A Week of Thankfulness

So much to be thankful for....so little time. Am I blessed or what? I really thought this Thirty Days of Thankfulness thing would get me posting again on a regular basis, but alas, no. Facebook, yes, where a snippet here or there will suffice. Where I can sit with my laptop on my lap and talk to Hannah, hold Charlotte, watch TV, and surf at the same time. Where big words and deep thoughts are a rarity. I guess I feel that if I blog, it has to have substance, and to be honest, I have been so busy trying to survive each day that my thoughts have run very shallow (often....how long until bedtime? You need that poster when? How do those Survivor contestant's teeth stay so white when they can't brush their teeth?) Maybe the upcoming Thanksgiving break will give my mind, body, and soul a much needed break and I will be able to write once again. Or maybe I need a muse????

Anyways...my blessings this week, in a nutshell.


Monday, November 8: Today I am thankful for a wonderful group of first graders and their great parents. What a terrific field trip! The first graders at ELCA headed to Rock Ranch in Barnesville, GA. My parapro had a migraine and wasn't able to make it with us, so I imagined the worst. I tend to get very stressed out by field trips in the first place because I much prefer my safe little world of structure and routine with all of my little "ducks" in a row. This one, though, was very nice, much due to the helpful parents. Relaxing, informative, and oh so much fun. Hannah would have loved it, especially Tiny Town, which is exactly what the name suggests, a kid sized town. Heck, I loved it. Must pencil that in as a family outing next year!

Tuesday, November 9: I am sad Charlotte fell asleep on the way home from the babysitter's house, but am thankful for an awesome babysitter. Sometimes it stinks being a working mom! Cheer practice ran late and we didn't get to Kay Kay's house until after 6:00. On the way home, Char fell asleep and stayed that way til the next morning. I hated it and was grouchy that I had gotten to spend only about 30 minutes with my baby girl. I envied those stay at home moms that night...until I realized how much I would stink at it...but I was in my "poor pitiful me" state, and thinking if only I could stay home, my house would be cleaner, my laundry done, and Char and I could have all the fun cuddle time together I wanted. Yeah....and I'd weigh about 600 pounds having sat on the couch and watched TLC all day. Reality check!

Wednesday, November 10: Today I am thankful for a wonderful church family. We may not be the biggest, or the hippest, or the youngest, but you won't find a group of people who love you more or love you like Jesus! Another busy day, another end of the day grouchy mood (my poor children...they get a lot of those these days), but I was lifted up and cheered by my wonderful church family after a night at AWANA's. They didn't mean to, they probably weren't even aware I was grumpy (I can fake it with the best of them), but just being with them makes me happy, makes me want to be a better friend, person, wife, daughter, sister.

Thursday, November 11: Today I am thankful for the world's best parapro, Sandra Elder, who I can leave my precious first graders with tomorrow so I can go and see my sweet Sarah compete in Columbus! I was totally comfortable leaving my kiddos with Sandra for the day, knowing that they would be in good hands, and that when I came back, everyone and everything would be in one piece and where it should be. We've worked together for eight years, and I truly think she could teach the class without me--though she'd hate it. She likes being in the background of the classroom...I like the control of what goes on. and she knows just the way I like things, so taking a day off is so much easier. What a blessing!

Friday, November 12: Thankful that we made it to and from Columbus safely, that the ELCA cheerleaders placed 4th, and that Sarah has remained injury free this season! A good trip with my girls (minus Charlotte) and a good competition. I enjoyed every minute of it.

Saturday, November 13: Thankful for being able to sleep in until 7:15 and early morning snuggles with my baby girls! What is sweeter than baby breath in the morning...on a morning when you wake up NOT to an alarm clock and your husband is still in bed with you and not dashing off to save the electrical world. Just precious time. And then we got up and headed to Columbus for the State Cheerleading Championships. The cheerleaders did great and represented us well, for the 2.5 minutes I spent in the auditorium. The other 5 hours, I sat in the walkway outside with Charlotte, chasing her up the stairs, down the stairs, in bathrooms, out of bathrooms. we had brought toys, which entertained her for all of 13 mintues. She hadn't slept all day. She was just on the brink of her nap in the car (good timing on my part) when Hannah exclaimed, "I have to go to the bathroom real bad!!!! It's coming out Mommy, stop and let me go to the bathroom! It's an emergency!" End of nap. All 37 seconds of it. It was, a miserable experience, from start to finish. But, it was time with my girls, a good memory (I'll laugh about it later, I know I will....really), and some awesome Christmas music(YAY!).

Now you may have noticed that this post is void of pictures. I got some good ones. Some cute ones. Some precious ones. and they will remaind trapped in the camera until I can find the camera cord. Yes....again. Sigh. I am just thankful that sometime in the near, or not so near future, I'll stumble upon it looking for the ubiquitous thermometer or tweezers or toenail clippers.