Thankfuls

It's Friday! What are you thankful for this week?

Kiddy pools and bathing suits that make me comfortable
Letting the dog play in the pool after we're done
Irrepressible giggles from a three year old watching her dog play in her pool

A van cleaned while children play
A porch swept before lunch
Dave Ramsey on Hulu while finishing the ironing

Baby smiles and tiny coos
Six hours of sleep
NUMB3RS for company during late evening feedings

Thankfuls

Quiet time.

Sleepy children.

The plural of child.

Pink rhododendrons.

Fragrant lilacs.

Posting from the porch.

Fankful Fridays

A fenced yard for the dog
A little girl who can dress herself
The outfits said little girl dresses herself in
Sleeping little man

Laundry folded and in baskets
A made bed
Cereal instead of oatmeal
Leftover lasagna for dinner

Bottle sterilizers
Movies that don't scare little girls
No plans to go anywhere today
Rain preventing me from feeling guilty for not planting anything

Today's devotion:
Cease striving
Know that I am God;
I will be exalted in the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.

Living peacefully with the to-do list.

What are you thankful for today?

Thankfuls

God blesses us, So the ends of the earth may fear Him. Psalm 67:7

How often I have read over this without catching it. May we shout His blessings so the ends of the earth may fear Him.

I'm so blessed:

Dog Obedience Classes
Cuddly Girls
Kicking Babies
More Time than I Need (even when I don't always feel like it)
A Forgiving Family
A Forgiving God

Thankfuls

It's Friday. How was your week?

In the midst of the craziness what are you thankful for?

bitter apple anti-chew spray keeps George from beating up Abigail

Abigail's dear sweet heart caring for those around her

Valentine's gifts that allow children to buy their own toys and plan for others

Grandparents who invite child and her dog to spend the night

rain boots and rain coats

working sound stuff in the computer

the promise of a night with my hubby without interruption

Dr. Kevin Leman's Have a New Kid by Friday

The Simple Things

Abigail calls them our thankfuls. The time we spend as a family giving one thing we are thankful for during the day in preparation for prayer. We can't skip them. Actually I don't think we would even for serious infractions. Today I will share my thankfuls.

• A quiet house
• Coffee and a donut
• Genuine kindness
• (not the grit your teeth because God wants kindness from His people kind)
• Walking at the mall
• Good naps for mom
• Planned overnight babysitting
• Bin of picked up toys
• Meat thawed for dinner

What are your thankfuls?

Grateful

The week of Thanksgiving. Is every one feeling grateful or stressed out? Me,

We're on vacation.
At my parents.
In West Virginia (not far but it is home.)
The men are hunting.
My sister, Mom and I are together.
Doing something unnecessary, but relaxing.

Other than wishing for a more powerful shower, what don't I have to be thankful for? (Oh yeah and I get two turkey dinners this week--score!)

What People Do

I have a nasty tendency to critique things, especially people I love. It is easy for me to pick out what isn't done completely or to my standards or how their idiosyncrasies annoy me.Yet, when it comes right down to it, those closest to me really are wonderful people who bring me a great deal of joy. So today's task. . .be thankful, without qualification, for the people we share a home with.

Chris puts the dishes away and fills the dishwasher.
He doesn't make comment about when the dishes come out dirty because I won't rinse them.

Abigail is self-entertaining for a large part of the day.
She is a pleasant shopping buddy.

Chris can make Abigail quit crying because she can't come to our bed when I am about to lose my mind.
Abigail fell asleep this morning after coming to our bed and slept till 8:30.

When Chris fixes things, they are always done to the book.
Abigail can't be thankful for just one thing.
She doesn't have to think very hard at all to make her lists.

Chris thinks I'm a good cook.
He doesn't make me cook every night of the week.

Blessed

It is Monday. If you are anything like me a week of tasks, chores, and a to-do list loom before you. It darkens my whole day. I resent the hours till the fun of the weekend come. It is time to name my blessings, to lift the cloud of to-dos and find the little joys hidden in the chores we are beginning for yet another week of 2008.

Oreo Cookies--
because they were on sale
because they are yummy
because FruitLoops are not adequate nutrition for a pregnant woman
because they create the best crummy lipstick smiles on little ones

Toddler Beds--
are the perfect size for jumping off of
add adventure to ballerina twirls
make waltzing across a room more fun
create weariness that welcomes naps

Salt--
makes play dough
which means making plans,
needing rolling pins,
and cookie cutters

Naps--
create room for mom to be
give quiet space for reading, or writing
make banking bearable
settle wombs and awaken growing babies

Are you ever hit with Monday's mondayness? What do you to to shake the discontent? Where do you find your blessings?

I can't believe a month has gone by without an other post post expressing gratitude for the lives given us to live. I had visions of a date every 3rd, for every day a 3 appeared a space for thanksgiving. Perhaps then this month.

I am so easily annoyed by my family. Yes, it had to come out; I had to admit it: I do not always want to be the wife and mother of this little family. I have tried many different things to curb my annoyance and many different things have failed. And so on days when I am clenching my teeth and ordering my life with my shoulders pulled to my ears, I have found that taking a few minutes to wonder at my life, to bask in the in the people and joys given me, I find thankfulness even in the struggles. And everything starts to loosen.

I invite you today to take time, pause, and give voice to that which gives you joy. (And I would love it if you would share via the comment box.)

On my list today--

a beautiful sister married to a man worthy of her honor
a brother-in-law in love with my sister
little girls searching for dance partners
being close enough to my family to share the set-up and tear-down
being in the car with just my family-myself, husband, daughter
catching up and sleeping warm when he is able to join us
stuff and nothing: those words spoken softly between lovers while they slow dance

Gratitude

There is a blog I read, Holy Experience. It is beautiful and uplifting. One of the projects that Ann, the author, has started is a gratitude community. The idea is to find the many thousands of things to be grateful for in ordinary days. It is wonderful to read and it puts things into perspective on those EBay days I have (because sometimes on those days I want to put my entire life on EBay).

What do you think? Would you like to start our own little Uniontown MOPS gratitude community? Maybe we could pick a few days of the month and try to fill our days with thanksgiving while doing the dishes.

Today is the 3rd, so I'm thinkin' I'll list three things I'm grateful for and you can join in the comments.

little girls still in pink pajamas cutting paper into confetti sized pieces
excitement over princess panties even when they get wet, wet, wet
new houses