Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Spring Break 2013

I promised myself as spring break started that I was going to get back into blogging. I promised myself I'd sit down every day and "catch up." Today, day 6 of spring break, I am finally sitting down to blog! I mean well....

Day 1: I'm thankful that my mother had the day off work and that she desired to spend the day with me and my crazy kids. Our day included a trip to Metropolis to shop and eat yummy pizza, then a swing by Sonic to grab treats. We ended the trip with her sitting in the car with my kids while I made a return. That evening she attended our Good Friday service at church. I'm thankful that our children are old enough to share this experience with us and that they understand how and why we can call the day that our Savior was brutally killed a GOOD day for us.

Day 2: I'm thankful that my son loves to bowl! It is a joy to watch him grow and develop as a bowler. I am also thankful for extended family. We took a trip south to visit Matt's grandma and see Matt's uncle, aunt, and cousins. Matt's aunt cut Delaney's hair (looks SO cute) and we all were able to spend some time in the (cold) fresh air at the lake. The boys fished, the kids and I took a walk, and we all worked up an ice cream appetite for the way home. I'm thankful for safe travels and for fun family times.

Day 3: I'm thankful I could go to church at 8am to worship my Risen Savior! I'm thankful for this song which we sang during church:

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone who took on flesh
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.


We were able to spend the entire afternoon at my parent's house enjoying the company of family. The cousins all curled up on the couch to watch Wreck It Ralph and the adults all napped or visited after a yummy lunch. A lovely day indeed!!



Day 4:
I'm thankful for children who love traditions. We once again planned and executed an April Fool's Day meal for Matt complete with meatloaf cupcakes iced with mashed potatoes, Jell-o juice with straws in it, white chocolate deviled eggs with yellow icing filling, and sushi. My sister-in-law and adorable youngest niece spent some time with us in the afternoon when they brought our taxes by (by the way, this year, I'm thankful for tax refunds!!!).

Day 5:
I'm thankful that my sister has become one of my best friends and that we can take an entire day to go to Monkey Joe's and McDonald's and have a blast. Our kids were ALL so well behaved. I was amazed and impressed and didn't want to leave her for fear that the misbehaving would start! :) I'm thankful that our children enjoy each others company and that we live 10 minutes away from each other.
I'm thankful for doctor's who will look at little girl's hurt stinky feet and tell me she's almost positive it isn't broken (I'll keep you posted on that!) and for movie stores where we can rent older movies so the hurt foot can rest on the couch.

Day 6:
I'm thankful that my husband has an amazing job that he loves 90% of the time (come on, it wouldn't be a job if he always loved it). We were able to go have lunch with him today after visiting the license branch and the post office. I'm thankful that my children behave when it matters (someone once told me that's the true test of your parenting, can they behave when they NEED to....mine proved I must be doing something right as they were complimented by the lady helping me at the license branch).

That catches me up with my Spring Break 2013: 10 Days of Thankfulness posts that I was hoping to bring you! Let's see if you ever hear about days 7 through 10. HA!!!

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Gus - a year in review

One year ago today our sweet Fluffy Gus woke up with his human mommy and daddy at home with him. They left to go to a funeral and never came home. If you didn't read my blog last year, you can read about their story here. We welcomed sweet Gus into our home in February. He has been a great addition to our family. He has a great personality (more like a dog), he tolerates a lot of love from little people, and he is very cuddly in the evenings. However, he likes to go outside....which means he occassionally brings us presents in the small furry dead animal form.
He also keeps us on our toes! I spent 2 hours at an emergency vet clinic with him on Christmas Eve, only to leave him there for Matt to pick up on his way home. You see, Gus thinks he's bigger than he is, so he tried to take on a larger furry animal outside, and this one wasn't dead! Unfortunately, it managed to leave his neck and ear a nasty mess. The vet spoke very calmly, she told me exactly what was going to be done, and then she whisked him away. I was left standing there feeling helpless with both of my children asking what was going on. I explained that she was going to have to shave some of his fur to get to the spots, she was going to drain them, clean them, then mend him up. However, as we left the clinic to go get lunch, the tears started to pour from my eyes (and my mother had to talk me down from a near panic attack). These tears were not all related to leaving Gus, they were more about leaving behind what Gus means to us and fearful that we'd lose him too. He is a constant reminder of some amazing neighbors we were blessed to live beside for 3 years. He is a way to hold on to everything they meant to us and a way to say thank you to the example they left even though we never verbalized a thank you to them. He is a way to show love and he is a lesson for our kids in helping others. And, a few hundred dollars later, he is home and he is almost perfect....except for those few bald spots and the fact that he whines because he can't go outside. The vet said 3 weeks, I say forever, Matt says at 2am when he's hitting him on the head to wake him up that it seems like the right time to let him go back out. HA! I think I'll keep my Gus inside safe and warm.