#4 - Gratitude

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more." ~ Melody Beattie


This little quote is so true! I am grateful for all of the little things. Her are 2 more things that I am grateful for.

#4 I am grateful that I am a mother ~ I am grateful for the fact that moms have a special kiss that can make most things better. I am grateful for the hugs, smiles and kisses that I get from my kids!! There really isn't anything more that I need (well except my wonderful hubby). I am grateful for my kids.

Fun little activity...

Hey there, this weekend was fantastic! We had the chance to play in the sunshine and it was GREAT! Our whole family went out and raked leaves, actually it was kinda pointless because they were falling off the trees as fast as we were picking them up.....but in the mist of trying to get some yard work done, we had a HUGE pile of leaves. My girls were having the time of their life! One of them would hide in the pile, while the other one ran an jumped in. It was so fun to watch. It just took me back to when I was a kid ...THAT WAS QUITE SOME TIME AGO!! It was really a blast. We had a leaf fight and took turns throwing them up in the air....it was so fun. I love this time of year. The holiday's are here and everyone feels happy. Children's laughter just warms the heart.

I was thinking about fun little projects that we have done with our family and I thought I would share one. It is simple enough that even our SPECIAL little people can do it.

Button Cap or Rainy Day Hat

Get an old had or one that you just won't wear because it is too big. Get a bunch of buttons (I keep a jar of buttons and add to it as the goes on, a thrift store has buttons for cheap also). Take a bottle of glue and put little dabs of glue all around, let your little one put on as many buttons or beads as they want. The more buttons, the better. If you child is like mine the small buttons are things that she likes to put in her mouth, so I use the jumbo buttons. They look SO cute. I also like to take "puffy paint" and write my kids' names on the hat in their favorite color. Let the hat dry for about 24 hours and then it is ready to wear. My little ones LOVE wearing their hats around the house.

Dr. Visit AGAIN!

We had another Neurologist Appt. yesterday....I feel like that is all I report about....I really can't wait until the day that I don't have ANY unroutine (is that a word?) DR visits.

I had to report that my little one is still having seizures, this time though, I kinda felt like Charlie Brown when he was talking. All I really heard was blablablabla...bla...blabla......I felt like going to sleep, my eyes wanted to shut and I really didn't hear anything that he was saying. Do you think that I really was tired? Maybe it was the lights? Maybe I am just tired of NOT KNOWING what the hell is going on? He spoke about putting this little thing in her that goes right above her heart and sends shocks to her VEGA? nerve every 5 minutes....are you kidding me? I don't think I am ready to give my daughter SHOCK THERAPY.....For now we just UP'd her medication AGAIN!

I think the only reason that I am frustrated is because she is so darn CUTE and HAPPY that I just wish everything else would go away. Why should she have to struggle? Maybe the struggle is all mine?

What are you GRATEFUL for??

My 7 year old daughter came home on Monday, with a very fun project that she had to do. Her teacher told her to come up with 5 things that she is grateful for. HMMM...I was intrigued as a mom to see what SHE was grateful for...so I didn't say anything and sat back to let her explain her whole project.....Let me explain a little bit about her....she is 7 going on about 15, very intelligent and thinks that I either don't know anything or don't understand anything that she says to me. I know she is probably just like every other kid out there, but I really thought that she "wouldn't know everything" until she was at least a teenager - WRONG!! The wars have already begun.

Back to her project, she told me in detail about what her teacher expected from her and how exactly she was going to do it. I said "have you figured out what you are grateful for yet?" She smiled and said "SURE, I am grateful for my family, because without them I wouldn't know love. I am grateful for food and water because with out food or water we would starve and die, and water helps us cool off in the summer. I am thankful for school because if we did not have school, we would not be smart and we would not be able to meet new friends. I am thankful for my sister, because I love her and she is fun to play with. And, I am thankful for warm clothes to wear when it is cold." I listened very carefully to her very simple but compelling list of 5 things that she was grateful for and realized that I MUST BE DOING SOMETHING right! She didn't say that she was thankful for a video game or candy. She didn't say that she was thankful for toys or "stuff"...she was really thankful for ALL the things that I would have had on my list.

That got me thinking of a time that I said THANKS....My youngest daughter has some very unique challenges and early on in her life she couldn't walk. We had to go through some very intense Physical Therapy, along with Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy AND we had a Child Development Specialist that worked with her as well. After a couple of years, these wonderful people helped my little girl learn to walk...first in a walker, then with leg braces and finally with out any assistance. How could I ever possibly show my gratitude to these wonderful people? I help people publish their own personal stories all the time, so I thought I would publish a "How Do I Say Thank You?" story just for them. It told how each person has touched my daughters life with their own personal magical touch and how we would not be where we are with out them. We gave it to them at Christmas time and watched their eyes fill with tears as they read their story. It is amazing to me that I still see that "Thank You" book on their desks and in their living room, even after a few years have gone by.

GRATITUDE UNLOCKS THE FULLNESS OF LIFE. IT TURNS WHAT WE HAVE INTO ENOUGH AND MORE. ~ Melody Beattie.

So, let me ask you.....What 5 things are YOU grateful for this year?

My little piece of heaven....the "property"

Back in the swing of things :)

I'm officially back. I got a question for ya?? Have you ever had a bad day for no good reason...and then find out that one of your kids is sick? It is the strangest thing. Yesterday, I felt "off" and couldn't explain it. I really wasn't upset, nothing was really wrong, but I felt like something was wrong. When my youngest got home from school she was a little quiet, I know that sounds strange for a kid that doesn't talk to be quiet, but she was. She fell asleep at about 5:00pm and I kinda knew something might be up. At about 2am she started to cry. I listened for a minute to see if it was just a bad dream or more...have you ever seen that commercial where thee mom and dad are laying in bed and they hear the kid cry, the dad says did you hear that and the mom says "was it a mom or a MOOOMMM?"......it was kinda like that. I jumped out of bed fast enough that my husband got up too. He said what's wrong? I ran to my daughter (I know a little dramatic but for my 4yr old to cry like that is really NOT normal...so I knew something was really wrong, actually I thought it was seizure related at first). I took her to the couch and then.......we were running to the bathroom.

Man, it is horrible to have to hold your 4yr olds' head over the toilet while they scream and cry because they don't like to throw up.....

She is better now!! She has a temperature and is watching the Little Einsteins right now and it gave me a good excuse to keep her home from school so that I can take care of her.

It's Been A While!!!

Ok, no I'm not gone!! I have just been struggling. Like I put in my last post, sometimes it is hard enough to just "BE MOM". My little M is doing great. We had to put our pool in this summer so that we can do physical therapy and MAN what a wonderful investment! My little sunshine started swimming and within a week she could swim anywhere in the pool that she wanted to go. It makes me so happy to float around and watch her do what ever it is that she wants. She can get in the pool, swim around, play on the steps or get out of the pool an doesn't have to ask for help once.

I have been working my tail off. Between being a mom to my girls, a wife to my wonderful hubby, being the general contractor for the construction we had done...I also own two businesses. I was ready to pull out all of my hair. I think things are finally hitting a happy plato and I am feeling somewhat normal again.

Yesterday I was in the back yard, looking around at all of our "SUMMER WORK" that we just finished a week ago and had the most amazing experience. My little M was playing on the swing set and stopped swinging. She stared me right in the eye for about 30 seconds. It was if she was trying to talk to me. She gave a little smile and then I smiled and gave her a simple little head not that said "come here". She got up off the swing and came over to me and got on my lap and stared out at our finished work with me. I was dumbstruck. She actually sat there for quite some time. Sometimes I could just hold her and hug her until the end of time. I think she is an angel sent from heaven just for ME.

I am so grateful to have her!