Diligence Pays Off (sp?)

Notice the guilty look he has in this picture...

and the not-so-guilty look he has in this picture!

So.....this is what happened while I was blogging my last post. Guess I won't be getting those after he goes to sleep. Luckily they were just a stocking stuffer!


(Please excuse the dirty, pumpkin cheesecake covered face he has, he hasn't made it to the bath yet either.)

Lost Count

I lost count of how many days behind in "Thankful" posts I am, my computer is driving me crazy and will never let me on to post. Anyway, I am so happy to be off this week. I almost finished my shopping this morning, and this afternoon I put up the tree. The kids all helped me put on the ornaments and everytime I would hand them a different one to hang, they would say "Oh, I remember this one." Then Jacob told me that putting up the Christmas tree "brings back a lot of memories". It was really precious. Will is currently picking off all of the ornaments, well at least the breakable ones. This is going to be the fun year for Will. He loves the lights.

He found one of his presents and has walked around with it in the box for most of the day. I don't feel like fighting him on it so I'll take it away when he is sleeping and hope he forgets by morning! I have a few things more to do before Thursday, but other than that I am ready. I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! (just in case I can't get back on before then to blog)

We bought Will this dinosaur for one of his presents. It looks so cute, I can't wait until he opens it!

** I think he just opened his present from its box :( Guess I should have fought harder.

Health

Health. I am thankful for our health. Will had his 6-month post-op appointment this afternoon with his ENT. It went fantastic. His ears are completely clear, his ear drums are normal, and there is absolutely no scarring. CAN you believe that. My baby who suffered severe infections for over 12 months of his life has absolutely no scarring. Amazing. We have "graduated" as the doctor put it from his care. Praise God!
I was very sad to hear this last week about a family we know that has been battling cancer for a few years now. They just received word that it has spread and really are left with few option in his care. Their kids go to the same daycare as Will and this morning as I was dropping Will off at the breakfast table I overheard the teacher asking their little boy how his daddy was doing. As most kids would, he very casually said"good" and got up from the table to put his cup away. But before he turned around he said "I'm going to try to be strong though". I almost didn't make it out of the daycare before I started crying. I sobbed the entire way to work. I had to call Preston to tell him and really thank God for our health. The person I am talking about is not much older than us, so no one is in the clear. My heart his very sad for this family. My wounds are still very raw from Vickie. It's hard for me to even imagine having to go through that with my spouse. Please pray for this family. The need all the prayers they can get.

Missed a Day

I didn't get a chance to blog yesterday, I knew that would happen. But I still spent time being thankful for something. I know I have blogged a lot in the past about my work and not wanting to do it. That is only because I desire strongly to stay at home with my children, to be with Will more, as well as be more of a fixture in my older kid's school. But I am very thankful for my job. It allows me to be home when the bus drops off the big kids. I have most holidays off and get weeks off for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Better yet, I get the entire summer to stay at home with my children. If I HAD to have a job, I would want mine. I realize there are people all over the world who are desperate to have a job, let alone one that allowed as much time for family as teaching does. So for that I am thankful.

I am also very thankful for my co-workers. This week is especially stressful due to district benchmarks. Because we are now departmentalized and I teach reading, which in third grade is THE most important subject, I really feel the pressure. But, everyday I go to work and am surrounded by caring supportive people who would bend over backwards to help me. I love where I work and who I work with. I wouldn't change it for anything!

And on Veteran's Day, I feel it only appropriate I post on how thankful I am to live in this wonderful country. I am eternally thankful to each and every soldier who has risked their lives so we can enjoy these freedoms. I complain because I don't get to spend all day with my children, but our soldiers miss out on months and in some cases even a year of their families lives. They miss births, birthdays, anniversaries, Thanksgivings, Christmas's, and so much more. So on this Veteran's Day, I am thankful to each and every person who has ever represented out country in such a way!

Small Group

As I am finally putting my kids to bed and cleaning up from dinner, I am thinking about how thankful I am for our small group. It is a couples bible study that we started a few weeks back. It is based on the Fireproof movie. We were asked to join in with some couples that we "knew" but didn't really "know". The first few times were a little akward. Knowing how shy Preston and I both are and being in a group where you really open up about marriage, and our marriage nontheless, to say that we were intimidated at first would be an understatement. This week was our turn to lead it. The pressure was on. Not only did I need to prepare dinner for these five other families, but we had to lead the discussion. You would think being a teacher would ease those anxieties, but I'm here to tell you teaching in front of eight year olds is a walk in the park versus teaching in front of your peers. Well, it went off without a hitch. I am so grateful that we have had this opportunity to grow in our marriage and really turn the focus to a Christ-centered relationship. I know we have always desired it, but really living it resulted in half-hearted trying and ending in frustration. The most important thing I'm learning is to stay in the Word. The minute you drift away from the Word, you get sucked into society and that is NOT where we want to be. We have come to realize that society is not marriage-friendly. It is so easy to get wrapped up in the "me" frame of mind. My husband has become the most amazing person and is learning and growing every day, I fall in love with him more and more every minute. He wanted a tangible way to show me how much he appreciated me and bought be a Pandora's bracelet. He made it with the kids initials and another bead that represents strength, faith, and love. It was such a wonderful surprise!

My House

The past few nights we have been sleeping with our bedroom window open. I love waking up in my warm bed, next to my warm husband (and usually warm toddler) when the air is crisp and cool. But last night I woke up several times, I was sooo cold I couldn't even get up to add another blanket or shut the window. When the daylight came streaming through I still couldn't get up. It made me really think about all of those without a home. Even those that have homes, but the windows are broken, or no electricity to heat the house. As a teacher of a lot of low socio-economic status children, this was a hard lesson to learn. I come in contact regularly with these very people. So often I go through my day busy as ever and never even once think of those less fortunate than I. Although my husband and I are far from wealthy in a monetary sense, we are wealthy compared to most. We have a roof over our head, running water that gets hot, electricity, and food in our refrigerator. We even have enough blankets to put 3 or 4 on every bed. We ARE blessed. If I think back to the time when Preston and I first got married, I'm not sure I would have ever pictured us being where we are today. The Lord has blessed us immensely and we are truly grateful. And so for today, I am thankful for my house.

Silly Boy

This is how will spent most of the morning playing. It was so funny. He said everything was "lello". I'm thinking it was more like orange, but close enough ;) Just thought I would share the funny moments in our house. Sporting his new shades!


Here is Will going "giddy up" on my legs.

On another note, Jacob's appointment went well. They did confirm the two fractured vertebrae. Because of his age surgery is not an option (thank the Lord). What we are doing is we had to go to the Rehab center for him to get fitted for a brace. It will go from directly under his armpits to his hip bones. He will have to wear it for 6 weeks and we will go back for more x-rays. If they are not healing properly, then he could have to wear it up to 3 months. Yuck! But I'm thankful that it will heal on its own.

My Children

So I have started off my "thankful" list with the two components in my family that I live for. Yesterday was my husband. Today I am thankful for my children. As a little girl I can remember that is all I ever wanted to do and play with, babies. I am pretty sure I played with baby dolls even up to an age that was probably a little embarassing for little girls to play with dolls. I didn't care. I loved them. I loved the thought of one day being a mommy. And now I am. God has entrusted me with these three precious lives. What a gift. I know I am far from being a perfect mommy. I am easily frustrated by probably the simplest of things, and I know that is a work in progress for me. But for today (and everyday) I am thankful for my children. Jacob was our first-born. He was a "surprise" to say the least. But wanted more than anything!If you read this post you would have a little history as to why he is a miracle. Lauren, on the other hand was very much planned. We had so many struggles with Jacob as a baby/toddler it was a wonder we ever wanted more children. She was the complete opposite. She was very content, never fussed and actually wanted HER bed to fall asleep in! She was (is) amazing. Everyone that comes in contact with her falls in love. And finally, there is Will. He is a complete combination of our first two children. He is WILD, but in a good way. He wants to be just as big as his brother and sister. He is very loving though, much like his sister. He will immediately apologize, without a prompt, no matter the offense against someone. His conversation skills have increased so much, it is so much fun just to sit and "talk" with him. He is a man who knows what he wants and will do whatever it takes to get it.....usually win you over with charm. My list could go on and on but this is just a small snippet as to why I am so thankful for my children.

Jacob

Lauren

Will

It Did it Again!

Any suggestions?...possibly a new computer ;) (jk)

Oh how I love them!

FRUSTRATED!

Goodness! I have tried countless times to get on and post and always my computer says something about cookies and being disabled. Sometimes is works and sometimes it doens't. I have been more than frustrated with the whole thing. It has given me time to really read a lot of other blogs that I have really enjoyed.

The election had put me in a bit of a bad mood, but I have moved on from that. I believe God has a plan, and I also believe God can change people. I know it is my duty to pray for the leader of our country no matter who it is. So that's what I'll do, PRAY!

I cannot believe we are already in November. I can't wait to put up my Christmas tree, right after we enjoy a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner. I am thankful for sooo much. During my time off of being able to read, I found several people who are blogging everyday for something they are thankful for. Great idea. I might try that, but I'm not sure I will be able to get on my computer every day. I'll try though. For today (I do realize though that I am already off by what 6 days?) I am thankful for my husband. He is the head of our family and I rely on him for so much. No matter what has broken, he can fix it. No matter what the problem, he will listen. He is my kid's hero and I love that. He is everything I could have imagined my husband to be when I was a little girl. I am so thankful that God chose ME to be his wife.

On another note that I contemplated not even telling anyone about...I haven't worked but two days this week. This would be because my son (the oldest) had a bit of an accident on Sunday. Every Sunday after church and before our Bible study Preston takes Jacob riding. Dirt bikes. He has been riding for quite a while now and absolutely loves it. I have been so very hesitant in this department and feel like I have gradually become more understanding about this love of their's, until now. Apparantly on his last go round (nothing good comes out of "just one more time") he jumped this hill and when he landed his shocks didn't absorb the landing, but his back did. We went to bible study and had him just lay on ice on the couch and gave him some Tylenol hoping he would start to feel better. So we got home and put him in bed and come Monday morning, there was no getting him OUT of bed. He was H-U-R-T. So we took him in and had some x-rays done and what do ya know? It appears he has 2 compression fractures on his vertebrae (yes, his spine!). He went to school for about half a day Wednesday and Thursday and tomorrow we have an appointment with the neurologist. I'm not really sure what will come out of this appointment. I think they are plannning on doing a CAT scan to make sure nothing was missed on the x rays and other than that he just can't have contact for 6 weeks. They are thinking since he is young and his bones are still growing that they won't want to do surgery. That would be a big deal. So he is done with football. This too is very sad for him. His team is the number 1 team and are going to the play-offs. Oh well. I am thankful that, for the most part, he is okay. He will heal. Praise God!

Well, that sure was a long post and that didn't cover much of anything from the last few weeks. I'll spare you. Hopefully I can get back on the computer tomorrow to telll you what else I am thankful for. The list is so long, I might have to carry over to December ;)
Pray for a good report from the doc tomorrow.

P.S. Check out Bring the Rain's blog from today. Great idea!