Thankful

I often feel overwhelmed with all that I have to be thankful for.  I think making a list is always a great way to really see the big and little blessings in your life.  I'll be working on thankful lists with Maggie and Ellie later today and I'm looking forward to seeing what they want on their lists.

• I'm thankful for my people.  They drive may crazy, cause me trouble and are probably giving me gray hairs, but I wouldn't want to live without my husband and my girls.
• I'm thankful that I can be a stay at home mom and I'm so thankful that we have the option to homeschool our girls.
• I am thankful for our house.  We are so wealthy compared to so many.
• I am thankful for my homeschool mom friends.  There are certain parts of homeschooling that only another homeschooler can understand.  Knowing that someone else has the same worries, insecurities, fears and feels pressured the same way that I do is so comforting.
• I'm thankful for our church.  I have talked to so many people lately that have left their church or want to leave their church to go somewhere that meets their needs better.  I am so thankful that we found "our" church in Sanford and that it helped us to know what we wanted for ourselves and our children. It would have been so easy when we moved here if we had started going to the church that I grew up in, but we went out of our comfort zone and visited churches.  We knew what we wanted for our children and we feel so blessed to be where we are.  
• I am thankful for my family.  I have wonderful parents and an awesome sister.  I could eat my niece and nephew up, too.
• I am thankful that Maggie and Ellie know so many things about the Bible and different characters in the Bible.  Another proof that we are in an amazing church.
• I am thankful for Rainbow.  When this sweet cat came up, we had no idea if he would stay.  He has brought so much happiness and joy to our home.  I tell Big Daddy almost daily that I truly believe this is an exceptional kitty cat.  We bought an extra small dog house for him and he walked right in and loves sleeping there.  He can fetch toys and Maggie has taught him a little sign language...or so she says.
• I am thankful that our church has a heart for missions and there are so many ways to serve.  From the homeless shelter that they run in the winter to the numerous mission trips that are organized throughout the year.  I am so thankful that Maggie and Ellie are learning that they are more than just a light in the church and that they really are and can be a light for the whole world.
• I am thankful that I have the courage to answer Maggie's questions with as much honesty as I can.  She has always thought that the idea of Santa seemed silly.  This year I had the courage to tell her the story of St. Nick and admit hat we had been lying to her.
• I am thankful for my friends.  I would be lost without my best mommy friends, A & K.  I love the vasa previa moms that I am able to be friends with because of the internet.  Even though we are separated by miles and oceans and we have something so big in common.  
• I am thankful that Ellie has finally started showing an interest in writing her name.  It sounds small, but it's so big to me.  I often compare Ellie to what Maggie was like at this age and every child learns in such different ways.  Ellie works in her preschool binder almost an hour (or however long she wants to) every school day, so she has an interest in learning.  She loves to trace letters, but until the past week or two, she wouldn't try to make any letters on her own.  When she brought me a piece of paper with the letters of her name on it, my heart soared.
• I am thankful that is so easy to keep in touch with people.  Facebook and the internet are often used in negative ways, but they can be huge blessings to a stay at home mom.

Of course, I could go on.  The clock always seems to be ticking and someone needs me.  It's good to be needed and I am so thankful for that!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

It's A Boy!

I haven't mentioned this before, but for a little over a month we have had a cat!!  Of course, it was not something that we planned.  We lost Olivia the second week of September and I was still sort of missing her and still sort of enjoying having one less thing to worry about.  A Maggie would say, this is the cat that God gave us.

We were outside playing and this sweet cat just walked up.  He was obviously hungry and thirsty and seemed extremely affectionate.  We gave him some leftovers and a little water and he just didn't want to leave.  Within a couple of minutes, Ellie had given him the name "Rainbow".  Maggie had saved a plastic tray from our trip to the greenhouse that day and she immediately created a bed for him.  We put it on our back porch with a bowl of milk and decided that if he managed to stick around until morning we would buy food, a food and water dish and a flea collar for him.  Rainbow had on a decorative collar that was too small and very worn, so we removed it and replaced it with a purple collar.  I talked to our neighbor and Rainbow had visited their house for a couple of days earlier in the week.  We aren't sure why he left his other home, but I told Maggie that we would love him for as long as he was here.

Maggie has spent many hours playing with him and he happily lets her do all sorts of stuff with him.  He runs through the door every morning when we go out to feed him and really seems to want to be where we are.  He has brought lots of happiness to our family and Maggie says that he is the pet she has always dreamed of.

And I am sort of in love with his crooked smile.