familiar

Did I mention that hunting season is (almost) drawing to a close?  And were you aware that my beloved husband also stops shaving his face at the end of October?  An entire month of wiskers.

Joy.

And so, 5 whole minutes before friends were coming over for dinner, Eric decided it was beard-off-night.  He busted out the clippers and tackled his furry face until I could see the silouhette of the familiar face I had once known.  After a quick shower and full shave, my husband had been renewed.  Smooth, clean and handsome.  Tonight's thanks is all about my handsome husband and his face that I love.  I'm glad to see it's return.

Church play

Rest is good.  A day of doing so very minimal, almost nothing - priceless.

Today I have felt much better.  And so much for a day without commitment.  Housework.  Decorating Christmas outside.  Laundry.  Oh, and a little Christmas play that Elaina has been working on for nearly 3 weeks. This evening was the grand performance.

I signed up to help prepare the miniature cast with their stage make-up.  I took the liberty of doing Elaina's darling face at home and sparing time for the rest of the kids.  Within an hour, all the kids faces were shining like disco balls with glitter swept across their eyelids and their bodies busy with excitement.

Let me also mention that Lincoln wanted no part in attending play practice but, by the time the play actually rolled around, he whined that he wanted to be in the play.  So.  It doesn't quite work that way.

Seeing Elaina glowing with equal parts of confidence and blush, she made me so very proud.  She delivered her lines with ease and hit her mark every time.  To say that I am thankful for this girl would be a great understatement.  To say that this child makes my heart happy and completes my life is a closer to the truth. 

Simple things

Maybe it's a head cold.  Maybe my neck pipes are rusting and discenigrating.  Still unable to discern.  But I don't feel good.  That, I am certain.

Though today carried no commitments, we were invited to a surprise party to celebrate one of Eric's friends/ co-worker's birthday.  Since I could see no way that my pajamas or my blanket would be acceptable at such an event, Eric took the kids and left me to rest at home.  This concludes my day.

Yet... the light at the end of the tunnel.  As I was putting Lincoln to bed he asked for a drink of water, upon my return with his mini cup only partly full, he whispered "thanks Mom.  You're the best."  My day had become fulfilled.  Blessed by this thirsty boy.

Grueling

It's been a grueling week.  It's week 2 of hunting season which easily translates to "mostly single mom season."  The kids have had severe attitudes which have landed them early bedtimes.  I've been battling cold symptoms and migraines.  And I'm looking at the third week in a row that my dining room is filled to capacity with closet purge/ outgrown clothes/ Christmas totes/ and incomplete projects - all needing attention and a new home.  This, alone, makes me batty.

At this point, I am thankful that the weekend is finally here, I've posted the 25 Days of Christmas tv schedule on the fridge and we don't have *too* many commitments for the weekend. I'm thankful for leftovers for dinner and brownie sundaes to celebrate a "green month" for Elaina (green on her daily report is good) and enjoying the fireplace in the kitchen to keep me toasty warm.  Capping off my evening, an early bedtime for me and a husband who is picking up some slack while I'm tucked into my bed.

Finding Good. And other things.

This is one heck of a way to kick off the gratitude blog. 

As I was brushing Elaina's hair before bedtime on Tuesday, I noticed a little glisten in one of her strands of hair.  A tiny "bulb" if you will, that seemed pointedly out of place. Investigating more closely, it was becoming more clear to me that I had found a dreadful nit in her hair.  (Since my blogging break, I have failed to mention that we've been through this before with Elaina back in June.)  Oh, the work that is involved with nits and long hair. 

Tonight's thanks is that we already had the shampoo/ treatment on hand and 3 hours later (and about 10 loads of laundry), we had remedied her of what could have potentially been spread to all of her friends and family.  I caught it early and at this point, I feel confident that our house and our heads are free and clear of this dastardly little bother. 

It's time. No, really.

No excuses.  No more. 

So much of life passes us by goes so. fast. these days.  While it's (mostly) all good, I can barely seem to keep up - even on a good day.  At the same time, I'm so thankful for all of the goodness and fulfillment that this crazy, hectic life has to offer and that's become my newest inspiration for breathing new life into this very stale blog. 

A friend of mine posts her facebook statuses under, '#1000 thanks.'  And as sure as I can make time to facebook, I AM going to make time to post my thanks.  My gratitude journal as Oprah suggests.  Some thing or event in our day that makes my heart sing and deserves preservation. 

Let's face it, I'm not a great writer by any stretch and it seems apparent that I have a tendency to ramble, feel overwhelmed and then shut down.  (thus: no blogging) But this, this will be easy.  And on the heel of Thanksgiving and the Christmas season, there is just SO much that I am thankful for each and every day. 

I can be mostly certain that many of my posts may be choppy. Some may seem mundane while some may seem down right boisterous.  But, this is life - our life - and there's not a single day that I don't feel more blessed than I deserve. 

Let the gratitude GUSH!!!!

Since we can't forget April

At least my last post can better explain how we've been spending our days, but this month has been so exciting and full otherwise that I would be remiss if I didn't do just a little recap and rewind.

At the end of the month of April, I saddled my lovely husband with a full weekend filling the role of Full Time Dad. My mom and I headed to Greg and Kate's house to scour the garage sales in their neighborhood and tried our best to hit up as many great restaurants as we possibly could. Generally when we land at Greg and Kate's house, my kids are in tow and we are usually celebrating something or have a specific focus for our time there.  Not this time.  We relaxed, we visited and enjoyed some Chinese, Indian and Greek cuisine which made for some wonderful meals.  I can only hope that this kind of getaway weekend will become an annual event for years to come!

Thanks again to my awesome brother and the best SIL ever for hosting me and for your generous hospitality! It was great to see you and get to share some time in your lives!