Dear Santa

Tonight before bed, Noah sat down and wrote a letter to Santa:

i wunt to get you a tom tom for my Dad

the tom tom is a gps

OK, so he got a couple of words out of order and it is missing punctuation. Only one word was misspelled, though.

The important part, of course, is the incredible thoughtfulness. If you remember, almost five months ago, Sean’s car was broken into and his GPS was stolen. We still haven’t replaced it. We haven’t even been discussing replacing it that I can remember any time recently. So for Noah to sit down on his own tonight and write Santa a letter asking him to bring Daddy a new TomTom? What can I say? I have an awesome kid.

 

Today, I am thankful for:

1. Noah’s incredible thoughtfulness and his desire to do for others. He really does have a good heart.
2. A day off. You would think that the weekends would provide that. Not so. Saturdays are usually a manic effort to accomplish all the things that would be too difficult to do during the week with five children. And Sundays? Wrestling five kids through three hours of church doesn’t exactly feel like a day of rest. So to have a day where Sean was home, I didn’t need to do school, and I wasn’t even half tempted to go grocery  shopping? Lovely.
3. My steam mop. Just because it is cool.
4. The fact that Eli is suddenly speaking in complete sentences (and counting to eleven!). It is just so much fun to hear what is going on in his mind. Turns out, he’s rather hilarious.
5. The fact that I don’t confuse the need for human contact with being a vampire. Sorry, I was just watching 20/20. And you know what? There are some really crazy people out there. So I’m thankful I’m not one of them.

Giving Thanks

Today, I am thankful for:

1. A wonderful day in a house full of family. And LOTS OF KIDS to entertain my children for me.
2. Tons of family members who wanted to hold and interact with the baby. And the fact that Violet didn’t scream at them when they tried.
3. That Noah got to see his cousins’ new brother (who isn’t actually related to him—it’s complicated).  He came running to me and said, “Mommy, Conner is so cute! He’s BLACK!” Lately, the fact that Noah looks different from us has become more of an issue for him. I don’t think that it is a horrible issue, and we have talked about it, but he still makes comments about not looking like anyone else. I think that seeing that his white cousins have a biracial brother like he is maybe made him feel like his family was a little less odd. (For some reason, the fact that he has two Asian cousins in an otherwise white family doesn’t seem to make much of a difference for him.)
4. My education. Even though on some days I feel like my brain will come seeping out of my ears if I am subjected to another episode of SpongeBob Square Pants (oh, WHERE did my resolve to never allow that drivel in my house go???), I am so glad that I had the opportunity to stretch my mind and earn a degree.
5. My support system. Not only do I have a lot of people in my life who I know are there for me, I have a lot of people who I may never even have the pleasure of meeting in real life who respond and support me here. I especially felt that back in January when so many of you offered prayers and well-wishes after our car accident. It was just amazing to know that you all knew what had happened and were wishing us well before we even got home. Really, really amazing.
6. My country, my religion, and my freedom to freely practice my beliefs as I see fit.

‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving…

Today, I am thankful for:

1. Actually getting some school work done like I had planned to today.
2. Being asked to bring something super simple (a veggie tray) for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. So I have already cut all of the veggies, made three dips, baked two pies (because I CAN, darn it), bought four cans of cranberry sauce (after Sean’s grandma told me she had it covered since she bought TWO cans—we are expecting about FORTY people for dinner), and have stuff for cream peas tomorrow (I’ll be the only one to eat them, but it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving for me without them). See? Easy.
3. The fact that I’m not the one expecting about forty people to descend on my home tomorrow. I get to descend on someone else’s. So, no obsessive cleaning for me.
4. $2.99 sweet potato pie at the grocery store for dessert tonight. Warm up for tomorrow.
5. The fact that things went well for my husband in court today. We have been battling a lawsuit for about two years now. Basically, the original landlord of his old office space decided to sell the building to another guy on land contract. When the new landlord let the place fall to pieces and disappeared, the old landlord foreclosed on him. He has since been trying to get money out of us to cover his butt for his poor decisions. It would be like if you were renting a house and the mortgage company came after you when the owner didn’t pay his bills. So, yeah…two years of paying a lawyer $200 an hour makes me grumpy. But things went so well in court today that our lawyer said he would do our appeal for free if things don’t go our way because he feels that confident that this should finally be over. So, yes, VERY grateful.

 

I’m off to spend the rest of the evening with my husband…something to be truly grateful for. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow. And don’t forget how blessed you are.

Happy Thanksgiving to all, and to all a goodnight.

Because My Kids are Cool Enough to Get It

I WILL be showing this to my children in the morning:

 

Today, I am thankful for:

1. The fact that my kids are totally cool enough to appreciate the video above. Honestly, Bohemian Rhapsody is one of their all-time favorite songs. And I love that.
2. That Sean has had a good month at work. Traditionally, this time of year gets slow for us. It is nice to have a decent month heading into Christmas time.
3. Going out to get ice cream with the kiddos. And having them all behave.
4. Having no pressure in regards to school tomorrow. I still plan on doing lessons with them, but it is technically a vacation day tomorrow. So if I feel like stopping for the day? No problem.
5. The chance to make my little brother’s several-year longing for a bearded dragon come true. Now, if I can just talk my hubby into letting me make a certain three-year-old little boy’s dream of a lizard also come true with the other bearded dragon that is available…

Maybe the Gratitude is Rubbing Off

Today, I’m thankful for:

1. The opportunity that I have to teach my children at home so we can focus on learning a concept instead of just being graded on how quickly you can pick it up.
2. Finishing our school work for the day before lunch today. That almost never happens, and it is so nice to know that we don’t have to go back to it later in the day.
3. Finishing our school work before the utility worker in the neighborhood shut the electricity off on us for an hour or two. If they had decided to do our house earlier, it would have screwed up our whole day. Instead, they shut it off about 45 minutes after we were finished.
4. Noah’s sweet generosity. Today is my father’s birthday. When Noah signed his birthday card, he also got a dollar out of his own money and stuck it in the card as his own present to Grandpa. He makes birthday cards for just about everyone in our family, and he always puts money in them. How sweet is that?
5. Wyatt’s show of gratitude. My mom gave the boys books that she bought for them this evening. Wyatt asked her for a piece of paper, then proceeded to write a thank you note to her for the book. Again, I’m so impressed with my boys!

National Family Week

Did you know that this week is National Family Week? My church encourages us to really observe this week and use it as an opportunity to devote the hours between 5pm and 9pm to one another. This week, we will be turning off the TV, stepping away from the computer, and trying to really focus on one another in the evenings. This evening, I started a novel with my  older two boys to fill the time they are used to unwinding while watching a show.

Honestly? This is kind of a hard idea for me. Usually, I am so grateful to have Sean come home and give me some relief from focusing on the kids. So the idea of staying focused on them until bedtime sounds a little, well, exhausting. But I believe that it is worth it. And I have faith that it will be a positive experience.

So, I challenge you all to join me. From dinner time to bedtime this week, turn off the TV, shut down the computer, and focus on your family. Then (hopefully) watch wonderful things happen in your relationships. Or, at least realize that you can tolerate each other. 😉

 

Today, I am thankful for:

1. The timing of events that put everything in place for us to be Noah’s parents. I see the opportunity to be his mother as every bit as much of a miracle as the pregnancies that proceeded his adoption.
2. Noah’s protectiveness of his siblings. I know that if I ask him to keep an eye on his brothers, he’ll take it seriously.
3. Wyatt’s interest in and sweetness towards babies. Violet just loves him, and it is because he has worked on building a relationship with her.
4. Caleb’s positive attitude. His older brothers call him weird, and I get angry with them when they do. Caleb is goofy. Caleb likes to make people smile. And it is a wonderful quality.
5. Eli’s attention to detail and helpful spirit. I laugh at his “toddler OCD”. He is always bringing me my cell phone. He always takes the remote to Sean. And he will protest loudly if you don’t let him help you vacuum.
6. Violet’s smiley, snuggly nature. She’s easy to fall in love with.
7. Sean’s willingness to do what it takes to be a good husband and father. Those are the most important things to him, and it shows.
8. Parents who raised me to believe that I can do and be anything. I wouldn’t be who I am if they hadn’t been there for me.

Random Gratitude

Today, I am thankful for:

1. The fact that my cell phone (an Instinct—a phone that I have disliked the entire time I had it) waited until a few days AFTER the phone I have been looking at (the Palm Pixi) came out on the market to go completely toes up.
2. The good buy back price I got on my dead phone to significantly reduce the amount I paid for my new phone.
3. The fact that my new phone is so cool that I was in love with it before I even walked out of the store.
4. Little boys who are not only WILLING to go help clean the church on a Saturday morning, but who come home and tell me how much FUN it was.
5. Scouts who listened and were respectful for our field trip this morning.
6. Fire fighters who were willing to take the time to show a bunch of scouts around the fire station and teach them about fire safety. Oh, and answer every single question. Every. Single. Question.
7. An afternoon at Chuck E Cheese with my kids. Yes, that’s right. It may not be MY favorite place, but the joy it brought to them was enough to get me past my hesitancy to go there. And we all had fun together.
8. Living close to family. We are fortunate to have siblings, parents, and grandparents from both of our families nearby. I love that my children are growing up with those relationships.
9. An awesome sale on ground beef today. Hey, sometimes the little things count for a lot.
10. Caleb’s joy for life. He makes me smile with his joy and humor.

When You Put it THAT Way

Noah: Mommy, what is the party you are going to for?

Me: Well, it is for a bunch of women to get together before most of them go see a movie.

Noah: You’re going to go see a movie?

Me: No, but I’ll probably watch it when it comes out on DVD.

Noah: What’s the movie about?

Me: Well, there is a girl who falls in love with a vampire (no, son, he’s a GOOD vampire). But the vampire is afraid he or one of the other good vampires might accidentally hurt her, so he leaves. But then bad vampires come who do want to hurt her and he isn’t there to protect her. So her best friend has to turn into a werewolf to keep her safe. But then, the good vampire thinks she’s dead, so he tries to get other vampires to kill him because he doesn’t want to live without her. So she has to go to Italy and save HIM.

Sean: You just managed to make it sounds even LAMER.

 

Today, I am thankful for:

1. Friends with the energy and creativity to invite everyone over to talk and laugh and eat and enjoy getting away from it all.
2. The way the sun, moon, and stars all aligned to allow me to finish today’s school work, cook dinner for my family, and make party food and still get where I needed to be when I needed to be there.
3. That we finally had a buyer come through on our stove! Woo Hoo!
4. My DVR. I missed the Project Runway finale to go to a party tonight and I’m dying to see if my hometown girl wins. Of course, I’m not telling you which one that would be.  😉
5. The prolonged periods of sleep that Violet had today that didn’t involve laying on me. Unless that means she’s not feeling well. But, assuming she’s fine…SO grateful to actually be able to do some stuff without trying to balance a baby on my hip or have her screaming at me when I put her down.

Unintended Consequences

A little under a year ago, my family and I were in a bad car accident. You are, of course, shocked by this revelation since I NEVER mention it here. And I haven’t changed my reckoning of time into BCA (before car accident) and ACA (after car accident. Nope. Hasn’t effected my life at all. (Holy crap, only six more weeks until I have to make that drive to Florida again. This may be a GREAT time to take up alcoholism as a hobby.)

Where was I? Oh yeah. We were in a car accident.

For those who don’t remember, I was the only one in my family who was really noticeably injured in that accident. I still have a large scar on my chest and a smaller scar between my eyebrows. It’s that smaller scar that I have been self-conscious about. Mainly because it had a raised lump on it. And who wants a lumpy face? My doctor said the lump came from a less than stellar stitch-up job by the ER doctors (have I mentioned that I’m not overly trusting or fond of doctors?).

So, you know how I said that I’m on an antibiotic right now? Interesting thing—since I started taking it, the lump on my scar has shrunk. It isn’t entirely gone, but it is almost flat now.

Basically,  it would appear that my doctor was wrong (which still leaves me distrustful and not fond of doctors). I’m guessing that the lump wasn’t from a bad stitch job. I’m guessing (and by “guessing” I mean it seems pretty darn obvious at this point) that the lump was a spot of infection. Which would go along with the fact that there was originally another little lump that I knew was infection because it came out early on.

So today, I am thankful for the UTI that fixed the lumpy scar on my face. Because that isn’t at all an awkward concept.

 

Today, I’m thankful for:

1. See above.
2. The fact that Sean got a great deal on a salt spreader. We now have a truck with a snow plow and a spreader that holds 700 lbs of salt at a time. He and his brother are already quoting businesses and getting residential business. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
3. The guardian angels that obviously must do overtime on my children. Because the crazy things my kids come up with? There is definitely some divine intervention going on there.
4. The fact that I get to go to my friend’s Twilight party tomorrow night. Not that I plan on going to the movie. But after the day I had today? Running away for the evening and hanging out with other women? Bring. It. On.
5. Having my mother next door and her willingness to watch the kids for a bit so I can do things like taking the cat to the vet without them.

Even the Bad Days Give You Things to Be Grateful For

Yesterday was a challenging day. Well, actually, most of yesterday went just fine. But those last two hours before Sean came home from work? Life pretty much went to Hell in a hand basket (side note: I used to think the expression was “To Hell in a handcart” which, ironically, I blame on my Mormon upbringing).

So, anyhow, I made it through dinner with the family. But after dinner, I went back to the bedroom to “feed the baby” and decided not to come out. Well, I came out long enough to give the baby back to Sean after I was done feeding her. Then I went back, closed the door, and watched TV in solitude. Or tried to. During the first two hours, while the kids were still awake, the door was opened by one little person or another, oh, maybe fifteen times. But once that stopped? I gave into the mental exhaustion and fell asleep until Sean woke me up to read scriptures together. Then I went back to bed.

All this to say, I missed writing the five things I was grateful for yesterday. So, once again, you get ten today.

 

Today, I am thankful for:

1. The fact that my husband recognized how badly I needed space and let me shut myself in the bedroom all evening without complaining.
2. The extra sleep that put a little dent in that huge deficit that I’m constantly functioning on.
3. A sweet little five year old who apologized for giving me a rough day, even though he only contributed to it slightly.
4. An evening together with my parents and brothers and our families.
5. The work that my husband puts into taking care of our yard. It’s almost and acre and a half and probably has over 100 trees, so it takes a huge effort. And he does it without complaining.
6. The work ethic my kids are learning from their father (have I already said that one?). There is nothing more awesome than watching your kids work together, especially when even the one and a half year old is pitching in.
7. The focus that my husband (and I ) have on building memories with the kids. Even simple things like him taking them to pick out donuts for breakfast this morning. I hope that when my kids are adults, they will have fond memories of the little things that Mom and Dad did with them and know how special they have always been to us.
8. I’m grateful that I was given the opportunity to be a parent. Anyone who has known me for awhile knows what a miracle each of my children has been. We were told we would never have kids on our own. Each of my pregnancies has been a miracle. And I truly believe that the timing that brought Noah into our lives through adoption was a miracle, too.
9. The fact that Sean and I can tease each other and laugh at ourselves. I grew up in a family that teased, so that is part of my personality. Sometimes, that gets me in trouble with people who don’t realize when I am kidding. Sean gets me, though. And it really is a fun and loving interaction between us that frequently leaves us laughing to the point of tears.
10. Having the kind of day that left the kids happy and worn out to the point of collapse on the car ride home from my brother’s house.