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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Gratituesday: Memories

I must say, I've been enjoying my participation in Laura's Gratitude Challenge this month. At first, I had a little trouble thinking up things to be greatful for, but now I have at least 3 things in mind other than what I'm going to post about today that I'm greatful for.

This weekend was a little rough for me since I got a call from my mom that my grandmother, whom I was very close to growing up, was going to be placed in a nursing home after her current stay in the hospital is done. She wanted to know if there was any specific item I wanted from her house as a keepsake. Immediately two things came to mind. Grandma had a trivet that hung over her toaster with a picture of a barn and a plump woman. It read "A plump wife and a big barn never did any man harm."...but my sister Kristin already had asked for, and received that at some point last year. The second item being my grandma's cutting board. Every day, we would stop in to my grandmothers to pick up our mail, and visit. The after school stops usually involved a bit of home made bread cut on the very cutting board I wanted. Mom and my aunt Carol looked through the kitchen and couldn't find it. Aunt Carol also mentioned that if it did turn up, she kind of wanted the cutting board, so it looked like I wasn't going to get it after all. Putting it lightly, I was disappointed not to be receiving it. I sometimes think that half the reason I make my own bread is to feel closer to my beloved grandmother who I've been loosing to Alzheimer's/dementia.

I decided to take the kids over to Mom's yesterday and see if there was anything in my grandma's house that i would like as a small memento. We got an early start on our day and were even able to drop Bug, Bear, and DH off at school. We had a beautiful Sunny drive over to my Mom's and made pretty good time as well. The dog was the first one out of the car, shortly followed by the Boy and Bean who catapulted themselves up the steps and at Grammy. We exchanged greetings and my mother commented that it was going to be a good day. I agreed as the sun was shining and I'd just finished a visit with a friend. We checked the chickens for eggs, and went in side. There laying on the kitchen table was the cutting board I wanted so badly. It turns out that when she was cleaning earlier that morning, my aunt found it and took it to my moms. To make things even better, she and I wanted completely different cutting boards and we were both able to have the one that we wanted. I am extremely greatful for the physical reminder of the many many happy memories I have of just every day chats with my grandma. For her listening ear when I was navigating the turbulent teen years and needed someone to confide my frustrations in. For all the things she taught me...how to play cards, the importance of family, the love of the printed word. Dh still laughs at me because I can't read our local paper online. It's just wrong. I would always read the paper at my grandparents and need to physically hold it to feel like I'm reading it the proper way. I'm greatful for the memories I have of playing around the farm with my cousins. But my favorite memories are of the Christmas Eve feasts that we would come together for and share the fellowship and the togetherness that the family had at that time. It is also the one thing I miss the most as my wedding day was the last year we did that. It's been 7 years this Christmas and boy I'd give almost anything for one last Christmas Eve with Grandma and Grandpa and everyone else. But I'm so greatful to my husband for adjusting our plans so that I could be there the last time.

I'd like to invite you to check out the other Gratituesday posts at Heavenly Homemakers. And I'd also like to invite my siblings,cousins and other family, to come back and leave a comment of their favorite memories of our Grandparents. Feel free to e-mail anyone else who would like to leave a memory too.

Returning Health

I'm going to tie this week's Gratituesday Post with last week's. Last week I wrote about choosing thankfulness during a stressful time when 2 of my kids had swine flu. By the end of the week, all 4 of them had it. I was grateful that I didn't have to search hard for the medication that the kids needed, and it was affordable. I'm not sure if I knew that giving the Tamiflu to my kids would cause such uncontrollable bursts of hyperactive energy I would have been so grateful, or even chosen to give it to them. I really can't say it helped them get better more quickly. However, I AM thankful that that we are all fever free and on the mend after having to monitor fevers for over a week.

Yesterday, I sent Bug and Bear back to school without fevers. I am so glad that they are feeling better. As I sit and write this post, the Boy, too, has returned to school (for another hour). I am glad to have returned to our normal routine. Bean is happily watching "Barbie in the Nutcracker" and I am sitting with her on the couch. We have gotten pretty well caught up on the chores that have been left undone since nothing is more important than loving on and cuddling the sick babies. The house is mostly Lysoled...since Lysol is claiming to kill the H1N1 virus. I only have a few walls to wipe down and a few more beds to wash and we'll be all caught up.

I am thankful for all the prayers that were said on behalf of my family while the kids were sick, those who kept us in their thoughts, and helped me to stay sane just by asking after us and letting me know that they were thinking of us. I am extremely thankful that DH and I did not come down with the Flu while the kids were sick. I'm praying we'll stay healthy for the remainder of the winter.

Don't forget to head over to Heavenly Homemakers for more Gratituesday.

Choosing Thankfulness

It's been one of those days. The middles, Bear and the Boy, have been sick since Saturday night. High fevers, sore throats, coughing, and the Boy is terribly congested. It wears on a Mom...worrying about the kids. Yesterday we were able to get them into the pediatricians. Our diagnosis was the one feared by most parents this winter. They have H1N1, the Swine Flu. Last night, the Boy's fever peaked at 104.5. I panicked and rushed him off to the Emergency Room, where we were given the run around by the doctor. Unfortunately, my sleep deprived, stressed brain didn't put two and two together when he said "Oh it's just bronchitis." 5 minutes before he saw the Boy, the nurse told me his lungs were fine, echoing what the pediatrician had told us 6 hours before. I was half way home before I remembered....if you have bronchitis, your lungs aren't going to be clear....

Any way, I am choosing to be thankful. I am thankful that the Boy was able to come home with me last night and he did not need to be admitted. I am thankful that only Bear and the Boy are sick. Not the other 4 of us. Please Lord, let it stay that way. I'm thankful that even though it seems that so many things went wrong today, some things went right. Dinner for example. We had un-stuffed pork chops, scalloped potatoes, and butternut squash. Bug even tried her squash and found that she likes it :-) That is a HUGE victory for me. Bug is the first to declare something unfit for eating before she even tries it. I am thankful that the fevers today have been below 101. Hopefully, they will stay that way through the night. I am thankful that even though we heard rumors of Tamiflu costing $500, and our insurance not covering it, they were just that...rumors. In actuality it was well within the "normal" co-pay range. Lastly, I am thankful that, as my mother-in-law is fond of saying, This too shall pass, and we will be well and healthy again soon.

This post is linked to Gratituesday at HeavenlyHomemakers.com