (name) how are you doing?

Fine. My mom hurt her toe.

Brian: She did? What did she do?

She stubbed it.

Brian: Oh no!

At this point he and I (I was laying in bed next to him and was listening to the conversation) started laughing, so we could barely hear the next part. But it only got worse. Something about his wife trying to help his mom’s toe by picking it with a needle. Now it is infected! Man! So the Mom kicked his wife out. Now he lives alone with his mom to take care of her and her ailing toe. “She can’t do much. She has to keep it elevated.” I heard him say that a few times. Wow, crazy. Brian was so nice on the phone trying to give him counsel. He asked him if he was working and he said he was working 24 hours. A week? “No, a month. Got to get my food stamps.”

My favorite thing Brian said was something like, “Man, I’ve stubbed my toe and it hurts. But not as bad as your stub.” Such a compassionate guy. And I’m the uncompassionate wife writing about it on her blog.

I Win!

Aubryn is very competitive, it turns out. A few weeks ago when I was getting all the kids ready for bed, I made it into a race. Every night since she has been determined to win. She takes it really hard when she looses.

Today, at 3:00pm, Aubryn was ready for bed.

Bedtime?

Crazy Time!

Sunday Afternoon

After church yesterday Brad decided to play "Joseph and Mary". Maybe he was inspired by his beautiful nativity. He asked if they could go outside. He really wanted to use his golf club bag with wheels as a donkey. I said that was fine, but they needed to put some warm clothes on. He decided to make Mary a warm dress out of paper. By the time he finished his creation on a very patient Aubryn she said, "I want to play Ariel now."

THIS is a Big Deal!!!

Nativity

I bought this nativity for my kids to paint. I thought it would be so sweet. I'm not sure what to think of Mary. Aubryn painted her black. All black. She is so proud of her work. "Do you like Mary?!" she asks. Of course we say yes. But I have to admit, it is disturbing to me.
Baby Jesus was painted by Brad. All that red around his head looks rather bloody to me. But I guess some newborns look bloody. uhh.
So, I have this proudly displayed in my home. Maybe it would be a great gift for Grandma.

Take Your Time

We had Parent Teacher conference today with Brad's teacher. Brad is doing great! He is smart and the teacher said he is very helpful to her. I am sure he is. He is helpful to me. He is a great kid!! One thing we started talking about, while looking at this spelling test, is that he needs to take his time. He tends to hurry through things so he can do something more fun. He is this way at home to. You should see how nicely he can make his bed, but usually just throws the blankets up. He is 8, you know.
He was sitting there by me. I said, "Looks like he had enough time to draw that cool picture." It got silent as we all took a good look at his drawing in the middle of his test. I looked at Brad and he was grinning with his hands over his mouth. Then he giggled a little. So cute.

This is a BIG Deal!

She wrote her name! ALL BY HERSELF!

Graduated

Reagan is officially big. He sits in the "big kid chairs". No more high chair for him! All baby eating seats have been put away in the storage room. for now...

(I'm guessing he'll have a healthy appetite.)

Drumroll.....

Ta Da! I got my makeover today. It was fun. I did get my hair colored, but I can barely notice. The make-up was a little heavier than I am used to, but it will be gone tomorrow. My hair is FULL of product. She had it actually standing straight up and then layed it down some. I pushed it down a little more. ( I felt like I had a giant helmet on) It will be fun to fix it myself and see how it goes. So, are you wondering where I went all dolled up? No where. I came home and nursed my baby. Lame-o. Aubryn seemed the most interested in my new do. Brian smiled and said he liked it. (few)

A Looong Wait

Today while the two little boys were sleeping and Brad was at school, Aubryn and I had some girl time. We painted our finger and toe nails. I told Aubryn to wait a few minutes to let her nails dry before she touched anything.

"How many few's do I have to wait?" she asked.

"Three." I said.

"Free(three)?! That's how many I am."

Huh??

Candy Candy Candy!

There is SO much candy at our house! My kids want to eat it all day long. They ask for it constantly. So I've taken it upon myself to personally get rid of the candy. I just want to save my kids from the agony of future cavities. I'll suffer. Rylan doesn't even have teeth to worry about, but Aubryn was nice enough to share her Pop Rocks with him. All his syliva really created a fizz! Can't wait till the candy is gone. And, just a side note, I can't seem to figure out why I can't loose the rest of my pregnancy weight!

Taking my own Advice

Many times I tell Aubryn she can do hard things.

Today she asked me to take a dress off her doll. I said, "That dress is hard to get on and off. Why don't you just leave it on that doll?"

"Mom, can you do hard things?" She asked.

"Yes."

"Then do it!"

So I took the dress off the doll.

No Thanks

I was trying to help Reagan get dressed this morning. He didn't want to. I decided to let him go free in his diaper. Only because he used his manners when protesting. "No thanks! No thanks!"