Forgetting

Some days, I forget how blessed I am.  Some days, it doesn't occur to me how blessed I am to be able to read and walk and see and smell.  Other days, I distance myself from the blessing of my healthy children and the love and provision from my dear husband.  I have learned (from the Bible Study I am participating in) over the last week that my general tendency is to turn irritation into tribulation.  I allow things like having to wait into something much more serious.  And the truth is, I don't need to!  Waiting for something or someone is not the same as suffering, and yet I am so prone to equate the two.   I am blessed beyond words, and there are days that I just forget that.

The weekends that our family is all home together are just the best.  We are a complete US and I love it.  I make due when we aren't all together (because I have to!), but it absolutely thrills me when we are all at the table eating together, or laughing together over a movie, or all in the van going somewhere, or the laundry basket is completely full.  These are moments that I cherish.

This afternoon, the big girls and I went over to the store "Justice" to spend their Christmas money.  It was a fun hour spent in the store trying on outfits and seeing the differences between the two of them.  Maddie got a cute shirt and a CD, Marky got 2 cute sweaters.  We went next door to Gymboree and found a couple of things for the little ones.  It was a fun, fun time.

Tomorrow is a church day - we haven't been to church together as a family in a long time.  It will be a blessing that I WON'T forget being there all together.    

Four

As you can see from the pile of toys sitting at the bottom of the stairs, Michael has "graduated" to big-boy toys.  He no longer squeals about everything Lightning McQueen and Mater as we make our way around Target.  He has requested that the "Cars" posters in his room be replaced with Batman or SpiderMan.  It's really hard for me to believe that he is growing out of his toddler-hood, into being a little boy. I love being with him, talking about boy-stuff and playing his boy-games.  In fact, on Sunday evening, he decided that he was so grown up that he grabbed Daddy's razor and "shaved" his upper lip.  The tiny razor cut took 45 minutes to stop gushing.  Hopefully he doesn't try his hand at that again until he really needs it... I just hope that I'm ready for it when the time comes.  I know the time will go by quickly.  I wonder if I'll ever be ready for that day.  Maybe I'll just keep him my little boy forever. 

Matchy Matchy

Marky and Meredith are thrilled that they have matching jammmies.  Such cute sister-love.