thankful (19)

This week I have all the girls at home because of thanksgiving break.

It is nice not having to wake up and rush out the door and start our normal

school routine. It's even nicer when the girls use their imagination to play

with each other:) Today was a day where we didn't have plans to go anywhere...

so towards the end of the day all of the girls were running around the house 

trying to get all of their energy out. At times like this, Nathan feels a little

outnumbered with all of the emotion going on in our house:) They eventually

did settle down once they got to sleep. yes, one of those kinds of days.

But, I am still thankful for their imaginations..

Most of the day was spent playing "games," "house," "pets," "sisters"...

and each room being used as something different like a "doctor's office," a 

"park," a "school." I love seeing their little imaginations run wild. 

Next time, I will have to take pictures of all of this:)

It was a lot of clean up for them and me. 

But, I can say that I am very thankful for their imaginations!

thankful (18)

I am not very good at singing but I still love to sing in church. 

I love being able to freely worship the Lord. Sometimes it is hard to 

focus in church with all the distractions and kids pulling on your shirt, but

I am thankful for the times that I do get to focus in on worship.

I'm thankful though that worship is not just done in church.

I can worship the Lord in the car, in the shower, during the day when

taking care of and playing with the girls...anywhere really! 

I know that God longs for us to worship Him and I want to long

to worship him back. He deserves all the praise and glory! Even on the

hard days when it is difficult to sing a worship song....let my heart sing. 

All of my complaints and worries grow smaller when I do choose

to worship.

thankful (17)

The girls had a swim meet today and had their best meet yet. I was 

so proud of them and loved being able to cheer them on! 

They each had five different events to swim,

So, we were on the pool deck most of the afternoon watching them swim,

and by the end of the meet they were exhausted and so was I:)

After a warm shower and dinner, we enjoyed some hot chocolate. 

This made them so happy and me too. 

I love hot chocolate with marshmallows and its even better on a cold day.

They said that it was the "best day ever," as they were drinking their

hot chocolate. This is such a simple thing that brings them so 

much happiness. 

We have a lot of "best day evers" around here:) and I hope 

that we keep having many more:)

Thankful for the deliciousness of hot chocolate!

thankful (16)

I have many memories from the time that I lived in Argentina for a year.

I grew to be thankful for many things that I had in the United States 

when I was living in Argentina. One of the first things that I did when I arrived on 

campus was drink a glass of water. I was told right before I drank it

that I probably would not like the taste of it. I was so thirsty so I went ahead

and took a sip but then immediately spit it out. It did not even taste like water

to me. Drinking the water was one of the things that I could just not get used to

while living there. I was so thankful whenever someone came to visit

from the states and brought bottled water. 

When we moved to Smithfield the water tasted different to me and I 

have had to get used to it. I am used to it now but I still just love

the taste of the fresh spring water from a jug or a bottled water. I drink 

fresh water with every meal! 

Thankful for the opportunity to have fresh water here where we live!

thankful (15)

The dinner table is something that I am especially thankful for this month.

Nathan just started his job at the shipyard last month after working his 

job at UPS for over 9 years. His schedule did not allow him to eat dinner

with us most nights. It was usually me and the girls sitting around the table at

dinner time. It got harder and harder as the girls got older to keep doing this 

without him. When we moved to Smithfield two years ago it made it a

little easier for him to stop by for dinner sometimes when he was in the 

area...and I was thankful for those times. But even then it was rushed and

it was hard for him to get back in his truck to drive all the way

back to the building and maybe make it back before bedtime. 

The last month and a half at dinner time the girls start out with

 a prayer saying how thankful they are that daddy gets home at 4:15 now.

It is sooooo nice! We have been thoroughly enjoying our dinner time!

I'm so grateful that we get to start making family dinners important

now while they are young!

thankful (14)

I am thankful for the times, like earlier today, when Nathan says,

"honey, when the girls go down, I will massage your feet."

I love relaxing on the couch with a cup of coffee and getting

 a foot massage. As a mom I am on my feet a lot during the day.

Even during lunch it is rare that I get to sit down and actually eat

and enjoy my lunch. Most of the time it is eating standing

up at the cutting board.... the rest of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Thankful for a foot massage at the end of the day!

thankful (13)

Right now this is the girls favorite outing with their dad....7 eleven slurpees!

They love going with him to get one and he loves it just as much. Natalee

usually gets pina coloda, Lydia gets coke and Julianna gets "purple."

This is their favorite reward for helping him clean up the garage or

behaving while we are out somewhere or doing well in a swim meet, etc. 

They absolutely L.O.V.E slurpee time!

So, I'm thankful for the simple joys of life, like slurpees!