Yup. I’m grateful for white out. =-) There are times when it’s completely necessary, and it’s SO nice to not have to scratch things out and write above or below that mess, but to wipe the slate clean and get to start over. There are a whole lot of ways I could relate this to life in general… but let’s just say that I’m exceedingly grateful for white out. Both the literal white out that I use in my planner, and the concept of “whiting things out”, where we’re able to do the same thing and wipe the slate clean in our lives. =-)
The ability to breathe =-)
I had my tonsils and adenoids taken out yesterday (of all the fun things to do, right?), and never before have I realized how much I appreciate the ability to breathe in AND out through my nose. I can breathe in right now, but not out… which also means that I can’t blow my nose. =-( So… I am VERY grateful for being able to breathe through my nose, and I can’t wait to get that ability back again! There are lots of things in life that we totally take for granted, until we don’t have or can’t do them anymore. This is definitely one of those types of things. On the up side, at least I can still smell things! =-)
Holding Hands
Our youngest little guy loves to hold my hand when we walk (or even when we’re doing things at home!), but I’ve noticed that anytime we get out of the car to walk somewhere, he really thinks it’s important to have his big brothers hand too. He’ll jabber at him and make noises and hold his hand out and he really does make it clear that he wants big brothers hand. Once he has it, he calms right down and walks with no complaints. He also seems to be the happiest in the car when he’s got big brothers hand. There’s something seriously adorable about the way they hold hands though, and I managed to take this picture while they were in the car a couple weeks ago (so you can see what I’m talking about!). =-)
Someday neither one will want to hold my hand… or each others hands… and I am really just enjoying it while it lasts! =-)
Daddy Time! =-)
We’ve had a whole LOT of snow days lately, and having a hubby who teaches pays off more now that at any other time. =-) Getting all the extra time with daddy home has been such a blessing! I’m grateful to have a husband who wants to spend time with us, and who includes the kiddos in the stuff he does. I really am! =-)
Love Shown in Emails
I received an email this week from a very dear friend of mine, who ended it by saying:
“Take care, and know that you are loved.”
I could feel her hug through that, and I knew she meant it. She’s one of those ladies who tells things exactly like they are, so you know she tells the truth. And she always means what she says. Today, that’s what I’m grateful for.
Naptime for my Kiddos
After a particularly umm… challenging (?) morning, there’s nothing quite like the quiet of naptime. Even if our oldest isn’t asleep and is talking about randomness while he’s in bed, our youngest is asleep and the main floor is quiet, and that’s pure bliss. Ahhh… (can you see me with my feet up, enjoying the blissfulness??).
Today, I am so very grateful for naptime for my kiddos, which allows me time to breathe, to re-focus, and at times, to just calm down and prepare for the mass chaos that will start back up when they’re both awake again. =-)
Happy Kiddos
I am well aware that not every kid is happy all the time, and that even the best of kids can be grumpy, cranky, irritable, etc, etc…. but as anyone who has read my blog for very long knows, this blog is NOT where I write about that (and before you comment to ask where I do write about it, I’ll just tell you now that I do NOT have a blog where I complain – I’ve made the choice to focus on the positive!). I just want to be sure you know that I recognize that our kiddos ALL have issues at times… like adults do. We just (usually) show that in different ways than our kiddos will. Or one would hope we do. =-)
Today, I’m so very (very!!) grateful that I’ve got two happy kiddos. They aren’t just happy for show, they’re legitimately happy, whether or not anyone else is watching. The giggles they have, separately and together, are some of the best sounds ever. My 4 year old told me this morning – “Mommy, I really love being a big brother”, and that completely melted my heart. He said it in the midst of trying to be a helper with the 17 month olds shoes and coat, and he really meant it. That is such a huge blessing to me, in so many ways. It’s hard being the bigger one, who is always being asked to set a good example, but our big guy really does try hard. And I’m proud of him for that. I’m also proud of the little guy for wanting so bad to be a helper too. They’re such good kiddos, and such happy ones, and I am so blessed by that! =-)
Kitty Cat
We have a kitty, and we love her dearly. Her name is Pippen (affectionately called “Pippen Friend” by my husband). Because we refer to her as our kitty cat, our youngest little guy calls her “Ki Ka” and he runs and points and hollers “Ki Ka!!” whenever he sees her. It’s totally adorable.
So today I’m grateful for two things:
1. The ability to have a pet kitty cat, that we can spoil and keep inside and have as a companion. She might be pretty stinky at times (remember, this is my gratitude blog, so you don’t really hear about those times!), but she really is a fantastic cat, and such a blessing to have!
2. Two little guys who both love our kitty, neither one is allergic (HUGE hooray!), and they really do treat her well. That’s seriously great too!
We are definitely blessed.
Grateful for SO MUCH!! =-)
My heart is overflowing with gratitude for all of the amazing blessings in my life. There are SO MANY things to be grateful for, in SO MANY ways!
I was in a Bible study a few weeks ago where the lesson was on recognizing that the things we complain about are really just “rich people problems”. We’re upset when the dishwasher stops working, or when our cars won’t start, or when we run out of bananas. But SO MANY people in the world don’t have ANY of those things, and their lives are just fine without them. It’s challenged me, because I think it’s easy for us to be upset/annoyed about things that are really just “rich people problems”. If we weren’t so blessed in the first place, we wouldn’t even know what it was like to load a dishwasher, or to have a freezer that can make ice cubes (even some of the time), or a million other things. Starting a blog like this has helped me to stop and be grateful, instead of being irritated about things, but the idea that the things I’m appreciating are “rich people” things has made me want to dig deeper. I’m not just grateful for the “things” I have, I’m grateful for the people in my life, I’m grateful for the things my kiddos are learning and doing, and I’m excited about being able to share more specifics with you in 2015. =-)
Happy New Year, and may this be a year filled with gratitude and appreciation – for all of us!
2014 in Review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 480 times in 2014. If it were a cable car, it would take about 8 trips to carry that many people.
Gratitude and Appreciation 