30 days of thankful...days 11, 12, and 13

I was out of town this weekend for one of Katie's swim meets...fun girl time, especially since we shared the weekend with one of my BFF's and her sweet daughter!  Late nights and busy days have marked this past week and I finally crashed today and napped...which is SO not normal for me.  I slept for an hour, and finally was awakened by snoring....who was that anyway?

ahem.


Anywho...I am again behind on my blogging but will promptly get caught up right here and now.

#11 on my thankful list...
Healthy Children
I do not take this for granted.  I have five beautiful, healthy, strong, and athletic kids and I know that this is a huge blessing.  I know that all of that could change in the blink of an eye, so I want it to be clear that I am truly thankful for this blessing.  The moments of fear have been few, only a couple of ER visits and broken bones...ear infections and the like...but those moments were enough to make me imagine what families go through who know the hospital all too well.  How they would give anything to have a diagnosis of no big deal, just an ear infection, here is a prescription and she should feel better in a couple of days.  Thank you, Lord, for health and strength and life.

#12
Boys who love to be together
DJ and Drew are on the floor in a pile of arms and legs and breathless laughter with a football somewhere in the mix as I type.  Drew has broken a sweat in all of his exertion and the two of them are just enjoying these moments of brotherly fun.  I love these sweet times.  They sit now and share gum and smack it like boys do, bonding over a video game and side-by-side, expressions intense and matching and thumbs flying as they discuss strategy and smack that gum some more.  The recliners are back and they are settled in for a good match-up and dirty socks twitch with intensity as they get lost in their play.  DJ instructs Drew and Drew feels so important to be part of this big-boy play with his incredibly cool big brother.  Yes, these are indeed sweet times.


#13
Little mommies
Sometimes my girls get lost in their pretend world of baby dolls and playing house.  They get so caught up in it that I have a hard time knowing if their conversations are real or if they are referring to each other as "Mom."    I get sideways glances if I answer because they are not talking to me...but to whoever has been designated the Mom that day...usually Katie.  They diaper and feed and rock and shop and stroll with their dolls as my heart gets a little snapshot of the future...the glimpse of the sweet mothers I pray they will be someday.  I hear my words come out of their mouth and marvel that they are not conscious of the fact that they are saying what I have said to them so many times...what was once said to me.   They talk about how they "got" their babies...how they adopted their 12 or 15 kids...and I rejoice at the legacy the Lord is giving us.