Stories About Michael ...

These boys that God has given to me are truly a challenge on every level imaginable.  I grew up with sisters and boys sure are different.  Michael right now is my challenge partly because he's 2 and partly because he's Michael.  Here are some stories:

My Name Is Joshua ...

So Michael and I are playing ball on Thursday night.  He actually took a nap, which was good, but it also meant that he would stay up later in the evening (which is also bad).  He's being goofy and we are throwing the ball back and forth.  I was telling him good job Michael, good throw Michael, etc.  He looks at me and tells me that I need to call him Joshua.  I said, your not Michael anymore.  He says no, I'm Michael Aaron, call me Joshua.  He's such a crazy little boy!  So I go along with his game and call him Joshua.

So this morning, Friday, he remembered the game and has decided that he still wants to be called Joshua.  I said, well who in our family will be called Michael, and he said Sara is Michael. 

So Michael is now Joshua.  I guess we should have listened to Joshua when we were looking for a name for Michael.  He wanted us to call Michael, Joshua - LOL.  Then again, if we listened to Joshua, Sara's name would have been Lemonade.

Hyland Teething Tablets ...
On Wednesday morning, Joshua comes knocking at our door telling us that Michael is eating something white on top of his changer.  Two things alarmed me in that statement 1) that Michael is eating some unknown substance that is white and 2) that Michael has climbed on top of his changer all by himself.

Guillermo and I get out of bed at 7:30 in the morning.  We go get Michael off his changer and take a look at what he found.  Michael found and opened all by himself some Hyland Teething tablets.  Sara was talking about how they looked like marshmallows and that Michael was eating marshmallows.  Michael was MAD that we took him down from his changer and took away his marshmallows.

UGH!  Can I say that I was not having a good mommy moment!  I couldn't believe that he climbed up on his changer and found those.  They were 2 shelves up and not in front.  UGH!  Why does Michael do things that the other 2 never, ever did?  UGH!  Michael messed up my morning to say the least.  We then had to seriously look at everything else in his room and add more baby proofing stuff around the house.  After all, if he's doing this at 2 when he's locked in his room, what will he do in the middle of the night when he's potty training?  Yeah, makes us panic a little.  Joshua & Sara we trust and know that they wouldn't do things ... Michael we don't trust.

This little boy gets into everything.  Granted Joshua got out a Perm. Marker and wrote in books, on his floor, on his bedding, on books and that drove us crazy, but that was it, for the most part.  That's all he did bad truly by himself in his room.  Sara hasn't done anything crazy or out of the ordinary.  Michael however, gets into trouble all by himself.

I must say that I'm thankful that Joshua was watching out for him.  I'm thankful that they all play well together in the morning and were paying attention to Michael.  Thankfully, Michael did not have any adverse side effects to the tablets.  We don't think he ate much, it was hard to tell though.

I must confess that I was irritated with that little boy.  He messed up my morning plans.  I was planning on going to Bible Study, but I couldn't very well leave him in child care knowing that he ingested an unknown quantity of tablets.  If something happened and they didn't see it, it would surely be my fault, and I didn't want that on my head.  Yet, I was irritated to have my plans changed so early in the morning.

Jumping Off Table ...
So Guillermo and I are talking in the kitchen on Thursday morning.  He went to take Hershey to the vet to get her stitches removed (she's in full recovery - Praise the Lord!).  Guillermo was telling me stories of how the vet people just love her (so sweet!).  Well as he was talking and I was listening, Sara & Michael are playing in the living room.

It never fails, the moment I take my eyes off them to actually do something, like listen & talk with my husband, they act up.  UGH!  Somehow, Sara & Michael decide to climb on top of the coffee table, and Michael being Michael decided to jump off.  Well he jumps off holding a toy guitar.  Yep, you guessed it, he falls and cuts his lip on the guitar.  Thankfully, the guitar doesn't have strings or anything, but he lands on the neck and it jams into his mouth somehow cutting the front part of his inside lip.

UGH - Seriously, why can't I have a conversation without them getting into trouble.  This little boy gets into so many things and is so busy.  Why is it when he's trouble he loves to laugh with the cutest smile and then of course, tell me I love you mommy.  Although, this time wasn't laughter, it was tears & crying.

Guillermo was home, so we rush to him and stop the bleeding, put some ice on it and make things better.  Michael seems to always find a way to get hurt.  He's a challenge!

I Am Your Fadther (kinda of how he says it) ...
So this morning I'm playing with the kids in the living room before Sara has to go to preschool.  Sara found an elephant to play with and a panda bear.  Michael found a dinosaur to play with.  He discovered that it makes noise and swings it's tail.  Sara gives me the elephant and we are all playing together.  The dinosaur is chasing the panda & elephant.  Michael has captured my elephant and I'm talking about how the dinosaur shouldn't hurt the elephant and such.  The next thing I know Michael is having the dinosaur say to the elephant, I am your Fadther.  Oh boy, can you tell they play star wars too much!

Last week, I was playing Star Wars w/Joshua & Sara (Michael was there but wasn't participating too much).   Anyway, they had me be General Grievous and Sara was Padame and Asoka.  So she "attacks" me and kills me and then she comes to me and says, don't die, your my Fadther.  Joshua of course, is upset, because General Grievous is not her father.  They are crazy, I tell you crazy!

Because I Say So & No ...
Michael has learned from a very, very, very early age to ask "why" and to say "no".  He says "no" to almost everything.  Of course, the funny thing is that when we put him in time out and then ask him if it's okay to hit, he says yes.  Go figure, for the boy who always says no, he will say yes when we are trying to discipline him.  I think he does it on purpose, but I'm not sure - LOL.

Well, this saying NO to everything is starting to drive me up a wall.  And then when I ask him "why" he will tell me "because I say so."  Can you see what a personality this little guy has already?  I am really truly hoping he "grows" out of this soon!!

Eating ...
Boy, Michael is stubborn!  I really need to let him starve, I really do (in a good way of course).  Michael is one of those kids who would rather you do everything for him, because he either likes being lazy or likes being in charge.  I'm not sure which, but either way, he really needs to learn to eat by himself.  His favorite thing to tell me at dinner is, No mommy, you feed me.  You feed the Michael.

Can I say that I am so, so tired of feeding this boy.  Mommy guilt hasn't let me let him starve yet, but I'm really close to letting him for a week.  As any mom knows, you want your kids to eat, especially healthy foods.  So Michael at dinner time, promptly complains how he can't do it and feed himself.  So I give in because at that point, I'm tired and so ready for them to eat and go to bed.

I really need to be firm with him, and hopefully, I will soon cuz this boy needs to feed himself with his own spoon & fork at every meal.

Frozen Waffles ...
So Michael one day decided that he didn't want to wait for the waffle to cook.  He said he wanted to eat it frozen.  I in amazement of what he wanted, decided, sure have at it (thinking he won't like it at all), gave it to him frozen.  Well, I was completely wrong - he LOVED it frozen.  Now he wants it frozen every morning, not cooked.

I told Guillermo about Michael's frozen waffles.  Well Guillermo didn't really like that he was eating them frozen and told me I need to cook them/heat them up for Michael.

So each morning now, I'm battling Michael demanding frozen waffles and me wanting to honor Guillermo's decision.  UGH!  It's difficult, because I frankly don't care if he eats a frozen waffle, it was previously cooked and then frozen, so I'm okay with it.  But because I love my hubby and want to honor him, I cook the waffles and the entire time, Michael complains.  Wow, can I have a more stubborn child?  UGH!

Thankful for Teachers ...
So we have been doing thank you sheets writing down what we are thankful for each day.  Michael randomly said one day that he was thankful for teachers.  I asked what kind of teacher and he said Bible Study teachers ... so sweet!  The ladies at Cornerstone Fellowship are so fantastic taking care of Michael (and Sara too).

Thank you God for my Body ...
So Sara & Michael are getting ready for lunch.  Sara decides to pray and goes on & on, Michael starts copying her words and as I'm listening he's telling Sara that they need to be thankful for their body.  Evidently Michael is thankful for his body - LOL!

Want to go in that grocery store ...
Poor Michael thinks that every errand we run is to the grocery store.  As we were walking the dog, we went over to Starbucks for a morning snack for the kids.  Poor Sara doesn't know what the name of the place is, just knows that it has a green sign.  The shopping center has CVS/Pharmacy in it and as we are walking by, Michael says that he wants to go in that grocery store.  Oh boy!  He's upset when we walk by it again and don't go in ... I don't know why, he loves shopping and loves grocery stores.

Joshua ...
Quick Joshua story ... today he writes down what he is thankful for and then shows it to me once it's all done ... he wrote down his butt.  Yep, he's learning to spell and quite proud of it!  Oh boy!

JCPenny's Potties ...
So my mom called today to let me know that JcPenny's was having a sale on Christmas dresses.  I always buy Sara's dress there because they are so cute!  So after school, I tell them we are going to stop by the mall to get Sara a dress.  She's excited to say the least!

So when we get to the store, I have them all go potty, no sense going over to the kids section only to have to go back to the potties.  Okay, everyone went potty, hooray, off we go to the kids section.  We get there and start looking around.  Sara looks at me and says she needs to go potty again.  UGH!!!!  We were just there, why didn't you get it all out when we were just there.  Seriously!!  So we go back to the potties. 

They have a "waiting" area and we wait for her.  Joshua is fascinated with the little dispensers that you can put a quarter in.  Well he's starting to read everything and I see his mind working.  He asks me, what's that word with the T there?  I say, I'm not sure and it's not working.  Then he sees a word with the word N on it.  I Read the word to him - it says Napkin.  I say it must be like a wet wipe for your hands - LOL.  He's not quite sure I'm telling the truth, but let's it go thankfully!!

Well, Sara is finally all done and I have to go help her with toilet paper.  Such is the glamorous life of a mommy!  We finally wash our hands and go back to the kids section.  She finally picks out a cute navy blue dress (although I liked the ones with red, grey, and black spot, but she did not).  We wander around a little while longer, finding some pants on sale for Sara, cuz her 3T's aren't fitting any more.  We get in line and Joshua declares that he has to go potty again.

Seriously!!  Again???  UGH!!  Don't worry mom, I can wait until after you pay.  Great, thanks Joshua!  So we go back to the bathrooms.

Oh did I mention that the bathrooms are right by the elevator?  Did I mention that Michael is obsessed with Elevators???  Yeah, he's talking & talking & talking about wanting to go into the elevator, wanting to push the button and why can't we go in it ... yep, taking 3 kids shopping isn't fun, nope, not really fun.

So, Sara, Michael & I decide to wait outside the bathrooms for Joshua.  Sara has decided that she is tired and loudly declares that she wants to sit.  Well we are literally right next to the doors to the bathroom as she says this.  A group of employees is walking by and waiting to get on the elevator.  They start laughing at what she said.  Her sit didn't quite sound right and sounded more like it had an "h" in it.  Thankfully, one of the gals says to her co-workers, no she said sit, look that's what she's doing, she's sitting.  Phew!  Really, I didn't teach my kid to say that word, especially not when it relates to going to the bathroom.  Oh boy!!  Mommy doesn't say that word ever, and neither do my kids.

It was embarrassing, yet funny at the same time!  Thankfully Joshua was in the bathroom so he didn't hear the play on words, because I'm sure he would have learned a new word from that conversation!

The End ...
Okay, PHEW, that's enough stories today ... I'm tired of writing.  Aren't my kids crazy?  I tell you ... they are the most challenging thing I've ever encountered.  They are both rewarding & frustrating.  They are ever so loving, which amazes me!  That the best part, how they at the end of the day will always say I love you!  So sweet!!

What is God Trying to Teach Me?

Wow, another crazy week, but that's becoming the norm!  It feels like it should be Friday, but it's only Wednesday.  Here's what's been happening in our lives so far ...

Hershey:
Yesterday, Guillermo had to take Hershey back to the vet because she was vomiting up her food in the evenings.  My initial thought was that the medication was upsetting her and it was probably a side-effect of the meds.  The vet watched her yesterday and they determined that it was probably the meds too.  Of course, that was after they did some x-rays, of course.  Poor thing, she came back home and now has new food and some new meds.  She kept her food down yesterday, so we are hoping and praying for the best.

Guillermo:
Well, Joshua had been "dying, dying, absolutely dying" for a Nerf Gun for his Birthday.  We told him when he was 6 he could have them.  We figured Michael would be almost 3 and probably wouldn't eat them - LOL.  So we got Joshua this really cool pack of 6 small Nerf guns (you load the darts one at a time, which I liked).  So last Saturday, October 23rd, we are playing as a family in the family room with the guns and the whistling darts that go with them.  We didn't get the eye gear stuff, which looking back, we should have found something for them ... I just didn't want to shell out 20 bucks for 2 eye gear things from Nerf.  I was pretty sure that they wouldn't wear them and they would break within 20 minutes.

So Guillermo accidentally shoots Joshua near the eyes.  This irritates Joshua and he tried (on purpose) to hit Guillermo back in the eye.  He tried 3 times before he did it.  He was quite proud of himself.  However ... Guillermo wears hard contact lenses.  Getting hit in the eye was not good, especially considering his hard contacts lenses.  Thankfully, Guillermo somewhat saw it coming, so it didn't hit him square in the eye, just to the left of it.  It still hurt though, that's for sure!

We really should have stopped playing, but we continued on.  I decide to hit Guillermo and I'm terrible with my aim ... I was shooting for his chest/arms and I end up hitting his eye.  Oh boy, I feel terrible ... it was the same spot Joshua hit him in earlier, but this time he didn't see it coming and it hurts, badly.  Guillermo has several minutes of darkness in his one eye.  Which is so not good!

I immediately tell the kids to put on their shoes ... I tell Guillermo we should stop by his eye doctor right away.  We finally get over to the eye doctor.  She takes a look and dilates his eye.  Thankfully, nothing was damaged in the back of his eye.  The white part has a bump on it from the dart.  The swelling should go down she said ... poor Guillermo.

Well, he still has a small spot in his eye that is dark when he is looking at things.  He said it's not too bad, but that the doctor said it might not go away, or it might.  He said she said the fluid in the eye is what was making it puffy/swelling.

So on top of all that, Guillermo a few days before started wearing new hard contact lenses.  His prescription changed a little and they ordered him new ones.  He got them and they were a little strange, but he wore them anyway.  Well, this week his eyes began really bugging him, especially the one that got hurt.  His contacts felt terrible and he wanted to go back to the eye doctor.

So yesterday, Tuesday, after taking the dog to the vet, he goes to the eye doctor.  The doctor takes a look and realizes that they gave him one contact with the special coating and one without.  The contact without the coating is the one that was bugging him and he now had a deep scratch on his eye because of it.  UGH!  Poor Guillermo!  He now has to wear his glasses (which are old, he was planning on getting new ones, but hadn't ordered them yet).  He now has to have eye meds and stop wearing his contacts for probably at least a week.  Oh yeah, and the eye that was scratched, yep you guessed it, it was the same eye that got hit with the dart.

We went to 2 different eye glasses places and found out that his prescription is not typical and that he would have to have special lenses.  Costco couldn't do them, so we went back to the eye doctor today to see how his cut is healing and to pick out new glasses.  The new glasses will look good on him and he should get them back in about 7 to 10 days.

Guillermo has to continue his eye meds and hopefully, the cut will heal without any damage.  Poor Guillermo!!

Michael:
He's such a strange little boy ... today he decided that he wanted to not wait for a waffle to be toasted - he wanted to eat it frozen.  And he did, he ate the entire thing frozen.  Crazy little boy!

He is now really into the mommy play with me stage.  So now I have to spend extra time each day playing trains, reading books or whatever else he wants me to do.  The other day he comes over to me and says "Guess What Mommy?"  I have no idea, so I say "What Michael".  He says "I Love You Mommy!"  He can be cute when he wants to, that's for sure!

We have the Patch the Pirate Kung Fooey Kid Music CD and we've been listening to it a lot.  Michael now kicks the air and says "Kung Fooey, Kung Fooey".  It's so cute!

Michael is also into the Why & No Stage.  He's difficult to discipline and very stubborn.  He cries about everything and loves to whine.  I'm so ready for the terrible 2's to be over but I'm not sure if I'm ready for the terrible 3's either - LOL.

Sara:
She's such a delight!  She brought her coloring books with her this morning when we went to help Guillermo pick out his new glasses.  It was so cute watching her intently color.  She loves to sit and color ... so precious!

She's enjoying preschool.  Yesterday, one of her school friends had a birthday.  So Sara said that she's celebrating it today and that so far it's been a good birthday - LOL.  She also got a calculator as a present from the birthday boy at school.  Can I tell you that Joshua & Sara were fighting over it.  Joshua wanted it for his homework and Sara wanted it because it was hers.  Oh boy ... they worked out a deal, Joshua can borrow it next week for his homework, but Sara gets to keep it in her room because it's hers.

Sara loves doing her preschool homework.  Each Tuesday we come home with it and she dives right in and colors and works on her letters.  I love it!  They are beautiful pieces of art :-)

Joshua:
We had parent teacher conferences last week and got his report card.  He's doing really well and we are so proud of him!  We are delighted that his teacher really enjoys having him in class.  His teacher said that Joshua really keeps her on her toes, but that she's enjoying that part of his character.  Joshua still needs to work on stopping when his name is called.  I almost feel like we should puppy train him ... Joshua ... here's your treat, Joshua ... good boy, here's your treat ... Joshua ... good boy - LOL.  Do you think it would work??

He's been complaining a lot, so I'm breaking out the "complaining circle chart".  Also called the "sin chart" from the kids.  Each day he doesn't complain he will get a sticker and each day he does complain he will get a black circle (called the sin spot).  They so don't want black "sin" spots, so they seems to do well when I bring out these circle charts.  We are also doing one for Good Table Manners too because I'm tired of them putting their feet on the table and frankly, behaving badly at the table.  Hopefully, by the time Thanksgiving comes they will sit properly at the table and not complain :-)

Okay, so finally I come to me ... Katricia:
Well, I titled this What is God Trying to Teach Me?  How on earth does this fit into what I've typed above?  Good question!

I'm not exactly sure what He's trying to teach me.  It's been a LONG 6 weeks of constant stress with Guillermo working endlessly.  He's been working at least 4 to 5 nights a week in the evenings from 11pm to 3am.  It's been back to back nights.  The worst part is that they expect him to wake up and be on a conference call at 9am to discuss what he did at 3am.

I'm a very light sleeper and for some reason once I've been woken up, it's difficult to fall back asleep.  So we both have been sleep deprived for about 6 weeks.  Some nights we do get some good sleep, but most nights we don't.  Although, I think the past week, we've gotten a little more sleep because Guillermo's work project is finally starting to wind down.

I love Guillermo and I'm thankful that he has a job and provides so well for our family!  I totally feel bad for him that he has to work these crazy hours.  It's effected his sleep, his health, his eating patterns, and his attitude/mind-set.  It's effected my sleep and my attitude (I find that I've been grumpy with the kids and with him too).  While Guillermo does his best to not bring work stress home, just the fact that he goes to bed so late provides stress.  I do my best in the mornings to let him sleep, so that means I'm driving Joshua to school, making him lunch and getting him ready.  Normally Guillermo drives him to school.  So I'm doing my best to fill in the gaps and do what it takes to keep things going.  So it's been stressful ... but we have survived (not as graciously as we could have, but I'm not perfect and neither is Guillermo).

So the other day, Guillermo and I were talking ... something we haven't had much time to do lately.  He was saying why are we going through this again?  It's something that happens every 6 months or so in our lives I think.  He said what are we suppose to learn?  What is God trying to teach us?  Frankly, both of us are tired of going through these up & downs with his job.  We aren't getting any younger you know :-)

Those questions make me pause and think ... what have I learned from this?  Well, this time around I've chosen each day to say things that would cause a fight with Guillermo.  I've chosen to not "push his buttons".  I've chosen to not react badly when he's irritated with me and looking for an argument.  It's a decision that I have to constantly be on guard about because it's easy to let myself have a bad attitude or pity-party and give into a fight.  I've chosen to seek God.

In the past, when things get crazy/stressful, we fight because things annoy me/irritate me/I say things or push his buttons/I get grumpy.  I've learned to be less selfish this time around (I think).  Honestly, the hardest part about him working nights is that he spend so much energy & effort into work that the last bit he has to give goes to the kids.  I feel that I tend to be ignored.  Not that he wants to do that to me, but that's the way it goes.  In the past, oh boy about the 3rd week I would be so miserable and unhappy at being ignored, that I would get angry.  Then we would fight.  This time around, I've learned to push through those feelings and not let them fester.  I've also learned thanks to some amazing Bible Studies (Breaking Free from Beth Moore, One in a Million by Priscilla Shirer, Ruth: Loss, Love & Legacy by Kelly Minter, and Becoming More Than A Good Bible Study Girl by Lysa TerKeurst), books and sermons to let God fill me up.  I've learned that it is my relationship with God that defines me, not my husband or my circumstances.  I've learned that God can fill all those empty and sometimes lonely spots in my heart.  I've learned that God never designed Guillermo to fill those empty and lonely places, that's not his job, it's God.  I feel like I've grown up a lot with God in the last 11 months since I started Breaking Free w/Beth Moore. 

I've been more intentional on relying on God and not on Guillermo.  I think that's the biggest thing that I've learned and this time around I've not only got it in my head but also in my heart.  I've chosen to not dwell on what I want, but what is right and good for the sake of Guillermo and my family.  I'm putting God 1st and going to him for assurance, blessing, comfort and sanity :-)  He's provided and has been amazing ... I pray that every time I'm faced with the lies that Satan loves to tell me, I hope that I will remember these crazy last 6 weeks and remember how God's been faithful.

It's funny, we really are going through the same things we went through last year.  We've had money issues (thanks to the dog, new glasses and just plain old life stuff), we've had health issues (my ear infection & his eye cut, plus we've all had a terrible cold/cough that lasted about 4 weeks), we've had lack of sleep issues, we've had attitude issues, we've had kid issues ... and yet through all of it we haven't given in to fighting.  It's been amazing!  All of those issues one on top of the other in the past would have driven us down an ugly road, but this year, Praise the Lord, we haven't drifted off the road.

So I think God is teaching me and I'm finally listening and obeying.  Guillermo's learning stuff too, which is way cool.  This time around, he's speaking out more at work and not "taking" all the junk they dish out.  I'm not sure what else God is teaching us, but we have been faithful to Him and He's been faithful to us.  We have so enjoyed the sermon series at Cornerstone Fellowship about Restoring the Soul a Study on David's Life.  Those messages have been so timely and have stayed with me throughout these weeks.  God called me (us) to hear those sermons and I'm glad we answered/obeyed Him.  He's blessed us and has filled up our cups/minds with His Word.

So that's my life ... the good, the bad and the ugly.  I hope you've been encouraged as you read about my struggles ... I hope that you too will intentionally seek God!

30 Days of Thanks ...

I'm so excited that it's November.  I must admit that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  It's one of the rare holidays that's not about buying stuff or getting stuff.  It's a holiday designed for giving thanks!  We are so blessed and have much to give thanks for in our lives.  Having an entire month to focus on our blessings is indeed one of the reasons I love November.

 

In our family, we have started the tradition of each night writing down what we were thankful for in the day.  The rules are we cannot repeat the same thing ... they can be thankful for the same thing, but have to think of something new too.  Today is day 1 on our 30 days of Thankfulness.

 



Michael fell asleep by his baby gate today ... so cute!

Today I am thankful that I am able to be a Stay-At-Home Mommy!  I'm thankful that my husband has a good job that allows me to fulfill my childhood dream of staying at home with the kids.  While most days, I must admit I'm not very thankful to be taking care of them.  When I look at the big picture of how God provides and what He has given me to take care of and nurture ... I'm thankful!

 

It's a lot of work that sometimes I don't handle so well, but I'm always thankful that we get to start each day fresh and with a clean slate.  I'm thankful that God is taking care of me and these kids.  I'm thankful that He's at work in my life teaching & showing me how to be more Christ-like each & every day.  I'm thankful that these kids don't keep a grudge or record of my bad mommy moments.  I'm thankful that they love me even when I'm not very lovable.  I'm thankful that they call me mom!

 

I've learned so much from having kids.  A lot about myself (my selfishness) and a lot about kids.  I've learned that it's not easy, it's not a fairy tale and it's difficult.  I've learned that I have to choose to see the good in these kids instead of the bad, difficult, frustrating or annoying things.  I truly am thankful to stay home all day and take care of my kids!

 

I'm thankful that my husband continues to give me grace when I fail in taking care of the kids or the house.  I'm thankful that he understands when things don't always get accomplished, even though I try to get everything done.  I'm thankful that he can see that one day we will have a clean house again ... when they are 18 and go off to college :-)

 

Here's what the kids were thankful for today ...
Joshua is thankful today for his toys.
Sara is thankful today for her Zooables (a toy).
Michael is thankful for his Thomas Trains (that's what I picked for him ...)

More things I'm also thankful today for ...

• I'm thankful that I was able to take the kids to Yogurtland's for an after school treat!  Red Velvet Cupcake Batter yogurt is amazingly delicious and Joshua enjoyed the Pumpkin Pie yogurt today.  Yum!
• I'm thankful that the Michael & Joshua helped each other out by putting all the Thomas Trains back in the box together.
• I'm thankful that I was able to wash & fold laundry for my family.
• I'm thankful that I was able to play puppets with Sara today.
• I'm thankful that Sara loves to color and Joshua did his homework.
• I'm thankful that someone finally showed my sister's condo to their client ... so glad to hear that they liked it ... praying that someone will make an offer.
• I'm so thankful today that Hershey is healing ... it's a long & slow process, but each day she has is a blessing to our family!
• I'm thankful that Joshua goes to a school where the teacher enjoys him and doesn't mind that he keeps her on her toes.
• I'm thankful for Sunday's sermon about sin and how it's reminded me today about my attitude and selfishness sins.
• I'm thankful that the kids are asleep and I was able to move Michael from the floor back to his bed without waking him up.
• I'm thankful that I was able to cook dinner tonight for my family.
• I'm thankful that even though they complained about eating Broccoli, they still ate all of it (Michael actually loves it).
• I'm thankful that God has given me 3 beautiful children to raise ... what a huge task!
• I'm thankful that God is there beside me as I raise them ... I pray that they will grow up to Love God, Serve Him and Others.
• I'm thankful that I am able to wash the dishes and clean the kitchen for my family.
• I'm thankful for my Bible Study group!



Michael sound asleep by his bedroom door & baby gate

I'm thankful for this month of November. I'm thankful that I get to intentionally look at each day with thankfulness and get out of the "rut" of looking at the bad things in each day. I hope you will join me in my 30 day journey of thanks!

 

 

 

Psalms 69:30 "I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving."