THE Thankful Thursday

I'm exhausted, but I couldn't pass up a TT post on THE Thursday of Thankfulness!  So, here, in three pictures from today, are just a few things I'm grateful for this Thanksgiving:

1.  Finishing my second half marathon on the coldest Thanksgiving morning this century.  Just to show the temps who was boss, I shaved 6 minutes off my last race's time.  I'm also incredibly grateful for the cheerleaders who came out to support me!

2.  The food and the family we enjoyed in Alabama today.  Best in-laws ever.  The four people I talked to on the ride home (my brothers and parents) are also some of my greatest blessings.

3.  Decorating our tree tonight in our dream-come-true house.  Last Thanksgiving, we were living in boxes waiting hour by hour for a phone call approving our buyers' loan.  We didn't know whether we'd make in the new house or not, and we didn't get to put up a tree that night as is our tradition.  I remember putting the little lights on my grandmother's table-top ceramic one and feeling thankful for so much, but very discouraged too.  Getting to do this tonight with my babies just topped off what was a wonderful day.  

My cup runneth over.

Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all!

Thankful Thursday

1.  My mom, whose birthday was yesterday.  I get a lot of things from her and the older I get, the more I realize how important they are.  She is a true lady in a society where that art is, unfortunately, slipping away.  It's because of her that I was raised with class and manners.  More than those things, though, she imparted a love of the Lord and a teaching spirit...two things that sustain me constantly in this daily grind of raising little ones.  Happy Birthday, Mom!  We love you and are thankful for you!

2.  Shopping at Hobby Lobby for a whole hour...with the kids!  They behaved and hung in there for an entire HOUR, y'all.  It was a pre-Christmas miracle.

3.  Salvation Army.  I know I've said it a million times, but donating or dumping our no-longer-needed possessions makes me ludicrously happy.  Getting to do so to an organization that A) makes a real difference and B) actually comes and gets it is even better.

4.  Great neighbors.  This past weekend, we borrowed an 18' foot ladder from a neighbor to clean our foyer chandelier that had gotten nasty during the floor refinishing.  Not only did it save us a lot of money, but he helped bring it over and set it up then came over to help take it back.  A few days later, our kids played together in the front yard while we discussed neighborhood happenings.  I am thrilled to have people so close by that we like and trust who are also in a similar stage of life.  They are a really sweet couple that we look forward to developing a friendship with through the years.

5.  Serving with our small group.  On Wednesday, our group spent half of our meeting writing over 80 cards to children that will receive gifts at our church's various outreach events this December.  It seems like a small gesture, but I pray it helps add a personal touch to their experience.  

I am really pumped about several things we have going on, especially decorating for Christmas.  I usually wait until after Thanksgiving, but I can't help myself this year.  For one thing, Thanksgiving is a week later than usual so I want to make sure we can get it up and enjoy it.  For another thing, we moved last December 13th and didn't put our tree up until the 16th or 17th.  It was special, but it was rushed and thrown together.  This year I want to do it up big and enjoy every second!

Hope y'all have a good weekend!  

Thankful Thursday

1.  My nephew James, whose second birthday was last Saturday.  I cannot believe how big he is, but I'm sure they think the same thing about Luke.  He is as much wild fun as his big brother, with the tender heart and love of his Mama that his Daddy has.  I can't wait to get to see him grow into his own in the coming years.  

2.  Girl time.  On Monday I got to see my two closest girlfriends.  Kara, who recently moved to SC, stopped by for a quick visit while she was in town.  Then I got to eat dinner with Lara Lynn that night - our first chance to catch up in months.  So thankful for these two and what they mean to me!  

3.  Gloves.  I did my longest cold run last Saturday morning.  It was "only" 36 degrees when I started and I was totally unprepared for running in the cold.  Since then, I bought some gloves that made Tuesday's run much more bearable.  (But for the record:  This morning, when it was 25 degrees at 5:45am, I hit the treadmill at the gym.  Please pray for warmer temps for my next half on Thanksgiving Day!)

4.  That our floors/staircase banisters and spindles are finally finished!  I know this made the list last week, but after two weeks, I'm just ecstatic they're officially done.  They had to wait a week for the stairs to cure before coming back and scraping some of the white paint that bled onto the stain.  Everything looks wonderful and I'm so glad to be finished with scheduling and people in our house!  Still waiting to finish up that deep-cleaning though.  And by finish, I basically mean start.  

5.  Cleaning out and cleaning up.  We loaded up a bunch of junk for the dump and a few things for Goodwill last weekend, which I LOVE.  In a list of things that make me happy, it would go something like 1) seeing David smile  2) hearing my kids' laugh  3) throwing crap away.  It's no joke around here - one year anniversary deadline approaching, y'all, and Mama is serious about gettin' er done! :)

Happy FRIDAY (and really, WHERE oh WHERE has another week gone and how on earth is it November 14th?!  Slow down just a smidge, 2013!)

Thankful Thursday

1.  Our trip to Savannah last weekend to visit my brother, sister-in-law, and niece.  We had a wonderful time, especially watching the kids enjoy the Disney on Ice Princesses and Heroes show and listening to the girls play together all weekend.  I hope they stay close and connected through the years. 

2.  That our floor refinishing is finished.  Mostly.  They were supposed to be done on Monday and finally wrapped up today with the staircase spindle painting.  They have to come back next week to do some clean-up detailing once the wood has had a chance to cure.  Everything looks amazing, though.  Now to finish deep cleaning and moving it all back in place.  

3.  Breaking out of my comfort zone...and friends who are willing to join me in doing so.  On Wednesday night, my ladies group had a girls' night out at a country western club and took line dancing lessons for an hour and a half.  Not your typical church outing, I know, but I assure you the place was full of senior citizens and we didn't drink a drop.  I haven't laughed that hard (at myself) in a long time.  

4.  The gorgeous fall leaves.  As we're driving or walking around, I keep pointing out ones that I love to Audrey.  I often tell her they're "breath-taking".  I was driving her home from school the other day and she said, "Oh Mommy!  Look at that one!  It just takes the breath right out of my mouth!" 

5.  Numbers.  Specifically 1-10 when recited by a precious 20 month old in order for the first time.  So he occasionally skips six...who's counting? ;)  

October 2013 Recap

Well if September had a theme (family), October may as well get one too.  Home improvement reigned king last month, and we have the blisters and empty bank account to prove it.  Here, in no particular order, is what we tackled in October:

• Getting a huge tree removed from our front yard and having a landscape makeover done out there. Huge bushes were taken out and new ones were put in.  Oh, and expletives were said when the deer destroyed several of them just one week later.

• Painting the kids' bathroom, changing out the light fixtures, and making two framed art pieces to go in there.

• Retiling the downstairs bathroom ourselves including demo, laying new tile, grouting, and caulking.  We still have to change out the fixtures, but hopefully that'll be done this week.  

• Replacing our front porch light fixtures.  

• Cleaning the garage blinds and windows, inside and out and vacuuming up approx. 257 species of dead bugs in doing so.

• Cleaning the trim and windows on the front porch.

• Replacing the front porch light fixtures.

• Having the backyard aerated and over-seeded.

• Putting together a huge art arrangement on our two-story family room wall.

But lest you think us boring, home improvement wasn't the only thing that occupied our time.  There was also sorting, pricing, and selling nearly 100 items at a consignment sale.  And running a half marathon.  And volunteering twice last week at Audrey's school.  And Halloween (hopefully a separate post coming soon.)    

I'm not going to lie - I'm ready for a break!  Especially because we got back from Savannah on Sunday evening and our house is in a complete state of chaos because our hardwood floors are being refinished.

But y'all, it's going to be worth it. SO WORTH IT.  When I'm sitting by the lit Christmas tree on December 13th celebrating our one year anniversary in our house and looking around at all we accomplished, I will thank the Lord a) that I'm not unpacking boxes and frantically decorating twelve days before Christmas and b) for the gorgeous house that we have made our own.

Now to the good stuff...the kids:

Audrey is loving life right now and we are, for the most part, loving this stage she's in.  Potty training is almost a distant memory, sleeping through the night occurs 99% of the time, vocabulary and reasoning skills abound, naps can be skipped, fun adventures require little planning or supplies, food can be consumed in whole pieces, consequences are understood, and boundaries are typically respected.

Then there is Luke.  

Now obviously we love him just as much, but he still requires a lot of work.  He wakes up at least once a night most nights (or in the wee hours of the morning) for a pacifier/repositioning/etc.  He's frustrated with his lack of vocabulary, his inability to do things completely independently, and, often, with his bossy sister who isn't always the best at sharing.  He's not the best car rider and often fusses and complains the whole time unless he's watching a DVD, which I try to avoid for trips under 30 minutes.  Because he can't structure a proper sentence, he just repeats the same word a million times until you comply.  This can be especially tricky when that word is "DRIIIIIIINK" and you're driving down the interstate at 75 miles an hour while trying to find the stupid thing that he chunked in the floor five minutes earlier because he'd been yelling "TBBBBBBBB" (TV) and pitched a fit when you said no.  

So we're kind of in a sweet spot, but still a few years away from the "rocking chair" years between surviving infancy and toddlerhood and before preteen hormones kick in.  The good news is that we're still in that adorably cute phase, which is undoubtedly God's genius design so you don't kill the little darlings.

Luke, for instance, says "okay" after just about everything you say now, whether he gets it or not.  He loves hide and seek (and counting "19, 19, 19, 19" while he's waiting to come find you), and has the best slow jog I've ever seen.  I love his tender heart and how he often shows concern for other people.  He is still a snuggle bug and has started saying "hold you" when he wants to be held.    

He is getting into TV a little more and likes Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Barney, and Elmo DVDs.  He's also learning some popular kids' songs and will attempt to "sing" along with a few when rocking out in our minivan.  

Audrey, as I mentioned, is doing very well.  To balance out my griping about Luke, I will point out that she gets a little "mouthy" with me and is very big into "that's not fair...he got more/did more/had a longer turn" business right now.  She's moody and temperamental when she's tired or hungry, but I guess that would apply to 99% of the human population.  Still, she is my rule-following, careful-to-a-fault, Type A mini-me.  She absolutely adores school and her teachers and is excelling at everything they throw her way.  Her memory is still amazing and her reading skills are improving by the day.  She still loves all things crafty, any book she can get her hands on, and making up silly songs.  Her attention to detail is noticeable in everything she does and every question she asks.  She is my conversationalist, my shopping buddy, and a really great helper.  

A few quips and quotes from the month...

• AJ: "Mom, I'm bored. My book about whining says that if that happens, I should ask you for some suggestions of things to do. Soooo?" 

• We started implenting time-outs for Luke as a consequence for bad behavior (usually hitting his sister when he's frustrated.)  One Sunday afternoon, Audrey and I were at the grocery store and David texted me a picture of one of Audrey's dolls in the time out corner.  He said that Luke had come flying out of the playroom yelling "TIME OOOOOOUT!  NO HIT!" and put the doll in the corner.  Well, at least he gets it I guess!

• Audrey was talking about how much she loved Luke and how she was so lucky to have him. Me: "You wouldn't trade him for a million cupcakes, would you?" AJ: Silence, then "Uh...well, could I have both?"

• While I was in the shower, Audrey came running in and said, "Mom! Luke got a hold of some M&Ms and it got all over his hands. But don't worry, I helped him wash it off." Me: "Great job, babe! Thank you!" Fast forward 20 minutes as I notice something on the floor of her room. "Audrey, what is this?" Audrey: "Oh yeah. He crushed them up and smeared them all over my bedroom carpet." Sigh. Way to bury the lead, kid.

Happy November, y'all!  Try to enjoy it a week or two before you get your Christmas decorations out. :)