What is wrong with my husband. . .

Ok, I admit, that first line was a teaser.  I actually cannot think of ANYTHING wrong with my husband, at the moment.  Now wait.. . nope, still nothing.

He is currently out cleaning and re-organizing the garage.

And I am taking this time (as I nurse Miss Miriam) to be THANKFUL for my amazing husband.

(Side note: yep, this is me jumping on the bandwagon again - but it is good peer pressure from my good friends - Monica, Erin - that are definitely helping me grow in holiness even though we have not even met in person yet! - hah)

Gordie is so good for me.  He reminds me that life needs laughter.  Lately I have been sick off and on and he has put up with me oh-so-well!  And although it has definitely thrown a wrench in his plans more than once, he has pointed out that his main concern is for me to feel better - how is that for selfless?  He does so much for me - from fixing whatever is broken, to building whatever I need.  And I'm still amazed how he can like me even when I do not like me.  Plus the fact that he cannot seem to see my varicose veins or "extra padding" is simply amazing.  (yes, I am vain like that to care :)  It has been a lot of fun to "grow-up" with him over the past several years.  I suppose now we get to start "growing old" together and that sounds even better.

For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Savior.  (Ephesians 5:23)

It also just so happens, that Gordie is a spectacular father.  I really LOVE how he plays with the kids and wants to do special projects with them.  They ADORE him and it is so great.  He is always teaching them and encouraging them to grow and think and do things for themselves.

Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray.  (Proverbs 22:6)

We are all blessed to have him in our lives.

Ok, that is enough gushy-ness for one post.  Until next time. . .

 

 

 

Thankfulness Thursday

 .  . . with a heart of gratitude . . .

 

This week I am especially thankful for:

 

 

1)  A baby in my life right now. 

 

She is not one of those AMAZING babies (that puts herself to sleep, changes her own diapers, and solves world hunger) but she is not OVERLY fussy either.  She is just a baby.  Sometimes she naps on her own and sometimes she just wants to be held all day, but she is just an amazing little person that I LOVE SO MUCH!!  As much trouble as pregnancy and childbirth is. . . it is NOTHING compared to the amazing creation of a baby I get to enjoy for an entire YEAR (until it becomes a "toddler" :)  Now, if only I could sit around and just enjoy the baby all day - that would be "the life."  As it is, I need to remember how much I like her so I don't spend all my time thinking of her as "another burden" in the midst of our daily chaos.

2)  The community we are creating.

 

One of the main by-products of homeschooling (so it seems) is a close-knit family.  They LOVE to play with each other.  They take care of each other (when they are not stealing each other's toys).  They genuinely enjoy each other and that makes me so happy.  Hopefully they are creating friendships that will last a lifetime.

 

 

3)  Rebekah as a helper.

 

There is no way I would survive having all the children home without her help.  I remember a quote from a homeschooling mom of eleven children with an immaculate house.  When asked how she did it she replied, "I train my children to help me and then teach them to obey." Rebekah's training is going WELL and I am so grateful.  I hope the rest of the children will follow right along in her footsteps.

 

"O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures for ever." - Psalm 107:1

Thankfulness Thursday

. . . with a heart of gratitude . . .

This week I am especially thankful for:

1)  A community of love (aka my family). 

I have come across some of my friends from high school and college lately (as in the past few months).  Some are married and have kids.  Some are still single.  It was in contemplating the single ones that I realized just how grateful I am that I no longer need to be alone.  Sometimes the single life seems so wonderful.  I drool over the thought of only having to cook and clean for myself - of being able to spend my money on myself - to do what I want to do when I want to do it!  I also find myself with very little empathy for single people who complain of being "so busy" and "not having time do do anything."  But then I think back to when I was single and remember that feeling of "being alone."  I know, God is always with us and often we have roommates, etc.  But there was much time I spent "being lonely."  Sure I did stuff, or maybe I could have worked harder to find people to be with, but when push came to shove, in the evenings, or early mornings, or just on days when I had no particular place to go, I remember being lonely.  Now, in the midst of chaos, I can appreciate always having someone around -whether it be the kids or my spouse, there is always someone here with me to love and just "be" with.

2)  Samuel. 

I love all my children and they are all blessings in their own way, but this week I am thankful for my second child and oldest son, Samuel.  I have been praying especially for him the past few weeks as I felt a little out-of-touch with him.  He is getting too "big" to cuddle and his main interests now are video games (x-box or the tank game on the Kindle).  I really want to find something I can do with him that we both enjoy (as I play x-box now and again, but it is really not my thing).  I believe teaching him is the perfect answer to my prayers.  I often fretted over teaching him as I feared I would not have patience and he would not have interest.  But as it turns out he is immensely interested and he catches on so quickly, I have no time to be impatient!  We have only done "school" a few days but sitting with him while he "learns to read" has truly been the highlight of my day.  He has such a wonderful personality and I am so grateful to be able to spend time with him and learn from him.

 

"O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures for ever." - Psalm 107:1

Thankfulness Thursday

. . . with a heart of gratitude . . .

This week I am especially thankful for:

1)  Choosing to homeschool.  This sounds silly as we have barely started, but as the school year is starting to rev up, I feel so much more at peace with life.  I never realized how school - the meetings, the supplies and uniforms, the schedules, the CRAZINESS - really stresses me out!  I am so grateful to have an opportunity to avoid that.

(On a side note, I cannot predict the future and if our homeschooling endeavors fail horribly, I will of course, give "the system" another try, but at this time, for the next year, at least, I hope to enjoy a bit more peace and relaxation as we live and learn as a family.)

2)  My camera.  (Or more specifically, having a camera - that works - in general.)  The kids LOVE to have their picture taken.  We rarely come up with AMAZING pictures, but the joy of taking them and being in them is really something we celebrate around here.

3)  A nearby Adoration chapel.  I do not get there near enough, but it is such a nice little chapel and VERY close.  Definitely a blessing!

"O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures for ever." - Psalm 107:1

Thankfulness Thursday

. . . with a heart of gratitude

This week I am especially thankful for:

1)  A day off with the family.  The fourth of July this year was really a great day here.  For the first time in about 7 years, Gordie had the day off (yay for salary this time).  We were able to take it easy in the morning.  We cleaned up the garage (what is done so far) so the van would fit and got rid of an annoying "shrub" that had grown itself too close the air conditioner.  Then I went to Wal-mart WITHOUT ANY CHILDREN and stopped at Dillons (as there are things I needed from each) and went to two other stores to find a cable for our "original x-box.  We hooked up said x-box (which we just had sitting around) and the kids were (and continue to be) ecstatic.  Good family fun there.  (Now if only we could find Star Wars Legos, we would be set :)  Then the hubby grilled for dinner (LOTS of yummy stuff there) and then we finished the day enjoying the city fireworks from the top of the garage (with the youngest three in bed).

 

2) My washer and dryer.  I do A LOT of laundry (2 regular "house loads" every other day or so and diapers ever other day as well, plus sheets or blankets fairly regularly).  We have front-loaders that are high efficiency (using much less water) and they are nice and make me happy.   A friend of mine is constantly needing to fix her washer or dryer which I'm grateful has not been much of a problem for us (yet at least - I think we have had these about 3 years now) and I was also thinking how nice it is to be able to throw in a load whenever I need to. (Since kids make LOTS of messes!)

 

3) A fiction book I am enjoying.  I have read lots of fiction but then took a break from it for a while as I was trying to read lots of other books I though were "important." But in an attempt to "de-stress" (not distress :) I picked up a fiction book and I have been enjoying it (sometimes it is difficult to find something that holds my interest or does not feel like a waste of time).

 

"O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures for ever." - Psalm 107:1

Thankfulness

A lot has been happening in our family life right now.  A lot that is STRESSING ME OUT!!  A lot of "really God?  really?!?!" moments for me.  I started a "whiney Wednesday" post (a few days early) but as I listed my "whines." I realized I had a lot to be thankful for.  So I'm going to make a Thankful List here to remind myself of all the good things God is doing and continues to do for us.

Although this is not really Miriam's CUTEST picture.  I actually think I see a little of me in her face in this picture.  It makes me happy.  Thus, I am putting it here.

Thankfulness List

1) I just had a baby and I feel GREAT.  Seriously, I remember feeling good for a few days post-birth (while the hormones are still raging) with most of my kids, but then after those first two or three days, not so much.  But this time, wow!  I am really floored.  I am ALMOST tempted to add some more physical activity, but I started that too early with my last babe and then it took EXTRA LONG to recover.  Still the housework and running after the kids is really a low-impact work-out most days as it is!  :)

2) Miriam is a fairly easy baby (so far).  She eats ok, she sleeps ok (as long as tucked in near a person -but I've come to expect this from babies, so it really does not bother me to keep her close while she naps).  I think maybe she likes me :)  I am way pumped to start "wearing" her more in my Moby Wrap.  But every time I think, "now would be a good time to put on the moby and wear Miriam," she falls asleep waiting for me!  Such a sense of humor this child has :)

3) I feel like I should be freaking out to have so many children, so young, but it is really not a big deal for me.  (Must be those happy "mothering hormones" I have flowing through me right now :)  We went to the museum today and I was very calm.  Other than Paul pushing the panic button on the van keys (that he ninja'd from the stroller when I was not looking) from the Discovery Room (3rd floor up - but has a window over the parking lot) and having to make a speedy exit to try and tame the noise, it was an enjoyable adventure.

4) Gordie seems to REALLY like his new position at work.  He is a trainer.  And the people he trains generally have good stuff to say about him.  I think he might have found something he actually enjoys!  (A real answer to prayer as he has never been all that crazy about his jobs before- they paid the bills, that was all.)

5) I have actually gotten some of my ever-growing "to do" list done.  I figured I would be barely surviving at this point, but with Miriam being so affable I am kinda thrown in flux here.  I keep expecting to not be able to get anything done and then find myself sitting around kinda bored.  So this afternoon I actually tried to be productive and wow, it worked!

6) Our air conditioner broke yesterday.  It was nothing too major, but it was a little overwhelming.  I put something on facebook out of sheer desperation (for pity more than anything else - as this was definitely one of those "really God?!?  really?!?!" moments).  No more than 3 minutes past from posting and I get a call that one of my friend's husband could help us out.  Today he and Gordie did a little work on it and so far it has been working fine since.  This definitely turned into a "WOW!  God really DOES answer prayers sometimes" kind of moment :)

(I know, I know, He ALWAYS answers prayers - we just sometimes know not what we ask for, but I have a poor memory when it comes to how good God is - all the time :)

"O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures for ever."  - Psalm 107:1