Thankful This Year For...

...all the beauty.

If social media, or blogging is any indication of reality, apparently all we did this year was have fun. Beautiful, unending, sweet fun.

Which we did.

But we also had one of the most difficult years of the last 10. Lucky [I guess] for you, I didn't take a picture or blog every time I cried, or freaked out, or wondered if God still heard me.

It amazes me looking back over my pictures from the last 11 months, how beautiful and blessed my life is. You'd never know the dark dark dark moments we endured. The trials, and the tests. Life just looks perfect. Beautiful. And you know--- really, its was. All the beauty and goodness of the Lord displayed in my precious family outweighs everything the world through us this year.

Thankful this year for...

the snow [more than once!]
the habit of 6 am walks with a dear friend
another great year at Classical Conversations
my girlfriends [tea parties, coffee chats, group txt messages]
a half million trips to the pool & parks
free trip to the beach with family
women's retreat hearing Havilah Cunnington speak
leading small group in our home almost every week
starting a photography business by accident
taking a watercolor class
restoration in relationships
my husband reading through the bible with my boys every night
Charles dad staying with us for the first time
the bitter sweet watching of our Katie turning from babysitter to wife and mom
all our birthdays--- 33, 30, 8, 6, 4, 2
our last minute AL trip to visit a friend of 20 years I hadn't seen in years
the boys taking up skateboarding
watching our friends and family rally around us when we needed them most
seeing my brother graduate from the Army
a visit to Texas to see my step sister get married
Heaven's love of the water table [aka how we got homeschool done]

And our countless field trips to: The Zoo, The Fernbank Museum, Tennessee Aquarium, Botanical Gardens, The High, Braves games, Rock City, Kennesaw Mountain, Children's Museum, Bounce U, Monkey Joes, and Sky Zone #weloveseasonpasses #welovewhenfriendstakeusforfree

This year was by no means smooth, but I think its easy to forget how much beautiful was in it, unless I take time to remind myself of it. This is me reminding myself, it wasn't all bad.

Thank you Lord.

Thankful Thursday #126

Thankful This Week For...

1. My 9th Annual Girls Only Christmas Party was a success!

2. A beautiful Christmas Eve service

3. All the magic of Christmas morning with my kiddos

4. My mom cooking all the food so I didn't have to worry about it

5. My sister helping this last minute shopper wrap all my presents

6. Seeing Les Miserables [first movie theater movie since the baby was born!]

7. The lovely perfumes my husband hand picked for me [first fancy perfumes I've ever owned!]

8. My husband having a few days off

9. Christmas movies...I'll miss them

10. My inlaws visiting from Oregon for the next 4 days

Thankful Thursday #122

Thankful This Week For...

1. A wonderful Thanksgiving trip to Texas last week
2. Getting home and setting up our Christmas tree
3. Having my friend over and watching her decorate for me [ha ha ha]
4. My new wrap that I dislike, but Heaven loves
5. Just being home...missed our backyard where the boys could safely roam free
6. For my friends suggestion to have less [like 18 bins less] toys in the playroom #formysanity
7. Heaven's new decked out pink carseat cover
8. Getting last minute Christmas card photos taken with the lady who did Heaven's newborns
9. Receiving Heaven's baby announcement in the mail
10. Eating out...some weeks [readjusting] are tough and it's nice to have the option of not cooking

Thankful Thursday #121

Thankful This Week For...

1. My dad flying us to Houston to show off our newest family addition, Heaven [no 16 hr drive thanks] 

2. Seeing my moms side of the family as well as my dads [two birds one stone]

3. Reuniting with my 13 cousins in College Station, TX

4. Thanksgiving leftovers for the win

5. My kids getting to see my dads ranch and do all the manly stuff like ride in jeeps & fish

6. Having my sister help me on the flight down & in Texas until Charles arrived 

7. Our rental car [thanks again dad] because we apparently are such a large family we need our own

8. Borrowed carseats from a school friend in Montgomery [grew up there] so we didn't have to rent

9. Heaven doing well with all the travels & sleeping in different places

10. My leaf garland from last years Pottery Barn Kids clearance--- I'm no crafter so I appreciate them making me look like one

Thankful?

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Thankful Thursday #120

Thankful This Week For...

1. Pink! Sleepsacks [no worries about blankets covering their faces]

2. Instagram [I was skeptical, but I love documenting my everyday life & seeing others too]

3. Lunch with my mentor, Amy, and introducing her to Heaven

4. Finding the perfect pink comforter for the twin bed in Heaven's room at Pottery Barn Kids

5. When Nation said, "When I look into Heaven's eyes, I think about her, and I love her"

6. My dad paying for our family to fly out and seem him over Thanksgiving

7. Our little co-sleeping, snuggle-bunny Heaven...really enjoying her tucked next to me

8. Solomon, my "i will do any chore for candy" kiddo lately--- candy is his currency 

9. Amidst the colder weather, a few warm hours for the kids to run off energy

10. Moses...he's been quite the 2 year old this week, but by now, I'm use to it this phase in a kids life...bring it! I love you anyways

What are you thankful for? 

Link up below

Thankful Thursday #119

Thankful This Week For...

1. A brother and sister---a new bond I can't wait to see mature in love

2. My clearance finds at the annual sidewalk sale at Glory Haus

3. Wearing my new comfy boots for the first time

4. Boy Scout popcorn [OMG!]

5. Heaven in her performance fleece outfits

6. Photo txting--- love that I can send family photos to family & friends all over the country instantly

7. Homemade outfits & gifts [that keep pouring in]

8. My first trip out with all four kids and it actually went pretty well

9. A long overdue lunch with another mentor friend of mine, Naomi

10. Heaven turning one month old...I still can't believe I have a girl!

What are you thankful for this week?

Link up below

Thankful Thursday #118

Thankful This Week For...

1. Charles coming home from NYC [just missing hurricane Sandy] after being gone a week
2. My mom & sitter for helping me get through the week
3. Our church fall festival
4. Three new pairs of shoes [I've been wearing flip flops for years and not bought shoes since 2008]
5. My first [milk/caffeine] Chai since Heaven was born and it didn't upset her tummy either!
6. My blog site is about to get a face lift [it's in the works as I write]
7. A date day with Charles [which consists of him holding the baby while I run errands in the stores]
8. Grocery shopping kidless for the first time since Heaven was born
9. Remembering I have facetime and showing off Heaven with it
10. Halloween candy!

Thankful...in photos

Thankful?
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Thankful Thursday #117

Thankful This Week For...

...[twelve things instead of 10...couldn't resist]

 frowns & smiles

pumpkin patch

silly things kids do in the car

my husbands mad pumpkin carving skills

bath towels that come in pink

a baby that sleeps

a baby that smiles

 little yawns

"a little sister"

sharing my bed with her

spending my evenings at different parks

when kids glue things places they don't belong

Thankful? Link up below.

Thankful Thursday #116

Thankful This Week For...

1. The way she smiles at me...even if it's random and I don't do anything to induce it

2. Another week of resting and recovering while Charles plays Mr. Mom

3. A date day with Charles...it was nice to get out of the house

4. The flowers Charles picked me off the side of the road

5. A clean bill of health from Heaven's midwife & Dr. [just gotta get her to gain a little more weight]

6. Even more goodies, meals, and gifts that are still pouring in [pink!]

7. That my girlfriends are throwing me a shower in a few weeks and I can't wait

8. Heaven's swaddle blankets, passey, and diapers...what would I do without them?

9. Starting a new bible study with my best gal friends...Malachi by Lisa Harper

10. Charles surprising me by getting the boys pictures taken

Thankful?

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Thankful Thursday #115

Thankful This Week For...

1. My girl getting her photos taken 

2. Instagram---so I don't overflow Facebook with the new obsession---Heaven!

3. Charles taking full care of the three boys so Heaven & I can both just eat and rest

4. My 9 year friendship anniversary with my bestie---April

5. All the meals, gifts and goodies my friends are bringing by

6. The way her brothers can't get enough of her

7. When Moses called her a princess when he first met her

8. Her tiny little self---I tuck her right under my chin and she barely reaches my belly button

9. Not having to do any chores this week

10. Not having to count any calories or workout---yet [ha!]

Thankful?

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Thankful Thursday #114

Thankful This Week For...

1. A new addition to our family---a girl at that! Meet Heaven.

2. A midwife who patiently attended to me for 9 months

3. The opportunity to birth at home

4. A husband who was helpful & giddy with excitement all day

5. That God is good...even when things seem slow & nothing is happening...He's moving

6. A longing fulfilled [pink!]

7. No complications in delivery ending in a healthy baby

8. Getting to call a few people ---thru tears---and announce It's a Girl!

9. Sleeping. Yep, I slept better with a newborn than I did with a baby in my belly at almost 41 weeks.

10. What the future holds...tutu's, tea parties, and pedicures with my girl!

Thankful Thursday #113

Thankful this week for...

...these 10 moments.

Moses bravely riding the rides at the North GA State Fair

taking my boys to the fair...accidentally dressing us all in black & orange

Nation winning some prizes we lost before we got home [saved me throwing them away]

Solomon doing the same

Sunday we tried the Atlanta Food Truck Park for the first time after church [yummo!]

Lego club on Monday with 20+ other homeschool kiddos

there is ALWAYS a construction project with junk going on at our house...always

taking my boys back to the GA Aquarium one more time before baby arrives

this time they took little charts of the fish & sharks and tried to locate all of them 

three boys in crocs 

Since we didn't have a baby this week [due here in two days], I thought I'd keep us busy doing fun things. So we did---it really did help pass the time. I miss homeschooling...it kept us a lot more busy. All this downtime and keeping up with housework got kind of boring---to my surprise.

What are you thankful for this week?
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