Taking commands...

While packing up for a last minute trip up north to clean up our parents yard, Molly made me laugh.
I asked the girls to get any games that they wanted to play and this is how it went.
Molly: "I just want to take Monopoly Jr."
Me: "Are you sure? We're going to be there for a few days."
Molly: "Yea, we'll probly spend most of the time following Nana's commands."
Me: "Nana isn't going to be there."
Molly: "Oh!" Then, she ran back into her room to get more games.

14, 15, 16, and 17....

Such a busy week of finishing up school so that we can be off the entire week of Giving Thanks....and all of our nights being filled with activities left me with not a lot of face time with blogging.
Here goes....
14th....thankful for God taking hold of us and convicting us to homeschool. It was a rough day in our school and one where I needed to remind myself constantly why we homeschool. Thankful for fellow hs friends who listen and offer advice when you just don't know how to get through to that sweet child.
15th....thankful today for my God who answers prayer and shows me EXACTLY why we homeschool. It was such a wonderful day in our school. Day full of learning for the kids, but also for me.
Also, thankful today for American Heritage Girls. It has been such a blessing to Molly, but also for me. To be surrounded by friends, both Molly and myself...we are blessed. Molly earned 4 patches tonight and her joint award badge. I'm so proud of her...I can't wait to see what AHG has in store for her in the coming years.
16th...thankful today for a full day's work and kids that go with flow...woke at 5 am and did some grocery shopping at Meijer. Got back just in time to take Turner to work... on the way home from dropping daddy off at work we stopped at Kroger for a few things that I didn't get earlier. (Also, got the kids some donuts...probably helped with the whole go with the flow thing)...returned home to get tests and other works taken care of before gymnastics. Went to gymnastics. Watched Maggie one on one with her teacher while the other 2 worked on states and capitals. Then we headed off to 2 libraries, both possessing booms we need in the final 3 weeks of the semester. Afterwards, stopped at Papa Johns for our P.J. appreciation day pizza. Finally, headed home to finish school up for 9 days and get ready for the dinner at church later that evening. All was silent while we scarfed down our pizza. There wasn't a crumb remaining...we were starving...the girls even ate their crust!
We ended our evening with dinner at church and meeting new people.
Blessed, indeed.
17th...thankful today for good friends...had friends over for dinner tonight. Got to just sit and chat while the kids played...and I snuggled the sweet five week old :)
Thank you, Jesus.

November 12 &13...

November 12....thankful that the Good Lord made our arms to perfectly fit a newborn. Yesterday, 11.11.12, my best friend had her son. It was absolute pure JOY holding him.
He is perfect.
God does such great work.
Truly a miracle.

November 13....today I am thankful for my nephews. All six of them. I got to spend some time with 2 of them today. They are growing like weeds...the oldest is about to no longer be as tall as me, but taller.
Never again to be shorter than me.

Thank you, Lord for blessing my life.

Sunday evening...

With Turner home tomorrow, it doesn't feel like a Sunday evening.
Husband having Mondays off is definitely on my Top 5 Favorite Things!

November 10...thankful for time with my mom. We headed to the yearly craft show that we attend every year. Even though it is just one morning out of the entire year & we visited a lot when we lived in Kentucky, I really missed that morning with her the couple of years that we were down there. Loved finding my mom hunkered down behind the big bleachers in the middle of all of the crafters and shoppers, ripping off fake leaves off of an item she had just bought. After she showed it to me, I agreed that said leaves did not go with the adorable fall hanging...just love that she was tearing it apart in the middle of everyone. Then she got home, got her glue out and found what she wanted in the place of those ugly plastic flowers and fixed it right up.

November 11...thankful for God's timing. Today, I was sorta hoping that the children's church for the little ones would be empty so that I could listen to Pastor's sermon this morning. In light of the election this week and how my heart and mind are processing the whole thing, I just wanted to hear my Pastor speak this week.  Of course, God had other plans as He so often does.  We got to Sunday School & the Lord filled that hour with all of the things that I needed to hear.  I WAS BLESSED! Then, we had 3 kiddos in the young ones children's church. They were BLESSED and I was selfish.
God is always good.

Our third....

First off...it's only 12:30am on the morning of the 10th...in my world that is still the 9th!
Now...onto my thankful for November 9th.
I just want to lay beside her and squeeze her the whole night through when I see her sleeping.
Our third does what she wants exactly when she sees fit. Not a moment sooner and not a moment later.
We tried to schedule her birth.
She said forget it and I almost had her in the car.
She's been that way since she came into this world and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Our sweet Maggie.

Dang...

Will I ever just embrace that I will almost always be one step behind? Maybe then I'll start being in step? Maybe?

November 8...thankful for a husband who listens to my crazy talk. Always some plan of mine, some idea, thought, conspiracy theory...he just takes it all in without having me committed :)

I love him...so much.

I was on a roll, too...

Posting 3 days in a row must be a record for me....and I told myself around 9 pm last night that I would most certainly post and NOT forget!!! I did.

Since Tuesday night, right around the time they called Ohio blue, I haven't felt very joyful. In fact, I just didn't want to be joyful.

Then, I got to church last night.
The kids started pouring in.
Their cheerful faces.
Excited faces.
Eager little ones.

When you have Jesus staring right at you in the face of a child the devil must flee.

I couldn't help but smile and have joy because of what He brought into that building. Forty kids were at church last night. In our couple of years there, I don't know if there have been 40 kids in one night. Praise Jesus. My prayer is  that those forty kids continue to grow in the word every single day of their lives.

So, for November 7....thankful for our church, our Pastors and all those that the Good Lord brings there every Wednesday and Sunday...because of all these last night I am feeling thankful, blessed and joyful.

no words tonight...

Thankful for my heavenly Father, my earthly dad, my mom, my husband, my kids, my family, my husband's family, my friends, and those that remind me that Jesus is Lord and my God is Good. And Just. And my Right Hand. My Strength.

hand on her forehead...

Maggie's new thing is putting her hand on her forehead and then hanging her head.
Tonight, she and her brother tried getting candy from the cupboard above the fridge.
When they didn't succeed she came downstairs to get me. I was preoccupied with signing some papers. She began whining and explaining how she could reach said candy. I told her to give me just a second to finish what I was doing and then I would help her. After waiting patiently for all of 3 and half seconds, she grabbed my arm again. She put her hand on her forehead, hung her head and then said, "It's just hopeless."
Pretty sure that you've had 74 pieces of candy tonight, my dear. Hardly hopeless.

today I am grateful for...

Today, I am thankful for...people who take pictures for a living, turn it into a wonderful small business, put up with crazy moms like myself who just want a good picture to hang on the wall until the next autumn arrives, and have a gift for making my girls smile perfect smiles & being polite with my oldest when he starts acting like he is waaayyyy to old to be partaking in such things like laughing when the woman pretends to eat a bubble or asks if he toots.  (And really? His cousins so much as mutter any word that remotely sounds like "toot, fart, or poop" and he goes hysterical!) I digress.
My kids enjoyed their photo shoot and she was incredibly patient with all of the kids (and me, too.) Her prices were great & like my beloved said, "It's a small business and I like supporting  that." Grateful that the Good Lord instilled the talent of photography in her.

testing.....

I'm not sure that all of this new technology goes along with one of our marriage slogans...."keep our lives as simple as possible." I am definitely grateful for it all, but driving myself batty with the app on my phone, syncing email addresses (whatever that means) and trying to love the fact that I can now blog from my phone.
I wonder what my 5th grade self would have said all those years ago when I was hunkered down by the kitchen cupboards, wrapping the telephone cord around my fingers, all the while whispering because you couldn't just pick up the phone and go in the other room....blogging? email? texting? smartphones? I remember our first cell phone. It was enormous!
Let's see if this test works.

thankful, blessed and joyful begins...

I am starting this blog because I did so horrible on the last one.

The last one was called "just so i don't forget".  There are some great posts on there, but it is so sporadic that there is much that I failed to post. And, of course, I ended up forgetting.

So, here I am trying a new one....

trying to remember to ALWAYS be thankful. knowing that no matter what happens from this moment on in my life, I have been blessed far beyond anything that I've deserved and to choose to be joyful no matter the day that I might be having.

I wanted to begin this on November 1. However, my beloved was coming home from a trip and I was busy all day cleaning the house. (Not that he cares, but I know that he appreciates it...it didn't stay clean for more than 5 minutes, but I adored those 5 minutes.)

It's November 4th and I am going to begin my thankful list a few days late.

November 1st...thankful that Turner's flight home was on-time and arrived safe & sound after Hurricane Sandy.

November 2nd...thankful for sisters that take care of my children as if they were their own so that Turner and I can go away for a weekend to celebrate our 10 married years together.

November 3rd...thankful for a husband who loves to keep our life together as simple as possible.  A burger & a beer in a local pub rather than dinner at a fancy French restaurant. Pizza & breadsticks while switching between "How It's Made" and the Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel.

November 4th...thankful for our home, running water, warmth, electricity.

Another tidbit from today...the girls were taking a shower together (preparing for our family pictures tomorrow...such a stressful day for Turner...putting up with me & my indecision :) ) and they were playing beauty shop. Molly was asking Maggie if she wanted her hair curly or straight. Molly asked her baby sister if she's like anything to drink..."a soda or a shake?"

And Max looks 14.