Gratituesday: Little Things

Little things you say....what are little things? There are lots of little things in my house ;-) I am thankful to the Giver of all Good Gifts for the peaceful night I had last Thursday. Thursday nights, Rich works late at school to get his lesson plans, copying, and just to get ready for the next week. He usually is there 2-3 hours and it requires me to put the kids to bed on my own. Usually, Thursday nights are not pretty in my house. By the end of the day, my patience has worn thin, Bug knows how to push all my buttons, and will proceed to do just that. Last week, I was blessed with 4 cooperative children at bed time. Bean and the Boy both require a "lay down with", and it's hard to put everyone to bed at once for that. Bean had napped in the afternoon, so after doing story time with everyone, I sent her down to watch some Dora while I layed down and cuddled the Boy. He was a tired fellow, having been out to play in the snow at preschool and burning off some much needed energy. Bug didn't give me any trouble at all and obeyed all my directions and did her homework without any complaints. Bear usually has issues going to sleep when Daddy isn't around because she becomes more afraid. Last week, that wasn't the case. I can't begin to tell you how much of a blessing it was to have all the kids go to bed without a fight. I actually felt relaxed at the end of the evening.

Another little thing...we were blessed with an unexpected invitation to dinner Saturday evening. Everyone was greatful for that since Saturday was supposed to be clean out the fridge and eat leftovers day. We had a Delicious meal of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and broccoli Normandy with cranberry tangerine cheesecake and brownies for dessert. All I had to do was enjoy the meal and make the dessert. We also had a great time of fellowship with our friends while the children played.

And a Big Thing...In my house, there are 2-3 picky eaters that just won't eat "normal" food because it doesn't look or smell as they expect it to. Tonight I was feeling uninspired, unmotivated, and just plain lazy about dinner. I decided I would use a bag of frozen ravioli and some meatballs I had waiting in the freezer. Bug surprised me when I was draining the ravioli. "Those look like perogies. Are those perogies?" I explained that while they were similar, they get cooked in a different manner and didn't have mashed potatoes in them. "Well, what's inside?" she wanted to know. I figured I'd over-simplify my answer on the off chance that she might actually try it and told her "hamburger". She decided to try it since she liked perogies and hamburger. Lo and Behold, she did like the ravioli. Not only did she like it, but so did Bear, the Boy, and Bean, who didn't like ravioli the last time I made it for dinner. Then Bug proceeded to shock the pants off of me. She commented that she didn't like meatballs in spaghetti sauce, like they were, but wanted to try them. She ate one, then another, and i believe, she actually had a third. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am to see our practice of insisting that everything goes on your plate even if you decide not to taste it is finally paying off and Bug is starting to taste it. She was an excellent eater oh say...about 5 years ago. She became picky shortly after Bear's arrival. I am hopeful and optimistic that she will return to her previously well appetited self. Mainly because I know that many of the things she comments negatively on I cannot get her brother to try because of her comments, and if I can just get her to eat it he is more likely to.

Thank You Jesus, for these little and big things that have brightened my past week.

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