Thankful Thirteen

I posted yesterday about how we are in a tough season, but I wanted to share some things that we are SO thankful for in the midst of the hard times. I don't want anyone to misunderstand the fact that we KNOW we are in a tough time, but it'll get better. We have also seen the Lord provide for us time and time again both emotionally and physically. I'd have to be a robot to have six kids nine and under and not be in a tough time. It's HARD, ya'll! We know that the Lord is preparing us for big things. I'm always telling the kids God must have GREAT things in store for our family because we get tested a LOT. SO, here are my thankful thirteen. I could have more, but THankful and THirteen sound catchy...

1. I only have one more child to potty train. The thought of never buying diapers again by this time next year about makes me break into sobs. Happy sobs. Dude, I even threw all the bottles away last week! That also means no more formula. I'll see you at the salon for my weekly mani/pedi. Well with all the money I'm saving!!
2. I don't have baby fever! This is the FIRST time I haven't had baby fever. I'm so thankful that the Lord has turned my heart towards the path that we are walking down now. It's fun to be in that new stage of raising kids. Not just birthing them.
3. Manly's clinic is doing REALLY well right now. This is a HUGE blessing. He's had faith when mine has faded. I basically begged him to get a different job a few months back, but he was sure that the Lord was calling him to stay put. He was right. I was wrong. We've been blessed beyond belief just in the past few weeks with full schedules and new clients. I'm so proud of Manly and the passion he has for his job and for helping people. God's using him to do GREAT things for the people in our town.
4. My parents are about to begin building their dream home. This makes me so thankful. They've both worked HARD their entire lives, and I'm so happy the Lord is blessing them with their dream home. I can't wait to be part of this fun experience with them.
5. I have new cute accents in my home that put a smile on my face when I see them! I mean teal and burlap chevron. Need I go on?
6. We finally have grass growing in our back yard! This is a really big deal, and hasn't come easily. I'm so thankful at the thought of being able to walk around back there with my shoes off this summer in the squishy grass. Have I mentioned I LOVE being barefoot outside in the summer?
7. We are part of a church where we feel shepherded and loved and appreciated. It's the happiest we've ever been in a church home. It's the closest thing to home we've ever experienced. We are plugged in, learning, sharing, and loving.
8. For the first time EVER Manly and I are both part of the worship team. Anyone who knows me personally knows that singing on the worship team makes my heart happier than just about anything else in the world! Having Manly be part of that has been SO much fun! He's on the other side of my microphone, but I LOVE having him up in the sound booth helping me to sound good. He's learned LOTS in the last few months, and I'm proud of the job that he does, and so thankful that he supports me, and that we get to laugh at our mistakes together.
9. Mia likes to hug. You have NO idea how much I HATE hugging anyone OTHER than my own children. I just don't like to hug. My Mia is my polar opposite. She wants to hug anyone anywhere. It's like she has a "you need a hug radar." She'll just run up and hug people tight and long. She's teaching me to step outside my boundaries and hug people every now and then. Sometimes you just need a hug! Now, don't you all come find me and hug me the next time you see me! Ha!
10. My sister-in-law Stephanie volunteers to keep my kids. I know that the thought of six kids scares lots of people, but she does it happily. I'm SO thankful that she takes time out of her week every Thursday and comes to play with and invest in my kids. They love her, and I know that she takes the best care of them.
11. We lived on SUCH a tight budget for such a long time that I forgot what take-out was like. In the past few months we've been able to add it back into our budget from time to time and I'm SO thankful for the easy deliciousness of Buffalo Wild Wings naked tenders with parmesan garlic sauce for lunch. It's like sunshine on a cloudy day. I think I'll go order some now...
12. I've always found a connection to Beth Moore. I can sit through her video studies and come away with pages of notes. Last Wednesday I decided to visit our Ladies study, and they were watching a video about secrets. I have no idea what the study is called, but in the time that I was there I learned that Satan lives in the space between the you that you portray publicly and the real you. That's a BIG slice of wisdom right there! I was SO thankful the Lord put that before me last week. I've chewed on it since then. I pride myself on being a very open and honest person, but there is always space. Such a good word from Beth Moore.
13. Manly recently bought a beautiful new(to us) Ford Explorer. I mentioned it yesterday, but you should know that I am SO thankful the Lord has blessed us with TWO cars that our family will fit in, and two vehicles that I can actually drive. The past few months left us with a standard, which I am completely incapable of driving. I'm so thankful that we have two cars we can both drive the kids around in now. Thankful for provision! 

 

 

 

Thankful Thursday

• Amelia has been asleep for two hours this morning and I was able to get a lot of school finished.
• The girls have played without fussing at each other all week.
• Scotty has been able to be home every night this week.
• Isaiah still likes momma's hugs.
• There's food in the pantry to eat.
• It's tracksuit season and no long swimsuit season! HA!
• I had a wonderful time of fellowship with friends last night.
• My husband has a list of free Blockbuster Express codes and we just realized there's a box about 2 miles from our house. Can you say FREE DATE NIGHTS!
• On Monday Manly and I will celebrate 8 years of wedded bliss.
• By BFF gave me a contour pillow several years ago and today I have a meeting with it right about the time all my kids will be asleep for nap.
• It's chili weather(well, not really, but SOON).
• Turkey's that gobble when you clap at them. They make my KK LAUGH!

Then I Had Kids

Today I went to a women's group where they were talking through a book that I'm pretty sure was titled "And Then I Had Kids" or something along those lines. The group was good and the discussion this week was on finding good role models for our kids, which is something that was of great interest to me. I should now mention that I haven't read said book, so I know nothing about what it's really about, but this evening in the calm and quiet of my home I've been thinking over that phrase-"and then I had kids..."
I remember a day, not THAT long ago when I was pencil thin and wore only nice clothes. I ate out most every day and went shopping for fun instead of for necessity. I bought things I liked, ate things I liked, wore things I liked, said things I liked, watched things I liked...you get the point. All of that to say I lived a pretty darn good life. I had a handsome guy on my side. We were singing and acting in churches and schools around the country. Life was gooooood. And thheeeeen, I had KIDS.
Being a mom to five kids is a lot of work. There are some days when before I even get out of bed I'm exhausted. Sometimes they suck all the life right out of me and I don't think I can do it even one more second. I am not super mom and my kids aren't perfect. One thing is certain though. I would NEVER want to go back to my life before my kids.
So many times the things that are special about being a stay-at-home-mom-of-five become the things that drive me crazy and make me want to run out and get a J-O-B. For instance, I can't count the number of diapers I've changed in the last seven years, the amount of times I've been spit up/pooped/peed on, or the times I've been up 24-48 hours at a time with a screaming baby(or two), but I'd never want someone else to be doing those things for me. I'd be broken hearted if someone else caught my kids first word, watched their first steps, or pulled their first tooth. I LOVE my times with my kids. There are so many times each day that I think what a blessing it is that I'm able to be the one to stay home and love on all these babies.
God has blessed me so much with this crazy life of mine. I know that he put me on this earth to be a baby-momma. I LOVE having babies. I love being a mom. I LOVE having all these babies in our home. I just LOVE it! I'm telling you, I was made for this! Now, that doesn't make life any easier, but He always gives me the grace to make it through the tough days.
Today was one of those tough days, then THIS happened.

My cup runneth over.