wait, I mean Thankful Friday! This week has flown by and I feel a little like I am treading water…and my blog is showing the effects of being busy. However, in all the busyness I know there are several things I am thankful for and here they are:
* I am thankful that my grandfather is home from the hospital now! I spent all day Monday gone and it was a little draining but it was worth it to see my grandfather in the hospital. And now he is home and is recovering!
* Time with my niece – I was able to have my 3 year old niece over at my house on Tuesday. I don’t get to see her much and it was fun to have a little time with her by myself while the boys were at school.
* Isaiah’s school – We had a PTO meeting this week and I learned of all new ways I can get involved in his school. It is so important to me that we find ways to use our skills and talents to get involved with our children’s school. I was able to find a place to use my business skills I had learned in the past.
* Wheelwright – Heath and a group of guys are going back to Wheelwright tonight. They will be putting a new roof on what will become a store house for the First Fruits Ministry. This group of guys is so willing to give of their time and skills to help this community in Wheelwright. They go through an entire weekend with little sleep and work so hard. It is just an incredible encouragement to me.
* Pictures – Last weekend we had pictures made of all the boys. They did so well and we had more than enough great shots to choose from!
Hope you are able to find more in your week that makes you Thankful!
For more Thankful Thursday entries, click here.
Well, I am unsure how it happened but when I published the last post it said it was password protected! All is well now you you can read the latest post here.
This week Heath and I went to our annual Volunteer Appreciation Banquet at church. It is a time where the staff serves all the volunteers of the church. Anyone who has ever served in any way is invited. It is always a night full of laughter. Last night was no exception as I laughed out loud several times but I was also amazed to see so many people there who give their time weekly to be the hands and feet of God. Honestly, there were probably close to 150 there and there are so many more people that couldn’t come. It is humbling to see these people give of themselves and to serve alongside them.
Last year they began a ‘volunteer of the year’ award. It is not a specific person but rather a team of people. This year they chose the Wheelwright, KY group. Then they asked Heath to come on stage and accept it on behalf of everyone. We had no clue that they would recognize this group of guys and girls. As we laid in bed last night talking about the evening we talked about the ‘award’. It isn’t an award in our minds…maybe more like an affirmation that we are doing what God wants us to do. And the best part wasn’t getting up on stage or standing at our tables and being recognized. No, the best part was looking around the room at the other people standing and saying ‘we served with them’. We have cultivated new friendships and strengthened others as we took this Wheelwright journey. Heath and I may have been the contact names for Wheelwright but God completely orchestrated it. The men and women that travel there are by far some of the best people I have met. They approach a run down small area in Kentucky with compassion and never once give out judgement but rather continue to show God’s love to these people and show them how to fine hope in the future.
Last night was wonderful…and very humbling. I never want to get to a place where I need to be affirmed by people but I do appreciate God’s ability to give confirmation through others. As I told someone earlier last week, I don’t need a banquet to get me serving, it is just what I feel called to do.
I see so many people do a post on their blog called ‘Thankful Thursdays’. Sting My Heart hosts Thankful Thursday on her blog. It is wonderful to see how everyone can find something to be thankful for, regardless of their week. I decided to try it out. So here are my ‘thankfuls’ for this week.
* Friends – Over the last two weeks I have been able to make some new friends. I had coffee with one, reconnected over email with another and I am going to lunch today with a good friend. My life seems fuller when I have friends. It isn’t about popularity, it is about being able to see through someone else’s eyes and learning how to serve them often.
*Wheelwright – Tomorrows post will explain this better but I am so thankful for the men and women who give of their time to travel to Wheelwright and bring hope to a hopeless community
*Heath – I could list a million things as to why he is the best hubby for me but I think the best is that he is the best Daddy for my boys. Last night I was trying to get Isaiah to wash his own hair. I had hurt my knee a couple weeks back moving furniture and it was bothering me last night. Isaiah was throwing a fit and Heath went in a got down on his knees and washed his hair so I didn’t have to do it.
* Orders – I create custom invitations as well as decorate cakes. I shipped out a huge batch of invitations this week and I got an order for a birthday cake, too! It is fun to be creative and make something that someone else loves.
* Medicine – This is a loaded word but mostly I am talking about my grandfather. He is still in the hospital but he seems to be making strides and getting better. I am thankful for modern medicine and technology
I could truly go on and go. I hope you can find things to be thankful for in your week!
We have done the transition from the bottle to cup now three times. And every time it would be so frustrating to find a trainer cup that worked well. We were either attempting to line the handles up with the spout or having to take out a valve because our son didn’t have enough force to get the fluid out. It would end up in me saying the bottle is easier and creating a battle for my kids.
But not this time! Silas transition super easy to his new cup. It is a Baby Einstein Cup made by Playtex. It holds 6 oz which is perfect for him right now. The best part? The handles are attached to the top…they are all one piece. There is no more trying to line up the handles to the spout again! It is the perfect flow for him. The spout is a little longer than other spouts so I think it mimics a bottle a little bit.
It really made the transition this time much smoother!
Submitted for Rocks in My Dryer’s Works for Me Wednesday
at 8:30 in the morning…it is Tuesday ( it was yesterday)…the day Joel goes to preschool. You just don’t call at that time as I am ALWAYS packing him up and getting him out the door.
But it rang anyway, and I still answered it (mostly because Joel picked it up and I had no choice). It was my mom. (Ummm, hello, I know you know I am getting Joel ready.) The first words she said were ‘don’t panic’. Now am I the only person who actually panics when someone tells me ‘don’t panic’. Thoughts always run wild through my mind and I have come up with the worst case scenarios for everything by the time they explain what I am not supposed to panic about.
Mom told me she was on her way to the hospital that my grandfather had been taken there last night via ambulance. I didn’t say anything. Panic was so far from my mind…fear was at the forefront. You should know my grandfather is in his 80’s and he is a very active man. I love him with all my heart…as do my boys. He is one of the greatest men I have ever known. The idea that something would be wrong was numbing. It came out of nowhere…I had just spoken to my grandmother last night and he was fine.
I cried. There is no other way to put it. I cried for the unknown but more I just cried because I didn’t have answers and I couldn’t make it ok. I often tell my husband that there will come a day when my grandparents are no longer here and I just want to enjoy all the time I have with them. While his situation is not life threatening, it made me realize how much I loved him and would miss him when that day comes.
It also made me think about how grateful I am that God has placed so many people in my life. Grief is difficult but if you never knew love, grief would never be needed. I would rather feel grief often than to have never felt loved at all…and loved is what I feel when I think of my grandparents.
and you might be wondering where I went (or not). I decided to take a self imposed break from the blog for a couple days. Heath was out of town all week long and I needed to be daddy and mommy…blogging could wait. It was been a wonderful week full of laughter and tears as the boys really miss Heath when he is gone. Thankfully, he is coming home today!
A little while ago I made an Organizing List. My goal was the get my house organized by August 9th. That goal seemed almost impossible at the time but I knew in order to get it done I have to have a time line. Would you believe I accomplished almost all of my list! If you knew the way I tend to put off tedious things, you would be in amazement right now, too. I still have a little more work to do in Silas and Joel’s closet…mostly figuring out which clothes will fit Silas and which ones are finally ready to be donated or consigned. I also didn’t get to the Deckbox. It is still in the 100’s here and there are better areas to spend my energy. So the deckbox will just have to wait until it is cooler.
I feel super accomplished right now! It is a good feeling to know that my house is organized and everything has a place. I’ll be back next week in full swing and hope to see you then!
I approached each ultrasound in my pregnancy with great anticipation. The idea that I would be able to give my baby a name and begin to prepare for a nursery gave me great excitement and joy. Sadly, there are women in other countries who will never to get to savor that joy. They are told that they are only allowed one child. Because of this, they will choose to terminate pregnancies if it is a little girl or simple allow the child to be orphaned simply because the would rather have a boy to carry out the family duties. It sounds harsh, it sounds almost like something that would only happen in a movie. It is real and it is happening in China.
It is heart breaking to me. Being the mom of three boys I know what the pain feels like to not have a little girl in our house. Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE my boys and I never wish that they weren’t here but I grieve the fact that pink lace dresses and tea parties are not part of our weekly routines. So the thought that a child is ‘put out’ simply because of their gender is sickening.
For some time now, Heath has made me more aware of what we purchase. While we have not completely stayed away from China made products, it is something I look at when I purchase things. And really, one post can’t give you a clear idea of all of our reasons. However, Mommy Zabs has recently created a new blog called Not Made In China. It is wonderfully informative. Whether you are educated in the Chinese cultures or simply curious, it is sure to be a good read. Check it out.
