Christmas and New Year's have come and gone. It's really nice to be back to "normal". We took our decorations down this past weekend. It's so nice to have my living room back to normal. Now on to getting our house ready to list again...we weren't successful this last time, but we are going to give it another shot. As I was thinking what to write for my post this time, I felt this overwhelming sense of how much I love my life. We in our home are so blessed. All three of our children are healthy..of which I am very thankful to God for. That helps me appreciate our kids and their health, and gives me opportunities to pray for our friends who aren't so fortunate. I'm also so thankful for my husband. Since this last pregnancy, he has picked up so many more duties around the house, and is being such a great husband. He works so hard, and is a fabulous example for Matthew and Lucas. They are so into seeing everything he does, and asking him questions because they want to learn about whatever it is he is doing. We both have jobs, and fairly secure ones at that. So many times I wish I could be a full time stay at home mom, but that's just not happening right now. I am so thankful to have a job that is very flexible, and that I can use my teaching skills. Our church is growing rapidly, and with Derrick's new call...that doesn't involve moving or other major transitions...it will hopefully grow even more. I am so blessed with our three kids. I have several friends who for whatever reason are unable to conceive at this point in their lives, and that has caused me to be even more thankful for Matthew, Lucas, and Natalie. And our parents and siblings...having them close to us and seeing them interact with our kids is amazing. We live so close to each other...in the same state with the farthest person living about an hour away. They weren't close to us during the boys' infancy, so seeing them and having the opportunitiy for them to get to know Natalie and vice versa in such an early stage of her life is fabulous. My life is awesome, and only because God chooses to bless me in so many ways...
How was Christmas in our house...wonderful. The boys were all about the gifts this year, which is to be expected. They each got a DS, which has been a long awaited request that was fulfilled. We had Christmas 6 different times, but being with our families is such a blessing. Sometimes I think that it's a pain to have to be everywhere all the time when we live so close, but it's also a blessing to be able to go without travel preparations, and to have our parents and grandparents so close. I am sure that is why God has kept us here in Marysville right now. For Matthew, Lucas, and Natalie to grow up around their grandparents like Derrick and I did is a priority for us.
Natalie..is growing. She started eating cereal this week. She has been working her tongue so much, and Derrick decided to try giving her cereal yesterday. She's been taking it in bottles for her acid reflux, but eating it off the spoon is a different story. You'd think she has eaten off a spoon everyday of her life. She's doing fabulous with it. She'll be to 12 pounds in no time if she isn't already.
So it's back to normal life in our house. PLI is this month for me in Dallas. That's about all the excitement this month. Looking ahead to February is Matthew and Lucas's birthday...we've already decided on a LEGO theme this year. I hope you all can take some time to think about your life and feel an overwhelming sense of blessing and thankfulness like I did today.
