Thankful Thursday

I haven't done one of these in a long, long time.  I remember these being very helpful for me to keep track of small daily events...that make the days better.  Each day we have...it's a gift. And I am trying to remember to slow down and soak each one up. Of course it's always easier to enjoy the weekends and the fun days.  But my hope for myself this year is to do better with the day-to-day. Enjoy the morning routine with my kiddos.  Enjoy the quiet ride to work. Soak up the simple process of getting ready for work...or on the run of the mill Fridays as I enjoy taking Owen to preschool and having some alone time with Cooper to run an errand or grab breakfast together.  Those quiet Friday afternoons with the boys when we pop in a movie with our lunch and just relax together.  This time of my life is fleeting and I feel it passing too quickly already.  So my hope is cherish it more everyday. 

Don't get me wrong...there are plenty of Mondays I don't skip out of bed and right on into the work week. But I truly believe you control your attitude...and you control your reaction to life as it happens.  So all of that was to simply say that I hope I can begin this routine again...and start reminding myself of the everyday wonderful that makes up my life!!  Here goes nothing:

Since I haven't done them in quite some time, I'm going to start from around lastThursday:
Getting a text message that Steff's water broke and they were on their way to the hospital!!
Spending a Thursday waiting for news of Case's arrival!
That Case arrived safe and healthy!
Spending some time with my hubby on the couch. We are to Season 5 of How I Met Your Mother...and it is still as hilarious as it was the day we started watching it. SUIT UP! Ahh Barney grosses me out and makes me laugh...every.single.episode!
Getting deep into The Help..it is becoming one of my favorite books in a LONG time!
Getting to enjoy a Friday morning with my boys
Having my morning drink stop paid for by the car in front of me. She said have a blessed day...and that is exactly what I did :)
Paying forward my morning drink stop a few days later for someone else.  Feels as good doing it as it does having it done for you!
Sitting down with my bible, opening it and writing down scripture passages.  There is so much good to carry with you.  I've found it SO helpful to keep in my mind the things I'm reading. I also find it eerily awesome how I sit down, read a passage from a study guided book and somehow, during the coming week, the passage I read is hanging in my head because it applies to the situation.  God is kind of amazing like that I think!
Downloading a couple great new CDs
Showings are continuing on our house. We have one today and I'm praying the one today is the one...
Celebrating a second birthday with my niece. She's getting so big and is absolutely adorable!
Date nights with my hubby
New jeans from Old Navy...I'm obsessed with their skinny jeans
Helping and planning Katie's bridal shower :)
Enjoying Tony's pepperloin kabobs, blueberry ale, and some fun relaxing girl time on a Wednesday night. Thanks Heather :)
A bigger thankful thought I can't help but have...after everything we went through with Owen, (more here and here also) not one day has passed that I'm not SO extremely relieved and thankful for a heatlhy boy.  I don't know why it wasn't part of our journey...I know people often think why us...but I also think why not us?  We're not special and no one deserves those kinds of things.  But I'm amazingly grateful it's not us...and I suppose it'll be a long time before I stop looking at his face and thinking thank you God for leading us down another path!

Mostly this week, I'm just thankful for the life I've got. It's not perfect. Somedays I think I might lose my mind...and I'm thinking Calgon...take me away.  But there isn't anywhere else I'd rather be.  Knee deep in it...and yep...our knees have some grass stains.  But isn't that what makes our stories rich?? The grass stains and worn spots??

Anyway, enough analogies and waxing poetic...thank God for another week.  May the one ahead be exactly as it's supposed to be...perfectly imperfect!